SkillGrid

Devlog

• History
  January 06, 2024 by RETREAM

  2

  v1.7 (31.7.2024) 1. Fixed a sprite glitch introduced by yesterday's update. v1.6 (30.7.2024) 1. Made the startup code more robust and faster. v1.5 (11.5.2024) 1. Touched up a volume effect in the MUSI... Continue reading
• v1.4
  January 06, 2024 by RETREAM

  3

  This update originally was meant to just improve the startup code, but testing the game inspired new ideas and also uncovered some flaws never seen before, so it ended up being quite substantial and b... Continue reading
• v1.3
  May 22, 2022 by RETREAM

  3

  SkillGrid receives one more update, which not only makes is slicker than ever, but also adds a new bonus cell - BEAM/ULTRA - which increases the shapeship firepower so that even the nastier boss can b... Continue reading
• v1.2
  April 12, 2022 by RETREAM

  SkillGrid v1.2 is out! This version improves the game further and, above all, brings also the PRESS PLAY ON TAPE edition, a special version whose soundtrack is the rockin' tongue-in-cheek song "Man wi... Continue reading
• v1.2 PRESS PLAY ON TAPE Edition preview
  April 10, 2022 by RETREAM

  1

  Wanna see how the PRESS PLAY ON TAPE Edition of SkillGrid v1.2 looks and sounds like? Check the video out!... Continue reading
• v1.1beta
  March 12, 2022 by RETREAM

  2

  This version enhances the game greatly, as documented by the huge changelog below. It has been held back for a long time by a problem of the bootable version for the Amiga CD³² (which is why it is s... Continue reading
• v1.1 longplay
  September 27, 2021 by RETREAM

  1

  Want to have a look at SkillGrid v1.1 ? Here's a huge rollercoaster longplay for you to enjoy! The video is quite long, but if, you go through it all, you'll get a perfect idea of how varies and dynam... Continue reading
• v1.1 in the works
  September 09, 2021 by RETREAM

  6

  An update for SkillGrid has been in the works for a long, long time. As a result, SkillGrid v1.1 is a much improved version - as you can see from the following massive changelog, which captures all th... Continue reading

  
• v1.0 release
  April 26, 2019 by RETREAM

  2

  The wait is over! You can snatch a copy of SkillGrid right away, choosing between the gorgeous physical editions by RGCD and the digital download. BASIC EDITION: jewel-cased glass-mastered CD with 16... Continue reading

  
• CDs ready
  April 17, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  Yesterday RGCD received the CDs, so now all that's missing to complete the deluxe package is the floppies - and that's already being taken care of... Continue reading

  
• The package is coming together
  April 05, 2019 by RETREAM

  While the CDs are being produced, some materials have already reached the RGCD headquarters... Continue reading

  
• Physical copies production
  March 26, 2019 by RETREAM

  2

  The CD in the image might not look much, but it's the proof CD received by RGCD from the duplication company: the SkillGrid copies are in production and wil l be available for purchase shortly! (IMPOR... Continue reading

  
• Gameplay video
  February 03, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  Here's a massive gameplay video that will let you see what you have read in the manual - and it shouldn't be too long until you can also experience it ;)... Continue reading
• Manual (7)
  January 28, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  The very last page of the manual tells you about two very special gameplay features. Now you know everything to dive into SkillGrid 's dynamic action!... Continue reading

  
• Manual (6)
  January 27, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  A few special enemies you'll meet along the way... Continue reading

  
• Manual (5)
  January 26, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  And with this page, you know everything about the cells you'll have to catch/dodge ;)... Continue reading

  
• Manual (4)
  January 25, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  More cells: all the remaining bonuses and the maluses!... Continue reading

  
• Manual (3)
  January 24, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  Today we start looking at a core aspect of the game: the cells... Continue reading

  
• Manual (2)
  January 23, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  Today's manual pages introduce the gameplay basics... Continue reading

  
• Manual (1)
  January 22, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  How about having a look at the manual starting from the story? Other pages from the manual will be posted in the following days so that you can learn the game details even before it hits the shelves ;... Continue reading

  
• CD jewel case tray inlay
  January 19, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  This is done, too... Continue reading

  
• Floppies mockup
  January 05, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  The design of the floppy labels has been kept intentionally simple. It might still change, but probably won't be much different from what shown in this mockup... Continue reading

  
• CD mockup
  January 02, 2019 by RETREAM

  1

  Calling all the Amiga CD³² consoles out there: how do you like this? And you, A1200s and A4000s , don't be jealous: the CD contains also the ADF images of the floppies and a pre-installed copy of th... Continue reading

  
• Manual (almost) done
  December 30, 2018 by RETREAM

  1

  The first draft of the manual is done! Now it's only a matter of fixing the errors (if any) and changing a name... The manual will consist in a 16 pages jewel case booklet, as the game CD will come in... Continue reading

