SEGA Saturn 25th Anniversary Game Competition

[KeiDash]

I only found and started Saturn development a few days ago, but I been playing all of the projects posted here. Seriously, I have something good to say about each game. I am very excited to join a possible 2020 competition and see what I can create, and for others to show what is possible. Be proud, everyone.

As participant, your words glad me.

When EmeraldNova present the games in past sunday, I saw the good work that all members did and the nervous of some (me included). I think that this kind of events are good for the community and should be performed more often.

I would like to participate in others.

 

[slinga]

So I didn't know that the multi-tap had 6 controllers on it.

No worries it's all good, I got a laugh. I should of done a better job posting here like I did on Github (slinga-homebrew/Twelve-Snakes).

 

[fafling]

@folken Mazinger Z doesn't run on the console with an all-in-one Pseudo Saturn Kai cartridge with the RAM cartridge function activated : the game is stucked at the Sega logo.
You need to add this line to the makefile to make it work with such a configuration :
JO_PSEUDO_SATURN_KAI_SUPPORT = 1

 

[Fandu]

I have the feeling the game is unfinished or not enought polished. All necesary is there but don't works as it should.
Maybe with a few more hours solving that issues it can be a totally playable game.
The mode 7 is really cool to see.

 

[KeiDash]

Well, pased this period of votes. I know the conclusion taken by EmeraldNova and I think donating the money to Australia is a great idea.

I would like give my technical point of view of each project, because, after of 6 months working with joengine and c code language, I've notice the necesary effort that needs to make a personal homebrew/game/demo/hack that works on a real hardware.

I know that I'm not the best to evaluate this, but I think that I know how to apreciate the work of each us in this way. You'll notice that my evaluation for 3D games in general not is the best, I hope I'm not disturbing and I'll try to speak with my low level knowledge in this territory

Im' going for each one order by submission date in this post forum.

I hope I don't upset anyone, because I'm really doing it because I think you have to appreciate the titanic work that everyone has done. So, lest go!

GAMES​

slinga - Twelve Snakes

I was impressed when I saw your post indicating that your game is adapted for 16:9 screens and multiplayer option. Sincerely
I never imagined that my game or another developer in this contest implement a game configured to works on 16:9 screen and I think
that this is something to be appreciated as possitive, because I think that all associate classic systems with 4:3 screens and you did one step foward that anyone didn't. Is to be commended.

As technical level, your snake game appears "one more" but if I'm detaining myself to think and watch it technically, I have to applaud you
because were you able to implement the same like the original game with the extra of multiplayer game and no one has implemented either

My sincere congratulations

XL2 - Project Z-Treme

Your work has been colossal. I am very surprised (almost all of us know your work) to see how a single person has achieved what you have achieved on your own. Every time I think of the number of people that are needed to develop a video game and I look at your work, I think that the capabilities that some people have are as strong as a single company and that we could go very far in this direction.

If you wish, you can make your own Sega Saturn games with your engine. If not, surely one of us could welcome your project to implement with your engine its own games.

You have given many punches to the old companies that made games for Saturn demonstrating the technical capabilities of the console
and doing things that seemed unbelievable.

I don't understand much about first-person games and even less about 3D but I know that you have to have a high level of knowledge in certain subjects to to develop something like that and I don't have that.

My sincere congratulations.


Cobradile - Rossies Classic

I have to be honest, when I saw your game, visually I didn't like it at all. I know that many of us are not designers and that shows in the result of our games, we can't have skills for everything.

But, when I saw the EmeraldNova gameplay and later played it, I saw the great work you had done technically. The level of logic that you implemented to increase and regulate the difficulty of the game, shows that it is very worked and that it was not an easy task.

While it's true that there are things to improve, I think that with the development time you had and the result you showed, you made
a good job and I think you should be very satisfied.

Indicate that you have worked very well with the layers of VDP1 and VDP2 and it has been demonstrated in game.

I think you have potential and you should continue in this. You could work on this same trajectory and continue to work on it to transform it into a beast.


Ponut64 - Pony Game

For me, working with 3D environments is something completely unknown, and just for that, I value very much the work of making something move in that environment. I liked the technical demo you presented. I saw some good displacement mechanics of a character on a 3D environment and I think it could be used to make very ambiguous games.

