[5-2-2015]_ Quadrill 4.1.1 contains two new bugfixes: one which caused errors upon startup due to changing music volume on certain systems, and the second which caused errors when saving or collecting an SFlag during a Test Run. The updated version can be downloaded from the main page (or here). There's still a lot of polish that needs to be done on Quadrill 4, but I haven't made time to work on it yet.
[1-3-2014]_ I have a few things that I need to add to Quadrill v4.1 that I'll probably work on later this month. Firstly, the controls for using Bombs, Motorwheels, and Jetpacks aren't rebindable, but they are the B, M, and J keys, respectively ("respectfully" is the wrong word). Also, .NET has this funky thing with the IndexOf function which allows characters to randomly match, which leads to two bugs: orange boxes cannot slide onto certain tiles in sand, as noted on the highway, and collecting chests on top of stone buildings leaves a hole behind that the player can fall into and get stuck. The game is still completable with those two bugs, though, because I implemented the Forfeit button (defaulted to be P; is reconfigurable). Also, I intentionally left the spelling and grammar errors in the game (if you find them, which you should, as some of them are pretty jarring)
[12-23-2013]_ The full version of Quadrill 4 for .NET and computers later than Windows XP is available for download as Quadrill v4.1. I kept most of the artwork the same as the original Quadrill 4, with the exception of the underwater area, the beasts, and the particle effects. The engine is different than the original, which means that certain methods that used to work in the original may not work in this version and the player will have to find an alternate solution. Overall, the game should be easier though, as the movement is not tilewise as the original, and traps are more forgiving. Bullets are a little harder to dodge, and the smartest bunch of darksiders are almost cage fighters. At any rate, feel free to download the project which carried me through the year of 2004 and into 2005 and now carried me through the month of December to an ultimate arrival at the footsteps of Christmas itself. Merry Christmas.
[6-4-2005]_ The demo for Quadrill 4 is now available! This includes the first six SFlags (other demos only included the first 4). The date of full version completion is still unknown. Have fun with Quadrill 4. Feedback is always welcome.
[3-11-2005]_ The picture of the Lochoftzk Fortress that I promised. I think I have most of the maps perfected. Next on the agenda is an alternative to the Restrict tiles. This should improve gameplay so that the player can visit old zones without losing required items.
[2-18-2005]_ Quadrill 4 is now a noisy game. Noisy in a good way. Monsters and enemies now make noises when they are hit, and there are lots of other noises when you get killed also. I also finished all of the death animations, so the game looks a lot more dynamic now.
[1-20-2005]_ Still playing through it, but I have added a few safeties and fixed quite a few bugs. Here's another picture of the Semi-Sylvan Range. I am about to add more NPCs and more communication spots.
[12-1-2004]_ I am playing through Q4 (slowly, so that I can find all of the secret chests that I've stashed around). I fixed up the loading procedure so that only 'dirty' maps will be reloaded. This significantly cuts down on the long delay after you get killed. Depending on how much of the map that's been modified, the reload could be almost instantaneous, as opposed to the full ~30 second delay after you get killed. I've also added a little tacky loading screen, so that you can see how long it will be until all of the maps are loaded (and parsed and enemies added to).
[11-18-2004]_ Well, after a year and a half, I've finally finished all of the maps for Quadrill 4. I've filled the map to its full capacity, and added lots of areas. After the Vetropic Floodplain would be the Riviera Pipeline Entrance, which is mostly a jet pack ride across a hole. Then the biggest amount of time I spent was on designing the New Pacific Palace (the old Pacific Palace was in Q2). At the top of the New Pacific Palace is the largest maze ever (entitled the Ultimate Maze). And then of course, there's the Island in the Sky, which is the last area. There's also the final boss, which is quite challenging once you can figure out how to safely damage it (in the picture behind the dust cloud and that's just a test image representing the boss anyway). Now, I just need to fill in the stuff that I left off from other areas.
