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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => Fan Stuff => Topic started by: FireSeraphim on February 10, 2013, 03:18:26 PM

Title: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: FireSeraphim on February 10, 2013, 03:18:26 PM
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I am working on a project entitled "Angel of Destruction" (Named after a real life poisonous mushroom no less) and the gist is basicly a teamup between Mario and Richter vs. Bowser and Dracula. Anyways here's the spritesheets themselves

(click to show/hide)

There are two things I wish to point at beforehand
1.I know some programming but not enough to do anything about making the enemies AI myself or doing a near perfect implementation of Richter as a alternate playable character.
2.The intended Art direction for this project is "SMAS-SMB3" like meaning that minimizing clash as much as possible will be a priority for me.
3.I am good at making tilesets from scratch and upshading 8-bit sprites but I have never been good at making organic sprites from scratch, because of that I might request certain sprite edits that are normally beyond my skill.
4.I promise that anyone who gives me a hand will be properly credited.
5.The thing is that I would like to get the technical stuff out of the way so I can focus on level designing, Yes I'm making the levels myself.
6.I have already gotten around to implementing the tilesets I'm using so far.

I will deal with GMFMOD some more later on (due to me having problems with it not wanting to cooperate with me on DEVII, Miles of MFGG has graciously dealt with one aspect of the problem so far), as of right now I have made serious progress and I wish to share it.

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7624816/Stuff%20that%20needs%20sharing/AOD%20Worldmap.png)
The Main hubmap from which your heroes can access the six worlds this fangame will contain.  In order to get inside Dracula's Castle (which will be also be a world) you must first collect six Demon Emblems, each of these emblems symbolize aspects of Dracula
himself. A brief list of them.

The Void Emblem, The Inferno Emblem, The Shadow Emblem, The Pain Emblem, The Rage Emblem and The Malice Emblem. I have yet to decide which of the six world each of these emblems will go to but I do have a loose idea for the theme of the six world themselves.

and here's the overall world listing:
World 1: Farmland (think the first and second stage of Super Castlevania 4 and you'll get the idea)
World 2: Canyons with a bit of an old west/pre-columbian north america theme.
World 3: Forests (something akin to what you would expect from European folklore, especially German folklore). 
World 4: Swampland with a sort of south american touch to it.
World 5: Another desert-y world with an antiquity/medieval spain like theme
World 6: Icey tudra of sorts, starting off in some steppe like area then transitioning to northern ice

As I have somewhat stated I would like some volunteer programmers to deal with the Castlevania Enemies and Richter while I focus strictly on designing the levels. I also have some elaborate ideas to show more of the back story but I don't think anyone is up to it.
I suppose I might as well reveal the back story

Plot: Death has foreseen the inevitable results of what would happen if Shaft (an evil priest from CV:ROB) were allowed to proceed with his plans to resurrect Dracula and so after Dracula has been defeated once again, Death goes to the Marioverse to propose an alliance with Bowser, promising him that the Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Peach will will be his if Dracula were resurrected in this world. Consequently Dracula's corpse is brought to a new Castle on a northern island far from the Mushroom Kingdom, an Island recently conquered by Bowser with the help of Death's remnants (A handful of demons, mythological creatures and the undead still working with Death) After the new Castle is built they revive Dracula with an alchemical brew, The same alchemical brew that was responsible for bringing Bowser back from the dead in NSMBDS. Richter Belmont is witnessing all of this in the crystal ball of a mystic who was concerned about these turn of events and wished to reveal them to Richter Belmont. The mystic then reveals to Richter that there's a Portal to the Mario-verse and if he is fast enough he might be able to turn the tide against Dracula. A few days later in the Marioverse Mario and Peach are just having a conversion in her castle (much like the intro to PM64) when Ricther shows up at Peach's Castle. It is clear that Richter is exhasted from the journey to get here. Richter Belmont interrupts their conversation to warn them about Dracula. as he finished his sentence Dracula himself materialized right behind Mario while Bowser smashed through a wall in his clown car. This proves to be the ideal distraction for Death to Kidnap Princess Peach. The villains soon disappear but not before sending minions to attack Mario and Richter.

Cross-posted from my newer thread on the SMWASE Reactor board. It's still the very same fangame as before but I thought a new thread would be in order since I now have more of my ideas laid out and have made more progress since then. I also need to edit the title screen some more before I can deem it presentable.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Zuljaras on February 11, 2013, 02:22:34 PM
Ok I do not like crossover games but that map changed my mind :) I hope your game have a lot of fans!!! +1 reps for you!
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on February 11, 2013, 06:01:18 PM
@Zuljaras: Thank you for the praise and reputation boost. Personally I also look forward to your project and hope it does as well as mine, if not better. and now it's time for another cross-posting so you people won't be left out of the loop.

Quote
I am currently looking for a programmer or two to help me deal with three bits of my game's development.

1. Enemy AI for the Castlevania Enemies + plus a few bosses I had in mind (Only a small handful mind you, I may spell out the details in a PM if you ask me)
2. Implementing Richter Belmont and Maria Renard as playable Characters.
3. Ending my struggles with GMFMOD.

I'm not asking for everything on a silver platter, just some assistance on the stuff that's too heavy for me to handle. Likewise If anyone asks, I have alot of the sound effects from Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse, Super Castlevania 4, Castlevania Chronicles, Dracula's sound bites from The Dracula X Chronicles, and alot of sound effects and sound bites from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Edit: I have a dev screenshot of world 1. Also I figured out how the worldmap system in DEVII works for the most part. The only worrying aspect is that it doesn't seem to support warping to submaps, like this one for instance.
(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7624816/Stuff%20that%20needs%20sharing/Grassland%20map.png)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on February 18, 2013, 11:28:19 PM
Yep I am digging this idea alot too, now that I see it fleshed out more. It looks waay better than it sounds on paper...lol
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: SpriterDrag on February 23, 2013, 09:36:57 AM
I'm looking forward to see how this project ends :3

BTW, I'm the guy who made the engine ;)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Rudolph LagnaGaisaer on February 23, 2013, 04:28:31 PM
a great work on the engine i must say
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Darth Cariss on February 24, 2013, 06:06:56 AM
Your concept sounds funny (I hope you have cutscenes and such in your game because it sounds ripe for some fun material), and I like your world maps. I wish you the best of luck with your game. :)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: bigworm on February 24, 2013, 01:24:37 PM
 Hi, I'm new here too first post.
  Anyway, great concept.  I would never figured those two games to go together.  Looks Great so far.  Cant wait till Its Out! :D
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on February 25, 2013, 01:42:53 AM
Thank you everyone. Likewise I got to work frankenspriting the demon emblems:
(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7624816/Other%20Works/My%20Spritework/Demon%20Emblems.png)
 I editted the Glyph sprites from OOE and the E-reader coins from SMA4 in order to make them, basicly these demon emblems are just a macgruffin you get after beating a boss, but players must collect all six in order to access Dracula's Castle. Likewise you should notice that the big worldmap in the opening post is designed with this gameplay element in mind. I have a loose plot idea for them, but I'm not going to reveal it right now.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Lelygax on February 25, 2013, 09:05:22 AM
Pretty cool, will a hidden one exist too? For a secret world for example?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 06, 2013, 01:22:08 PM
@Lelygax:No, there won't be a demon emblem for a hidden world. but I am thinking about a special world of sorts.

