Yearly Archives: 2006

#send sam:update_journal

You can now execute ZZT-OOP statements directly from the debug console. I put together a quick little demo video of the debug console that you can grab here (8 MB, QuickTime 7.1).

I also made a lot of progress in moving the source from C to C++. I’ve decided DreamZZT 3.0 will be open source (GNU General Public License, version 2), so I guess I have to make it presentable 😛 All of the objects in the game world are now represented by their own C++ classes, which is a pretty good start. I still need to create classes for the boards and the overall world.

As for what still needs to be done before I start rolling out public betas again, here’s a quick to-do list off the top of my head:

* Sharks
* Slime
* Stars
* Slap the GPL header on top of all the source files
* Grab the drum patterns from kevedit and add them to my music player (yay, GPL!)
* Finish rewriting the guts in C++
* BUGS BUGS BUGS!

?zap

For those of you that need to cheat while playing ZZT, DreamZZT now has an interactive console that can be brought up by pressing the ` key (inspired by Kev‘s mzxdbg).

Lions, Tigers, and Bears! Oh my!

I made a lot of progress on DreamZZT this weekend. I finally got around to writing the AI for bears and ruffians, which just leaves sharks, slime, and centipedes left to do. The centipedes are going to be the most complicated to write, so I’m going to continue to ignore them for now. If you want to play Centepede, go to an arcade 😛

I also got sound working! Just the melodies for now, no drums, but it’s a lot more interesting with noises 🙂 I tried to capture another movie with Snapz Pro X, but the sound gets pretty choppy while recording, so you’ll all just have to wait ’til it’s released.

You are blocked by an invisible wall.

I put together a quick little video that demos some of the visual improvements DreamZZT has over the original ZZT. This video shows off the animated water effect, as well as the improved torch effect. You can grab the Quicktime video here (780KB).

DreamZZT is finally back to the point where The Town of ZZT should be completeable, though the lack of bears, ruffians, and centepedes makes it a little less challenging. I hope to at least get bears and ruffians working soon, but I think I’ll hold off on centepedes for a while longer (they’re probably going to be the hardest to write, because of the way they move).

I’m hoping to have a playable demo out in a few weeks.

DreamZZT 3.0

I’ve gotten a few queries about the status of DreamZZT lately, so for anyone wondering about it, I give you this:

Thanks, PNC.

Dear Sam,

We noticed you have less than $0 in your account. Now you have $30 less.

Thanks,
PNC Bank

New layout

The new website layout is now live! Everything should work in Internet Explorer now as well as Firefox and Safari. Check it out!

Are you making fun of the size of my automobile?

So I finally got around to taking my car to the dealer to find out about the violent shaking that happens when I get up around 65 – 70MPH. Here’s the technician’s notes from the bill:

ROAD TEST TO 60 MPH-FRONT END COMPONENTS WORN LOSE, RATTLE, ENGINE KNOCKS, NUMEROUS LEAKS, ETC. RECOMMEND ENGINE $4500.00 TO REPLACE ENGINE.

So, it looks like I’m in the market for a new car. I’m pretty impressed this one lasted as long as it did, it’s 1992 Mercury Sable with 120,200 miles on it.

Subway Sub Club

I just discovered that Subway discontinued their Sub Club almost a year ago due to fraud :-/ I didn’t realize it had been so long since I’ve eaten at Subway. I was only two stamps away from a free sub, too!