Gliding just above the clouds faster than the speed of sound.
What are The Supernatural Olympics?
Last updated: Aug 2, 2006
Level 3 update on Sep 30, 2007 - new questions added and a few notes the new version has
Here is the list of FAQ questions:
Game creation - these questions involve the game's creation as a whole.
1.1 Why bother creating this game?
1.2 Why all the features and configuration options?
1.3 Why does the free edition have so many limitations?
1.4 What is the ESRB rating?
1.5 Why did you call it "The Supernatural Olympics" and where did you get the game title image from?
Design structure - these questions relate to the design structure of the game.
2.1 Why use those complex algorithms to get extra accuracy? Can't you just go with using the var as is?
2.2 Why is there no sound?
2.3 If The Supernatural Olympics has a strong 3D feel, why not make it as a 3D game instead?
2.4 How did you manage to make the game behave like it was 3D if it was only a 2D game?
2.5 What happens when you go out of bounds?
2.6 What about widescreen resolutions?
2.7 What's with those UCS, LOG, and BAK files in the directory the game is in?
2.8 Will the game be ported to Macintosh, Linux, Unix, or some other non-Windows operating system?
Updates, upgrades, and future features - these questions involve updates, upgrades, and other future features.
3.1 This is version 2.4. What happened to the other versions?
3.2 What about resolutions above 1024x768?
3.3 When can other measurement units be used?
3.4 When is the 2.5 (or 3.0) version going to be released?
Buying/downloading - these questions relate to buying the full edition or downloading the game.
4.1 Can I reserve the game so I get it when it's released?
4.2 Can I get mail delivery?
4.3 I'm having trouble downloading the game - what can I do?
4.4 Why does the game cost $13?
1 Game creation
This category of questions deals with the game in general, mainly related to its creation and plans.
1.1 Creating the game
Q. Why bother creating this game?
A. There are several reasons why I wanted to create this game. The first is that too many games nowadays lack a high degree of customizability. The configuration menu, alone, has over 200 options. The second reason is that games nowadays seem to have too much violence. This is one of the reasons that caused me to lose interest in playing games. The Supernatural Olympics doesn't have any violence, not even a small fraction of it. A third reason are stubborn limits. 99 lives is very low and too easy to obtain and it seems game designers don't use the full range of a variable. It takes out the potential for players to come up with their own challenges. I use the greatest extent I can of using the full range a variable. A fourth reason is that it's been a childhood dream as far back as the early 1990's. A fifth reason is that it's otherwise the only thing I've got going on at the moment. The sixth and final reason is that I want to replicate my mind game, the small game-like "activity" I sometimes play in my mind.
1.2 So many features and configuration options
Q. Why all the features and configuration options?
A. I have a philosophy: if it can be configured, make it configurable. Since making a panel invisible and visible is easily possible, why not provide a toggle for it? After all, with over 50 such layers, that's easily over a quadrillion (a thousand trillions) visibility combinations! Take the clouds as well as yet another example. The speed they move varies and their heights are variable. All it takes is just replacing a constant with a variable then adding the configuration options for doing this. With ten tubes of copy paste available, and with all that redundancy, doing a few hundred layers at once is quick and simple as it is.
1.3 Free edition limitations
Q. Why does the free edition have so many limitations
A. The free edition is mainly meant as a trial. Because the 30-days trial thing software often has just isn't feasible (nor do I know how to do it), a trial period wouldn't go considering it can be extended (which is almost always against the terms of the EULA and should never be done). The best way was to limit several things, but not severely. They are limited just enough to get an idea on what a feature is like. Some things are limited because of other limitations (as with the other challenges). For the difficulty settings, easy and medium are readily available without limits. But what would hard and master be like? The solution was to choose just one challenge that would support hard and master so you can see what it's like. The more important a feature is, the less restricted it is. At least 90% of the features are still present though and functional. Because I find adware annoying, I don't use such a system. Spyware is hazardous, dangerous, and extremely annoying so I don't use it either. Besides, the limitations are only enough to get an idea on what the game is like.
In the new, upcoming version, all abilities will be available almost entirely unrestricted, but still, challenges and range of exploration will be. However, as of Sep 30, 2007, the fine details need to be worked out so things can change.
1.4 ESRB rating
Q. What is the ESRB rating?
A. The Supernatural Olympics has not been sent to the ESRB for a rating (or any rating agency). However, given the complete lack of violence and other adult content, it's safe to say that this game is safe for anyone of any age. I would say age 7 and above would be suitable.
