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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => Fan Stuff => Topic started by: Zuljaras on January 05, 2013, 03:48:48 AM

Title: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 05, 2013, 03:48:48 AM
Hello everyone!!!

Currently I am trying to make a game like the rpg Castlevanias where the player explores the castle and advances through the many areas. I am developing it with Game Maker 8.1 and I am drawing everything in the game with MS Paint and Paint.net. I am big Castlevania fan, however in my game the main enemy will not be our beloved Count Dracula and the Belmont clan will not be present, but the inspiration to work on this project is all behing the Castlevania series.

Follow the other pages of the thread to see the updates :)

Castle of Nightmares - Part 8! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJgpF-CB1-s#)

LINK TO THE NEW VERSION - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzRohquxGIULTnRfaHYyb2NhamM (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzRohquxGIULTnRfaHYyb2NhamM)

Any comments and suggestions are welcome :)
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Claimh Solais on January 05, 2013, 04:05:38 AM
You said MSPaint, so I was expecting something bad. These graphics surpassed my expectations incredibly. The graphics actually look really neat-o! I almost commented about the animations, but then I realized the game kind of adopts this awesome cartoony feel, something that we haven't seen done well in vampire lore since the 90's. It looks awesome, keep up the good work!

The only complaint I have is that the menu icons use a generic text that isn't outlined, and the text doesn't stick out. You should modify the text on them to match more with the text that states your level, or at least recolor the text on them so that it doesn't blend in so much with the graphic. There's also the fact the character walks pretty slow, but it's something I could get used to. The low range of his attacking isn't really an issue due to the fact I'm guessing it's a lower leveled weapon, and higher-leveled weapons have more range. (am I right?)

I can't really comment on sound (if there is any) since my speakers are off, and its kinda late. So I'll get back to that later.
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 05, 2013, 04:26:54 AM
There is no sound at the moment. This is still in the very beginning of the game. And yes the range of the weapons will be different. As for the text ... I really should change that into something more appealing to the eye.

As for the drawing, well people usually respond with negative things when they see MS paint involved :D
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Claimh Solais on January 05, 2013, 04:32:12 AM
There is no sound at the moment. This is still in the very beginning of the game. And yes the range of the weapons will be different. As for the text ... I really should change that into something more appealing to the eye.

As for the drawing, well people usually respond with negative things when they see MS paint involved :D

Yeah, the text is the only major problem. It's funny that I expect bad with MS Paint, yet I still use it to make sprites. And the fact that Thaddeus also makes extremely good sprites using it makes me wonder why I still question it. X)
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: VladCT on January 05, 2013, 04:50:17 AM
When people open the menu to look at their status, the HP is usually displayed as current HP/max HP instead of the other way around. You might want to change yours so as not to confuse people.
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Inccubus on January 05, 2013, 05:30:57 AM
Very nice. This has a lot of potential. I look forward to seeing more.
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 05, 2013, 05:45:47 AM
When people open the menu to look at their status, the HP is usually displayed as current HP/max HP instead of the other way around. You might want to change yours so as not to confuse people.

Thank you! Point taken I will change that :)
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Las on January 05, 2013, 02:03:02 PM
Very nice Zuljaras!. I really dig it so far. Gotta hand it to you doing a nice job on the zombie boss. I like the fact you are coming up with boss Ai concepts like that having to push his cart so he don't squish you, and having to attack him while avoiding his punches. Yeah defeintly dig this! Like how you have the inventory hp system set up. Also it will be neat to view enemies/bosses you have fought. I'm trying to work something similar into a game i'm doing aswell. Very cool,keep up the good work! 8) 8) 8)
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: darkmanx_429 on January 05, 2013, 03:01:30 PM
Yeah, the text is the only major problem. It's funny that I expect bad with MS Paint, yet I still use it to make sprites. And the fact that Thaddeus also makes extremely good sprites using it makes me wonder why I still question it. X)

You could try GIMP since it's free and it's similar to photoshop to give you a bit more control. I use MS Paint every now and then as well, but no matter what paint program you use it's all about the artist. Thaddeus is just a good artist. Simple as that..
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Darth Cariss on January 06, 2013, 12:27:59 AM
Looks pretty good, I like your boss design. I'd say the main character seems to move a bit too slowly, but that's just a preference thing. I like your death animations for the creatures. Nice job.
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on January 06, 2013, 02:49:04 PM
I am VERY FOND of the graphics, and I'll tell you why:

-They give the game an old "Amiga" feel, like those older PC titles.  I miss those types of retro designs.
-I'm fond of the character, as he looks like a cross between Haunted Castle Simon Belmont and Vampire Hunter D's titular character, what with the hat and all.
-I dig the animations the enemies have. 

I dig the style of the game and dig the character's walk.  Some things to think about though:
-Your backgrounds should be darker than your foregrounds if they're going to be of similar colors.  The contrast between a background wall and a foreground wall are, right now, too similar (at least in the first room), toning one down or up (down is better) would be a big help.

This game looks like it'll be quite difficult, though! Enemies do not seem to have recoil damage. 

Keep up the good work!
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 06, 2013, 03:03:26 PM
I am VERY FOND of the graphics, and I'll tell you why:

-They give the game an old "Amiga" feel, like those older PC titles.  I miss those types of retro designs.
-I'm fond of the character, as he looks like a cross between Haunted Castle Simon Belmont and Vampire Hunter D's titular character, what with the hat and all.
-I dig the animations the enemies have. 

I dig the style of the game and dig the character's walk.  Some things to think about though:
-Your backgrounds should be darker than your foregrounds if they're going to be of similar colors.  The contrast between a background wall and a foreground wall are, right now, too similar (at least in the first room), toning one down or up (down is better) would be a big help.

This game looks like it'll be quite difficult, though! Enemies do not seem to have recoil damage. 

Keep up the good work!

Thank you! :)
All that you see on the video is at its basic level. The backgrounds were made in literaly 15 mins on MS paint. My goal is to achieve at least 10% of the brilliant graphics on the GBA or at least 5% of the DS titles. As for the character He really looks like "D" but also the main aspect here is Van Hellsing (like in the movie), plus he is that awesome man in the Bram Stoker's Dracula novel :) I just wonder if I could name him Van Hellsing but Im afraid of copyright or trademark laws, have to research on that.
But the main THING in the will be the castle. The castle will be the symbol of power. The story is that the Castle need to have a master who will use its power for good or for evil, therefore many creatures will come rushing when it rises. That gives me the opportunity for new Master villain every time. Plus think of how many sequels I could make with that kind of cheesy plot :D :D :D
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Phoenix7786 on January 06, 2013, 08:53:14 PM
Time to "borrow" Alucard's line to Maria about the castle being a creature of chaos, changing its nature as it sees fit.
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 06, 2013, 11:56:36 PM
Time to "borrow" Alucard's line to Maria about the castle being a creature of chaos, changing its nature as it sees fit.

Originally the was called Castle of Chaos but it was trademarked so I chnaged it :) Btw yes Alucard did gave this idea :)
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 08, 2013, 01:49:35 PM
Castle of Nightmares - "Castlevania-like" Game Development Project PART 5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjSgMIaFRKg#)

This shows the new attack known from the metroidvanias as the "arc" weapon attack :) And also the loot system.
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: X on January 08, 2013, 06:09:58 PM
I've just checked out your videos on this project and I do see lots of untapped potential in it. I agree with Jorge that the backgrounds could be darker to help give the castle more depth and to help bring fourth the foreground graphics. Don't give up and keep at it!  ;)
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: TheouAegis on January 08, 2013, 06:21:14 PM
Van Helsing isn't copy protected. Hellsing (or Van Hellsing) is, potentially. Stoker has been dead long past the statute of limitations or some shit. Make him out to be too close to the movie Van Helsing, though, and you're on touchy ground.
Title: Re: Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 09, 2013, 02:50:28 AM
I've just checked out your videos on this project and I do see lots of untapped potential in it. I agree with Jorge that the backgrounds could be darker to help give the castle more depth and to help bring fourth the foreground graphics. Don't give up and keep at it!  ;)

Oh I will not give up until the game is finished! And if people like it I will work on sequels! For now I am really happy because there are no negative comments like "This sux", "This is terrible" etc.

Now I have alterned the jumping so the longer the "X" button is pressed the longer the jump is.
Also I will take the advices and now I will change the graphics with newer and cleaner ones. The dark background and light foreground. I will also change the custom font :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 20, 2013, 01:32:13 AM
A little update. I work on the complete redesign of the tileset now and this is what I have done so far.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg820.imageshack.us%2Fimg820%2F6655%2Fnewcastlecourtyard1.png&hash=e585a4aeab976df7377e7219183b5e3e)

Now I have done 50% of the rest of the game (which is only the first area of the Castle) and then I MUST completely redraw my main character. I will make him face the same way the characters from the GBA and DS games.

BTW I wanted to ask a funny thing about the facing. I noticed that when my character turn and attack he uses his other arm. I though how could I be so stupid and make such mistake. Then I looked at the sprites of the characters in the CV games and most of them have that flaw too. Is that intentional from the designers?

Anyway I would love some feedback because that is the best way to improve!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: VladCT on January 20, 2013, 01:58:46 AM
You mean the sprite mirroring thing? Yeah, most devs do that to save time and effort.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 20, 2013, 02:05:38 AM
You mean the sprite mirroring thing? Yeah, most devs do that to save time and effort.

Then I am definetely going to change that :) Imo those little details give the "pixel art" games a charm :)

EDIT:

This is the new look of the hero :)

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg827.imageshack.us%2Fimg827%2F1147%2Fnewherolook.png&hash=567a81340ed33df5cc0af73f15e07fb8)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: VladCT on January 20, 2013, 06:35:19 AM
Nice, either that's one bulky coat or he's a buff sonofabitch. Either way, he looks pretty damn badass.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 20, 2013, 07:08:56 AM
Nice, either that's one bulky coat or he's a buff sonofabitch. Either way, he looks pretty damn badass.

Those are shoulderpads with incrusted golden crosses on them. Well it looks like I have to find a way to make them look like they are not part of the coat.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: VladCT on January 20, 2013, 07:24:36 AM
If you must, you could give the iron parts a slightly lighter color, move the right arm (his right, BTW) a little closer to the body, and maybe shrink the pads a little bit and raise them by a pixel. That way I think the pads will stand out more and he'll look a bit more slender. Though honestly, I don't mind him as he is right now.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Phoenix7786 on January 20, 2013, 10:25:02 AM
Those are shoulderpads with incrusted golden crosses on them. Well it looks like I have to find a way to make them look like they are not part of the coat.

Quick aesthetic question: inverted crosses are (usually) seen as heretical. Is that intentional, given the unknown back-story of the character (just like the Belmonts were feared for their might?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 20, 2013, 11:41:20 AM
Quick aesthetic question: inverted crosses are (usually) seen as heretical. Is that intentional, given the unknown back-story of the character (just like the Belmonts were feared for their might?

Wow I didn't noticed that :D I changed that in the new version of the character. However there will be not only one religion in the game. I intend to make enemies and bosses from all religions and mythologies. For example I have the idea of boss fight with Anubis in some of the underground levels of the Castle. On the other side of the Castle there would be completely different boss from completely different mythology. This is my idea so I could incorporate many and different fights and background. Hell I also want to make level where to put The Kraken as the boss. The castle might be located on a cliff and at the bottom it could be the osean.

The basic idea is that the Castle is giving the power to all those monsters and each of the bosses have their place in the castle hierarchy.

PS: The "zombie boss" (first boss) will be changed in appearance and I will call him "Grag the Lord of Gluttony" and that is why he is located in the Castle's "kitchen".
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: PyramidHead on January 21, 2013, 11:29:18 AM
I definitely want to play this game when it's finished. Old looking graphics, metroidvania-like gameplay, classic concept of different creatures from around the world - just great! Now, you need to start looking for composer.
Is Van Helsing the only character who can talk? What about secret locations, breakable walls or something, easter eggs? Good game must have some. :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 21, 2013, 12:19:56 PM
I definitely want to play this game when it's finished. Old looking graphics, metroidvania-like gameplay, classic concept of different creatures from around the world - just great! Now, you need to start looking for composer.
Is Van Helsing the only character who can talk? What about secret locations, breakable walls or something, easter eggs? Good game must have some. :)

Ofc! Secret areas is a MUST!!! I will try to make cool easter eggs too. However I do not have the money for good composers and this will be the last thing on my list :) Also the talking is not yet clear to me because the game is pretty straight forward, however I will work on that too.

PS: Soon I will also post some concept art of the character and of some of the monsters :) It will be pretty funny.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 22, 2013, 05:43:43 AM
I have made the Character walking animation ... this is not the best sprite but it is the first more complex I have drawn. At least is not 3 frames like the poor Nathan :D

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg191.imageshack.us%2Fimg191%2F5420%2Fcharacterwalkinganimati.gif&hash=c59839180a812ecd7780d69272c4dc1e)

I hope it is OK with the moderators that I upload this thread regularly :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Donvermicelli on January 22, 2013, 08:13:00 AM
I have to say the sprite animation looks great, I don't see why you are worried :P
Looking to seeing more stuff
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: X on January 22, 2013, 09:46:06 AM
Quote
I hope it is OK with the moderators that I upload this thread regularly :)

Well this is your thread/topic so I see no reason why not. Besides when it comes to fan-made projects then we are expecting the maker of said game to constantly update his or her progress for us.  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: PyramidHead on January 22, 2013, 03:48:23 PM
Quote
However I do not have the money for good composers and this will be the last thing on my list
When, what are you going to do? Of course, music is not the most important feature of the game, but at least you should add sounds, some ambient backgrounds. This will give the game more atmosphere IMO.

Also, new walking animation looks great! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 23, 2013, 07:42:08 AM
This is my concept art of the game way before I start working on it. As you can see it is kinda funny and most of them are not even finished :D

This is going to be the opening of the game. Those are the trees and in the middle-top will be the Castle of Nightmares and in the middle-bottom our hero will be walking.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg835%2F7136%2Fwalkingtothecastle.png&hash=52907df8e54f2c17f4a938b83ecade53)

This is my very very very first drawing of the main hero in the game.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg132%2F9072%2Fmainhero.png&hash=e3c6c2197957b9dcecef07a2a26a7ccc)

This is what I call the Crypt keeper, I would've used him in some kind of underground cemetery or catacombs.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg17%2F640%2Fcryptkeeper.png&hash=dcceac3166f663d7f1f6bac2c1246cfd)

I previously said that there will be some kind of underground waterway or ocean/lake related level and my first thought was this crab enemy creature.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg543%2F3636%2Fcrabenemy.png&hash=fdbada049cf07fd1cd688ef29b40a24d)

And the funniest thing for me is the evolution of the character since I started working on Castle of Nightmares:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg59%2F7523%2Fcharacterevolution.png&hash=c8fa8894385b15c0d52b571b9f97b826)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Donvermicelli on January 23, 2013, 08:36:36 AM
how much time was there between the making of the first and the third sprite?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 23, 2013, 08:40:36 AM
how much time was there between the making of the first and the third sprite?

Around one year. But I didnt work on the game non-stop. There was period when I did not touch the game for 3-4 months.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Dark Nemesis on January 23, 2013, 11:39:07 AM
Oh man......i love your work!! :) Keep it up, amazing sketches and character sprite.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 23, 2013, 01:52:01 PM
Thank you for the kind words guys!!!

I have made the first attack animation of the main character - I call it the short attack.
It is used with weapons like daggers,fist weapons,rapiers etc.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg703.imageshack.us%2Fimg703%2F7340%2Fplayerattackshort.gif&hash=6d5a085057aa61f82ed4c7be53837cc5)

From the old Character model there are 2 more kinds of attacks - the normal attack which I use for normal swords, maces etc. and the 2-hand attack for big weapons like giant swords,axes,hammers etc.

EDIT: I also I forgot to tell :D Look closely at the sprites ... there is no mirror sprites :D I made it so that character allways attack with his right hand :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 25, 2013, 04:38:00 AM
I have worked these days on the main character redrawing and on some code tweaking.

This is the normal attack both when crouching and standing (standing is the same as the jumping one) and it is performed with the normal sword because it is the only weapon from the normal class made for the moment:

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg96.imageshack.us%2Fimg96%2F15%2Fswordattack.gif&hash=8e678b4417752b7dcd407e8b94985fe6)

The only thing left now is the arc attack animation for the BIG two handed weapons :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: PyramidHead on January 25, 2013, 03:44:35 PM
I like the animation itself, but may be (just may be) the timing is not perfect. These attack animations look too balanced and so - not very realistic. It's like they doesn't have any weight at all. May be you should skip a frame. Or add an additional last frame to make a little pause in his movement.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 25, 2013, 03:48:02 PM
I like the animation itself, but may be (just may be) the timing is not perfect. These attack animations look too balanced and so - not very realistic. It's like they doesn't have any weight at all. May be you should skip a frame. Or add an additional last frame to make a little pause in his movement.

They look like that because I have made them in gif animator in the actual game there is pause between the attacks. And there is a little faster than normal.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 27, 2013, 03:11:48 AM
Finally all weapon attack animations are done!
This is the arc attack for big slow weapons like the greatsword in this animation:

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg829.imageshack.us%2Fimg829%2F674%2Farcattackwithgreatsword.gif&hash=f801f66051e83e8ff1e05ae414470676)

Now regarding the player the only animations left to do is the casting animation for the spells (yes he is a part wizard ofc!!!) and the death animation. After that I will REdraw the first boss add some new features to him. Then redrawthe castle "kitchen section" and I am good to continiue with the new castle area which I think will be the castle inner garden/park (connection area to multible other areas with some secrets and stuff)!!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Phoenix7786 on January 27, 2013, 09:57:43 AM
I love how he leans down for the 2-handed weapons. It really adds a sense of the weight and power behind it.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: TheouAegis on January 27, 2013, 04:54:51 PM
Just gotta get a good background tile artist and you might be set. I love the "official artwork". Although looking at your drawings, it kinda makes me wish the game was done in 8-bit since your drawing style reminds me of the NESvania manuals.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: PyramidHead on January 27, 2013, 07:09:54 PM
Quote
This is the arc attack for big slow weapons like the greatsword in this animation:
This one is perfect! :) When do you think the game will be finished?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on January 28, 2013, 08:07:12 AM
Just gotta get a good background tile artist and you might be set. I love the "official artwork". Although looking at your drawings, it kinda makes me wish the game was done in 8-bit since your drawing style reminds me of the NESvania manuals.