I think you've worked quite hard and managed to exploit the console's technical capabilities very well. If I'm not mistaken, I've seen how you managed to use the different layers of VDP2 by placing collectible elements mixed with the 3D scenario (correct me if I'm wrong).

I think a bit of work would have to be done on the camera, but otherwise I found it incredible.


Folken - Mazinger Z

I've had a strange surprise with your game. I've known for a long time that you were working on it with the bennuGD language for Playstation 2.

I was hoping for another level of gameplay that left me a little cold.

I saw a game that was not tested very well and had some technical problems that made it restart, and I didn't know exactly what was going on it. I want to understand that it has been for porting the game from BennuGD (although I don't know the reality).

I really liked the mode7 you implemented, although I think this version of Saturn you presented needs more work.

EmeraldNova - Forsaken Plane

I loved your game, it was my choice when it came to voting. I really liked how you came up with the RPG environment in which you implemented a very dynamic leveling system and I really liked the option of choosing different weapons to optimize the match.

Also, I see that you have managed the RAM load very well as you have seen more than 20 enemies on screen and the game has not
collapsed in no time, wonderful.

I think it could be a good game if you keep working on it and I see you have some good knowledge.

vbt - Demo 2020

Without words, you've implemented 3D elements without the SGL, it seems to me you've succeeded in every way. I don't have the slightest idea of how you did it, but it comes from a very high level of technical knowledge and good work.

It's true that in real hardware the 3D elements blinked but I'm sure you'll find a solution. Blink in emulation?

Very good work

TRANSLATIONS​

I would like to make an overall assessment in this regard. I have translated games from English to Spanish and I know the work involved in doing a huge translation. I tried some time ago to complete a translation and abandoned it because of how complicated it was and how long it took to do it.

I also tried to translate Japanese ngpc games to Spanish and I abandoned the project because I didn't know the software to use.

For my part in this sense I just want to thank you for the result of the product and the new possibility that you have given us
everyone to enjoy Saturn's Japanese titles in a more understandable language.

CONCLUSIONS​

I think that everyone has given their best in this event. It was nice to see how everyone collaborated on this event.

Here exists good game developers and good lovelers of Sega and Sega Saturn and this is the best. We stay in touch here.

I'll continue with Blood Stigma development, so I would like to share my advances here.

Many thanks at all and don't blink!!

 

[Cobradile]

Okay, I've played all of the games, I'll give my feedback here:

Twelve Snakes:
It's snake, what's not to love?
In all seriousness, I like made-from-text aesthetic and the idea of it supporting so many players, I can imagine this being a blast with 12 players!

Blood Stigma:
It looks well presented, and while I'm not a fan of the control system myself, it looks like it could lead to a great story if worked on more!

Forsaken Plane:
The graphics looks good enough, though the game feels way too hard. I always get killed when I try to fight someone or get ganged up on when I try to run.

Ndiddy's game:
Looks like the base of a very solid platformer! Would love to see it develop into something more!

Rossies Classic:
Horrible! Whoever made this should die in a ditch!

Mazinger Z:
Feels more like a proof of concept, but it looks like it would be a game I'd enjoy once you improve on it and fix all of the bugs.

Ponut's Game:
This looks great! Looks like this could lead to like a Saturn port of something like Spyro! It has awkward controls and a dead camera, though.

XL2:
This is brilliant! Looks and plays great! This definitely shows that games like Quake 2 was possible on the Saturn! It's a bit difficult and the weapons and ammo you get feel sparse. I couldn't get past the first level.

VBT 2020 Demo:
I couldn't get this to work properly, the models kept flickering. I'm not entirely sure what this demonstrates, either?

 

[KeiDash]

Blood Stigma:
It looks well presented, and while I'm not a fan of the control system myself, it looks like it could lead to a great story if worked on more!

Thanks for your comment. I still working on it so in the future I'll post the advances

 

[Fandu]

For me, this has been a great contest with a lot of entries and games. I really enjoyed it.

