Atarimania Forum

I am making available the information, so that keen enough players can design their own levels (and graphics) for 'HawkQuest'.
I just wonder if there is the interest out there to do so?
If you would check out this HawkQuest site, and it's various
pages, you'll get some idea of the various levels present.
http://members.tripod.com/~hawkquest/hqht.htm
There is a backup of the pages here, in case some of the
graphics have gone missing...
http://members.tripod.com/~socialvolley ... ari/lh.htm

I haven't got all the information up at the site, to enable you to
go ahead to do it, just yet.
I do need someone keen enough to want to do it - to go through
the process, to test it out. Because it's about 20 years ago it was
done, I don't recall exactly how it was all done. I think I do have all
the information though.
The programmer is not around on this earth plane anymore, to help out with it. Because a lot of the data on the game disks, are graphics data -
unlike other games, this means the game source code need not be reassembled and rewritten out again. The graphics data is separate from the game coding, so this makes it easier to change the graphics and level design, because of this.
Those with no interest in designing/redesigning graphics, can simply change the level design layouts using the existing graphics.

Oh, the game is available from the site listed here - and there's an improved version for the emulators, in that disk swapping is eliminated/invisible/not required any more.
The original came on 4 disk sides, and this required constant swapping, when you accessed a different level in the game.
There is a cheat version too, for those who require it.
Same for a cheat version of Laser Hawk - the end of game animation
is worthwhile reaching.

There is a built in cheat, to view the end of game animation in HawkQuest, which is easily found.

Harvey A. Kong Tin

I think that there's a challenge here - for someone to design a level editor for this game!

Fontbyter from Compute! was used to design (put together) the screens, ie. levels with.
While a custom level editor would be nice - Fontbyter can be used again to design new levels for HawkQuest.
An Antic Character Editor (from Byte?) is used to design custom character sets with, ie. a redefined character set, are the graphics used.

I think I have all the information to allow someone to design new graphics and new levels for HawkQuest (at least, I think I have?), and it's all a matter of finding someone keen enough to want to do it, to become the guinea pig, to see if it can be done?
Designing the actual graphics can be done with any of the regular Atari 8-bit graphics programs, like - MicroPainter, Fun With Art, etc that draws in Graphics 7 1/2, and besides the normal 4 colours, there is a 5th colour available, that is the inverse of one of the other colours. (Well, that is what I remember, anyway, if my memory is correct? It's been 20 odd years...).
It should be noted that the graphics are using 'fat' or 'squashed' pixels.
HawkQuest has a very low number of characters available to design decent graphics with, so use has to be made of repetitive characters being used very often.
Someone new to all this, will find it a lot of information to absorb (unless you're already well versed in Atari 8-bit Graphics and using/used the Atari 8-bit computers?). Anyway, it can be done - and it's not hugely complicated, just rather involved in various details.

Anyway I usually hand copy or hand-draw designs on special Graph
paper which shows these fat/squashed pixels aligned with single character grids. ie. 4 pixels wide and 8 pixels high = 1 character.
This hard copy of the graphics makes it easier to manually transfer the designs into the Antic Character Editor - which you save as a character set, to be used with Fontbyter (and later written to the HawkQuest game disk).

I'm sure a special "How To ---" site/page can be set up, which clearly outlines the method, so that it's much easier to follow. (If someone wanted to do that, that is.)
Your graphics / level design can be seamlessly added into HawkQuest, if you want to do so?
Graphics Design is not everyone's cup of tea, so changing the level design, would probably appeal to more people/players? Just use the existing graphics and design new level layouts...

I don't know what the current situation is, as regards game development on the Atari 8-bit computer these days???
But today's programmers can make the graphics and level design of their game accessible to players/interested people - who would like to design their own graphics and/or design new levels?
This is called game-modding, I believe? This would encourage wanna be game designers and graphics designers to have a go at it, without having to learn programming or starting from scratch.

Harvey