Fix-It Felix, Jr. Replica (Finished)

[Sjaak]

Today I started working on my latest project. A replica of a Fix-It Felix, Jr cabinet including the arcade game.

The software side of the game will be as close as possible to the 'real' arcade version, lo-res, vertical and will include a kill screen.



Q1:  What's the main differences between your version and the leaked Disney version?

The leaked Disney version is a beta version with some features missing: saving the hi scores, some sounds are missing. This version has everything the original version has, all the sounds (and some extra movie sounds), saves hi scores, works on all resolutions (horizontal and vertical), works in cocktail mode (screen flipping) and uses hlsl shaders to make it look like a crt on a lcd screen.

Q2:  Is this going to be available to the community?

This is a community project. A lot of members helped with the beta testing, bug fixing, graphics creation, sound/music creation and some of them even went to Disney Quest to get footage and sound recordings from the original game. For obvious reasons, there is no download link.

Q3:  When?

Short answer: never. Long answer: Never, unless Disney allows the distribution of the software.

Q4:  What kind of PC specs are required?

Basically any pc with a DirectX 9 compatible video card.

[Sjaak]

Video of the final version of the game:



And of course the Fix It Felix Jr. cabinet:

[Le Chuck]

Awesome, I highly recommend giving the ipad/iphone version a try if you haven't.  The level layout is pretty clean and the Ralph attack is better/different.  Does the flash one have the flower boxes and shutters as obstacles, can't remember.  If not those are great game play elements to consider.  Watching this space!

[jmike]

That's great Sjaak.
I downloaded the version for the iPhone and its quite fun.
 Will keep an eye on this one.

 

[BUCKETHEAD]

Awesome! Looks Dead on!
Especially the top of the building!

Great job!

The ipad/ipod/android version is clearly the best.

But the Arcade Version has an actual jump button.
And of course a fix it button.

The ipad/ipod/android version just jumps from window to window when you move.

[sharpfork]

But the Arcade Version has an actual jump button.
And of course a fix it button.
The ipad/ipod/android version just jumps from window to window when you move.

I played the arcade version and the jump button wasn't intuitive at all since you push up to go up a level. Somewhere in round 2 or 3 stuff starting coming out that I needed to jump over.  I liked the jump button at this point as it references DK and DK Jr.

It might be cool to add fire escape ladders or something else more DK-like to show where you can climb up.  As far as I'm concerned, there is room for improvement on both the arcade and the iDevice/Android game.

[DaOld Man]

I cant wait to see how this project turns out.

[BUCKETHEAD]

As far as I'm concerned, there is room for improvement on both the arcade and the iDevice/Android game.

I'm all for that!
Always room for improvement.
As long as the looks and basic gameplay is there.
Im not worried. I have seen Sjaak's work.
It's superb!

[eds1275]

I do not really understand the sudden craze for this game, however I am an audio engineer and if you need anything done with audio I am glad to help. For example if you have some audio files that need cleaning up, noise removed, edited, etc just let me know.

[Sjaak]

Small update:

Started on the Felix character and on windows. Don't be scared of the flying Felix, that's just my mousepointer.

[BUCKETHEAD]

It looks great Sjaak!
Keep up the great work! 

[ninjasquirrel]

This is really pretty slick...Sjaak you have mad skillz    I was very impressed with the pacman replica.  Can't wait to see what this rep will look like (I haven't even played the game yet, but doesn't matter, just enjoy your work! )

[Woodshop Flunky]

I'll throw my praise on the pile... looking awesome. 

[Sjaak]

In case anyone wants to take a look at the graphics and sound packages for Fix It Felix Jr. You can download them from disney directly:

graphics
sounds

Just right click on the links and Save Target As...

[Benjamoose]

In case anyone wants to take a look at the graphics and sound packages for Fix It Felix Jr. You can download them from disney directly:

graphics
sounds

Just right click on the links and Save Target As...

I gave in and signed up here too for the sake of joining in the Fix-It Felix Jr. building conversation.

