Topic: Simon's Curse, metroidvania game based on Simon's Quest

[Aceearly1993]

Hello Wanhus!! It's glad to know you're still alive!
OK long phrase cut short and let me share some actual thoughts and opinions.
-The damage of enemies in the very first woods I think it could be decreased by one of two.
-The post-hit invincibility I think it could be exntended by 3-5 frames more.
-The load data function is bugged and unfinished? I can't load my save file saved at the very first church, thus lost all my progress for a good chunck of minutes. For this reason the game effectively prevents me from making further adventure progress and checking further locations.

Anyway keep healthy and stay safe! Best luck to you guys!!!

[Wanhus]

Tested saving on 5 machines with no problem.
I did transfer the game to new engine without testing so its possible.
(The engine change atleast affected in changing screen size mid game that sometimes crashes it)

Did you save correctly?
Saving happens by using the statues like in other castlevania games.
Talking to priest does not save the game.

When it comes to damage and inv. frames I need to think about it.

Also several areas are unfinished and have weird stuff in them.
Im also reworking several areas. Like Dungeon (manor) 2, I hate it its a mess.

Might also add tutorial or a quick quide menu.

[Aceearly1993]

Indeed I was saving at the save point rather than talking to the priest. At load menu there's even information about saved location. Yet the saved game cannot be loaded, when it loads the game crashes.

[Wanhus]

Thanks for this info.
I will fix it.

[Wanhus]

New Major update!
Download from itch.io: https://metzgermade.itch.io/simons-curse

Updated v0.52 D20.M2.Y2023

- New: three zones added

- New: two enemies added

- New: lost castle and its boss revamped/remade and finished

- New: Simon has knock back when hit by enemy

- New hidden secrets added

- New enemy death animations

- New music added

- New: alternative end affecting moments added

- New NPC's

- New decoration objects added

- Aljba improvements

- Added better and new effects to two unmentioned whips

- UI and shop control improvements

- Loading save fade to black effect

- Window centering after screen size change and on launch

- Various graphical improvements

- Yes No owerwrite question when starting new game on save

- Adjusted some enemy stats

- Fixed ingame screen size change crash

- Fixed leafs falling in sync

- Fixed simons corpse moving sometimes when dead

- Fixed music stopped playing in inventory after repeat loop

- Fixed Carmilla mansion correct door

- Fixed Red Une death animation

- Fixed several background sky textures not moving

- Fixed issue with boss musics not playing

[Wanhus]

Updated v0.54 D22.M8.Y2023

Download: https://metzgermade.itch.io/simons-curse

- new secret area

- new miniboss

- new item

- new tilesets

- new story event

- new decor objects

- new menu options: turn on/off indicator

- key indicator on stairs, doors, etc usables

- improved gamepad control info: more info on buttons

- improved veros church: larger with new tiles

- improved intro: added moon fade

- added whip motion effect

- reduced throwing axe size

- redid holy water and other item graphics

- fixed pyre light position: + y coordinate to lower the light

- fixed flying in to space when jumping on and of from stairs

- fire transparrency added to some decor

[Wanhus]

MAJOR UPDATE!

And as always saves SHOULD be backwards compatible!

Download at itch.io!: https://metzgermade.itch.io/simons-curse

Major Update v0.60 D02.M09.Y2023

- added new story event

- added new tiles

- added new areas: veros to dabi, under river 1, under river 2, under river 3, dead river tunnel outside, debora woods 1, debora woods 2. debora woods 3, fetra debora, fetra

- added new decor objects

- added two new songs

- added new npcs

- added new shop

- added new item

- added new enemies

- added sound direction and distance (affect where sound comes from speakers and how loud)

