AmiCloud 1.0 Beta on X1000 and Sam460CR

Today I wanted to take a early preview look at AmiCloud Beta for AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition. I tested it on the AmigaOne X1000 and Sam 460CR.

AmiCloud is an internet based file storage, file syncing, and file sharing facility. It is the work of Pascal Papara and developer Fabio Falcucci. AmiCloud is similar in concept to Cloud solutions for Windows and Mac OS X like Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and so on.

We can of course use dropbox, etc, via Odyssey web browser, but this does not allow local file syncing to/from the cloud as it doesn't have a local client for AmigaOS.

Now in 2015 with AmiCloud we now have a Cloud storage solution with a file sync client available on AmigaOS 4.1! There is also an AmiCloud client for AROS, MorphOS, Windows, Linux and Mac OS X too, so it is possible to sync across all these devices!

Today though, I am focused on AmigaOS 4.1 only, as that is the only client I have to try out at this time.

The AmiCloud client for AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition must be downloaded using the IndieGo! App Store client for AmigaOS 4.1. It is not available on AMIStore App Store or elsewhere.

You can download the IndieGo! App Store client from here. I covered this AppStore previously on this blog here if you are interested in more information about it. The AmigaOS 4.1 IndieGo! App Store client is in Alpha stage build at this time.

You will need to register with an account on IndieGo! App Store in order to proceed. I strongly recommend if you register an account, that any username and password you use there is not used on any other service you have (standard best practice anyway!). The password and username are sent unencrypted by the App Store client and AmiCloud client at this time, with a patch to resolve it and use SSL I am advised should come later in the Beta phase.

Once you agree to the IndieGo! App store terms and conditions you can login:

Browsing the App Store using the Search function, I found the AmiCloud client for AmigaOS 4:

IndieGo! App Store uses it's own currency called IndieCoins, which you can purchase from the IndieGo website here. In my case I am testing the client out and have a IndieCoin voucher gifted to me that I redeemed to download it.

At the time of writing the AmiCloud AmigaOS 4 client costs EUR5 (500 Indiecoins) during the Beta test phase.

Once the AmiCloud client is downloaded, I closed the IndieGo! App Store (and closed DownLoad Manager - DLM when prompted) and go to the Downloads drawer inside the IndieGo! drawer to extract the AmiCloud archive to my X1000.

One important note is that an additional program is needed to be installed under AmigaOS 4.1 in order to see the AmiCloud icons properly, as they use a non-AmigaOS 4 friendly icon format. Fortunately this is a known issue and a program fix is available on os4depot.net called png_im.lha , which you can download from here.

You need to create a drawer in SYS:Libs called IconModules and then extract the png.iconmodule file from the archive to that location as below:

After a reboot the icons will then display correctly, as below:

This AmiCloud drawer also features possibly the biggest drawer icon I have ever seen for the appdata drawer!

First we need to create a drawer for syncing AmiCloud files to/from. You could use an existing drawer on your hard disk, but I suggest a new drawer on it's own so you know exactly what is being shared and synced using AmiCloud.

I created a drawer in Work: called AmiCloudSync to make it clear. I then copied the AmiCloud nice drawer icon to it, and then right clicked on the drawer and selected Leave Out so it appears on the Workbench screen for easy access.

If you prefer a volume name for copying files to it using DOpus or Shell, you could also add an assign for the drawer in your s:user-startup if you prefer:

Assign >NIL: CLOUD0: Work:AmiCloudSync

(Of course CLOUD0: can be whatever you want to call it!)

Initially when run, the AmiCloud client looks like this:

The first step is to click on the Key icon on the left side to login using your IndieGo! App Store credentials, which are also used for AmiCloud.

 You will then be prompted to select the drawer you want AmiCloud to sync data to/from. In my case I selected the drawer I created earlier Work:AmiCloudSync

The AmiCloud client then synchronises the contents of the drawer (which is currently empty). It constantly checks for changes to the drawer and uploads the files automatically if it notices newer or different files have been put in the drawer.

