Hyena v1.02

I’ve released a new version of Hyena for DS and PC at
http://www.collectingsmiles.com/hyena

* Scans the AudioGames/ directory for game-books, and gives a choice on which to load.
* Detailed the .gamebook file specifications here.

* Integrated information on how to play the games.
* Better error messages if files are missing.
* Removed crashes due to memory fragmentation.
* Removed .xml format in favor for plain-text.

Flight From The Dark fixes:
* Fixed numerous game-logic flaws and lockups.
* Echoes your Combat Skill whenever it has changed.
* Echoes your amount of Gold whenever it has changed.

There still seems to be a nasty bug on the DS where the sound-engine shuts down when you boot the game. But since it’s not that often and it doesn’t affect the game-experience I haven’t bothered to track it down. If you have no audio when you start the game, just reboot. Enjoy!

16 thoughts on “Hyena v1.02

  1. hello, just wanted to say thanks for this program. i played it on a train journey with the headphones and it took me back a few years :). couple of quick questions. is it possible to increase the headphones volume in any way other than the control on the front of the DS and is it possible to change the speed at which the text is read out?

    thanks again for this software.

  2. Hi
    I represent Project Aon.
    Currently, we are the only source licensed to distribute the Lone Wolf books in electronic format.
    You are welcome to distribute your software from our site, but would need to use the Aon versions of the books.
    We look forward to hearing from you shortly
    James

  3. The project has now been moved to Project Aon servers to properly comply with the license. Thanks for the help.

  4. Hi,
    Hyena is a fantastic bit of homebrew and i tried to do a short playerbook for it. But how do i exactly add images to the game?
    Where do i have to store them? just putting them in the same directory where the .gamebook is found doesnt work.

    Anyway, you did a very great job.

  5. Thank you for making such a great app for ds homebrew!

    I have really enjoyed (like most other people) Lone Wolf which was provided. So far I have had no problems, and everything has worked fine.

    Although, I would like to make a request, to be able to control the volume inside the app, because the audio out is very quiet, and I would like to conserve battery power by closing the lid and using headphones, but I can’t since it is so quiet. This is a small request, and I hope it won’t take up much of your time (if you decide to implement it).

    Once again, thanks :D.

  6. hi, i am using the aplication for PC, and i love it. i would like to do a podcast review of this new program. can i?
    i would also like a way to change the volumne within the aplication, as well as the speed of the voice. i was also wondering r their any other ways of putting other gamebooks in the aplication? i have also found a site with lots of other gamebooks that i am sure would love to b embeded into Heyina…. the site is http://www.ffproject.com/download.htm

  7. Thanks for the compliments! Yes, feel free to do a podcast review and make sure to post the link. There’s no way to change the volume from within the program. The PC version was originally just meant as reference for the Nintendo DS version (where you control the volume directly on the console), but there seems to be as many PC users as there are DS users for Hyena now. :)

    When I wrote Hyena I made sure that it would be possible to do new gamebooks without me having to be involved. This makes it possible for anyone with basic computer skills to implement a gamebook, and how-to is available through the Hyena homepage. Of course, to implement game-logic like a fighting or inventory system as used in for example the Fighting Fantasy books is not so easy for non-programmers, but it can definitly be done.

    The voice is generated using the SAPI5.1 SDK and the speed of the voice is set when the voice is generated, so there’s currently no changing the speed of the voice once the gamebook is generated. For future PC version, it could be an idea to use the speech-generator directly, allowing anyone to set the speed, but that would of course only work on the PC which is kind of a turn-off for me.

  8. hi, i still cannot import other gamebooks to the aplication for PC. how can i do that?

    i also would like to know how can i contact u to let u know that the podcast is up.

    NOTE.

    i will be using a screen reader (yes i am blind) throughout the podcast so please bare with me about that lol

  9. Robert,

    Great review! There was a lot of very valuable information for me in there. As you might have seen, I’ve been interested in reaching the blind community with Hyena. I spent some time at a forum about games for blind and visually impaired to get feedback on Hyena, but sadly I didn’t get that much. The things you mentioned in the review is exactly what I needed.

    Currently I’m working on another project, but this review makes me very interested in making a real PC version where I’ll try to resolve the issues you are having. I’ll definitely get back to you when that happens to ask you if you want to give some more feedback on it.

  10. i do not want this project to go away! this will b a huge thing to the blind comunity if this keeps up! pease do not get rid of it! lol

    i am sorry i may have complained too much, but i was so excited about doing this review! i did have a lot of things to talk about!

    please don’t stop making this project! i would like to do another review when u update please! please! lol.

    this new reader is, and will b a huge leap in the blind comunity! don’t stop working on it!

    did u catch my note at the end? lol

    o, and i also wanted to know if u understood me ok. i heard from somwwhere that u do not speak english well… is it ok if I IM U? do u have yahoo messenger, msn messenger, myspace IM, or skype? i also wonna know if u heard my comment at the end about human boices reading the pages?

    please please keep me updated on the project, and if u could. post a link to my review would u?

    THANKS! HUGS! TTYL!!!!

  11. Hi Jens,
    i just wanted to thank you again for hyena.

    Its long since you updated anything, and i just wanted to know if you still there.

    As i saw you used the random-page prog you wrote for me in your tutorial section. Thats realy good, but i think theres a big lack of tutorial so the community can use hyena the way it was ment to be.

    I hope your fine and like to hear from you.

    By the way, i didnt understand how to do playback of speech when doing own gamebooks. Is there a way to put mp3 in a folder and tell hyena to playback any of them? this way it would be very easy for folks to implement speech in a gamebook.
    since i dont know how to build such a data file like u used for lone wolf this could be great.

  12. Hello Jens. I want to say thank you for thinking of the blindness community, and especially for putting this on a mainstream console such as the DS. I have a question however. Does the app speak as soon as I start it, and do I need the .GBA file, or will the .NDS file work? I’m using an AceKard II.
    Thanks, and keep up the great work.

  13. Hello: I am interested in making audiogames in the Hyena format. But I get a 404 not found when clicking the Specifications link. Is information for format still available? Thank you very much in advance. ~ Sean

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