Quote from: Crossposted from the official topic on the SMWASE Reactor
(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7624816/Stuff%20that%20needs%20sharing/Snapshots/AODsnap01.bmp) (https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7624816/Stuff%20that%20needs%20sharing/Snapshots/AODsnap02.bmp)
A small preview of the first level. please pardon me for using .bmp instead of .png, My copy of Gadwin Printscreen was not set up right earlier.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Inccubus on April 06, 2013, 01:29:47 PM
Nice! I love the SMAS style Richter graphics.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Lelygax on April 06, 2013, 01:31:53 PM
You know that even MS Paint can convert a image to .png right? lol

I like what I see there.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on April 13, 2013, 08:57:40 PM
Richter looks boss!
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Skycaptain Steampunk on April 14, 2013, 10:23:08 PM
Make a mezclature of castlevania and mario with the flower and rainbow, it will be look like a game of igarashi, with colors for children and caricature of castlevania. They know the joke now, but is serius i think this i sayed.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 14, 2013, 10:38:07 PM
@Skycaptain Steampunk: You can **** strait off, I will not tolerate your ignorant and hateful bashing of Korashi Iga in any shape, way or form.

@Moderators: Please give Skycaptain Steampunk a warning for even daring to post in my thread with his hatefull opinion
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Skycaptain Steampunk on April 14, 2013, 10:41:43 PM
no, is a kind of joke, you miss the joke, dont mad to me! the joke because the leader give me the warning the other month, and now i am ok and have fun, please dont make angry, have fun with me.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Bloodreign on April 14, 2013, 10:43:56 PM
Make a mezclature of castlevania and mario with the flower and rainbow, it will be look like a game of igarashi, with colors for children and caricature of castlevania. They know the joke now, but is serius i think this i sayed.

If you have nothing positive to add or constructive criticism that doesn't come off as bitching for the sake of bitching, don't post in this thread again. It's a fangame, not a place to come in and pitch a fit about IGA and the like.

Next time you'll have a nice week off instead of a warning. Back off and don't bother replying in this thread as I don't really want to hear it.

Actually screw it, you've been warned before, 1 week ban.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Skycaptain Steampunk on April 14, 2013, 10:45:35 PM
no mister, it is joke i make, i like castlevania and mario, i just make joke to fun, my sorry for the rude word.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Neobelmont on April 14, 2013, 11:33:20 PM
The first thing I thought. Whip + phallic looking creatures equal  :rollseyes:
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Omegasigma on April 15, 2013, 10:34:03 AM
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Lelygax on April 15, 2013, 05:51:27 PM
Hahahahaha, how did you made this?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Omegasigma on April 16, 2013, 04:46:10 AM
yeah its on my deviantart, It was made in flash mx the characters, the stage is actually Castlevania 64's keep in jedi academy >.>
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 16, 2013, 05:31:57 AM
Guys, let us stay on topic. please.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: uzo on April 16, 2013, 07:21:58 AM
Perhaps something like this would fit better in the Mario style.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on April 16, 2013, 10:08:30 AM
Perhaps something like this would fit better in the Mario style.
I do like, but I liked the previous sprite better. Seemed to be more streamlined. This one looks more like Richter squished to fit into Mario portions. (Which I guess was the point...lol) This is a good sprite too, I just don't think for this game.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Pfil on April 17, 2013, 01:22:14 AM
This looks good. I'm not a big fan of Mario, but I still like it and play most of its games.
This makes me remember Castlevania Mario XP, a very, very hard game I played some years ago. Very nice.
I look forward to playing this! :)
And don't mind the IGA bashing... if it looks like Iga-Vania, best for me! :)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: uzo on April 17, 2013, 05:10:36 AM
I do like, but I liked the previous sprite better. Seemed to be more streamlined.

It doesn't flow with the Mario style, which is exactly why I propose this alternate.

A full set can be furnished if they will be used.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 17, 2013, 10:06:21 AM
I am willing to use them provided that you'll willing to furnish the all the required frames since your sprite thumps mine in terms of quality. I will be pm'ing you with the original spritesheets.

@Everyone else: Here's a footage of the intro actually working.

AOD Intro Cutscene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADKUPgFzNaY#)

and some older footage of Richter Belmont in action:
Angel of Destruction Richter Belmont Demonstration (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2E-d5RapiA#)
Please keep in mind that we have implemented the multiplier stone and completely iron out all of Richter's bugs since then.

Did I mention that Bigworm has been an utter godsend so far, since he's the chief programmer for this project? Let's just say it started with an offer he couldn't refuse. =D
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: VladCT on April 17, 2013, 04:44:27 PM
An offer he couldn't refuse, huh? I like the way you work. >: )
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Mega Man Model T 101 on April 17, 2013, 05:43:58 PM
To be honest I actually prefer the current sprites for Richter over the Konami Wai Wai World sprites. I dunno, might be just me but still.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on April 17, 2013, 06:52:38 PM
I am willing to use them provided that you'll willing to furnish the all the required frames since your sprite thumps mine in terms of quality. I will be pm'ing you with the original spritesheets.

@Everyone else: Here's a footage of the intro actually working.

AOD Intro Cutscene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADKUPgFzNaY#)

and some older footage of Richter Belmont in action:
Angel of Destruction Richter Belmont Demonstration (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2E-d5RapiA#)
Please keep in mind that we have implemented the multiplier stone and completely iron out all of Richter's bugs since then.

Did I mention that Bigworm has been an utter godsend so far, since he's the chief programmer for this project? Let's just say it started with an offer he couldn't refuse. =D
I'm sold. The only problem I may see is, you should make some new sprites for Richter for the ability to ride Yoshi or have like different suits like Frog Richter or something. My point is couldn't you just play the whole game as Richter without switching or vice versa? There should be some strategy involved when switching between the characters with the enemies. For example, for my game there are enemies that have shields. When you are in gun mode, the bullets bounce from the shields. You have to switch to whip mode to destroy the shields. Then when the enemies are exposed, you whip is ineffective and you have to go back into gun mode to destroy the enemy completely. Stuff like that...
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Lelygax on April 17, 2013, 09:09:56 PM
Okay, I want to bugtest it please. You have Mario ready to water too? Im asking that because he barely appears in the video.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: uzo on April 17, 2013, 11:20:29 PM
Here's a little update for what I have so far. Richter, plus a little extra. The extras were done for fun, not necessarily things you need to use.

Konami Wai Wai World sprites

Good eye. That is indeed the base I used.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Pfil on April 18, 2013, 12:09:00 AM
Wow! Awesome video! And great selection of music!
I'm really, really looking forward to play this!
You got me from the intro  :)

Good work, congratulations!
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 18, 2013, 01:43:49 AM
@darkmanx_429: Don't worry. There will be situations where you'll want to swap between the two. Mario is the designated "Fragile Acrobat" and Richter is the designated "Slow and Clunky Tank". The levels will be designed with their respective strengths and weaknesses kept in mind.

Also at a latter date, after we get the content for the first demon done we are planning on adding a separate playable team consisting of Toad (with most of his SMB2 abilities and physics) and Maria Renard. Toad will be the "Fragile Speedster" and Maria shall be the "Amateur Acrobat" with only half the HP that Richter has.

Note to self: Really need to get to spriting more level tiles. I think I procrastinated long enough.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Rugal on April 18, 2013, 07:14:09 AM
What game creation program are you using? Is that MMF2 or Construct 2?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 18, 2013, 08:25:49 AM
@Rugal: Game Maker 8 Pro edition. (not 8.1)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Lelygax on April 18, 2013, 09:32:31 AM
Thanks for ignoring me while I try to help you...
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: VladCT on April 18, 2013, 09:36:35 AM
Not all fangames are open beta. Sometimes, you don't ask for it, but rather, you get asked for it.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Lelygax on April 18, 2013, 01:13:02 PM
It seems that you didnt watched the video or doesnt paid enough attention to the end of it.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: VladCT on April 18, 2013, 04:38:55 PM
Still, you're coming off as being unnecessarily pissed here. Maybe you'd have better chances shooting him a PM?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Lelygax on April 18, 2013, 05:29:27 PM
Sorry if I sounded like this, Im not pissed off. There a plenty of way to interpret text and I didnt thought that it could sound like that. I've only said that because the end of the video shows that he needed a beta tester, so atleast to me that sentence doest made sense at the time. Buuuuut! I talked with him and its part is outdated too, he doesnt need a beta tester anymore. lol
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on April 18, 2013, 08:35:35 PM
@darkmanx_429: Don't worry. There will be situations where you'll want to swap between the two. Mario is the designated "Fragile Acrobat" and Richter is the designated "Slow and Clunky Tank". The levels will be designed with their respective strengths and weaknesses kept in mind.

