Retro City Rampage: 486
=======================
July 29th, 2015


Retro City Rampage's cross platform conquest reaches MS-DOS and Linux today - both digitally and physically.
PC+MAC owners on Steam, GOG, Humble Store and developer direct get the Linux and MS-DOS versions for free, along with a prototype Windows 3.1 version.
The MS-DOS version is also available physically in a boxed collector's edition on 3.5" floppy disk.

The MS-DOS version was crammed to fit onto a single 1.44MB floppy disk and run on 486 PCs from over two decades ago. It also runs on modern PCs via DOSBox, or when powered up with an MS-DOS bootable USB drive or CD/DVD. It supports the Gravis Game Pad and other classic MIDI port Joysticks and rocks your PC Speaker.
The limited edition box includes the MS-DOS version on 3.5" Floppy Disk and digital downloads for PC, MAC, LINUX, and MS-DOS, along with a bonus Windows 3.1 prototype.


A HISTORY OF THE MS-DOS VERSION
-------------------------------

Porting RCR to MS-DOS had been on my mind for years. It was something I wanted to explore before RCR was even released. Could I crunch it down to run on old PCs? A Pentium? A 486? Even a 386? How little RAM and HDD space could I get away with? Could I build an installer that fits the entire game on a single floppy disk? The computer programmer in me had this burning fascination, and I should've realized sooner that it was only a matter of time before I finally had no choice, but to finally scratch that itch and find the answers to these questions!
Leaving my job at another game studio to start my own and develop RCR put the heavy weight of responsibility on my shoulders. Those realities meant that current, more sustainable platforms had to take priority. However, two years after the release of RCR, things had calmed down and I was able to take a vacation. While that "vacation" instantly turned into long days at the computer porting RCR to MS-DOS, it was the most fulfilling time I've had programming in years.
What set porting to MS-DOS apart from other platforms and why it was so enjoyable, was that it was a programming puzzle. It was about figuring out the optimal ways to fit everything into memory and how to increase the code's performance. It was like playing a game of Tetris or Sudoku, but instead of a high score, I got to see the game running on a 486 PC. It was a stark contrast to releasing a game on many modern platforms, which can require mountains of paperwork, and hundreds of checklist items each, from handling parental controls and user sign-in states, to screen safe zones, 4:3 and 16:9 support, 60hz NTSC and 50hz PAL support, displaying notifications with mandated terminology, and ultimately certification.
Unlike NES development, which was something I picked up as a hobby much after the fact, I was programming for MS-DOS when it was still in use in the '90s. Jumping back into it was like riding a bicycle, and the previous experience proved very useful. Digging up the old interrupt list and a thick programming book on pushing audio through the PC Speaker really took me back. It will come as no surprise to those of you who've followed my work, just how much I enjoyed the bits of inline assembly I was able to work into the project!
Everything leading up to this moment was a valuable stepping stone. In porting to Nintendo 3DS, I cut the game's memory footprint in half and got my hands dirty with optimizations. It was then, when I saw the potential, that MS-DOS might be less of a pipe dream than I had formerly thought. The hilarious part was that by the end of the 3DS development, I felt like I'd squeezed almost every ounce of performance out of the game. However, once the hammer came down to really make a mark on MS-DOS, I realized I'd barely scratched the surface, and wound up getting it to run with 16X less memory. Things went full circle, then, as I backported the new optimizations to Nintendo 3DS and released them via a game update earlier this year.
While there was never a barrier to releasing on MS-DOS digitally, releasing it on a floppy in a box, with a cloth map and red mystery decoder was another thing which seemed potentially unrealistic. However, after taking the leap and self-publishing a physical version for PS4, all of you came out and showed your support, making it a success. That support showed it was sustainable and lead to the PS Vita version, and the success of that gave me the confidence that a boxed MS-DOS version could actually sustain itself as well.
I'd like to thank you, once again, for supporting the project and helping me bring a dream to life. I hope you enjoy the red mystery decoder as much as I do! That's the cherry on top, for me.


NOTE
----

If you don't have an old PC running DOS, RCR:486 works great under DOSBox.

You can also run DOS and RCR:486 on modern PCs by creating a DOS bootable 
USB flash drive, CD or DVD.

To purchase the limited edition boxed floppy disk retail version, visit:
http://www.RetroCityRampage.com



RCR486_MS-DOS.zip
-----------------
Pre-Installed MS-DOS version of Retro City Rampage: 486

To play, run RCR.EXE in a DOS-compatible environment.



RCR486_MS-DOS_Installation_Floppy.zip
-------------------------------------
MS-DOS installation disk for Retro City Rampage: 486

With a single floppy disk, you can copy these files to an MS-DOS machine. 

Extract this .zip file to a 3.5" floppy disk then run INSTALL.EXE 
in a DOS-compatible environment.



RCR486_Windows_3.1_Prototype_Version.zip
----------------------------------------
Pre-Installed Windows 3.1 version of Retro City Rampage: 486

To play, simply run RCR_WIN.EXE in a Windows 3.x-compatible environment.

This is an incomplete prototype which demonstrates RCR running under
Windows 3.1. This version requires a faster PC than the MS-DOS one with 
slightly more RAM, and does not include audio or joystick support.


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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
===================

RCR:486 for MS-DOS requires a 486 DX PC or higher. with 4MB of RAM and 3.7MB 
of free Hard Disk space. A Pentium is recommended. 

It will run on a 386 (slowly), provided a 387 co-processor is present.
For more information, read the "PERFORMANCE" section.


CONFIGURING
===========

PERFORMANCE
-----------

To choose between better performance or smoother graphics, change the 
framerate.

From the Main Menu or Pause Menu:
HELP & OPTIONS -> SETTINGS -> PERFORMANCE

Your options are: 15 fps, 20 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps.
The default is 30 fps. 

If all you're packing is a 386, select 15 fps and disable joystick support.


JOYSTICKS
---------

15-pin Joysticks and Game Controllers are supported. The Gravis GamePad 
is recommended.

From the Main Menu or Pause menu:
HELP & OPTIONS -> CONTROLS -> CALIBRATE JOYSTICK

After calibrating, you can disable or re-enable the Joystick with the 
ENABLE JOYSTICK menu option.

NOTE: MS-DOS joysticks are a CPU hog. If your performance is poor, it's 
recommended that you disable it and use the keyboard.



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For more information, visit: 
RetroCityRampage.com
http://www.retrocityrampage.com/msdos_retail.php