- added item amounts to hud when equipped

- added sound to une dying

- added animated simons curse title to menu

- added menu bat

- added credits to menu screen

- added clouds to menu screen

- added slight color change to hearts value when at max hearts

- added axe blocked effect

- added garlic end effect

- added cat: you can pet it

- added new npc to veros

- added fire weakness to some enemies

- added ghost dying animation

- minor improvements to usable item graphics

- minor improvements to veros

- minor improvements to jova

- minor improvements to veros church again

- minor improvements to moving platform

- area changes: dennis woods 1 is larger now

- adjust: holywater changes: holywater drops down, holywater size increases, holywater sprite changes, holywater burnout effect

- nerf: reduced base heart max by 15: now 15

- nerf: level up heart max gain 10 -> 3

- buff: miniboss hp: certain miniboss hp 16 -> 18

- more zombies to aljiba

FIXES

- fixed buying leather armor but not getting it

- fixed typo in getting an axe

- fixed indicator for signs

- fixed whips text in menu

- fixed story event

- fixed dennis woods music transition

- fixed heartbeat playing even when its off

- fixed missing indicator option from ingame menu

- fixed start menu buttons vanishing sometimes

- fixed bug in ghost spawner: if player does not exist game crashed

- fixed bug with ghost: if player does not exist game crashed

- fixed non syncing background in start menu

- fixed water sometimes getting drawn twice making it less transparent

- fixed using old garlic item with secondary use button

- fixed zombie dying direction

- fixed weird scrolling camera issue

[Foffy]

Wonderful to see this still worked on! Will give the recent version here a try.

[Wanhus]

Yeah its been a long process Foffy. Feel free to leave any feedback on what you feel needs changing and what to improve. I have decided to be more active with it as I now have a lot more free time. Also it helps to cheer things up that some one made a video of it. Instead of getting 4 views a week maybe it now gets about 7-10 views a day thanks to that video.

[Foffy]

Really liking the vibe and presentation. Some of the early feedback I can give might feel like nitpicks, but it's a bit hard getting used to Up on the d-pad being used for so much. It being used to talk and enter doors, sure. But it's also the confirm button in shops and is the way you go down stairs? Is it an engine limitation where these features aren't like the NES counterpart or specifically a design choice?

Immediately I can tell this is an expansion to what the original game was, and that alone is praise. I've only dabbled up to the first mansion so I can't say how much this begins to deviate so my complaints are more of the really small stuff like the controls I mentioned and a few spelling errors. Clearly you made something that's solid so don't take my words here as hostile and harmful, but I imagine the cleanup happens further in finalizing the project. I'd rather say something now so they're possibly something to consider to make the game feel more polished and more "Castlevania" in the control differences especially.

I can already tell this will be a hard game, and I don't say that with criticism. I've died like four times already getting to the mansion. The fact blocks break and you can fall to your death is a change my old NES-driven brain isn't used to so I keep dying to what I'm not used to there.

[Wanhus]

Thanks for the good feedback. Sure I'll chance some of the use control button commands out. Like maybe shops working with attack and jump button and shield is quick cancel. But yeah sorry the up button as use/activate/open/enter comes from my nintendo 8 bit and sega genesis/megadrive past. I used to own a lot (traded a lot of games back then, also made money collecting and returning bottles) of side scrolling adventure/rpg games so pressing up was often talk/activate lever/enter building.

OH and no there are no engine limitations I made it myself I can change all. Thou some things I wont change as at this point it would require immense amounts of work as some of the early engine coding is poor. The first version of this game came back in 2008 =D. But dont worry that was when I made like 1 update a year. This year alone atleast 5. I'm trying to get this done 2024 or sooner. But true now that I'm out of work I'm also working on 2 other games (lots of free time) for commercial purpose as one tends to needs money. So I'm making a lot of games right now. But making one game helps the other, I think of new ideas or better ways of doing things I try to move it to other projects.

Also its good to know its difficult I was fearing it was way too easy. For me its a bit easy but I have played it hundreds of times (I usually can get from jova to aljiba without a single hit. Unless spiders shoot in a row). I was considering making it more diffcult that was the idea for the next patch (make enemies have more abilities and better AI, also to add more variety). If you want a tip, no matter what buy the holy water from jova. It does very good dps and can reveal secrets and destroy certain blocks. There are nice secret items and gold to be found that helps along the way.

