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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- A remake with enhanced graphics, playability and new features of the game "Alley Cat", a quite simple but pretty original arcade game created in 1983 by Bill Williams (rest in peace) for the Atari 8-bit and IBM computers.
Visit the game's site to download it for free and read the User Guide to learn more about the controls and configuration options: www.joflof.com/...
Features:
- Up to 4 players can play simultaneously
- Arcade and Versus Modes
- Enemy control in Versus Mode
- All the stages from the original plus five new ones!
- New graphics and sounds
- The old ones are still there, if you wish to play like you did as a child
- Lot's of options to configure it so it look's as retro as possible!
- Arcade Cabinet mode, to fit perfectly in your gorgeous Arcade Machine
And some cheats and easter eggs are explained here: / 1024111514985353216 ;)
This is how I think a remake should be done, starting with the original and building on that. Excellent work and an example for other developers out there. How awesome would it be to have for example a Commander Keen remake done like this.
Alley Cat Multiplayer?? with new rooms???? and ATARI mode???? AND FREE??????
Best news ever. Thanks! Downloading!
WOW! what a fine remake. such respect for the original game.
This remake is soooo well done! Stays true to the original, adds a fresh layer of graphics, doesn't try to reinvent what made it so great to play. Awesome!
I just played this, and it's the remake Alley Cat always deserved. I like the three dimensionality of the new backgrounds, with items like bags of dog food and bottles of wine framing the playfield. Beyond that, there was something inexplicably moving about rescuing Felicia... the heart platforms fall away and the two of you take off into the night sky as a shooting star, only to have the camera pan down to the two cats watching fireworks with their tails curled into a heart. It's a surreal, yet profoundly touching moment. Bill Williams surely would have approved.
I made this remake with all the love an effort I could bring to it. This comment is better that any payment I could get. Thanks! :D
One of the videogames of my childhood! Pure nostalgia! Time runs too fast… 😢
This has to the best remake of classic game ever. I played the original bigtime back in 83. I need to get this.
This is so good! Thank you for recreating such a little-known classic so faithfully!
As most 90's videogame companies would say... THANK YOU FOR PLAYING! :P
I found this remake accidentally a couple weeks ago when I was customizing my RetroArch playlists and trying out some of my old DOS games on it. Alley Cat was my very first PC game that I ever played, although that only happened in the second half of the 90's when I was around 9 or 10 years old or so. I'm 35 now but I never forgot that little simple game and I've been going back to it time and time again over the years, whether it was on real hardware back in the day, after my dad bought us our first computer, or via emulation with DOSBox, before I started toying around with RetroArch. I was in awe when I found it and the "different versions modes" introduced me to the original Atari version and others that I had no idea existed. However I'm holding back from playing it because I want to save it for one of my livestreams. I just haven't had the opportunity to do that yet. But rest assured, it will be soon! I playtested it and it's so wholesome that it had me actually grinning the entire time I was testing it.
I am so glad to read that! Please, give me a touch (or just answer me here) if you dedicate some space to it on your channel!
Also, if you want to test all the posibilitiesof the game, I recommend you to try the multiplayer mode (it is like a Bomberman game where you fight against the others to win and also you can keep playing if you don't manage to enter through a window but others do, pressing the action button and then controlling the enemies or objects on that screen, it is an experimentation issue. You can try it with 3 CPU controlled cats!).
Also, I suggest you to try some of its cheats / easter eggs! x.com/joflof/status/1024111514985353216?s=20
@@joflof3317 Oh God, I don't know how I missed your reply. I'm so sorry! As of tying this reply, I have showcased Remeow on that stream I mentioned I wanted to make just last week! At first I was a bit sad that I could not try out the multiplayer mode (as I have no friends to play with) but then I discovered you can have the CPU control the other cats (I also found about being able to play as the broom if you can't enter a room) and I had a blast! I genuinely ended the stream with my cheeks aching because of how much I had been grinning like an idiot the entire time I was playing the game. lol In case you may be curious, I have the VOD on my channel and I start playing Alley Cat Remeow at around the 2:12:52 mark: th-cam.com/video/xO3qfvyoI8Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=_L-GzGcXY22zCnjf&t=7972
I've been playing more off-stream since then and enjoying it just as much, but I had no idea it had easter eggs, let alone so many of them! I'm so gonna try them all next time I play.
