New Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Game: The Official Handy Harvy Thread

Welcome to the official Handy Harvy thread!

About the Game:
Handy Harvy is a mashup of Donkey Kong and Wrecking Crew, also inspired by the Disney hit movie Wreck-it Ralph. There are 2 modes of play that will definitely make its way into the game: Single Player and 2 Player modes. A third mode, VS mode, is planned, but it's the lowest priority at the moment.

Current Progress:

• Graphics: The graphics are about 75% finished. The only things remaining are some objects/obstacles, the cut scenes, and some polishing on the current assets.
• Music: The composer has written some preliminary tracks for the title screen, bonus stage, music for the awards screen, and the in game music for the first building. Now that we're a good way into the development, she's going through the existing tracks to get the feel of each composition to match the style of the game and the story.
• Story: The story has been written and tweaked by myself and the artist (he's been such a fantastic asset to this project), and while there will still be a need for editing to fit the cut scenes and finishing up the ending scene, we're almost entirely done with the story. The story isn't all that in depth, but does give a little background on the characters and the relationships between them.
• Engine: The engine is about 10% finished at this point. I've gotten it so the engine knows when you're by a window or a pipe, and the status of the window for repairing. Also, the scrolling of the building is finished. There's still a lot left to do with the engine, but we're right on track with our projected deadlines :)
• Awards: Awards are similar to achievements. They'll be stored in SRAM, and will also be a part of the Second Dimension Profile System. What this means is that when you view your Awards in game, it'll generate a code that you can enter in the Second Dimension website under your profile, and it will display the Awards you've unlocked.

I post all of the updates (big and little) to both the Second Dimension Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Secon...71101212913007) and the Second Dimension Twitter Account (https://twitter.com/alteredimension), and I'll do my best to update this thread (as well as the threads on other forums) by the end of the next day.

Video Updates:

• 2 Player Test/Proof of Concept Video (Posted March, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqiuJ0uodZU
• New Layout/Placement of the Building (Posted April, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIzXt5h4si4
• Jerrod & Leah Intro/Animation Test (Posted May 13, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8xUpsfezBU
• HUD Test & Garbage Bins/Boxes graphics (Posted May 16, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbLdLonAIAg

Frequently Asked Questions
I'll update the FAQ as questions pop up, so feel free to ask away!

Q. Is Handy Harvy reusing the Felix engine?
A. Nope! That was the original plan, though. Unfortunately, the Felix engine was very basic and would take such a long time to alter it, that it just made sense to recreate the engine from scratch.

Q. When is the expected release date?
A. This is a tricky question. The completion date is the first half of August, but the release may not happen until the first weekend in October. The reason for this is due to a potential release at a Convention happening in October, but I haven't had a chance to get all the details yet. That's on the agenda for this coming week.

Q. Will there be a physical release?
A. There's a CIB being planned out for the release using all new parts, and I'm hoping to be able to add in some goodies in with it as well.

Q. What is the planned availability of the physical copies? What about LE's/CE's?
A. The plan is to make the CIB's available at all times (or until they stop selling). As far as LE's/CE's go, I would like to put together an LE/CE package, but we'll see what happens with that.

Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you're as excited for this project as the team and I are! :)

Kewl.

Is this going to be a physical release?

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Originally Posted by QuickSciFi

Kewl.

Is this going to be a physical release?

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Absolutely! I'm planning on a CIB release at the very least, and I'm hoping to be able to include some goodies along with it as well.

These are great news. :-)

The Honeymooners ruined that name for me. I can never think of a fictional character with that name, and not think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb8ulccRP_E&t=5m59s

Nice one!

That sounds great (especially about the two player modes!). I am really looking forward to the game! :)

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Originally Posted by retrospiel

That sounds great (especially about the two player modes!). I am really looking forward to the game! :)

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Thanks! There's a lot of potential for having a 2 player game, so I'm hoping to get it just right :)

My only two suggestions:

1. Please include manual
2. Please don't use recycled carts/boxes.

I bet you if you make this decent enough like you did with Hangman (which, by the way, I thought was a good game), you can reach out to guys like WaterMelon, SFT or even 1985Alternativo and get a decent enough physical release.

