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Open Apple #56 (February 2016) : Peter Lount, Gemstone Warrior, KansasFest
This month on Open Apple we sit down with Peter Lount, co-developer of Gemstone Warrior and Gemstone Healer for the Apple II. Canadian programmer Peter and his partner Trouba broke new ground in video games by combining fast action combat with procedurally generated caves and dungeon content. Gemstone Warrior doesn’t get credit for being the predecessor to Blizzard megahit Diablo, but it should. Peter talks about tuning his rendering engine, including rewriting huge chunks of it overnight to meet a deadline. What’s your reality resolution?
Tune in to hear Mike complain that Gemstone’s monsters are too smart for him, and hear Quinn choke on the most important Apple II announcement of the year. We talk a lot about solid state drives, marvel at underground ‘zines, and bask in the awesome glory of Brutal Deluxe’s tape collection. Audio is still the “best” way to move data after all these years. “A bold statement,” you say? “Nonsense,” you cry? Listen and decide.
Meanwhile, Ultimate Micro continues to kick butt by reverse engineering all that sweet Applied Engineering hardware, Quinn makes terrible “card” jokes, and we catch up on lots of feedback.
Breaking the fourth wall on segment bumpers- good idea, or great idea?
More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.
- Computer History Museum – Well worth the visit, but strange gaps in the collection.
- Quinn goes viral – Here’s the post that started it all.
- Tech Crunch synopsis – They’ve corrected some details since it was first posted, at least.
- Gemstone Warrior – Play it here online, courtesy of Call-A.P.P.L.E.
- Visual 6502 – See our favorite chip run live.
- Gemstone Synthesizer – The game played through a Roland synthesizer.
- KansasFest registration – run, don’t walk! Your chance to hang with your Apple II pals.
- LCD for your IIgs – an older solution, but still viable.
- Floppy Days – Randy Kindig discusses TI-99/4A upgrades. Trust us, it’s relevant.
- F18a for Apple II – An awesome graphics subsystem you can add to your II.
- I’m fEDD Up – Version 2, now with 800k support.
- Crazy Cycles 2 – Just when you think French Touch can’t do more with video modes.
- Floppy Emu model B – A slick new solid state storage option from Big Mess of Wires.
- Old Tech New Tech – A new ‘zine from a former Beagle Brother.
- PoC||GTFO – Apple II copy protection overview in an underground ‘zine.
- Marina for Uthernet II – The newest ethernet option now supported by Marina TCP/IP.
- Brutal Deluxe tapes – Even more tapes added to their huge collection of early software.
- RamWorks III schematics – Ultimate Micro continues to give back to the community.
- Joe’s Computer Museum – A nice place to hang your hat.
- Sprite Castle – A great show about the Commodore 64, if you’re in to that for some reason.
- How II – Charles Mangin’s Apple II video cast.
- Chris Torrence – Another great Apple II show.
View all episodes
By Em Maginnis & Quinn DunkiThis month on Open Apple we sit down with Peter Lount, co-developer of Gemstone Warrior and Gemstone Healer for the Apple II. Canadian programmer Peter and his partner Trouba broke new ground in video games by combining fast action combat with procedurally generated caves and dungeon content. Gemstone Warrior doesn’t get credit for being the predecessor to Blizzard megahit Diablo, but it should. Peter talks about tuning his rendering engine, including rewriting huge chunks of it overnight to meet a deadline. What’s your reality resolution?
Tune in to hear Mike complain that Gemstone’s monsters are too smart for him, and hear Quinn choke on the most important Apple II announcement of the year. We talk a lot about solid state drives, marvel at underground ‘zines, and bask in the awesome glory of Brutal Deluxe’s tape collection. Audio is still the “best” way to move data after all these years. “A bold statement,” you say? “Nonsense,” you cry? Listen and decide.
Meanwhile, Ultimate Micro continues to kick butt by reverse engineering all that sweet Applied Engineering hardware, Quinn makes terrible “card” jokes, and we catch up on lots of feedback.
Breaking the fourth wall on segment bumpers- good idea, or great idea?
More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.
- Computer History Museum – Well worth the visit, but strange gaps in the collection.
- Quinn goes viral – Here’s the post that started it all.
- Tech Crunch synopsis – They’ve corrected some details since it was first posted, at least.
- Gemstone Warrior – Play it here online, courtesy of Call-A.P.P.L.E.
- Visual 6502 – See our favorite chip run live.
- Gemstone Synthesizer – The game played through a Roland synthesizer.
- KansasFest registration – run, don’t walk! Your chance to hang with your Apple II pals.
- LCD for your IIgs – an older solution, but still viable.
- Floppy Days – Randy Kindig discusses TI-99/4A upgrades. Trust us, it’s relevant.
- F18a for Apple II – An awesome graphics subsystem you can add to your II.
- I’m fEDD Up – Version 2, now with 800k support.
- Crazy Cycles 2 – Just when you think French Touch can’t do more with video modes.
- Floppy Emu model B – A slick new solid state storage option from Big Mess of Wires.
- Old Tech New Tech – A new ‘zine from a former Beagle Brother.
- PoC||GTFO – Apple II copy protection overview in an underground ‘zine.
- Marina for Uthernet II – The newest ethernet option now supported by Marina TCP/IP.
- Brutal Deluxe tapes – Even more tapes added to their huge collection of early software.
- RamWorks III schematics – Ultimate Micro continues to give back to the community.
- Joe’s Computer Museum – A nice place to hang your hat.
- Sprite Castle – A great show about the Commodore 64, if you’re in to that for some reason.
- How II – Charles Mangin’s Apple II video cast.
- Chris Torrence – Another great Apple II show.