For the typos yeah im a poor writer. I make a lot of typos everywhere but once its nearly done I'll have some people look at the texts to make them have less typos and improve the overall tone and poor writing.

Yeah I will do more cleanup later and more polish like and portraits to npc, add a lot of missing sounds, add ambient sounds, add music swap zones like castlevania game since SOTN, more story elements, add warning to enemies befoer they shoot or use special abilities etc etc.

The falling blocks yeah they are fun. I think all the mario games on nes, maybe contra/robotector and at least castlevania 3 has a lot of them. So much so you have to cheat with alucard to get past some of those parts =D. There are also dropping down block that drop from above. Thou same as the falling block they do give out a warning like shaking.

Also the second mansion is very cool atleast to me and the boss is nice. Tip dont let IT break too many of the statues or none, that can have an effect to the games story (if I can still keep saves backwards compatible, I do try to keep it so).

Thank you very much for the feedback Foffy. I do enjoy feedback. It helps me improve =)

[Kamirine]

Neat!  I’m going to go on and give this game a try!

[Wanhus]

Thanks Kamirine. I hope you like it or atleast think its promising in its current state. If you have any suggestions feel free to inform me. Already started revamping controls (about the use button (up button) for everything) and thinking of adding more gamepad mappings.

[Wanhus]

UPDATE!

And as always saves SHOULD be backwards compatible!

Download at itch.io!: https://metzgermade.itch.io/simons-curse

Update v0.61 D14.M09.Y2023

- added new enemy to wooded areas that only appears during the night

- added new enemy blood leech

- added new story event

- added new item

- added new npc

- added new music: fetra theme

- added red color shift to enemies when hit indicating weakness

- added more weaknesses to enemies

- added flower bushes and bushes tile, decor tiles, painting tiles

- added color change to shop text if you cant afford the item

- added xbox controller B (ps controller circle) to close shop

- added gold amount text float after picking up gold bags

- improved how signs work

- minor improvements to what npc's say

- minor improvements to aljiba church

- minor improvements to jova

- minor improvements to fetra

- minor improvements to fetra house

- changes to outside lighting color

- changed shop buttons for buying, xbox controller X and A buy (ps square and X)

- buff: garlic duration increased

- fixed few typos in npc sayings

- fixed zombie die direction again (oops)

- fixed fire elementals dropping blood

- fixed miss placed exit in dead river tunnels

- fixed missing merman 2 dying animation

- fixed missing indicator from mansion doorways

[Wanhus]

UPDATE!

And as always saves SHOULD be backwards compatible!

Download at itch.io!: https://metzgermade.itch.io/simons-curse

Update v0.63 D29.M09.Y2023

-added new town: aldra

-added 2 new items

-added new npcs

-added new enemies

-added ferryman

-added equip sound

-added more menu sounds

-added item sound to some pickups

-added cant buy sound

-added splash sound to simon exiting and entering water

-added new secret: under river tunnels potion

-added mist to dead river at night

-added new tiles: aldra tiles, shop sign tiles

-added fireball hit effect

-added zombie rise animation

-added zombie level 1 death animation

-added item descriptions to shops, so you finaly know what you are buying

-changes to all towns

-changed jova thorn whip seller house

-changed intro text

-changed veros priest

-changed some item descriptions

-adjust: zombie spawn distance

-nerf: hearth max base 15 -> 12

-improvements to item and equipment code base

-fixed some typos in intro

-fixed fetra shop giving wrong item after purchase

-fixed bug with leeches asking for nonexisting sprite causing crash

-fixed an issue where you could open multiple shops

-fixed issue with shop controls

-fixed issue with skeleton bones having missing weight that caused a crash

-fixed une level 2 spawners spawning wrong une sometimes

-fixed menu always checking what is equipped

-fixed being able to use shield while jumping

-fixed items sometimes flying in wrong directions while on stairs

-fixed being able to pick up potions even thou potions were at max