I downloaded the sounds.swf and had a look through the audio, and I have to say it's got a shockingly low bit-rate by the sound of it. Which makes sense what with it being the flash version.

Here's an example. Several of the games actual music appeared in the movie soundtrack. I cut up a set for myself that's loopable and usable in a game which I'll share with you, but first here's a comparison:

Flash Version:
http://downloads.thedalokohsclub.com/Felix_Flash.mp3

Movie Version (From my mini sound set):
http://downloads.thedalokohsclub.com/Felix_Movie.mp3

Given that the tablet version is a paid for app (which I have) and wasn't built for streaming, I imagine it will have higher quality sounds for most of these.

I'll see what I can do about extracting the resources.

[BUCKETHEAD]

I gave in and signed up here too for the sake of joining in the Fix-It Felix Jr. building conversation

Welcome aboard! Glad to have you.

[Sjaak]

Good to see you here, Benjamoose

The difference in quality between the samples is very clear. I must definitely use the one you made.

[Benjamoose]

So out of curiosity I went and found a source of clips of the movie to make a sound log, and to spot the visual differences with the movie version of the game.

Here it is:


In white text I log all the unique sounds that I noticed.

One thing that took my by surprise, is that apart from the music, the sound effects on even the arcade cabinet are wrong.

That oh so common bloop we've heard so often is actually a series of metallic ding sounds in the real deal. Very curious.

I'm going to try and mix the available high quality versions of things together, and see what I can do about the missing sounds. I can't make a promise on the missing ones though.

Edit: Thanks for the welcome guys!

[BUCKETHEAD]

The Blu Ray is set for release March 5th
Not that far away.
So the sound's could be obtained then, In even better quality.
Just a thought.

[Benjamoose]

That's my plan.

I've done my best with what we have currently. But I've been looking forward to the Bluray release due to the channels of audio being split for surround sound.

That quality is less of an issue due to it being pretty much spot-on with what I have, but it WOULD be nice to completely remove Ralph's voice over.

I've managed to cut together high quality content and mix some stuff to get a pretty damn clean intro sequence (audio) so far though.

But the shame is, it seems the only available audio of the music that plays during gameplay is available in the flash version at the moment. The rest of the music is available in high quality elsewhere though.

I'll post what I have so far in a moment.

[Benjamoose]

I have access to some 8bit audio midi-synth. I'm currently recreating some of low quality files.

Also going to have a bash at remaking the gameplay theme tune.

[Louis Tully]

.

[Benjamoose]

Going to put them together in a pack when I'm done, but I just wanted to show off some progress with a music piece I recreated!

It was a pain figuring out the layers by ear then replaying them on my keyboard, but it's doable!
Now to attempt the main gameplay theme!

Flash Version:
http://downloads.thedalokohsclub.com/Flash_Rooftop_Music.mp3

My Hand-Played/Remade Version:
http://downloads.thedalokohsclub.com/Recreated_Rooftop_Music.mp3

[Sjaak]

Flash Version:
http://downloads.thedalokohsclub.com/Flash_Rooftop_Music.mp3

My Hand-Played/Remade Version:
http://downloads.thedalokohsclub.com/Recreated_Rooftop_Music.mp3

Wow, that is amazing!

[BUCKETHEAD]

Going to put them together in a pack when I'm done, but I just wanted to show off some progress with a music piece I recreated!

It was a pain figuring out the layers by ear then replaying them on my keyboard, but it's doable!
Now to attempt the main gameplay theme!

Flash Version:
http://downloads.thedalokohsclub.com/Flash_Rooftop_Music.mp3

My Hand-Played/Remade Version:
http://downloads.thedalokohsclub.com/Recreated_Rooftop_Music.mp3

Holy Crap!  that's awesome!
Love it!

[Benjamoose]

Phew! It took me about 3 hours, but I did it!

This one was a real challenge compared to the other one.
But I pulled through I finished it!

Hand-Played Recreated Gameplay Music:
http://downloads.thedalokohsclub.com/Recreated_Gameplay_Music.mp3

[Benjamoose]

Just checked the video again.

