When?

Are other libraries/platforms/engines also permitted? (i.e., non-Allegro-games)

If so, we might join as well this time.

edit: Changed admitted to permitted. Resembles more closely what I wanted to say.

I need you SpeedHack!

If XNA is allowed, I could find the time from wednesday till the end of the week.

The real question is who's gonna organize it !

I'm sure plenty of people will still participate in Speedhack without having to change the core requirement of the competition (namely requiring the use of allegro).

The last Speedhack was in 2007... are we just not having them anymore?

I appreciate that TINS isn't Speedhack, but maybe amarillion could wire you up with some of his stuff?

Are you trying to say that TINS is not Speedhack?

I'll start a poll this week for possible dates. All regular rules will apply.

I missed ChristmasHack last year, I could use a little speedhack to refocus my piccolo energy...

Thanks for asking Bruce. I think we all need a little Speed Hack. It's been too long. Maybe someone could just pick a date for the next year in advance so we can all plan around it...would be nice to have a date set in stone, maybe even twice a year...once during the first half (Summer Hack) and then again towards the end (Christmas Hack).

I think it fits well with the trend that none of us actually program games.

I do every day. I just never finish anything.

Grab the equinoxes, then there'll no hemisphere daylight advantage!

Holy crap and I thought it was last year at the end of summer.

Eh, I guess I could install Allegro and hack something together. Just not this month, since it's exam time and it wouldn't be possible for me to code anything serious.

Which version of Allegro would be the requirement? Or do we get to choose?

I've been waiting for someone to bring up the next Speedhack. I'm in, whenever it is.

OICW, you might be thinking of TINS

See also this thread about another upcoming game making competition. Looks quite interesting.

I would probably do Speedhack, if I have the time.

It would be nice if there were an allegro.cc competition that wasn't Allegro-specific, as ironic as that might be.

Regardless, I'm in.
Maybe solo, maybe team, maybe C++, maybe C#.

Maybe that could be a bonus rule... Act of Not Using Allegro.

Almost surely.

Theres at least one regular compo that doesn't require the use of Allegro afaik. Might be ChristmasHack, can't recall exactly.

Yep, you're on the nail — it's ChristmasHack. I believe there's a platform neutrality clause that would effectively bar XNA as currently written, but no doubt that'd at least be open to discussion.

It's no coincidence that ChristmasHack is the only one I take part in.

Couldn't you use the Act of Dog to get out of the requirement of using Allegro?

I understand you'd need a 'humourous' excuse for that?

EDIT: those quotes are related to the spelling, not my contempt for humour!

Sorry for intruding, but say, if Speedhack is actually happening I'd like to know when!
I still don't see any poll for possible dates, either. Am I missing on something?
Also, nobody seems to have answered the question yet, so, are we required to use the latest version of Allegro? Because I'm pretty sure if I remember anything on how to use Allegro, it's nothing like what there is now.

Me too. Probably. I'd like to stick with the 4.2.2 stable, I haven't even touched 4.9.

Why not allow both? They are both Allegro and readily available, after all.

You're either with us or you're with the terrorists.

edit: I wouldn't mind that at all, as long as 4.2.2 is usable (= 4.9.x not being the minimum requirement).

Personally, I don't see any worth whatsoever in tying a competition to Allegro; if the objective is to run a competition for the usual faces, why not just require Allegro.cc membership and add a rule that any entry must be usable by at least five other members? That's what I'd do were I running the competition...

Speaking of which, we don't actually need to get an official SpeedHack or TINS — one of us could just run a quick competition of our own.

It should be sufficient to simply provide the source and a binary.

Alright, what do we want to do for rules? Do we want to just spin the rule-o-matic, or do something else? Also, what about the time frame?

If the rule is "usable by five from Allegro.cc" rather than "based on Allegro" then there are a bunch of source+binary combinations that won't be usable at all to a non-negligible number of other people (eg, XNA code), but if you're actually organising then I wholeheartedly support whatever you come up with.