1.5 Game title and logo
Q. Why did you call it "The Supernatural Olympics" and where did you get the game title image from?
A. The "supernatural" part of it should be quite straight forward. Who could jump 8 miles high or fall at 2000 mph through thick atmophere (without getting burned from friction and still be accelerating)? Although machines take us humans past 8 miles high, we could only go 2000 mph when out of densest part of the atmosphere dozens of miles high. The Olympics part of it is also fairly straight forward. The game's challenges work like an elimination tournament. In such a tournament, if you lose in one round, you lose the entire game and the chance for a championship. As far as I know, the Olympics involve lots of heavy competition and when competition comes to mind, I think of an elimination tournament. That's how the name "The Supernatural Olympics" came about. As far as the game title image, when I think of the Olympics, the Olympic torch comes to mind, of which I've almost never seen. Knowing the Olympics originated over 1000 years ago, the torches back then likely were nothing more than a pit on top of some sort of tall structure and that's where the idea came from. The flames relate to torches. The last part, "Experience my mind game", comes from the fact that The Supernatural Olympics is as close as you're going to get to actually playing my mind game, as of 2006 anyway.
In the new, upcoming version, you'll get a much better sense of it being like the Olympics. There are several "stages" or key starting areas to get to before a challenge starts (insta-teleport drastically speeds this up).
2 Design structure
This category of questions relate to the design structure, how and why I did something in a particular way.
2.1 Complex algorithms neccessary
Q. Why use those complex algorithms to get extra accuracy? Can't you just go with using the var as is?
A. Unless you want strange effects like the buildings and lines being out of alignment (it takes but two seconds at 64x time for the buildings to become noticably out of alignment and by 15 seconds, they are so far out of alignment, it's extremely unrealistic. Using these complex algorithms reduces this effect drastically which helps provide the enhanced accuracy. This is why I can't go with the var as it is. With floats and doubles available in Lite-C, I could just eliminate the need for this. Just look at these two screenshots and you'll know what I mean by misalignment:
Screenshot #1: This screenshot was taken on May 11, 2006. Note how misaligned the buildings are and how unrealistic it appears. This is what happens when I use the var for calculations.
Screenshot #2: From nearly the same position, after implementing and testing the complex algorithm used for the buildings, you can see that they are all aligned and look more realistic.
That's part of the reason why. The var only has a range going up to 2,097,152 which is way too low for some things. This is a height of 46,637.5 feet. For some features to work, I'd need in excess of 300,000 feet in order for it to feasible, impossible to do with the var's range. Just adding a small 10-foot light pole is enough for at minimum 160 extra feet of height after using the bounce stomp and fall-glide-hop. That doesn't seem like much, but, when the stomp is immediately followed by the flash attack, it's enough to go over the limit. Worse yet, if I added a slope, ignoring the inaccuries posed by the var, running up a slope at 50 mph and jumping, even a very gentle 10:1 slope, will easily get you those 420 feet of height needed, let alone 200 mph on a fairly steep 1:1 slope.
In the new, upcoming version, due to it being reprogrammed entirely in C, this issue no longer applies. In fact, you could quite easily get 50 miles high, if you know how in the first place.
2.2 No sound
Q. Why is there no sound?
A. I can make music without much difficulty, but I figure that you can simply have your favorite sound program running in the background so you can choose your own music. Sound effects, however, are a completely different issue. I do not know how to obtain sound effects that I can legally sell with a game or some project, short of using my voice to create them. I can vocalize realistic-sounding wind quite well anywhere from a gentle breeze to a big windstorm (like a 50 mph wind). A strange, highly futuristic option, and the best one, is to somehow get a machine to copy what's in my brain and transfer it to a computer as I can very accurately replicate sounds (even music) to fine detail. This, until such a machine is made, is not an option.
However, another, though strange, method for getting sound is utilizing music in a special way. This, at the moment is my best method, but is of low priority at the moment.
In the new, upcoming version, sound effects are much more likely, mainly vocalized, but music is unlikely.
