|
News Last Updated:
April 21st, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
April 21st, 2008: WE ARE NOT DEAD!! ...yet. Actually, things have been really slow from a development standpoint. Production of our game engine has slowed to a standstill and other obligations have been preventing the usual amount of development, though we're still keeping tabs on any issues which arise. Part of the reason for the lack of development is we're looking to upgrade our development systems and begin producing XP/Vista native applications, along with converting our existing software to the standards desired by these operating systems. In the interim, lead designer Kris Asick has been doing some stuff on the side, including producing a new series of videos dubbed "Ancient DOS Games", which can be watched on the GameTrailers website. Things are still pushing along. In the past, updates could be countless months apart, but there has always been at least one a year ever since this was still "Gemini000's Programming and Game's Page" back in 2000. Unless everyone who maintains this page dies, there will always be updates! ;)
August 10th, 2007: It took forever to track down, but the bugs in PixelShips Retro related to input lagging and changing screen modes with F9 have finally been eliminated. Registered users are urged to download the PixelShips Retro v1.11 Patch as soon as possible, while shareware users can simply download the most recent shareware version of PixelShips Retro. In other news, the game engine being developed is now going to be hardware accelerated thanks to OpenGL. It will still be 2D, but due to its nature we may decide to release it as a standalone product, in case there are any programmers who wish to take advantage of it. It is still a couple months away from being ready, at the earliest, but promises to speed up (and greatly enhance) the development of all games made by Pixelmusement for next year and beyond! June 19th, 2007: PixelShips Retro is the last game to be updated and is now up to v1.1. The performance increase will be dramatic on some systems, so if PixelShips Retro ran poorly before it should run much more smoothly now. There is also the same Vista and networked system compatibility issues solved and various other minor bugs fixed. (Such as spelling mistakes or the inability to use joystick buttons beyond the 8th.) Proceed to the downloads page for PixelShips Retro to get the latest shareware version or the patch for the registered version. Now that all the games are updated, work will be continuing on our game engine. Once it is finished, there are several games currently on the drawing board, including a Breakout©style game, a couple puzzle games, a 360° overhead action shooter, among others. Unlike before, the game engine will allow these games to be made much faster, so releases shouldn't be nearly as sporadic as they have been in the past! Stay tuned! June 9th, 2007: The 70% off sale for Super Minesweeper has ended. A link to Game du Jour is still available on the links page should you wish to take advantage of any other sales they have in the future. June 8th, 2007: Game du Jour is hosting a 24-hour sale of Super Minesweeper! Starting at midnight (CDT) on Friday, June 8th, Super Minesweeper can be purchased from Game du Jour for 70% off the regular price! (A total of $4.48!) This sale only lasts 24-hours so if there was ever a time to get the full version of Super Minesweeper, it's now! May 28th, 2007: Super Minesweeper is now up to v1.12. It has the same fixes and changes PixelShips v1.87 has, which will improve performance on all systems and will increase compatability with Windows Vista or networked computers. It also has a few new colour schemes just for fun. The shareware version and registered patch update are both available to download. May 21st, 2007: There hasn't really been much to report these past few months. Work has been proceeding as usual, but mostly on uninteresting, technical things like game engines, input handlers, Vista compatibility, etc. However, things will start to pick up around here soon enough. PixelShips has been updated to v1.87. The CPU usage is now handled much better than simply reducing it, thus improving performance. All of the input routines have been reworked to finally squash some of the long standing input bugs. Lastly, the ships and drones are now outlined so you can see them more easily in places like Class M Planets. There are other changes too so it is recommended you read the included readme.txt file for more information. Over the next week or so will be similar updates to the shareware and registered versions of Super Minesweeper and PixelShips Retro. These fixes, which have also been added to PixelShips, should allow the program to install and run without requiring administrator access. (Depending on your system configuration.) This should make things easier for networked or Vista users. Once all the updates are finished, things will quiet down again... hopefully not for as long as that last gap! ;)
