Eye of the Beholder: C64 Port

[andrewstuart]

For those not in the C64 scene. This is an incredible technical achievement to implement on the C64.

A link to a review/video would be much more informative:

"Now, after sixteen years, the finished version is finally coming out later this month. "

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2022/10/new-eye-of-the-be...

Developer YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVWhB_u3PeFPjLJywyDTcOA/vid...

@dang

[classichasclass]

The conversion of the intro is very good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRsUFxT7eh8

[iceburgcrm]

Where does the C64 scene hang out these days?

[VyseofArcadia]

Thanks for that introduction to Time Extension. Even better, I'm delighted they still offer an RSS feed.

[Decabytes]

I bought and played this on GOG. It was pretty good but it was hard for me to remember where I was/had been. I ended up downloading a program that mapped the level as I played it and that helped a lot.

For a modern take on this style of gameplay I'd look at Legend of Grimrock 1 & 2. They are great games

[andrewstuart]

The C64 version is dual screen with automapper:

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2022/10/new-eye-of-the-be...

[pizza234]

> I ended up downloading a program that mapped the level as I played it

What's the program? I've never heard of something similar, and sometimes I've wondered if they exists :)

[chinabot]

Grimrock 2 was probably too hard, I have the same problem with a lot of these games I eventually get to a point where I am aimlessly doing things that may work or things I've missed and after several hours I either give up or check on-line for a cheat. It would be good if there was some code looking for this or a timed thing which drops a hint in-game to make the task more obvious to get to the next step

[AnIdiotOnTheNet]

I played EotB about 2 years ago for the first time and stubbornly did it the old fashioned way with groh paper.

Definitely recommend anyone trying it out to use The All-Seeing Eye to automap instead.

[yodsanklai]

It was hard for me too. I remember spending hours drawing immense maps... on the other hand a gifted friend of mind had no problem finding his way through the mazes.

[flohofwoe]

> It was pretty good but it was hard for me to remember where I was/had been.

Back in those ancient times you were supposed to have grid paper and pencil ready to draw the map yourself while exploring :)

[xirdstl]

I loved Grimrock. Have there been any similar games of comparable quality released since Legend of Grimrock 2 in 2014? I haven't found any that I could get into.

[nu11ptr]

I can't quite get over how good this looks....on a C64! This is one hell of an accomplishment. Honestly I expected to barely recognize the game, but instead it looks and feels exactly like the original VGA version I played as a kid - just with what looks like a dither filter over the original graphics (which look amazing I might add). Wow, seriously impressed. How is this possible in 64K of RAM?

[kleiba]

> How is this possible in 64K of RAM?

The game requires "a cartridge such as an Ultimate II+, Backbit, Easy Flash 3, etc. due to its size. You will also be able to play it via VICE." [1]

[1] https://theoasisbbs.com/retrobits-preview-of-eye-of-the-beho...

[haspok]

At first I did not understand if and how they managed to fit a running game into 64K. My original thoughts were that a memory expansion would be required.

But now that the source and release are available it makes sense - the game runs on/as a cartridge, which means that static data can be pulled almost as fast as if it was in memory.

It is nevertheless an outstanding achievement, the graphics are simply stunning, and the automapping feature is a nice addition. And it still all fits into 1 MB (IIRC the original PC game came on two disks)!

[IceCreamJonsey]

More info, including a direct download link to the .crt file here: https://csdb.dk/release/index.php?id=226060

[AdmiralAsshat]

Very impressive. I only played EoB II: Darkmoon growing up, but the engines looked pretty similar.

Was there a DOS source leaked somewhere, or was this completely reverse-engineered from scratch?

[ChristopherDrum]

The engine was completely reverse-engineered for the C64 (after first gaining expertise by creating an iOS version), and the project seems to have been in progress in some form or another since 2006.

Based on the news I've read in Indie Retro News, it actually sounds like the art is completely done from scratch. (which makes some sense, given C64 graphics quirks/limitations). Though the exact art process hasn't been revealed, art duties were split amongst a few notable C64 pixel artists who have explicit credit for their contribution.

So, near as I can tell it's 100% reverse-engineered from scratch. (early screenshots and dev info here: https://www.indieretronews.com/2022/09/eye-of-beholder-c6412...)

[selcuka]

I believe they only used the tiles (graphics) of the DOS version and re-implemented the game engine from scratch.

[helf]

Holy shit! This is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in a long time.

[mdp2021]

Note the development toolchain, at https://hub.docker.com/r/jackasser/boozify

[boboche]

Just in time after finishing recapping my C64C! Thanks form this!

[ankaAr]

Chapeau!