Also at a latter date, after we get the content for the first demon done we are planning on adding a separate playable team consisting of Toad (with most of his SMB2 abilities and physics) and Maria Renard. Toad will be the "Fragile Speedster" and Maria shall be the "Amateur Acrobat" with only half the HP that Richter has.

Note to self: Really need to get to spriting more level tiles. I think I procrastinated long enough.
2 Player Game right?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 19, 2013, 06:09:14 AM
Nah, this is all single player with a option to choose from two teams, I am thinking of adding whip grapples at a later date if I can convince someone to sprite the required sprites for it. Likewise we have decided after a prolonged discussion on the IRC that we are not going to be using UZO's Richter sprites
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on April 19, 2013, 09:44:26 AM
Nah, this is all single player with a option to choose from two teams, I am thinking of adding whip grapples at a later date if I can convince someone to sprite the required sprites for it. Likewise we have decided after a prolonged discussion on the IRC that we are not going to be using UZO's Richter sprites
The only other thing I noticed is that after your game intro, you should have the lightning reveal your game title just like it does in Castlevania 3. A 2 player option would be boss dude, if you could code it in. I figure just have 1 player with the ability to choose Richter or Mario and obviously the 2nd player will be the non chosen character. If 1 character dies then the remaining player just goes into regular game-mode being able to switch between the characters at well. You could probably just adjust your maps slightly with different paths for to player mode. Also, is there going to be kinda like a reverse map mode when you beat the game similar to the upside down castle mode in SOTN with new challenges and such? That would add to the replay value..
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Skycaptain Steampunk on April 23, 2013, 05:07:34 PM
the leader ban me for 1 week, only for make a joke, i am the sorry for this, is exagerated to make a friend out of 1 week for make a joke, i am not agree with the one desision of this, my sorry for the joke.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Phoenix7786 on April 23, 2013, 06:30:00 PM
Eh don't worry about it. You tried to make a joke, and due to your previous history here and the language barrier your humor wasn't readily apparent.
As for the video itself, I was going to ask if Richter was the tank and you answered that question for me already :)
Sucks on no 2-player mode (God I've yearned for 2 player CV for years and with only Serio and HoDes to satiate me it's not easy) but I understand the logistics in coding such a feat in. Considering the vastly-different playstyles incorporated by Mario and Richter it wouldn't be easy. Plus, would the theoretical 2 player mode be Contra or Battletoads style?
Out of sheer curiosity, why was Richter chosen? Was it for a good excuse to put Toad/Maria in? Between him, Simon, Trevor, and Julius they've all had good exposure. Was it because Richter was the last hurrah to the 2-D Classicvania style?
Last point, AMAZING job on the music, combining rips and remixes. Blew my mind.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: uzo on April 23, 2013, 06:37:16 PM
You were banned for being a zealous douche, not cause you tried (and failed) to make a joke.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Pfil on April 23, 2013, 10:50:41 PM
God I've yearned for 2 player CV for years and with only Serio and HoDis to satiate me it's not easy
Portrait of Ruin also has this feature, and Harmony of Despair and Judgment, of course.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Phoenix7786 on April 24, 2013, 03:47:00 AM
Portrait of Ruin also has this feature, and Harmony of Despair and Judgment, of course.

Other than HoDes none of those are truly viable experiences I'm afraid :(
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Lelygax on April 24, 2013, 12:36:58 PM
Maybe this 2 player idea can happen if someone does a CV and Donkey Kong crossover lol

Since I've seen that you can switch characters in a level instead of choosing it before, I thought about DK :P
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Pfil on April 25, 2013, 12:04:21 AM
Other than HoDes none of those are truly viable experiences I'm afraid :(
I understand you can play locally if you have a friend who owns another NDS.
But I'm not sure, since I never tried.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: uzo on April 25, 2013, 02:49:32 AM
Portrait has a 2 player mode, but it is simply a flat and short boss rush area. I tried it with a friend, and it actually lagged pretty bad when we tried it.

Order of Ecclesia has a race to the goal mode, but it's a non combative type of 2 player.

The fangame I was developing had 2 player mode in it. It worked pretty well for what it was, but I can see the need to have an over the net mode, where each player has their own screen. Player 2 had 'Tails in Sonic 2 syndrome' to a small degree, where Player 1 had the priority and Player 2 was on a 'leash' to Player 1. It wasn't too bad most of the time, but when things got heavy, especially if you're in a 2 screen room fighting, like a boss room, player 2's 'leash' got in the way of things. Also for vertical platforming segments, player 2 sometimes just couldn't keep up with the action forcing the level design to be dulled as a result. It basically turned into a one player game with someone else watching. One player could go into 'inactive' mode where they 'teleport out' while the other player does an action. Like how you can 'put away' Jonathan or Charlotte in Portrait. This really was counter-intuitive to the 2 player experience though, and if I were to revisit this game I would have to include net play with two separate screens to compensate for these limitations or remove the 2 Player mode all together.

If it was separate screens over the net, which I didn't have the time or budget for, it would have worked out great though. But alas, never meant to be I suppose. I had to abandon it to move on and actually start my company.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 25, 2013, 11:44:58 AM
For the last time I shall reiterate that I do not plan on making this a two player game due to sheer amount of work that would be involved.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Phoenix7786 on April 25, 2013, 06:09:57 PM
Oh no worries Seraphim. I conceded that I could understand the difficult logistics involved then we just kinda had a small tangent on co-op. We (well technically I can only speak for myself) understand that 2-player isn't possible. I'm still very excited about this project, especially since I had trouble buying into the Mario/Richter [EDIT: Total brain fart on my part I had Sonic written] at first but damn if you haven't swayed me. Also out of sheer curiosity, why was Richter chosen? Was it for a good excuse to put Toad/Maria in? Between him, Simon, Trevor, and Julius they've all had good exposure. Was it because Richter was the last hurrah to the 2-D Classicvania style?
Last point, AMAZING job on the music, combining rips and remixes. Blew my mind.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 26, 2013, 04:24:34 AM
Phoenix7786@: For the record it's Mario not Sonic. Likewise I chose Richter because his overall narrative and personality in Rondo of Blood is surprising similar to Mario and the version of the Mario-verse presented in the first two Paper Mario games. Mind you that this is a custom universe and a deviant branch of the continuity for the sole purpose of this crossover, Hence I may mix and mash things as I see fit. The overall tonality of the story (even though I would like to restrict plot reveals to castle destruction sequences for the sake of focused gameplay) is aiming to be somewhat like if Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door met Rondo of Blood. As for the visual side of things I chose the art style of SMAS SMB3 solely because it rich colours and it's semi simplistic art style.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Neobelmont on April 26, 2013, 04:46:52 PM
I understand you can play locally if you have a friend who owns another NDS.
But I'm not sure, since I never tried.