[10-18-2004]_ During the really long break that I just took, aside from my new project, I've set up some bonus levels in Quadrill 4. First, I have prepared Fisheaux Crevasse, which is lots of ice, but has a few puzzles in it. Second, I have prepared G. East Cavern, analogous to the G. West Cavern, but harder. Third is the Vetropic Floodplain, shown to the right, which is mostly puzzle.
[8-26-2004]_ I've finished the Aerospace Complex. When you destroy the reactor core and get the final SFlag, the entire base will explode within a few seconds, so you have to make your way out before it explodes. Now, I am trying to devise a way for the player to get back to the Initializa Island from Forzan city (I hope Forzan is somewhere below).
[8-13-2004]_ I have actually finished an entire fortress and forgot to upload pics of it, but it's just a bunch of buildings. I might put it up as a separate picture somewhere in here. But anyway, the fortress containing the eleventh SFlag has been completed! Now, I brought back a treat for all of my original fans... at the end of the Bizad Ice Cap is the entrance to... Sauraqia! Yes, your favorite town of Car Models and caves from the original Quadrill series is back again... only this time it's harder. What's Sauraqia? I guess I may not have told everyone about Sauraqia from the original Quadrill, but I have a picture of this very room as it appears in Quadrill, but right here is the picture of it in Quadrill 4. Not to totally focus on Sauraqia, I have started work on the Zephyl Aerospace Complex (and yes, it's supposed to be in outer space), but right now, I'm still building some stuff on it. I have set up a bunch of monsters at the beginning, and the ZAS Complex is going to be kind of hard, as it is the place where the final SFlag is going to be. Picture coming soon.
[7-30-2004]_ I finished the trip a while ago. Now, I am setting up the Ice Cap, which is a horrible horrible place if you are afraid of heights. The zone consists of lots of ski-lifts, icy edges, and use of jet packs to fly around cliffs jutting out into the abyss.
[6-4-2004]_ I'm taking a trip through Quadrill 4, fixing some old mistakes as I walk through the game again (no I'm not finished ), but I don't have a picture this time. Lots of big mistakes that I had to correct (the missiles wouldn't hit the wall for some reason which probably is going to cause another error.
[5-24-2004]_ I've looked at the barren desert and decided that it needs enemies, so I added a few in the second half. The desert only 'looks big'... it's actually quite small. I guess I ruined the whole relaxing walk idea by adding lots of enemies along the way.
[5-21-2004]_ I finished setting up the sewer tunnel, and to distinguish this 'third' sewage tunnel (That's a lot of sewage tunnels), I made it much less tunnel-y and added open water on a large portion of it, so it's more of a walkway. And then, there's the end of the sewage tunnel which, strangely enough, goes into a volcano. The volcano isn't as volcanoish as I would like it to be, so I just called it the G. West Cavern. G stands for Global in case you were wondering. This volcano will exit to a desert, which I haven't built yet, but I will soon... the desert is just supposed to be for a relaxing walk, since we are going into another icefield. I also made it so that the tilesets will not flash over into the previous room when you change into a region with a different tileset. I made the little titles disappear automatically as well, so that they're not permanently embedded to the bottom until you press Enter.
[4-11-2004]_ I have set up the Fort Twellev area which leads into another Sewage Tunnel. This part is too hard right now, so I have to scale back the difficulty... since there is a big slope where you need to use Jet Packs in order to get to the top... and then there's the back entrance which leads around the back sides of the Nuclavation Zone. (This will probably be the Contraband Farms of Q4 ... but, hopefully not. I also brought back the old port tileset and made some pretty gradient water.
[1-12-2004]_ The highway is not finished, but it DOES contain the new Fans. The fans simply blow you away from them, similar to a conveyor belt. I added a couple of neat moving beasts on the highway, and there are a lot of them (The 4 in the picture are making an astroid).
