Robb Sherwin

@icecreamjonsey@mastodon.gamedev.place
390 Followers
392 Following
485 Posts

Text Adventure author working on Cyberganked: a CRPG / text adventure.

Previously made the text adventures Cryptozookeeper, Necrotic Drift, Fallacy of Dawn, and co-created Jay Schilling's Edge of Chaos.

I also post about retro computers and collect 1980s arcade machines.

Websitehttps://www.joltcountry.com
Steam Game Pagehttps://store.steampowered.com/search/?publisher=Jolt%20Country
Games Pagehttps://www.joltcountry.com/games
BBShttps://www.joltcountry.com/phpBB3
Show threadRobb Sherwin5d ago
(Wrote this and immediately thought after I hit the submit button- hey, maybe my monitor has a 4:3 mode? It does. So I'll try card out that way tomorrow.)
Robb Sherwin5d ago

I bought a card for my Apple //e that allows the Apple to send video to an HDMI monitor. It's called the A2DVI, and I got it here:

https://jcm-1.com/product/a2dvi-apple-ii-digital-video-adapter/

It does exactly what it says. I had Choplifter! on an OLED screen within minutes, although I suspect there has to be a way to get it into 4:3 mode that I haven't found yet.

A2DVI v2.0 - Apple II Digital Video Adapter - Joe's Computer Museum

Get ready for the best video the Apple ][ has ever seen. The A2DVI produces a digital video stream from your Apple II's memory. The signal is output via an HDMI-compatible connector, giving your Apple II the option of output to modern displays. No more analog signal conversion required.

Joe's Computer Museum
Robb SherwinJul 3

If you remember eXoDOS, one of the greatest ways to play DOS games, then welcome to eXoIF - a similar collection of 876 interactive fiction games throughout history!

Video from eXo describing the project:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AncVf2d34fY

https://www.retro-exo.com/if.html

Robb SherwinJul 1
I have never been on a hike where the mileage stated in the map or the big encased-in-glass board at the trailhead was accurate. I am not part of hiking culture, I'm just trying to have an unexploded heart. I would like to know why they are ALL wrong, but I am afraid I won't like the answer.
Robb SherwinJun 25

Wanted to promote this curated #Amiga project - Rincewind's Magic Luggage Full of Amiga Goodies. From the docs:

"Every single game has been painstakingly set up for an optimal and authentic experience. The primary goal is to run unaltered originals on the systems they were developed for, which is a stock or expanded Amiga 500 for most titles."

Start here for the info: https://rml-amiga.johnnovak.net/manual/introduction/

Robb SherwinJun 23

Game 22: APB (Atari, 1987).

I have what is called a "Lynx II". I've never seen the original Lynx, but it sure looks like the A and B buttons got worse.

APB is an outstanding arcade game, probably one of the best examples of the medium. The Lynx home port is trying very hard to keep up.

https://www.joltcountry.com/index.php/features/a-p-b-atari-1987

Show threadRobb SherwinJun 18

And sure enough, when I went to restore, there were four characters in a party that had names I did not give them. So frustrating because otherwise everything seems awesome about this game.

EDIT: A little research indicates that it just has a crazy way of handling parties. You have to start the game with a command line argument.

https://www.gog.com/forum/the_dark_heart_of_uukrul/cannot_save

Cannot save, page 2 - Forum - GOG.com

Download the best games on Windows & Mac. A vast selection of titles, DRM-free, with free goodies, and lots of pure customer love.

Robb SherwinJun 18
I have been going through the CRPG and trying out RPGs from the mid 80s to late 90s and it is tough because many of them want you making a party before you can play the game proper, and I don't have faith that the games are going to save and restore properly. The Dark Heart of Uukrul is one such game. And it looks great, displays properly on my monitor. But I just went through the character creation process and tried to save. No confirmation. A bad sign!
Robb SherwinJun 17

NHL 23 told me the trade deadline was starting. Great! I went upstairs to get a drink and when I returned, I saw this message.

Apparently, the trade deadline was in real time! Every 30 years, Electronic Arts hits you with a real-time event; last time, it was the snares of death in Bard's Tale II: Destiny Knight.

(I understand the computer hockey players in NHL 23 also consider avoiding getting traded to my Buffalo Sabres as avoiding their own personal "snare of death.")

Robb SherwinJun 13
Show threadgloriouscowJun 13

The 386EX has a clock divider of 2. This means with the 66Mhz crystal, this CPU ran at 33Mhz.

We won't be clocking it anywhere near that fast with the Arduino. Khz, maybe.