I have only done this once, once. It was boring as heck.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Pfil on April 26, 2013, 04:56:51 PM
I imagine something as Harmony of Despair with local play.
It can be fun (sometimes it is not).
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Neobelmont on April 26, 2013, 05:09:16 PM
I imagine something as Harmony of Despair with local play.
It can be fun (sometimes it is not).

It was like this except only in boss rush mode nothing more nothing less.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 26, 2013, 05:57:09 PM
Guys, please stay on topic. Thank you and have a nice day.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on April 27, 2013, 11:04:21 AM
Work has been kinda slow as of late, anyways some screenshots:

(click to show/hide)

I do apologize for the sheet size of the screenshots, I was playing in fullscreen mode.

Also that last screenshot is in the debug room

Likewise my chief programmer Bigworm and I are looking for an assistant programmer or two to lighten the workload a bit since Bigworm can't always be around and his day job is beginning to get really busy for him because he works as a DJ and all. Anyone wishing to volunteer for the position of assistant programmer should contact me on either the CV Dungeon Forums or the SMWASE Reactor
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on April 28, 2013, 08:00:55 AM
Loving the screenshots,but video is always better! lol
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on May 10, 2013, 01:45:14 AM
@darkmanx_429: Ask and ye shall receive:

AOD Level 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unm8BvdOYx8#)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: uzo on May 10, 2013, 06:30:54 AM
I notice there is somewhat of an access imbalance between Mario and Richter. What I mean by that is Richter can do nearly everything Mario can, while Mario has few things Richter can do.

Both Mario and Richter can defeat enemies by landing on them.
Only Richter has a default weapon.

Both Mario and Richter can collect coins.
Only Richter can collect hearts.

Mario and Richter can break bricks.
Only Richter can break candles without requiring a powerup.

The balance is too far tipped in Richter's favor. Likewise, the delay to change characters really incentivises someone NOT to bother with mario unless necessary since rapid switching is slow and tedious. (I also felt switching in CV3 was too ungodly slow.)

I don't see why Mario cannot collect hearts that would add to Richter's stock, especially if Richter can collect coins that add to a shared stock. Likewise, Mario could also be able to break candles by landing on them as if he would an enemy, causing a bounce. This could lead to some interesting one time chance platforming segments as well. Furthermore I think Richter should NOT be allowed to land on enemies to kill them, as that is Mario's only method of default attack, not to mention his own signature move, and Mario has no whip to compensate. Likewise the whip is Richter's signature move, so it stands to reason Mario does not have it.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Zuljaras on May 10, 2013, 06:38:17 AM
I like the dialogue system :) Is it open source? Can I find it somewhere on the net?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: VladCT on May 10, 2013, 07:48:49 AM
So what were the first two tracks that you used in the stage? I recognize the second one as a Divine Bloodlines remix, I'm interested in these.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on May 10, 2013, 09:12:16 AM
@darkmanx_429: Ask and ye shall receive:

AOD Level 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unm8BvdOYx8#)
Uzo makes some good points. I must say I am pretty hyped to play this!
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: VladCT on May 10, 2013, 09:21:03 AM
Likewise, the delay to change characters really incentivises someone NOT to bother with mario unless necessary since rapid switching is slow and tedious. (I also felt switching in CV3 was too ungodly slow.)
I just remembered, what about PoR's switching style, where switching was instant when you don't have your partner out?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Phoenix7786 on May 10, 2013, 04:56:01 PM

Furthermore I think Richter should NOT be allowed to land on enemies to kill them, as that is Mario's only method of default attack, not to mention his own signature move, and Mario has no whip to compensate. Likewise the whip is Richter's signature move, so it stands to reason Mario does not have it.

I was just going to suggest this, until Uzo said it first. I fully agree that Richter should not be able to land on targets.

Is it just me or does Richter's whip swing seem a bit slow? Also, does he move way too fast during his backflip or is it just me?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on May 10, 2013, 07:09:24 PM
@Everyone: I suppose your concerns are kinda valid, but my initial concern when Bigworm and I were working on balancing Mario and Richter's Gameplay was that the gameplay was slanted too much in Mario's favour, therefore resulting in the way it is right now. You all have to keep in mind that in this engine mario has a shitton of powerups. Mario's current powerup list includes the following:

You also need to keep in mind that Mario can spinjump in this engine and basicly has his SMAS SMB3 Physics on top of being able to run up walls when there's a pink wall triangle on said wall and can ride on Yoshi (Richter can't ride on Yoshi, but both characters can use Kuribo's Boot). If you saw the contents of the engine Bigworm and I are working with, you too would probably make some of the same decisions. I might change one or two things and as for the CV3 styled switching, I kinda chose it merely for a "rule of cool" factor and a nostalgia factor. The overall gameplay that I'm aiming for is something  like a mash between Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Castlevania 3, Yoshi's Island, Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3. Even then the comparisons I made doesn't quite describe it.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Esco on May 10, 2013, 07:22:24 PM
While I will say up front that I find the thought of a mario and castlevania crossover game to be an aberration against god, heaven, and all that is good in this world  :P (that's a joke for those of you who are oversensitive little crybabies; hence the smiley) I will say that this game is shaping up to look really good, and overall fun looking, and that I will probably end up giving it a try.  8)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: uzo on May 11, 2013, 07:54:54 AM
Additional thought: Instead of a mount for Mario, Yoshi as a second Mario franchise player. Yoshi's Island style. Partnered with child Maria. Maybe child Maria rides on Yoshi's back while Yoshi is the active character?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on May 11, 2013, 08:58:36 AM
@Uzo: Actually the second team will consist of Toad and Maria Renard.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Phoenix7786 on May 11, 2013, 07:24:30 PM
He MIGHT be suggesting a sequel done Yoshi's Island style.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Maedhros on May 11, 2013, 07:31:31 PM
I agree with Uzo's complaint about Richter being overpowered.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on May 11, 2013, 08:02:57 PM
@Maedhros: Didn't you read my reply to Uzo's post?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Maedhros on May 11, 2013, 08:39:30 PM
@Maedhros: Didn't you read my reply to Uzo's post?
I think they are still valid. Richter shouldn't be able to jump on enemies or get coins.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Esco on May 11, 2013, 09:36:05 PM
Lol at the people INSISTING that the game is unbalanced when they haven't even tried it yet. :rollseyes: Really guys, at least wait until it comes out and try it before you start complaining on how right you are and how wrong the game's creator is. Its one thing to give feedback: but just repeating yourselves over after getting a reply is just plain annoying.

A piece of advice FireSeraphim: Learn to just post updates on here and not waste your time replying to all the feedback you get. It will just be a waste of time as most people just have NO IDEA what is truly required to create even a very basic fan game. Just because someone plays games, does NOT mean they have any idea what it takes to create one.

But let people have their opinions, as they are entitled to do so. Ultimately, you are the creator of the game, so there is no need to explain yourself to everyone.  8)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Maedhros on May 11, 2013, 10:04:43 PM
Stop being stupid Esco. I'm giving my opinion about his game based on the video I've saw, if you can't take complaints/criticism about your fangame, that's your problem, mr. mydecisionsareperfectlalalaicanthearyou .

But he made his post on a public forum, of course he's asking for feedback. It's his choice to keep the design the way he wants, I'm not saying how he should make his game. I'm giving an advice.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Esco on May 11, 2013, 11:00:37 PM
Stop being stupid Esco.

Lol, nothing I do is stupid; it is just incomprehensible to someone like you. Which sounds like a personal problem; especially considering that none of my comments were personally directed at anyone.  Good luck with that. :rollseyes:

Btw............ who are you exactly, and what exactly have you contributed to ANYTHING here?

Quote
I'm giving my opinion about his game based on the video I've saw, if you can't take complaints/criticism about your fangame, that's your problem, mr. mydecisionsareperfectlalalaicanthearyou .

