Topic: Castlevania II - The Accursed Seal

[KaZudra]

No surprise that I'd be back on this project, after a couple of catastrophic failures and a long hiatus, Originally I was planning an original game, but I resolved to revive this but with more refined aspects, and after playing a fair share of games for inspiration, I've also decided to deviate away from trying to modernize Castlevania 2, but to bring something more new and interesting to the table. This isn't going to be a traditional Metroidvania.


But First, Let's honor the dead....

(click to show/hide)

(Credit to theplottwist)

[zangetsu468]

A new version of Simon's Quest? Shut up and TAKE MY MONEY! 

[DarkPrinceAlucard]

Looks Baddazz.

[VladCT]

I'll have to be frank with you, now that I've seen it beside Plot's sprites, your outlined Simon sprite clashes pretty badly with them.

[ProjectDread]

What tool are you using to develop this game, and do you have any progress on an engine?

[KaZudra]

What tool are you using to develop this game, and do you have any progress on an engine?

I'm making the game on the Unity Engine, Sprites and pixel alterations on Paint, and stages with photoshop (it's easier to make all the layers merged, then output them, as well as finalize stage aesthetic)

If Only there were a Paint clone with a few photoshop functions, transparencies and layering, that would be amazing.

[zangetsu468]

I'm making the game on the Unity Engine, Sprites and pixel alterations on Paint, and stages with photoshop (it's easier to make all the layers merged, then output them, as well as finalize stage aesthetic)

If Only there were a Paint clone with a few photoshop functions, transparencies and layering, that would be amazing.

The closest I've ever gotten were the adobe portable versions of AI and PS which work off a thumbdrive and weigh in around 330mb each.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

You want old Paint Shop Pro 7 from Jasc.
It basically does what you want, and it's too old/deprecated for you to feel bad about cracking it.

(the newer version was bought by Corel, gutted, and is now basically forgotten)

[darkmanx_429]

I'm making the game on the Unity Engine, Sprites and pixel alterations on Paint, and stages with photoshop (it's easier to make all the layers merged, then output them, as well as finalize stage aesthetic)

If Only there were a Paint clone with a few photoshop functions, transparencies and layering, that would be amazing.

GIMP is a free version of Photoshop you can get online.
https://www.gimp.org/downloads/

[VladCT]

To be honest, I've always found PSP7 to be comfier than GIMP. It even has a color-swapping brush that's a godsend for when you want to separate colors. If you have trouble finding it, I might be able to help you with that.

[Aridale]

I use PSP9.01 and its been my goto for _years_ my all time fav was PSP10 when it was still jasc but I havent been able to find it anywhere in many years. It had the keyboard nudge so you could move stuff pixel by pixel with the arrows. Miss that feature everytime I use it. I own Corel PSP12 and dont even use it thats how much worse it got after Corel bought it

[KaZudra]

I use PSP9.01 and its been my goto for _years_ my all time fav was PSP10 when it was still jasc but I havent been able to find it anywhere in many years. It had the keyboard nudge so you could move stuff pixel by pixel with the arrows. Miss that feature everytime I use it. I own Corel PSP12 and dont even use it thats how much worse it got after Corel bought it

PSP9? My search only brings up PSPs


Also, I'm kinda stuck on the Mansion, I was gonna use Mystery Manor assets, but those assets kinda clash with itself....
Why is it so hard to make a flooding haunted mansion look spookily great?


there is so much more to see...


                 -The Librarian

[KaZudra]

Progress Report:April, 20 2016
that looks rather spiffy...
If I keep a journal like approach to this, it'll be harder to forget, as you guys should know, I'm basically Akira Toriyama when it comes to forgetfulness...
Let's get this started because simple teasing isn't going to make anyone happy.

The Characters
First up is the Obvious protagonist, Simon Belmont.
As you failed to "finish" the job the first time, you're rather in a love/hate situation with the citizens, some will help you, others will often be cryptic, sarcastic, or even mean spirited towards you. Instead of a whip + sub-weapon system, I'm outfitting Simon with a Sword/Whip + Subweapon system (will go further in depth later).

Corpus Caver (The Dark Priest)
As a minor yet big player in Simon's quest. He was responsible for dracula's resurrection. This time around his intentions are unclear, maybe he's just hiding out?

