Midsummer Dreams (Risqué) - for the Jaguar CD

[Clint Thompson]

Who says the Jaguar isn't capable of pumping out some incredible visuals on-screen? ;-)



As it stands, it's nothing more than a hi-res slideshow with potential for being used as a game in some poker fashion, most likely. Being that there are no card games on the Jaguar, I figured it would be kind of fun to toy with the idea of using high resolution computer rendered photos and a simple enough idea that is feasible on the Jaguar while utilizing the massive amount of space available on the Jaguar CD. Feel like the output is really nice considering the hardware running on an NTSC TV as well. This is being worked on as a test with multiple people involved - I'm just collaborating the entire project as I've always wanted to do something fun for the Jaguar. I've decided to go at it on my own and try to do it all myself, so that's the current plan. Ran on real hardware.

Ideally what I'm hoping for:

•12 playable characters (64 would be nice but unreasonably high)
•Multiple viewing angles per scene utilizing Jaguar keypad
•Randomzed alternate character locations/settings
•Licensed intro music and newly created MOD music for playback during gameplay
•24-bit resolution graphics utilizing the highest capabilities the Jaguar has to offer
•(4) unlockable characters and other Easter eggs
•Save game progress utilizing Memory Track
*Possible FMV Cinepak cut-scenes
•Randomized game splash or startup screens
•Special packaging features for collectors
•Licensed Customized Font
*character dialogue during gameplay may be possible but isn't currently planned
*character voice audio dialogue potential but isn't currently planned

This is more or less a feeler to see what everyone/anyone thinks of such a game or project. Any and all feedback welcome may it be positive or criticism. This has been an idea now for over a year that is slowly coming to fruitation in a very basic sense and while I make zero projections or promises that it will ever be released, there are two artists involved, a music mod maker, a programmer with working game code and myself attempting to throw it all together with overall direction, packaging and connecting the dots. Not the actual title name but the name is set.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts in any light, shape or form...

Edited January 28, 2018 by Clint Thompson

[Clint Thompson]

Thanks for the feedback, your words are appreciated. The images are really large so it's kind of tricky - with one being upwards of 600k unnecessarily so and without trying to compress the images so they look terrible this is the price you pay. It also shows that the 2MB of the Jag is very quickly proven to not be nearly enough to match the true capabilities the machine has to offer.

 

This is sort of a testing ground for much bigger projects, not necessarily aimed at the Jaguar at all.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Clint Thompson

[Clint Thompson]

Now we have gaming computers with more RAM than people know what to do with =D

[Clint Thompson]

Toying with packaging options like metallic silver foils and transparent cases/sleeves:

 

[Clint Thompson]

Not sure which way I want to go with it but the black looks really nice and no matter what, they're going in frosted cases.... I really have a thing for Cosmic Smash using vellum paper (theirs is white or more frosted) for their insert and am going that route as well I believe only using the red variant, unless it turns out to be overly difficult. So frosted case with transparent red paper - think it looks cool, photos don't really do it justice.

 

Obviously the logo is way too high and this was just a test print...

 

[Clint Thompson]

Like the old school Jaguar postcards you would receive in the mail for promotional games - may include one for fun as a pack-in with features listed or outlined on the flip-side if it makes it that far. Pretty sure I gave the name away with this one...

 

[Clint Thompson]

Time for a quick update on this...

 

Have had a little more time over the holidays to dive into this again and will show some of the demo or test images used for those purposes only but were created for this game in mind specifically in regards to possible scenes or scenarios. Think I'll definitely be able to have some Cinepak cutscenes as well, so that'll be a nice touch - with unique audio/female voice overs even. I'm guessing 20-30 second introduction scenes and maybe a transition scene or two. Not saying anything will actually ever come from any of this but I am creating the scenes/scenario artwork and music for it just in case.