Joflof, thank you so much for making this lovely game for us to enjoy. As I said in my original post, it is a remake that I did not know I needed in my life. And after playing it as much as I have so far I can honestly say that it is a product of love and respect for the source material, made by someone who enjoyed the originals just as much as I did, and that love shows itself in about every pixel and bit of sound that's on the screen.
Alleycat was the first game I ever played, and I'm so happy there's so much love for it!
I played that game with 0 nostalgia, and might be the very only game in the original IBM PC I really had fun with
Wow its a great nostalgia, back then i played this secretly on my dad's office pc.
Cute touch using Bill Franklin's Solitare graphics for the cards ;-) And great attention to detail including the PCjr version too, wow.
Thanks for the comment! But if I don't remember it wrong... they were Pyramid Solitaire cards ;-).
Whoops, you're right, they were Pyramid :-)
Amazing! I played this on my Atari 130XE and figured graphics and sound would never get any better. What I didn't realize was that this was the golden age of gameplay mechanics.
Loving it. This is like the best thing that happened to me this week
I hope you enjoy the weekend better than the week :P
But thanks a lot for the comment ;)
This... was the one game that me and my sisters played the hell out on our old IBM PC!
To Bill Williams who created this masterpiece: I thank you for this.
I used to play the original and I like this! It doesn't differ too much from the original. And it captured the sounds and spirit of the original game. I love it!
Thank you! :)
So glad this retains much of Bill Williams' sound effects performed on the venerable POKEY.
amazing. a remake created with love and respect for the original authors
I remember playing the original in my Freshman computer class, our teacher, Charlie, would get so pissed off at us for goofing around with this game! This updated one looks like a total blast!
Amstrad PC1512 / MS-DOS / Alley Cat/ Bill Williams... Nostalgia
¡¡¡GRANDE JODER!!! ^_^
This is madness!!! Pure genius! Thank you so much for just making this. It's lovable.
Thank you for remaking. The original ally cat was the first game of my life.
Was the first PC game of mine too :)
I just knew the Alley Cat game recently in a YT recommendation and quickly felt in love for it, so I googled it and found this awesome remake, I don't remember of laughing so hard and hearthy by a game for a long time, you did a amazing job with this game.
Thank you! ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
Absolutely amazing work! This game brings back so many wonderful memories of a golden age! It was the first game I played on the PC-XT (CGA)! You have honored the memory of the great genius, Bill Williams! Surely he would like this remake a lot! He will always be remembered for his admirable genius and work! You lived up to his memory!
May God bless you and keep you!
Bill Williams hid this message in the Alley Cat code, according to what I read while researching him.
I wish that for you and for him!
Congratulations on the excellent remake! Masterfully done.
THIS IS SO CUTE! A friend and I played this game a lot on his old PC. The game had so much atmosphere!
Este fue el primer video juego de mi vida y lo amo... en una PC IBM creo que en el ano 1985, MUCHAS GRACIAS!!!!
I was just talking about how the original game really deserves a new remaster, and OMG WTF HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS EARLIER?! It isn't just amazing, it is astronomically stellar! I have goosebumps just watching this video! I haven't even downloaded it yet and I can't hold still. I can't wait to try it. Thank you for making this happen!!
Comments like this make all the work behind the game worth it! If you download and try it, and you want more, there is a bunch of secrets / easter eggs you can try: twitter.com/joflof/status/1024111514985353216
how come i only knew about this remake today? :O looks amazing!
I think I'm crying. Thumbs up.
Cool remake! With honour to the original design and soundtrack too!
One of my favorite games growing up in the 80's. Thrilled to find it again. I downloaded and told my brother. :)
Thank you! So glad you did! Hope you both enjoy! :)
Can't go back to playing the old MS-DOS version after playing this one :D
Atari version was always better but harder due to higher gameplay speed.
This is problably the best remake of any orinigal classic games in many years. Seriously, i recommend this to everyone! =)
This is probably the best comment I got in weeks. You made my day, thanks :D
You're welcome, cat mate! 😸
Absolutely love this remake! Adorable how the cat purrs when he sheds the bed.