League of Nosferatu
Carmilla, the beauteous
Shortly after dracula's demise she appeared seemingly out of thin air, now in control of a mysterious vampire cult. Her intent doesn't seem to aid dracula's resurrection. Maybe she's aiming to overthrow the throne?

Count Olrok, One that lives in shadow
Not much is known of him, only rumors. Rumors suggest that he is a vampire, and those who had visited his quarter seen long shadows, thing is, seemingly nobody alive has left his quarter.

Dorian Grey, Blood artist
Once a famed artist, his thirst for blood once was regarded as eccentric, but as years pass he showed no sign of aging and his bloodlust grew lethal.

Jure Grando, The first
Legends say this man was the first vampire, not much else is known of him. Legends say he can detach his head.


The Wolf-kin
In every forest you can hear the howl of the Wolf. Some say that there are men who live everyday lives until nightfall, but how can that be when there has been encounters during the day?


Count Vlad Tepes (Vlad Sepesh), Dracula aka King of Dragons
Once the terror of the century now a corpse, but the damage has been done. You know he's amongst the dust but the chill on your neck says otherwise, as if you can almost feel his presence. It's quite clear he's cursed this place. Things are just getting worse by each day.

Death, The Grim Reaper Personified
Death is natural, but everything about him isn't. His harvest can take the most healthy of men and most unnaturally, we can see him. when the Clock strikes 4:44 his image can be seen atop the clock tower, as if to just mock us mortals.

The Stranger
We don't know much about him, it's said he once appeared in what looks like western clothing. Now it's humored he is a vampire, residing in a cave and can be seen every once in awhile gazing at the church, he doesn't seem be a harm to anyone though...

The Other Stranger
Arrived some time ago, he was dressed in strange armor and only talked to a couple immigrant workers. The workers only stated that he's looking for 'The Dragon King' but it's too late to tell him that Dracula has been dead for quite some time....

The Librarian.

Forbidden.

The Weapons
Simon is equipped with 2 main weapons, his whip and his sword, and can used various subweapons.
Weapons are in 2 classes Light (Slash) and Heavy (Burst)
Slash weapons are fast, but can only damage one enemy at a time, Weapons include the Leather Whip and Short Sword variants.
Burst weapons are slower, deal more damage, and can hit multiple enemies, includes chain whips and great swords variants.
Subweapons are 60/40 on both classes, making them still very versatile, but I'll cover more in the future.

The Bosses
I was very conflicted with concepting bosses, but ultimately deciding on a mixed approach to keep things fresh.
For Example, Boss 1 may be your standard Castlevania boss, as Boss 2 may be a context sensitive boss, then boss 3 could be a bullet hell.
Since the drawing board has many bosses, it's safe to say there is at least a 2000% increase of bosses from the source material.

Stage Design
100% the map by exploring every square not a thing here. There will be secret sections, but Ideally I want to design each area with the current upgrades in mind, so the best way to say is the Stages will be designed more akin to Zelda games, meaning you can fully explore the given area with all current upgrades, but there will be metroidvania elements, since there are still quite a few routes to cover.

Final Word for now...
I'm working pretty hard, with 2 jobs and this being a longer term project, what I REALLY want to have down is the presentation. I want the player feel like they have full control, and the philosophy of this game's design is based around the player's control. So a bit of a spoiler, the story is also in the player's control. With influences from Undertale and Cave Story, certain actions will change the course of the current playthrough, Maybe Not killing certain bosses will give you new places to explore? maybe solving this optional puzzle may make the game harder in areas? but it's not going to be recommended to solve every puzzle and spare/kill every boss, you might have just made things worst for yourself, but who knows?
The Idea is to make an individual experience in a game, but also not going too far into it.

[zangetsu468]

I truly respect the level of thought that's gone into ^the above^. It's really the thought process of an artist and designer put down onto [digital] paper.

[KaZudra]

A Small Update, Blueprints for the mansion are 40% Done, and tiling is being prepared for completed segments.

WARNING: This file is HUGE!



Unseen is a couple doorways that rest in the background that lead to the backway(segment 2), The main hallway leads to a reworked Garden area. which will lead to segment 3 where the flooded parts reside.