"Willy Comes Home"

[jetsetdanny]

"Willy Comes Home" is the only JSW game gamma-released (so far! 😉) by Gary Pearce (Gawp!). 

It holds the distinction of being the first 'properly-edited' game using the JSW128 game engine. This is because "Jet Set Willy 128", the very first game ever released in this category, mostly served as a demonstration of the engine's features, with the majority of its rooms sourced from the original "JSW" and Richard Hallas's "Join the Jet-Set!". In fact, Gary began his editing work with "Jet Set Willy 128", and the block designs in many rooms clearly reveal their origins in one of its source games. He used sprites from the original "JSW", "MM" and "Join the Jet-Set!", and also created some new ones. The game boasts a large map that can be explored with relative ease. It uses Hacklevel 6 of the JSW128 game engine.

The game was released in March 2000, with a corrected version 1.1 following in April of the same year. However, despite the update, v. 1.1 was still incompletable due to a critical bug in the room "Harbour Hangover" (083): it was impossible to collect the rightmost item because of a Fire cell that prevented it.

There are also two additional problems in v. 1.1 of the game which would render the game bed-completable only even with this issue corrected. The first problem involves a hole in the floor of "Bathroom (with purple bath)" (033) - Willy would fall into it during the toilet run, descending through "The Chapel" (027) and repeatedly getting killed in "Ballroom West" (021), resulting in a very anticlimactic ending. The second one is that even with the hole problem fixed, upon reaching the toilet, Willy would get teleported to "A flash in the Pan" (201), since there is a teleporter, necessary for gameplay progression, that shares its location with the toilet. This ending does not seem correct, as the game file contains an edited sprite of Willy inside the toilet, suggesting that the game's author intended it for the traditional ending.

In June 2007, Robin Clive submitted a recording of "Willy Comes Home" to the RZX Archive. The recording was made using a modified game file, with the Harbour item problem fixed by removing the obstructing Fire cell and the Bathroom problem fixed by filling in the hole in the floor. However, Robin did not address the third problem described earlier and, as a result, at the end of the toilet run his playthrough ends in "A flash in the Pan" without reaching a proper conclusion. Robin never released his modified game file (however, an RZX recording can be used to play the game it was made from).

I recently tried to complete the game and discovered the problems discussed earlier. I also prepared a bugfixed, toilet-completable version of the game. The "Harbour Hangover" item problem was solved by adding a platform from which Willy can jump for the item in question (the original obstructing Fire cell remains in its place). The Bathroom hole problem was solved by adding some extra code that makes Willy jump during the toilet run (so that the original design of this room has not been modified), and the issue of teleportation near the toilet was resolved by adjusting the code to check for Willy's proximity to the toilet earlier.

The bugfixed version can be downloaded from the recently updated game's page on JSW Central. I am also attaching it here for your convenience should anyone be interested in obtaining it.

It can be completed without any loss of life. I have been able to complete it (in my third recording 😉) at 8:57 am in-game time, and I have to say I was very proud of making it in under two hours. My RZX walkthrough can be downloaded from the game's page on JSW Central. You can also watch a video of it on the JSW Central channel on YouTube.

I would like to encourage everyone to play the game. It is easy (especially when you play saving and reloading snapshots or using Rollback) and fun to explore. I'm sure you will enjoy it! 🙂 

Willy_Comes_Home_(bugfixed_version).zip

[GawpGRP]

Well this is a blast from the past, and by that I mean "Willy Comes Home"!

Hi, I'm Gary (Gawp) - and I 'created' this version over 20 years ago... God I'm old! I found this place by chance via youtube, and JSW Central. Brilliant stuff 🙂 
I'm amazed anyone finished WCH, and highly flattered that you fixed it in order to do so. Somewhere I have a couple of unfinished JSW games, if I can get an editor to work I may try to finish them.

Thanks again for making me smile 😀
- Gary

[Spider]

Welcome Gary , thanks for joining and posting about this creation of yours.

I'm sure we'd all be interested in the "other projects" you have too. 🙂 

[jetsetdanny]

Hi Gary,

It's great to see you here! 😁 Thanks for joining the forum and welcome! 🙂

Thank you also for your positive attitude regarding the fixed version of "Willy Comes Home". Could I add your "official" approval to the Readme which accompanies the fixed version?

I am aware of only one unfinished game of yours. It's "Voyager". I keep a file of it that you once posted to the Files section of the Yahoo! MM/JSW Group - it's called "Voyager(partdemo).zip", with "Voyager(partdemo)" in TAP and ZXS format inside. It' looks great (when browsed through in JSWED). I can send it back to you via a PM if you should need it (however, perhaps you might have a later version than the one you posted in the Yahoo! Group Files section). Please let me know if you need it 🙂 .