Beautiful looking project, I also like your boxing Concept. Consider me subscribed. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by QuickSciFi

My only two suggestions:

1. Please include manual
2. Please don't use recycled carts/boxes.

I bet you if you make this decent enough like you did with Hangman (which, by the way, I thought was a good game), you can reach out to guys like WaterMelon, SFT or even 1985Alternativo and get a decent enough physical release.

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Thanks for the kind words! And I'll be using 100% new parts for all future releases :) I'm still debating between hard clamshells or cardboard box for the release (the clamshells I have aren't the sturdiest quality and are delicate).

A manual is a must! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SiddtheKidd

Beautiful looking project, I also like your boxing Concept. Consider me subscribed. :D

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Thanks! I'm really happy with the way Harvy is coming out, and I'm excited about Project KO. Once some more graphics are ready for KO, I'll be making a thread for updates about that as well :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dra600n

Thanks for the kind words! And I'll be using 100% new parts for all future releases :) I'm still debating between hard clamshells or cardboard box for the release (the clamshells I have aren't the sturdiest quality and are delicate).

A manual is a must! :)

Thanks! I'm really happy with the way Harvy is coming out, and I'm excited about Project KO. Once some more graphics are ready for KO, I'll be making a thread for updates about that as well :D

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dra6oon,
Although it's never bothered me personally, most people within the SEGA Genesis/MD community hate cardboard packaging. But from the business side of things, it may be a more cost effective solution for you. The best way to satisfy everyone is to simply include a colored box insert. That way, anyone who wants to put the game in a empty clamshell case has the option at their disposal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEGA.GENESIS1989

dra6oon,
Although it's never bothered me personally, most people within the SEGA Genesis/MD community hate cardboard packaging. But from the business side of things, it may be a more cost effective solution for you. The best way to satisfy everyone is to simply include a colored box insert. That way, anyone who wants to put the game in a empty clamshell case has the option at their disposal.

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I'm not against clamshells at all, in fact I would love to do them exclusively if possible. I found a supplier for after market cases and I snagged about 150 of them, however they are fragile so the tabs the keep the cart in place have a good chance of snapping off when removing the cartridge on the first shot. If people are okay with that, I have no issues using them, but I'm not comfortable using them unless people specifically say it's okay, ya know?

From a cost perspective, cardboard boxes are more expensive, but they are much easier to produce and get made up.

However, I really like your alternative solution - include a clamshell case insert for those that want to use one of their clamshells. I think that would alleviate a lot of displeasures with my releases :) thank you for that suggestion!

I do know that most people prefer the clamshells over cardboard, so I will do what I can to source new shells that are durable enough to where I feel comfortable using them :)

It told me I had to spread some rep around first, so I have to comment that this looks so awesome!

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Originally Posted by bgvanbur

It told me I had to spread some rep around first, so I have to comment that this looks so awesome!

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Thanks! :D I'm hoping to have a very nice update after this coming weekend, so stay tuned! :D

Phew, the weekend has passed, and while I'm a day or 2 late, I have an update :P

Firstly, the graphic artist redrew the HUD, so what you see here is the final design. When it's single player, Gary's portion of the HUD will be greyed out.
Second, Leah's sprites have a minor addition - her hairband is now that of a Narwhal horn (she works at the Narwhal Cafe in town ;) ).
Third, Jerrod's AI has begun! While this is still an early build of the intro to the first stage, you should get a sense of what's to come!

And lastly, we have music! A big shout-out to Stef for his fantastic XGM sound driver!

The delay was due to me going through the proof of concept code and started optimizing it and really building the engine. The code before this was so sloppy and redundant (aside from the map scrolling portion as that was the first thing I did).

And now a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1gcfEn0Nnw

I hope you enjoy the update! :)

dra6oon, I am wondering if additional highlight/detail can be added to the sprites.

Stef is pretty active lately. He also contributed music to a French developer who is porting a game to the MD. I like the music! It sounds great!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEGA.GENESIS1989

dra6oon, I am wondering if additional highlight/detail can be added to the sprites.