2.3 3D game instead of 2D
Q. If The Supernatural Olympics has a strong 3D feel, why not make it as a 3D game instead?
A. There are a few reasons why I made it a 2D game. First, I've been around 2D games for so long (at least 90% of my video game playing time), I know how they work to such great detail. Second, 2D has very low system requirements compared to 3D which enhances who can buy the game. Third, I've been making 2D animations for years (dating clear back to late 2001 at the earliest) and my techniques for making them have improved so much, they have a fairly strong 3D feel to them. You can see my entire known collection of animated GIFs here. Fourth, Gamestudio pretty much doesn't have any 2D games made as the bulk of the games are 3D so I thought I could make a game to show the power of the 2D engine. Finally, I wanted something simple enough to work with to practice scripting with that and since I knew the inner workings of 2D games so well, just by observation, I would serve as a good starting point for making games to gain experience for the more complex stuff. I do have a 3D game being worked on, however, but otherwise has very little progress. George Game 13 is that 3D game that takes the features of my 2D game to a new level.
In the new, upcoming version, you'll see these 3D effects far better with the lakes in the background, at least, based on my plans.
2.4 3D effects in a 2D game
Q. How did you manage to make the game behave like it was 3D if it was only a 2D game?
A. Math formulas, science, and more math formulas. Many of my art-related formulas are here. They aren't as complex as they seem, even to get the 3D effects using a formula as simple as multiplying fractions, something a 4th-grader could do. There are several variants of the color-averaging formula originally discovered to do anti-aliasing and transparency in MSPaint since the program didn't allow it (and pretty much still doesn't as of mid-2006). The Supernatural Olympics, however, doesn't use true 3D, even taking out the fact that flat objects are used, as there is a small, minor difference that only skilled mathematicians would be able to figure out.
2.5 Going out of bounds
Q. What happens when you go out of bounds?
A. Unless you feel like trying to get past ten trillion coordinate units (by the position), you can't. Even with 64x time going 800 mph constantly (which simulates 51,200 mph, triple the speed of a rocket in orbit around Earth), it takes nearly an hour (54 1/4 minutes calculated) just to get to ten billion, half the highest I've been, let alone the full ten trillion which is 1000 times longer (904 2/9 hours, just over 37 2/3 days). The background scenery keeps repeating indefinitely.
In the new, upcoming version, the terrain will repeatedly loop, but the loop, at 800 mph, will take almost 7 minutes to occur at normal time. You almost wouldn't notice it.
2.6 Widescreen
Q. What about widescreen resolutions?
A. Although I could add widescreen resolutions, I have no such monitors available to really test it with, let alone knowing the actual resolutions involving widescreen (short of 16:9 aspect ratio, the easy part). I can, however, mathematically calculate everything and go from there, but I'm not going to be able to accurately test it. Without knowing the standard widescreen resolutions, incompatibilities may pose problems. Assuming 1024x576 was not on the list (I don't know if it is or not), I can use these numbers to form a basis and test with. I can test in windowed mode, but not in fullscreen mode.
In the new, upcoming version, support for widescreen resolutions (and other custom resolutions) has a moderately high likelihood of being added.
2.7 The UCS and LOG files
Q. What's with those UCS, LOG, and BAK files in the directory the game is in?
A. Given the file names, you should understand what they're for. gamesavedata24.ucs is the game save data. The gamesavedata24.bak is a backup of the game save file. If the game save data doesn't save properly, just change the .bak extention to .ucs. The error_log.log file is used for logging errors in case the key file or game save data is not loading properly. Normally, it's empty, but when errors occur, you'll see a list of numbers that may seem to not have any meaning. They do to me as I can otherwise troubleshoot the issue. The "eularead.ucs" file is used to indicate that the license agreement has been read. By having this file, you are agreeing to the license agreement.
2.8 Porting to other operating systems
Q. Will the game be ported to Macintosh, Linux, Unix, or some other non-Windows operating system?
A. I'm only familiar with Windows operating systems and I otherwise haven't seen anything that isn't Windows. The lone exception is Macintosh, whichever operating system was around during early 2000. This includes Linux and Unix. I've otherwise never seen Linux or Unix, let alone being able to program for them. Provided I can program for them, I'd still need to test things and fix any bugs, of which is very difficult to do without being able to worth with such OS (unless you don't mind the bugs, some of which could cause the game to crash, high scores to not save properly, etc.. Windows is very common and my game can run to versions as old as Windows 95 (possibly Windows 98 at the very latest for the earliest supported).
