This is some darkbasic stuff. Programs I wrote, mostly. All should be considered works in progress, alpha at best. I've put them here so I can point people to the code if I feel the need.
DP - A precompiler-parser for darkbasic. Meant to be all-singing and all-dancing, but the deadlines have slipped endlessly. A large part of the reason is Anachronox, a great new ionstorm game I'm playing. I'll not be getting much sleep, nor development done, until I've finished it, I think.
Caverun modified (9k) - Caverun, only with ice in the ceiling (another matrix, but ghosted), and some little gretchins that run away from you. You can shoot them (which gets you lots of points), or run them over (which adds more time, but fewer points). You have to get a certain number of gretchins to complete the level. This uses the models and graphics from both myproj/caverun and help/tutorial/programs/sample10, which you'll need to copy into the same directory, plus a new scrape wav, included in the zip.
Map From Data Statements (30k) - A simple demo of how you can use data statements to define levels. Kindof simplistic, since it only uses a 1-dimensional array to define the properties of three different matrices. Still, visually pleasing, very expandable, and uses the "ghosted matrix" trick from the caverun mod above to make an ice effect on the floor.
The Matrix Screensaver (87k) - In the great film The Matrix, the Matrix itself is represented by characters flowing down a screen. This screensaver was made from my memory of that. Unfortunately, it has some limitations, not least of which that I can't get it to work as a real screensaver without having DLL support in DB. It's also TOO GOOD: The version in the Matrix turned out to be not nearly as sophisticated as I remembered. It's interesting to see just how different my memory was from the reality. I'm working on a more "true to the film" version now, though it feels like a step backwards. I might give the option for the other settings I've put in as well (like an optional background, etc).
| My version | Film version |
|---|---|
| Columns slide smoothly down screen. | Columns move down one character at a time. |
| Whole column slides. | Column "grows" downwards, leaving trail of stationary characters behind it. |
| Sans-serif font | Serifed, monospaced font. |
| Characters from various symbols, hiragana, katakana, and upper and lowercase roman. | Characters from numbers, mirrored numbers, symbols, and mirrored katakana. |
| Snazzy "swoosh" effect to display arbitrary messages. | Zoom in on the message "The Matrix" and randomly remove columns behind to make it stand out. |
| Background recedes into the distance. | No background. |
| No trail. | Slowly-fading trail after each column. |
| No glow. | Wide fuzzy glow around each character reaches into ajacent columns. |