Once the initial sync is setup, you can then click on the Settings icon on the right side to turn on Auto login if you want this to happen automatically when AmiCloud starts.

Don't set Autologin here unless you have actually logged in to AmiCloud first, as this will cause issues otherwise.

You can also put AmiCloud in your WBStartup in Sys:Prefs if you want AmiCloud to start up with AmigaOS 4.1.

Initially I am given 1GB of AmiCloud server storage space to use for file sync and sharing. The percentage meter on the AmiCloud client shows how much % space you are currently using of your total 1GB server space.

As a first test I created a document in the AmiCloudSync drawer - a simple text file:

After a few seconds the AmiCloud client picked it up and uploaded it to the AmiCloud server:

You can pause/start the Synchronisation in AmiCloud using the Play button on the right side of the program window.

As a test I checked the sharing functionality of the text file that is now on the AmiCloud server. This allows me to share the file with anyone on the internet who wants to download it. It does not need a login to download the file.

To share a file, select the share icon on the bottom right corner of the AmiCloud window. The AmiCloud Sharing Service window comes up, showing all documents I currently have stored in AmiCloud:

When I click on the file, it prompts me if I want to share the file:

If you say Yes, it then shares the file and copies the web link URL to the clipboard so you can paste it into an email, web browser or wherever else you want to paste it!

I pasted it into Odyssey web browser on my X1000 and it goes to a webpage that allows me to download the file:

Once downloaded, I checked the file and it was the same.

If you go back into the Sharing Service window in the AmiCloud client you can then turn off the sharing or get the link copied into your clipboard again:

I tested with some other file types like JPG and seems to work well for sharing. (click image to expand)

In testing this, I found I needed to go into the Shell and type "touch <filename>" for some older date files I copied into the AmiCloudSync drawer, in order for the AmiCloud client to work correctly with it. Otherwise the client produces an error for me and quit. This is not an issue for files created initially inside the drawer like my test document.

Update 12/12/2015: AmiCloud Beta 4 released yesterday has now fixed the issue I reported above (the issue was with files dated January), and fixed some other bugs too. If you have downloaded this software before today I suggest downloading the latest version from the IndieGo! AppStore as it has now been updated.

As an aside, the download link for the files shared in AmiCloud takes you to the www.indiego.rocks web site.

If you login to this website using your AmiCloud credentials you can see the apps you have bought on the IndieGo! App Store.

You can also see the files you have uploaded to AmiCloud, with the option to remove them:

Next I wanted to check the syncing capability of AmiCloud, using my Sam 460CR which also runs AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition. I have since placed a number of files on my X1000 AmiCloudSync drawer, so I am keen to see if it syncs them to the Sam 460CR.

As per the X1000 setup above, on the Sam 460CR I needed to install the PNG_im.lha from os4depot.net (reboot needed), create the Work:AmiCloudSync drawer and install the AmiCloud client. A purchase of AmiCloud Client for one platform entitles you to install it on as many computers running that platform that you own.

Below is the view after this is done on my Sam 460CR. Note that the AmiCloudSync drawer is empty and the AmiCloud client is not logged in yet. (click any image to expand)

After I log into to AmiCloud on the Sam460CR, it starts downloading my synced files:

Shortly after, the download completes and now my Sam 460CR and X1000 have the same files, kept in sync by AmiCloud!

I then opened the files on the Sam 460CR to make sure they worked correctly and they do!

Very cool indeed!

I should stress that AmiCloud is in BETA stage at the moment, and so there are naturally some bugs being fixed up at the moment, but the functionality above works well as shown here.

AmiCloud certainly looks very promising and interesting as a Cloud based file sync and file sharing solution option for AmigaOS 4.1 owners and other NG Amiga systems like AROS and MorphOS too.

Gorky 17 on X1000

Today I wanted to take a look at the recently released game called Gorky 17 by Hyperion Entertainment.  I am running Gorky 17 on AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition on my AmigaOne X1000.

Hyperion Entertainment are of course also the developers of AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition.

This game has been a long time coming, with the original game released in 1999, but in 2015 it has been released for AmigaOS 4.1.