John Elliott's JSWED still works like a charm, including on Windows 11, so hopefully it should be easy for you to work on a JSW game or two again. I look forward very much to "Voyager" being finished and released - it really is a very interesting project - and to anything else you might create. And if there is anything I could do to assist (like playtesting), I'll be more than happy to do it 🙂 .

- Daniel

[GawpGRP]

Hi Spider & Daniel!

Thanks again for the the welcome, and this excellent forum and site. It’s been great browsing through again. I’m really looking forward to playing the many new games that have been added in my (long) absence. 

Yes, please my approval to the fixed WCH readme - I’m highly grateful 🙂

Also feel free to add any blurb you see fit from the remakes site which is amazingly still up! 

I will try to get an editor and emulator working - my main issue is I don’t have a current windows pc / laptop. (Currently just a Mac for music production and photoshop). I may have an old laptop somewhere if I can find it and get it working.
I’m feeling inspired to finish Voyager. Fingers crossed. The other I was thinking of was a collaboration (can’t remember the title - maybe based on Utility Cubicles?), and another I started called “Invasion” or similar. I will see what I can find, and will definitely be grateful for play tests. 

I’ll keep you posted. 
- Gary

[GawpGRP]

On 4/21/2024 at 11:55 PM, GawpGRP said:

I’m feeling inspired to finish Voyager. Fingers crossed. The other I was thinking of was a collaboration (can’t remember the title - maybe based on Utility Cubicles?), and another I started called “Invasion” or similar.

Had a quick look and I can confirm the games I had going were:

1. "JSW Voyager" - I will will put effort in to get this done as I remember it being good fun!
2. "Phantasmagoria" - I salvaged this from the original "Mass Collaboration" based on Utility Cubicles (I'd added quite a few rooms to this), and I think started Phantasmagoria with that as the basis when it stalled. I'll need to look into the files to see...
3. "Ants Invasion" - Genuinely can't remember how much I'd done, but I'll see.

From memory I think Voyager was somewhere around 60-70% done, and it was a JSW128 game. 
If they're worth it I might look into converting one or both of the other 2 to a JSW64 variant, as that could be fun, extra gfx etc.

I noticed in John Elliott's site he says "Versions of JSWED exist for Win32 ... and for Linux with SDL. The Linux version also compiles and runs on BeOS and MacOS X". 
Does anyone know if it works on a Mac? Has anyone tried? 

I may give it a go.

 

[jetsetdanny]

Gary,

Thank you so much for your official approval for the fixed WCH file - it's greatly appreciated! 👍 I will add this info to the Readme and to the game's page on JSW Central soon (within a couple of days). Thank you also for your permission to use stuff from your website 🙂 (which continues to be a reference point for me from time to time when checking some things related to the games from that period or earlier times).

Regarding the JSW128 "Mass Collaboration" (MC) based on Utility Cubicles  - I do intend to move this project forward at some point and bring it to completion. Sendy (who was its original coordinator) gave me permission to do it some years back on the Yahoo! Group; she may be involved as well, as the came back to the scene last year. There is also a person here at this forum (Jet Set Willie) who has already contributed some rooms to be included in the final version of MC. However, before the project is relaunched, there are some things that need to be done to get the file ready for a renewed circulation among authors, and in my current real-life circumstances it looks like I may not be able to find enough time to do it for quite a while. So the project is on the backburner as far as I'm concerned, really, but I do want to come back to it one day when circumstances permit (even if it is a few years from now).

I do recall you estimated "Voyager" to be around 60-70% done. This is great and it would definitely be fantastic if you completed it, given that so much work has gone into it already 🙂 .

I've checked your posts on the (now sadly offline) Yahoo! Group and here are the references you made to your unfinished games (apparently there was also one named "King Willy"):

 

Wed Mar 13, 2002

sendy wrote:
> gawp, what happened to your game? is it still going?!

If you mean JSW - Voyager, yes. I found (most of) it on an old disc, so I'm on it again. I may put up a pre-beta demo for feedback?

I've also started a new JSW game called 'Ants Invasion'. Will gets 'shrunk' to ant-size and has to escape from an ant-hill. It'll be better than it sounds...

 

Wed Sep 4, 2002

(...) Voyager is coming on nicely (about 100 rooms now) and will be released at some point.
Ants Invasion is mapped out on paper, with only about 15 rooms done.
A lot of work there.
King Willy is still in the design stage. I may do that one on the PC editor.

 

Wed Apr 28, 2004

I'll upload more stuff soon. I'll put up a rough guide to areas in Voyager ASAP so people have a rough idea what's out there.

I've also been working on 2 other JSW games. "Ants Invasion" and "Phantasmagoria" (the 2nd one uses some of the abandoned rooms from the UC MassCollab). But Voyager is the priority at the moment. I really want to get it done, as it's been too long in the making.