 

These were taken running on a real Jaguar and CRT:

 

It looks worse when you're taking a picture of it from an old CRT tube but it really does look pretty good on screen. Mind you, there is obviously no game code involved, this is just to test the output of the Jaguar using these rendered images. The following is from the original to kind of give you an idea how it converts over into the Jag:

 

 

[Clint Thompson]

Toying around with some more test renders and mixing up some different characters - should be easy enough to allow each character to have multiple outfits and scenes chosen at random by the Jaguar:

 

 

Anyone feel like playing poker?

 

I've got 12 unique scenes laid out plus your typical stuff like hotel and dorm rooms. I've done a few animation renderings for the possible Cinepak cutscenes and love the hair movement but haven't done anything completely custom outside of a test animation render. Will post something when I have something fun to show in that regard but don't expect that to be anytime soon as I've got background music to work on as well.

 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2016 by Clint Thompson

[Clint Thompson]

Constructive feedback...love the top 2 images...

 

3rd image, good, but it looks like poor lass has been in an accident or born missing lower part of her leg unless it itentional? and i mean no offence by this post.

 

Image just looks a little too much like an image overlaid onto a backdrop..if i'm making sense here?.

 

Thanks LD! No offense taken, I actually laughed out loud =D - but yeah, the angle was weird and it does look like her leg is cut off but I assure you it's there...

 

The background is part of the rendering but is just space filler as this is just more for space filler for testing characters to render much quicker in than an entire scene.

 

 

Time to render the above image: 6 Minutes

 

Time to render the image below: 35 Minutes (downsized from 1280 x 768 resolution)

 

For further comparison sake, with both scene and character is about 1 hour and 12 minutes then downsized:

 

Edited December 12, 2016 by Clint Thompson

[Clint Thompson]

Black text on silver with blood red underside = 64-Bit Compact Disc.

 

[Clint Thompson]

Minor update - no real time to do anything Jag related but got a chance to fire up the rig this morning and give it a whirl for a few hours. Same scene, same girl - two different outfits. I've got the rendering down to 20 minutes per image total and that works out perfectly.

 

 

 

[Swansea_Mariner]

Great idea, I think the voice overs would add a lot to the product so this should definitely be in.

 

My one big disappointment with homebrew CD is that the packaging doesn't match the official releases. Given the quality of the cartridge packaging coming with homebrew these days do you think you could match up to the official releases? Worth a few extra £s for me.

 

Gameplay is it possible to implement Texas Holdem rules as Well, a bit of variety would help maintain the replay value.

Edited April 24, 2017 by Swansea_Mariner

[Video 61]

Who says the Jaguar isn't capable of pumping out some incredible visuals on-screen? ;-)

 

dream_on.jpg

 

As it stands, it's nothing more than a hi-res slideshow with potential for being used as a game in some poker fashion, most likely. Being that there are no card games on the Jaguar, I figured it would be kind of fun to toy with the idea of using high resolution computer rendered photos and a simple enough idea that is feasible on the Jaguar while utilizing the massive amount of space available on the Jaguar CD. Feel like the output is really nice considering the hardware running on an NTSC TV as well. This is being worked on as a test with multiple people involved - I'm just collaborating the entire project as I've always wanted to do something fun for the Jaguar. Ran on real hardware.

 

Ideally what I'm hoping for:

 

•12 playable characters (64 would be nice but unreasonably high)

•Multiple viewing angles per scene utilizing Jaguar keypad

•Randomzed alternate character locations/settings

•Licensed intro music and newly created MOD music for playback during gameplay

•24-bit resolution graphics utilizing the highest capabilities the Jaguar has to offer

•(4) unlockable characters and other Easter eggs

•Save game progress utilizing Memory Track

*Possible FMV Cinepak cut-scenes

•Randomized game splash or startup screens

•Special packaging features for collectors

•Licensed Customized Font

*character dialogue during gameplay may be possible but isn't currently planned

*character voice audio dialogue potential but isn't currently planned

 

This is more or less a feeler to see what everyone/anyone thinks of such a game or project. Any and all feedback welcome may it be positive or criticism. This has been an idea now for over a year that is slowly coming to fruitation in a very basic sense and while I make zero projections or promises that it will ever be released, there are two artists involved, a music mod maker, a programmer with working game code and myself attempting to throw it all together with overall direction, packaging and connecting the dots. Not the actual title name but the name is set.