Lol I don't even know what you are babbling about here. Especially considering that I said that EVERYONE is entitled to their opinion above.

Quote
BLAH BLAH BLAH

I am just going to stop now because I don't want Jorge to get pissed off at us both.  8) If you have more issues feel free to U2U me. Otherwise, if I see more flame bait from you, you are automatically going on my blocked list.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: uzo on May 15, 2013, 06:29:12 AM
I think they are still valid. Richter shouldn't be able to jump on enemies or get coins.

Actually, I don't think Richter shouldn't get coins. Just let Mario collect hearts on Richter's behalf, the same as Richter being able to collect coins. Otherwise the very scattered candles in the levels require you to leave Mario's control, and return to Richter, in order to collect the hearts that Mario can cause to drop with the right powerup. This is an issue especially since the character swap sequence takes WAY too long to play through.

Also;

@Esco: Just because you are not capable of assessing some gameplay elements by a video, does not mean other individuals cannot. Please do not try to limit other people to your expectations and personal limitations. Likewise, contributions to this community are not a factor in determining one's skill, talents, or worth. And while just playing games doesn't necessarily make you an expert in making them, it does not mean you cannot have some valuable insight into the game itself.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Lelygax on May 17, 2013, 05:25:32 PM
 I also think that its better if Richter cant kill enemies by jumping on them (maybe only really fragile enemies, like goombas and turtles only entering their shell but needing to be whipped to go away?), this way Mario can be more useful in horizontal areas if you dont have a axe to destroy blocks and enemies. Also Mario can have all that power-ups, but lets not forget that Richter have his sub-weapons as well.

 About the candles, maybe it can be hit when mario jumps under it, like blocks?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: VladCT on May 17, 2013, 05:51:16 PM
Also Mario can have all that power-ups, but lets not forget that Richter have his sub-weapons as well.
Not to mention that while Mario loses his power-ups on hit, Richter doesn't lose his subweapons.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Maedhros on May 17, 2013, 08:03:04 PM
Actually, I don't think Richter shouldn't get coins.
That's what I meant initially.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on May 18, 2013, 03:14:48 AM
FYI we have tweaked it so the character swapping happens at a faster rate and Mario can now collect hearts.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on June 04, 2013, 07:32:19 PM
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7624816/Video%20Footage/AOD%20Level%203.wmv (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7624816/Video%20Footage/AOD%20Level%203.wmv) Behold!
(The reason why I'm using dropbox instead of youtube is because youtube is beginning to get big brother-ish and I don't like that)

Edit: AOD Level 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSUI_GGkplY#)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Phoenix7786 on June 04, 2013, 07:36:55 PM
What kinda shit they pulling on you?

Now that I've had time to watch this, I like how much faster and more agile Mario is to Richter, while Richter holds the edge in tankiness. From the looks of it, you are still going to allow Richter to land on enemies to damage them? Oh speaking of the partner system, are you going to make it so that you HAVE to be on the ground to swap characters?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on June 08, 2013, 05:42:59 PM
Just had a chance to check out the vid. Good stuff. One thing that I noticed is that Mario seems to have a harder time with the Castlevania enemies particularly the skeleton enemies while Richter seems to be able to take care of everything with his whip. You may want to balance Mario out some more so you don't have to switch between the two so often. That get's old really quick if you have to switch every other enemies or so. For some reason it still seems to me that you are able to just stay as Richter for the majority of the game but  I can't be for sure until I demo the game...as for level designers you could just map out the entire levels in gimp or photoshop and then make changes on there. Then just transfer those templates into the engine. That way anyone could basically do that with a little research into Game Maker 8 and don't have to necessarily be a master programmer or anything. That way you could make sure you have the levels set up exactly how you want them as they would just be following the layout you made in your paint program as a jpeg or something....
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: VladCT on June 08, 2013, 06:33:20 PM
One thing that I noticed is that Mario seems to have a harder time with the Castlevania enemies particularly the skeleton enemies while Richter seems to be able to take care of everything with his whip.
Really? I thought it was safer to jump on them as Mario, if you can safely bounce off the skeletons' bones, seeing as Richter's whipping is so ungodly slow (noticeably slower than that of the NESvania Belmonts) and Mario's jumping is nimble enough to dodge quite a few things too.
Also, why were you throwing two crosses all the time when just one is enough? It's a waste of hearts, and just doing that once is enough to show that the Double-Shot power-up is working.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on June 09, 2013, 05:56:42 PM
@Phoenix7786: Thank you. I'm glad you understand the general gameplay idea behind this crossover.
@DarkmanX_429: I regard that method as somewhat unprofessional in comparision to my prefered method of making a level tile by tile in the level editor.
@VladCT: I will rectify the slow whip problem. Also the only time you can swap characters is when you're on the ground. I threw the two crosses as a preemptive measure to allow me to cross the pit without having to deal with any oncoming Medusa heads that might screw me over.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: darkmanx_429 on June 09, 2013, 06:08:43 PM
@DarkmanX_429: I regard that method as somewhat unprofessional in comparision to my prefered method of making a level tile by tile in the level editor.

I dunno about unprofessional...I am not verse into Game Maker so I don't really know how the pipeline works in that. It's your decision and you are free to do whatever you want so no biggie. I will say however there's nothing "unprofessional" about mapping your levels out first rather than doing them as you go and then having to go back into your code/engine to fix things. I mean that is the industry standard if you really want to be specific about it for game design. I was merely suggesting the mapping so you may have the opportunity to get more "outsourcers" to help on your game rather than relying on just people with GM8 experience and not hearing from anyone. (Not saying that would happen.) I don't know everything, but I do know some stuff...lol Anyhow, the project whole is shaping up really nice. Your level design seems to be very spot on. Remember the suggestions about the skeleton enemies for Mario though!
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Esco on June 11, 2013, 01:45:08 PM
Tile by tile, is an old, slow, ARCHAIC way of making levels that was used due to space, and gfx limitations. None of the professional companies (corrected for Dracula9, lol) use it anymore; there are much more time efficient methods, that only sacrifice a minor amount more resource use for much greater overall productivity.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: chainsawmidget on June 13, 2013, 03:14:02 AM
As for the people that suggest Richter shouldn't be able to jump on enemies... that might sound good in theory, but when you actually start playing a game there's an instinct to jump on Mario enemies.  I've played several games that used Mario sprites with non-Mario fighting styles and it always messes me up at some point. 

Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: Dracula9 on June 14, 2013, 06:49:08 PM
Bit of a late start in commenting, but this is really fucking cool. I love it. Very polished, and you have a startlingly good balance between the characters.

At the moment, my main gripe is that I think you've got too many Monty Moles posted per area. More of a personal preference, but there are more than a few areas in which they're the only enemy.

Tile by tile, is an old, slow, ARCHAIC way of making levels that was used due to space, and gfx limitations. No one uses it anymore; there are much more time efficient methods, that only sacrifice a minor amount more resource use for much greater overall productivity.

B...but I still do! It's all I've ever done!
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on June 21, 2013, 04:58:39 AM
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7624816/Official%20Demo%20Releases/Midsummer%20link.png) (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7624816/Official%20Demo%20Releases/Angel%20of%20Destruction%20%28Midsummer%27s%20Day%20Demo%29%20%28Fixed%29.zip)
 
Edit: Replaced the borked version with a fixed version.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: VladCT on June 21, 2013, 06:06:25 AM
controls pls

Seriously though, there are some people that are not familiar with either side of gameplay, you might want to enclose an instructions file next time.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction, My Mario/Castlevania Crossover Fangame
Post by: FireSeraphim on June 21, 2013, 06:16:46 AM
@vladct: press F1 at any time in game to get the default controls lists.