As I'm mainly iPhone, the most I'd be able to do is run my own personal time limit in parallel — so please don't try to accommodate anything I am saying that is contrary to your preferences.

Right now the only thing my system is set up to compile is Allegro 4.2, Allegro 4.9, and AllegroGL. I'd be willing to get other stuff set up if someone made a game in it, or I could just run a provided binary if the included one.

The SpeedHack 2009 "which weekend" poll is up:

http://www.speedhack.allegro.cc/which-weekend

Yay, I got to vote for something!

Cool stuff!
I wouldn't mind Allegro not being a requirement, as long as I can still use it and people still provide binaries.
However,

I find that wouldn't work as well. People like me just don't seem to get the same feeling when it's not "official", and that reduces the number of participants significantly, I suppose. No reasonable reason for that, I guess...

I don't think it makes sense for SpeedHack to allow non-Allegro entries, since it is meant to be a place for the Allegro community to show off their Allegro skills. That being said, I would love to see an "open" competition. TINS would probably be the better candidate for that, seeing as it is "Not SpeedHack."

It's not like we couldn't start a new compo, though, if amarillion doesn't want TINS to change.

Edit: Or perhaps SpeedHack could have two competitions per year, one "open" and one "Allegro"?

It matters not now that real SpeedHack is being organised as that already has rules, but I think you are under an illusion about "the Allegro community". If you define it to be simply those that use Allegro, then you rule out a large portion of Allegro.cc.

I'm under no illusion. I said that's what it's meant for, just like allegro.cc is meant for people who use Allegro.

One reason I don't use Allegro is because I'm waiting for Allegro 5 to be released. Last time I checked (and it was some time ago) the new Allegro version had a lot of stuff missing.

Yes, that's the state that some of us have been in for years — it's a shame it's taken so long for the modern team to fall into place.

I think competitions are one of the areas where I'll actually concede that the organiser isn't being a selfish jerk if their attitude is "don't take part if you don't like it", I guess because they're so ephemeral.

Well, please have a look and see if this is still the case. Depending on what you're looking for that may have been fixed.

Documentation is a bit lacking at the moment (it's there, but it isn't as nice as A4's documentation yet). Other than that, there is no addon to play MIDI files (I'd love to have one, hint to anyone out there capable of writing one) and there is no GUI (however, I think several people have made custom ones).

MIDI support is required for SpeedHack usage if you want music. We must find someone to at least make a MIDI addon before next year's SH.

If I can find the time and resource, I might consider doing it myself around late December.

Go for it.
I would recommend doing a DIGMID-type driver first, since that'll be platform neutral (because it just has to piggy-back on the already existing sound output).

I wouldn't be able to do a better job than the A4 MIDI player, which people tell me is not worth bothering to port.

I can do the 2009 logo if you want me to, btw.

I win!

And now a question: is it pure evil to make a rule that assumes the entry will be a game?

Not at all. The vast majority of entries are games (has there ever been an entry that wasn't?). In fact, most of the rules now assume the entry will be a game:

And that's just the first three rules I encountered on Rate A Rule.

I'll accept the first logo that is at least as good as the ones Peitz made.

{"name":"wellwellwell.jpg","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/0\/5\/0594b8d7fada8a13001e386a967963b7.jpg","w":320,"h":240,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/0\/5\/0594b8d7fada8a13001e386a967963b7"}

{"name":"598793","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/d\/3\/d3bcb8fa6508458e3435c5c9e9d95c81.png","w":320,"h":240,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/d\/3\/d3bcb8fa6508458e3435c5c9e9d95c81"}

{"name":"598794","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/b\/3\/b3e8c4eee882e8a981782ae171d0f44d.png","w":320,"h":240,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/b\/3\/b3e8c4eee882e8a981782ae171d0f44d"}

We don't even get one per year some years.

Your shadow's wrong ><

I feel quite proud to have noticed that before actually realising what was going on

What shadow!