 

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts in any light, shape or form...

 this is awesome work. as one who has been involved in jag projects, its really some good stuff. and its something i would carry for sale on my site. i have always thought that the jag can do it. it just has to be done carefully as to not push it to hard.

 

lance

www.atarisales.com

[DegasElite]

 this is awesome work. as one who has been involved in jag projects, its really some good stuff. and its something i would carry for sale on my site. i have always thought that the jag can do it. it just has to be done carefully as to not push it to hard.

 

lance

www.atarisales.com

I happen to agree with Lance. This is excellent stuff and I hope that you carry on with it. I thought that the Jag could do it as well, but, I ask and guess, would it take some tight coding and programming finesse for sure to play the game on the Jaguar? Just a thought. Perhaps, with the Jaguar CD, you probably would have room for more storage because there would be a maximum scenario of almost 700 MB on the disc anyway. That is, with current CD-Rs out there.

[DegasElite]

Constructive feedback...love the top 2 images...

 

3rd image, good, but it looks like poor lass has been in an accident or born missing lower part of her leg unless it itentional? and i mean no offence by this post.

 

Image just looks a little too much like an image overlaid onto a backdrop..if i'm making sense here?.

It does look missing, but I did catch part of her left foot, almost like she is sitting on it, but she is kneeling as indicated later on in the forum topic. I can then see the incidence of the leg being there. Thanks for sharing, Clint.

Edited April 27, 2017 by DegasElite

[Clint Thompson]

Thanks for the kind feedback guys...

 

Great idea, I think the voice overs would add a lot to the product so this should definitely be in.

My one big disappointment with homebrew CD is that the packaging doesn't match the official releases. Given the quality of the cartridge packaging coming with homebrew these days do you think you could match up to the official releases? Worth a few extra £s for me.

Gameplay is it possible to implement Texas Holdem rules as Well, a bit of variety would help maintain the replay value.

 

While I could do the traditional Digipack discs for this release, permitting it makes it that far, I had kind of intended on doing a special packaging design for this. The extra cost involved for Digipack are a minimum of 250 cases I believe or maybe it's 500 but either way, it's around $300 minimum just for that alone. I wanted to use frosted DVD-styled cases with metallic foil transfer for the inlays, red CD's with thermal printed text, etc.

 

The idea is definitely Texas Hold'em style/rules and/or Blackjack 21, though it's definitely intended for Texas Hold'em.

 

I happen to agree with Lance. This is excellent stuff and I hope that you carry on with it. I thought that the Jag could do it as well, but, I ask and guess, would it take some tight coding and programming finesse for sure to play the game on the Jaguar? Just a thought. Perhaps, with the Jaguar CD, you probably would have room for more storage because there would be a maximum scenario of almost 700 MB on the disc anyway. That is, with current CD-Rs out there.

 

Thanks. I couldn't do it without CD access, which has sort of been the holding point right now but someone has kindly offered to help with that, so shouldn't be a problem. Roughly 12 different characters with over 30 pictures each scene, 3 angles each and alternates pushes this closely to 600+ images quickly. While I could probably do a very limited 3-4 character version with just as limited options, it's not very hard to have all the extras so as long as the space is available. Thankfully that's the case with using the Jaguar CD. Probably looking at 150MB of picture files alone, not to mention all the voice over data, music soundtracks, etc. needed.

[Clint Thompson]

Rainy days mean rendering time...

 

Another scene and a few more potential characters to play some card games against....

 

 

 

 

I want to also include a variety of other ages, ethnicities and styles as well to make sure there are plenty of options when it comes to who you can play.

[DegasElite]

Again, this is awesome work. What program do you use for the 3D figures and backdrops? MakeHuman? Blender? Both? I am just curious. I have those apps anyway myself. I got them because they are free. I just thought it would lower cost on production for your project. Just assuming.

