Return To Dark Castle
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This article or section contains information about an unreleased video game. It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature, and the content may change dramatically as more information becomes available. |
| Return To Dark Castle | |
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| Developer(s) | Z Sculpt |
| Publisher(s) | Delta Tao |
| Release date(s) | Summer 2007? |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Apple Macintosh |
| Input | Mouse, Keyboard |
Contents |
[edit] History
Return To Dark Castle is the first Computer Game in the Dark Castle series developed by Z Sculpt. Return To Dark castle was originally planned to be released in Winter 2000, then Spring 2001. In March 1 2001, they started releasing public betas[1], and finally, Delta Tao put up "we don't announce release dates" on it. Things slowed down after 2001, until in December 2002, an announcement told readers, that they had been working all Summer on 16 bit color support, which it had previously lacked, and all the graphics had to be redone. At the same time they also announced a level editor. They fell back into silence until August 2003, when another announcement confirmed that it was still being worked on. Also a short documentation of the level editor was put up. In April 2004, another Beta was put up. In October 2004, another Beta was put up along with some new pictures, some of which showed off new levels. The latest update from the site was July 2005, with the release of a new beta. On December 19 2006, an E-Mail was supposedly sent out, saying that Return To Dark Castle was finished, but only a small amount of people received it due to a spam blocker[citation needed]. On January 11 2007, the president of Delta Tao posted a test demo on his personal blog.[2] March 4, 2007 Z Sculpt's 'about page' was updated confirming the finished Product, and mentioning that the intel port was done.[3] On March 19th, Joe Williams posted a comment on his blog, which said: "RTDC will, with luck, ship this summer, probably under Super Happy Fun Fun's label. I'll post more definitive info when I have it."
[edit] Features
Staying as close to the original Dark Castle, and Beyond Dark Castle game play as possible, Return To Dark Castle plays very similarly, though they've added a few things, such as, being able to carry weapons with you, and being able to keep potions around, that take you back to the Great Hall.
The graphics have gone through many changes, such as the jump from 8 bit, to 16 bit, and obviously the conversion from the original's black and white. There is more to the new graphics than just color. There is now sprite drop shadows, and lighting effects.
[edit] Story
As taken from the Demo/Beta's intro:
In a time of magical and mythical beasts, the ominous Dark Castle glows eerily under the full moon.
For Centuries, the evil Black Knight has dwelled within these walls, spreading fear over the once peaceful countryside.
All seemed hopeless until one day, a traveler from a faraway land wandered into the peasant village.
He called himself Prince Duncan, and told the townspeople he had come on a quest to vanquish the Black Knight.
Overjoyed that peace might finally be restored to their land, they cheered as Duncan set off toward the caste.
But alas, their hero never returned from his valiant quest.
Tales of his bravery were all there were spoken of Dark Castle for many years... Until now.
A new hero has arrived, ready to face the perils of the castle and destroy the Black Knight once and for all.
[edit] Levels
Dark Castle, and Beyond Dark Castle both had 15 levels, and Return To Dark Castle is reported to have all the levels from the first game plus a lot more. It's been said many times by Z Sculpt that this game will be huge, in terms of levels.
[edit] Levels from Dark Castle
- Trouble: Trouble 1, Trouble 2, Trouble 3.
- Fireball: Fireball 1, Fireball 2, Fireball 3, Fireball 4.
- Black Night: Black Night 1, Black Night 2, Black Night 3.
- Shield: Shield 1, Shield 2, Shield 3, Shield 4.
- ????: Secret Level - it's worth noting that this level was only in the color version of Dark Castle, and is not guaranteed to be in this game.
[edit] Levels From Beyond Dark Castle
- Ye Roof: Computer Room, Clock Tower, Swamp, Forrest.
- West Tower: West Tower Wall, West Labyrinth, West Tower Top.
- East Tower: Black Night's Brewery, East Labyrinth, East Tower Top.
- Underground: Basement, Catacombs, Dungeon.
- Main Hall: Ante Room, Black Night's Showdown & The Final Battle.
[edit] Levels From Return To Dark Castle
As shown in screenshots, betas, and demos.
- Hedge Maze Test 1 - Based on the name, it will probably not make it in the final game.
- Test Level - Used in later betas, probably will not be in the final game.
- West Courtyard.