The bushes on either side of the building should have one half-bush against the wall, then four bushes stretching outward.

As an example, the right side of the building should look like this:


I also noted the flower pots are not there yet, but I assume that's due to the WIP status of your video.

Also, if the method you decide use to scale the graphics up to the screen resolution when in-game end up making them look blurry or aliased at all, I'd be happy to scale each file up for you manually to keep it looking like the arcade game is rendering them.
Just let me know.

[Sjaak]

Great work with the audio. It really is amazing how fast you work!

Just checked the video again.

The bushes on either side of the building should have one half-bush against the wall, then four bushes stretching outward.

I also noted the flower pots are not there yet, but I assume that's due to the WIP status of your video.

Also, if the method you decide use to scale the graphics up to the screen resolution when in-game end up making them look blurry or aliased at all, I'd be happy to scale each file up for you manually to keep it looking like the arcade game is rendering them.
Just let me know.

I think the flower pots are only in the ipad version? The game will be lo-res just like the arcade version. I'm running it at 640x480 (4:3) so that doesn't leave much room at the sides of the building.

This is a screenshot of the real arcade version:



Because it's all lo-res I'm not scaling any of the graphics. This is a photo of the lcd-screen I use for testing, there's no blurring at all:

[Benjamoose]

Great work with the audio. It really is amazing how fast you work!

Just checked the video again.

The bushes on either side of the building should have one half-bush against the wall, then four bushes stretching outward.

I also noted the flower pots are not there yet, but I assume that's due to the WIP status of your video.

Also, if the method you decide use to scale the graphics up to the screen resolution when in-game end up making them look blurry or aliased at all, I'd be happy to scale each file up for you manually to keep it looking like the arcade game is rendering them.
Just let me know.

I think the flower pots are only in the ipad version? The game will be lo-res just like the arcade version. I'm running it at 640x480 (4:3) so that doesn't leave much room at the sides of the building.

This is a screenshot of the real arcade version:



Because it's all lo-res I'm not scaling any of the graphics. This is a photo of the lcd-screen I use for testing, there's no blurring at all:

When I mentioned scaling, I just meant blurring if the images ever get stretched slightly by a bigger monitor running the game at full screen. If scaled it would still have the blocky look. Naturally on a real arcade machine they'd be drawn by the machine, so if they game blurred it would ruin the illusion.

But as you said, that's not the case, so we're fine.

Not sure what to say about the bushes. Given that the original arcade version (meaning the movie version) has four and a half on either side, I figured it would fit.

I suppose you could just have the bushes tile indefinitely both right and left. That way it's at least there. I don't know much about the programming sides of things so I can't really offer anything useful in that regard.

But there would need to be the four for the sake of Ralph's standing position when he says "I'm gonna wreck it".

As for the plant pots, they're definitely in there. I extracted all of the bmp images from the graphic assets.
The file name is: level_assets_image_00201.bmp

There's a lot of cool stuff in those bmp files.

Fun fact by the way, it turns out they updated the flash version, so it seems the images we currently have, and the ones in your video are pretty much the same as the iOS version at the moment I believe.

Some of the files are at least.

[Benjamoose]

Did a little checking up on resolutions and such to see why it wouldn't fit.

A traditional Donkey Kong cabinet ran Donkey Kong at a resolution of:

Height: 256
Width: 224
(Vertical)

Based on that, if I scale this information up to the correct resolution taking graphics into account, the game should be:

Height: 621
Width: 710
(Vertical)

An example of what it would look like at this resolution:
<image removed by author>

I've added the custom "bush behind the building" images seen in the example above to the dropbox folder.

P.S. Told you the plant pots were there, heh heh.

[BUCKETHEAD]

You guys are doing a fantastic job! 

[BadMouth]

So the one in the movie is different than the one in the promo arcade cab, which is different from the online flash game, which is different from the ipad version, which is different from the mobile versions?

 

[Sjaak]

So the one in the movie is different than the one in the promo arcade cab, which is different from the online flash game, which is different from the ipad version, which is different from the mobile versions?