Stef is pretty active lately. He also contributed music to a French developer who is porting a game to the MD. I like the music! It sounds great!

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The palettes are pretty tight right now, so I'm not sure how much more detail can be put into the sprites, but I'll see what can be done for sure :)

I should clarify that Stef didn't write the music, only the sound driver :p I'm working with a composer who's using Shiru's vgm music maker, and converting it with Stef's tools to make it compatible with his driver :)

While not a huge update, here's a new video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf83...ature=youtu.be

(you'll get sick of these soon, if you aren't already :P )

Jerrod now throws all the bombs at once and on both sides of the building, the bombs explode, and the windows "shatter" (frames for that are being worked on now :) )

Cheers!

dra600n, you rock man! I can only speak for myself but I'm glad that you're willing to show us the development process behind the game.

As simple as it is, the animation of the character throwing the bombs looks quite nice. Very nice job!

Will Handy Harvy also have seagulls/birds seeking to foil poor old Jerrod's plans? I think it would be quite :p funny :p if you would consider having some of the seagulls/birds try to sh*t on poor Jerrod as they flew overhead while still maintaining the old mechanic of having them fly into him as he traversed the building!

There will be a flyer in there to interfere with Harvy as he ascends the building :)

Milestone video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXNA...ature=youtu.be

A little blog post on the milestone video and such: http://second-dimension.com/blog/

Enjoy! :)

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I posted an update (SecondBASIC took all of my time, but it was a necessary project).

I've redone Rusty's AI, and I think it works out better than the previous algorithm.

In the last 2 weeks, I've finished up the title screen, intro cut scene, and the Awards screen.
Here's a video of the awards screen: youtu.be/Wzk4kOHWfXA

I have the SRAM functions working, so the unlocked awards you see in the video are loaded up via SRAM. I'm going to get the rest of the core engine finished next, and then start tying all of the pieces together. I also have the box art being worked on now (and it's coming out fantastic), so I'm hopefully going to be finished by mid July with an August release. Of course, things never work out as planned, so it may become a fall release.

I hope you're all as excited for this project as I am!

Hey everyone,
It's been a few weeks since I posted an update, but here's a nice one :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-_ATPrDDEs

The "freezing" you see me pressing down after I've stopped moving, so I need to change frames there :P

I had to update the palettes which meant I had to redo all of Rusty's sprites and the HUD. Then, the first attempt at the new engine with controller inputs worked great in emulation, but a hardware test proved otherwise, and Harvy would lag periodically. I managed to streamline some of the code and now Harvy walks fluidly without any issues (unless you hold down or up when you stop walking)

Other things done is the title screen and the preliminary options window, the cut scene and music is finished, and the awards screen is "finished" in the sense that it's functional, I just need to add in all the awards and the triggers for them in the engine.

https://youtu.be/9kswhPGHdlA

Collision, window repair, and death animations are now done :)

Great job so far. Thanks for the consistant stream of updates on the game's progress.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Assault9

Great job so far. Thanks for the consistant stream of updates on the game's progress.

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Thank you! I was really nervous about talking about the game as much as I have because I was worried of a lash back due to a similarity to Felix (maybe lash back is a harsh term, maybe more of a comparison or a "really? another game like this?"), and because I'm not use to actually promoting my work as there's always that "what if people don't think this is good enough?", so finding the right words wasn't easy (still isn't!), but I think I'm starting to get the hang of things in that regard.

As for development, for those interested in that sort of thing, here's my projected path to completing Harvy:

1. Now that the collision detection and window fixing is implemented, I'm going to go through the code and see where I can shorten it and speed it up as much as I can (it's kind of messy with a bunch of If...End If blocks), and I need to rework Rusty's walking script (currently uses a For...Next loop, which halts execution from the non-vblank main program loop, so everything aside from that and his decisions on what to throw and where is held in the VBLANK). This will most likely include reworking Harvy's routines into functions so I can pass Harvy or Gary's variables to the function rather than having 2 sets of the same routines for each player, though that may end up being the best method - I'll have to test it out and see :)

2. Once #1 has been done, I want to work on getting 2 player mode (aka, Gary) in there, since that's the last major hurdle to the game - getting both players actively moving on the screen at the same time, as smooth as possible. This allows the rest of the player functions and actions to be coded at the same time.

3. After #2 is done, I can finish up the level related code (set the win condition, set up the lives and free life structures, set up the timer, add in the window shutters and functionality, scoring, power up items, obstacles, etc).

4. From here, I can either create the "master" rom/source file (the awards, title screen, cut scene, and game play are in their own individual source code projects currently), or convert the 2nd and 3rd buildings and get them imported (will probably take a week to convert the graphics and create the tile data, and get it coded up) and set up Rusty's AI to match each building.

All the while I'll be hunting down sound effects and thinking of awards (achievements) to add in. If anyone has any suggestions for the Awards and their conditions to unlock them, I'm open to any fun idea :)

I don't have too much of an update this week (at least at this time, may have something else to add later on tonight, but unsure), but I thought I'd still share what has been done this past week.

Last Sunday, I ran into a compiling error with Harvy and SecondBASIC. I managed to find the issue in SecondBASIC (and also a few other fixes that a few users had told me about), and then I started messing around with the ROM to see if there were any abnormalities with the engine (and there are a few oddities that I found). I also want to adjust Rusty's AI once more, and here's why:

Rusty currently moves in a specific set amount, though it's random. What I want to do is make it so his steps aren't a fixed amount, and that he can throw the kettle bells in various amounts instead of a set of 3 before he walks to a new location. Right now, he's programmed to throw 3, but at random times, he'll throw 2, then 1.

Next, I need to adjust the collision detection again. I did notice an incorrect kill, so something is getting jumbled up. Hopefully it's not a major paint to fix.

Aside from that, I had contacted the artist to make a few "invincible" sprites, so I don't have to worry about flickering colors and having it affect other portions of the screen for the elements that share palettes (plus, it'll be universal in that it can also be used for Gary).

I do have a few elements to the game that I'd like to get some feedback on from you all :)

1.) When you fix the windows, I was debating on making it mandatory to close the shutters on the windows (which would also prevent the bombs from blowing the windows out). Should this be mandatory, or should this be optional? Also, should this be on every window, or just a few select ones throughout the levels (or maybe even decrease them as the game progresses and becomes more difficult)?

2.) When you complete a level, should the characters (Harvy and Gary) be shown to walk up the pipes to the next level, or should the screen scroll and just have Harvy and Gary jump/climb to the next level so it's quick and streamlined? I think the quick level change would be best, just to keep the game flowing quickly, rather than wait for Harvy (or Gary) to climb from the very bottom up.

3.) Should the cut scene be before the title screen, or after you start a game? I think it would be better to have it after the the player selection is done (1 player or 2 player), so I can add in some dialog based on your choice. The dialog change wouldn't be major, just saying something to the order of "Get her, Harvy", or "Let's help her!" Of course, I could just add something quickly between the title screen and the first level. Hmm...

Here's an update video for this week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5On...ature=youtu.be

What's new in this build?
- Rusty's AI has been modified / fixed. I had a variable limit set wrong, so now he actually crosses the entire platform where as before he wouldn't step all the way to the left. I also fixed his throwing and he can now throw 5 objects in a row (can do more, but I don't think that's necessary).
- Tightened up and fixed some bugs with the collision
- Added a Pause screen (fades out and displays "Pause", and also stops the music)
- Added in the scoring
- Added in a score sprite to appear when you fix a window
- Fixed some respawn locations for Harvy (after death, after fixing a window, etc) to be right where you left off when you die, rather than shifted over a few pixels
- Fixed a boundary issue that would cause you to get stuck

She's coming along nicely now :)

dra600n, are you willing to add a few gameplay elements (especially during later levels) to add more depth to the game? I think by expanding the gameplay, this game has the potential to be an above average title title for the system!

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Originally Posted by SEGA.GENESIS1989

dra600n, are you willing to add a few gameplay elements (especially during later levels) to add more depth to the game? I think by expanding the gameplay, this game has the potential to be an above average title title for the system!