- Cave Dungeon.
- Witch's Woods 1.
- Secret Room.
- Bryant's House.
- Bryant's House 2.
- Target Practice.
- Ante Room II.
- Forest Guard Tower.
- Laboratory.
- Library.
- Castle Grounds.
- Giant Tree.
- Untitled Kitchen Level - A kitchen level, with no name shown.
[edit] Level Editor
As announced in December 2002, Return To Dark Castle will include a level editor, which can be used to make your own levels, or even create your own quest.
The levels have 7 layers, each with its own specific purpose, such as mosters, stairs, pick ups, ect.
The Layers are as follows:
- Layer 1: Scenery.
- Layer 2: Background.
- Layer 3: Midground.
- Level 4: Items.
- Level 5: Animation.
- Level 6: Foreground.
- Level 7: Stamps.
Descriptions of all of them are located here.
[edit] Betas/Demos
On February 6, 2001, Z Sculpt announced a public Beta[4]. On January 11 2007 Joe Williams (Joedelta) posted a test demo on his blog[5], the demo is labeled 1.0 . Z Sculpt has not changed their site, and is still offering Beta 13. [6]
- Teaser - March 25 1999 - This isn't a official beta, rather a teaser, but it's worth noting.
- Beta 1 - March 1 2001
- Beta 1.1 - March 5 2001
- Beta 2 - April 3 2001
- Beta 3 - May 3 2001
- Beta 4 - May 17 2001
- Beta 5 - August 1 2001
- Beta 6 - September 12 2001
- Beta 7 - November 2 2001
- Beta 8 - February 21 2002
- Beta 9 - July 8 2002
- Beta 10 - April 21 2004
- Beta 11 - October 15 2004
- Beta 12 - May 5 2005
- Beta 13 - July 22 2005
- Test Demo 1.0 - January 11 2007 - Leaked on Delta Tao's blog.
[edit] Requirements
The original system requirements from the old Return To Dark Castle F.A.Q. were as follows:
- PPC
- 90-100MHz
- Mac Os 8 or higher.
The Requirements on Mac Game Files states the following:
- PPC
- Mac OS 8.6 or higher, with CarbonLib.
- Mac OS X 10.0 or higher.
- NOTE: The Current Requirements are unknown.
In a text file that came with the test demo, it says that they are working on a Intel version, but in the meantime it works "acceptably" under Rosetta.
In the newest update, they mention that, a intel universal binary is finished.[7]
[edit] The December 19 E-Mail
On December 19 2006, an E-Mail was sent out from Z Sculpt, saying "Return to Dark Castle has been completed and will be available soon." The only problem was that very few people received the E-Mail, and some people thought it was not true. Upon questioning Z Sculpt, they said that their Spam blocker, Comcast, had, blocked their E-Mail address, and let only a few E-Mails out, but they did send that E-Mail.
The E-Mail read out:
Lords and Ladies, Return to Dark Castle has at long last been completed. We're working hard with Delta Tao to make the public demo available for download soon, followed by the full product release shortly after.
The Email also included a picture of Duncan dancing from Beyond Dark Castle.
[edit] Trivia
- This game was said to start development in 1996, which means that the total Development time is over 10 years; comparable to Duke Nukem Forever, whose development was started a year later.
- After finishing Color Dark Castle, Delta Tao didn't have plans to convert Beyond Dark Castle to color, because Return To Dark Castle is going to include all the levels from it.
- The Christmas Tree easter egg is in this game, found in the Great Hall room.
- Is some of the early screenshots, there was a weapon next to the fireball in the inventory which looked like an Iceball. When questioned about it, Z Sculpt said it was a placeholder, and nothing is final.
- The Dark Castle rights are now owned by Super Happy Fun Fun, it's unknown if it will have any effect on Return To Dark Castle's development.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Delta Tao Homepage Publishers of Return To Dark Castle.
- Z Sculpt Homepage The Developers of Return To Dark Castle.
- Super Happy Fun Fun Homepage holder of rights to the Dark Castle Series.
- Inside Mac Games preview of Return To Dark Castle.
- The latest Beta for download at Mac Game Files.
- Return To Dark Castle latest demo, at Joe Williams (Joedelta)'s blog.
- Forum thread discussing Return To Dark Castle.
- Recent news article featuring Return To Dark Castle.
