Tempest 4000 - YES! YES! YES!

[gilesgoat]

That really is for Atari to announce. Llamasoft are doing the coding work, Atari does the PR. I strongly doubt either Yak or Giles are able to say anything about it other than "As soon as possible".

It's worse than this ... "I have not a clue about what/how Atari wants to do it"

I am still working on some things .. I got a little "curve ball" just now .. and I am getting a bit stupid with some things.

And I am really really quite tired I am telling you, can't really wait to be finally into "something else".

[Markie]

Ah, indeed, could well be months then, I guess they want to build it up a while before releasing and gauging the right time to release can be a difficult time pin point I guess.

[gilesgoat]

Let's see how much they are going the yell when I just told them I'd rather NOT support a certain version of Windows that is ANYWAY AT END OF ITS LIFE !!

( and no XP is DEFINITELY NOT SUPPORTED )

[PVB]

Short video from Periscope earlier, showing the various versions:

[Jamesac]

It's nice to get a T4K update and all but that spinner pretty much owns the whole video. Serious amount of Want! going on there.

[Markie]

A spinning would be great to have, any suggestions for the PS4? Is there even one available outside testing machines?

[gilesgoat]

A spinning would be great to have, any suggestions for the PS4? Is there even one available outside testing machines?

... I could make you cry ... but "could not put it in the final version" because it really was 'experimental' and wasn't asked for and heck know how much more many cert things I would have had to pass ..

However .. if in the PS4 code I touch those two lines ..

Code: Select all

// define this to try to support mouse/KB
//#define MOUSE_EXPERIMENT 1

// define this to try keyboard too
//#define KEYBOARD_EXPERIMENT 1

And I define them both .. I can have that same spinner you see in the video work on the PS4 as well .. but that spinner also would need a bit of a "special thing in the code" so it's a bit more complex than just that ..

For the PC version/thing I am kinda planning to "have a little else" and leave some stuff in and maybe one day make a video explaining "how you can make your own".

MIND YOU *ONE WORD OF WARNING*, that spinner *IS NOT CHEAP TO BE MADE*, WORKS AS A CHARM but COSTS !!

So it's not a "20 pounds thing" it's more around "a 80 pounds thing" ..

There's the high def spinner, the mass, the buttons, the interface, the proper box and the work you have to do.

[ozzzy189]

Sorry to throw this in.........Can we use the touchpad to control the claw on ps4 ?
I played sparkle on my ps4 with this control method and it was much better than the thumbstick.

[gilesgoat]

Sorry to throw this in.........Can we use the touchpad to control the claw on ps4 ?
I played sparkle on my ps4 with this control method and it was much better than the thumbstick.

*SOB*

[edit] However I'd rather spend a day working on that than having to spend day(s) working on things like "is it (R) or (TM) or should have been (C) I must check that document and the other and verify is "LB" not "L1" and that icon has not to be bigger than and I forgot about that message that says a thing that makes no sense on a PC and I must verify that key works because there's no key there and what about if one iconfies the game when and pause and stop but press alt + something no has not to do this but that and the performance and on Win7 can't use this must use that but if I click there while moving this and WINDOWS + shit does something that should not do ... .. .. " ... ..

.. my balls are rolling on the floor .. .. .. ..

[edit2] Yes we do have a team that tests all this and more .. yes they are around 20 or something or dunno how many people I think .. yes they find and report me "a fuckload of shit" that then *I* have to fix ..

Luckily the last bug report wasn't huge and I am confident I am "on a good way to end" this bit at least

Also I VAGUELY remember there's some CERT thing about the touchpad because there's some "difference/thing" I can't remember between PS Vita and PS4 pad and I vaguely remember "there are a few things that need to be checked well".

[ozzzy189]

SOB.....Sorry !!! Does that mean we can have it ? Have you managed to implement it and it works well ?
I apologise for putting a potential fly in the ointment but it could make contolling it on PS4 without a spinner much more accurate. What about using the speaker on the controller for certain sounds too ? If you have played sparkle then you'd experience how much better that game is with a touchpad.
I'll stop now.
Thanks for at least considering my idea.
Regards,
Daniel.

