Natso

Hey Natso, glad to see you're still around. Galactic Hacker is one of the few finished GM games that I played years ago and enjoyed considerably.

Unfortunately this thread has been plagued by link rot.

The first link in the first post is live, and it is version 1.3 (latest).

Also denying that this is a clone of the game "Uplink: Hacker Elite," is a joke. Screenshots on the internet of that game look virtually indentical to GH haha,
even down to using the same in-game currency and names of in-game programs (eg "Trace Tracker" haha)

Oh I won't deny there was plenty of influence from Uplink (great game). My own memory is horrible though, and I know it was bad back then too. I had completed Uplink before releasing GH... but I do also know that GH2 was the first time I had started from scratch trying to imitate Uplink... (it was very easy to tell, if you had ever seen the GH2 beta) It was going pretty good, too, but GM wasn't powerful enough at the time. Heck, I was pushing GM4 to its limits with GH1 (windows are only drawn once, at which point they're saved as sprites. Text-draw functions were slow back then).

Credits are the best futuristic currency ever, btw.

Now from where I am, it seems that there were numerous different versions:

Many GH beta Versions
A Version 1 (this version SEEMS to have included adware, at least initially)
A "Version 1.2" (The main one for a long time. May have had a bug that prevented the game being finished)
And the current version "Version 1.2 Enhanced" (from unfinished source for 1.3)

IF ANYBODY STILL HAS ANY OF THE OLDER VERSIONS ABOVE, PLEASE POST THEM It's sad that the old versions are gone. We should really have a backup.

(Then there is Galactic Hacker 2, which I'm pretty sure I played a beta version of. But If I remeber correctly it wasn't as good as the first.)

1, 1.2, 1.2e/1.3 were all released without adware. Early on I was scouted out, which ended up adding the adware to version 1. 1.2 was fixed up quite a bit, and 1.2e was going to support patches. As I mentioned earlier, the latest version is available at the first link in the first post, etc, etc... And theres no reason to play the older versions. Nothing was ever removed (afaik) except the green color scheme (which only got complaints). The heavy Blue theme got complaints too, but it got less...

You should seriously consider the remake, maybe even do it on an iOS system. The interface will need to be reimagined - not many computers look like GH nowadays haha

Unlikely to happen at this point. For a long time I was hoping to make a really fast-paced multiplayer GH game... never found a good platform to code it on.

I found version 1.0. I hope Natso doesn't mind. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1PR9T75K

Nice find! And I don't mind at all, archiving is great.

This description is misleading, it's actually 7 years, not 6.

You're cool too, man! I wonder how long I've been unsubscribed from this topic... Thanks for the PM!

Cheers
- Natso


Edit:
I've cleaned up the front topic, I'll move all the junk I want to archive into this post.
http://www.geocities...ticHackerV1.zip Download Here! at this link
-2/8/2010 update-
Wow, 6 years old. I might consider updating and making a version for the old fans... or remaking GH entirely. I do web coding now, perhaps an internet version of Galactic Hacker 1.x would be interesting? Probably not (haha). Anyways, the download links in this topic have once again become obsolete (back when geocities turned un-free).

Six years old.

Anyways, I have found a prototype copy of GH1.3. I realize the title screen still says 1.2. I do not know what was updated for .3, and I do not know if the update was complete, but I'm fairly certain it should be completely functional and playable as-is.

If you check out this game, please reply to the topic or drop me an email! It is great to see people still enjoying the first real game I ever made.

http://natso.darknov.../files/GH13.zip

Cheers
- Natso
-end 2/8/2010 update-

Meh~ Just thought I'd point out that regardless of the rules pointed out so far that you have already violated...



...posting an unfinished creation in a forum for finished creations...


...

...I don't know, really.  Maybe its just me.

- Natso

Java is easier, quicker to learn, alot easier to implant a GUI and is just awesome.

Java...*barfs*

Java is a nasty language. The programmer takes a metaphorical role of a plumber in a hardware store just wandering around for the right functions to use in their project--thats not right. If anything I would recommend C, but in this case C++ would be the right choice.

While I don't think its quite the godsend Chaos is stating it to be, you certainly are very wrong in your description of Java, and your unexplained recommendation of C and C++.  It is obvious that C and C++ have the upper hand in speed, but Java is more commonly taught these days, and while it may not hold up to speed or massive strain (which can be worked around, mind you) it may simply be a better choice for one of us in regards to our existing knowledge and spare time available.  Try not to be so distasteful without giving explanation...

"A C++ Exe is more portable than a Java .Jar." - Revel

I worded that wrong. What I meant, was that if you compile a c++ executable for windows, you can run it on pretty much any Windows system. If you made a  .jar file, you first need to get the JRE to be able to run the file, therefore, a simple c++ App is more portable. Portability doesn't always mean cross-platform.

Java is becoming much more commonly used as time goes on, but that is completely irrelevant regarding a server.  The setup requirements should not mater (aside from excessive time constraint or cost), and the JRE and JDK are both completely free.

Cheers
- Natso

Why not separate General GML to all of the games available in the Game Maker Creations forum? (Arcade / Adventure & RPG / Platform / Puzzle etc..) All of those are unique and require different trains of thoughts and ideas, after all. Besides, I'm sure that's what a new member would be trying to figure out straight from the get-go, how to make their desired game.

Because those categories are all game design-oriented... which is variously irrelevant to the type of help mentors are expected to offer...

Cheers
- Natso

Certainly a problem, but with so many members you'd think more than the dozen or so that are mentors would actually be willing to spare a few minutes a day helping other members.

The "few minutes" you talk of are mythical. If a member has a small problem, or complex problem, they'll ask about it in one of the Q&A forums most of the time. When they don't even know how to explain the problem, they'll either be posting in the beginner forum, or the problem is so wacked out they skip the Q&A's entirely. Mentors mostly get the complex problems and the crazy problems. While some of these can be solved in a matter of seconds/minutes, it doesn't really help the client understand their problem (usually). *shrug* Its really situational, but not so easy as you are thinking... I think.

Also, and this applies to programmers a lot multitasking becomes difficult. I forget whose law it was, but after you have 7 to 9 things on your mind, just trying to think of that one extra thing will throw you entirely off balance, and you'll lose it all (it sucks)... This too may be a problem for mentors from time to time. Be patient with them, they're the volunteers after all. Obviously they know what they're doing, and waiting a bit is hardly a notable price for tapping into their knowledge pool, eh?

Cheers
- Natso