Edit: please for the love of the clan, download this exe. and replace your current AOD exe with it.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7624816/Official%20Demo%20Releases/AOD%20Midsummer%27s%20Day%20Demo%20%28Fixed%29.exe

This one fixes a crucial bug with the bone pillars that would fuck up the global collision when they were whipped.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: VladCT on June 24, 2013, 08:30:22 AM
About the bloated music size, I found some music files that were longer than necessary, may I suggest cutting some of their length so that they end at the looping point?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: FireSeraphim on June 24, 2013, 08:44:29 AM
@VladCT: AOD is using Sinbass which I don't think it supports looping oggs via LOOPSTART and LOOPEND/LOOPLENGTH. Bigworm and I will probably have to look into tweaking the sound code so that it supports the aforementioned variables. In the meantime I have since then gone thought and cut the fat on some of the ogg vorbis files. When the next demo comes out I promise I will have the music much more optimized by then. Likewise due to the way the engine is set up, GMFMODsimple is out of the question.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: VladCT on June 24, 2013, 09:17:46 AM
I see.
By the way, I believe you forgot to credit these two guys:
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: Omegasigma on June 24, 2013, 10:54:29 AM
The only other Mario X Castlevania's ive played Is Mario XP, and Super Mario Blue Twilight, the 2nd only being castlevania since castlevania is the final stage of the game, anyhoo im downloading this one now and giving it a try.

after playing the demo the character swap button wasn't B on my pc but N, not a big deal, im kinda wishing to see the classic stage 1 of castlevania somewhere in this game, weither its from rondo, SOTN, etc, it just seems to be on of those stages that's iconic, overall I like the original stages you've presented here, the jumps killed me more then the enemies

After seeing the soundtrack list and going threw them, I felt possibly a few of the tracks could use touching up, but im more excited since I know it wont be a short game
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: FireSeraphim on June 24, 2013, 01:15:55 PM
@VladCT: I am aware of the latter but not the former. I shall make sure to credit them.
@Omegasigma: Dracula's Castle's Entryway is in the final world, Infact Dracula's castle is meant to be the goal that players work towards by collecting the six demon emblems to unlock the gate to Castlevania Proper. Think of the setup as being reminiscent of Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins and you'll sorta get the idea.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: Omegasigma on June 24, 2013, 02:45:14 PM
I thought it was going to be something like that after checking out the "Gateway"
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on June 24, 2013, 10:03:42 PM
FireSeraphim:

Just sent you a PM of what I thought so far. Overall this is AAA work! It would be cool if you could eventually make this a ROM for play on emulators or something. I would love to play this one on the PS3...lol
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: FireSeraphim on June 25, 2013, 04:34:28 AM
@Darkmanx_429: I know it's technically should be a private response but I felt it's too important to leave in the shadows so here it is.

1.ASDF? Who in their right mind would use ASDF for platforming? It's inherently awkward as it is (You have to keep in mind that I'm using an american QUERTY keyboard). I use the Arrow keys to move my characters and I use Z and X for jump and run/fireballing/whipping respectively and C for Spin Jumping as Mario (might be mistaken since I'm not actively playing it right now). N and M are technically supposed to correspond to the Select and Start button on an SNES controller. You can also use A and D to scroll the camera ala SMW.
 
2. I think my current intro is just fine, I really cannot think of any more ways to "compress" it per-se.

3. The Z Key on the world map is a debug key that allows one to see if the paths are working as well as to allow them to quickly access a level. The Debug key will be disabled in the final release.

4.There are certain levels that will give you the option to save the game after beating them and they have specific icons: big yellow circles, big red circles, circus levels (somewhat inspired by CVPOR), ghost houses, mini boss fortresses, world boss strongholds (each stronghold has a different icon), ghost ships, the outer clocktower, farms, temples and churches. Likewise once you get into Dracula's Castle, every level within the Castle will bring up the option to save the game. (due to the fact that every level within the Castle will end in a bossfight that most of the time will probably be rematches with a miniboss or a world boss from the previous worlds, with a few uniques in the castle).

5.I have been looking into it and I have been thinking about a way to have animated tiles in game without having to code a bunch of sprites. It will probably use the same method currently used to animate the water on the worldmap.

6.I think it's just fine, boosting Richter's jump would break the established balance and make it where people swap to Mario less often.

7. I was more focused on making the levels difficult rather than non linear and thought I did well enough for the levels involved. As for movement speed on the map Bigworm and I will see what we can do about that.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: Omegasigma on June 25, 2013, 05:41:37 AM
I look forward to seeing your next updated version, your game makes me want to remix more castlevania music to SNES as well
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: VladCT on June 25, 2013, 05:46:45 AM
1.ASDF? Who in their right mind would use ASDF for platforming? It's inherently awkward as it is (You have to keep in mind that I'm using an american QUERTY keyboard). I use the Arrow keys to move my characters and I use Z and X for jump and run/fireballing/whipping respectively and C for Spin Jumping as Mario (might be mistaken since I'm not actively playing it right now). N and M are technically supposed to correspond to the Select and Start button on an SNES controller. You can also use A and D to scroll the camera ala SMW.
Wait, are we talking about WASD or something else? If it's WASD, it's actually not that awkward. I use WASD for the D-Pad and OPL; for the buttons in VBA, including the CV games, and it works well for me, if not better than the standard arrow key setup. Of course, I have a rather less than optimal arrow key layout on my laptop, which was something like this:

|   | U |   |
| L |---| R |
|   | D |   |
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: Omegasigma on June 25, 2013, 06:17:33 AM
joy2key might work still, don't know
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: uzo on June 25, 2013, 07:48:47 AM
1.ASDF? Who in their right mind would use ASDF for platforming? It's inherently awkward as it is (You have to keep in mind that I'm using an american QUERTY keyboard). I use the Arrow keys to move my characters and I use Z and X for jump and run/fireballing/whipping respectively and C for Spin Jumping as Mario (might be mistaken since I'm not actively playing it right now). N and M are technically supposed to correspond to the Select and Start button on an SNES controller. You can also use A and D to scroll the camera ala SMW.

I too, like VladCT initially thought you meant WASD. if so, then he covered that. It makes a ton of sense, and who uses WASD? PC gamers. Tons of them. You know, PC, like the thing you're releasing it on. I use WASD all the time. If I do not have access to a controller, and the game does NOT support WASD, then I simply will not play it. It's too awkward for me to control any other way.

If not WASD, but still ASDF: Because F is the left home-row marker. You know, computer people like the home row, and since you are releasing on computer...

Also M and N are too far away from ZXC to be effective at pressing. That is just going to be extremely awkward, especially for platforming.

But all of this is pretty much a moot point. There is ZERO excuse to not have a controls config where you can set your own keys. I'm presuming there isn't, I haven't played the demo myself, if someone complained about the default controls. But if there is, then carry on.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on June 25, 2013, 07:53:11 AM
I too, like VladCT initially thought you meant WASD. if so, then he covered that. It makes a ton of sense, and who uses WASD? PC gamers. Tons of them. You know, PC, like the thing you're releasing it on. I use WASD all the time. If I do not have access to a controller, and the game does NOT support WASD, then I simply will not play it. It's too awkward for me to control any other way.

If not WASD, but still ASDF: Because F is the left home-row marker. You know, computer people like the home row, and since you are releasing on computer...

Also M and N are too far away from ZXC to be effective at pressing. That is just going to be extremely awkward, especially for platforming.

But all of this is pretty much a moot point. There is ZERO excuse to not have a controls config where you can set your own keys. I'm presuming there isn't, I haven't played the demo myself, if someone complained about the default controls. But if there is, then carry on.

