Pyramid Warp Enhanced+ | MSX Resource Center

The game Pyramid Warp has been revamped and pimped to a higher level by members of the MSX scene. This upgrade includes new graphics, new music, smoother gameplay and overall alignment for improvement of presentations. All this is now available on your 8-bit machine.

Way back in 1983, at the start of something beautiful, T&E soft released their game called Pyramid Warp. The company that was founded just a year earlier proved with this MSX1 game, that required 16K RAM, they could code a true classic. Looking back into their repertoire, Pyramid Warp was just a warm-up for things to come.

While in that age the Pyramid Warp game was fun to play, looking at it now could make you wonder if there's room for improvements... Not an uncommon thought these days. Well, MSX sceners Bitcaffe, Nenefranz, and theNestruo did just that: Improve it. The team took the game, disassembled it and refactored it to meet todays demands; Pyramid Warp has been uplifted with new pixels, new tunes and fresh code. The result is just plain stunning.

For a complete list of changes and upgrades, visit TheNestruo his Github page. Full sources of the enhanced+ version are available there as well.

Projects like these make an MSX geek heart pump faster, it's just delicious Z80 food. Now, tell the wife you're gone fishing for the weekend while secretly locking yourself up in the basement. Just to play Pyramid Warp 2021.

relevant link: Pyramid Warp Enhanced at Github
relevant link: Play Pyramid Warp Enhanced Online

Comments (35)

By Pippo

Hero (521)

01-06-2021, 19:11

Super, super wonderful!!
I'm astonished, really!
My real, real Congratulations to the authors!

By Pencioner

Scribe (1676)

01-06-2021, 19:25

I can't believe i didn't play this game before good time to try original version and improved version

By Randam

Paragon (1431)

01-06-2021, 19:44

This is a great job you guys did on it! The game is really nice with all the enhancements. Now it is even more fitting for a T&E game. And I saw there is even a room editor! Very cool!

If you want you can compete with the editor in the MSX Level and Editor contest.

By theNestruo

Champion (456)

01-06-2021, 20:43

Randam wrote:

If you want you can compete with the editor in the MSX Level and Editor contest.

I'm not sure if this game would be a good candidate for the contest (luck is more important than level design in Pyramid Warp!) but, of course, everybody is welcome to create and share new rooms. I'm eager to play them!!! :-D

I uploaded all the intermediate binary files, so after editing the rooms you just need to tniasm asm\PyramidWarp.enhancedplus.asm (no other tools are required).

Have fun!!!

By djh1697

Paragon (1794)

01-06-2021, 21:03

Pyramid Warp was one of the first MSX games I owned! Great fun!

By Randam

Paragon (1431)

01-06-2021, 21:12

@theNuestruo: I ment that the editor itself could enter in the editor category. If you want, it can be an entry.

But yeah new levels could also do if people create them.

Regardless of this, I am gonna play this game and enjoy it very much. This version is amazing!

By gdx

Enlighted (6800)

02-06-2021, 02:20

I did never play this game before. It has not caught my eye. Nice enhancement. Thank you.

By Manuel

Ascended (20069)

02-06-2021, 09:23

Wow, that's one great pimp up!! Fantastic work, guys!

By MajorTOM

Master (255)

02-06-2021, 10:42

One of my favorite 1st generation games!
I still keep the original tape version released by Toshiba for the European market :-)

By DanySoft

Champion (452)

02-06-2021, 13:34

Well done! Very nice this arcade mode!

DanySoft

By pitpan

Prophet (3165)

02-06-2021, 19:53

What a boost! Congratulations!

By Manuel

Ascended (20069)

02-06-2021, 20:06

Also: special compliments on the beautiful image with this article. Must have been hamlet. Brilliant art!

By carlosemandrade

Rookie (22)

02-06-2021, 23:04

Great version. I even made a cart (from an old one)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hb3nsvi23gpi3do/IMG_0715.jpeg?dl=0

By jltursan

Prophet (2619)

03-06-2021, 09:06

Superb!. One of my fave games since ages

Now please, "Driller Tanks" or "Fire Rescue" anyone?

By hamlet

Scribe (4113)

03-06-2021, 20:11

Manuel wrote:

Also: special compliments on the beautiful image with this article. Must have been hamlet. Brilliant art!

Thanks Manuel! I waited so long to get a change to use the Papyrus font once more. I was over it for years.

By max_iwamoto

Paladin (765)

04-06-2021, 01:50

Great improvement! New version looks awesome!