[12-30-2003]_ I finished constructing the Water Factory after creating various fixer uppers to my code design. "Well, you know, like, how those people on the action moves are, like, shooting at people and stuff and, like, they're hiding behind cans and buildings and things like that?" While watching some movie (SWAT?), I figured that it would be interesting to have some bad guys shoot at the main character and have enough intelligence to know how to hide behind objects. Although, their main weakness right now is that they cannot sense if they are walking into fire, and I don't plan on making them any smarter than that. Otherwise they'll just be too difficult (as if they aren't difficult enough already. I also started to make a little highway after the main character finishes the Water Factory.
[12-23-2003]_ I added a little strip of resort after the mountain base, and then I added a lot of ice that escorts you into the Ghost Town, where antipersonnel machines have taken over. I built a jet that tries to do a miniature airstrike on the main character. Then I started making the Water Factory.
[8-21-2003]_ I built a mountain that you actually have to climb this time. One part of the mountain was kind of tricky to test... I had to make sure that the player didn't get stuck at some point on the mountain. I then added a little building with puzzles in it... and then, I added an underwater zone , which looks very very nice. You have to get to the air tiles to refill your air pack... without air, you can only survive for about 30 seconds. I also added a little timer 'vertical progress bar' to show how much time you have left before something expires. It looks very nice and neat.
[8-14-2003]_ I have finished the 'war zone', which is quite difficult (although, it's probably easier than the Contraband Farms in Q3 ). I had to take my time reading the hints and I made it through safely. I added two Save points in the 'war zone' (which is the City and the Nuclavation Base itself). Now, I need to work on touching up the asylum and the other old maps.
[8-9-2003]_ I set up the dark Monica Cave (don't know how I came up with this name) and the Surgerius Building. I created a water path that leads back from the Surgerius Facility to the sea, which then curves through a war zone and through the forest and now I need to complete the war field. I created a few more special events, and I have also set up antipersonnel enemies ... I have also made more sound effects (mostly for the wave beams).
[7-29-2003]_ I was able to implement owner-controlled projectiles... when you get the Controller, the camera will follow the first projectile, and you are free to control it with the arrow keys . Now I need to make the dark and mysterious caves to the east. I also implemented cars and independent beasts, but those are in the wasteland city.
[7-20-2003]_ Finally finished up the wasteland/rural zone-next-to-a-sea and the rest of the area leading up to the 5th flag. Now, I am trying to figure out what to add to the 6th zone. I'm expecting a big fight scene in this region though.
[7-16-2003]_ After ten days, I've added only two more map screens to the wasteland :(... and even they aren't finished. I had a few other things to work on, so development is a little slow now.
[7-6-2003]_ I've set up the next region of Quadrill that is supposed to go through this 'wasteland' to the 5th flag.
[7-4-2003]_ Now, there is a sea in Quadrill... this sea needs to be crossed (of course) and it is quite large. I added in the region leading to the 4th SFlag and now I need to add the Warpstone that takes you to the caves.
[6-28-2003]_ The "long" area leading back around to SFlag 3 has finally been finished (phew). Now... I am debating the fish suit usage for area 4. The game map looks very smooth right now. I didn't add any rolling plains, but I did a large mudslick. I also set up the Motorwheel, a little item that lets you move very fast (it does take a little bit of getting used to).
[6-26-2003]_ After carving a path through the forests, I added functionality for the ball to get on top of walls... but instead of it just being wrongful behavior, I allowed the ball to walk on top of the blocks... in addition, it can walk on top of buildings.
[6-24-2003]_ I've started on the long section of area 3... after taking the time to get my timer event to work. I added a large icy rink with '5' tiles and it is quite a-maze-ing. Now, I need to add the rest of the stuff to the region (the stone temples, the rolling plains, and the burning forest).
[6-21-2003]_ I've finished setting up the maps for the second area and I've added a couple NPCs to go into the houses. :) Now, I just need to fix something that messes up in the Maintenance Sewer Access. Next up, third region... ooo, I can't wait! . The third region is going to involve a timed doors and having to run ice rinks. Then, there's going to be this really long section of area that leads through another forested region (which will be set on fire).