2.9 Bug severity classes
Q. What does a class 5 or class 2 bug mean and what's the difference?
A. The higher the number, the more severe the bug. Bugs that cause the program to crash (giving that familiar "send error report to microsoft" indication) are class 6. A misspelled word would only be class 0. Falling through the land would be class 5. The scale is from 0 (harmless) to 8 (extremely severe), deriving from my long-established 0-8 difficulty scale since around 1998; it goes like this:
0 - harmless. These bugs that do not affect the program in any noticeable way. Slightly misaligned text or minor grammer errors are examples of class 0 bugs.
1 - very minor. These bugs have a very miniscule effect on the program. Text where the wordwrap doesn't work or background scenery moving slower than expected would be class 1 bugs (the former may be class 2 or 3 if a lot of text is cut off).
2 - minor. These bugs have a small effect on the program. Hidden background scenery not becoming visible when being made visible again or menu options out of sequence would be class 2 bugs. Here and below are the more common types but are usually of low priority.
3 - moderately minor. These bugs have a moderately-weak effect on the program. A bug preventing you from charging up the speed blast would be a class 3 bug since it is a rarely used special ability. Another example would be missing or inaccurate text.
4 - moderate. These bugs have a moderate effect on the program. A bug preventing you from jumping when you should be able to would be a class 4 bug (higher since it's used a lot more frequently and thus has a more profound impact giving the higher class).
5 - moderately major. These bugs have a moderately strong effect on the program. Falling through the land or the game not saving properly are two examples of class 5 bugs.
6 - major. These bugs typically cause crashes or have a major and very noticeable effect on its behavior and performance. Crashes or the program failing to load or run are class 6 bugs.
7 - severe. These bugs result in crashes that make you need to have to use the reset button to get back to normal. Only two programs have been known to get this - GIMP (from an infinite loop that takes 5+ minutes to close), and Bubsy 3D when entering a coordinate outside of the level's bounds or a level that doesn't exist. Infinite loops that never get broken or terminated are a good example for class 7 bugs. I take precautions against this.
8 - damaging. These bugs result in damage to the internal hardware. I have never run into such bugs, but major computer viruses and worms would rank in this group.
3 Updates, upgrades, and future features
This group of questions covers anything related to updates, upgrades and any future features.
3.1 Older versions prior to 2.4
Q. This is version 2.4. What happened to the other versions?
A. Version 1 has been released as freeware. It's no where near as exciting as the current version is and was meant to demonstrate what background scaling is for how I make my 2D animated GIFs get that 3D feel. Version 2.0 was the first game I made, of which didn't really have much to it. All the versions before 2.4 from 2.0 are beta versions. For more details on the version history, see the game manual (free download to anyone).
3.2 Resolutions above 1024x768
Q. What about resolutions above 1024x768?
A. To use resolutions above 1024x768 (up to a theoretical maximum of 1536 pixels wide) would involve a major scripting change. Without being able to define multiple bmaps on one panel, it would mean having to define another 50 to 80 panels just to do it and move each an every one. It's inconvienient and at the moment, I'm unable to allow for higher resolutions. I can see the advantage in higher resolutions (of which changing the resolution only changes the field of view), however. I can test resolutions of up to 1920x1440, however, so that part isn't the issue. The only thing higher that I've seen as publically available is 2048x1536 but that costs twice as much for 1920x1440.
The new, upcoming version will support up to 1920x1440 resolution and also any custom resolution to these values. Only those listed as defaults can be run in fullscreen mode. Custom ones will only run in windowed mode. This isn't a limitation I have, rather, it's hardware-related.
3.3 Other measurement units
Q. When can other measurement units be used?
A. As from the future features page, the reason why I'm not able to is Gamestudio's only variable type permitted, the var. It's range is so short and it's accuracy is constantly a problem, it's hard enough just being able to use feet and miles. Converting mph to feet per second is as simple as multiplying by 22/15. This method only works if the speed is less than 95,325 mph and the absolute fastest possible is just short of 2400, 1/40 that limit. Converting coordinate units to feet is done by multiplying by 11/75. Since the coordinate units in the game are 6 times finer, this changes to 11/450 which is still not a problem. This only permits a maximum value of 190650. If I divided first, strange accuracy problem would occur and would mess things up. On the otherhand, to convert mph to km/h means having to multiply the mph value by 1.609344, such a screwy value, it's otherwise not possible without having to use a string-based calculation method which is much slower and far more complicated to work with. The only way this is going to be possible is when Lite-C is available. This way, far more would be possible and since I don't have to use the frustrating complex algorithms, the game would run at least 3 times faster (and there's much more it'll allow to it than just that).