Gorky 17 is available for purchase from most Amiga vendors, like AmigaKit, Vesalia and AmigaStore.eu, amongst others! It costs around AUD$50.

When I received the package this week I also ordered with it the "Powered by AmigaOS" t-shirt, notepad and AmigaOS - 30 Years of Emotion sticker! Here they are:

Here is a close up of the inside of the Gorky 17 package:

Gorky 17 has a simple enough install procedure via the provided Install program on the CD.

With the installation completed the game drawer appears as below:

The manual for the game is included as a PDF:

The configuration program included allows me to change the screen resolution, full screen or not, and to use hardware gfx rendering or not. By default software rendering is on.

I using the 1920x1080 resolution on my X1000, and deselect the software renderer.

When the game runs a movie intro plays:

The main menu for the game is below:

I selected a new game and the game starts off in Poland, with a small team of 3 as the adventure unfolds.

Dialogue between the team members and people you meet explain the story as it goes along and the tasks you need to do to progress in the game. 

The game world is isometric 3d map which your team explores:

The game has quite a array of elements to team member development, with various personal abilities able to be upgraded as their skill level improves with enemy encounters in the game. This is Cole Sullivan's Inventory view:

There is a lot of strategy to this game as it is a turn based game, a bit reminding me of Laser Squad on the Classic Amiga. It is important to plan out what you want to do in each turn with each team member to be able to progress through the game.

You can place objects like rifles and pistols into the team member's hands, but also put objects there to restore health points (HP) and provide ammunition to the team members as they run out. This is Jarek Ovitz's view - I have put the rifle in his hand during this turn so he is ready to attack an enemy.

The team members do not all have the same resources, and the abilities of each team member also differ. It is important to remember this when planning attack strategies to inflect maximum points of damage on enemies in each turn.

Here are some screenshots from the game world as we set off. When fighting enemies you can select each character to move them a certain number of steps from their current position within your turn.

It is easy to select a new weapon to place in a team members hand without needing to go to the inventory view.

It doesn't take long to find trouble:

When you click on the enemy you can see their remaining Health Points, and the range that they can move when it is their turn.

Note that action constitutes the action part of the players turn and has a limited range. Each team member also has one movement action within each turn, with the possible remaining move locations highlighted in green. As you move around the remaining possible step locations decrease until all your steps are exhausted for this turn.

You then click on End Turn icon on the bottom right to allow the enemy to take their turn, and then you can have another go. If any of your team are killed during the fights then the game is over.

In this case though I was successful!

You can see Cole now has more experience and show the kills made so far:

As the game proceeds the team comes across other previous teams who have had many team members killed and mutated. Objects like boards (below) can also be picked up for use later in the game:

The enemies keep on coming!

The team then stumbles across a guy that provides more information about what is happening, and joins the team as it continues on.

As the game progresses the enemies get censurably more difficult to beat, and many of them attacking at once makes strategy amongst your limited resources and team members very important to win the battles.

As our additional team member is unarmed we need to move him around strategically to avoid him getting killed.

Not doing so well with that though - Getting a bit close for comfort.

One of my team members has killed enough enemies to increase a level. I got 5 points to distribute across his various abilities to improve them:

I find myself having to rejuvenate my player's health more and more often and quickly running out of things to do that with! Jared's down to just 18/150:

Here I apply a bandage to improve his health a little, and then move him away from the enemies:

As you can see, things are moving along nicely and I have managed to kill quite a few enemies successfully!

However in the battle below I made a tactical mistake and left one of my team too close to multiple enemies, leaving him vulnerable to multiple attacks on the enemy turn.

So unfortunately I lost one of my team and it was Game over!

I noticed you then have the option to repeat the battle which avoids having to start again - this is nice.

The music is nice without getting annoying, the spot effects are good and the level of strategy in the game does pull you into the adventure.

The turn based nature of the gameplay may appeal to some more than others, but I think it is fun to play games like this as there is more strategy involved than just the normal hack and slash style gameplay.

Gorky 17 is an interesting game and worth giving a go! More new games for Amiga in 2015 - fantastic! :-)