Well the thing is that I want to do everything in the game by myself except the music. The coding,the sprites and all other stuff will be made by me :)



This one is perfect! :) When do you think the game will be finished?

I have no idea however I will post all updates here :) I still have to redo the first area of the castle. And then I will continiue with the other areas, bosses enemies, weapons, secrets and all that stuff. Plus I have only the beginning story of the game I don't even know about the dialogues, monologues etc. etc.

Btw there is the map of the first castle area. After I finish all levels I will try to implement a castle map which will be accessible in the game menu.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg690.imageshack.us%2Fimg690%2F8080%2Fcastleofnightmaresmapar.png&hash=b0a27ef7c13cbc8a05569c96d5faf3ba)

This is only made in paint so I could follow the structure of the rooms.
Start=the starting point of our character.
Blue circle= that means that there will be entrance to another area (backtracking because the area will be blocked with magical ice which can only be destroyed with special demon mace)
The red "S" = saving point and health refill
Green boot=those are the "Tower boots". They allow the double jump for our character.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on February 01, 2013, 02:16:30 PM
I have worked on the new look of Castle of Nightmares and those screenshots are taken minutes ago :)
I apologise that I have not finished the background yet (in the castle corridor) but that will be done soon.
This is my NEW tileset and I think it is waaaaay better than the old one :)

(click to show/hide)

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(click to show/hide)

(click to show/hide)

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(click to show/hide)

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(click to show/hide)

I hope you like the new look of the game. Also I will release a video of the whole new first area of the Castle after I remade the first boss and implement the armor items and the accessory items as well the saving rooms and ofc the new backgrounds (I remember to make them darker so there will be more debth to the game ;) ).

Any comments are appreciated!!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: PyramidHead on February 01, 2013, 08:36:41 PM
Everything looks good - I especially like this wooden section. But windows from screenshot 2 doesn't look right to me - IMO they are too "cartoonish". Stars from screenshot 5 are too big and bright.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: TheouAegis on February 01, 2013, 09:01:45 PM
What's with the Old One raping the MP meter? That's been bugging me for a while now.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on February 01, 2013, 11:42:07 PM
Everything looks good - I especially like this wooden section. But windows from screenshot 2 doesn't look right to me - IMO they are too "cartoonish". Stars from screenshot 5 are too big and bright.

That is because I have not worked on them yet. Those are the first backgrounds right from the start of the game 1 year ago :)

What's with the Old One raping the MP meter? That's been bugging me for a while now.

You mean the tentacle being? Well for me it is a symbol of magic and chaos like Malachi, Cthulu which is combination of magic and darkness. This is why I drew it like that :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on February 08, 2013, 08:46:56 AM
I have been working on the backgrounds and I have made 2.

This one is the outside in the Castle courtyard. It is 3 layered the moon and the night sky and the stars are static, the mountains are moving and the near trees are also moving faster because they are near.

(click to show/hide)

This is the background in the castle entrance and it is darked as you guy suggested.

(click to show/hide)

This is the same background but further in the Castle.

(click to show/hide)

I have also worked on the menu interface and I have made one new item "Leather Armor". I ahve also implemented a defense system to the character so he could receive less damage with higher defense.
It is also final what kind of equipment the character will be able to equip - Weapons, Armor and Accessories.
Each will give different bonuses and stats.
I will not be making complex stat system ... for now the main stats are HP, Attack (damage), Mana, Defense and that is it.

I hope you guys like it. I have to do some more redrawing of the Skeleton enemy and the first boss, then I have to make their entries in the enemy data (in the inventory) and I am finished with the first Castle area.

PS: I also have to do some secret rooms :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: KaZudra on February 08, 2013, 09:27:14 AM
Love the graphics, it brings back memories of playing Commander Keen and still 1-ups those Indie eyesores.
Detailed yet somehow cartoon-y, It has its own charm which I like about it, Stick to this direction, its very unique and you do it very well.
I look forward to playing this when it is finished
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Dark Nemesis on February 08, 2013, 11:46:41 AM
To tell the truth, it reminds me of the Amiga era.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on February 08, 2013, 12:43:34 PM
Love the graphics, it brings back memories of playing Commander Keen and still 1-ups those Indie eyesores.
Detailed yet somehow cartoon-y, It has its own charm which I like about it, Stick to this direction, its very unique and you do it very well.
I look forward to playing this when it is finished

Thank you! There is no way to make the game different that what you see here since I try to do everything myself so there won't be different styles from different artists :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: X on February 09, 2013, 11:06:15 PM
Excellent! You've got a nice transition of grays happening there. Such color choices will always help with foreground and background distinctions. Keep it up!  8)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on February 12, 2013, 07:31:17 AM
This is the official first boss of the game!
He is called Grag - The Lord of Gluttony.

Boss encounter:

After entering his room the boss will not engage the player. After the player is near enough the boss will "activate" and start his attacks.

Boss moves and Abilities:
1. The boss will start moving slowly towards the player any direct impact will result in damage and pushback.
2. The boss will spit ooze from his head and when the ooze hit the ground it will turn into a Fleshling (a minion of the boss) which will walk across the room and be a threat to the player.
3. If the player is close enough an extention with mouths will come out of Grag trying to hit the character. (ducking is the key here!)
4. If the player hit the "cart" of Grag he will be pushed back a little, thus preventing the boss of damaging the hero.

Strategy:
The player needs to hit the cart (this will do no damage to the boss) and hit Grag in order to kill him. The boss health will be displayed in separate health bar when the player enters the room.

This is a picture of the new model of Grag:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg853.imageshack.us%2Fimg853%2F2865%2Ffirstboss.png&hash=77aebaf94fc62089e906cc978b3c46af)

In order to create a more "lively" boss design instead of creating boss will one big sprite I have divided the different parts of the boss and made them separate objects that will act on their own (the head, the mouths, the back-mouth, the extra arm for attacking) so they will animate on their own instead of couple of big sprites and everything is drawn on them.

I hope you guys like it!!! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Omegasigma on February 12, 2013, 07:46:33 AM
I just noticed, is the characer's design based off Vampire Hunter D?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on February 12, 2013, 08:04:40 AM
I just noticed, is the characer's design based off Vampire Hunter D?

Well no. When I designed it I was thinking more of the Van Hellsing movie with Hugh Jackman :) Well D is also awesome :D
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: PyramidHead on February 15, 2013, 01:03:14 AM
Love your trees, Zuljaras! ;) Orange moon looks more like Mars, but has a style to it. Also, if now you have two versions of Grag - you can use them both. It would be fun to fight his smaller versions as normal enemies.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on February 15, 2013, 03:00:05 AM
Love your trees, Zuljaras! ;) Orange moon looks more like Mars, but has a style to it. Also, if now you have two versions of Grag - you can use them both. It would be fun to fight his smaller versions as normal enemies.

Actually that little Grag will not be seen again in the game :D His sprite is just tooooo BAD. I have added so much animation to the new Grag and I played a little with his death animation and now he spits blood and skulls like crazy. I need to finish the inventory look because right now it is a little bit bright, then I will draw a new skeleton model because the current one is bad. I will add a little sound effects like sword hits and sounds because they are FREE on the Internet.

After that I just can't wait to show you the video of the complete first area of the game!!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Phoenix7786 on February 16, 2013, 03:19:42 PM
We can't wait to see it, Zul :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on March 02, 2013, 03:25:08 AM
This is my last update I have just finished it! There is more work to be done but I try to polish most of the things for now :)

Castle of Nightmares - "Castlevania-like" Game Development Project PART 6 ! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVlkvJXot5c#)

Comment, make suggestions, "like" (if you want) :)

PS: If you wander why the video is so bright, it is because I have set the brightness of my monitor to high :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: X on March 02, 2013, 10:44:18 AM
It's interesting to watch your video updates as it shows the evolutionary development of your game. It is coming along nicely and I definitely want to give this title a try when you release a playable demo for us.  :)  I just wish I could sit down and do learn this stuff so I could make my own game. I've got so many ideas but can't get them out.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Chernabogue on March 02, 2013, 11:44:30 AM
Just watched the latest video, and I really like it. Keep up the good work, man! (And I love your accent too :))
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: TheouAegis on March 02, 2013, 12:06:29 PM
Implement a sprite font. Arial or whatever your using is a horrible font for games. You can implement a normal font that you find on a free fonts sight, but definitely don't use the system fonts. If you want a more gothic style font, search for Fraktur or Blackletter fonts. Or show me what kind you want and I can send you one like it.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on March 02, 2013, 02:49:28 PM
Implement a sprite font. Arial or whatever your using is a horrible font for games. You can implement a normal font that you find on a free fonts sight, but definitely don't use the system fonts. If you want a more gothic style font, search for Fraktur or Blackletter fonts. Or show me what kind you want and I can send you one like it.

Yes I have sprite fonts but I have to make a new ones. The system font is just for now. However I am trying to find a way to make my game anti-decompilable.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Lelygax on March 02, 2013, 06:00:37 PM
You can use MoleBox like Serio does with her CV Fighter game made in M.U.G.E.N.

edit: You plan to add a way to the character run? He seems to walk really slow, but jump and falls at a good speed.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on March 03, 2013, 01:32:30 AM
You can use MoleBox like Serio does with her CV Fighter game made in M.U.G.E.N.

edit: You plan to add a way to the character run? He seems to walk really slow, but jump and falls at a good speed.

I have found a way to encrypt my exe so no worries for now :) Btw I have changed the character running speed and now he is faster and more agile.

Also thanks for the nice comments! And I see people give me reps ... thank you! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on March 04, 2013, 03:01:58 AM
Could you guys give me some help with sites for uploading files please :) I want to know the safest way of distributing my demo of the game in the following 2-3 days :)

PS: I do not know why but some anti-virus programs are detecting my exe as it is a virus. I have scanned it with my software and it was clean. I am just telling that to inform you that I do not try to infect people's PCs with viruses and stuff :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: VladCT on March 04, 2013, 03:27:26 AM
Mediafire is usually the go-to site for this kind of stuff.
As for the false positive, maybe the way it's encrypted caused it? Serio had encountered the same problem with MoleBox.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on March 04, 2013, 05:57:36 AM
Mediafire is usually the go-to site for this kind of stuff.
As for the false positive, maybe the way it's encrypted caused it? Serio had encountered the same problem with MoleBox.

There is no problem then :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Lelygax on March 04, 2013, 01:06:43 PM
That or Dropbox.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Rudolph LagnaGaisaer on March 04, 2013, 02:04:17 PM
PS: I do not know why but some anti-virus programs are detecting my exe as it is a virus. I have scanned it with my software and it was clean. I am just telling that to inform you that I do not try to infect people's PCs with viruses and stuff :)

simply. because some  virus makers use the same encryption method that the compilation of many exe´s that exist´s in more popular languages (C++ i´m looking to you)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Cursed Joe on March 14, 2013, 04:11:22 PM
Looks awesome to me. Hope you complete it, I'd totally play it.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on March 24, 2013, 03:58:34 AM
It will take longer that I thought ... I want the demo to be really polished. Right now I work on the saving altar of life so when people use it they will save their progress.

I want to thank TheouAegis for helping me in the Game Maker forums with the collisions for my enemies :) So Thank you!!!

I also work on creating the main logo of the game and also the separate menu for the usable items and the menu for the spells.

PS: If anyone could point me in the right direction of how to make good dialogues or cut scenes or something like that ... for example like in Castlevania CotM or Aria of Sorrow (all in Game Maker) I would be really greatful.

I also finished the ingame portrait of the main hero :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: X on March 24, 2013, 09:49:01 AM
It's a good attitude to have that you want to deliver to the public a really fleshed-out product so that they will support you as you continue it. I rarely see demos released that have been finally tuned so this would be a welcome sight.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Chernabogue on March 24, 2013, 10:27:02 AM
If you can finish this project, and don't have a composer, I'd be happy to write some music for you in the future. :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: PyramidHead on April 04, 2013, 11:24:12 PM
Quote
I also finished the ingame portrait of the main hero :)
Show us!  :) I want to see his face!

... And yes, - seems to me, you've found a composer.  ;)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on April 05, 2013, 01:35:39 AM
So here it is the Starting screen logo (Unfinished) and the ingame menu portrait of the character where his hp,mp,exp,def will be displayed.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg713.imageshack.us%2Fimg713%2F9623%2Fcastleofnightmareslogoa.png&hash=4562ad3432126c120dc4e5c4a3cf4509)

The progress is slow at the moment because I am tweaking some things in the game. I also have ideas for making my own site for gaming thingies and some plasticine stop-motion animations for my youtube channel. However I will finish this game and I hope to release the demo soon.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: PyramidHead on April 08, 2013, 06:49:04 AM
I like it! :) But may be the eye of the hero is too long and too white. It's just a square, really. I think it would look better if you would use grey as a shadow (of the eye, I mean).
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on April 08, 2013, 07:33:03 AM
I like it! :) But may be the eye of the hero is too long and too white. It's just a square, really. I think it would look better if you would use grey as a shadow (of the eye, I mean).

I will. Btw the logo above the portrait is gone now I thik that I have done it badly so I will come up with better start menu screen :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on April 14, 2013, 01:12:06 AM
Can anyone show me a good place to find COMPLETELY free sounds and ambient music. I searched but most of them want credit for things like thunder sounds ... I would greatly appreciate any help at this point :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Chernabogue on April 14, 2013, 01:14:39 AM
Can anyone show me a good place to find COMPLETELY free sounds and ambient music. I searched but most of them want credit for things like thunder sounds ... I would greatly appreciate any help at this point :)
A good website for SFX: http://www.universal-soundbank.com/ (http://www.universal-soundbank.com/)

And as for music, I'll quote myself:
If you can finish this project, and don't have a composer, I'd be happy to write some music for you in the future. :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on April 14, 2013, 02:19:15 AM
A good website for SFX: http://www.universal-soundbank.com/ (http://www.universal-soundbank.com/)

And as for music, I'll quote myself:

Thank you!!! I like that all the sounds are free :) I don't want to get in trouble for stealing or smth like that :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Belmontoya on April 23, 2013, 10:22:38 AM
I'm glad to see another fan going through the trouble to draw all new art for his game. You're fighting the good fight my friend. Looks good. almost has classic NES vibe. Keep it up!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on April 28, 2013, 02:49:16 AM
I did not update the game info in a loooong time so I have decided to post some more info :)

Lately I am collecting sounds and incorporating them into the game. For now I have the sounds of all 3 weapons as well the sounds of the enemies and the boss. I figured out how to make the sounds external because otherwise the game exe will be too large so this is a goon news. There will be folder with the sounds next to the game icon. I decided to distribute the game RAR-ed for convenience :)

Now as for the game I made a new stat which we all know the ATK (attack power) and I have incorporated it into the inventory system so for example many armors and accessories will give attack power as well as armor and other possible buffs. This will make the game more interesting and not so bland :)

The start screen is ready I just need to make a third button called info so the players could see how the controls and the game stats work ... I don't want anyone to get confused :)

I have made many and many and many runs through the demo stage and I did not found gamebreaking bugs. I just want to add and polish some things here and there.

I want to take my time and make this demo a success because otherwise if it fails I doubt the players will give my game a second chance :)

Also I am thinking (AND IT IS HARD AS HELL) of the main characters name. Few ideas come to my mind like Victor Nox, Chistian "something" I want to be something memorable.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: X on April 28, 2013, 10:02:59 AM
If you're having trouble with names then I would suggest that you get your hands on a name dictionary. Eventually you will find something that sounds right to you. His first name; Victor already seems to fit well so I'd say you are halfway there.  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Belmontoya on April 28, 2013, 12:10:38 PM
I would use the Romanian name, Decebal. It means "strong as ten."
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Lelygax on April 28, 2013, 09:18:47 PM
Victor Palumund (random try)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Donvermicelli on May 06, 2013, 07:37:39 AM
any news? I'm quite interested tbh
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Chernabogue on May 06, 2013, 07:48:19 AM
any news? I'm quite interested tbh
^This. I'm fond of what I've seen so far, and I want to see more. :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: PyramidHead on May 06, 2013, 08:02:18 AM
Quote
Also I am thinking (AND IT IS HARD AS HELL) of the main characters name. Few ideas come to my mind like Victor Nox, Chistian "something" I want to be something memorable.
May be this interesting list of medieval names will help you:
http://medieval.stormthecastle.com/medieval-names.htm (http://medieval.stormthecastle.com/medieval-names.htm)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on May 08, 2013, 01:50:01 AM
The name of the main Character is Erhard Tarein. Right now I am thinking how to implement good dialogue system just like in the Castlevania games.

On the other hand the demo is almost ready so I hope to post it soon.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on May 12, 2013, 12:42:34 AM
Guys I need some help with sound effects. For now I am using the universal-soundbank for free sounds but I need more. Could anyone suggest more sites like that. I searched but most sites want fees or some kind of complicated credit giving :D

If anyone could give me such site I would greatly appreciate it :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Chernabogue on May 12, 2013, 01:20:14 AM
Guys I need some help with sound effects. For now I am using the universal-soundbank for free sounds but I need more. Could anyone suggest more sites like that. I searched but most sites want fees or some kind of complicated credit giving :D

If anyone could give me such site I would greatly appreciate it :)
Maybe this will help: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/55-great-websites-to-download-free-sound-effects/ (http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/55-great-websites-to-download-free-sound-effects/)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on May 15, 2013, 06:20:29 AM
Hello everyone!!!

I have finally have some gameplay for you!

First of all I want to say that this is my very FIRST project and I am still novice to Game Maker, in other words there might be bugs present in the game.

Ok with that cleared I want to say some thing about the demo or alpha. There is no music in the demo there are only sound effects. There are no accessories or spells in the demo. Those things will be added later into the game.
Of course this will happen only if my game is well recieved I will not make something that the majority of players do not like :)

PLEASE Read the text file in the game's folder. Inside is the information about the controls of the game.

The game is packed in .rar file so just un-rar it and click on the game's icon.

Another important thing to know is if your anti-virus detect the game as virus do not worry it is not a virus. The encryption of the game my cause that :)

I will appreciate any suggestions, criticism, basically any kind of feedback. The demo is not long and if people like it I have big plans for that game :)

Post your feedback here in this thread!

Here is the download link:

EDIT: I have removed the link because I will post new more advanced demo soon :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Phoenix7786 on May 15, 2013, 07:21:22 PM
Wow 2 great fan demos within such a short period of time (and many other fan-games in the works). I's a great time to be interested in fan projects and even greater to see the vibrant life in this section of the Dungeon!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Chernabogue on May 16, 2013, 02:22:08 AM
OK so I played the whole demo until the end, and I really enjoyed it. :)

Gameplay is solid and really feel like a CV game. The feeling/ambience are great, and I'm pretty sure that with music and better sound effects, it'll be perfect (BTW, do you have a composer? Or do you plan to use existant music?) The physics are very nicely done too and the difficulty is here (I died 3 times before getting to Grag lol!)

The only negative points (in my opinion) are that the character becomes really, really slow once we get the Normal and Large Swords, and that the need of the mouse for the menu "breaks" a little the pace of the game (being able to use the keyboard in the menu would be very nice). But don't worry, even with those little cons, I really loved it. :)

Oh, and also, I found strange that the Half-Zombie has more health points (18 I think) than the regular Zombie (less than 15?) :D
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Zuljaras on May 16, 2013, 03:04:29 AM
Thank you for the feedback!

I know that the menu using the mouse is weird but I do not know how to make it with the key board. I find is way easier to make it with the mouse plus I will try to make it better with more graphics and a custom mouse cursor. However I find it alot easier to navigate through the menu with the mouse because with the keyboard you will have to scroll through everything :)

As for the half-zombie it was just the second enemy I have made and I though that I will make it with more hitpoints. Plus it is harder from the regular Zombie ... beware you HAVE TO DUCK!  ;D ;D ;D

As for the music I do not know because I am focused on the coding ... it is the hardest thing for me. I hope I do not have any problems later.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Chernabogue on May 16, 2013, 03:50:53 AM
Thank you for the feedback!

I know that the menu using the mouse is weird but I do not know how to make it with the key board. I find is way easier to make it with the mouse plus I will try to make it better with more graphics and a custom mouse cursor. However I find it alot easier to navigate through the menu with the mouse because with the keyboard you will have to scroll through everything :)
Yes, it is indeed easier to use the mouse to choose the equipement/item. That's not a problem. :)

As for the half-zombie it was just the second enemy I have made and I though that I will make it with more hitpoints. Plus it is harder from the regular Zombie ... beware you HAVE TO DUCK!  ;D ;D ;D
Haha, yeah, I understand now! :D

As for the music I do not know because I am focused on the coding ... it is the hardest thing for me. I hope I do not have any problems later.
I compose and arrange music myself, and I would be happy to write some music for your game. :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: X on May 16, 2013, 09:48:14 AM
I gave this a shot and i must say it plays fairly solid. No bugs did I encounter and the controls were tight. I had to play it over and over again as i kept getting my @$$ handed to me, although I lucked out on the boss and killed it with almost no life, lol!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Phoenix7786 on May 17, 2013, 09:03:51 PM
Hey Zul. I have just one small English flub you have. When you get the sword, it says something like "time appears to have no affect and it shows no sign of rust". Affect spelled with an "a" is used with verbs ("Time does not appear to have affected this weapon's keen edge") while effect spelled with an "e" is used as a noun. I understand that English is at least your second language so I perfectly understand a minor error.
Other than that I'm really enjoying the game. It has that retro vibe to it reminiscent from the older titles. I love some of the nuances you added, like holding down jump only jumps as long as you hold it. If I just tap jump, he only does a small leap.
A bug I encountered also forced me to restart. On the screen with the red potion, I went down instead of up and fell down into the pit. The game didn't load a next screen, nor did it kill me. I was stuck down there with no way to get back up or get to any other screen.
If it helps, the order I went was (from the screen with the red potion)
1. up to the room with the sword and then the life-up item. Then back to the red potion room.
2.From here I went one room to the right
3.then decided to go back and check down that pit at the bottom of the red potion room. That was when I got stuck.

EDIT: I wonder why I got -1'd for this?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Zuljaras on May 17, 2013, 11:09:22 PM
Hey Zul. I have just one small English flub you have. When you get the sword, it says something like "time appears to have no affect and it shows no sign of rust". Affect spelled with an "a" is used with verbs ("Time does not appear to have affected this weapon's keen edge") while effect spelled with an "e" is used as a noun. I understand that English is at least your second language so I perfectly understand a minor error.
Other than that I'm really enjoying the game. It has that retro vibe to it reminiscent from the older titles. I love some of the nuances you added, like holding down jump only jumps as long as you hold it. If I just tap jump, he only does a small leap.
A bug I encountered also forced me to restart. On the screen with the red potion, I went down instead of up and fell down into the pit. The game didn't load a next screen, nor did it kill me. I was stuck down there with no way to get back up or get to any other screen.
If it helps, the order I went was (from the screen with the red potion)
1. up to the room with the sword and then the life-up item. Then back to the red potion room.
2.From here I went one room to the right
3.then decided to go back and check down that pit at the bottom of the red potion room. That was when I got stuck.

Thank you for pointing those things :) Especially the English mistake :)
I really am sorry that I forgot to put the barrier in the Castle entrance. There is supposed to be a magic ice barrier that can only be destroyed with the Demon mace that will be found later in the game.
I will definetely fix those things right now :D It SUX that English is not my mother language :(
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Phoenix7786 on May 18, 2013, 10:53:02 AM
Hey don't worry Zul! That's what demos and tests and people with English as a native language are for :D

I have another question for you Zul. At level 3 with the sword and double-jump I'm dealing 11 damage. Equipping the leather armour boosts my damage up to 17 while removing it drops my damage back to 11. Is armour supposed to be increasing my damage like that or did I encounter another bug?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Zuljaras on May 21, 2013, 01:47:13 AM
I wanted to ask a question here to what the community thinks of my idea.

I think to implement a shop in the game but not regular shop. After the defeat of Grag the player will go up in that corridor where the demo ended and past that he will encounter Death (Grim Reaper) and they will chat. Death will explain to Erhard that this place (the castle) is hurting the natural equilibrium of the world. This means that many souls cannot find rest because they are unable to escape the Castle. Death is business oriented and he tells Erhard that if he gather the souls of the dead and brings them to him he will give in return many artefacts, potions etc. Because of that every enemy will have a chance to drop souls and this will be the currency of the shop. Death's shop will be divided into 3-4 tiers and with character development (leveling) new tiers will be opened allowing more powerful weapons, armors, potions and stuff. Of course I will make sure that there are no gamebreaking items in there just the regular shop for refills and stuff.

Also after the chat with Death in the corridor he will dissapear and you can find him in the very beggining of the Castle right where the game starts.

Tell me what you think about that :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Chernabogue on May 21, 2013, 06:26:09 AM
I wanted to ask a question here to what the community thinks of my idea.

I think to implement a shop in the game but not regular shop. After the defeat of Grag the player will go up in that corridor where the demo ended and past that he will encounter Death (Grim Reaper) and they will chat. Death will explain to Erhard that this place (the castle) is hurting the natural equilibrium of the world. This means that many souls cannot find rest because they are unable to escape the Castle. Death is business oriented and he tells Erhard that if he gather the souls of the dead and brings them to him he will give in return many artefacts, potions etc. Because of that every enemy will have a chance to drop souls and this will be the currency of the shop. Death's shop will be divided into 3-4 tiers and with character development (leveling) new tiers will be opened allowing more powerful weapons, armors, potions and stuff. Of course I will make sure that there are no gamebreaking items in there just the regular shop for refills and stuff.

Also after the chat with Death in the corridor he will dissapear and you can find him in the very beggining of the Castle right where the game starts.

Tell me what you think about that :)
Tthat's a neat idea! I really like the concept. Just be sure to add a sort of teleporter near Death's shop ;)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: X on May 21, 2013, 09:36:09 AM
I say go for it! Death as a shopkeeper will be interesting to see.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Phoenix7786 on May 21, 2013, 03:09:31 PM
Go for it!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Zuljaras on June 04, 2013, 11:09:13 AM
I did not update my game for a long time. Right now I am trying to find a job (which is extremely HARD in my shitty country) and I neglect my project. However today I sat down and I made the first draft of Death (shopkeeper).
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg196.imageshack.us%2Fimg196%2F2871%2Fdeathshopkeeper.png&hash=41cf7d2606eff264440831467aa9dec0)

Now I only need to animate the sprite and add the special effects to it :)
I also had hard time trying to implement a new save system because I am using the game maker built-in but I gave up and stayed with it. The reason is that my game do not have persistent rooms. There are only coulple persistent objects and all other things are managed with global variables which use very little memory. Also the  game uses save state to it is fine for now :)

PS: I have removed the download links for the demo from here and from my youtube channel because I will release new demo including Death and the soul currency system.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Phoenix7786 on June 04, 2013, 03:36:08 PM
Another demo coming soon? SWEET!
Good luck on the job, Zul! What country do you live in, anyways?
One last thing for you Zul. At level 3 with the sword and double-jump I'm dealing 11 damage. Equipping the leather armour boosts my damage up to 17 while removing it drops my damage back to 11. Is armour supposed to be increasing my damage like that or did I encounter another bug?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Zuljaras on June 04, 2013, 11:55:00 PM
Another demo coming soon? SWEET!
Good luck on the job, Zul! What country do you live in, anyways?
One last thing for you Zul. At level 3 with the sword and double-jump I'm dealing 11 damage. Equipping the leather armour boosts my damage up to 17 while removing it drops my damage back to 11. Is armour supposed to be increasing my damage like that or did I encounter another bug?

The leather armor is boosting the attack so much because I was testing my attack power system in the finished game it will not be like that, thank you for reminding me :)

Unfortunately I live in Bulgaria :(
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project (Downloadable Demo!!!)
Post by: Chernabogue on June 05, 2013, 01:58:01 AM
I like Death's design and I'm looking forward to the next demo.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on July 22, 2013, 08:41:28 AM
Hello everyone!!!

It has been a very long time since my last update!!! Unfortunately I did not have much free time but now I will start working again on my game :)

My to-do list for this week is:

1. Finish Death's design (give Death a nice looking aura)
2. Make the starting/story-telling screen (the drawing pf the castle and Erhard traveling there)
3. Finish Death's introduction dialogue with Erhard.
4. Add at least 1 new monster in the first area of the Castle.
5. Add nameplates for the items that are picked up by Erhard.
6. Finish the first tier of Death's Shop.
7. Find a way to include a save room in the start of the castle.


For now I have made the whole scripting of Death appearing as the shop keeper and the shop is working perfectly but it is empty for now. I am half-way through drawing the whole background template of the shop. The shop will have 3 tiers of items. Each tier will have 2 potions (one for HP and one for Mana). The other items will be One weapon, one armor and one accessory. There will be 2 or 3 types of souls. The only difference will be the amount of souls you get from each type - minor soul, major soul and giant soul. Every item in Death's shop will cost a certain amount of souls. Only the potions could be stacked (the maximum is 9 of each).

The way all potions will work is like that:

Healing Potion = small amount of HP
Healing Vial = medium amount of HP
Healing Goblet = high amount of HP


All of those will be used just as the ones in the Castlevania games.

After I design the second castle area I will think on the teleportation system. Well this is be a very difficult one but I will manage :)

After I do all things from my to-do list I will release the demo unlike the last embarrassment :|
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on July 30, 2013, 12:09:35 PM
So I made 2 screenshots. One of Death at the start of the Castle and one of the Death's Shop.

This is where Death will be after you encounter him in the hallway:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg59.imageshack.us%2Fimg59%2F2427%2Fjkwz.png&hash=ececd8ece8f764d1e0c7d4efb73d84bd)


This is the Shop menu when you press up when in contact with Death:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg547.imageshack.us%2Fimg547%2F1563%2Fjl9l.png&hash=00b6deceba27ebd48e614f3fa918408d)

Keep in mind that the shop is unfinished I still have to make all the items there. And when you hover with the mouse on any object in the right part (the Information space) there will be information about the object like cost, what it does etc.

I also would like to ask someone with English as main language to tell me if the following is gramatically correct:

"Death: Erhard Tarein … I was expecting you.

Erhard: … You know me but I still don’t know … what you are.

Death: Ahh … you don’t recognize your most loyal … companion?
It is me … Death. Every time you slay an enemy I was there to guide its soul to the other side.

Erhard: So you want my soul now?[Press X]

Death: Ha ha … no. It is … still … not your time, Erhard.

Erhard: Then what do you want from me?

Death: It is quite simple. This Castle is twisted, corrupted and all who die in here are trapped for eternity.
My job is to guide the souls of everything to the other side, but this … place … is hurting the natural equilibrium of the world. I cannot gather the souls of the dead here … but you … on the other hand … can.

Erhard: What do you want from me exactly?
Death: Here, take this amulet. If the souls of the creatures here are not lost forever, it will reveal them to you when you slay them. Simply gather them with it and bring them to me. Keep in mind that you will not go unrewarded.

Erhard: What do you mean?

Death: I have many things in my possession that will be of great service to you and they will help you in your journey. If you gather enough souls I will give them to you.

Erhard: Very well, Death.

Death: You will find me at the entrance of the castle."

This is the dialogue when Erhard encounters Death in the Castle hallway.

Any feedback and help is appreciated!!!

PS: Btw I was wondering what is that award thing below my forum profile? It sais hackmaster ... I wonder what is it because I did not post in a while.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Lelygax on July 30, 2013, 12:22:41 PM
This award is given for programmers when someone indicate a person, in this case someone indicated you.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: X on July 31, 2013, 10:17:38 AM
The grammar is good. I don't see any spelling errors in the text and it's easy to read. I think your all good to go.  ;)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Chernabogue on July 31, 2013, 10:21:01 AM
Really nice! I want to see more! :D
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on August 02, 2013, 07:02:28 AM
I have completed the first tier in the shop. Here is the screenshot:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg855.imageshack.us%2Fimg855%2F3990%2Fx719.png&hash=a4671a1d6682ea010cc67c359088bebd)

The new items are:

Mana Potion - the user replenishes 10 mana points.

Twilight's Fang - dagger (short weapon). Base damage 10. There is no other way to obtain that weapon but to buy it with souls from Death.

Gladiator's Armor - armor. It gives 8 defence and 4 attack. There is no other way to obtain that weapon but to buy it with souls from Death.

Skull Ring - accessory. It gives 4 defence and 2 attack. There is no other way to obtain that weapon but to buy it with souls from Death.

And I finally added the accessory slot in the equipment menu:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg707.imageshack.us%2Fimg707%2F3098%2F1ah7.png&hash=92c3401c146f68f25714722677434e9d)

I have fixed many bugs that I encountered like the worst was that the main character could not attack while falling.
I also added that nice little button that shows you that you need to press X to continiue the dialogue which is much better than the "[Press X]".

I though to change the font of the shop info with some other but then I looked at the DS castlevania games the the font was the same so I am leaving it like that for now.

This is all for now. I will add new stuff soon! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Lelygax on August 02, 2013, 12:20:16 PM
DEF-8, ATK-4 wouldn't be better as DEF+8,ATK+4?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on August 02, 2013, 01:44:26 PM
DEF-8, ATK-4 wouldn't be better as DEF+8,ATK+4?

Oh yes it will be better! :D Can't believe that I look at those things for hours and now I find this :D
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Lelygax on August 02, 2013, 04:50:48 PM
Well, I noticed errors in Harmony of Dissonance that one perceived, so maybe thats my natural ability?  :-[

Good to be at some help to you.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Zuljaras on September 12, 2013, 12:39:37 PM
I am back!!! :)

I took a very long break. Now im back and I have started a couple of things for the game.

First and most important for me is the new feature that I have implemented with the help from the people in GM forums. A platform that move in all directions that could be used as lift or in the other very awesome way as platform somewhere on the Boss or enemy. If you like climbing on enemies like Balore (DoS), Eligor (OoE) etc.

I have drawn a new enemy the Sludge Fiend and I have coded its movement.

I have made a better formula for the damage dealing so now I could delete several objects. I like to make things as simple as possible. I have created some simple visual effects when you click on the shop and inventory buttons (when you use potions).

So this is it. I just wanted to share those things and say that even if I am beginner I did not quit :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: darkmanx_429 on September 12, 2013, 12:49:04 PM
That's what I like to hear! Don't give up!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - Castlevania-Like Project
Post by: Chernabogue on September 13, 2013, 02:23:42 AM
Sounds good!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 21, 2013, 01:14:23 AM
The DEMO is released!!!

Now some info about it:

1 - DO NOT forget to read the text file first! There is information about the controls.

2 - There is no music in the game only sound effects. I do onw rights to any kind of music.

3 - There is no END to the DEMO you could just run around after meeting Death and farm souls to buy all things that are currently in the game.

4 - There are no spells in the game. Actually there are but they are not available :)


Now some requests from me:

Please if you find any bugs ... TELL ME!!! I want to fix and polish everything I can!!!

Things that I made in this version that are different from the last didaster:

1 - New enemy the Sludge Fiend.
2 - Shop and new items there.
3 - Soul system as currency.
4 - Better damage and defense formulas.
5 - Some nasty bugs with the movement of Erhard.
6 - Better menu for the Usable items.
7 - Finally decent dialogue system and one long dialogue with the shopkeeper.

I would like to ask anyone who try my DEMO to tell me and rate his or her experience. This is very important for me!!!

Here is the link with the download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/a3joao8dwxpjbn2/Castle_of_Nightmares_DEMO.rar (http://www.mediafire.com/download/a3joao8dwxpjbn2/Castle_of_Nightmares_DEMO.rar)

PS: It is not a virus. The exe is encrypted and some anti-virus programs are detecting it as virus but it is not!!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Chernabogue on September 21, 2013, 05:39:53 AM
Playing the demo is a real pleasure! I like the new animations (potions, etc.) Nice job!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on September 21, 2013, 12:14:49 PM
Just gave your new demo a try and it is very good! I've noted several things that I'll want to inform you of;

1) There is a spelling error in the enemy data about Gorg. You have the word 'Always' spelt with 2 L's when it should only have one L.

2) There is an eye portrait in the castle entrance that does not move like all the others. You will find it on the way to the castle kitchen.

3) The game froze while I was collecting souls while outside castle entrance. It stayed that way for over ten seconds then the game resumed, except that I was no-longer outside the castle but inside. Then I went back outside and just before I got to death the game froze once more. I'm not sure if this is part of the character bug you mentioned or maybe it's a part of the soul collection thing.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 21, 2013, 12:49:23 PM
Just gave your new demo a try and it is very good! I've noted several things that I'll want to inform you of;

1) There is a spelling error in the enemy data about Gorg. You have the word 'Always' spelt with 2 L's when it should only have one L.

2) There is an eye portrait in the castle entrance that does not move like all the others. You will find it on the way to the castle kitchen.

3) The game froze while I was collecting souls while outside castle entrance. It stayed that way for over ten seconds then the game resumed, except that I was no-longer outside the castle but inside. Then I went back outside and just before I got to death the game froze once more. I'm not sure if this is part of the character bug you mentioned or maybe it's a part of the soul collection thing.

1) I am really sorry I fixed that now :)

2) Not all pictures of the eye are moving. This makes the things a little more mysterious.

3) This is really bad!!! I played the DEMO now and I got outside the castle and I farmed the souls of the zombies and got to death like 50 times but nothing happened. Not a single freeze.

Could you test that again please. And I wonder if some of the other people who downloaded the demo and played it could confirm that thing :( I do not want such bad bugs in my game :(
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on September 21, 2013, 09:23:01 PM
You needn't apologize for your mistakes. After all this game is a work in progress so it's to be expected  :)

In terms of the freeze glitch it might be a variable of some sort. It could be the number of souls that I had collected (238 I believe). I'm no programmer so I'm very limited with what to look for. I could play through it again to see if it happens, but who knows.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 22, 2013, 01:22:49 AM
You needn't apologize for your mistakes. After all this game is a work in progress so it's to be expected  :)

In terms of the freeze glitch it might be a variable of some sort. It could be the number of souls that I had collected (238 I believe). I'm no programmer so I'm very limited with what to look for. I could play through it again to see if it happens, but who knows.

I played again and collected souls again and again in the castle and outside and go to the shop in and out. Nothing happened. The one thing that I noticed was when I minimize the game the characted keep running in one place but then I saved and restarted the game and it was not occuring anymore. It may be because of the other programs and games I ran at the same time.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on September 22, 2013, 12:06:33 PM
After playing the game again, it froze on me in the same area (Castle Entrance). But the game unfroze when I activated the Start Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del). Once i closed the task manager the game was running again except for one thing; The player was not in the game. I could hear him swing his sword but it was if he wasn't there at all. Even the half-zombie crawled right passed him and no hotbox collision took place either.

Now for something that's not a glitch but an idea for your game. It's your choice to use it or not of course  :)

I was thinking about the bosses and about souls in general. Some of the bosses could drop a special type of soul that death cannot deal with as they are outside of the natural order, say a dark soul. These dark souls (once you've collected them all) could act as a type of power/spirit key when combined that will allow you to access the final part of the cursed castle. Once that's done the souls will be cleansed and death can then take them to the other side. I feel it would add more depth to the game and make the bosses that much more important to the game itself. Since the bosses are guardians of the castle it would make sense for these guardians to be parts of a key as well.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 23, 2013, 12:54:12 AM
After playing the game again, it froze on me in the same area (Castle Entrance). But the game unfroze when I activated the Start Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del). Once i closed the task manager the game was running again except for one thing; The player was not in the game. I could hear him swing his sword but it was if he wasn't there at all. Even the half-zombie crawled right passed him and no hotbox collision took place either.

Now for something that's not a glitch but an idea for your game. It's your choice to use it or not of course  :)

I was thinking about the bosses and about souls in general. Some of the bosses could drop a special type of soul that death cannot deal with as they are outside of the natural order, say a dark soul. These dark souls (once you've collected them all) could act as a type of power/spirit key when combined that will allow you to access the final part of the cursed castle. Once that's done the souls will be cleansed and death can then take them to the other side. I feel it would add more depth to the game and make the bosses that much more important to the game itself. Since the bosses are guardians of the castle it would make sense for these guardians to be parts of a key as well.

The idea is damn nice!!! However I have to rid of the bug I will play it again and see what I can do.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on September 23, 2013, 05:28:06 AM
You should just make it so you can just press A in the submenu to return to game instead of the mouse.  I get the reason you start with a dagger, but (it just be a design choice) he really should have a sword. Starting off, the dagger forces the player to get in close and get so many of unnecessary hits. Kind of a turnoff at the beginning of the game. The dagger could be a secondary weapon you find in the castle. Oh yeah, I don't know if it's a sound error but I hate that dagger sound. You should use a more metallic sound. Personal preference, you should switch the Z and X buttons around for the jump and attack or give the player the option to set their own button layout. I don't know if this is because the game is in beta, but the lifebar doesn't work correctly. You should also add a death animation where the character drops dead or something. I love the hand drawn sprites! With a good soundtrack this game could be a real winner!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 23, 2013, 06:13:59 AM
You should just make it so you can just press A in the submenu to return to game instead of the mouse.  I get the reason you start with a dagger, but (it just be a design choice) he really should have a sword. Starting off, the dagger forces the player to get in close and get so many of unnecessary hits. Kind of a turnoff at the beginning of the game. The dagger could be a secondary weapon you find in the castle. Oh yeah, I don't know if it's a sound error but I hate that dagger sound. You should use a more metallic sound. Personal preference, you should switch the Z and X buttons around for the jump and attack or give the player the option to set their own button layout. I don't know if this is because the game is in beta, but the lifebar doesn't work correctly. You should also add a death animation where the character drops dead or something. I love the hand drawn sprites! With a good soundtrack this game could be a real winner!

Why the lifebar doesnt work correctly?

The sounds are really bad I know but that is just for testing. I will add death animation to the character :) The X and Z are just my prefference and I will try to make so the player will choose for those. As for the dagger I have to think about that :)

Now I am changing the link with a version that removes a bug or two but I need confirmation that the freeze bug is gone!!! Please test it!!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on September 23, 2013, 07:50:08 AM
Why the lifebar doesnt work correctly?

The sounds are really bad I know but that is just for testing. I will add death animation to the character :) The X and Z are just my prefference and I will try to make so the player will choose for those. As for the dagger I have to think about that :)

Now I am changing the link with a version that removes a bug or two but I need confirmation that the freeze bug is gone!!! Please test it!!!

I seem to be getting hit and the lifebar is touch and go. It would seem that sometimes it still shows life in the bar even though the bar is exhausted and I am dead! Don't forget about my suggestion for the submenu! I hate having to click on the mouse to get out those menus!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 23, 2013, 08:48:42 AM
I seem to be getting hit and the lifebar is touch and go. It would seem that sometimes it still shows life in the bar even though the bar is exhausted and I am dead! Don't forget about my suggestion for the submenu! I hate having to click on the mouse to get out those menus!
This is because you get the You are dead screen right after you lose all your HP and the life bar shows the HP. For example you have 4 hp and the enemy hits you for 5 you are dead but the lifebar displays 4 hp. This is normal :)

And yes I will make that you exit the menu with the same button you go in :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Lelygax on September 23, 2013, 09:42:47 AM
But since you are dead, it shouldnt drop to minimum? That being 0? People could get confused if they realize that they've died because they lost all HP while the lifebar still shows some points. xD
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 23, 2013, 09:50:13 AM
But since you are dead, it shouldnt drop to minimum? That being 0? People could get confused if they realize that they've died because they lost all HP while the lifebar still shows some points. xD

It will go to 0 when I add the death animation :) Now it is just a quick way to restart the game :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Lelygax on September 23, 2013, 10:13:04 AM
Oh, so thats it :P
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 28, 2013, 04:52:07 AM
I have fixed some things in the game and I implemented some of the things that you guys suggested:

1) Now there is a switch button in the main menu that lets you switch X(jump) and Z(attack) so it is more comfortable for many players.

2) The return buttons in the menus are gone. Instead now you only have a flashing thing that tells you "A-Back". That means to push "A" in order to go back a menu. And in the starting menu if you press "A" you return to the game.

3) Added some new tiles to make the Castle kitchen/basement/torture room more interesting.

Some things I will not do. In youtube a guy suggested to make the torches/candles etc. destructable but I will not do that because this is not Castlevania game. Remember Castlevania is only an inspiration.
I am thinking of changing the attack sprite of the normal weapons (sword etc.) to something faster and more aggressive.

I am still waiting more people to test the demo so I could continiue adding content, but I guess only a few people will do :(

PS: GREAT thanks to TheouAegis who helped me in the Game Maker forums so many times!!! THANK YOU for helping a newbie to become better!!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on September 28, 2013, 12:17:11 PM
I have fixed some things in the game and I implemented some of the things that you guys suggested:

1) Now there is a switch button in the main menu that lets you switch X(jump) and Z(attack) so it is more comfortable for many players.

2) The return buttons in the menus are gone. Instead now you only have a flashing thing that tells you "A-Back". That means to push "A" in order to go back a menu. And in the starting menu if you press "A" you return to the game.

3) Added some new tiles to make the Castle kitchen/basement/torture room more interesting.

Some things I will not do. In youtube a guy suggested to make the torches/candles etc. destructable but I will not do that because this is not Castlevania game. Remember Castlevania is only an inspiration.
I am thinking of changing the attack sprite of the normal weapons (sword etc.) to something faster and more aggressive.

I am still waiting more people to test the demo so I could continiue adding content, but I guess only a few people will do :(

PS: GREAT thanks to TheouAegis who helped me in the Game Maker forums so many times!!! THANK YOU for helping a newbie to become better!!!

I will volunteer to help test.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on September 29, 2013, 11:22:53 AM
Did you manage to figure out what was causing the bug/game freeze?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 29, 2013, 11:55:25 AM
Did you manage to figure out what was causing the bug/game freeze?

You can test that again with the new demo but I did not find anything also the other testers were not experiencing any freezes.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on September 30, 2013, 10:13:53 AM
Quote
You can test that again with the new demo but I did not find anything also the other testers were not experiencing any freezes.

I wonder why that is...

My machine's a custom-built gaming rig so there no reason why your game demo would freeze.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 30, 2013, 01:06:37 PM
I wonder why that is...

My machine's a custom-built gaming rig so there no reason why your game demo would freeze.

I need some more testing on that because I tested it on other PCs and no problems there :) I am still waiting on testers to say something :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on September 30, 2013, 02:48:42 PM
I need some more testing on that because I tested it on other PCs and no problems there :) I am still waiting on testers to say something :)
Just in case I didn't mentioned, I don't experience this error. My specs:

Intel Core i7-720QM
Intel HM55
4 GB RAM
DDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5650
1 GB Graphics card RAM
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Dracula9 on September 30, 2013, 05:06:19 PM
I'm having a lot of fun with this, to be honest. I like the feel it has to it. Kind of reminds me of some kind of cross between Vampire Hunter D and Army of Darkness.

However, there are a couple of things I think need work. For one, jump physics are a little floaty. Not that big a deal, but it should probably be worked on. My real gripe is the slowness of his attack animations. I've died a ton of times simply from being hit before the sword swipe was finished.

There's also a glitch where if you press left/right while ducking, he'll start walking with no animation speed active. That's an easy fix, and you should probably get on it ASAP, if you haven't already.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Lelygax on September 30, 2013, 07:15:33 PM
Thats the first bug that I ever find in games, thanks for noticing it and sharing, since I've not played it yet. Someone should try up+left/right and left+right also, many people forget to check that since they rarely use a keyboard.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 30, 2013, 10:49:28 PM
I'm having a lot of fun with this, to be honest. I like the feel it has to it. Kind of reminds me of some kind of cross between Vampire Hunter D and Army of Darkness.

However, there are a couple of things I think need work. For one, jump physics are a little floaty. Not that big a deal, but it should probably be worked on. My real gripe is the slowness of his attack animations. I've died a ton of times simply from being hit before the sword swipe was finished.

There's also a glitch where if you press left/right while ducking, he'll start walking with no animation speed active. That's an easy fix, and you should probably get on it ASAP, if you haven't already.

Thank you for the feedback!!! In the earlier version of the game when you press right or left I made so the other key will stop working. I have no idea why I removed that. I will implement it again.

I agree on the sword animation (the normal sword) I will make that shorter and I want it also to have the same feel of power like the two hand weapons.

As for the gravity I actually like it it reminds me of the Castlevania's floaty gravity that I like so much :)

However the first two things will be my next top priority!

Thank you so much for the constructive criticism. As this is my VERY first project I really need that!

PS: I was thinking and thinking about the sound effects and I want to ask you if it will be ok to use some of the castlevanias sound effects because I will not sell the game anyway. I just have to make sure I give Konami credit right?

EDIT: The walking animation bug when ducking is fixed! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on October 01, 2013, 07:29:50 AM
Thank you for the feedback!!! In the earlier version of the game when you press right or left I made so the other key will stop working. I have no idea why I removed that. I will implement it again.

I agree on the sword animation (the normal sword) I will make that shorter and I want it also to have the same feel of power like the two hand weapons.

As for the gravity I actually like it it reminds me of the Castlevania's floaty gravity that I like so much :)

However the first two things will be my next top priority!

Thank you so much for the constructive criticism. As this is my VERY first project I really need that!

PS: I was thinking and thinking about the sound effects and I want to ask you if it will be ok to use some of the castlevanias sound effects because I will not sell the game anyway. I just have to make sure I give Konami credit right?

EDIT: The walking animation bug when ducking is fixed! :)
You should be ok for the sound effects. As long as you aren't trying to profit or sell anything as your own in that regard you should be alright. I mean look at my game. Even though there is a lot of "me" in there as far as custom sprites, I am grabbing sprite work and sound from all over the place. I just credit at the end of the game. You should be fine.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on October 01, 2013, 08:09:53 AM
I have removed 2 frames from the normal weapon attacks and it is faster now and more flexible, also the recoil of that attack is faster now. There was also bug with pressing both left and right buttons when the player just perform his walking animation on one place, it is fixed, now when you press both left and right the player just stops one one place and has its standing animation :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on October 01, 2013, 09:13:06 AM
I have removed 2 frames from the normal weapon attacks and it is faster now and more flexible, also the recoil of that attack is faster now. There was also bug with pressing both left and right buttons when the player just perform his walking animation on one place, it is fixed, now when you press both left and right the player just stops one one place and has its standing animation :)
So we can just download the new updated exe at the link you provided?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on October 01, 2013, 09:49:25 AM
So we can just download the new updated exe at the link you provided?

Later or tomorrow. I want to add some new tiles and make sure everything is ok for you to test.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on October 01, 2013, 01:15:36 PM
Later or tomorrow. I want to add some new tiles and make sure everything is ok for you to test.
Ok I will keep on the lookout on the thread! Just be sure to make an announcement please!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Lelygax on October 01, 2013, 03:56:21 PM
PS: I was thinking and thinking about the sound effects and I want to ask you if it will be ok to use some of the castlevanias sound effects because I will not sell the game anyway. I just have to make sure I give Konami credit right?

While it is totally ok to do it, I aint 100% sure if you should do that.  I mean, look all original things that you did from scratch, maybe if its a similiar sound or a remixed sound I would accept it better.

What Im trying to say is that if you already will make all visual original, why not use this chance and go original in everything?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on October 01, 2013, 04:09:42 PM
While it is totally ok to do it, I aint 100% sure if you should do that.  I mean, look all original things that you did from scratch, maybe if its a similiar sound or a remixed sound I would accept it better.

What Im trying to say is that if you already will make all visual original, why not use this chance and go original in everything?
Good idea too, but more work! lol
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Lelygax on October 01, 2013, 04:25:44 PM
Yes, that is the hard part xD
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Dracula9 on October 01, 2013, 06:24:10 PM
Honestly, I'm kind of with Lelygax on that note. I wouldn't be bothered at all by SFX re-use, but I don't really think many of them official ones would "fit" the game. In this case, I'd look more into recording your own, or Googling around for free SFX. I've found quite a few nice ones from that.

But either way, I'm fine with the outcome. This is really looking to be a nice work, even at this early in production.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on October 02, 2013, 01:44:23 AM
Here is the link to the latest version - http://www.mediafire.com/download/g3qjabaa4mc43ya/Castle_of_Nightmares_DEMO.rar (http://www.mediafire.com/download/g3qjabaa4mc43ya/Castle_of_Nightmares_DEMO.rar)

The demo now has:

1) You are now able to switch the Attack and Jump buttons.

2) You no longer need to click with the mouse to return to the game from the menu. If you are navigating through the menu (equipment,usable items,bestiary) just press A and you will return one menu if you are on the starting menu and you press A you will return to the game.

3) The normal sword animation is much faster now. I have removed 2 frames and now the attack scales better.

4) there are just a few new tiles added to the Castle's kitchen.

5) The annoying bug with the walking while pressing multiple buttons is fixed.

6) I added a light effect to the torches so they dont look so stiff.

PLEASE test everything you can. Even the most stupid things like falling,jimping spinning like an idiot ... everything. I need to polish everything before I can continiue to the other Castle area, enemies, bosses, items etc. !!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on October 02, 2013, 10:36:05 AM
Just gave your new demo a test and there's something off about the character's movement. I don't know if it was brought about when I took a hit or when I swung my great sword, but the walking animations don't follow through completely. When this happened I press both the <- and -> together and found he stopped moving. When the walking animations do follow through completely, I pressed <- and -> and he was still walking, but didn't move.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on October 02, 2013, 01:09:13 PM
Just gave your new demo a test and there's something off about the character's movement. I don't know if it was brought about when I took a hit or when I swung my great sword, but the walking animations don't follow through completely. When this happened I press both the <- and -> together and found he stopped moving. When the walking animations do follow through completely, I pressed <- and -> and he was still walking, but didn't move.

Thank you for noticing! And now I found a solution! Now when you press both left and right he will allways prefer to go to the left, that way there will be no problems because I forgot that normaly this kind of games do not allow pressing such combinations at the same time :)

Please excuse my constant link changing but I am just reuploading the versions with the fixed stuff in them.

There is the link:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/sebb4bbtv6wzx6t/Castle_of_Nightmares_DEMO.rar (http://www.mediafire.com/download/sebb4bbtv6wzx6t/Castle_of_Nightmares_DEMO.rar)
And again please if you find such bugs and stuff tell me here so I can improve the game :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on October 04, 2013, 01:21:40 PM
Thank you for noticing! And now I found a solution! Now when you press both left and right he will allways prefer to go to the left, that way there will be no problems because I forgot that normaly this kind of games do not allow pressing such combinations at the same time :)

Please excuse my constant link changing but I am just reuploading the versions with the fixed stuff in them.

There is the link:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/sebb4bbtv6wzx6t/Castle_of_Nightmares_DEMO.rar (http://www.mediafire.com/download/sebb4bbtv6wzx6t/Castle_of_Nightmares_DEMO.rar)
And again please if you find such bugs and stuff tell me here so I can improve the game :)

You should add a seperate screen during the game so you can always check or switch your controls, maybe by pressing f12

you should make it so you can use the direction arrows to traverse up and down sub-menus (lose the mouse-clicks) just make it so that you can press enter to go through one screen to the next

You might want to change the equipment-spell-usuable items-enemy data, text color to black (grey makes them look not accessable)

still no dying animation, lifebar should go completely empty when you are totally out of life

The text for the title of your game is too small. You should try to make it bigger and more impactful

You should make it so that if you switch the controls to z and x for jump and attack they stay like that even if you start over

You should add a slide back move so you can easier avoid hazards

Hero needs a sword for the primary weapon, and dagger for the secondary. The dagger makes things repetative, maybe you can make it so that with the dagger he is able to throw them for a range attack

You might want to add some animation to the tentacles and skull from your lifebar, without the animation it looks kind flat

Hope I've been helpful!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on October 04, 2013, 07:04:10 PM
You should add a seperate screen during the game so you can always check or switch your controls, maybe by pressing f12

you should make it so you can use the direction arrows to traverse up and down sub-menus (lose the mouse-clicks) just make it so that you can press enter to go through one screen to the next

You might want to change the equipment-spell-usuable items-enemy data, text color to black (grey makes them look not accessable)

still no dying animation, lifebar should go completely empty when you are totally out of life

The text for the title of your game is too small. You should try to make it bigger and more impactful

You should make it so that if you switch the controls to z and x for jump and attack they stay like that even if you start over

You should add a slide back move so you can easier avoid hazards

Hero needs a sword for the primary weapon, and dagger for the secondary. The dagger makes things repetative, maybe you can make it so that with the dagger he is able to throw them for a range attack

You might want to add some animation to the tentacles and skull from your lifebar, without the animation it looks kind flat

Hope I've been helpful!

Thank you for the feedback!

The thing is that the controls are saved once you switch then and they will stay that way every time you save and then LOAD your progress.

I cannot lose the mouse control. This cannot happen because it is WAY too HARD for me to make menu consisting of 2D or 3D arrays.

I will consider the sword change but I don't see the poin because you can have the sword 2 minnutes after the start of the game. :)

The other things mentioned by you are easy to do and the will be my next targets.


The main thing I wanted to see is that there are no bugs that will make the game unplayable or annoying.

I really am sorry about the menu but is has to be navigated with the mouse. I have removed the mouse when you have to go back however I have put too much work in the menu system now to start designing a completely new menu system.

Everything else you said are cosmetic changes which are very nice and easy things to do.

PS: Also I do not know how to do the slide thing because I do not know how to implement is to the characters code.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on October 10, 2013, 11:02:29 PM
1) I made the death animation and now the message You are Dead is shown after the end of the animation.

2) I also changed the color of the menu buttons (Equipment, Usable Items, Enemy Data etc.)

3) I FINALLY and Successfully removed the damn walking freeze bug, where the character just saty one one place and perform his walking animation!

4) When you play the game and you save it the controls switch (Z and X) will be saved as well.

5) Now when you are hit you will can walk through the enemy for the duration of the invincibility (Around 1 sec)

I am still considering the change about the dagger and the sword. I do not know why do you guys want the sword as your starting weapon when you can get it 3 mins into the game if you explore a little :(

Btw some people said that when you collect Elexirs of Life and you level up you lose health ... well this is not true because you are added new health to your current health. Those things only give you more capacity to store health not actually HEAL you. I did this mainly because I want the game to be challenging because it will not have NEW GAME + etc. :) I hope you understand my idea.

I will have to re-do the starting screen Name/logo of the game ("Castle of Nightmares").

So after that I will post the new link with the download and if there are no more problems I will continiue with the second castle are which will have some new features added to the game like Teleportation Chambers, Spell System and nice quest puzzles in order to continiue your exploration into the Castle.

PS: I just want to say that I know you all want a better product that is flexible and easy to use(navigate etc.) but this is my VERY first project, I have absolutely no programming background (I have marketing & management degree :D). However I am doing everything I can so you can really like this game because Unfortunately I do not think Konami or any other company will make more 2D Castlevania games anymore :(
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on October 10, 2013, 11:21:41 PM
Quote
I am still considering the change about the dagger and the sword. I do not know why do you guys want the sword as your starting weapon when you can get it 3 mins into the game if you explore a little :(

Some people think a sword is the base starting weapon of choice for games like this. Me, it's not really that important of an issue since I know I'll get something better down the road. But since this is your game and you know what you want, you should be the one to make the call about keeping the dagger or replacing it with the sword.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on November 11, 2013, 08:53:17 AM
Finally I have some content. Its not much but it is something :)

Here is the very first draft of the Castle's Park which is the second area after the Castle's Entrance. It will be marble/garden/park and it will conncet several other areas like the Castles towers (yes towers as in plural) and other zones. On those 2 screenshots I display the very basic idea of the area. The park itself and some of its underground areas for gardening. Here just like in any other area will be the residence of a boss. I will start making some new enemies, mysteries and items after the completition of the zone.

This is the normal park layout:
(click to show/hide)

This is the underground layout:
(click to show/hide)

I also will try to make some cool ways to progress. I do not want to just go and defeat the boss. For example if you want to go meet the boss you have to open the guardian gate. You can make this after shattering 2 dark crystals that are in 2 rooms in the area. This is just an example I do not know the task in mind :)

Well this is it :) I do not have much time but believe me I am trying to achieve some progress :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on November 11, 2013, 09:53:56 AM
Ooooh, nother update!

Quote
I also will try to make some cool ways to progress. I do not want to just go and defeat the boss. For example if you want to go meet the boss you have to open the guardian gate. You can make this after shattering 2 dark crystals that are in 2 rooms in the area. This is just an example I do not know the task in mind :)

This sounds like the forest stage in Castlevania64 where you need to unlock a series of gates in order to get to the boss. By the way have you solved any more of the bugs since you last posted?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on November 11, 2013, 12:23:08 PM
Ooooh, nother update!

This sounds like the forest stage in Castlevania64 where you need to unlock a series of gates in order to get to the boss. By the way have you solved any more of the bugs since you last posted?

I solved the nasty walking on one place which was the most frustrating thing! I made death animation and the bar will be empty when the character die. Apart from that everything else seems fine :)

I have some cool ideas for weapons with effects and accessories with effects not only with stats :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on November 23, 2013, 12:22:46 AM
I have encountered a problem with my sound system. There is no way to pause a sound. For example then a zombie dies is makes a sound and in that time if I press "A" to go in the menu the sound will not continiue after my return. I tried some extentions that handle sounds but they add even more complications and bugs to the game for example I cannot restart my game because the memory will overload eventually after some restarts.

For now I think that I will leave it like that because the sounds are short anyway and it will not affect the game that much.

EDIT: I made a test on my DS lite with Castlevania Aria of Sorrow and I used couple of spells. I noticed the same thing I cast the spell, it made its sound and I press start right at the sound. The sound continiued in the pause menu and after I resumed the game the animation continiued without the sound. So i guess it is not big a deal.

Any of you annoyed by that?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on November 23, 2013, 09:41:59 AM
Not really. AoS isn't the only game I've played that has that particular bug. Some games I've played on the NES and SNES also have such issues so it's something that I've encountered quite frequently. Heck I'm even guilty of initiating that very bug just for the hell of it so it's no biggie  ;)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: theANdROId on November 26, 2013, 08:27:15 AM
So...after I downloaded the demo it sat on my desktop for a day or two (just haven't had time to check it out)...and suddenly my Norton antivirus freaked out about it.  Allegedly it was "High threat!  High risk!  Multiple viruses detected!"  I find that hard to believe, otherwise I suspect this thread would be deleted or warnings issued.  Now, I haven't read through all 12 pages here, so maybe I missed something...but maybe someone could tell me (if anyone has any idea) why my Norton went bonkers all of a sudden?  :-\
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on November 26, 2013, 08:45:37 AM
So...after I downloaded the demo it sat on my desktop for a day or two (just haven't had time to check it out)...and suddenly my Norton antivirus freaked out about it.  Allegedly it was "High threat!  High risk!  Multiple viruses detected!"  I find that hard to believe, otherwise I suspect this thread would be deleted or warnings issued.  Now, I haven't read through all 12 pages here, so maybe I missed something...but maybe someone could tell me (if anyone has any idea) why my Norton went bonkers all of a sudden?  :-\

This happens because I have protected the exe with encryption and that is why many anti-virus programs are thinking that it is a virus. But it is not believe me. I just encrypted the exe against decompilers.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on November 26, 2013, 10:51:48 AM
Quote
So...after I downloaded the demo it sat on my desktop for a day or two (just haven't had time to check it out)...and suddenly my Norton antivirus freaked out about it.  Allegedly it was "High threat!  High risk!  Multiple viruses detected!"  I find that hard to believe, otherwise I suspect this thread would be deleted or warnings issued.  Now, I haven't read through all 12 pages here, so maybe I missed something...but maybe someone could tell me (if anyone has any idea) why my Norton went bonkers all of a sudden?  :-\

If i were you I'd get rid of the Norton antivirus software. It's more trouble then it's worth. What I am using is Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free to download. What it does is provide a direct link to Mircrosoft and if there's a virus, Trojan, etc. is detected on your machine, they will analyse/scan it, let you know what the problems are and then clean them off your computer. It also saves up on hard drive space too. I've had Zuljaras's demo on computer and it does not show up as a virus or anything out of the ordinary. This tells me that it's Norton doing it's own thing without the user's concent.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: theANdROId on November 26, 2013, 07:47:06 PM
Thanks!  If I had any worries, it was just that something had maybe corrupted the uploaded file and I was just the first to discover it.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on December 05, 2013, 03:55:39 AM
(click to show/hide)

This is the current layout of the Castle. The question mark is where you will enter the new area. The last 2 weeks I have been drawing many new tiles and a new background for the Castle's Park. I am also preparing for the implementation of the teleport rooms. It will be kind of tricky but I think I can pull that off.

I also replaced all objects that are invisible and that innitiate the movement between the rooms. I had to adress the new parameters and all that annoying stuff.

Also I am thinking of implementing attribute system but I do not know how exactly. Something like ice,water,dark,air etc. etc.

I had some problems with angle movement for some new objects but I managed to get that to work :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on December 30, 2013, 03:27:59 AM
I am sorry that I do not update regularly but here are some news about my game :)

1. I have added a new enemy to the game and it is called Killer Plant. It is fitting enemy for "The Park" of the castle. That enemy is stationary and when the player is close it will spit a poison orb. That orb will ascend and after one second it will direct itself toward the player. At contact with the player the ord will deal damage and explode into toxic dust. The reason about that is that if the orb misses the player and hits the ground there is still a chance that the poison dust will get to him.

2. I drew 2 new backgrounds for The Park. One is at the bottom (ground) level where you see the trees,bushes and the castle wall and the other one is the same thing but the view is from above because the Park will have some climbing.

3. I will implement a strenght - weakness system for the enemies. My method will be if a monster is weak against certain attacks it will suffer x1.5 damage, if it is neutral it will suffer the normal amount of damage and if it is strong against the type of damage it will suffer x2 less damage.

4. I have implemented a fully functional teleportation system! When you enter the roon and you see the portal you go to it and you will see that you are required to press UP (up arrow). Then you will get a couple of buttons depending of how much teleports from the other areas you have discovered. At the start you will get 2 area buttons - the Castle Entrance and The Park. Of course you get one more button called Back which will cancel the teleport. The navigation is really simple and is made only with the mouse :)

5. Right now I will start working on paper because it is getting really hard and confusing regarding the castle layout, the bosses, the enemies and the most important thing - the progression.

So this is it for now :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on December 30, 2013, 05:54:23 PM
You've been busy again. Let us know when you've got an update for us to try out  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 04, 2014, 01:15:53 AM
Yep and right now I am working on drawing some tiles to make the Park a really nice area.

I have the attribute attacks ready.

They are: Weapon(which is the normal attack without any enhancements), Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Dark, Light, Poison and Electric.

Unfortunately with my skill in coding I will implement those in my game by adding them separately for each enemy because I will have 3 types of font for ever damage type - weak, normal and strong. Every weapon will have its element. For example the dagger,sword,great sword are all weapon type attacks, but the Twilight's Fang will have dark attribute and it will deal x1.5 damage to enemies that are weak against dark :)

I need to finish this and create some more enemies because right now my game lacks new enemies!

I want to create a Skeleton Knight which is the usual armored skeleton but when you bust his armor he will continiue to fight against you as a normal skeleton. So that is nice double the fight but also double the XP and souls.

I will still post for any changes or news.

The most important thing is that there will be no bugs in the game :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on January 04, 2014, 12:51:41 PM
Quote
I want to create a Skeleton Knight which is the usual armored skeleton but when you bust his armor he will continiue to fight against you as a normal skeleton. So that is nice double the fight but also double the XP and souls.

Nice idea. You should also have it so when you use fire on a zombie, the flesh gets burned off but then you have to fight the skeleton underneath. Little gimmicks like this will help your game immensely in the long-run.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 17, 2014, 03:25:51 AM
So there are 2 screenshots of the first look at "The Park".

(click to show/hide)

(click to show/hide)

Here you can see the new background layer which is the ground level of the Park. I placed 2 new animated objects - the small fountain and the garden torch.

Now I will get working on the next rooms and what items, treasures and stuff they will have.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Chernabogue on January 17, 2014, 05:48:24 AM
Looks promising! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 17, 2014, 10:37:50 AM
This is the early draft of the Skeleton Knight:

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F854%2Fs2pa.png&hash=cd851a442a93eef9d5bc9cf1f09ac2e4)

I am still thinking of new monsters that will fit this area like treants, some kind of forest ghosts or something like that :)

EDIT: I have finished the animation and most of the coding for the Skeleton Knight!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on January 18, 2014, 11:51:40 AM
Quote
I am still thinking of new monsters that will fit this area like treants, some kind of forest ghosts or something like that :)

Don't forget about the 'Will 'O' wisps' too. They're usually found in forests.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 24, 2014, 10:42:45 AM
Don't forget about the 'Will 'O' wisps' too. They're usually found in forests.

I will definetely add a spirit/ghost enemy but I think that it will be a Spirit Mask. A wooden mask possessed by the ghost of a forest witch.

The past few days I have been drawing sprites/tiles and thinking of new weapons and enemies.

I need to draw some more tiles because I want to put as much detail as possible into the game. I have reduced the the brightness of the whole level because it was too bright :)

I have created a new normal type weapon - Iron Mace and I have increased the animation speed of the normal weapons so the hero will now swing a little faster.

I have around 120 tiles for "The Park" but as I see it I need a lot more :(
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 27, 2014, 03:19:15 AM
Guys I need a native English speaker to tell me if this text has any errors:

Quote
It is said by the ancients that we, the mankind, are created for one and only purpose … to be the toys of the Gods. We are given life and when the time comes we give it back. This is our circle, out fate. We have accepted it.
In the past we craved for prosperity. We were devoted to the Gods. We built temples to earn their love and at the end to go in peace. But the times have changed. People started to give more to some Gods and nothing for others. That was the turning point in our history. The conflict between the Gods was inevitable and we were in the middle. The mankind changed.
When people start to believe that evil is necessary to survive, the Gods playground is revealed. An ancient Castle rises to plague the World with shadows and madness. The ones who are lucky enough to escape death are scattered and afraid to trust anyone.
In this time of need many orders were created to protect the defenseless. And to this day mankind suffers in the shadows.

