Games
Transversion
Benoit Mandelbrot 1924 - 2010 |
In 1984 Ocean software released this game upon an unsuspecting world.
Tempted by some rave reviews I gathered together sufficient pocket money to purchase a
copy. After the ubiquitous fiddling around with the controls on my cassette deck I
gave my beloved ZX Spectrum something to send its notorious heatsink into meltdown.
Many, many hours were spent on what, for me, was the ultimate grid game.
Surpassing, dare I say, even the mighty Gridrunner.
Being a long-time Linux Geek I have previously produced a number of different versions
of this game for use on various PCs and it is one of the few things that I ever
wrote for my much-treasured GP2X.
This is the first game that I have written for Windows and, while it may be poorly
programmed it does the job. ( I never have learned to plan a project before
wading into the code. )
There have been a few other remakes of this classic over the years, some trying to
be a bit different, others going for authenticity.
I have tried merely to give the same addictive gameplay while making it that
little bit prettier.
I hope that this will be seen as a reverential tribute to one of my all-time favourite
pieces of gaming history.
Details of the original game can be found on the World Of Spectrum website.
If you have ever had even a passing interest in this machine then it is a site
that you really cannot do without.
Final bit of whaffle
You will find a link to download the game below.
Requirements are low, needing only an 800x600 display and DirectX 9.0 or above.
It works beautifully under Windows 7 and XP.
As for Vista . . .
Now compatible with Vista
There are many 'idiosyncracies' relating to this OS and I make no apologies for the
fact that it is not compatible. In the beginning I spent many an hour trying to
concoct work-arounds but eventually I just couldn't be bothered anymore.
Moss: |
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This software is provided under the Creative Commons by-nc-sa license.
No warranty or guarantee is provided or implied.
By downloading this file you are agreeing to the above.
Download link (finally): Transversion
Vista version: TransversionVista
(note: this will also work on XP & 7. It is just a little untidy so not my preferred version for those platforms)
Technical Jiggery-pokery and Stuff still to do
Update 29.10.2010
Now compatible with Vista
Also added a starfield to the background which I'm not entirely sure about
so it defaults to 'off'. It can be turned off and on with the '[' and ']' keys.
At the moment the speed of the game is tied firmly to your monitor's refresh rate.
At 60Hz it runs comfortably, while at 75Hz it will keep you on your toes somewhat.
Leaving the title screen for about 10 seconds will take you to a little
scrolly intro section which gives you a (tiny) bit of storyline blurb and
describes the control keys. Pressing 'S' will return you to the title page.
I am no graphic designer so don't expect Minter-esque prettiness.
The sounds are lifted straight from the original game in all their 8-bit glory.
The game will put a small High score file in your 'My Documents' folder
called 'TransversionHS.dat'
- Don't panic!
Please just enjoy.