[Clint Thompson]

Again, this is awesome work. What program do you use for the 3D figures and backdrops? MakeHuman? Blender? Both? I am just curious. I have those apps anyway myself. I got them because they are free. I just thought it would lower cost on production for your project. Just assuming.

 

I don't use either Blender or MakeHuman (based on Blender I believe) as they're not only incredibly difficult to use but also limited in photorealistic results , not to mention the time it would take. Originally the plan was to commission someone to do the renders based on what I wanted but then figured it to be far too expensive in the end. ($125 for a set of 8 pictures rendered including alternatives didn't seem like a nice price really) but I can understand the cost involved due to the amount of time it not only takes to render but also setup the scenes, characters, settings, etc. Plus what happens when I get a scene or picture I wasn't particularly fond of? I'm stuck with the results with option to maybe change 1 or 2 of the renders, not something I liked. While it's not free at all, I would much rather pay for a full suite with options where I can get results I want quicker than later using DAZ, especially being the only person behind the project.

 

So in the end, I opted for fast results and better controls at a fair cost and maybe at the expense of rendering on a higher-end computer. Plus, I can use the software for whatever I like in the future and re-render in different resolutions, angles, etc. which comes especially handy in case a Dreamcast option were to ever open up.

 

Here's a high-resolution widescreen view of a bedroom scene:

 

 

Obviously this scene isn't setup for in-play use (and even these are not very good examples) but the idea is to allow the player to press 1, 2 or 3 on the Jag joypad and change the view of the room, like so:

 

View 1:

 

View 2:

 

View 3:

 

It should also be noted that those are not full-coverage renders so the quality is far less than the final result.

Edited April 29, 2017 by Clint Thompson

[Clint Thompson]

Title Screen and Character Select Screen (idea is after you beat the first set of 3, you'll advance to the next set of 3, then 3 more, then the final 3 for a total of 12 - with 2-4 hidden characters along the way) and while maybe this isn't the best choice for those who want instance access to the other characters, I feel it'll make it more of an objective to play against all the girls. Open to suggestions on that I guess..

 

 

Meet the first trio.... Samantha, Alina and Magenta. These will most likely be mixed up in the end as the names need more variety anyways plus include Asian/African/Latino/Etc.

 

 

Maybe pressing down can flip the character select tiles to reveal 4,5,6.... and then 7,8,9... etc.

 

[Swansea_Mariner]

How far along is the code Clint?

[Clint Thompson]

How far along is the code Clint?

 

The only thing code-wise on the Jaguar currently is just a slideshow program to display the potential of such a concept and how it would look running on real Jaguar hardware. I will post a demo file here for others to test out on their actual Jag to get feedback regarding the image quality when I get the intro and audio stuff setup so it's a little more interactive.

 

The most limiting obstacle was direct CD access for storage and I didn't think I would actually proceed due to that factor alone. Thankfully someone has come forward in assisting with that issue (which is why I've been somewhat active in getting some things going on it again) and the next step will be to setup the primary game, which will prove to be the most daunting task. Connecting everything else and rendering will probably be the easiest parts. Black Jack is super easy so I'll probably start with that as a testing ground with a 1-character, 1-scene demo to give a feel of what's possible to come and hopefully in a more polished form. That could be forever from now though but would still be fun to show off. 

[Clint Thompson]

Looking for real life visual feedback on actual running hardware.

 

Here's an ABS if you want to toss it onto CD via Jiffi or ROM if you have a Skunk. It's nothing but a mini slideshow, placeholder title screen with some music that you have to hit B to start the slides and nothing beyond that. Sole purpose is to show how the characters will look on your TV. If anyone has their Jag connected to a CRT and would like to share some of the screens here, that would be cool. 

 

Not tested on PAL.

 

MidsummerDreams.zip

[DegasElite]

Downloaded the .ABS file. Thanks again.

[DegasElite]

I looked at the ABS file and burned it to show on a Jag. This, again, is great work! I never doubted that the Jag could do something like this. So, are there any updates on progress with the project? Has there been more work on it?

Edited August 15, 2017 by DegasElite