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Definitely! There will be some obstacles that block your path, you'll be able to close some shutters to prevent the windows from getting blown out, there will be a few flying objects you'll have to avoid, and you can rappel down the balconies (which is what I'm getting ready to work on right now, actually :) ). Once Harvy's all finished, I'll be adding in Gary for 2 player co-op mode.

Oh, and there will be 3 buildings, so it's not just the same red brick building (though one of the other buildings is also red brick, but set out differently)

It's been a while since I gave an update, but a lot of progress has been made!

I've gotten the title screen and menu system all done (just need to make it functional now), the cut scene, the awards system, and 99% of the game engine finished. Here's the latest preview video of 2 player mode: https://youtu.be/_PgPSKM1g4g

Here's a preview of the title screen and awards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41ATbQireZQ

There's still a handful of things I need to add in, but they're all relatively quick (game timer, making the life bar functional, etc). Hopefully this project will be ready for beta testing within the next 2 or 3 weeks :)

I fixed a few little buggers tonight and finished up Gary's code (had to fix some collision offsets as well as some animation offsets) and also added the code to handle pipes above and below each other (i.e., stopping on the platform and having to release the directional pad before you can climb the next pipe above/below where you are).

Here's what's left (that I can think of):
- Game Timer
- Extra Life score triggers
- Harvy/Gary building intro
- Helicopter + functions
- Level scrolling + building win screen
- Objects/Statues (path blockers)
- Award triggers / counters
- Sound Effects
- Title Menu's

It seems like a somewhat long list, but it really isn't. Adding in the award triggers/counters will be just a few lines of code, the objects/statues are similar code to the balcony and pipes, most of the title menu options are mostly single, static screens (plus the Awards section is finished, I just need to add in the actual Awards :P)

And of course, I need to really test 2 player mode with another person. I'm hoping to do that tomorrow.

Hey brosef. I know it's not relating to this topic, but I know you had been working on an RPG also and I was hoping I could venture even further regarding your Hangman release. It was actually fun to play and more interesting and doable than many of the new Genesis homebrews of similar simplicity I've bought/played (and I say that with respect). Are there any plans on a future retouch; perhaps even with a large scale release using actual new cartridge shells, manuals and cases? Again, with much regard, I've always thought of it as a bit of a diamond in the rough. I wouldn't mind seeing that particular game getting something like a graphics and/or music overhaul together with a large scale release treatment a la Pikointeractive, Watermelon or SuperFighterTeam.

Anyways, good luck on this endeavor.

It's funny you mention Hangman. A buddy of mine and I have been talking about that randomly over the last few months. I do have some updated graphics for it (I think I have 2 or 3 very detailed backgrounds), and even discussed some other elements to add to the game play (nothing too good, though), but nothing concrete.

I do think it definitely deserves an updated soundtrack and better graphics, but unsure if/when that will happen. If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to shoot me a PM :)

I did a hardware test with 2 player mode last night with my buddy, and it runs very smoothly, so that's the good news.

The bad news, which isn't really bad news, is a few bugs were discovered. They were:
- When in rappelled mode, if you were in the range of the pipes, you could climb up or down the pipe and would glitch the sprites a little bit.
- Every so often, Harvy or Gary would disappear off screen
- Every so often, Harvy or Gary would be a few pixels higher than the platform

The first bug has already been fixed :) The other 2 bugs I believe are related, which would be with the flickering routine when you respawn from a death, so that's what I'll be doing tonight :P

It's been a little over a week without an update - and that's largely due to me being on vacation this past week.

Before I left for vacation, however, I ended up rewriting the sprite movement routines due to the flickering routine for that momentary invincibility after a death, which resolved most of the bugs discovered, while the remaining bugs were much easier to resolve.

I also added in the timer and did a little more polishing. Next weekend I'm hoping to get the level engine implemented and then stage/building transitions and then Harvy will be near complete.

https://youtu.be/fqboLoWE3Ig

Sound effects and new music :)

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Originally Posted by dra600n

https://youtu.be/fqboLoWE3Ig

Sound effects and new music :)

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Looking and sounding very good. :)