December 16th, 2006: A small update has been made to the original PixelShips game to reduce CPU usage and improve its compliance with multitasking and background applications. Presently in development is a new game engine to facilitate the production of future games. It's nothing much at the moment but once completed should increase the rate at which new games will be brought out! Lastly, for all of you in the UK, you may wish to check out the latest issue of Retrogamer Magazine. PixelShips Retro has scored an 86% in the December issue, additionally dubbed, "Remake of The Month"! September 21st, 2006:  Although PixelShips Retro was originally going to be part of a larger project featuring several retro-styled games, the fans didn't want to wait, and of course, listening to your fans is important! So instead of making everyone wait, the shareware version of PixelShips Retro is now ready for download and the registered version is ready to buy! Perhaps our press release will give you a better idea of what's in store: Blast to The Past with PixelShips Retro LONDON, ON, CANADA (September 21st, 2006) - - Software developer Pixelmusement has released PixelShips Retro, an arcade-styled shooting game modelled after titles developed in the 1980's. PixelShips Retro is a sequel to the original PixelShips game released in 2000. Each PixelShip is a toy space ship that players must fly through 50 randomly generated levels, combatting enemy drones and other PixelShips. When a player defeats an enemy PixelShip it can be added to the player’s collection and later flown by the player. There are 160 different PixelShips to discover and finding each of them is part of the challenge. PixelShips Retro is true to its name, delivering graphics, sound effects and 13 original music tracks, reflecting the early days of gaming. It provides gamers who have been playing games since the 1980's a feeling of nostalgia, giving others a true "retro" gameplay experience. PixelShips Retro essentially puts "eye-candy" in the back seat, relying on balanced and fun entertainment instead. PixelShips Retro has several features that place it a step above traditional 80's games. Its real-time game engine allows the game to run at the correct speed no matter how powerful the user’s computer. A simple control scheme allows new players to forgo dealing with complicated keyboard and joystick configurations. Players can jump right into the game, dealing damage to the randomly generated enemies with 16 different weapons. PixelShips Retro may look old but is designed with a solid, stable and easy to use interface that anyone can take advantage of. PixelShips Retro is available for Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and is only $12.95 USD. Visit http://www.pixelships.com/pxsretro for more information and purchasing details. September 20th, 2006: PixelShips Retro is only going to be one day late, so prepare yourselves... September 6th, 2006: After many conversations with people who enjoy the games Pixelmusement has to offer, it seems apparent that the desire for PixelShips Retro outweighs that of the Retro Wizard package it was going to come in. So rather than make everyone wait for Retro Wizard to be finished, since it's taking considerably longer than expected, PixelShips Retro is to be released as a standalone game! At present, there is very little that needs to be done to the game, but testing still has to take place and a separate shareware version needs to be made. At present, the release looks like it's going to happen on September 20th, but it could be sooner, it could be later. More details to come!
June 20th, 2006: The Retro Wizard Screenshots have been updated with several new captures from the completed version of PixelShips Retro, which is one of the four games that will come with the Retro Wizard package. Because PixelShips Retro took substantially longer to make than expected, current release plans are for the end of August, but even that is just a guess. When a release date is set for certain you will know! ;)
May 1st, 2006: It is now Pixelmusement's first anniversary. What better time is there to announce our next shareware project:  Retro Wizard is a collection of four all new games styled to look, sound and play like old-school 80's games. However, unlike older 80's games, the games in the Retro Wizard package have balanced gameplay across several skill levels and plenty of additional features. For more information, click your way to the Retro Wizard Game Page
April 24th, 2006: It's a new year now, and much is in the works. PixelShips has been updated to version 1.85, adding customizable controls and joystick support, among other things. Also, on May 1st, the first anniversery of the launch of the Pixelmusement website, there will be an update providing visitors with information and screenshots of our upcoming shareware project. So don't forget to check back in the days ahead!
December 29th, 2005: Well, the year is almost over. What a fitting time to announce the temporary closure of our 3D project. Perhaps in the future it will be picked up again but for now there are two other 2D projects in the works that are demanding much attention. More to come on them in the days ahead.