In the new, upcoming version, there's almost a 100% chance other measurement units will be supported (including the game-specific coordinate units and coordinate units per second).
3.4 The 2.5/3.0 next-released version
Q. When is the 2.5 (or 3.0) version going to be released?
A. I cannot guarentee any set time for release. By calculated estimates, the absolute earliest is about 125 days of total work. It's far more likely to be completed within 1 year than 4 months though since I'm likely to lose interest in development, start up again, lose interest, start up, and so on. You can gauge the progress I've made and the rate, however, by viewing the update checklist. The higher the activity level, the sooner you can expect release, but its highly unlikely to remain where its at for very long time periods. Compared to the previous version, I've got new motivation for working on it. Double the motive means 4 times the sustainability which means progress will be made at the same (or slightly faster rate but with fewer and shorter "gaps".
4 Buying/downloading
This section covers anything related to buying or downloading the game.
4.1 Reserving the game
Q. Can I reserve the game so I get it when it's released?
A. No. The game will only be offered as a download, of which has immediate delivery. With only 4 MB as the file size, it's not a big download either so it's only about 20 minutes or so for a dial-up user.
4.2 Mail delivery
Q. Can I get mail delivery?
A. Yes, only when ordered through Regnow. When you get to the part where you see the product and download assurance pages, you can see the option for a CD - check that option. I wouldn't recommend it though as the download (and same program) is freely available on my website - you just need the key file you obtain when you order.
4.3 Trouble downloading
Q. I'm having trouble downloading the game - what can I do?
A. First, get a download manager. Firefox has one built into it so get Firefox, a free web browser. If other websites are loading just fine, it could be that the server is being bogged down with traffic. Come back a little later or keep trying. If other websites are having trouble as well, contact your ISP (internet service provider) to troubleshoot the issue. If you're getting "file not found" errors, or other errors or the problems persist, then contact me and let me know about it so I can look into it.
4.4 The very high price
Q. Why does the game cost $13?
A. I originally had $2.95 as the price, then $4.95, and $8.95. It increased with complexity. Gamestudio was such a pain to work with and it was very difficult having to work around its limitations and annoyances. Then, with Regnow charging a small fee, I needed to raise it some to counter this and it ended up as $12.95. Then, with Molebox messing up the program causing it to perform differently on different computers, I didn't see much reason to go any lower. Sure a game as simple as version 2.4 wouldn't be anywhere near $13, it'll stick until I get the new version released.
The new version, though highly undecided, will, hopefully, not go above $7 and, since around July or so of 2007 (and on-going to Sep 30, 2007), I'm thinking of either $5 or $6 with a special early release offer taking a dollar off. Until I reach the final testing phase where I play the game a lot to hunt for and fix any isolated bugs (or very close to this point), I won't know of the actual price for the new version but there's a 98% chance it'll be a lot less than $13.
9.1.3 The Supernatural Olympics - a high-speed action game
9.1.3-1 What is the game? - an introduction to the game
9.1.3-2 Feature comparison chart - a quick overview of the features
9.1.3-3 Scenery features - features related to the game's scenery
9.1.3-4 Special features - features rarely seen in games
9.1.3-5 On-screen information - features related to the data shown around the display
9.1.3-6 Special abilities - explains the various special abilities
9.1.3-7 Special effects - explains what the various special effects are
9.1.3-8 Challenges - details about the challenges
9.1.3-9 General features - other features
9.1.3-10 System requirements - what system requirements there are
9.1.3-11 Support, returns, updates, and upgrades - how to obtain support
9.1.3-12 Ten reasons to upgrade - the top ten reasons to upgrade to the full edition
9.1.3-13 Future plans and features - features planned for the future and the game's general future
9.1.3-14 Update checklist - an in-depth checklist for things I need to do before the next release becomes available
9.1.3-15 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - some common questions that may be asked
9.1.3-16 How to purchase - how to buy the game and complete the upgrade.
9.1.3-17 End-user license agreement - Read this first before using the software or it's components.
9.1.3-18 Download - Download the game and game manual (and any updates).
9.1.3-19 Version 3.0 overview - An overview of the upcoming version, 3.0.
Footnotes:
None.