Related games, the big diference with previous contests is that this year all entries are games, finished ones and games that will grow up and are called to be the best of the homebrew scene with many differences between all of them giving diversity and fun. Great ideas and a lot of genres, it is an excellent start point for future editions.
I can imagine Jo-engine has been the catalyst of this new scene resurge and in some way is the responsable of this interest on Saturn homebrew over the last years. Glad it exists and help people to start on this.

Not less important is the hack and translation scene, always active on saturn and that in this contest have brought us the best of the best of the Saturn exclusive rpj. Also, the first and magical 8 bit game emulator created by vbt and that keeps going on with new games and fixes.

In conclusion, the best tribute possible to the Sega 32 bit console. Thank you all!

 

[XL2]

For me, this has been a great contest with a lot of entries and games. I really enjoyed it.

Related games, the big diference with previous contests is that this year all entries are games, finished ones and games that will grow up and are called to be the best of the homebrew scene with many differences between all of them giving diversity and fun. Great ideas and a lot of genres, it is an excellent start point for future editions.
I can imagine Jo-engine has been the catalyst of this new scene resurge and in some way is the responsable of this interest on Saturn homebrew over the last years. Glad it exists and help people to start on this.

Not less important is the hack and translation scene, always active on saturn and that in this contest have brought us the best of the best of the Saturn exclusive rpj. Also, the first and magical 8 bit game emulator created by vbt and that keeps going on with new games and fixes.

In conclusion, the best tribute possible to the Sega 32 bit console. Thank you all!

In fact half the entries don't use Jo engine at all. My entry doesn't use it at all, neither did vbt and ndiddy, while Ponut64 almost doesn't use it at all.
But yeah, Jo Engine made it easy for many people to get started on Saturn development as it was pretty easy to setup.
I can guess that the more impressive the projects get, the more people will get interested, which is nice.

 

[Ponut]

Jo engine is the catalyst. It is so easy to use it is where we start.

I will poke at yaul and mrkot because while cool, the abstractions aren't deep enough; I get it's an SDK so ofc it's meant to be an SDK thus all hardware control is supported .. I guess an engine (like Jo) has to be written with yaul before I can really complain 🙂

 

[Cobradile]

If it wasn't for Jo Engine, I don't think I'd have been able to make my game at all.

 

[arromdee2]

I have had trouble getting the Mickey and Donald patch to work.

It says "The Image used for this was from the redump Sega Saturn collection available on archive.org".

It describes what to do to the bin file, but is written as though there is only one bin. However, the image in question has a .cue file and *two* bin files. Furthermore, the first bin file is large and the second one is small, implying that the first one contains audio, but the cue file claims that the first one is data and the second one contains audio.

I am on Linux and tried to extract the iso using bchunk instead of isobuster. Doing this on the first bin produces an .iso which seems to contain files, but this iso does not checksum to what is described in the readme.

 

[TrekkiesUnite118]

I have had trouble getting the Mickey and Donald patch to work.

It says "The Image used for this was from the redump Sega Saturn collection available on archive.org".

It describes what to do to the bin file, but is written as though there is only one bin. However, the image in question has a .cue file and *two* bin files. Furthermore, the first bin file is large and the second one is small, implying that the first one contains audio, but the cue file claims that the first one is data and the second one contains audio.

I am on Linux and tried to extract the iso using bchunk instead of isobuster. Doing this on the first bin produces an .iso which seems to contain files, but this iso does not checksum to what is described in the readme.

Redump dumps games by having all tracks be a BIN file. The smaller BIN is just the CD Audio. When you open the image to extract the data track open the cue file instead of the larger BIN file. Then extract the data track and patch that.

As for Linux, I don't use it on my home computer so I have no idea what program you'd need to do this on that OS.

 

[arromdee2]

I found my problem.

For anyone else who wants to try it:

1) bchunk doesn't work well on a .cue file of any nontrivial complexity. Take the .cue, and delete the lines that refer to the audio track, so that the lines are only for track 1. bchunk will then extract only a .iso, and the .iso will match the checksum. Repeat for track 2 and bchunk will extract only a .wav.

2) k3b cannot recognize a nontrivial cue file. If you try to burn the cue file anyway, it by default calls cdrecord/wodim, which also will not work on a nontrivial cue file. "cdrdao write MICKEY_DONALD.cue" works well enough to burn this, although it still won't work on complicated files.