Possible to have a save style RPG on C64/X16

Michael Westpy · Post by **Michael Westpy** » Tue Nov 08, 2022 7:01 pm

I realize I may have chosen a rather impossible goal.

I want to attempt to make a Dragon Quest clone. However, the crux of that entire series of games is the ability to save. Now, I see that Ultima is on the commodore list of games, so perhaps there is a way (password saves instead?)

Have I set upon a fool's quest?

Edmond D · Post by **Edmond D** » Tue Nov 08, 2022 7:16 pm

On 11/8/2022 at 11:01 AM, Michael Westpy said:

I want to attempt to make a Dragon Quest clone. However, the crux of that entire series of games is the ability to save. Now, I see that Ultima is on the commodore list of games, so perhaps there is a way (password saves instead?)

Have I set upon a fool's quest?

Perhaps you can provided a little more description of what you see as the issue and how Ultima (which I'm unfamiliar with) & passwords fit in.

Michael Westpy · Post by **Michael Westpy** » Tue Nov 08, 2022 7:36 pm

I'm not sure with Ultima as I've only even played Ultima 3 on the NES. Cartridges have battery save storage (small RAM module I suspect). I'm not sure how one would implement that kind of save storage without external media/dedicated, battery power RAM).

Kalvan · Post by **Kalvan** » Tue Nov 08, 2022 8:55 pm

Well, the Commodore Disc Drive subsystem was originally engineered to be Daisy-Chainable, and the SD Card can hold a lor of data...

kelli217 · Post by **kelli217** » Tue Nov 08, 2022 9:01 pm

External media. There's your answer. The idea of using cartridges was only recently introduced with TexElec's most recent changes to the expansion bus. Before that, software was only going to be loaded from storage devices either over the IEC bus or via the SD card—external media.

BruceMcF · Post by **BruceMcF** » Tue Nov 08, 2022 9:05 pm

On 11/8/2022 at 2:36 PM, Michael Westpy said:

I'm not sure with Ultima as I've only even played Ultima 3 on the NES. Cartridges have battery save storage (small RAM module I suspect). I'm not sure how one would implement that kind of save storage without external media/dedicated, battery power RAM).

But if you are loading the game from the SD card, why wouldn't you just save the state of the game in a file?

Fabio · Post by **Fabio** » Tue Nov 08, 2022 10:02 pm

maybe he wants to play the game also on a "friend's CX 16" otherwise saving on the SD card should have no problem

Michael Westpy · Post by **Michael Westpy** » Wed Nov 09, 2022 5:12 pm

On 11/8/2022 at 1:05 PM, BruceMcF said:

But if you are loading the game from the SD card, why wouldn't you just save the state of the game in a file?

::bangs head against the wall::

Oh yeah, LOL. I was thinking I'd be constrained in the same way the C64 was when it came to programming. K.I.S.S. is always the best policy.