 

In the movie version, Ralph wrecks the top floor completely, which would not be practical in the arcade version where you have to climb more than 3 floors. Also in the movie version Felix magically fixes all the windows in the blink of an eye.

So the arcade version is a more playable version of the movie version. The ipad and online versions are stripped versions of the arcade version.

[Benjamoose]

So unknown to you guys, I've been slaving away since the last posts here working on recreating sound effects, music (as noted in a previous post), and now even graphics.

Graphically speaking:
- I've gone through and catalogued every graphic extensively. Removing any flash-only graphics, and numbering animation sets together.
- Using real footage from the movie game in combination with images of the arcade version, I have corrected several incorrect graphics (colors and elements added or altered for the flash version), and created in-between animations where missing, using the movie as a pixel guide (I still have several to do).
- Created brand new graphics based on the movie and arcade version.
- Figured out exact graphic locations (still working on some though) for things such as window placement etc.
- Figured out gameplay elements (an example would be the windows are only gray when broken), how characters should behave.
- Settled on an ideal resolution that if using a suggested method in my notes, should work well in horizontal view too for cocktail cabinets without compromising anything but bush and HUD length.
- Etc, etc.

The bulk of the graphic creations/alterations are done, but I still have a bunch of work to do. One or two things are still missing frames, or additional details stripped away in the flash version.

I'm also making level plans. Level one is based on the movie, as it appears mostly in full, whereas further level plans will be researched from the arcade version.


After analyzing all of this stuff, it seems the current newly updated version of the flash game (or at least the graphics archive hidden within), is pretty much how the graphics appear in the arcade version, and even the movie version! I wouldn't hesitate to say that I think most, if not all of these files are  the same versions used in the movie. They have been altered here and there for the sake of the flash version, but otherwise they seem spot on.

Here are some teasers of sorts:







Note: This is not functional, this is from my level plan setup/graphics test/exact layout

Sjaak has access to all my files in my assets project, so this could very well be the definitive version if we pull together!

[Benjamoose]

So the one in the movie is different than the one in the promo arcade cab, which is different from the online flash game, which is different from the ipad version, which is different from the mobile versions?

 

In the movie version, Ralph wrecks the top floor completely, which would not be practical in the arcade version where you have to climb more than 3 floors. Also in the movie version Felix magically fixes all the windows in the blink of an eye.

So the arcade version is a more playable version of the movie version. The ipad and online versions are stripped versions of the arcade version.

The movie version is more fluid and would be less clunky gameplay wise. Above is the full layout of the building. After Ralph destroys the opening at the bottom section, the camera pans up beyond the hole, and the next section takes place directly above with Ralph then pacing upon the penthouse ledge.

It's still functional, just different.

I do however agree with Felix fixing everything in the blink of an eye. But that part wasn't really a true gameplay element anyhow. It was a way to finish the level to establish Ralph being thrown off the roof to the viewer. It can safely be ignored.

The arcade version is pretty much a watered down version of the exact same game. It simply misses one or two frames of animation (for example in the movie Felix has a custom jump pose, whereas we're stuck with his walk cycle but in the air, till I recreate it of course). With certain sounds changed for the sake of protecting their assets and such.

[Sjaak]

So unknown to you guys, I've been slaving away since the last posts here working on recreating sound effects, music (as noted in a previous post), and now even graphics.

Amazing work! Don't you need sleep? 

[Benjamoose]

So unknown to you guys, I've been slaving away since the last posts here working on recreating sound effects, music (as noted in a previous post), and now even graphics.

Amazing work! Don't you need sleep? 

I do indeed! I'm exhausted. I had nothing to do today so I did an all-nighter last night, discussing things with friends over voice clients while doing nothing but Fix-It Felix Jr. work.

You should have see how many spelling errors the above posts had before I edited them.

Goodnight for now!

[griffindodd]

Subscribed.

[BUCKETHEAD]

I don't want to get too far ahead.
Because i am sure you are far from it.
But what do you guys have in your bag of tricks for the (STUMP/BULLDOZER) intro. lol.

[eds1275]

What are you guys using to create the game?