I assume he means Inphernic's logo. It's the 2006 logo with the 6 inverted.

In 2002B I wrote a compiler and a virtual machine to run the code in. So that is at least one entry in the past that wasn't an attempt to be a game. There have been many entries in the past that were supposed to be games, but could barely be described as so. (Pointing directly at myself here.)

Should I vote selecting every weekend?. That would be the same as not voting at all, isn't it?.

We can already rate and add rules? Sweet!
And Peitz is totally awesome, but I'll make a logo anyway.

Just for fun.

{"name":"598795","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/b\/8\/b8c6ae2ad0faa1cbe39bda2b267e0aaf.png","w":320,"h":240,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/b\/8\/b8c6ae2ad0faa1cbe39bda2b267e0aaf"}

The 'K' looks weird.

I kinda like the K.

Looks almost like SpeedHACX

{"name":"598796","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/7\/1\/717f5c6d5714c63dde910d485df16871.png","w":320,"h":240,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/7\/1\/717f5c6d5714c63dde910d485df16871"}
Here is my logo.

I like yours better, except I'd center the text vertically. Nice font too.

Pedro: What font is that?

I like Pedro's, off center and all. GameCreators would be nice if it didn't have that weird 'K'.

Got a full size version of it?

Pedro's is excellent. The font is very reminiscent of Pong/Breakout/other retro ball-and-paddle games.

The 'K' in context with the other characters reminds me of the one kid in the group photo who crossed his eyes . Otherwise Pedro's (and the retro games) font is supposed to look like magnetic ink characters. Back in the '60's such fonts looked futuristic. Actually, I probably have a bitmapped source file "computer" font somewhere for 2 color images that I copied out of a book many many years ago, somewhere on the terabyte disk.

Good luck with finding that

Anyway for me, the Pedro's logo looks aesthetically more feasible.

The like the Speed Hacxor one. (GameCreator)

Pedro's one is ok... but it kind of says Speeohack, and I don't know what that is.

Tintins Is Not TIns Nor Speedhack.

The game characters would be given!

It's not a K, it's a flying horse.

I vote iphernic's, even though his avatar is evil

Thanks for the compliments!
I drew that font by hand. Actually, I've been drawing blocky letters like that here and there for a long time, and I never happened to think they could look futuristic. If it's fitting, it's good, I guess!

It makes me glad you were the only one who said that, and even said you don't know why! I think that's one of the biggest flaws in the design of that font, there's no aesthetically correct way to differentiate Ds from Os in it. I trust context forces a little bit the correct reading, though, and I hope that makes it OK.

[edit @BAF]
Full-size version? I took the dimensions of the logos used in the speedhack page...

Peoro, have you trieo taking an 'A' and rotating it 90 oegrees clockwise?

How about using an upsioe-oown version of the 'P'?

Just two possibilities - it's not a massive problem anyway.

Oh my goo, he's right.

What does gdd mean?

It's a new compiler.

For those who mentioned TINS: there is a good chance that there will be one somewhere towards November.

But first... Speedhack!

Ultimate challenge: TINS an Speedhack on the same weekend. Think you can do both?

2008 was a sad year for hacking. I am excited that SpeedHack is comming back.

The start date for SH09 has tentatively been set for Friday Noon, July 10th. An official announcement will be made this weekend. Until then, you can continue to update your preferences, although it's not likely to change.

New rules will show up for review every few days, so be sure to rate them at least a week before the competition begins.

Hooray, I voted for the winner!

Shucks! Exactly the weekend I can't participate.
It's not very likely the date will change, is it?

Very bad weekend for me. Going to have to sit this one out. Maybe I'll try TINS this year for a change.

I've entered. My only goal this time is to try and make a game that's at least playable.

I liked the logo better when it as speeohack. Speephack looks weird to me with only one lowercase letter.

I've signed up. This time it looks like Team Darkbits will be a team again (last TINS it was only me).