OOPS, I meant WASD! Must of been thinking of something else when I wrote it before...but technically Uzo makes a good point about ASDF as well...lol

I also mentioned space for pause
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Midsummer's Day Demo available. Has been since yesterday!
Post by: Omegasigma on June 25, 2013, 08:36:48 AM
sadly, only one game I have on PC actually uses the WASD setup, all the rest use arrow keys or an Xbox 360 USB controller
Title: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: FireSeraphim on July 02, 2013, 12:30:38 PM
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7624816/Stuff%20that%20needs%20sharing/Snapshots/screenshot101.png)

Dry Bones and Blood Skeletons, Together at last!
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: Phoenix7786 on July 02, 2013, 04:11:14 PM
Soooooo. How long until dry skeletons and blood bones? :P
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: Pfil on July 02, 2013, 04:33:51 PM
Is there a Maria + Princess Peach screenshot?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: Super Waffle on July 03, 2013, 05:00:34 PM
Angel?

As in Angela?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: Pfil on July 03, 2013, 10:28:09 PM
Who is Angela?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: VladCT on July 03, 2013, 10:31:24 PM
*Points to Waffle's sig*

Or, if you prefer a more detailed description...
http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Angela (http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Angela)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: Pfil on July 03, 2013, 10:36:53 PM
No, stupid me for typing wrong!  :P

I meant who is Angel? Because Waffle mentioned... her?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: VladCT on July 03, 2013, 10:55:41 PM
I believe he was referring to the title.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: Pfil on July 03, 2013, 11:58:50 PM
Oh, I see. I thought it was a character  :P
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: FireSeraphim on July 04, 2013, 08:01:09 AM
I swear to god that the title has nothing whatsoever to do with any of the the pachislot games. Infact the title is a reference to several species of real life mushrooms known colloquially as the "Destroying Angel". These mushroom in real life are characterize by their white colouration. Also these mushrooms are known to kill the unfortunate fools who eat them by liquefying their innards, especially targeting the victim's kidneys and livers.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: darkmanx_429 on July 04, 2013, 09:30:04 AM
FireSeraphim, are you going to release an updated beta with the changes we suggested for us to try out soon?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: FireSeraphim on July 04, 2013, 10:07:04 AM
@Darkmanx: Actually I'm going to wait till we get the content we planned for world 1 done to release the next demo. Likewise I dunno if bigworm is up to the task of coding in a control configuration option. I'll ask him about it but I can't really promise anything on that front.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: darkmanx_429 on July 04, 2013, 11:07:26 AM
@Darkmanx: Actually I'm going to wait till we get the content we planned for world 1 done to release the next demo. Likewise I dunno if bigworm is up to the task of coding in a control configuration option. I'll ask him about it but I can't really promise anything on that front.
Sweet dude, it would seem that you are getting some good feedback for feature updates from everyone. Can't wait to see the next edition!
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: Phoenix7786 on July 07, 2013, 11:12:56 AM
Likewise I dunno if bigworm is up to the task of coding in a control configuration option. I'll ask him about it but I can't really promise anything on that front.

Well we can always use Joy2Key in the meantime.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: Lelygax on July 23, 2013, 08:26:46 PM
I liked the fact that bunny mario is back :P
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: darkmanx_429 on July 24, 2013, 10:36:59 AM
Any updates?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: FireSeraphim on July 25, 2013, 05:00:00 AM
@darkmanx_429: Things have been painfully slow percisely because of Bigworm's RealLife job getting rather busy. Infact He almost doesn't have any time to converse with me on the IRC. Any volunteers for the position of assistant programmer would be much appreciated right now! If anyone of you are interested then by all means please query, PM or Email me.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: Omegasigma on July 25, 2013, 09:09:43 AM
out of curiousity, what programming are you using?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: FireSeraphim on July 25, 2013, 11:07:06 AM
@OmegaSigma: We are using Game Maker 8 Pro Edition and for the engine, we're using Dragezeey's Seventh Mario Engine as our base engine. So ofcourse some familiarity with GM8 is desirable.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Snapshot just to keep this thread alive.
Post by: darkmanx_429 on July 25, 2013, 01:02:32 PM
@OmegaSigma: We are using Game Maker 8 Pro Edition and for the engine, we're using Dragezeey's Seventh Mario Engine as our base engine. So ofcourse some familiarity with GM8 is desirable.
I hope you find the help you need dude. This is too good of a project to get hung up
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. A new Video has appeared!
Post by: FireSeraphim on July 31, 2013, 05:36:41 PM
Baddass Airship of Doom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz0VhBklr1w#)

I am posting this to reassure you all that progress is still being made on this.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Video on Page 9.
Post by: Lelygax on July 31, 2013, 06:17:23 PM
LOL at the entrace area, nice. Its really interesting how you reach the flying ships, you plan to make them wander the map if you lose a life like in SMB3?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Video on Page 9.
Post by: darkmanx_429 on August 03, 2013, 05:50:47 PM
RE: FireSeraphim

I love those 16 bit melodies. Did you say if you are releasing a OST for your game as well? Awesome job! (as usual..) lol

My suggestions, more thunder effects for the ship part (maybe even some lightning). More breakable objects. (I am sucker for breakables) Some of those barrels or crates could work. Also even though your technically right copying SMB3, Big Boo moves too slowly to be a creditable  threat.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Video on Page 9.
Post by: TheouAegis on August 03, 2013, 08:59:05 PM
Something wrong about a Mario game with lynched skeletons.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Video on Page 9.
Post by: Pfil on August 04, 2013, 04:19:04 AM
From watching that video I'm so excited to play this game!

Do you know more or less when will it be available?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Video on Page 9.
Post by: FireSeraphim on August 08, 2013, 12:08:39 PM
This couldn't have happen at a worst time. My chief programmer, Bigworm has left the project. So basically what this means is that I'm now looking for a new chief programmer.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Video on Page 9.
Post by: darkmanx_429 on August 08, 2013, 12:42:01 PM
Dammit! Well, dude I hope you find someone with a quickness. This project was turning out to be real nice!
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. New Video on Page 9.
Post by: Lelygax on August 08, 2013, 01:31:18 PM
You mean someone that Knows GML right? I wish you luck, since this project is very awesome.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Looking for a new chief Programmer! (See Page 10)
Post by: Pfil on August 08, 2013, 03:04:47 PM
I was really looking forward to this game.
I hope you can fix this and release the game, and I wish you the best luck.
Is there a possibility, however, that you can release a beta version for us dungeonites?  :)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Looking for a new chief Programmer! (See Page 10)
Post by: Lelygax on August 08, 2013, 03:37:21 PM
Is there a possibility, however, that you can release a beta version for us dungeonites?  :)

Good idea.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Looking for a new chief Programmer! (See Page 10)
Post by: FireSeraphim on August 08, 2013, 04:06:43 PM
@lelygax and pfil: I already released a midsummer's day beta a few pages back and over a month ago
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Looking for a new chief Programmer! (See Page 10)
Post by: Pfil on August 08, 2013, 05:59:15 PM
Great! I missed that page, it must have been during one of my travels, thanks for the info! I'm downloading it right now!  :)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Looking for a new chief Programmer! (See Page 10)
Post by: Lelygax on August 08, 2013, 06:59:21 PM
Wow, I really need to check this then. Why you dont edit the first post to add this demo, so newcomers can see it easily?

edit: I tried to play the game, after it load it opens the game window, makes a "mount on yoshi" sound and then gave me this error

Quote
ERROR in
action number 1
of Create Event
for object obj_disclaimer:

Error defining an external function.