Still can't figure out the secret to the Magic Room! lol
The numbers of the cards will tell you which hat the bunny will come from. You just have to sum the red numbers minus the black numbers. If there is a J, Q or K, then the dog will appear instead of the bunny.
It's magic! :D
@@joflof3317 I never would have figured that out! lol
@@sarahwolf6754 I really thought it was easier to guess, hahaha ^_^'
Wow man, what a beautiful upgrade for this classic! All hail Bill Williams! Thanks for making this new edition!
Btw, what was Ken says about that?
el mejor remake que he visto! fiel y al mismo tiempo te deja jugar el original!!
I don't know who you are but I can only tell you that I love you for this remake,
'ing excellent :) 10/10 what a wonderful take on an absolute classic - Alan
Thanks! :D
Woah! This is awesome! The 80's one was fantastic and this is a really awesome remake!
By far the best version of this game. Thanks a bunch!
Oh my god, shut up and TAKE MY MONEY. It's FREE??? What alternate reality is this??
I have a 4 player arcade cabinet with CRT screen (Windows 7 PC inside), this is made perfectly for it!
My brothers and I grew up with this game, first playing it on our aunt/uncle's PC compatible for their hotel business, it was an orange monochrome screen. We didn't know how to copy games at the time so it wasn't till some years later we got it for our own PCs at home.
You know, the thing about the original game is, it is a feat of programming genius. Where other games through the years started running too fast and needed "slowmo.exe", this one always maintained the same frame rate no matter the hardware. It even continued to run natively in Windows, all the way up to Windows 98! I think it finally, FINALLY stopped being able to run in Windows XP. That, is a programming legacy.
And this game here, is a fine, fine tribute - I find the graphics and sounds, while enhanced, seem to somehow stay true to the spirit of the game. This was made by a passionate fan of the original. And the 4 player multi, and the arcade interface... just blows my mind. It's exactly what I didn't know I needed in my life.
Well, thank you very much for your enthusiasm!
Can you believe I haven't seen it working on a real arcade machine yet? So, if you can do that and make a video, I'll be very happy to see it! And if it's with 4 people playing it would be perfect! :)
Easily done, my friend :) all too happy to do it.
I grew up with Alley Cat so I'm also very excited to test out the new one on the arcade cabinet and contribute to the video! Clint and I are friends/housemates and we love 80's and 90's retro games.
Jen
Ah - I need to set up a date for that and invite our 4th gamer over!
joflof Here's the video :) th-cam.com/video/0CYPb5xxilg/w-d-xo.html
This game help me a lot through de 2020 pandemic, thanks man!
My favorite video game from my early childhood! With multiplayer! I used to imagine in my head what this game would be like with multiplayer and more rooms - then you come along and do it! Awesome.
That said, I strongly desire controller support. I play all my PC games using a controller when possible. (I don't play competitive FPSes, so I don't use keyboard/mouse.)
There is totally controller support! You only have to go to options and define contros, and press your controller pad/buttons to assign them to the functions! You even can change the jump function to "up" or to a button, as you wish :D
Glad you like it! :)
Sorry, I typed that before I downloaded the game! I got the game just now, but I'm so caught up with three other games that while I do plan to play it, I likely won't play it soon just yet, but I definitely plan to, and I'll keep this video open in another tab to remind myself to try it out.
Btw, if Synapse is out of business and no-one owns the rights to Alley Cat, do you think there might be some way you could try to get your game distributed as an indie on Steam and other services? I'd love to one day play your updated version of my childhood favorite game (my other favorite Atari800 games were Ghost Chasers, Agent U.S.A., Pharaoh's Curse, and a few others) on my Switch! (I know it's a long shot, but indies are being courted these days if their product can get attention, so I dunno. I thought I'd ask.)
i put in my arcade macine, it´s so perfect, thanks
nice... a new classic… (great work!)
I wish there was an adlib version of the music. Such a cool port.
WHAT AN EXCELLENT REMAKE IT IS!?
I loved the game when I was a kid, but this is even better :D
Difficult to unsee it in purple/pink - awesome work!
That looks seriously awesome!
