HCL Graphics Manager is a program designed to help modify graphics data for the freeware game Hydra Castle Labyrinth.
Download Latest Version
View source on GitHub
The game stores all of its graphics data in a file called bmp.qda. This program can extract and import a bitmap file to and from that .qda file. By using a paint program of your choice, you can modify the game’s graphics however you want.
For example, here’s a fixed version of the game’s English alphabet characters:
Using this program, someone could patch in an English version of the title screen:
There is more information in the program’s readme file. Go wild, make something cool!
In 1990, Sega made a handheld system to compete with Nintendo’s Game Boy called the Game Gear. The thing is though, the Game Gear is kind of awful. Sure it has a color screen, but the screen itself is blurry and cannot handle motion well. It ate batteries, and was too big to be portable in a practical sense. The Game Boy has a huge legacy, as each successor became better and were backwards compatible. The Game Gear had none of this; if you want to play Game Gear games you need to find a working Game Gear.
The Game Gear is unpopular in retrogaming communities, and I believe it’s because of how inaccessible it is. That’s why I wanted to complete this project. Consolizing a Game Gear fixes every problem that I mentioned earlier...and it’s a neat trophy piece.
Unfortunately, I did not keep a journal while I was building this. I wanted to focus on getting it done instead of worrying about writing every detail down. So instead I’m just going to dump a bunch of links that I found while I was doing research.
Tim Worthington’s Game Gear TV Board Instructions + Purchase
Console5 (Cap replacement kits, useful components, and Game Gear Schematics)
[Forum Thread]Â Let's consolize and old dirty broken Game Gear found in the trash. (This is a goldmine of info)
Japanese Game Gear consolization development blog
Master System joystick pinout (good site for pinouts of every kind)
[Video] Replacing Game Gear capacitors
[Video] Installing GGTV Board
[Video] Installing controller port
I’m sure there are other useful links, but these are the major ones. Overall, this was a fun project to do with a really cool end result. It requires a lot of time and a bit of money, but I can’t see a better use for all of the unused Game Gears sitting on ebay.
Super Crate Mod is, well, a mod of the freeware game Super Crate Box. This game crashes on Windows 8 machines. After years without a response from the creators, I've decided to fix it myself. Once I fixed that problem, I continued to rebuild some unused content and add a few other features. It works with any Windows version of the game.
Download
- List of Features -
Windows 8 Compatibility
2 Player Local Co-op and Battle multiplayer modes
16 x 9 Widescreen resolution
Unused challenge mode
Rebindable keys (through an .ini file)
Volume levels (again, through a .ini file)
Improved gamepad support (pausing, d-pad)
- Installation Instructions -
1. Navigate to your Super Crate Box folder.
2. Rename or delete the old supercratebox.exe file.
3. Extract the files you've downloaded and place them there.
4. That’s it!
Visit this steam forum thread for more information and to discuss this mod.
prguitarman
snowghoul
pixelskylines
titsay