 

Wed May 19, 2004 8:36 pm

I've put a few preview pics up for "Voyager" and "Phantasmagoria" in the photos section under the 'gawp' folder.
I've done about 40 screens for Phantasmagoria now...

 

So how is "Phantasmagoria" exactly related to the original "MC"? You've mentioned that it uses "some of the abandoned rooms" from it. "Abandoned" meaning ones you designed for "MC" but then decided not to include in that project?

I look forward to all and any projects you may choose to continue 🙂 .

  

10 hours ago, GawpGRP said:

Does anyone know if it works on a Mac? Has anyone tried? 

I've replied here.

[GawpGRP]

Hi Daniel (or do you prefer Danny?),

Excellent digging there - I did find the files, but can't see them yet until I either get the Emu/Editor for mac // my old windows laptop working. (It feels like getting the Windows laptop working will be easier).

You're quite right - my memory was fuzzy! (it is is 20+ years) - for The MC Utility Cubicles, and I had added quite a lot to it. I can't recall exactly how much was added since to Phantasmagoria separately, but I will check. If you manage to get the MC going again at some point I'm happy to contribute what I done already. I'll confirm what I have used for Phantasmagoria, and if that's still worth working on. I'll be trying to finish Voyager first, so I'm happy to go with the flow on the mass collab. Either way I'll let you know when I get the files working.

And I'll definitely be up for you play testing Voyager 🙂

So to summarise:

Get laptop, make it work...

• Voyager - Top priority - I will finish this! 
• Phantasmagoria - I will see how much extra was done, and decide to either carry on or leave it for the MassCollab.
• UC Mass Collaboration - either keep what I did, or give something new if Phantasmagoria is a go-er.
• Ants Invasion - I remember planning it and starting some rooms, so will evaluate when I see it.
• King Willy - was just an idea, nothing created. I'll finish the other stuff first and see if I still fancy it.
• I've never done a Manic Miner game, so... 😉

- Gary

[jetsetdanny]

On 4/25/2024 at 10:54 AM, GawpGRP said:

Hi Daniel (or do you prefer Danny?),

Either is fine. Outside of the MM/JSW world I usually use "Daniel". Here many people refer to me as "Danny", probably because of the nickname "jetsetdanny", which I created as a username for e-mail and forums, but I've never been particularly attached to (never used it as a nickname to sign my games or other projects I've been involved in). But I kind of like "Danny" and I've grown quite used to it 🙂 .

  

On 4/25/2024 at 10:54 AM, GawpGRP said:

And I'll definitely be up for you play testing Voyager 🙂

It'll be a pleasure 🙂 . I'm looking forward to it already!

  

On 4/25/2024 at 10:54 AM, GawpGRP said:

Get laptop, make it work...

• Voyager - Top priority - I will finish this! 
• Phantasmagoria - I will see how much extra was done, and decide to either carry on or leave it for the MassCollab.
• UC Mass Collaboration - either keep what I did, or give something new if Phantasmagoria is a go-er.
• Ants Invasion - I remember planning it and starting some rooms, so will evaluate when I see it.
• King Willy - was just an idea, nothing created. I'll finish the other stuff first and see if I still fancy it.
• I've never done a Manic Miner game, so... 😉

A great list! 😁

It's your call, of course, but I would definitely second finishing "Voyager" first, given how much work you have put into it already. It just seems such a waste when advanced projects don't get finished...

Later on, let's see about the Mass Collab. I did mention that 'outside-life' circumstances (not to say 'real-life', since MM and JSW are as real to me! 😉) may not allow me to attend to it for quite a while, but we'll see. Perhaps your active involvement (in one way or another, taking "Phantasmagoria" into account) could help me prioritise it over some other projects/activities. After all, it's a very advanced project, too, so it must not go to waste. I definitely won't let it go to waste, it's beyond any doubt for me that it should be finished (with some involvement from the new generation of JSW authors, if they wish to contribute), it's just a question of proper timing and harmonising the time and effort it will require with 'outside' pressures...

[GawpGRP]

18 minutes ago, jetsetdanny said:

Later on, let's see about the Mass Collab. I did mention that 'outside-life' circumstances (not to say 'real-life', since MM and JSW are as real to me! 😉) may not allow me to attend to it for quite a while, but we'll see. Perhaps your active involvement (in one way or another, taking "Phantasmagoria" into account) could help me prioritise it over some other projects/activities. After all, it's a very advanced project, too, so it must not go to waste

Totally agree. I had a very quick look today (got the old laptop working for now) and seems I added quite a lot to Phantasmagoria form the original MC version I have. 
It would be a shame to waste both so I’m happy to work it out depending on MC interest down the line. 

I will prioritise Voyager though. 

Yeh I totally understand about “real life” as it’s all busy here too. For me a bit of JSW-MM editing is good downtime I can jump in and out of quickly. 
I’m happily surprised that the scene is so vibrant 😊