I've tried to press ignore but it insists at this error and doesnt let me play, if I try to press abort, it aborts the game and it closes. So Im stuck at a black window for now.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Looking for a new chief Programmer! (See Page 10)
Post by: FireSeraphim on August 08, 2013, 11:35:00 PM
@leygax: (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7624816/Stuff%20that%20needs%20sharing/how%20it%20should%20look.png)
This is a general diagram of how it should be set up, only substitute the .gmk for the exe and you'll get the general idea

Are your files for AOD set up correctly? Also on very rare occasions it may require a computer restart. (this is mostly due to the sinbass sound system we're using. It's kinda out of date but it's the only system so far that we found to work with the engine considering the rather oddball coding on the sound side of things.)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Looking for a new chief Programmer! (See Page 10)
Post by: Lelygax on August 09, 2013, 01:41:40 PM
I think that I see the problem, I've only downloaded the latest file from dropbox, since I've only found this one and thought that it worked like "all in the .exe file".
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: FireSeraphim on August 19, 2013, 04:30:52 PM
I cannot help but to find myself somewhat disappointed in the lack of responses or volunteers.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: Lelygax on August 19, 2013, 04:57:43 PM
I cannot help but to find myself somewhat disappointed in the lack of responses or volunteers.
To say the truth this happens almost everytime that someone needs help for something like programation. IDK if people lack time or interest or they simply doesnt know how to help.
 Try contacting Esco, Las, Incubbus and TheouAegis, maybe they know where you can find help for GM.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: FireSeraphim on August 23, 2013, 08:33:54 AM
Alright guys, this is not funny. Not funny at all. I am getting more and more frustrated as the days tick by and people refuse to step up. I have been very patient but my patience is beginning to run out.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on August 23, 2013, 09:32:43 AM
Alright guys, this is not funny. Not funny at all. I am getting more and more frustrated as the days tick by and people refuse to step up. I have been very patient but my patience is beginning to run out.
Well FireSeraphim I warned you that this may happen. As a fan of your works I suggest you tone it down a bit. If you post in frustration, I don't think too many people will step up if any to help you. Remember, it is YOUR fan-game! I think a more productive approach is to start learning GM stuff yourself by taking a break from your main work. Maybe you could just make a demo-room (like I did for my game with MMF2) and just start the learning process without any help. Even, if it is novice work I am sure once you start to nail stuff down yourself you will get the "itch" and that will motivate you to learn more on your own without having to depend on anyone else. If I knew GM I would be more than happy to help you! Unfortunately, I am working with MMF2 as well as updating my 3D work and learning all sorts of hard goodness with that type of deal so I have my plate totally full. I do truly hope you at least start looking to learn to program the stuff yourself if no one ends up stepping up to the plate! Just some advice! ;)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: uzo on August 23, 2013, 12:55:40 PM
Alright guys, this is not funny. Not funny at all. I am getting more and more frustrated as the days tick by and people refuse to step up. I have been very patient but my patience is beginning to run out.

How about you step up.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: kaonstantine on August 23, 2013, 01:34:58 PM
Desertion among fan groups happens all the time. I discovered the same you are discovering: recruiting members is difficult, that's the reason i'm still alone with my project (except for music). There are tons of Game maker dudes, but almost everyone has their own project. Even if you find a new programmer, that doesn't mean he is the right guy 4 your project. Maybe this sound a little bit demoralizing, but darkmanx is right. Actually, there's only two things you need to do: be more patient until you find a new programmer, and/or start learning Game Maker
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: Pfil on August 23, 2013, 02:23:45 PM
Hey, have a little patience! There's a lot of people here supporting your work, it's not easy to form a group and make it stay together, it happens with everything, especially in fan works, where everything has to be out of love for the art, just for the sake of doing it out of passion.
Take it easy, wait, and eventually things will work out.
And if they don't, at least you can be sure you made something worth the effort, because I like what I've seen so far, and I believe many people here agree with that feeling.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: Las on August 23, 2013, 06:54:52 PM
Well Fireseriphim, i must say to a good extent i  understand your pain(been their). That's why i can at the very least, let you use SCV3 and CPOC engines.Sadly i am not great at coding, a mere beginner myself. I know alot terms but can't put the mumbo jumbo together to form solid code yet. Still learning. I will say that Konstantine's advice to use wizardi's tutorials on youtube are pretty good.Also the game maker's apprentice which i am sitting down with now. That is good also. But sadly,in essence, they are a bit basic for vania games. You can get things like title screens, health bars, huds, player, and enemy movement. But not in terms of vania yet. I am under the assumption....that learning gml well will take some time.
Also relying on others for coding usually doesn't yeild too well. I"ve asked 15 or so coders(most at yoyo) and got help from 3. I am excited to have gotten help and had SCV3 as far as it has gone. But searching for dedicated coders has become tiresome imho. I am just going to take initiative, and do coding. I know it will take a long time...but not much options really. As i've said i can lend my engines, and any further knowledge or help i can give. I'd suggest to hit up yoyo forums and ask about help on this or that. But beware cause...ask to much...and they may shoot you down. I've seen it happened sometimes. They accuse people of wanting someone to code for them. They'd be better keeping they're flappy traps shut(why do they bother commenting at all if only negative bs,it's like wasted time reading that shit??). The few timesd i posted their i got shit for answers.It's almost better to find your own answers to your own questions at times if possible. But then again if you do....don't be like the many...unhelpful...be like the few....and help others. Sure their are many fan games and many lame ass excuses as to why they aren't done...usually lack of coder help or unmotivated people with nothing better to do than waste peoples time....But that being the case if you can code well at some point... Now you are in the drivers seat. That is of course if you can do artwork too. Most people are one or the other. Good coder or good artist. Some are exeptions. But in essence any of it will take time, that is a given. All i can say is don't quit, and if you need to ask questions i can provide you with whatever i know. And don't take stupid advice like settle for less on a game or whatever. That is shit and will never fly. You should always strive to get the most out of what you are doing. Well anyways figured i'd throw my 2 cents down. I wont' be around for week. But after that i'll hook you up if you like. :) :) :)
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: FireSeraphim on September 18, 2013, 04:33:34 PM
As of this particular time I am going to put AOD on a deep freeze until I have a better grasp of programming knowledge. Moderators, could you please lock and trashbin this thread?
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: Lelygax on September 18, 2013, 04:56:09 PM
Sad to hear that, good luck with your studies :(
We should really have a sticky thread for "help wanted" in this section, with the first post being updated frequently (weekly maybe?) with all projects that needs help, with a link for the original thread or the name of the user that needs help. This way everyone could know who needs help more easily and the risk of the project being pushed for the 2nd page becomes 0.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on September 18, 2013, 04:56:24 PM
Ha! I've been waiting for a programmer for my (in hiatus) game for nearly a decade.
 :P
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: Pfil on September 19, 2013, 07:36:35 AM
Sad to hear that, good luck with your studies :(
We should really have a sticky thread for "help wanted" in this section, with the first post being updated frequently (weekly maybe?) with all projects that needs help, with a link for the original thread or the name of the user that needs help. This way everyone could know who needs help more easily and the risk of the project being pushed for the 2nd page becomes 0.
Good idea. I was looking forward to this game.
Title: Re: Angel of Destruction. Still looking for a new chief Programmer!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on September 19, 2013, 08:38:42 AM
As of this particular time I am going to put AOD on a deep freeze until I have a better grasp of programming knowledge. Moderators, could you please lock and trashbin this thread?
Good to hear that you are choosing to figure stuff out. I totally agree with the suggestion about you posting updates frequently. Basically, the more you are in your zone the more you will get motivated and start getting things figured out. I know it seems this all sucks at the moment, but as long as you don't give up and keep being persistent you will start to make major strides in the area.