Impresionante, tremendo trabajo, ¡Enhorabuena! Es una pena que no tengas los derechos para hacer esta versión un remake oficial, sino sería genial publicarlo y poder disfrutarlo en Nintendo Switch
Meow! I played the original in the early '90s, time to revisit the game =^.^=
Wow this looks amazing. I loved this game as a kid. I'll give it a whirl. Thanks for informing me of this :)
Omg the sounds!!!! i'm in loooooove!!!
Love them mousies!
The first video game I ever played. It happened in 1987 were I lived in USSR
OMG!! this is beautiful!!!
Wow it is very faithful to the original. Seems so fun!!!
Worked fine in Linux under Wine for me. Love it. :)
Should have written it for MS-DOS.
Ironically, I started coding it in MS-DOS back in the 90s :P
@@joflof3317 Ha, well it's still awesome. DOS or not!
Is this a real thing? If yes, this is absolutely amazing!!!
I expected something like this before the Stray cat game.
Ah, nostalgia!
Bring this to GOG!!!! Please!!!!! This MUST be released on GOG.
very good, my only complaint is the supposed drum sounds
I have to say, that is probably the best way to offer a fan service to original auditory of that brilliant game.
I just was didn't sees any disgusting things about that remake, otherwise i was should to go ruined it with bombing criticizm...😂
I need this in my Nintendo Switch
XD
Thanks for revive it, now I can play it on new version of windows
I love this game. Thx reworked. Welcome for in Hungary.
juegaso en PERU LO jugabamos bastante
Only one thing was not implemented -- in the starting stage (with dumpsters), the fence pickets (holes in them) should change every time you re-visit the stage.
Yep, you noticed it right. That is one of the only things I decided to not implement. I could have (like I did with the books on the spider stage), but it was purely cosmetic and because of the way I store the graphics, at the end I decided it was not necessary. But yeah, it's true ;)
the intro music doesnt work unless its got that super high note all distorting and making everyones head hurt.
I am not sure if I understand the behaviour you describe :?
Awesome!
Wish this was out for Android 🥺
amazing!
OMG Amaizing!
Amazing
Congratulations! Impressive game, great design, and marvelous ideas with the new rooms! A great tribute to Bill Williams!
It is a pity that it is only playable in Windows. Will you consider to release other versions in the future?
In fact, I have been emailed but much people asking me if I can port this to Xbox (I have ported many other things to that console, so some people thinks that I can do miracles, lol). Obviously, I am always answering that it is not possible without the source code. Of course, if in the future you want that your game is enjoyed by people in other plattforms, I'm sure that you will find a lot of volunteers that will offer to port your game, so... please consider it!
In fact, I offer myself to port it to the original Xbox and PSP if I have access to the source, or to a static library (if you don't want to share the source) and of course keep it private. If you ever want it, please let me know, and you will make happy a lot of people ;)
In any case, congratulations and thank you very much for this great remake!
Well, you message is very appreciated by many reasons.
First of all, thanks for the first comments. If you happen to go to my site (joflof.com) and read all the info about the game, I spent years (a lot of them) in this in different moments of my life. Finishing this project is on of the best things I have done in my computing-life, cause I have a lot of unfinished projects, and I least I did finish this one, which was very special for me, and with very satisfying results!
Also, if you look at my twitter, recently I put away all the hidden secrets, which include some bizarre things like activating the classic DOS pong virus into the game which also affects playbility :P. Give them a try!
I would love to port this to ANY system possible. I just didn't have the option or the knowledge on how to, but I did have the intention!
Feel free to contact me through the mail direction on my website and we can discuss about it! :)
Message sent! :D
I love this
Wow thats great
Wow loved this 😀😀😀😀😀
I have an absolutely nerd technical question:
On the title screen, the kitty only meows three times. (Unlike the Atari version where it meows a number of times.)
Was there a technical reason for the limitation?
I ask because it is just SO CUTE when the kitty meows! ha ha ha!
I don't remember exactly if it does it 3 times, but I remember it does it in specific parts of the music. So no, it's not a tecnical limitation xD
I love this. All I'm wondering is how do you shoot hadoukens in remeow? Asking for a dev.
