Welcome to
M.U.L.E. 1.5
 
Introduction
 
I first played M.U.L.E. eight years ago. I loved it, and I have enjoyed every game of it I've played over the course of those eight years. The gameplay was so intuitive, the environment so inviting, and the music so addictive, that I couldn't help but begin hoping for a new, 'modern' version of the game; surely the people at EA would update and re-release a game of that caliber, wouldn't they?
 
After seven years, however, I began to despair of that ever happening. I decided that even if they tried they would do something hideous to it. I decided I would make it myself.
 
I had written my first (incredibly pitiful) computer program the year before I first played M.U.L.E.. By the time I decided to try to remake it, I had seven years of 'experience'. That experience didn't prove too useful, however, as it was largely centered on writing games in C64 basic. My first attempt to remake it, in QuickBasic, died faster than it began. I went a year, and I pretty much forgot the notion of remaking M.U.L.E.. I thought it back up again last July. I had a year of practical experience by then, and I was enlisting the help and support of other people over the net. This time, I was sure it would happen.
 
I was right.
 
The Project
 
After deciding to remake M.U.L.E., I went and did my homework. I learned all about Dani Berry, Ozark Softscape, EA, and M.U.L.E.. I looked into the 'forgotten' Sega M.U.L.E. and the Deluxe M.U.L.E. project. I tried to figure out what Dani wanted to have in the game and what she didn't. I insist upon doing the game the way Dani would have done it were she still with us; I don't think it would be wise to argue with the designer of the game. I also looked into what people wanted to add to the game, and most of the ideas I've seen are good (if left as options, that is.)
 
I hope, quite strongly, that I do half as good a job as Dani would have.
 
Page Contents

Here is a table of contents for the M.U.L.E. 1.5 page.

New Commodities

I'm including two new commodities in the new game, Smithite and Liquid Crystite. I am also including Hydroelectric Power, Rockets, and Smithite MULEs. Here's an explanation of each.

Smithite and Smithite MULEs:
"Smithite is a slow forming compound of Smithore and Crystite. It is also capable of being formed under conditions of extreme heat and pressure, such as in a meteorite impact. Due to the nature of the two materials it is formed from, Smithite is an extremely durable building material and can be used in the creation of a sort of Super MULE, if you will..."- Encyclopedia Galactica.

In the game, Smithite is used for exactly that: the construction of a new, more durable MULE. Smithite MULEs are capable of more efficient farming and mining than their inferior Smithore based cousines, capable even of mining in rivers, where there are large Crystite deposits. They are also much more reliable than Smithore MULEs and they never go berserk.

The average production of Smithite on a given plot is generally equal to the level of Crystite or of Smithore, whichever is less. There will be exceptions, which I will not shed any light on here. Interestingly enough, Smithite MULEs are the only type of MULE capable of mining for Smithite, so any colony with intentions of ever having Smithite MULEs must begin with some in their corral. Smithite MULEs never run away, so no more than four are necessary in a new colony.

Liquid Crystite
"Liquid Crystite is on of the most incredible energy sources known, behind only matter/antimatter and hot fusion. Due to the molecular structure, pressure applied to Liquid Crystite causes its component atoms to fuse together, releasing intense heat. This heat causes a chain reaction, and soon the entire material fuses into a plasma of the metal, 'Smithore'. The heat from this can be used to boil water and generate electricity..."- Encyclopedia Galactica.

In the game, Liquid Crystite can be found on any plot with Crystite on it. However, Liquid Crystite is very much like oil, and drilling for it slowly drains that plot of it... and of Crystite. Liquid Crystite cannot be used in the colony, so, like Crystite, it is all sold off planet for an incredibly high profit.

Hydroelectric Power
"Hydroelectric Power uses dams to gather electricity from rivers." -Encyclopedia Galactica.

What more can be said? Hydroelectric power averages four energy on the river, one on the plains and two in the mountains (where there are streams and waterfalls.)

Rockets
"Liquid Crystite Rockets are an extremely potent defence against air strikes and piracy against a colony..."- Encyclopedia Galactica.

Before you go yelling at me for including this, let me tell you that I am adding it because Dani was putting rockets into Deluxe MULE. I don't know why she wanted them, but I figure that I may as well include them, just because.

When pirates attack, the player with the most plots with Rockets on them avoids being robbed. Although this will be a waste of space on the smaller maps, it may prove useful on large maps.

New Options

The new version of MULE is going to be so full of options that I doubt anyone will ever use them all. In addition to the ability to change the size and appearance of Irata, create custom aliens, use any of the new commodities, and implement your own sound sets, there will be tons of smaller options available to make the game even more endless than ever before.
You can:

If you have any other ideas, let me know!

Custom Aliens

M.U.L.E. 1.5 allows you to create custom aliens to use in the game. Here's the design requirements:
Note: on the 11-28 update, I changed all 18.2's to 20s.

1) The aliens must have dimensions of 48x50.