Interesting. This time it's in a weekend where I'm likely free to participate. Could be fun...

Excellent, I might, for the first time ever, have all 72 hours to plan accordingly...thanks to losing my job?

I always look forward to your guys' entry. Of course, in terms of competition...

Peephack?

This may be a stupid question, but at least it's not in the FAQ: Should a possible entrant sign up now, or is it ok to wait until after the start when the rules are posted?

I don't think you can sign up after the rules have been posted... I could be wrong, though.

I signed up now. If you end up unable to participate it's no big deal to not do it after signing up.

EDIT:

I've been spinning some rules in the last few minutes, and it's amazing how many ideas I've gotten.

Registration closes when the rules are announced. I like to see how many people chicken out at go-time.

Usually at least ten people write something like, "My brother-in-law's great aunt twice-removed is thinking about coming over five minutes before the competition ends, so I have to find my socks and won't be able to compete after all" as a feeble attempt to mask their incompetence.

Yes, that's the Rule-o-Magic.

I always go down the much to ambitious path, and just don't get there. Also at least one year, my mental health just couldn't take it.

So for any of the 1st timers, aim low and polish polish polish.

That's what I did the last few times. I applied it to Christmas hack as well because of bad timing of how things fell into place.

Does Rate a Rule also exclude those rules which have been voted for in the previous years already?

You can only rate the same rule once, regardless of when you rated it.

Aim low and Polish...

Poland's weak point is the lowlands?

That would be about 75% of the country

I'm not sure how what I posted that caused this? I even checked my spelling.

I'm looking forward to this It's my first SpeedHack, so it should be...interesting.

I'm going to go ahead and prepare my back-out excuse now. I don't have internet at home, so I may not be able to get online to turn in my final work, because the library is closed on Sundays.

I can't wait!

I am a bit worried about the rules though, every spin seems so boring.

EDIT: I mean look at this "cats are cool, put as many cats in your game as you can.", what's challenging about this rule? it's just annoying and reduces the possebility of getting a cool rule which is well thought out.

EDIT2: Or the Sound Annoyance rule.. who actually wants to be forced to make their game crappy?

I found a cool set of rules that I am using in a little competition with my brother, and this was on my second "roll." I guess I was just lucky! The rules were:

1. Be the good and evil guys in the game

2. The game must have a concept of time

3. The game must have multiple beginnings

4. You can change one word in any of the rules

So I have hope that the Rule-o-Matic will be good to us!

What if you change the word "one" to "two?"
I smell a loophole!

Then the sentence is wrong.

But

every would work

I just changed my vote to the winning vote! Go us, the winning side, woo!

I know code re-use is allowed, but does it have to be from code that is available for anyone (ie online), or can it come from anywhere?

It may be allowed, but its not looked highly upon. And you can take code from anywhere, but thats worse

The whole thing is supposed to be about making most of the entire thing in the time limit. Not reusing parts of existing games and libs to slap something together.

But if you have to use something, it has to be freely available, and has to have been for sometime before the contest.

And remember, it can affect your score to reuse a lot of code.

Good call.

But what if you changed it to "can't?" Would that create some kind of paradox?

The only bit of code I want to use beforehand is the code that setups allegro, handles the main loop and refers to a config file for changing some of those settings. I might also create a Speedhack '09 logo/splash screen.

Well, I was referring to a project template I have that gets Allegro started, sets up timers and a few global variables, displays a simple splash screen and creates a basic game loop.

It's extremely generic, without any code specific to any particular type of game.

I've attached a copy, and anyone who wants to can use it (though you might want to change the "by LennyLen" part ).

If the code is included with your SH entry, then it doesn't matter. (Of course people appreciate you being honest regarding what code was written during the three days.) But if you are leaving code out as an external dependency, then it should be a well established third party library before the competition begins.

Sweet.

I actually have very little pre-written code that would be of much use, as I don't do much game-programming. But I figure if I can get a few simple tasks out of the way, I can concentrate on actually working on a game during the time.