  
• Music medley
  December 27, 2018 by RETREAM

  1

  A medley of the music that will rock your Amigas ! https://soundcloud.com/retream/skillgrid-medley... Continue reading

  
• Box inlay preview
  December 24, 2018 by RETREAM

  1

  Little Christmas gift: preview of the inlay that will grace the RGCD package! The package will include a CD, a nice manual, a few surprises and, optionally, also two floppies. The CD can be used to pl... Continue reading

  
• How the scrolling works
  December 18, 2018 by RETREAM

  2

  This video illustrates visually how scrolling works. To fully appreciate it, please read the technical details below. Please note that some knowledge of the Amiga hardware is required. Given that abou... Continue reading
• Development complete
  December 11, 2018 by RETREAM

  1

  Great news: development is complete ! Now work on the packaging for the RGCD release has started. CHANGELOG Added skull baddie. Added milestones. Fine-tuned gameplay parameters. Improved boss and moth... Continue reading

  
• Preview #9
  November 29, 2018 by RETREAM

  1

  There's a lot to see in this new video preview! In fact, it shows many of the changes from the (massive) changelog below. CHANGELOG Changed music from 14-bit mono to 8-bit stereo. Improved audio track... Continue reading
• SkillGrid on Amiga CD³²
  November 15, 2018 by RETREAM

  2

  Major piece of news: as you can see from the pictures sent by a couple of testers, SkilGrid has been adapted to the Amiga CD³² ! Other changes: added missiles; changed the way the MULTIPLIER cell de... Continue reading

  
• Adding a sub-game (?)
  November 06, 2018 by RETREAM

  1

  There are about 100 kB of RAM and 4 kB of floppy space left, and I'm trying to come up with something to use them and make the game better before releasing it. One of the options I'm considering is ad... Continue reading
• Preview #8
  November 03, 2018 by RETREAM

  The game is getting closer and closer to completion (in fact, there is almost no floppy disk space left)! This eighth preview demonstrates these new features: * UFOs escapes feature (if 30 UFOs escap... Continue reading
• New proof-of-concept background graphics
  October 30, 2018 by RETREAM

  1

  Third totally different version of background graphics. This is just a proof-of-concept, and the final graphics will mosy likely look different. As a bonus, this video also gives a glimpse of the rewo... Continue reading
• Preview #7
  October 28, 2018 by RETREAM

  Development slowed down a bit in the past couple of months, but still a number of (important) changes have been made: added bossfights; added CHASE cell (the UFOs chase the spaceship for 5 seconds); m... Continue reading
• Preview #6
  September 12, 2018 by RETREAM

  CHANGELOG Implementeed procedural generation of bottom and middle layers. Redrawn bottom and middle layers graphics. Added spaceship tilting. Touched up music. NOTES Despite the video was uploaded in... Continue reading
• One more feature
  September 10, 2018 by RETREAM

  The procedural tile-based generation of the middle layer is done. Besides looking cool, it saved about 30 kB of floppy disk space at little CPU cost. The picture shows various experiments and the fina... Continue reading

  
• A number of important changes
  September 05, 2018 by RETREAM

  Development was suspended for a few weeks due to another project (a book not related to computers), but then it resumed with these changes: added spaceship tilting when it moves sideways; improved mus... Continue reading

  
• How the music has been made
  August 06, 2018 by RETREAM

  I've been asked if, besides the guitars, I have played also the drums and the bass to make the music. Well, the answer is no: I made the music, quite fittingly, the Amiga way, i.e. I used a tracker, n... Continue reading
• Preview #5
  August 05, 2018 by RETREAM

  Finally the in-game music is done! The gameplay idea is that when the Notes Cell is caught, music starts playing and all the cells become bonuses (maluses have no effect anymore and award points, and... Continue reading
• Preview #4
  July 31, 2018 by RETREAM

  CHANGELOG Added title screen and game over screen music. Designed and implemented a brand-new compression method for music. Made horizontal and vertical controls swap cells bi-color (since they toggle... Continue reading
• Preview #3
  July 04, 2018 by RETREAM

  CHANGELOG Added enemies. Added shooting. Added pixel-perfect collision detection. Added new cells types. Changed some cells effects. Changed cells color scheme. Revised HUD. Added hiscore. Improved au... Continue reading
• Preview #2
  July 04, 2018 by RETREAM

  CHANGELOG Added dynamic allocations of 3 channels for one-shot sounds. Added afterburner looping sound, with variable sound frequency, depending on the ship vertical speed and the scrolling. Added mus... Continue reading
• Preview #1
  July 04, 2018 by RETREAM

  TECHNICAL FEATURES SHOWN IN THE VIDEO 3 parallax layers scrolling at a variable speed (up to 16 pixels/frame - such limit is not technical, but only to keep the game playable) 1 fixed layer for the HU... Continue reading