Return to Dark Castle producer talks DRM

Responding to a comment on the Dark Castle Facebook group, Return to Dark Castle producer Bill LaCoste talks DRM:

Bill LaCoste (Austin, TX) wrote
at 7:36am
Hi,

While I can't talk openly, or specifically, about how the API was designed and implemented, I can say that users who are seeing the activation every time they start should contact support@shff.com so that we can assist them. That certainly is not the expected functionality.

I play DC myself, so for my own selfish reasons the activation would not have been designed or implemented in that way. =)

Interesting, I see them getting quite a few E-Mails, and soon.

Twitter quote

I noticed a new post on the SuperHappyFunFun Twitter account:

Yes I am playing that game but don't say the name in a public place

Does this mean it's Dark Castle related? Probably not... But it could be, keep your hopes up, and wait till GDC.

iPhone Dark Castle to debut at GDC?

A tiwtter message on SHFF's Twitter account suggests an iPhone game is almost finished, and perhaps will debut at Game Developer's Conference, perhaps we will get some new info on the iPhone version of Dark Castle then, who knows.

Update: I checked the GDC website and it looks like it will be taking place from March 23rd to March 27th, Sweet!

Link

Update 2: I realized I juped the gun, as it's not a Dark Castle Twitter account, rather a SHFF twitter account, meaning it could just as easily be another iPhone game. Sorry to burst your bubbles!

Jaw dropping Dark Castle 3D concept art

Wow, I didn't expect this, and certainly not so soon. Mark Steven Pierce has updated the Facebook group with some concept art for the previously mentioned Dark Castle 3D.

Here are some small versions, for the full versions, I will host them down below.





Duncan Picture

Black Knight

Potion


Well, this is most impressive, I must say. :)

Mark Steven Pierce talks about gaming in the 80s, and gaming now

He makes some good points too.

Play almost anything from the 80's and it is a challenge. There was a macho competition between player and the game.

When I played the original games (in RTDC) for the first time in a decade or so I couldn't believe how hard I had tuned the original game. As Chris states this has softened a bit with each game but the play mechanic is still very demmanding.

Today's casual market is way simpler.

After many discussions we agreed to keep the original format (which the Zack's) mastered in the new levels.

After playing for a while I remembered how the game rides the edge of being just hard enough to make you want to come back until you clear a room.

All the same I do think there should be some softening here and there but the core shouldl be kept faithful to the original because a.) that is what the game is about and b.) no other game out there today is similar.

Sounds about right to me.

Some words on the Level Editor

NOTE: This is a screenshot of the level editor from 2002, not the current one.

I know you are not used to so much news, and news on the level editor no less, anyways, straight from MSP:

Level Editor is in high demand. We are going to see what we can do to post this. Any thoughts on having a central depository for user generated levels would be welcome. Ideally these levels could also be played on the iPhone as well.

Sounds good to me, now, about Princeduncan.com......

Regarding DC3's DRM

I know many have complained about the harsh DRM (Copy Protection) that Return to Dark Castle uses, and it seems that now SuperHappyFunFun may have heard you too. MSP has said that they are looking into the DRM, saying it "Should only need to connect to the internet once a month." Players know that it tries to connect every time the program launches, which is extremely harsh. So, this isn't a confirmation, but it could be leading to some good news.

Finally changing the blog poll

Looks like most people think Return to Dark Castle was worth the hype, and wait. Props to Z Scuplt, and Zack Black!

Be sure to vote in the new poll!

SuperHappyFunFun starts twitter account

SuperHappyFunFun has now opened a Twitter account, which should help the community stay in contact with what SHFF is doing, provided they keep it updated.

LINK

How coincidental, I was just talking about this earlier today...

Mark Steven Pierce talks again

Another quote from the Dark Castle Facebook group:

Thanks for the interest.

We are just know starting to begin to advertise more. I have begun with ads on Facebook and look to expand with other service.

SHFF is mostly a developer and we have lots of projects that help keep the lights on and have limited resources for big ad campaigns.

We were hoping to get the Zsculpt guys to get the PC version along with the level editor done but there have been some delays. The Zack's were not far off before X-mas so i am hopeful they can get back on it.

Ideally we could get a Mac/PC with level editor DVD out there by the fall.

The iPhone version woudl ideally be at the same time and then we could justify a bigger push.

I am just happy to have got the rights back to a game I am proud to have made and to have folks like Zsculpt who have done the most faithful version one could hope for and folks like you ant the others here who appreciate it as well.

MSP

I believe he's talking Fall for a boxed release, hopefully the Level Editor will be out before then. Still, it gives us hoping for a boxed release something to look forward to. Here's hoping it has less strict copy protection!

MSP reveals some info on Facebook page

Here are some quotes of MSP on the Dark Castle Facebook page linked earlier:

Thinking about controls for DC on the iPhone. The game is an action puzzle solver but with two handfuls of controls how do we make the jump and keep the soul?



Nice bump in people today! I am digging up the original art I did in the 80's to make the game. Trying to hunt down Jonathan Gay (programmer) as well.



The level editor does need to be finished. We got to a beta state but never got to finalize with ZScculpt. The team at SHFF who is likely to do the iPhone version is a seperate resource.



We have a bunch of stories developed for a 3D version. Right now the iPhone intrigues me most. Thinking about an auto run that you tap the destination. Finger strokes for the rock direction.

It's interesting to hear his stance on the iPhone version, along with the level editor. The fact that he brought up future Dark Castle games gives me hope for the future. :)

My advice is to join up, perhaps we will find out more in the coming days!

Mark Steven Pierce invites you to join the Dark Castle facebook group!

Mark invited you to join the Facebook group "Fans of Dark Castle".

Mark says, "Mark here,

I designed and animated Dark Castle (DC) in the late 1980's. SHFF released Return to Dark Castle in 2008 which includes DC, Beyond DC and 30 new levels by ZSculpt. We would love to hear from folks who have had fun playing these games.
".

To see more details and confirm this group invitation, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=537524190&k=5VM235T53Z6M5BFAYF24YW

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To register, go to:
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Thanks,
Fans of Dark Castle