Hello itch community,
V8id (Void) is my loveproject built on an unconventional idea. One that plenty of folks might dismiss as straight-up impossible. It's an online persistent world you can join from any retro (or even modern) machine, keeping network comms and rendering deliberately lean and mean to fit those constraints.
But here's the real twist: the heavy-lifting world simulation runs on a beefy remote server, not on the 8-bit hardware itself, unlocking endless possibilities without destroying that raw, nostalgic vibe. The planned minimum network speed is 300 baud, which is probably available on all platforms at the moment. (For eg. C64 BASIC 😉)
This is not a regular pixel platformer, shoot'em up or RPG. Imagine it like it's kind of a 21st century Ultima where you (the players) shape and build the world. It doesn't matter if you connect from a C64, a Spectrum, an Apple II, or a modern PC via a linux terminal. V8id is more of a platform than a simple game. It gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in completely new worlds with your old retro hardware, opening up completely new possibilities, with a playing field of a size you wouldn't have dared to dream of in the 80s.
The currently accessible game world consists of 100 million tiles. Yes, it's huge. 😄
What do you think? Am I crazy? I myself thought the project was half impossible when I started it, but now I have a very (very) early prototype client that can connect and log in to a remote linux server, from where it downloads the world's data...
From there it's really just one step (or 100) to a public, but very beta client that others can use to connect to the world.
But for that I need feedback.
Would you try it? Would you join? Would you think it's crazy, but would you still download it? Would you watch me fall with the project? Do you have an idea or comment? Would you write your own client for your favorite 8bit machine?
Don't hold back, please comment here and click on the project page, every feedback is gold to me. Please keep in mind that the project currently is just in an early prototype phase! Follow for more updates 😉
And in the devlog you can find longer and more detailed information about where the project is and what is already working:
https://thev8id.itch.io/v8id/devlog
A few screenshots, where are we now:
