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Offline PyramidHead

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Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« on: September 29, 2017, 11:09:21 AM »
+2
------------------------------------------
UPDATE 2020: Version X is released.
Trailer:
https://youtu.be/t4AT6ObqK5M
Download:
https://arkhousetelegraph.blogspot.com/p/castlevania-seal-of-curse-x.html
------------------------------------------

UPDATE: The game is released. Here's the release trailer:
https://youtu.be/Hg_NQ6Ij9io

Links to the full game are here:
https://arkhousetelegraph.blogspot.com/2018/08/castlevania-seal-of-curse-released.html
-------------------------------------------

I had been working on a Castlevania: Simon's Quest remake several years ago, but then I needed to stop because of some financial difficulties and real hard work.... but now I'm back and working again. Yay for me. You might have seen my stuff before - here's a screenshot or two:
 
(it's an old mock-up screenshot - the actual game I'm working on right now is not HD, but a classic square).
I have more similar stuff on Deviant Art, but it's all old and not accurate. I'll post the actual screenshots here.

Here's a new boss fight I'm working on right now:

I wanted to make my own little Beelzebub - Beelzebub Jr.  ;D Still in progress...

Also. here's an updated cover art (I'll make a big PDF with stuff like that as an extra to the game - in these 7 years I made a tonne of stuff I won't be using in the actual game):


Now, I'll try hard to explain what the hell this project is and, first of all, I'll ask you to forgive me for my not so perfect English.
Well, it's not really a remake - it's a sequel... kind of ;D .It's somewhat minimalist compared to the original game at some things and unreasonably maximalist at some other things. For example it has only 2 sub-weapons, but MANY unique NPC.

It feels (at least to me) more like a 2d Silent Hill. For example, there is no real-time. You explore the day world (with no enemies) look for clues and items to get to the hidden gates. Once you enter, you get to the dark side (and that's the only way to enter the castles). Kind of like Silent Hill when you needed to solve some kind of puzzle to enter the hellish version of the world and progress further. Once you get the key item in a castle and defeat a boss, you return to the day world and it's peaceful again. Yay, to the next castle!

So, the key point is: it's not a remake, but a questionable sequel, that some might like and some might not. I'm not trying to make that ultimate SQ remake it deserves (I think I can't to be honest) - I'm doing my thing. Not a metroidvania, not an RPG, but a humble action adventure with some action and some adventure.

---------------
Improvised FAQ:
*Do you need my arrangements?
--No, I have my own :D

*When it will be released?
--I'm planning to finish the demo (up to Beelzebub Jr.) by the end of this year and finish the entire game by the end of the next year.

*How much is done actually?

--About 90% graphics, about 95% music and sound effects (with some help of my good friend), 100% story (might require some proof-reading), 7% actual game (making everything from scratch again on a new GMS2)

*You are moron - I don't like you!

--Well, sometimes I myself don't like... myself. I think you are the same, so what's the point? We are both not satisfied with each other and ourselves. Everything sucks. If I'll ever want to commit a group suicide I will find you.

*You are bloody awesome! I love you!

--Thank you. I'm awesome and I love you too. The world is pink and sparkling. If I'll ever want to marry I will find you.     


Well, that's about it for now. I'll try to update regularly, but knowing my past experiences I doubt I will. But the next real update will happen close to the end of the year (2017). Yay! ;D
« Last Edit: December 30, 2020, 07:29:09 AM by PyramidHead »

Offline Aridale

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2017, 07:59:46 PM »
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dude wtf? Thats crazy looking! I wanna see it in motion!

Offline Inccubus

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2017, 08:12:27 AM »
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I remember this! In particular I remember a room with a mural that had a map of the whole town.
It's great to see this making a comeback.
"Stuff and things."

Offline Crying Freeman

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2017, 05:53:26 PM »
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Looks absolutely beautiful... I've never had interest in other CV2 remakes but this looks so cool! Reminds me of the recent Wonder Boy remake

Offline PyramidHead

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2017, 12:08:18 PM »
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Quote
dude wtf? Thats crazy looking! I wanna see it in motion!
I'll make a video in December. :)

Quote
In particular I remember a room with a mural that had a map of the whole town.
Oh, I completely forgot about the map! And I have several versions too. Thanks for reminding me about it.

Quote
Looks absolutely beautiful... I've never had interest in other CV2 remakes but this looks so cool! Reminds me of the recent Wonder Boy remake
Thanks! I need to play that WB remake. Totally forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me. ;D


Currently working on various menus and effects - I want to finish it fast and concentrate on more important things.
I'm thinking it may be good to add this "shadow border" effect around Simon in the castles:

Since the game itself is more like platformer/survival horror it might work. But it can make the battles harder, because you don't see that much around you. Need to test it more to be sure.

(And yes - as you can see I killed the stairs  ;D . The stairs are so annoying - I think the level design wins without them.

This is how most of the menus look:


I'll have something more interesting to show next month when I'll be working on the new enemy types.

Offline theplottwist

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2017, 04:13:21 PM »
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So this is back.

I'm in love again.
The mastermind behind the "Umbra of Sorrow" project. But not the only one.

Offline Guy Belmont

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #6 on: October 05, 2017, 06:06:47 PM »
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WOW, this looks amazing,  I think this is a really fantastic and unique Idea  making CV a platformer/survival horror, really can't wait to play this. 
And the  look of the graphics man there just  sooo cool and foreboding, like your really going to fight the worst monsters ever, and in the end you can only rely on yourself total isolation, you've  just captured that feeling perfectly.

And its lovely to meet another Silent hill fan ;D, that series  really does not get enough love. And its nice to see some of that reflected in your work, really amazing stuff. And I can't wait until next month.

Also HUGELY  off topic (sorry for that)  but what was your Fav Silent hill Game, again I know its off topic, but I don't meet a lot of Silent hill fans, so its nice to converse with one when I do meet another fan.

And sorry to hear about your difficulties, glad things seem to be a bit better.

Thank you for sharing, and I look forward to playing the demo (and the full release 8))
« Last Edit: October 05, 2017, 06:21:02 PM by Guy Belmont »
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Offline Jop

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #7 on: October 05, 2017, 07:12:06 PM »
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I remember follow your work in Deviant but you stoped, good to know you still work and keep doing awesome works!

Offline Crying Freeman

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2017, 11:40:53 AM »
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The shadow border is a neat idea! It'll add to the atmosphere and it isn't obtrusive like in Zelda where it's supposed to hinder you. I say keep it

Offline BLOOD MONKEY

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #9 on: October 12, 2017, 08:02:49 PM »
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I really like the artstyle, but it seems to clash with the design. Why not try drawing more natural environments instead of sticking with the traditional block-style layout? I believe you could make more of an impact that way. Whatever you decide, I'm positive the end result will still be beautiful
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Offline Zuljaras

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #10 on: October 12, 2017, 11:26:47 PM »
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This art reminds me of the art of Machinarium. It is amazing!
Check out my game Castletoria in our forum ->> http://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php?topic=5631.0

Offline theANdROId

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2017, 02:52:07 PM »
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I kinda like the blend of art and blocks.

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2017, 11:45:26 PM »
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Love the shadowy border! Definitely a keeper.
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Offline PyramidHead

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2017, 09:00:40 PM »
+1
Quote
So this is back.
I'm surprised myself to be honest. :D

Quote
And the  look of the graphics man there just  sooo cool and foreboding, like your really going to fight the worst monsters ever, and in the end you can only rely on yourself total isolation, you've  just captured that feeling perfectly.
Thanks! Well, indeed that is what I would like to show.

Quote
And its lovely to meet another Silent hill fan ;D, that series  really does not get enough love. And its nice to see some of that reflected in your work, really amazing stuff.
Yeah, before I'd started to work on SQ, I was considering making a 2D Silent Hill Demake :D So now, I'm doing something in between... kind of. At least that's the plan.

Quote
Also HUGELY  off topic (sorry for that)  but what was your Fav Silent hill Game, again I know its off topic, but I don't meet a lot of Silent hill fans, so its nice to converse with one when I do meet another fan.
Classic answer would be SH2. But I would say now... SH4. I wasn't impressed that much when I played it for the first time, but strange thing is I keep finding something new in it each time I replay it. And I want to replay it again right now. :)

Quote
And sorry to hear about your difficulties, glad things seem to be a bit better.
Much better, actually 8). I have the time now to work on the stuff like this remake and play new games. Yay!

Quote
I remember follow your work in Deviant but you stoped, good to know you still work and keep doing awesome works!
Thanks. Doing my best!

Quote
The shadow border is a neat idea! It'll add to the atmosphere and it isn't obtrusive like in Zelda where it's supposed to hinder you. I say keep it
Yeah, I think the current version of it is more or less OK, but it has one little problem - you'll see :). I'll make some other versions later.

Quote
Why not try drawing more natural environments instead of sticking with the traditional block-style layout? I believe you could make more of an impact that way. Whatever you decide, I'm positive the end result will still be beautiful
Thanks! The answer is... nostalgia. I see what you mean and you are probably right... but nostalgia is a strong bitch and I have no choice :D I must draw more BLOCKs! (I have 27+ types already)

Quote
This art reminds me of the art of Machinarium. It is amazing!
Thanks! Well, both are hand-drawn, but still... my humble self believes Machinarium looks better. I'm somewhat lazy to reach that kind of perfection. Not today :)

Quote
I kinda like the blend of art and blocks.
So am I! Nostalgia!

Quote
Love the shadowy border! Definitely a keeper.
Yeah, it works OK. Not perfect yet, but I'm on the way.


__________________________________
___+---{!!!}<DEMO>{!!!}---+___
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------

I was planning to upload some bestiary gifs here before uploading the demo, but again - laziness. Some other time...
Demo is ready! I think it's good and I'm so tired of testing it... so now it's your turn if you're interested :D

Here's the trailer of the demo (if it looks like 90s press "HD" – should look a little bit better.):



Here's the demo itself:

MEGA
https://mega.nz/#!vZ8X0aoR!EqLeTYpCbcShWh-1CwbEvyPx0kEHw57oBLwR73EeoSY

DROPBOX
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u8o70wtkmeip2an/CasTSOTC_D1FS.zip?dl=0


Few words about it:

*Windows only.

*By default it opens in a window-mode and I recommend playing it in a window mode. However, you can press ALT+ENTER to switch to full-screen mode anytime (on some monitors it would look somehow deformed due to the game's square aspect ratio which is close to 3:4). 

*Controls:
W-A-S-D: movement
Q, E: sub-weapons (if present)
J, K, L: jump, attack, menu.
ESC: exit the game (enter the menu first)

Also you can play with arrows and Z,X, but I don't recommend it.

In theory you can play it with a gamepad. I don't own a gamepad, so I can't test it myself.

Title screen works a little bit different: use "1-2-3" and "ESC" on your keyboards.

*About the game:
If you see any small crawling enemies on the ground kill them by jumping on them Mario style. Everything else should be self-explanatory. I hope.


That's it! No big changes in my plan. The full version will be released in about 12 months from now on, close to X-mas. Yay!


« Last Edit: December 03, 2017, 09:03:31 PM by PyramidHead »

Offline X

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Re: Castlevania 2 fan game: yet another SQ remake...
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2017, 11:16:46 PM »
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Of all the years I've been to the Dungeon, I do not remember this project at all. But it looks very enticing! I definitely want to give it a whirl once it is completed. Why spoil it with a demo right? Although I think the black bordered areas are a bit too dark for me to see (as in there is a bit too much of the black border. Granted that's probably the idea, however I feel there is a difference between 'fear factor' and 'visibility'. I had this issue with Resident evil 6 on the aircraft carrier mission where all the lights went out and I couldn't see anything. Finding my way out was a no-go and I was constantly being harassed by those black reforming creatures. It was kinda a rage-quit moment for me there and I haven't touched the game since. Now i know that this game is nothing like RE6 however the player should need to see what he or she is getting themselves into or out of. But it is your game so it is your call.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2017, 11:19:28 PM by X »
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