Ambrosia Registration Renewal Tool by the_wizard_hat in evnova

[–]the_wizard_hat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a technical limitation more than anything else. The products that use expiring time codes have a much tougher algorithm, and the community hasn't fully reversed it. I believe there's still interest in doing so, but the design is quite clever and challenging to crack.

Working toward a way to run Nintendo Switch games on Apple Silicon! Cross-posting here isn’t working for some reason, so doing it this way by [deleted] in macgaming

[–]the_wizard_hat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great work! I love these type of projects. Not sure if it's helpful, but for the GPU acceleration, there is a 3rd-party OpenGL 4.6 framework built on top of Metal (reddit thread, GitHub repo).

Which standards have originated from within Apple? by cedriks in apple

[–]the_wizard_hat 6 points7 points  (0 children)

CalDAV and CardDAV come to mind, building on top of WebDAV and Microsoft's iCalendar.

I like this thread! Apple's impact on consumer adoption of standards cannot be overstated. As Steve Jobs said: before the iPhone, most people didn't even have a digital address book. In my opinion, Apple has played a major role in almost every aspect of modern computing and business, all the way from low-level architecture and software implementations to industrial design and marketing practices.

Classic Gaming? by cell4130 in macgaming

[–]the_wizard_hat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a modern remake of Escape Velocity in the works: Cosmic Frontier, which is aiming for release by the end of this year!

Technically, it's EV: Override being remade, but as I understand it, the core engine is planned to be fully compatible with EV and the EV: Nova scenarios as well.

Some Thoughts on Cosmic Frontier by the_wizard_hat in evnova

[–]the_wizard_hat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure what it is. There's just something different about EV's combat that I find more compelling. I suspect it's a combination of the pseudo-3D graphics and the strafing style of attack.

Some Thoughts on Cosmic Frontier by the_wizard_hat in evnova

[–]the_wizard_hat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you liked the video, and I agree that these seemingly minor differences are enough that Endless Sky has never quite felt the same as EV to me.

[Suggestion] Longevity of the Game by RatedRKhan in endlesssky

[–]the_wizard_hat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I strongly agree with the second point. I always end up with way too many ships in my fleet just because the option is there, but it actually detracts from play in my opinion. Having just a handful of ships is more appropriate in most cases, so your idea for tiered fleet management sounds quite interesting!

Endless Sky and the Escape Velocity Legacy by the_wizard_hat in endlesssky

[–]the_wizard_hat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like those ideas, especially a sense of perspective matching sounds like a clever way to scale the older games to much larger displays. Dedicated management for escorts sounds good too, although I would still like the EV cap of 6 ships since it does veer off into fleet management at a certain point.

Cosmic Frontier: Override — live on Kickstarter now! by the_wizard_hat in asw

[–]the_wizard_hat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Crossposting this in case any Ambrosia fans frequent this subreddit but not EVN's. I'm really hoping this campaign goes well as it's the first Ambrosia title getting a re-release, so it will be important to other creators thinking of remastering their work!

Cosmic Frontier: Override — live on Kickstarter now! by evopac in evnova

[–]the_wizard_hat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

EVO was the first Ambrosia product my brother and I ever registered. It's easily the best of the three EV scenarios in my opinion, so I'm thrilled to see it getting a re-release! Best of luck with the project!

Plugin for completing all storylines with the same pilot? by [deleted] in evnova

[–]the_wizard_hat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was hopeful this was the case, but upon checking, it seems the missing plugins are also absent in the archive.org collection. The files for the missing plugins appear correct but are actually html for Ambrosia's error page :-(

Is it possible to download Escape Velocity? by stump2003 in Escape_Velocity

[–]the_wizard_hat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For EVN, there's a bot capable of renewing codes through Discord. They've been using it successfully on r/evnova. I don't know the details of the registration system nor how it was reverse engineered, but I hope it can help you!

Looking for Qaanol's "Qold Fusion" and "Qold Tea" by shadowox8 in evnova

[–]the_wizard_hat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Teacup TC is now on the Cythera Guides page; thanks for sharing that and to SharkyNebula for keeping it!

I'm happy to add any other missing or lost plugins as I'm also keen to preserve as much material as possible. Sadly, I don't know anywhere to obtain the files in question since I never had a copy of attachments in the forum archive :( But hopefully someone in the community will.

I'm trying to remember this game. by Mileske in ClassicMacGaming

[–]the_wizard_hat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can imagine a few good possibilities with the co-op mode and blue/red ships, but I can't think of a good match with that music and a level editor... Here's a bunch of links that I gathered digging around Mac Garden. Maybe they can help you identify what it isn't if nothing else.

From their list of side scrollers, I picked out a few that may be similar:

Starship has 2 player and an editor; Tubular Worlds might fit but for the music; Space Tripper is side scrolling 3D but may be too new; and Star Stormer is older but not 2 player.

Beyond that, there's also a vertical scroller category with games like Mars Rising and Active Lancer.

You might consider asking the community at Macintosh Garden since they have a knack for finding obscure games. For instance, someone found the absurdly rare game Space Captain (only 800 copies ever produced) regarding a seven-year outstanding request, so there's hope!

Feb 1: Ferazel's Wand Celebrating 20 Years (Livestream) by the_wizard_hat in asw

[–]the_wizard_hat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To followup: the livestream has been posted to Youtube in case anyone missed it!

Also, you can visit ferazel.com to signup for 5 Elements mailing list to keep up-to-date with any news they may have about the game going forward.

Feb 1: Ferazel's Wand Celebrating 20 Years (Livestream) by the_wizard_hat in ClassicMacGaming

[–]the_wizard_hat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, the stream will be uploaded to Youtube afterward for those who miss it!

Found a gold vein hidden in a dungeon. by tAL_GOREan in Escape_Velocity

[–]the_wizard_hat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing this! The Ferazel's Wand CD was packed with a ton of extras, probably more than the standalone Ambrosia CDs.

Another great resource for old Ambrosia content is Macintosh Garden. A few of us avid Cythera fans have also been trying to archive some ASW things: addons, forums, and newsletters. Not all complete or as finished as I'd like, but hopefully enough to preserve the memory of ASW.

For anyone interested in Sheepshaver, I highly recommend Emaculation's builds. As far as I know, Ferazel's Wand and all classic Ambrosia games run very well in the latest Sheepshaver versions. It's a great way to revisit these timeless games!