[gilesgoat]

SOB.....Sorry !!! Does that mean we can have it ? Have you managed to implement it and it works well ?
I apologise for putting a potential fly in the ointment but it could make contolling it on PS4 without a spinner much more accurate. What about using the speaker on the controller for certain sounds too ? If you have played sparkle then you'd experience how much better that game is with a touchpad.
I'll stop now.
Thanks for at least considering my idea.
Regards,
Daniel.

I can't say any more because not sure what I can say or not say but let's say "too late add anything in now" .. that unless/until/IF Atari will decide in a future for an "upgrade".

Then to be honest I am NOT SURE how much WORK it would take to make the touchpad actually "feel right and work right", having tried some stuff on PC with mouse I got conclusion "HUM .. HUM .. nngh .. hum" ..

I mean "sounds trivial" but it's NOT trivial to actually make it work right with this type of game.

But yeah it gets to a point where really "time is money and there's not much of both" ( time and money ) so you really get to a point where "can't work on it much longer"

There's certainly LOT of stuff that COULD be done BUT also there are "buts".

And really to be honest you get to a point when you start exhausting "how much one can work on it and how much someone else is willing to pay for that work", but "the good news" is that "patches and upgrade theorectically are always possible" so "if things goes well enough" ( sales ) maybe we can convince people about "adding a bit more" on things

But yeah at some point it needs to be said "at least for now this is it" or you are NEVER going to see this SW out ..

[edit] - and of course I don't even need to say this, it's "clear" BUT just in case it wasn't .. ".. and if you think we are rolling in money and we can afford to do whatever we like for as long as we like" the answer is NO !

But you know it

[Misfit]

but "the good news" is that "patches and upgrade theorectically are always possible"

I love you and I love your games. Always have, always will. But let's not dangle patches out there, there are bugs in things like it not saving scores for those completing the game in Polyibus that have left a bad taste out there that really should have been fixed.

And I run a small software company and I know the drains/impossibilities of trying to keep everyone happy.

[gilesgoat]

but "the good news" is that "patches and upgrade theorectically are always possible"

I love you and I love your games. Always have, always will. But let's not dangle patches out there, there are bugs in things like it not saving scores for those completing the game in Polyibus that have left a bad taste out there that really should have been fixed.

And I run a small software company and I know the drains/impossibilities of trying to keep everyone happy.

Those are a bit more complicated, because they require CERT, the process and all the stuff

Anyway yeah hard to keep everyone's happy.

What I am saying is that "theorectically you can always fix/improve something" but as you say/know practically it's not so easy.

[gilesgoat]

On other news I MAY have got "near the end" of the PC thing, in the sense that if they don't find any other or new bugs or shit that could be it and I am really exhausted.

In term of "completeness/finesse and shit" this is at now probably one of the most complex PC things we done so far and also probably the first that is/going to be ( more ) tested by "an expert team".

I am really a bit "consumed" I've been all time flipping and flapping between this and that with requests from this and that while fixing bugs and implementing extra things.

I think the Jeff has become "hydrophobic" to the sole sound/idea of the word "localization"

Honestly I think to whoever will say ".. but this and that BUT ! .. " I can only say "guys, really, can't do more than this" enough is enough.

Anyway so far "a huge experience of mixed things" .. including a bit more knowledge about "the methods and expectations of certain companies".

And yeah nowadays you'd need a person which sole job is to check (R) (C) (TM) "PlayStation(R)" or "STEAM(C)" or maybe was "Steam (R)" and all the shit in between.

On the other side I SUPPOSE ( maybe I am wrong I don't know ) I could say "I could always find a job somewhere because I know how to fill up the MDT forms" and/or "I know how to navigate through the SIIx / Devnet / MS portals"

"Do you think you just log-in and all is there ?"

[ankman]

Is it out yet? Cannot get it verified. Your web page also says it's a sequel to the original Tempest, although there was at least Tempest 2000 released by Llamasoft a few years ago.

Tempest 2000 looked very good, cannot imagine how this could ever be improved.

I have to admit though I am a sucker for vintage games, so the 1981 original will likely always be my number one. Not that I am particuarly good at it. But when it came out I was blown away!