Down, down right, right and action button when facing to the right, or left if facing to the left. You need to eat some mices before having the power to do so. You will know when you get that power because your kitty will flash for a sec ;)
After playing the latest version - I must say this remake is much harder than I remember. I just checked some videos of people playing the OG on various platforms and yes, the remake is much harder. I'd say - "difficulty creep" victim. Come on, it could be a bit easier on Kitten level at least. The major difference I see - junk flying out of the windows - way too much. It's just raining ;) The Felicia parts - way too many arrows flying at the poor Fred. The fishtank level seems like much harder than original. The bedroom level from the other hand is too easy. That with the spider is super easy too.
WAIT.... Someone REMADE one of the GREATEST games to ever exist??!!!
When did this happen?
I know this is a shot in the dark, but please consider an ID@XBOX version.
Outstanding work, man! This right here should be a textbook case of how to properly remake a classic game. Clearly a labor of love, and very well done at that. I highly appreciate how the visuals were creatively updated, but still all the gameplay mechanics manage to stick so closely to the original. It even nails stuff like the gradual speed-up when you run, the effect of your running speed on your jump height, etc.
Now I gotta see if I can configure a custom resolution that replicates the original aspect ratio, with CGA/PCjr-style non-square pixels (since they were 320x200 at 4:3).
I'd ask if you were planning to add a simulation mode for the NEC PC-8801 version... but that version looks like a load of crap anyway, better skip it. :)
Thanks for your comment! In fact, when I was creating the game, I considered the PC-88 version, I downloaded it and played it and... yes, it is really bad, most of the mecahnics are not even there, and probably no one would even remember or have any nostalgia of that version. It used a wierd resolution like 640x200 or something like that, so I finally discarded it. What was in the project was a HD version with HD graphics, but I also had no luck finding anyone doing that graphics for me, so I had to do the crappy "remastered" VGA graphics by myself.
About the 320x200 resolution, well, you can probably configure it through the config file, though as the original Atari version was 320x240 I tried to maintain the square pixels which I considered a more logical and compact option ;). You maybe can adjust the vertical size of your monitor to get that non-square pixels :P
Wow. Where to get it?
I'm a fan of Alley Cat.
have you consider to make bgm as midi (using opl3-emu synth?) it would make the game smaller and more retro though it may not sounds more authentic...
No, I didn't because none of the original versions sounded as midi synth.
Awesomeeeee!!
Kudos!
Are you sure about the "Atari ST" part? I don't know if this was ever made for Atari ST. You may mean "Atari 8-bit", ie 400/800/800xl/130xe?
You're absolutly right: I said ST when I was thinking on XL or XE. I should have said "Atari 8-bit", it was never released for the Atari ST computers!
Sorry for the mistake! ;)
mew!
I had an Atari ST but you know what? You may be right...I've always been off with my Atari formats...it's probably the 800 I'm thinking of.
Classic!
Finally caved in and downloaded the game three days ago.
The good news is that I've figured out how to elude the spiders (I don't recall encountering more than one spider in the old MS-DOS game) on lower difficulties.
The bad news, thanks to you, I now have a new form of PTSD from the ducks and bees! Especially the bees!
*shivers...*
That aside, legally, I have gotten about 1 million points, starting from Kitten and moving up to Alley Cat difficulty. With the 9 lives cheat, I've gotten to 2 million.
And I have noticed that you can pull off a fireball, though I discovered it by accident. First, when I made an Alley Cat-CPU match with 4 players, I saw one of the cats fire one from its paws.
Pulled off two more on my own, by pure luck. How exactly do you do it?
Also, it's powerful enough to KO that dog, and the broom, too.
And I read elsewhere that there's a debug mode of sorts. How do you unlock it?
Also, if you change controls, typing in cheats doesn't always work right, as I discovered with the "FELICIA" and "CRAZY" cheats.
You have all the information in the website joflof.com :)
@@joflof3317 Heya. What's the Debug Mode cheat code to unlock invulnerability and the ability to fire off Hadoukens, again? I've gotten a different laptop, and I'd like to give this game another playthrough for old times' sake. Sending a fireball to knock away dogs was fun. 😆
Огромное спасибо за хорошую игру !
Oye, excelente trabajo!
Felicidades.
Namaste.
Nice!!!!!
finally!!!
I can't set a 1920x1080 resolution in the config. The game reduces to minimal resolution.
My hardware supports 1920x1080.
The game only supports up to 1280x720, if I recall it correctly. Just use that resolution and go fullscreen.
wow! Amazing job! :)
WOW, so hectic