CommodoRex game releasedPrint page
2022-11-25
Double Dino cartridge with a board game
Zzap! 64 - cover for Micro Issue #10 by Oliver Frey
Zzap! 64 - Covermount issue #10
End to end online connection testing: game (running on C64), API and database
Masterplan, 5 years in the making
Commocore is proud to announce that our newest game, CommodoRex, has been released in two formats.
CommodoRex is yet another version of T-Rex, a popular runner that you can play when your Chrome web browser is disconnected from the internet. And doing exactly the opposite was the purpose of this project: to play T-Rex when your C64 is online! With 64NIC+ or WiC64 cartridges attached to your C64 this is possible! But, in case you don't have these cartridges, you still can enjoy playing offline and save your hi-scores to disk or tape.
First
release is a part of the covermount of Zzap! 64 Micro Issue #10 (issued 1st
October 2022). I don't have to introduce this magazine to you, and this
issue is special as it's a tribute to Oliver Frey who passed away this
year. He did great illustrations for CRASH and Zzap!64
magazines (but not only). No doubt it's a fantastic read, you can get it
from here.
The second release is a physical cartridge from our friends, Bobr Games: a limited edition pack called Double Dino. As the name suggests, your entertainment will double with 2 games on it, our CommodoRex and T-Rex Deluxe by Maciej Małecki. Deluxe,
because it contains additional levels! And as a bonus, you'll also find
a board game - ultimately an offline game! Almost all cartridges have
been already sold, but you might still try to get a copy from here.
How was this project created? When I heard about Retro T-Rex
competition from Phaze101, I already had mostly a working game I dropped
working on 5 years ago (bummer!). It supported online scores submission
via 64NIC+ ethernet cartridge, but sending scores was unstable, game was
lacking sound, an easter egg, saving to disk or tape and some other
menu options. So when I heard about Retro T-Rex competition I knew it's
now or never! I also checked if there are other online options
available for C64 - 5 years gap is a lot for thriving Commodore scene. I knew about some new solutions already, but when I
came across WiC64 wireless interface, I decided to buy one and see if I
can add support for it as well! I waited for the interface to be
shipped, then assembled it with solder and I had only 1 month left to add support for this device, refactor the code and fix many bugs, including unexpected 6502 JSON Parser library fetching overflow issue. I used this library to interpret the response from the server. Unfortunately I discovered that it was fetching an extra byte that resulted in program freeze due to nature of WiC64 interface. I can tell
you it was difficult to get things done and I struggled to the very end. But eventually, CommodoRex was born. At the end, just before the deadline, I pushed even harder and managed to add one special feature: some music that accompanies an easter egg. To sum up, it was a crazy project, and because of the online feature - quite complex to test. I also had some fun time, but for this kind of fun I would say, never again, please!
Game will be available
for free in future. For now though, the aim was to support publishers. I hope also that you'll enjoy the physical copy as a lot of love &
passion (and sweat!) was put into that release. You can find more about this game here.