By JohnHassink

Ambassador (5700)

05-06-2021, 07:52

Late to the party, and I already "liked" it on Twitter (as far as that says anything) -
Guys, this is totally freaking amazing, what you did.
The only thing I dislike, and that's not your fault, is how bad I apparently became are as opposed like how good I used to be at the game (yes, I tried "CLASSIC" difficulty first). ;-)

I loved this game in my youth. But everything about this remake is just about 100x better.
The flow of the game - way better and more fluent.
The brilliant upgrades of the graphics. I love the enemies, while I hate them too. But they look delicious. Same goes for the environment, the map, everything. Looks really polished.
How the "nee-nuh-nee-nuh" original sound actually got integrated in a cool composition by maestro Gryzor.

I can't stop praising this, so I will stop now. Thank you guys for this, it's so awesome. ♥

By theNestruo

Champion (456)

05-06-2021, 09:29

Hi, JohnHassink!

JohnHassink wrote:

The only thing I dislike, and that's not your fault, is how bad I apparently became are as opposed like how good I used to be at the game (yes, I tried "CLASSIC" difficulty first). ;-)

Well... this game heavily depends on randomness, so it may be a matter of luck of what you find first: the ank ...or the skull!

JohnHassink wrote:

But everything about this remake is just about 100x better.

When I disassembled it (just for learning purposes) I saw some improvement points here and there... but never thought it will come like this! The first time I saw Nenefranz's, or when listened to Bitcaffe's music, my jaw dropped!! That's why we decided to go for the Enhanced+ version

JohnHassink wrote:

How the "nee-nuh-nee-nuh" original sound actually got integrated in a cool composition by maestro ~~Gryzor~~ Bitcaffe.

The credit goes to Bitcaffe; it was his idea to keep that reference to the original game! I really love it!

JohnHassink wrote:

Thank you guys for this, it's so awesome. ♥

Thank you (and everyone else, of course) for playing and the warm reception this game has got ^_^

By JohnHassink

Ambassador (5700)

05-06-2021, 10:03

Thank you theNestruo, for your clarifications.
My apologies to Bitcaffe, I did not mean any disrespect, I just was confused with something else, I guess. Kudos to your awesome work!

By KdL

Paragon (1493)

05-06-2021, 11:37

This game is really great, thank you very much from me too.

By AnsiStar

Master (155)

05-06-2021, 12:07

Cartridge?

By Udderdude

Supporter (15)

06-06-2021, 00:11

Nice remake!

By Grauw

Ascended (10902)

20-06-2021, 14:27

Wow, what a difference! And to think it’s on the same hardware.

By spl

Paragon (1470)

25-06-2021, 23:49

Outstanding!!

By TaylorsEverythingChannel

Champion (415)

26-06-2021, 18:16

Hi, great job on creating this remake / remaster. I love it. I noticed two versions, Enhanced original, and plus, they're both good. Heck, me and Revo put this on the SMS already.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRQo1n4r5PU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suHYXdOTnxI

By theNestruo

Champion (456)

26-06-2021, 21:14

TaylorsEverythingChannel wrote:

I noticed two versions, Enhanced original, and plus.

Yup; as explained in the GitHub repository:
PyramidWarp.enhanced.asm:

The original source code, once disassembled, was easy to understand and easy to improve because it used no compression, did no clever tricks, and underused some resources (e.g.: the game looked like SCREEN 1 despite being SCREEN2 already).
This is a patcheable version of the original source code that allows several of those enhancements.
This version keeps most of the original source code untouched and, actually, a pixel-perfect clone of the original game can be assembled from this!

PyramidWarp.enhanced+.asm:

This version break ties with the original source code wherever necessary to accomodate not-so-easy-to-fit enhancements (such as a proper music replayer or a sprite flickering routine)

TaylorsEverythingChannel wrote:

Heck, me and Revo put this on the SMS already.

It would be better if you had given proper attribution, as requested by the Creative Commons licenses we have used (all of them requiring attribution): "You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made".
And, if you have used the published source code to create the ports, you must honor the ShareAlike clause: "If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original."
The download I have found in the smspower.org forums only contains the .sms file; no license, no readme, no link to the original repository...

By TaylorsEverythingChannel

Champion (415)

27-06-2021, 03:46

I'll go check out that. And I will give credit.

By theNestruo

Champion (456)

28-06-2021, 20:36

TaylorsEverythingChannel wrote:

I'll go check out that. And I will give credit.

Still waiting for that...

Meanwhile, more cheap-ass MSX to SMS hacks without any reference or aknowledge of the original authors keep appearing in the smspower forum thread.
Guys, this attitude of yours is not positive for anyone: Not for the MSX scene (where you are pissing off creators), not for the SMS scene (that receive cheap-ass, wrong-colored, hacks of games they don't know about, and without information to look for the original game, or to look for the authors and their other games in case they like it), not for you (learning nothing by doing these hacks industrially). Please stop. Or, at least, play by the rules and show a little respect.

