next »

[saimo]

I've been asked by email, on itch.io, on YouTube, and on various forums to port Blastaway to other platforms, and I've also read some misinformation somewhere, so I thought I'd better give a complete and clear answer everywhere.

I'm not going to port Blastaway to any other platform.

In general, other platforms won't be considered because:
 * I can't take the burden of adapting the game and then of offering (future) support (two platforms are already demanding, and with BOH I've learned that increasing the number of supported systems beyond two is insane);
 * porting is boring;
 * help offers aren't of any help (terrible pun intended) because also collaborating, for several reasons, takes time and energies;
 * I don't own all the machines I'm being / I will be asked to port the game to, and for money and logistical reasons I can't get more;
 * I have many other projects (for classic Amiga and Commodore 64) waiting to be resumed, and time and energies are limited.

In particular, a classic Amiga version won't happen because:
 * it couldn't be identical;
 * it would require a huge development effort, as no direct port is possible: the code would have to be written from scratch and the data would have to be adapted;
 * it would require an additional effort for testing, given the variety of hardware configurations;
 * it would require again a big effort in case of updates (if any).

[JobLeonard]

Very understandable reasons. What about open sourcing the code at some point?

[saimo]

Very understandable reasons. What about open sourcing the code at some point?

Sorry, it won't happen because:
 * that takes time as well;
 * I continuously improve the framework my games are based on (and often the games themselves), and the changes are not always backward-compatible (in those cases, I adapt all the games!) - just imagine what a mess it would be for others;
 * even just explaining how to set up my framework (it's non-standard stuff) requires effort;
 * interacting with people (for example, answering questions) would require an effort;
 * I develop exclusively for passion, I don't care about technology per se, and any activity that doesn't aim at materializing whatever weird dream I have is just an unbearable weight to me**.

**To give you a vague idea of how serious that is to me: despite a computer science degree, it's just impossible to me to work in IT. In this highly-specialized world and especially here in Italy (a collapsed country) that means that finding a job is absolutely difficult (in fact: it's 3.5 years that I'm jobless; I have moved abroad twice in the past, I have returned here only to support my father, and now I'm looking for a job abroad again).

[saimo]

A new version of Blastaway is out!
https://www.retream.com/Blastaway / https://retream.itch.io/blastaway

CHANGELOG
* Added support for thumbsticks, as at times Windows treats D-pads as thumbsticks (this is just to support as many joypads as possible: using real thumbsticks is not a good idea anyway).
* Added journey map (at the beginning of each stage, a screen shows the previous stages, the current stage and, darkened, the next stages).
* Added FULL GAME bonus (completing the game starting it from the first arena of the first stage awards 50000 extra points).
* Added final score in game completion screen.
* Touched up instruments volumes and effects in tunes.
* Removed the "commercials" showing the other RETREAM games between stages.
* Removed donation message from title screen.
* Fixed handling of joypad presses and releases (under some circumstances outside of the game, a release could be handled as a consequence of a previous, unrelated press).
* Improved/extended manual.

[JobLeonard]

Wow, this is a blast(away) from the past! Nice that you added an update after so many years