I appreciate any help!!! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Gunlord on January 27, 2014, 01:46:38 PM
Not bad, but I would change it to:

"It is said by the ancients that we, mankind, are created for one and only purpose … to be the toys of the Gods. We are given life and when the time comes we give it back. This is our circle, our fate. We have accepted it.
In the past we craved prosperity. We were devoted to the Gods. We built temples to earn their love and at the end to go in peace. But times have changed. People started sacrificing more to some Gods and gave nothing to others. That was the turning point in our history. The conflict between the Gods was inevitable and we were in the middle. Mankind changed.
When people start to believe that evil is necessary to survive, the playground of the Gods is revealed. An ancient Castle rises to plague the World with shadows and madness. The ones who are lucky enough to escape death are scattered and afraid to trust anyone.
In this time of need many orders were created to protect the defenseless. And to this day mankind suffers in the shadows."
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 27, 2014, 02:16:11 PM
Not bad, but I would change it to:

"It is said by the ancients that we, mankind, are created for one and only purpose … to be the toys of the Gods. We are given life and when the time comes we give it back. This is our circle, our fate. We have accepted it.
In the past we craved prosperity. We were devoted to the Gods. We built temples to earn their love and at the end to go in peace. But times have changed. People started sacrificing more to some Gods and gave nothing to others. That was the turning point in our history. The conflict between the Gods was inevitable and we were in the middle. Mankind changed.
When people start to believe that evil is necessary to survive, the playground of the Gods is revealed. An ancient Castle rises to plague the World with shadows and madness. The ones who are lucky enough to escape death are scattered and afraid to trust anyone.
In this time of need many orders were created to protect the defenseless. And to this day mankind suffers in the shadows."

Thank you I guess I only made a mistake with the giving more to some gods and nothing to others.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Gunlord on January 28, 2014, 01:28:53 AM
Yep. Also, "Mankind" doesn't need a "the" before it, I changed that :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 28, 2014, 02:05:25 AM
Thank you :)

Could you also check this text for errors?

Quote
One of those organizations is the Order of Justice. Its warriors wield both strength and magic. One exceptional man named Erhard Tarein was raised by the Order because his family was killed by demons many years ago. He trained in the arts of combat and magic and travelled the world to help others that were in dire need. When he came back from one of his journeys the masters of the Order told him that a mysterious Castle has appeared not far from their homes. Unfortunately the Castle influences the abilities of the knights and they couldn’t use any magic to fight evil. They grew weaker with every passing day. Fearless, Erhard decided to go in the Castle and search for an answer for this disaster.

However he was weaker than before.He couldn’t use his spells anymore. Armed only with his trusty dagger he ventured into the Castle knowing that might lead to his death.

It is short and simple beginning of the story in Castle of Nightmares.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on January 28, 2014, 11:04:44 AM
Quote
It is said by the ancients that we, mankind, are created for one and only purpose …

There is a text error in here. I'll clear it up for you.

"It is said by the ancients that we, mankind, are created for only one purpose …"

This line works better then the above.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 28, 2014, 01:04:56 PM
Thank you! What about the second part? Could you check it :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on January 28, 2014, 06:01:37 PM
I gave it a read-through and it seems fine. So no real need to correct anything there.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on February 04, 2014, 12:06:19 AM
I feel stupid for asking but I need to know which is correct:

"Zuljaras presents" or "Zuljaras present"

I have looked over the internet but both are used in different situations so could anyone help me with that too.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Chernabogue on February 04, 2014, 12:43:39 AM
I feel stupid for asking but I need to know which is correct:

"Zuljaras presents" or "Zuljaras present"

I have looked over the internet but both are used in different situations so could anyone help me with that too.
First one IMO.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on February 16, 2014, 01:19:37 AM
Skeleton Knight:
Standing
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi61.tinypic.com%2F157nrx2.gif&hash=c98fef132bc33c523940063b77c63e8e)


Attacking
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi59.tinypic.com%2F2q8sx1l.gif&hash=ce0b4393e63b73f6c88b891742ae1393)

Keep in mind that the attacking animation of the sword trail is transparent in the game. :)

I am also working on the spell system now. I will have to code the new magic damage, spell power aspects. I will introduce items that will boost the damage of the spells.

Many stupid bugs were fixed in the past few days ... frustrating! :D
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 16, 2014, 05:52:29 AM
Hello everyone!

Long time no update!

Well I made some changes and now I have a new video to show you.

Castle of Nightmares - Part 8! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJgpF-CB1-s#)

Tell me what you think! It is not 100% realy ofc. but those are only 13 rooms of the Castle Park. There are going to be around 44 rooms only in this area.

The enemies need some work because they are kinda too slow and predictable but I can fix that :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Chernabogue on March 16, 2014, 07:21:49 AM
Really nice so far! Adding more ennemies would make the rooms less empty, but this isn't bad.

Don't make them too strong, as they already seem hard to kill. ^^
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 19, 2014, 04:34:55 AM
Really nice so far! Adding more ennemies would make the rooms less empty, but this isn't bad.

Don't make them too strong, as they already seem hard to kill. ^^

Thank you!

Also I am happy to announce that currently I am working on the menu system to implement navigation only with keys. That mean no mouse. Well you can have both at the same time to nothing will be lost. It just need alot of coding.

Speaking of coding ... my coding is primitive but I figured how to do it and it will work. Unfortunately I cannot do it with arrays or other hard GM coding like the good coders. But I will manage it :)

That way people will be able to map their keys with JoyToKey and the game will be fully playable with controllers :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on April 16, 2014, 02:42:53 AM
Can someone explain to me why I can't embed the youtube video anymore. I want my videos to be shown on the screen here but now it is just the link. I see that in my old posts it was ok but now it is not.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: VladCT on April 16, 2014, 03:48:17 AM
Youtube now defaults to https://, you need to change it back to http:// in the link.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on April 16, 2014, 04:10:07 AM
Youtube now defaults to https://, you need to change it back to http:// in the link.

Thank you!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: EisaKrieger on May 17, 2014, 04:40:52 PM
Pretty cool demo.  Very original and off to a good start.

Got a glitch though, keeping me from making it very far after the first boss.
When I load my save game, the game can't find most of its minor enemy and hazard sound effects, so every time it goes to play one of them an error prompt comes up where I have to hit ignore or exit.  I remove my save file and then the game is fine again.
(click to show/hide)
Click to see parts of error log
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on May 28, 2014, 01:16:10 PM
Pretty cool demo.  Very original and off to a good start.

Got a glitch though, keeping me from making it very far after the first boss.
When I load my save game, the game can't find most of its minor enemy and hazard sound effects, so every time it goes to play one of them an error prompt comes up where I have to hit ignore or exit.  I remove my save file and then the game is fine again.

This is very strange. I did what you said. I went to the first boss, defeated him. Then I saved my game and exit. I load the game, press LOAD and I continiue through. All enemies have their sounds and I get no errors about sounds.

I got one error but it was about the skeleton positioning and I fixed it.

Btw that message about the non existing sound, please see in your sounds folder of the game if all the sounds are there. If those sounds are not there then the game will give you errors. I player it a couple of times and all sounds load just fine. I have no idea what might've caused this.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: EisaKrieger on May 31, 2014, 06:04:11 PM
Before when it happened:  I saved.  Reloaded the game and had the sound problem.  Had to beat the boss while repeatedly hitting ignore.

This time I had no problem.  I saved.  Beat the Boss.  Saved a couple more times.  Bought that black flame dagger.  Saved.  Loaded that save and everything is fine.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on June 01, 2014, 05:08:06 AM
Before when it happened:  I saved.  Reloaded the game and had the sound problem.  Had to beat the boss while repeatedly hitting ignore.

This time I had no problem.  I saved.  Beat the Boss.  Saved a couple more times.  Bought that black flame dagger.  Saved.  Loaded that save and everything is fine.

It could probably be because of the old version of the game :) Right now I have a loading screen and in that loading screen I have an instance that loads ALL sounds from the sound folder so it is impossible for sounds to be missed. In the old version I remember that the file with the sounds was in the main menu so it could skip some files or something.

I hope that is not the case with the new version.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on August 16, 2014, 01:58:23 AM
Guys I am posting this just to let you know that I have not given up :)

I did not make any progress during for 3 months now but I will start making the new enemies and the new boss in the Castle Park area. Also I am working on the NO-mouse thing and it works really well.

There is more work to be done but I believe I can do it.

I just hope there are not going to be any bugs that could stop the game development like crashes, memory leaks etc.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 16, 2014, 09:17:38 AM
Keep at it, dude!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on August 17, 2014, 09:38:41 AM
Guys I am posting this just to let you know that I have not given up :)

I did not make any progress during for 3 months now but I will start making the new enemies and the new boss in the Castle Park area. Also I am working on the NO-mouse thing and it works really well.

There is more work to be done but I believe I can do it.

I just hope there are not going to be any bugs that could stop the game development like crashes, memory leaks etc.

Don't give up dude!
Listen to feedback from the thread, make changes and continue.
Push yourself, it's nice to see you working on the No-MOUSE deal..told ya! lol
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Chernabogue on August 17, 2014, 09:57:51 AM
Keep up the good work, man! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on November 20, 2014, 02:14:35 AM
I know I have not been consistent at all but it is hard to do this when I am working and when have to deal with other stuff :(

I have done the no mouse things for most stuff. Only things left are no mouse for the page moving in the menus and the useable items.

There are total of 6 buttons and the 4 arrows as controls. I used joy2key to bind the keyboard to my controller and the game plays just like any other platformer :)

I have some interesting ideas as bosses and story like Death other 3 brothers.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on November 20, 2014, 09:40:39 AM
Hey Zuljaras, been a while. Nice to hear the project is still going. Just take your time and do what you can.  ;)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 24, 2015, 01:21:10 AM
Hello everyone!!! I am still alive and back on track!

I made a transition from Game Maker 8.1 to Game Maker Studio! And it is not pleasant! It is an actual HELL! However I made some pretty huge changes!

1. Now the game runs at full screen! I have changed it to fit all resolutions! Well it will be displayed in a letterbox on most monitors but that is ok (you will have black boarders on top or bottom or both). The most important thing is that the pixels are perfect! :)

2. I had to make a new saving system using ini files. This almost made me cry :D I am still configuring it so it will take me at least 2 days.

3. There are no sounds in the game right now because GM:S is kind of picky about this but I will figure it out. If no external sounds I will make then internal sounds and that is that!

The main reason why I moved to Studio is because there are crashes in windows 8 if many sounds are played at once. I hope everything goes well because there are many bugs left to be fixed.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: X on January 25, 2015, 06:48:59 PM
It's been a while however I had a feeling you've not given up your project.  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 26, 2015, 06:40:57 AM
It's been a while however I had a feeling you've not given up your project.  :)

Nope :) I just wanted my game to be compatible with all Windows-es :D And the new saving system will allow that. Now I only need to complete the teleporting system interface and the second boss for the Castle park Area.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Chernabogue on January 26, 2015, 06:59:28 AM
Nice to hear from you, can't wait for a new update! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: darkmanx_429 on January 31, 2015, 06:57:00 AM
Can you make a vid showing some of the new updates?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - DEMO INCLUDED!
Post by: Zuljaras on February 18, 2015, 11:14:49 PM
Can you make a vid showing some of the new updates?

I will but I have so many things to make right now. I am also thinking about rebindable keys but I have no idea how to make it work without problems. I do not update because I have so little time to actually do something. The biggest achievement was to move from GM 8.1 to GM: S and still a laptop with Intel hdgraphics 3000 just freeze the game probably because this model video cards do not support a specific shaders.

Let's hope that from now on it will smooth sailing :D
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 01, 2015, 01:58:08 AM
I have a very big request for you guys!

Could you download the demo of the game and play around for a while. I want to see if there will be any problems on other computers.

The problem is the following. The game runs slowly on a old PC that is 2 gigs of ram, nvidia 256 mb card, 2 core with windows 8.1 32 bit. When I installed windows 7 64 bit the game runs better.

And on one laptop with IntelHD 3000 graphics the game runs very bad and freezes but I guess that is because of the lod model of graphic cards. On every other machine I tested the game it runs perfectly. Sooo I want you guys to help me and test it for any slow down issues. If you reach the "end" of the game you will get a crash but that is ok!!!

Here is the link. It is in bulgarian but don't worry just click on the name of the file (which is only one) and you can download it.
 
See the EDIT2 note below :)

Also I have some othe rinformation for you and you people seem very knowledgable I hope you can explain some things for me!

Here are the tests:

1. My laptop - OS Windows 7 - 4 gigs of ram, 2 core, nvidia graphic card 512 ram, desktop resolution 1280x800 (the game is scaled 2 times) - The result is that my game runs perfectly!

 

 

2. PC - Windows 8.1 - 2 gigs of ram, 2 core, nvidia card with 256 ram, desktop is with 1400x900 (the game is scaled 3 times) - the game runs but a little slow. IF I lower the resolution so it will be 1280x800 the game runs perfectly!

 

 

3. Laptop - Windows 7 - 4 gigs of ram, 2 core, intelHD 3000 graphics card, desktop is 1280x800 (the game is scaled 2 times) - the game runs and them slows after 3-4 seconds and freezes ... aaand that's it :D

 

 

4. PC - windows XP - 3 gigs of ram , 2 core, ati card with 256 ram, desktop 1400x900 (game scaled 3 times) - the game runs perfectly!

 

5. PC - windows 7, 8 gigs of ram,  4 core, nvidia card 1 GB, desktop full HD (game scaled 3 times) - game runs perfectly!!!

Any help is appreciated!!!

EDIT: I just got some help and there is no more slowdown on the weak 2 gb ram PC. I have yet to test on the laptop with the intelHD 3000 graphic card.

EDIT2: Here is the newest demo for testing the compatibility :) The speed is fixed here!
http://dox.bg/files/dw?a=a09331112e (http://dox.bg/files/dw?a=a09331112e)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Chernabogue on March 01, 2015, 08:42:32 AM
Runs perfectly, on my Win 8.1 laptop. It just crashed when I fell into a pit in the Castle Gardens (but I recall you said you didn't finish this area ^^).
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 01, 2015, 08:50:11 AM
Runs perfectly, on my Win 8.1 laptop. It just crashed when I fell into a pit in the Castle Gardens (but I recall you said you didn't finish this area ^^).

Yes :) It should crash on 3 places. Going on the first UP in the castle park, going down in the castle part I think the 3 or 4th room and finally going all the way up the castle garden towers.

Those are amazing news :)

Just a little update! I need just a little more to fully implement customizable controls so you won't be locked with my configuration only!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 25, 2015, 07:30:11 AM
So I've made the custom key binding! It is tricky. For example in the key bind menu (you can see it below) you can change all they keys that are used in the game however in that specific menu your controls will always be the same - the arrows for the directions and "Enter" for selecting they you want to change. I also made some limitations for keys that nobody binds and when you press them they will unbind and that is how you will know they are invalid keys (they will have the text "No Key!").

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F2kVZslV.jpg&hash=8406d4d92ad6ebeb000da79848e4fe46)

They graphics for this are NOT final. This is just for tesating.

I have also made a 2-handed hammer weapon that when hitting the ground it will crush it and debris will appear drom the impact (rocks :D).

PS: The screenshot is the actual size/graphics on 1280x800 resolution monitor :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Chernabogue on March 26, 2015, 05:16:12 AM
That's a great idea, nice job. Now even with different keyboards, playing this game will be easier. :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on March 26, 2015, 09:53:09 AM
Sweet! Definitely more people creating fanworks need to take the time to implement button configs in their projects.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: AuraTeam on April 01, 2015, 10:04:21 AM
I like your game because i know how much difficult is to develop a game with Game Maker  :P ;D
can i get your FB account, We can help each other in game developing  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on May 01, 2015, 07:19:10 AM
Guys I have a question for you. Do you think I should drop the mouse support for the game? Right now you could use the mouse and the keyboard to control the game. The mouse is only for navigating throught the menus.

Should I drop the mouse support so I could focus more on the other functions of the game?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on May 01, 2015, 10:13:22 AM
You could have the option to implement both if you wanted. I think for those who want to use a keyboard then having the mouse for menu navigation would be the best course. But for those of use who want to use controllers then the mouse is not needed for that. I guess what I'm trying to say is this:

Keyboard config - keyboard + mouse

Controller config - Controller.

That's about it really.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on May 01, 2015, 12:44:07 PM
You could have the option to implement both if you wanted. I think for those who want to use a keyboard then having the mouse for menu navigation would be the best course. But for those of use who want to use controllers then the mouse is not needed for that. I guess what I'm trying to say is this:

Keyboard config - keyboard + mouse

Controller config - Controller.

That's about it really.

Well there will not be a controller config. I will not go there because I don't want to deal with more complications. If a player want to use a controller I will include a joy2key inside the game folder or I will suggest a link to download it.

I used it and I mapped the keys of the keyboard to the controller and everything worked just fine.

There are 12 buttons that are used in the game. 4-arrows, Z,X,A,S,Q,W and Enter + Esc.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on August 17, 2015, 05:13:24 AM
It has been a long time people. Many asked me if the project is dead but it is not.

I just can't find the time to develop it ... and I want to!

Yesterday I sat down and thought how to implement one very interesting thing and one of my all time favorites in most Castlevania games. NEW GAME +.

I want to make that when you finish the game you will unlock new button in the starting menu called The Adventure or something like that. You start will all NON-progressive items and spells, at lvl 1 and all bosses and story points are reset.

That way I want to give some replayability to the game.

With this I might introduce complete sets of items.

There are 3 main slots of items Weapon, Armor and Accessory. If you equip 3 items that belong in a set you will unlock a cool effect for a spell or gain some nice passive ability and so on and so on.

What do you guys think about that?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on August 17, 2015, 10:07:41 AM
I don't think that's been done before. I'd say go for it and see how it turns out  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Chernabogue on August 22, 2015, 04:08:39 AM
That's a neat idea! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: piscesdreams on August 22, 2015, 05:30:33 AM
That's a pretty neat idea, I say go with it. It would be neat if enemies and bosses had new attacks and/or movement patterns too.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 03, 2015, 12:30:19 AM
The teleportation menu is ready. I just need to center it.

