Other games?...

[Daniel3D]

It won't be like Stunts, but that's the idea, because there's no point in having 2 identical games anyway.

I still would like to have a game exactly like stunts, but running in high resolution on Windows or Linux.

[Matei]

https://redirect.invidious.io/watch?v=qz2guQrVYwU

Answer is at 1:30.

[Daniel3D]

https://redirect.invidious.io/watch?v=qz2guQrVYwU

Answer is at 1:30.

Either, i don't get it, or you just made an insult to me or our game,
So. Please. Don't answer in riddles.

[Matei]

Further explanations are on the singer's blouse:

https://redirect.invidious.io/watch?v=X6wJc-VPv3I

[Daniel3D]

I give up.
Nevermind.

[Matei]

In the movie scene, the winner of the race was going to win the opponent's car, as they had made a bet. At 1:31, the girl says "Herbie, please, I want to win that car!". The car (Herbie) felt upset and stopped, forfeiting the race. In this context, I guess this could have been interpreted in a few ways:

1. After I came here and gave you something that I made, you just wrote that you want something "exactly like stunts", so I felt a bit like the car character in the movie. Other than that, making something exactly like Stunts would be a waste of time.

2. If something exactly like Stunts is made, what are we going to do with the original game and especially with DosBOX? Besides, you can just write "scaler=2xsai" or "scaler=hq3x" in dosbox.conf.

The singer's blouse has "give me a break" written on it.

[Daniel3D]

What makes you think that we want anything else than STUNTS?
I mean, we are aware of your work for a very long time.
See the first mention of your site and work
But there is a reason why we still play STUNTS. And will continue to, unless the same gameplay is featured in a newer game.
Since that hasn't been the case. We stick with what we have.
We like your work. And appreciate it. We will support and help you wherever we can. But don't expect us to leave STUNTS behind in favour of your work.

[Matei]

Thanks for the link. I never suggested that you leave Stunts behind, but quite the contrary. You seem to want to leave it behind, because that's what something "exactly like Stunts" means. I actually play with Stunts myself, as well as with other old games for DOS, sometimes. What's new compared to 2014 is that now I can use tracks from Stunts in Simcar (it will take a while but I just got everything I need), I have some improved graphical functions and thanks to those, since 2018 Skunks has a menu, which quite a few people asked me to do... before 2012.

From Amtix magazine, 13 November 1986, page 84:

Did you get a lot of help from Braybon and Bell who wrote the original?

Oh yeah - a 6502 hex dump - just a pigging list of numbers. In the end we wrote our version by playing Elite on a Beeb and making ours look the same.

AN EASY JOB

Was it an easy job?

Far from it. When you normally write a program, if something doesn't work, you just throw it away and try something else. But we had to produce something that looked the same.

But at least you had a framework.

Yes but things that just sort of happened in the Acorn version were really an effort to copy for the Spectrum. We had to mimic what were really bugs!

This is about Elite for ZX Spectrum:

https://worldofspectrum.net/item/0001601/

[edit]
I don't know if anyone noticed, but I already have 2 games and there are significant differences between them. Even if I wanted, I couldn't make one of them play exactly like the other one, although I made both of them.
[/edit]

[Daniel3D]

Of course we noticed your games. And several of us played them. I will to when I have the time (have not played anything for months now since I just bought a new house and it takes a lot of my free time).

The point with stunts is that we like the physics and collision engine, its a strange mix of arcade and simulation driving in pseudo physics. We wanted to port it all to C to be able to just upgrade the graphic engine. That is a Mammoth task and we are with a small group.
Our current goal is to try and isolate the engine core and place it in a new shell.
To keep the essence but upgrade everything around it. And reverse compatible with the original if possible.

[Matei]

I noticed your tendency to focus on the least important parts of my messages. Anyway:

https://forum.stunts.hu/index.php?topic=2482.0

https://forum.stunts.hu/index.php?topic=3760.0

So you're interested in reverse engineering. As I understand, Chinese people are really good at that.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/g23303922/china-copycat-air-force/

If you want to use software rendering, I can help you with the graphics.

[Daniel3D]

I have a strange working mind. So I often miss things other find important. Even after reading back i don't see it. So I'm sorry about that. One track mind I guess.

I'll check out the link to China later. .
As for graphics, we sort off have that covered with CAS his graphics engine. It can already generate gameplay videos from replay dump files.
The difficult part is doing 'the same trick' in live gameplay. You used bullet physics if I'm not mistaken. I think we want to try and build something like that with the stunts game core physics model. Not an easy feat. But not impossible either.
You could for instance plug it into your game as an optional feature.
You have a lot of knowledge about game making on the level we are. I personally consider that an asset if you are willing to help with this. Share your expertise, and maybe we can help you with getting your games to the next level as well.

And looping back to your email from 2014.
Stunts is not freeware. It is abandoned. The right are (just as prince of Persia) owned by Ubisoft. Ubisoft owns TrackMania now. So as long as we don't threaten that game we are quite safe.

[Matei]

I used Open Dynamics Engine for one game and some functions made by me for the other one. Stunts doesn't have a physics model. With a physics model, on those tracks, this is how you have to drive:

https://redirect.invidious.io/watch?v=fboYtJTuLMc

[Daniel3D]

Stunts has a physics model, it is just very simplified because of the hardware limitations at the time. But it's a clever setup and is many ways ahead of it's time.
It may not meet your standards, but the game has a physics and collision engine. It has pathfinding for the automated opponents. A very powerful track editor for it's time that can make millions (not a joke) of different tracks.
It supports car engine parameters almost straight from the car manual for gear ratios among other things.

Try not to down talk stunts so much. We are passionate about it and your ignorance could be taken badly by some.
I apologise for misremembering the of the shelf physics engine you used.

[Matei]

I don't think the physics model is very simplified because of the hardware limitations, I think it's because people who play driving games don't want realistic physics. I mean look at the driving games made after 1995 and until now. How many of them have decent physics models? I'm pretty sure that what Mr. Simon Hasur describes in the second video here could have functioned perfectly on a 286 CPU:

https://matei.one/games.html#video

...considering that:

https://worldofspectrum.net/item/0004969/

When I was using Window$ 98 I had tens of driving games and none of them was good, except for Wild Metal Country, which wasn't with cars.

[Daniel3D]

I don't think the physics model is very simplified because of the hardware limitations, I think it's because people who play driving games don't want realistic physics. I mean look at the driving games made after 1995 and until now. How many of them have decent physics models?

First, stunts is a 1990 game. Physics engines didn't exist yet.
Secondly,

I think it's because people who play driving games don't want realistic physics.

realistic or not, that is a matter of taste. It's still a physics model.
And stunts feels more realistic than many games that came behind.
Thirdly, I'm sure there are games with better physics now that could function on a 286, but that knowledge wasn't there in 1990.