I'll most likely re-use the animation class (attached) I wrote for one of my games as well.

nope

Oops, must have forgotten to click the Upload button. Fixed now.

Would you put an example of your *.anm file? I am interested in the code.

Here's an .anm file with the corresponding bitmaps.

Thanks, in exchange, here is the code I am going to go in with. Its a basic object manager, with a base object that can be used with it. I got sick of re-implementing code similar to this over and over, so I made a template version in the last Tins. Its ugly, but it works.

I updated the animation class I attached a few posts back so that it has an overloaded assinment operator as well, which I had forgotten to implement earlier.

I have some code here and there that I might reuse for SpeedHack... if I can make all pieces work together, that is.

So the competition really is going to be Friday 10th... the main page still has the Speedhack07 icon though...
Also, haven't there been any new rules in the Rule-o-Matic? Even though I'm not participating, I spare some time to vote every day, but it just tells me every time there are no new rules to rate. Moreover, many of the rules I've seen are old friends, isn't anyone suggesting new rules?

I did, but they're all at 0 still. I think ML is too lazy to switch something over.

Speedhack needs Bill Maher.

Clever.

I think submitted rules have to be moderated first? I can't recall.

Yeah, a high res (full screen) size. Not that it matters, that's not a particularly great weekend for me, so I may be out.

The 2009 logo has been up for a while. Are you sure you have the right year selected form the drop-down menu? Or perhaps you need to do a hard reset on the page to flush the cache.

He means on www.allegro.cc.

There's no logo at all on the a.cc main page.

There...
{"name":"598862","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/e\/f\/ef45daa7ad80499165dd62c91d45b527.png","w":871,"h":556,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/e\/f\/ef45daa7ad80499165dd62c91d45b527"}

That was last year's logo? I could have made a nicer hand. Or, as the hip kids say nowadays: I could of.

So there is. I was looking at the news entry.

Allright, I'm in. I don't have the complete weekend free though, so my challenge will be to come up with something really small that's still fun to play.

I had not programmed in allegro (nor visited this forum) for the last two years or so (I am a java worker now). It was a very big luck that in the day I just randomly decided to visit allegro.cc for no reason at all and for my surprise, I saw that there is a speedhack scheduled.

This must be a sign that I must participate.

Well, 10 days to re-learn allegro...

BTW. Please, update the logo in the main screen. I almost missed it because I saw the 2007 logo. Saved by the anouncement in the main screen.

I have added loading animations out of datafiles to LennyLen's animation class. There is also a program to create the datafile from the .anm file. The tool and example code is attached.

Cool.

Original licence: This code is giftware. It may be copied, modified, ditributed and/or eaten in any way you want.

Thats what I assumed. With my code addition, I am going to try and work this into my speedhack entry.

I've converted a few of the fonts from here to the Allegro bitmap font format, and attached them to this post. Feel free to use them if you want.

Man, can't the days pass already?

You could try doing your own private speedhack every 72 hours until the actual one starts.

I was so excited until just now, when I realized that I'll be gone the whole weekend of Speedhack. Guess I'll have to drop out now...

You could try Allegro 5 timer functions.

Does Allegro 5 include time travel now?

It's not as fun doing it alone but I guess it's better than nothing.

I'll look into it .

If that's not yet in the latest build, you should be able to speed up the timer at least.

Added some new rules a few hours ago (they're probably still queued for moderation, though).

What is the official Speedhack stance on using Allegro 4 vs the Allegro 5 WIPs? I'd very much like to use the newer libs (4.9.12) as they have a much more modern interface.

Also, shouldn't this thread be moved somewhere more visible? It doesn't exactly fit in the Depot forum anyway.

What, no Allegro 4.4RC?

Matthew, is the weekend confirmed? The proposed weekend is less than a week from now, and I need to confirm holiday plans with work...

Yes, it begins Friday at Noon UTC.