The first set that I will create will be the Paladin's Armor. 3 holy pieces Hammer, Plate Armor and Seal Ring. The 3 combined will make so every time Erhard attack there is around 30% chance that a holy hammer may fall before him crushing the enemies with light damage.

I am doing one more thing but it is in testing right now. Certain pieces like the Paladin Plate Armor will appear on Erhard but I have to see how I will implement that. I have the basic idea but it is a lot of work with precision and sprites :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 24, 2015, 12:15:42 AM
Better little news than no news at all :)

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fzfuhmp3.png&hash=7355070ce817874c2a3b5ca238004075)

This is how Erhard will look if he is wearing the Paladin Armor. However if he has completed the whole set there will be a cosmetic effect that will be active only when he is wearing all 3 items at the same time.

Also one more thing I think I should confess :/   Until now I have used an unlicensed version of Game Maker: Studio. Yeah I know it is bad but I did not have the money to afford the professional version. Yesterday I bought the professional version of Game Maker: Studio along with Android export. I don't know if I will try the Android export any time soon but it is good to know that I have that possibility in the future :)

So there from now on my game will not be made on pirated software :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on September 24, 2015, 09:54:21 AM
Interesting armor concept having Paladin armor over a long black overcoat  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on July 14, 2016, 12:53:43 AM
I has been a long time :)

My project is not dead. It is just really really slow. I have so many ideas but so little time to make them.

The whole special armor to be displayed and animated on the character is so huge in terms of work. I did not calculate it right but I will not cut it because it is awesome! :D
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Chernabogue on July 14, 2016, 02:36:17 AM
Cool to see you're still doing it! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on July 26, 2016, 01:28:02 AM
Just a couple more frames to add to the Paladin Armor and I will test it fully. If it looks ok I will continue and then I have to finish the Castle Park area and its boss.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on February 03, 2017, 11:53:53 AM
Hello again everyone!!!

I have converted the game in 60FPS. Now It will run smooth and I have made so much optimization on the code!!!

Here you can download the new demo with the changes!!! It is just for running around and killing this and that!

Here is the new version - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzRohquxGIULbl9DVmttT0FoMVE

Just tell me if it runs smooth on your side!!!

I have tested it on once ancient PC with 2 GB of ram, one tablet with win 8.1 and 2GB ram with atom processor, 1 low end laptop with windows 7, one mid laptop with win 7, and one high end laptop.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on February 03, 2017, 06:31:44 PM
Hey! Welcome back  :D

Just gave your newest demo a spin. 60FPS? Now that's smooth. The only thing I'd like to point out is:

The character's animation movement. It doesn't completely cycle through and it makes him look awkward when running. But that's nothing a few more sprites of animation wouldn't fix.

Other then that, it's good  ;)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on February 07, 2017, 11:16:22 AM
People I need help!

I am willing to change the resolution of my game but I have big issues.

My current resolution is 400x300. I want to change that so the game will be scaled better on different monitors and devices.

However I do not know what to choose for my resolution that is close to mine but not lower.

I have determined that one of the best options is 512x360. The game will have a bigger window and it will scale better with bigger displays. Here is the resolutions that the game will cover with this setting:

512x360
1024x720
1536x1080

It will have the black borders but they will be smaller than the ones right now.
I do not know if I should continue like that or I should change it.

Other options is 640x360 which is:
640x360
1280x720
1920x1080
The problem here is that monitors under 1280 res will be stuck in 640x360.

I do not think I can add multi resolution other than multiplying the starting resolution.
For pixel art games this is probably the worst decision that I can make.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on February 08, 2017, 12:19:21 AM
I think the standard now is 16:9 aspect ratio resolutions, so your second sizes are viable and future proof, maybe, unless a new aspect ratio comes along....

But choose what you feel is best.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on February 25, 2017, 04:56:14 AM
I have a question for the majority of players here and it is about resolutions.

Do you mind pixelart games to have black bars left/right or from all sides (from time to time, depending on the resolution on the monitor)?

It is just general question because for my game for example it is impossible to NOT have black bars. My menus are built this way so they ALLWAYS have to be in the same resolution (native resolution of the game).
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Chernabogue on February 25, 2017, 05:02:00 AM
I don't think it's a big problem.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on February 26, 2017, 12:48:41 AM
I don't mind black bars or borders.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 04, 2017, 11:49:50 AM
UPDATE!!!

LINK TO THE NEW VERSION - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzRohquxGIULTUxoTnpKa1ByNjA

So here is the latest changes in the game:
1. THE BIGGEST THING!!! The resolution of the game is now 512x360. This was made so the game can cover more resolutions and look good on most resolutions!!! This is the final resolution!!!
2. TAB, CTRL, ALT, SHIFT are added to the controls scheme. Now you can bid them appropriately.
3. The controls menu now has the mouse fully working. When you click on a button in the controls remap menu the selector (the purple window) will move the that key. This was made to avoid confusion. Thanks to the guy that suggested it!




Things to keep in mind:
1.The mouse is working properly only in the controls remap menu!
2. The start and pause menus look empty and ugly now because I have just converted them to the new resolution. They are next in line to be fixed.



TO-DO list!!!
1. Fix the players attacking animation with the short weapons. He needs to be more quick and powerful.
2. Redo the equipment menu. This means to remove the sprites and code the text so I can change it easily.
3. Add joystick controls.
4. Add more save states.
5. Finish the Castle park area.

Please keep the feedback coming!

EDIT: Need to ADD a notification in the controls remap menu that you can't return to the previous menu if you have UNBINDED buttons. It seems people are confused with why can't they quit the options menu both in-game and in the start menu.
If you have any problems with that please test it and tell me. For example you have all buttons mapped (NOT one button has the text "No Key!!!") and you still can't exit the controls menu.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 07, 2017, 11:50:47 PM
People I need your help.

Could you test the control remap menu and see if there is possibility to have ALL buttons mapped but still unable to go back to other menus. Basically I want to know if people can get stuck in this menu!!!

Thank you in advance!!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: aensland on March 08, 2017, 02:16:49 PM
Even after re-maping the button layout to different keys, I don't get stuck on the menu.

Also, this demo is fun, my only issue may be the hitbox of the attacks, specially with enemies like the crawling eyeball, it's really narrow.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 09, 2017, 12:01:37 AM
Even after re-maping the button layout to different keys, I don't get stuck on the menu.

Also, this demo is fun, my only issue may be the hitbox of the attacks, specially with enemies like the crawling eyeball, it's really narrow.

This is good news. I have added a red cross to appear on top of the button that is not mapped so be more obvious.

I will have to review the hit-boxes of the enemies.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 11, 2017, 02:06:20 AM
I have redone the short attack of the player (daggers, fist weapons etc.) because players complained that it was too stiff.

Is it better than the old one?

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FN4prv8b.gif&hash=c9f523af72a2c29cfe3f2d11d92ef82e)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: VladCT on March 11, 2017, 03:54:16 AM
It does look like he's putting more of his back into it, yeah, though you could add a motion blur effect to make it more fluid.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 11, 2017, 04:34:23 AM
It does look like he's putting more of his back into it, yeah, though you could add a motion blur effect to make it more fluid.
Yes I think I will add one more frame of him holding the dagger (stab) and add some transparent trail withe the same color as the blade. That will give me more options for  additional animation effects etc.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Jop on March 11, 2017, 06:38:02 AM
its my idea or the character looks like he walk with only one leg? by the way i like all the work you do, i like that the jump have different heights, I was planing to make a video on my chanel but didnt have the time to do that.
  The game dosnt recognize my control but i think its okey since my controll its so weird, i use a extern program to use it, in one part it gives me an error and was with the armored skeleton, i hit with the big sword and that gives me that error, i wasnt capable to reproduce the error again, if i found it again i will send you the image so you will know what happen.

 Nice Work  ;D.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 11, 2017, 08:59:26 AM
its my idea or the character looks like he walk with only one leg? by the way i like all the work you do, i like that the jump have different heights, I was planing to make a video on my chanel but didnt have the time to do that.
  The game dosnt recognize my control but i think its okey since my controll its so weird, i use a extern program to use it, in one part it gives me an error and was with the armored skeleton, i hit with the big sword and that gives me that error, i wasnt capable to reproduce the error again, if i found it again i will send you the image so you will know what happen.

 Nice Work  ;D.
Thank you!
Next thing is to fix the walking animation.
I will see to the error.
The game does not support controllers for now. Only keyboard.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on March 11, 2017, 10:10:43 AM
Quote
its my idea or the character looks like he walk with only one leg?

I mentioned this as well earlier on. Glad somebody else noticed it too.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 12, 2017, 06:20:19 AM
I mentioned this as well earlier on. Glad somebody else noticed it too.

I have just found that ALL this time the player walk animation was skipping frames and that is the reason it looks like that. The bad idea is I do not know why it does that! No matter how many images I add the sprite frames are limited. I have to do a research and fix this shit.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on March 12, 2017, 11:12:50 AM
Try not to worry dude. You're doing a good job with your game. Best thing you can do is give it your all  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 12, 2017, 12:38:28 PM
Try not to worry dude. You're doing a good job with your game. Best thing you can do is give it your all  :)

Solved the issue :) Sometimes the coding (even if I am just a beginner) is just so damn frustrating!!!

Onwards to fixing the walking animation!!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 18, 2017, 08:52:01 AM
Hello,

Great progress to the game :)

I have corrected the walking and the animations!!!

Also today I have made my MAP!!!

Here are 2 screenshots:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FSpnOOsw.png&hash=07114282ddf8e9e97b8c17593d446503)

and here

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FuJ3GUSi.png&hash=6e850ce845b7d480846c915e5aceea17)



Some explaining for the map!

This is only for testing!!! The map will have its own menu and it will be the whole screen!
The map will be a little different due to my coding skills limitations.

When you enter a room you will discover it in the map, the WHOLE room no matter how big it is! Also the marker that shows where you are on the map will be in the center of each room . It will not show your precise location. You will just know in which room you are!!!

When I think about it it will be better because the game will not hold your hand much :) Many secrets will lie in the castle to keep adventurers busy.

One of my latest ideas is to have certain monsters special attack to DESTROY specific HP and MP potions right from your inventory!!!

More updates coming in the future.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on March 18, 2017, 10:54:49 AM
Oooo a mapscreen  :D  Now we won't get lost.

Quote
One of my latest ideas is to have certain monsters special attack to DESTROY specific HP and MP potions right from your inventory!!!

Oh dear god, my potions!! No!!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 31, 2017, 12:47:57 AM
After little vacation I have sat down and decided to buy Spine 2D.

I wanted this so I could create nice monsters and bosses like the Great Armor in Castlevania AoS or any other bosses like in the other games.

I found out that this is called Skeletal animation.

I did a test and got some sprites from the golem from Castlevania DoS. Attached a platform on his knee and it worked. The player is able to climb on the golems leg :)

I have much to learn how to do the animations properly and synced with the movement. This is the hard part but I am willing to learn :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on April 09, 2017, 11:19:55 PM
After many attempt I made my first test object a golem or more like a boulder with legs!!!

Its steps are real-like just like any big Castlevania armor,golem etc. and the player can climb on it and move with it!!!

This open new possibilities for interesting boss fights or normal enemies :)

Here is the test result:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC-hNS462X8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC-hNS462X8)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on April 21, 2017, 01:29:06 PM
Update!!!

Damn job not giving me much time to work on the game ;(

Finally Controllers support!!!

I have tested Xbox one and a cheap controller for 10$ (has the same layout as PS3 controller). Both work perfectly!

Also I added a configuration for the controller buttons as well.

What do you think for those controller mappings:

The only button available for remap are the 4 buttons on the right side A/Cross, B/Circle, Y/Triangle, X/Square and the four shoulder buttons.
Also there will be one more button that will allow to switch the movement between the analog stick and the directional pad.
The select button is for the MAP and the start button is for the entering the menu/inventory and exiting. They can't be remapped because that would be stupid :)

You can change those buttons anytime from the start menu and from the pause menu inside the game!

I have tested it and even in mid game if you disconnect and reconnect the controller it will work just perfect. I even tried to connect it when I was remapping a gamepad button and it still worked.

What do you think about this key remap? I am asking because I read that many people are confused when rebinding keys on both keyboard and gamepads.

The updated demo with the full controller support will be done soon. I still need to make the separate menus for this :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on April 23, 2017, 11:37:14 PM
The controller buttons you suggested sound good from here. So long as I can input what buttons do what then I'm good to go  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on May 19, 2017, 02:13:25 AM
A little update :)

The controller support is done! I hope that it is ok. Need to test it with PS3/PS4 and Xbox 360.

The menus are ready but the last week I was fighting with VERY very bad memory leaks!
Today I fixed them!

Also need to add slots where to keep the save game. I am thinking of 3 slots is fine. This will require more work but I have the basic idea.

After I post the demo I hope that you guys have different controllers and will tell me which controllers are working fine :)

BTW what controllers do you own?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on May 19, 2017, 09:59:02 AM
I own several controllers as I was looking for the right one since proper D-pads for PC seem to be rather hit and miss in this day and age. I own an XBONER (XBOX 1) PC controller, XBOX 360 controller, and a SNES-styled 8Bitdo gamepad. I used to own a Gravis gamepad but the rubber membranes inside kept disintegrating on me which caused all sorts of issues, namely sticky keys. Can't tell you how many gravis pads I bought that failed on me. They work for other people obviously, but just not me for some reason.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on May 22, 2017, 07:53:41 AM
I own several controllers as I was looking for the right one since proper D-pads for PC seem to be rather hit and miss in this day and age. I own an XBONER (XBOX 1) PC controller, XBOX 360 controller, and a SNES-styled 8Bitdo gamepad. I used to own a Gravis gamepad but the rubber membranes inside kept disintegrating on me which caused all sorts of issues, namely sticky keys. Can't tell you how many gravis pads I bought that failed on me. They work for other people obviously, but just not me for some reason.

Currently I am trying to make a PS3 controller work but I tried one and it was not working at all with the game. Then I read that you must use additional software with the PS controllers since they are not recognized properly by Windows.

That makes sense since Xbox and normal USB controllers work without a problem right from the start. Have to investigate this.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on May 27, 2017, 07:14:35 AM
After so much time my new demo is finally here!!!

New features:
1. Full controller support! I have tried with couple controller just in case and everything seems fine on my end! Waiting your feedback! Just please when sharing feedback please tell me your controllers model!

2. Save slots! Yes, there are 3 save slots now! When you are in the start menu and you press either the start or the load button you will go to the slot data menu. There you can pick one of the 3 slots available!

3. THE MAP! I have implemented a map feature in the GAME! Also I lied in my previous post that the map will only show you the room you are in! How sinister! The map will show your location in the room and what you have explored of the room!


Those things listed above gave me nightmares ... real nasty ones because I have done those things for the very first time.

I expect bugs and I hope you can assist me in finding them!

A couple of explanation for the controls so bare with me please!

When you enter the game in the start menu you will see 2 new buttons. One named keyboard and one Gamepad. Those are the respective key configuration menus for the controller and the keyboard.
VERY IMPORTANT: You CAN'T go back from the controls menus IF there are UNBOUND BUTTONS!!!
You can use the reset button to bring them back to default!

There is a legend inside the menus but I will say it anyway.

-For navigation you use the D-pad or the analog stick.
-For selecting a button to rebind it you use the "SELECT" button on your gamepad (they ALL have one :D ).

For the player movement you can use the D-pad or the analog stick they both work at the same time. The select button is used for entering the map AND exiting the map. The start button is used for entering the pause menu and going back from the menus!

For selecting stuff use the JUMP and the ATTACK buttons (the ones you have chosen).

Here is the link for the new demo and I will also update the first page!
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzRohquxGIULUmxpbFNOMTc0eFk
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on May 27, 2017, 11:12:25 PM
Gave the latest demo a try and the controller mapping is working. Had to do a little investigating to figure it out but it didn't take very long. I did encounter this issue while in the garden stage. I fought an armoured skeleton and this message cropped up.

Quote
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of  Step Event2
for object skeletonknight_weapon_obj:

Unable to find any instance for object index '103109' name '<undefined>'
at gml_Object_skeletonknight_weapon_obj_St ep_2

Not sure if this is something that was missed accidentally or has yet to be fully implemented. But either way your game's coming along nicely  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on May 28, 2017, 02:43:34 AM
Gave the latest demo a try and the controller mapping is working. Had to do a little investigating to figure it out but it didn't take very long. I did encounter this issue while in the garden stage. I fought an armoured skeleton and this message cropped up.

Not sure if this is something that was missed accidentally or has yet to be fully implemented. But either way your game's coming along nicely  :)

I think I have fixed the issue. If you have the time could you kill some of those skeletons again. I think it is because they die when their sword is still existing.
Here is the build you can use your previous save :)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzRohquxGIULTnRfaHYyb2NhamM
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on June 01, 2017, 10:59:14 PM
Success. Cleared the skeleton knight without a game bug happening.  :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on June 24, 2017, 02:31:12 PM
RichterBelmont12 reported to me that he noticed something odd. He said that when he entered the room with the Short Sword (and the axe armor, the room just before the balcony in the very start of the castle) the sword was NOT there. Then he REentered the room and the sword has spawned.

This is very odd and very scary for me. I have tried this around 20 different ways - after players death, after save, after many restarts and the sword was ALLWAYS there if it was NOT picked before that!

Anyone else who played the demo experienced the same thing? Please because this is very important because it might mean that my loot collection system is not working properly!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on June 25, 2017, 12:44:27 AM
I've not seen this happen in any of my play-troughs however that doesn't mean it won't happen to someone else. Best to keep at the issue till its solved.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on June 25, 2017, 03:41:39 AM
I've not seen this happen in any of my play-troughs however that doesn't mean it won't happen to someone else. Best to keep at the issue till its solved.

