Author Topic: Hello from Psycatic Software  (Read 6315 times)

Offline Psycatic

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Hello from Psycatic Software
« on: November 11, 2013, 07:33:58 am »
Hello,

Just thought I would introduce myself and tell you all a little about my SEGA homebrew project. I'm an ex-games industry professional with a passion for SEGA and in particular for the 16-bit era! I'm currently working on a new retro games project which will initially be released exclusively for the Sega16 bit platforms. This isn't a commercial thing, just a fun project.

While we (my daughter and I) work on designs etc for the new game I wanted to build and test a tool chain for development. To this end I have written a small test game called "The First Invasion", it's not 100% finished yet but it has helped to shape our path so far.

Main website is: http://www.psycatic.com

Development pics: http://instagram.com/psycatic#

Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/Psycatic

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/592487987477725/

There seems to be very little in the Megadrive homebrew scene so I'm glad to try and expand/promote it anyway I can. Hopefully this project will assist in that respect too.

Thanks for your time,

Phil



Offline Centrale

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Re: Hello from Psycatic Software
« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2013, 08:44:38 am »
Sounds great! Very exciting to hear about more Sega homebrew. When you were involved in the game industry, did you work on Megadrive titles, or is this your first experience with MD development?

Offline Psycatic

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Re: Hello from Psycatic Software
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2013, 10:15:58 am »
Hmmm yes and no, I did a fair amount of 68k debug and test on commercial games so I know my way around but didn't code much for it.

I did get to work on an original SEGA title though, again only in test but I worked on "ManxTT Superbike" for the PC, it was in the early days of 3D acceleration and I think I was the only person in the Psygnosis office with a 3DFX card in my PC.  ;D

Offline crackdude

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Re: Hello from Psycatic Software
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2013, 12:52:19 pm »
You worked at Psygnosis??

Oh man, Microcosm marked my chilldhood for good! :D
SEG4GES

Offline Centrale

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Re: Hello from Psycatic Software
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2013, 04:41:48 pm »
Have you got a goal in mind for when you'd like to complete the game, or is it just gonna take however long it takes?

Offline Psycatic

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Re: Hello from Psycatic Software
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2013, 05:46:56 pm »
No, I had planned to finish it for tomorrow, but it is now done!!! Version 1.00! ROM file and MegaCD images all uploaded.

I've made loads of changes, too many to mention, hopefully it's bug free. For a small test game that was supposed to take me a few weeks, this has been a lot more work than expected, I can't believe I started this in February.

But I now have a tool-chain, including a custom compiler and libraries and am ready to start on my original title. News of that will be posted here soon.

Thanks for your support. It means so much!!!  ;D 

Offline Barry the Nomad

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Re: Hello from Psycatic Software
« Reply #6 on: November 15, 2013, 07:23:46 am »
Cool stuff! Sorry if I missed it if it was mentioned, but where have you worked in the past?

Offline Psycatic

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Re: Hello from Psycatic Software
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2013, 10:13:53 am »
where have you worked in the past?

A few B2B software houses, Several indie game companies, CGS, Psygnosis, SONY, Songplayer (music tuition), etc but I'm out of the games industry now, I'm just here for fun!  :))

Offline Centrale

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Re: Hello from Psycatic Software
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2013, 10:47:04 am »
I'll try out the Invaders game soon and let you know what I think! But I was actually wondering about the next game -- any goal date for completion? Or just something that's going to go at its own pace?

Offline Psycatic

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Re: Hello from Psycatic Software
« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2013, 04:45:21 am »
Late 2014, I'm giving myself 12 months to get it done, it may stray a little but that's my aim. I'll be setting lots of milestones to make sure I stay on track. Psycatic is a three person team, myself and my daughter (aged 10), and son (aged 12), so they will keep me motivated and are constantly flooding my head with ideas etc.

Here's what we're doing next...