To be honest, I'm really pissed with your behaviour >

By TaylorsEverythingChannel

Champion (415)

10-07-2021, 03:46

https://github.com/TaylorScratch21/Pyramid-Warp-Enhanced-Plu...
There you go. Unlike the SMS, which that is now deleted, you have this new version. And no, I didn't write two Pluses by mistake.

By gdx

Enlighted (6800)

10-07-2021, 11:23

Oh, here's the enhanced++. I had not even noticed the arrival of the enhanced+ version. When I posted I downloaded the enhanced version.

By Grauw

Ascended (10902)

10-07-2021, 13:37

@theNestruo I hope you don’t get disencouraged by this and don’t stop creating such great enhancement patches and releasing your work as open source. There’s always crappy and rude people around “who don’t give a f”, if not in the MSX scene then in the Sega scene as is the case here.

It’s good that you speak out because those people and onlookers should be made aware of the disrespect when they do not abide by the license terms and don’t even ask (imagine!) and credit the author. It seems some people lack the empathy capacity to put themselves in the shoes of the creators, and what impact this can have on their motivation to create new software for our beloved systems.

It’s a shame, because I’m sure there could be some great collaborations for ports between MSX and Sega systems, where the original developer does not necessarily intend to work on such a thing. If only people would cooperate and pay the proper respects to each other’s work, I think many developers would be happy with an offer to get their game out on more systems and to work together to get a high quality result.

Anyway, I hope you don’t let it get you down.

And I’m happy with Taylor’s response here, who seems understanding of the concern and shows the intent to do things in a respectful manner.

By theNestruo

Champion (456)

10-07-2021, 14:08

I hope they get the point of attributing and respecting licenses. And, even if a license doesn't require it, I think proper attribution a link to source is the most basic courtesy/etiquette.
And I'm not talking about courtesy just with the authors, but also with the players:
A naked ROM doesn't let you discover other works of the same author(s), the background of the game, what was changed, etc. In the case of Pyramid Warp Enhanced+, not giving a link prevents the player to experiment with the level editor, to read simple and commented code (in case he is learning), to play with the compilation flags, to create his own ROM with cheats and his own sprites... May be it is not the best game, or has the most optimized routines... but is easier to follow than Metal Gear or Sword of Ianna (those games are huge!)

There is an entire different discussion about if these hacks serve any purpose. Is anyone so willing to play Pyramid Warp Enhanced+ in a real Sega Master System that doesn't care about how the Sega palette destroys the graphics? Is playing a PSG-targeted music through the SCC ports an enhancement? Or is it like applying Instagram filters to the Mona Lisa? What is the value of "a bit glitchy and no sound" port of a recently released game if you don't even give a link to the non-glitchy-and-yes-sound original game? Mandatory quote

Don't get me wrong: I think it is OK to do these kind of hacks to learn about the process... But I feel they are more like serial-production copy-paste-based cheap hacks. And, if that's the case, they are mostly worthless and provide zero knowledge of anything.

Taylor is indeed walking towards the right direction, but he has room for improvement still.

By gdx

Enlighted (6800)

11-07-2021, 12:19

Grauw, You are very severe with Taylors. I haven't seen a license or specific request on the Pyramid Warp Enhanced page. It is true that he should better present the work he does especially when it is based on that of another but we must put it into perspective. As theNestruo says, he made some efforts. Many others have never done so in years and still release modified or unmodified software without any explanation. Then what he does is released for free.

theNestruo wrote:

Is anyone so willing to play Pyramid Warp Enhanced+ in a real Sega Master System that doesn't care about how the Sega palette destroys the graphics?

It is true that it is not pleasant to see these games atrophied like this. I am wondering if it is possible to use the 64 color palette to improve this.

By Grauw

Ascended (10902)

11-07-2021, 18:11

gdx wrote:

I’m particularly talking about other people on the smspower forum who take a rude and dismissive attitude to the developer’s complaints. There’s a difference between saying something along the lines of sorry my bad I didn’t realise and trying to address the issue, versus dismissing with “I don’t give a f”. Also, the license is very clearly stated here and here.

By gdx

Enlighted (6800)

12-07-2021, 10:21

I rarely go to smspower. I tried to register when I developed SG1000 but it was not possible so I gave up.

Grauw wrote:

Also, the license is very clearly stated here and here.

Ah, he didn't use the Github feature.