Jul 1, 2021 at 6:53 AM
Join Date: Oct 7, 2011
Location: PrtWeed
Posts: 777
Age: 24
Pronouns: he/him
Hey everyone! It has certainly been a while, huh? While life has certainly been bizarre over the past couple of years (thanks COVID), I have used little bits of downtime to work here and there on video game.
As some of you may be aware, freeware Cave Story is DirectDraw-based, which Windows has been "emulating" very poorly ever since Vista instead of running it natively. This has led to several issues when trying to play Cave Story and other older games on modern hardware with modern software, and the issue extends to video game as well (sadly). I don’t even need to tell you that I am not a fan of Microsoft’s current approach to DirectDraw. One solution to this problem is a new render backend... but since I am not nearly skilled enough to make that happen, I decided to go through with implementing a new solution in the form of Cave Story Engine 2.
Thanks to the work of Cucky, Clownacy, and GabrielRavier, the fantastic (previously, thanks to a bogus DMCA) open source decompilation of Cave Story became the base of this new major update. With access to the game’s source code, the floodgates to insane new features and hacks would be blown wide open. It already supported 2x res graphics, new render backends, and custom resolutions - which were three of the biggest features I wanted - but I had a new problem. The Shotgun from video game deluxe was an assembly hack (by Noxid), and that was not going to be nearly as easy to port over. I enlisted the help of BLink, and within a couple Discord calls, he had the Shotgun written in C – completely identical to the original assembly code… but I didn’t want to stop there.
When I started working on video game deluxe, I knew that redoing all the graphics was a huge undertaking – but that was not nearly enough content to warrant a whole new revision of the game. So, I decided to also add a whole new challenge, characters, and weapon to make the update feel more complete. In this fashion, I’ve also spent my time creating a new challenge mode called “Tectonic Tower,” as well as overhauling the existing Hard Mode into Insane Mode and adding Classic Mode for all those diehard video game classic fans. This major release is, by far, the definitive version of video game, built for modern hardware. Not to mention, I’ve also implemented new characters like 2dbro’s Headman and the fan-favorite Quote Nukem from WTF Story. There are also plans for even more new official content, including new maps and a new ending… but those announcements will have to wait until another day. Until that day comes, please enjoy video game+!
Download video game+ v3.0.0
Download video game+ v3.0.0 (Discord Mirror)
Version 3.0.0 has been released. The most notable changes are listed here:
As some of you may be aware, freeware Cave Story is DirectDraw-based, which Windows has been "emulating" very poorly ever since Vista instead of running it natively. This has led to several issues when trying to play Cave Story and other older games on modern hardware with modern software, and the issue extends to video game as well (sadly). I don’t even need to tell you that I am not a fan of Microsoft’s current approach to DirectDraw. One solution to this problem is a new render backend... but since I am not nearly skilled enough to make that happen, I decided to go through with implementing a new solution in the form of Cave Story Engine 2.
Thanks to the work of Cucky, Clownacy, and GabrielRavier, the fantastic (previously, thanks to a bogus DMCA) open source decompilation of Cave Story became the base of this new major update. With access to the game’s source code, the floodgates to insane new features and hacks would be blown wide open. It already supported 2x res graphics, new render backends, and custom resolutions - which were three of the biggest features I wanted - but I had a new problem. The Shotgun from video game deluxe was an assembly hack (by Noxid), and that was not going to be nearly as easy to port over. I enlisted the help of BLink, and within a couple Discord calls, he had the Shotgun written in C – completely identical to the original assembly code… but I didn’t want to stop there.
When I started working on video game deluxe, I knew that redoing all the graphics was a huge undertaking – but that was not nearly enough content to warrant a whole new revision of the game. So, I decided to also add a whole new challenge, characters, and weapon to make the update feel more complete. In this fashion, I’ve also spent my time creating a new challenge mode called “Tectonic Tower,” as well as overhauling the existing Hard Mode into Insane Mode and adding Classic Mode for all those diehard video game classic fans. This major release is, by far, the definitive version of video game, built for modern hardware. Not to mention, I’ve also implemented new characters like 2dbro’s Headman and the fan-favorite Quote Nukem from WTF Story. There are also plans for even more new official content, including new maps and a new ending… but those announcements will have to wait until another day. Until that day comes, please enjoy video game+!
Download video game+ v3.0.0
Download video game+ v3.0.0 (Discord Mirror)
Version 3.0.0 has been released. The most notable changes are listed here:
- video game+
- Major version 3 onwards will be referred to as "video game+"
- Ported the game to Cave Story Engine 2
- Game now runs natively at 950x540px
- This is a perfect 16:9 aspect ratio and 2x integer upscale to 1080p
- Game window can be resized to your liking
- Game now has native Linux support
- An executable is included in the main download
- Game now runs on OpenGL 3 and miniaudio backends
- No longer relies on DirectDraw emulation (thank God)
- New settings menu
- Controls can be customized on keyboard and gamepad
- Vsync is usable when playing on 60Hz displays
- You can now skip to the next <NOD in text boxes by pressing OK and Cancel (X and Z) simultaneously
- The Shotgun has been ported over from assembly to C (thanks BLink!)
- Framework for future updates and releases is significantly improved
- Game now runs natively at 950x540px
- Added new challenges
- Tectonic Tower
- Climb to the top as fast as possible and claim the treasure!
- Classic Mode
- Play the game (mostly) as it was in its original release with 16x16px sprites
- All characters are usable in this mode and new ones have special low-resolution sprites
- Insane Mode
- Replaces Hard Mode
- Play through video game with 1 HP and a (nerfed) Bubbler
- No other weapons are obtainable
- Boss skip is patched
- Can be played by all characters
- Tectonic Tower
- New characters
- Ana Spelunky
- Player character from Spelunky 2
- Quote Nukem
- Player character from WTF Story
- Headman
- Player character from "Headman" by 2dbro
- 2x sprite created by Raymundo
- Ana Spelunky
- Minor touch-ups
- Water and text boxes are now slightly transparent
- Added slight touches of antialiasing throughout the game
- Improved level of detail on several maps
- The vast majority of the text in the game has been rewritten
- Added a new item for players who own the Veteran’s Medal and transfer their save file from older major releases of the game
- New weapon icons by Claoose
- New Action Gamemaster sprites by Claoose
- All challenge modes are now unlocked by completing a normal playthrough, regardless of unlocked items and weapons
- Improved quality of several graphics throughout the game
- Implemented new graphics from Lethrys
- Ballos’ sprite has been redone
- Moved the dog statue in Unfamiliar Outskirts
- Added tips for recording the game by talking to Aar in Challenge Mode room
- Added shaded tiles to "Weed" tileset
- Added life meter to the boss fight at the end of Corridor
- New loading screen
- Boss fight “Mt. Dedede” song has been redone by Tpcool
- Activating the teleporter will save your game automatically if it detects a character swap
- ...and more!
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