October 21st, 2005: They say no news is good news, but just to reassure our visitors that progress is being made, Pixelmusement has been hard at work since July on its first 3D accelerated product using the Truevision 3D SDK. More details will be coming up in the next couple months so keep watching this space!
June 16th, 2005: We've updated our June 8th press release to account for the delay in getting it out. Here is the new press release we have sent out: Expansion Pack Released for Super Minesweeper Super Minesweeper is a PC Windows puzzle and logic game where you find mines on fields of differently shaped tiles. The Expansion pack adds over 50 new boards to the 111 already in the game. LONDON, ON, CANADA (June 16, 2005) -- Shareware developer Pixelmusement has released their first expansion pack for their newest puzzle game Super Minesweeper. The Super Minesweeper Expansion Pack adds over 50 new hand crafted boards to the game. This brings the total number of boards in Super Minesweeper to over 150. Each of the new boards features shapes and designs that are difficult to find in other Minesweeper clones. Super Minesweeper was originally released with the expectation of having new boards added on later dates, so installing the expansion pack is no more complicated than a few clicks of the mouse. No extra steps are needed to play the boards in the expansion pack, except of course for selecting them while inside the game. There are many forms of Minesweeper gameplay and the idea behind Super Minesweeper is to provide users with the ability to put their own Minesweeper experience together. By choosing a board, a gameplay mode and a skill level, users are able to experience Minesweeper in their own customized way. The colors are fully customizable too, a feature which is uncommon amongst Minesweeper clones. Visit http://www.pixelships.com/smine for more information about Super Minesweeper and the new expansion pack. The Super Minesweeper Expansion Pack is available for $6.95, or can be purchased with Super Minesweeper (requires Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP) for $19.95.
June 8th, 2005: We are proud to announce the release of our Super Minesweeper Expansion Pack, adding over 50 new boards to the game to bring the total board count to over 150! If you don't already have Super Minesweeper you can get it, plus the expansion pack, by purchasing the Super Minesweeper Combo! To give Super Minesweeper players an idea of what they are getting when they purchase the game, there is a new Super Minesweeper Boards Guide, featuring images and play details for all 111 boards in Super Minesweeper and all 58 additional boards in the Super Minesweeper Expansion Pack!
May 1st, 2005: Along with the launch of the Pixelmusement website is a press release for Super Minesweeper, Pixelmusement's first shareware product: Super Minesweeper - A New Way to Play Minesweeper LONDON, ON, CANADA (May 1, 2005) - - Pixelmusement, a new shareware game developer, has released Super Minesweeper, a game which greatly expands upon the original concept of Minesweeper. Super Minesweeper features the original Minesweeper gameplay along with six additional ways to play. Each game mode challenges the player to find all the mines without accidentally revealing one. If the player reveals a mine a penalty is added to the time and score at the end of the game, instead of giving the player a "Game Over". This gives players of all skill levels the opportunity to make a high score. Super Minesweeper features over 100 board styles. Each board style has differently shaped tiles that are connected in various ways. To find the mines, players must deduce how each tile interacts with its surrounding tiles and place their flags accordingly. The board styles include grids of squares, rectangles, hexagons and other shapes, all mixed together in various patterns. Super Minesweeper gives players the option to choose how active or passive the gameplay feels. Each special effect, such as explosions and flashing numbers, can be turned on or off at any time. Furthermore, players have the option to change the colors used in the game to anything they desire. The sound effects can also be enabled or disabled, partially or completely. Super Minesweeper is available for Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and is only $14.95 USD. Visit http://www.pixelships.com/smine for more information and purchasing details. |
|
|
|
|
DISCLAIMER: All material on this website is Copyright ©1995-2008 Pixelmusement, All Rights Reserved. Only HTML files may be linked to. No other files or images may be linked to without permission. No images (excluding screenshots) may be used on another website without permission. Pixelmusement cannot be held responsible for any computer damages that occur while visiting, downloading, or using material on or from this website, though proper usage should yield no computer damage whatsoever. Remember to surf responsibly and virus scan all your downloads from ANY website you visit!