Amiga Arena Interview --------------------- Developer: Nogfx Software: FlashNG, ScummVM Amiga68k port Homepage: http://nogfx.free.fr/flash (FlashNG Support page) http://www.sebelinteractive.de/scummvm/ (ScummVM Amiga) Mail: nogfx@free.fr *Please introduce yourself to the readers!* My name is Nicolas Ramz (Nogfx). I'm a 21 years old and I study Mathematics/Computing in Clermont-Ferrand (center of FRANCE). * When did you start working with the Amiga?* I first bought an A500 in 1989: this was my very first computer and I only used it to play games. Just after the fall of Commodore I really believed in a comeback of the Amiga so I bought an A1200 and started to program in BlitzBasic. *Which Amiga model do you own* A1200/030 and A2000B *Which version of the operating system is running on your computer?* AmigaOS 3.1(1200) and AmigaOS 1.3 (2000) *Which software are you developing?* I'm currently most working on an Amiga68k ScummVM port. *Can you tell us what your software is about?* ScummVM is an open-source interpreter for the so-called Scumm scripts used in old LucasArts games: with this program, one can finally play great games such as Day of The Tentacle on the Amiga. FlashNG is a small portable Arkanoid clone (currently available for Amiga, MS/DOS and Win9x) *What has created the idea in you to continue developing your software?* Well, I always wanted to develop games... especially adventure games. After finishing the Windows port of FlashNG, I heard of ScummVM but unfortunately, no one wanted to make an AGA port of it: thinking it would be too slow. I was convinced AGA was not that slow in 320x200 so I started to port it... *How long has the development taken so far?* My first program is a small tool for Aminet CDs called "DreamCDGuide". The first version (written in BlitzBasic) has been released in 1997. One or two years later I released a new version re-written in C/MUI. I also commited some changes to the StrICQ GUI but the first "real" project I worked on is FlashNG. The original Turbo-Pascal MS/DOS version of FlashNG was written 2 years ago. The Amiga/FreePascal port only took me a couple of days. It then took me a lot of time to rewrite it into C (actually, I was learning C at the same time I was porting FlashNG from Pascal to C). Thanks to the work I already did in FlashNG, I have been able to make ScummVM work under AGA into one day and it took me about 2 weeks to make it really usable. But if I add the time used to download and configure GCC it is a LOT MORE than that ! *Which software are you using for developing?* GCC (AmigaOS) and LCC (Win32) *For which system (AmigaOS, AmigaDE, MorphOS) are you developing?* For AmigaOS 3.1 *Which OS will you support in the future?* I don't know: I will choose what OS to support when they are released. *What can we expect of future versions?* ScummVM: it depends on the time I'll have to work on it... Sound support in Amiga version of FlashNG. *Don't you lose the fun and the interest in programming if you see the small amount of feedback you get from the small Amiga market?* The Amiga/AmigaOS has a really "clean" and compact design: I'm still working with it because I like it and because I easily learn a lot of things (unlike when working on OSs such as Win or Linux). If I wanted to have some feedback I would not program for Amiga anymore. * Do you receive enough feedback for your software?* Considering the time I spend working on it, I don't receive enough feedback. But considering the Amiga "market", I think it's not so bad: I have been impressed by the feedback I received for ScummVM_AGA. *When did you last use your Amiga?* I'm using it to answer this Interview. *Which software did you last buy for your Amiga?* The last soft I bought is a game: Shadow of the Third Moon. *Which software do you still use?* DOpus, C Compilers and IBrowse *Which hard/software are you planning to buy?* Nothing. I'm waiting for something different than those PC/Macs, not something /superior /compared with everything else: I know it is not possible but at least something /different/. If nothing is released, one day, I'll have to switch to Pc/Mac... *Do you believe in a comeback of Amiga?* Please don't blame me... I think it's really too late: the AmigaOS is a great OS but lacks a lot of things such as Memory Protection, Ressource tracking (which implies a total rewrite of the kernel) and "Multimedia" apps. => It will take a long time to add these functionalities to the actual AmigaOS (and I am not talking about drivers issues...). MorphOS seems to be the closest to achieve this but I don't think they have the ressources (in terms of Money and Skilled people) to make the Amiga comeback. As for the AmigaDE, I don't know what market they are targeting with their small PD-Quality games. In two years they only released a modified Tao/Elate kernel: they'll have to do a lot more to make the Amiga comeback... *Your final words for the readers?* Continue to Support the Amiga Developers and instead of wasting time saying "Windows Suc...", take a compiler and write Amiga apps... Regards, Nogfx. © Amiga Arena 2/2002