2) The aliens will animate at a rate of 20 frames per second, or at 10 frames per second (as defined in your .MUL file).

3) Each alien, although it need not take up the whole space (and probably shouldn't) must be 'stuck' to the bottom and centered.

4) Each alien must have at least one standing frame facing up and one facing down. You may have more and have the alien animate while standing.

5) Each alien must have either two or four walking frames in each direction. (This number must be consistent, however. All directions must have either two or four frames.) If you use two frames, only one frame will be used in each step. If you use four frames, they will use two frames of animation each step.

6) Aliens need bitmaps for red, green, blue, purple, cyan, and yellow. (Yellow is used in trading.) You can use one grayscale bitmap for multiple colors, and have the game change the color appropriately. You can use any combination of grayscale and full color bitmaps.

7) Each alien may (but is not required to) have up to four sets of pictures: classic style, NES style, new style one, and new style two. New style type one will generally be used for an image of a male of the species and new style two will be for female, although this distinction is arbitrary.

8) The guys will move eight pixels in each full step upward or downward, or four pixels per frame if you use 20 frames per second. In 20 fps, while walking upwards, the bitmap will stay at the same spot until they have gone through both frames of animation, then it will 'warp' up eight pixels and start the first frame again, or revert to standing (if the controller is released. While moving down, they will start their animation with the bitmap ALREADY SHIFTED eight pixels down. Thus, you need to shift the image eight pixels up in the bitmap.

9) The guys will move eight pixels to the right or left each step (in the store).

Well, there's most of the guidelines for creating the bitmaps. But, unfortunately, the game needs more than just bitmaps to make the aliens. It will need an .MUL file. Here is a description of how to make an .MUL file:

MUL files contain five sections of 'code.' Each section has a header, followed by a list of options. Each option is expressed in key=value form. Here's a list of the headers, and the keys and accepted values:

Header: PORTRAIT
Key Meaning Values
Name The name of the creature; used in selection screen. A name
Description The description of the creature; used in selection. A description

Header: MALE, FEMALE, NES, or CLASSIC
(Male=New Style One, Female=New Style Two)
Key Meaning Values
Enabled Determines whether this graphic set can be used. Yes or No
Red Modifies the red guy. -
Blue Modifies the blue guy. -
Green Modifies the green guy. -
Cyan Modifies the cyan guy. -
Yellow Modifies the yellow guy (trading). -
All Modifies all of the guys. -

The above keys (other than Enabled) are not simply keys. They are very similar to Structs in C and Types in BASIC; they have component variables. To access these component variables, you use a period. For example, you could say All.Graphic=MyAlien.Bmp.

Here's a list of all of the component variables:
Component Meaning Values
Graphic The bitmap file with the graphics for this color and creature. Bitmap filename
Recolor Tells the computer whether it should change the coloring of the bitmap. Yes or No
Downs The number of standing frames while facing down. 1+
Ups The number of standing frames while facing up. 1+
Patience The time, in 1/20 seconds, before the standing animation should play. 0+
Frames Tells the computer whether the alien has four frames. Yes or No

In addition to all of the headings and keys, you can include comments. Comments must begin with a semicolon (;). Do NOT put comments on the same line as the creature name or description. You may also use parenthesis and curly braces for organization, but they may not be on a line with 'code'.

Here's an example MUL file.

Q & A

Here's some questions about the M.U.L.E. 1.5 project, along with some answers.

Q: Why is it taking so long to make the game?
A: MULE is not as simple as it seems at first. It is not an easy task to recreate the environment that exists in that game. More importantly, though, is the fact that I, after about four months of coding, trashed everything I had written and started over. I just don't think that what I had was good enough, and, after all, we've waited 16 years- we can wait a few more months!!!

Q: What are the minimal system requirements?
A: I really don't know yet. I know the game requires Windows 95, but until I have the whole game done I won't know anything more.

Q: When do you expect to have a beta done?
A: Last September. However, I trashed that code, so it could be anytime within the next few months, depending on how quickly I go.

Q: Will there be netplay available?
A: I honestly hope so. It certainly looks like a very real possibiliy.

Q: What do you think about Planeteers!
A: I think it looks like it's going to be pretty cool. I'm not competing against it; the ultimate goal of cloning MULE is to create a perfect clone of MULE. If they succeed, great. If I succeed, great. I really don't care who makes the ultimate clone-- I just want to play a new MULE on the PC. (It will be nice if I am the one who makes the ultimate clone, however.)

Q: Are you going to use the original species and planet name?
A: Although EA owns the rights to the name 'M.U.L.E.', they do not own any of the game design or graphics or content- that all reverted back to Dani. If absolutely necessary, I can change the name to MULE or Mule.

Please, if you have any questions, just ask!

Help!

If you're interested in doing any work on the 'official' graphics, sound effects, music, or legal work, please E-Mail me at Koralt@Yahoo.com. Also, if you have any ideas or support, I need all I can get!
 
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