Sorry for the slow reply everyone, but thanks for all the new comments and kind words! =)
Alexim: Thank you so much for the thorough explanation, I understand the situation and really appreciate the effort to look for a solution!
GOG staff: time to update the GOG SDK so you can help this talented developer!
Hi again Alexim, just wanted to share an update. Unfortunately, I've now spoken to a couple of people at GOG support, and I've been told that there's no solution for implementing achievements in my games, as the GOG SDK simply isn't compatible with either of the programming languages used. I'm really sorry about this. I was hoping that at least Javascript would have a solution, given its general flexibility, but...apparently not. If anything changes, I'll let you know, but it doesn't sound promising =/
DarkBattler: Well, it is obvious that, because of various reasons, big companies will never answer anything, but I have seen very small games get attacked, in a way, on these forums, and the developpers never came to defend their projects.
You show passion for your work and that is a pleasant thing to witness.
However, one day, your company will probably become bigger, and you will not have the time to answer anything anymore, but it will be all right.
If you release all of the 78 tracks alongside 8-Bit Adventures 2, you can count on me to purchase them and the game as soon as they are available. I know I am way too obsessed with this, but if the soundtrack could be in a lossless format, that would be perfect.
If there was a specific reason for the music of the first game to be encoded in MP3, it is not because of the sound quality of the sample libraries, or anything sound related, I am sure of that.
I looked at the spectrograms of all the files and for MP3s, their sound quality is impressive. There are not a lot of frequencies missing for them to be truly lossless.
I will not bother you with this anymore, I perfectly understand that this is far from being a priority for you, and you have been helpful and patient enough. Thank you very much for your answers.
Thank you very much DarkBattler! I'm glad that passion comes through, even in forum posts =)
We will definitely be doing a full release of all 78 tracks from 8-Bit Adventures 2 (plus 7 orchestrated songs), so that's wonderful to hear!
I spoke to Sebastian about this, and while he was more than happy to update the 8-Bit Adventures 1 soundtrack to a lossless format, it would require some time and work, and since he's just landed a new job this past week he's quite busy. So I shared your kind response, and I told him not to worry about it. However, as a result of your interest, we'll make sure to deliver a lossless version of the 8-Bit Adventures 2 soundtrack when that comes out, and possibly revisit the 8-Bit Adventures 1 soundtrack in future. Is that okay?
Oh, and he also said that we probably just went MP3 out of force of habit, so there wasn't any technical reason he could remember. Just in case you were curious - sorry, that's my faulty memory on that one XD
Thanks again for all the kind words and interest DarkBattler! If you want to hear some 8-Bit Adventures 2 samples, you can check out our SoundCloud here:
https://soundcloud.com/8bitadventures2 dtgreene: Yes, Ultima 3 was Exodus.
Ultima 1 might also be looking into for a bit of RPG design history, as it has mechanics you don't generally see. For example, HP is handled differently; you have no max HP stat, and as a result you don't have healing in the conventional sense. Instead, you get HP by leaving a dungeon after killing enemies, and can also trade Gold for HP at the king. It's a rather unusual approach that's definitely different from what you're likely used to. (Also, stat increases come from visiting different locations over and over, not through fighting monsters.)
Speaking of classic RPGs that are not what you'd expect, the original Dragon Quest is not your typical JRPG. You have an open world with area based enemies, so your exploration is limited by your level, and, unlike in more modern RPGs, you are expected to walk around in circles, killing enemies over and over to earn XP. Also, you have consumable keys and dark dungeons where you need a torch to see, which are mechanics that quickly disappeared from the JRPG genre.
Speaking of dark dungeons, Phantasy Star 1 might also be worth looking into. It has dark first-person dungeons (like Ultima 1-5), a female protagonist, three planets to explore, and a non-linear second half. I actually think that game holds up better than either PS2 or PS3.
Ah yes, I've heard of that before. Sounds like a really interesting mechanic from a time before modern RPG rules were established. Honestly, I'd love to see that concept of exploration as the cause of stat increases incorporated in a new game; I remember when I played World of Warcraft back in 2005, I wished that I could level up my characters by exploring new locations and doing activities other than battling.
Yeah, I absolutely *love* the original Dragon Quest (I've only beat the original NES version, though). It was a big reason I started development on the original version of 8-Bit Adventures 1. While I don't like gating off content through grinding, the open world approach was incredibly compelling - and it was genuinely tense to wander too far from home and encounter a deadly foe. But honestly, what surprised me the most was how effective its story set-pieces could be. Little moments like carrying the princess home were surprisingly effective. And the music creates a really powerful atmosphere. Honestly, even the dark dungeons were handled well - despite the limited visibility, I don't think they ever annoyed me.
I've only played a little of PS1, but I really liked it and definitely want to play more (I should probably pick up the release on Switch). I really want to play PS4, as that game looks fantastic, but it's pretty expensive on Mega Drive XD
As for your other questions, I think MeowCanuck answered them better than I could, so hope that gives you a better idea! =D
my name is supyreor catte: Thanks for the informative answer and taking it in stride! Maybe one day you'll be able to do a remaster of the remaster and make this one fit with the second one?
I'm far from a graphics fiend (I play plenty of old and old looking games) but resolution mixtures like this are kind of a visual equivalent to nails on a blackboard for me. I definitely won't play this because of that and it's possible I'm not alone - maybe this is limiting sales potential for the second game?
My pleasure! Honestly, I'd love to remake 8-Bit Adventures 1 so that the two games compliment each other a little more neatly; just have to find the time haha. But it's a possibility, for sure!
I completely understand; that's absolutely fair enough. In my experience, most people who discover 8-Bit Adventures 2 have never even heard of the first game (although some people have told me they've gone back and played it after seeing the 8-Bit Adventures 2 trailers), so I don't think it's a big concern. People are more likely to see 8-Bit Adventures 2 in the wild first, so at worst, they'll hopefully just look at 8-Bit Adventures 1 as a very rough precursor haha. Happily, though, 8-Bit Adventures 1 has sold much better on GOG than I ever would've guessed, so you never know XD I really appreciate the thought and concern, though! Fingers crossed it'll all be okay.
ReynardFox: Respect for honesty, the fact that you're aware and self conscious about how ghetto the first game looks makes me want to roll back my previous comment. I'm glad you learned and evolved as I just took a look at the sequel and yeah, it looks legitimately nice and polished.
I still think the name is a little on the nose though.
That's kind of you ReynardFox, thank you! Always glad to make peace with a fellow Aussie, and I sincerely appreciate the kind words about 8-Bit Adventures 2 =)
Haha, yeah, the name isn't one of my best. To be fair, the first game was originally named in 2012 (I was especially bad at names back then haha), and then I was kind've stuck with it for the sequel when 8-Bit Adventures 1 developed a fan following on Steam. It does seem to get the idea across pretty well though, so I'm hoping it might be more than a blessing than a curse in the long run (a lot of people seem to have adopted it, and I get people abbreviating to 8BA2 regularly), but it's definitely on the nose XD