The legend of faerghail software#
Holger Heinrich at reLINE software took on the challenges of porting Legend of Faerghail to the PC, and from what I recall this was an exceptionally difficult task.
The legend of faerghail code#
The development tools in particular were immature: the Atari ST had an excellent Turbo 'C' compiler, but the 'C' compiler used on the PC by reLINE software had so many quirks that porting code from the Amiga almost always amounted to a rewrite. By comparison to the Atari ST and certainly the Amiga, the PC was not a mature platform, because it lacked an operating system. reLINE software had already acquired a development system, with AdLib sound card and EGA graphics. This was at a time when the IBM PC compatible platform started to become relevant as a gaming platform, both in Europe and internationally. This proved to be challenging on many levels: the game was not intended to be ported when designed, game design was still evolving and ongoing, and at reLINE software nobody had the necessary experience in programming the PC in the 'C' programming language. The game itself was designed and "prototyped" on the Amiga, and at some point had to be ported both to the Atari ST and the "IBM PC compatible" platform. We all were hobbyists/amateurs, who were self-taught and learned the craft through writing software for and painting on the C64.
Legend of Faerghail was the first, only and last big commercial game the three of us collaborated on. What originally started out as a more modest product evolved into a multi-platform game (Amiga, Atari ST, PC), in two different languages, using unproven technology (reLINE software wrote all their games in assembly language Legend of Faerghail was written in 'C'), by an unproven designer/programmer team. Not only were the three of us pressed for time, as the final exams were approaching (we passed - working on the game did not have a negative effect on our marks), our producers and collaborators at reLINE software must have been tearing their hair out, given the complexity of the game.
In retrospect, that type of approach must have made it harder for everybody who was involved in making the game. At that age you can move the world, just by sheer force of ignorance and sticking to your guns.
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