[6-16-2003]_ The first zone is completed and is very simple... I have started work on the second zone, which starts off with a sewer. I've also set up an event that is raised when all of the fires in a map block are put out. :) Things are going well... although I haven't set up cars or interior darkness/design yet. :(
[6-10-2003]_ I've started work on the first zone "Oddolaxis Hills and the Hotel Adagiododa"... the idea of this zone is to introduce a different beginning in Quadrill... instead of in Quadrill 2, where you merely walk to the end of the trees... in this first zone, you fight dark Ballpeople and set off bombs. First, you go take out the guard in front... walk through the damaged and burning lobbies... then go upstairs to the second floor, which is more relaxed and has different music too. Up here you will find stairs that lead into the other side of the destroyed first floor... in this section, you will bust down a cracked wall and get the first SFlag. But that remains to be implemented.
[6-07-2003]_ I've finally got the viewing instruments working (the cameras and the optical sensors). I've also added more fire types and a Heatbeam (which functions similarly with the Freeze Beam). The optical sensors (shaped like a black steel box) will do something if you look directly at it. The cameras (which are red) will do something if they see you. Of course, obstructions will let you pass safely behind view.
[6-04-2003]_ I've added several options and new stuff to the game. I have added weapons, but this time they are different. You have to press E to open the equip menu and select the item that you want to shoot. (The game is paused while a menu is open also :) *hint hint*.) And I've got the character to change colors depending on what's equipped (after a brief bout with 16-bit color mode), and the character turns back to the default blue when it crosses a Restrictor (the 'R'). I've added slidable blocks (that you push by walking into them) that can put out fires and fill in holes. I have added Flame Boots that lets you walk through fire (combine this with the Napalm and you can go crazy while being safe). I have added Ice Boots to let you walk on ice (just for something to go with the Flame Boots). I have added the Metawave. This 'Metawave' functions similar to the Shock Wave except that if it hits something like a Metal Box, then it will transfer you to where it hit. Something original... I restricted the length of the bullet travel to 10 tiles, so that the character cannot just cross large areas in a few minutes. I additionally restricted the capacity down to one shot. I killed myself several times testing it out by accidentally shooting it twice... then you teleport right in front of the next bullet. I added the Fish Suit that lets you go in water... and it comes with the Ichthyowave (fish wave) that does weird stuff like open doors and push blocks. However, the Fish Suit keeps the character from walking on regular ground... except for the soil. I added Bomb items... you can drop them with the D button... this opens a menu and from here you select the bomb to drop... they are one-use though and are probably going to be optional. I'm running low on ideas... I'm considering adding cameras (doing something when they see you, although the hidden event might function well here) and optical sensors (that do something when you look at them, also possible with hidden event). Also thinking about a Bomblauncher... but it'll be strictly for the enemies.
[6-02-2003]_ I've got the training center started with 4 options. I've built a menu so that you can make text-based decisions in the game. I didn't do any practical tiles except for the hidden events (they're in the training center, although you can't see them because they're hidden. I've got NPCs, and I've hooked them up to events. Now, for those practical tiles and the rest of the weapons.
[6-01-2003]_ Now, I have set up the treasure chests to look different (they look like small brown boxes now) aso that they show what's under them (wood, in the picture). I've added the dirt tiles so that they look like the water tiles (the borders) and a couple more auxiliary tiles. Now, I need to get into the practical tiles and then the NPCs/items.
[5-31-2003]_ OK. I've fixed the map by adding yet another row into the tileset. Right now each tileset is 4 rows large (It was only 1). I did some major reconstruction and reorganizing and even got it so that there are smooth edges on the water. It looks very nice.
[5-31-2003]_ Quadrill 4 is off to a bumpy start. It seems that I can't have more than 2048 width in my tile file... the rest of the tiles are truncated, leaving only the 128 that I had there. No one told me this... maybe it's just my settings, but anyway, I thought of a workaround, although I'm still not happy. I still haven't figured out why I can't run it in 32 bit mode.