I will ... but the issue is that I can't reproduce it ;( Tried some more times today on the same build (the demo build) and the sword spawns every time.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on June 25, 2017, 10:27:46 AM
Hmm... Tough call I guess. Maybe someone else will report the issue should it happen to them.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Jop on June 26, 2017, 08:23:37 AM
RichterBelmont12 reported to me that he noticed something odd. He said that when he entered the room with the Short Sword (and the axe armor, the room just before the balcony in the very start of the castle) the sword was NOT there. Then he REentered the room and the sword has spawned.

This is very odd and very scary for me. I have tried this around 20 different ways - after players death, after save, after many restarts and the sword was ALLWAYS there if it was NOT picked before that!

Anyone else who played the demo experienced the same thing? Please because this is very important because it might mean that my loot collection system is not working properly!

Nothing, I play like 5 times and that dosnt happen, when I have more time I will try again but for now that dosnt happen to me.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on June 29, 2017, 12:52:53 AM
These are good news :) I will continue for now. I have just made a new attack type - spears, lances, polearms :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 13, 2017, 01:36:29 AM
Long time has passed without any updates of my project.

It is slow really slow. I had to change jobs and it was very stressful experience :(

But here are some updates on CoN if anyone is interested.
(https://i.imgur.com/1AWR2Cg.png)

This is the Skull Lord (I have yet to give him a name!) he is the second boss of the game and he will have phases. As you can see his first form is a whole skull. The gold fragments below are to be his crown. After you do enough damage to him he will burst and he will become the broken skull with dripping lava.

Other very important thing is that I have to change the native resolution of the game ONE more time!!! The FINAL-final resolution is 640x360 and it will scale perfectly on 16:9 ratios. On all other there will be black bars left, right and (maybe) top and bottom.

This opens new space to add things in the menu. I am thinking of adding another equipment slot and redesigning the equipment a little.

That free space really opens new possibilities for more stuff to put in the menus.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Jop on September 14, 2017, 07:11:14 AM
Looks good, I was thinking in an Idea of a big skeleton but cant think in something good, this is perfect :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on November 15, 2017, 12:59:10 AM
One of these days I have to start working on this game again.
The problem is that I have a job and fiancée and Nintendo Switch.

However there has been some nasty bug fixing. The player could get stuck in tight places.
I have worked a little on the player transformation because you know he would love to learn spells that allow him to turn into a spider or some other wicked thing.

Other than that it is slow.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on December 26, 2017, 03:30:08 PM
I need your help guys!!!

I have ported my game to Game Maker studio 2 but I have the following problem. When I start the game it runs extremely slowly. If I alt+tab and return to the game it runs perfectly at 60FPS. The problem is with the graphic card I think. If I run with my intel integrated the games runs ok with minor slowdowns but if I run it on my Nvidia 960M if I don't alt+tab and return the game runs at 3FPS.

Could you guys test it on you PCs and tell me your results. PLEASE!!!

Here is the link to the build - https://drive.google.com/open?id=11MWPcDfAbivszylbN0UqbzNmYx_jj3UE

I have already filed a bug in Game Maker Studio so I hope they fix that because I do not get that issue with the older Game Maker Studio 1.4.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on December 27, 2017, 09:24:10 AM
I only noticed a slight cosmetic issue with the graphics on the entrance bridge. Four blue blocks and that's it. In terms of slowdown that did not happen. How up to date is your PC?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on December 27, 2017, 09:49:50 AM
I only noticed a slight cosmetic issue with the graphics on the entrance bridge. Four blue blocks and that's it. In terms of slowdown that did not happen. How up to date is your PC?

This is not graphic issue I just forgot to remove the blocks of water it was for testing as well as the elixirs and the skeleton. Also the first boss has 1 HP and you can one shot him :) Also the spear weapon is not coded yet to hurt the enemies :)

My PC is up to date with the latest updates and my Nvidia drivers are the latest. It is very weird issue. As I said I can bypass it my pressing the windows button or alt+tab, basically anything that minimizes the game.

I am happy that this is not global problem :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Jop on December 27, 2017, 12:22:21 PM
Well works fine for me :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvkwjHyp954 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvkwjHyp954)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on December 27, 2017, 01:00:51 PM
Well works fine for me :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvkwjHyp954 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvkwjHyp954)

Nice!!! Then I guess I will continue with the development.

I have to change the start menu and include the new equipment slot. At least I am happy to see that the new resolution is well :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Chernabogue on December 28, 2017, 10:04:16 PM
Looking good! :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on December 30, 2017, 06:59:04 AM
I found some time to sit and do something for the game.

I thought that I need to make some new additional graphics for the Castle entrance and the "kitchen" area. So I draw some corpses and a special items for the kitchen boss room.

This is the Crematorium that will be on the background. This is static image but when it is in-game it will have hell fires in the fire place and many of the pipes will exhaust smoke or drip some blood.

(https://i.imgur.com/31gDLsn.png)

I have also drawn some holes for the walls that will be filled with the favourite Grag "material".
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on December 30, 2017, 10:46:44 AM
Looks good  :D  The castle kitchen area (specifically the boss chamber) was a bit lacking in background aesthetics, however this will no-doubt make it stand out.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on December 30, 2017, 01:06:30 PM
Looks good  :D  The castle kitchen area (specifically the boss chamber) was a bit lacking in background aesthetics, however this will no-doubt make it stand out.

This is exactly what I am trying to fix :) Here is a screenshot of the whole room remade with animated smoke and fire in the crematorium oven.

(https://i.imgur.com/NrazuSv.png)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 26, 2018, 12:24:01 PM
After some time I worked on some new environmental things in the Castle Kitchen. Also I have made the kitchen bigger.
Now you can't go right at the first boss first you need to find a way to open the door that leads to him.

Here are the things that I made with some difficulties:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5o88Enox2E (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5o88Enox2E)

The rotating skeletons were quite difficult since I had to attach the legs and hands separately.

The conveyers were easy to do but the gravity of the corpse parts was difficult.

There also many more drawn things.

I also implemented the Relic slot in the equipment menu:

(https://i.imgur.com/6DCtHq0.png)

This slot of equipment will allow Erhard to make his spells better and discover more secrets in the Castle.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on January 26, 2018, 06:10:41 PM
Saw the vid and it's looking good! Having some of those little tid-bits helps to flesh out the area more. Kinda like what we got in SotN.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on February 28, 2018, 04:49:27 AM
Decided to share some of the new weapons that I have been drawing:
(https://i.imgur.com/D4aoimy.png)

From left to right you have:
Almec, Great Mace of Quetzalcoatl (2-hand mace with Air attribute)
Seraphos, Archangel's Might (2-hand sword with Light attribute)
Glacius, the Ice Needle (1-hand sword with Ice attribute)
Iron Gauntlet (fist weapon with Normal attribute)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Belmontoya on February 28, 2018, 12:55:36 PM
Holy Seraphos that thing is a beast!
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on March 09, 2018, 12:07:29 AM
YoYo games confirmed that Game Maker Studio 2 will now be available for Nintendo Switch. That means that I will definitely port the game there as I own GMS2 :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on May 19, 2018, 10:40:27 AM
Hello everyone! I am not DEAD! :D

I am working on the game. Not as much as I want but I am still making progress!

Some new things. I have added a new section in the pause menu called "Lore". There you can find an archives that contain lore relics (scrolls, tablets, pages). Those items do not affect the gameplay but they will tell you interesting stories or help you in your journey into the castle's depths. Many of them will give you clues in solving puzzles. Some of them will contain some kind of art pages. I have made this just to make the game be more atmospheric and lore heavy.

Here is the first draft of the Lore menu:
(https://i.imgur.com/rhy9MKz.png)




I have also updated the bestiary page! Now it will contain the Loot table of the selected enemy. The enemies will have 0, 1 or 2 items. The item will be displayed after its first drop just like in our beloved Castlevania games!

Here is the first draft of that menu too:

(https://i.imgur.com/SMYq2gY.png)


I have fixed so many bugs!

Unfortunately my cheap controller is giving me problems and soo I might be forced to buy a new one and better one like xBox or something.

So this is it! I am still progressing with the game and I plan to be more involved in it and try to dedicate more time to it.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: PyramidHead on June 01, 2018, 11:29:00 AM
It all looks great as always! Want to play it :). How's the progress overall?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on June 02, 2018, 08:55:22 AM
It all looks great as always! Want to play it :). How's the progress overall?

Currently I am fixing bugs with the menus and drawing new stuff.

I MUST redraw and redesign some enemies in order to fit the progress of the game. Also some environments must be redrawn as well.

After ALL this I will release the so called FINAL demo of the game. And from then I will update only with videos and pictures.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on June 02, 2018, 10:00:52 AM
Damn, you've been working on this 6 years now?
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on June 02, 2018, 10:45:11 AM
Damn, you've been working on this 6 years now?
No. I started it 6 years ago. I had 2 big breaks for 1 year each because I did not know how to fix some problems. Then I had smaller breaks some for 3-6 months. Then I learn some more and continue. The whole thing is around 1 year of work.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: X on June 02, 2018, 11:54:46 PM
That's the beauty of ongoing projects like these. They help you to learn things and you get better as you progress.
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on June 03, 2018, 01:40:40 PM
Those are screenshots of Grag redesign.

(https://i.imgur.com/A6HTaRy.png)

Here he is using his big mouth to spew toxic gas from his body.


(https://i.imgur.com/gcZ3wd5.png)

Here is his new death animation. At the end he will blow up and there will be parts and corpses everywhere :)
Title: Re: "Castle of Nightmares" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on October 24, 2018, 12:27:15 AM
I consider of changing the name of the game to Castletopia. It is more fitting the game and I searched for it and it is not used in the gaming industry I think.
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on December 23, 2018, 03:27:50 AM
Hello everyone!

The official name of the game is Castletoria. Soon I will start developing a website for the game as well. I will NOT stop posting the updates here!


I have been busy because I was taking courses to become Front-End developer. I must continue to study and develop Castletoria!


Here is my latest work! A mysterious dead cyclops in the castle kitchen:


(https://i.imgur.com/1HyRAwZ.png)

Happy holidays to everyone!!!
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: VladCT on December 23, 2018, 07:28:15 AM
Gee, thanks, wasn't planning to sleep tonight anyway. :v

Seriously though, nice job.
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: X on December 24, 2018, 09:19:16 AM
They needed the extra meat from the look of things.

Good luck on your studies Zuljaras  :)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: golpebaixo on December 31, 2018, 10:53:45 AM
It can get spookier:

(https://i.imgur.com/gp6KpqM.png)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Jop on December 31, 2018, 04:18:16 PM

Here is my latest work! A mysterious dead cyclops in the castle kitchen:

(click to show/hide)

Happy holidays to everyone!!!

I want to know what kind of creature kill him :O
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on January 01, 2019, 05:40:51 AM
I want to know what kind of creature kill him :O

The Castle "kitchen" is the domain of Grag the Lord of Gluttony. Everything "manufactured" and filled there is for his indulgence.
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on April 22, 2019, 05:38:46 AM
Long time no update people!

Castletoria is progressing!

I have re-done, re-draw enemies and graphics. I have planned the castle areas and some of the bosses.

There is so much to be done!

Here are couple of things I have added to the game:
1. Castle Kitchen is now properly renamed Halls of Pain. It is also a separate area now. Grag resides here as some of you remember him.

2. In the spells menu now you will have second selection menu which is called Enchantments. This is separate from the Spells menu and it is only for passive spells. Expect many supportive spells here. You only need to select an Enchantment and it will be active as long as it is selected.

3. So many bugs fixed.

4. Axe Armor now called Haunted Armor is redrawn and it is so much better than the last iteration! Same with the Zombie death animation!


I am near a proper tech demo.

I want to release it so much but I have to polish it a little!

I hope people are STILL interested in the game.

Also I am thinking of making Achievements tab in the game as well.

That is for now!
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: X on April 22, 2019, 06:50:12 PM
Quote
I hope people are STILL interested in the game.

That there are  :)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Chernabogue on April 25, 2019, 08:57:37 AM
That there are  :)
Yup! :)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on May 23, 2019, 06:43:12 AM
Continuing development.

Right now I am focusing on the intro of the game. The start of the story.

I have drawn the first picture of the intro. I am still new to drawing with a tablet but with time it will get better.

(https://i.ibb.co/Hpn2N9X/castletoria-intro-1.png) (https://imgbb.com/)

I have also made many code changes! The player now has air attack sprites to be more "accurate"
 looking when attacking in the air!
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on July 07, 2019, 02:17:12 AM
Continuing with the Intro drawing. It takes longer than expected but in the meantime I have made a plan with the Castle areas and the progression items.

Here are 2 of the Intro pieces:

(https://i.ibb.co/HTzQgK4/castletoria-intro-4.png) (https://ibb.co/Jj7Pkct)



(https://i.ibb.co/vVhjy2s/castletoria-intro-7.png) (https://ibb.co/QpkKSs8)


I also made so the save files are unreadable in order to prevent manipulating the values.
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: X on July 07, 2019, 10:24:08 AM
Nice images  :D
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on July 18, 2019, 02:40:30 AM
A little reference to Lament of Innocence :)

(https://i.ibb.co/c6gMjTQ/castletoria-intro-8.png) (https://ibb.co/3prGnhc)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: X on July 18, 2019, 09:19:49 AM
SotN had a similar image with Alucard  ;)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 25, 2019, 03:36:59 AM
Damn guy it is slow!

I had a vacation and work related stuff!

Next week I will start working MORE and HARD on Castletoria!
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on September 29, 2019, 09:09:38 AM
I'm still intersted. :3
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on October 25, 2019, 05:52:56 AM
Done some more work on the intro sequence!!! Just a couple more pieces left!

(https://i.ibb.co/PrmfBxH/castletoria-intro-9.png) (https://ibb.co/51MfqTH)
(https://i.ibb.co/Syc6rHL/castletoria-intro-10.png) (https://ibb.co/W50Ht7T)
(https://i.ibb.co/frkjvnK/castletoria-intro-11.png) (https://ibb.co/7rns4RT)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on July 17, 2020, 02:16:24 PM
Long time no post!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXGxeKcUoU0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXGxeKcUoU0)

I have done the intro and fixed countless bugs! Super annoying bugs.

There days I got around to drawing stuff to make the castle Entrance more unique (less generic!).
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 26, 2020, 12:49:46 PM
So I have started drawing concept art for Castletoria.

(https://i.ibb.co/m0DPGqs/solarion-concept.png) (https://ibb.co/BGzYtZD)

This will be one of the bosses. It is a caged solar entity that will be releases as you fight it. It will be in the Astronomy tower.

One more concept of an undead paladin but I do not know where to put it.

(https://i.ibb.co/Ph4YRsn/undead-paladin-concept.png) (https://ibb.co/0MZXkpS)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: X on September 28, 2020, 09:23:51 AM
You could save the undead Paladins for the more later stages. He could show up as a boss character mid-way through, then later-on become a standard enemy near the last segments of the game. He looks powerful so that's what I'm figuring. Paladins are in essence holy warriors so maybe a cathedral or a crypt stage..?
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on September 28, 2020, 09:54:56 AM
You could save the undead Paladins for the more later stages. He could show up as a boss character mid-way through, then later-on become a standard enemy near the last segments of the game. He looks powerful so that's what I'm figuring. Paladins are in essence holy warriors so maybe a cathedral or a crypt stage..?

He could definitely fit in the crypt or the cathedral stage but not a as a boss as I already have the bosses pinned.

Here is a sneak of the castle areas:

1. Castle Entrance

2. Halls of Pain

3. Garden of Sorrow

4. The Cellar

5. The Library

6. Chapel of Lost Faith

6.1 The Dark Cathedral

7. The Graveyard

8. The Crypt

9. The Catacombs

10. The Alchemy Tower

11. The Clock Tower

12. The Astronomy Tower

13. The Royal Quarters

14. Forgotten Mines

15. Haunted Caverns

16. Deep Grotto

16.1. The Trench

17. Cyclops Cave

18. Forbidden Arts District

19. Forsaken Prison

20. The Sewers

21. The Armory/Arena of War

22. Master Chamber

23. Banquet Hall

24. Castle Treasury

25. The Frozen Depths

26. The Scorching Crater

27. Darkbeard's Cove


They are not in the order of which you will discover them :)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: X on September 28, 2020, 06:09:38 PM
That's a lot of stages  :o
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on October 29, 2020, 09:46:25 AM
That's a lot of stages  :o

I know but I will add some more because I have other ideas flowing as well.

Some areas will have their own secret themed "quests".
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on April 13, 2021, 10:50:35 AM
Hello everyone!

I have been busy still porting the game to GMS2 from GMS1.4.

In the meantime I did some design sketches of bosses/enemies in Castletoria!

1. The Gold Smelter - This is normal enemy that inhabits the Forgotten Mines. A slave that dies during smelting gold for the treasury. He will sprinkle molten gold in an arc if Erhard is near.

(https://i.ibb.co/mczLbDT/The-gold-smelter.png) (https://ibb.co/CH0km18)

2. Pirate King Darkbeard. The boss of Darkbeard's Cove area in the castle. A ghost pirate with a ghost ship ofc. HArrrr!!! Maybe LeChuck long lost cousin? :D

(https://i.ibb.co/9bLQCzt/Darkbeard.png) (https://ibb.co/Byx0SdN)

3. Nuzadin the Master Genie. He is the guardian of the Vault in the Castle's Treasury!

(https://i.ibb.co/gV5QLPJ/nuzadin-castletoria-design.png) (https://ibb.co/rsCqRcH)

4. Cavadun the Corpse Collector. He is the boss in the Catacombs area of the Castle!

(https://i.ibb.co/M1X5Ryq/Cavadun-the-corpse-collector.png) (https://ibb.co/HPJprLm)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: X on April 13, 2021, 05:36:50 PM
Nice ideas  :D
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: Zuljaras on June 13, 2021, 04:51:52 AM
(https://i.ibb.co/25DB15s/spritework.png) (https://ibb.co/1bDxtbd)

I started doing my sprites on ProCreate on iPad and it is surprisingly good as I am not bound to a desk anymore :)
Title: Re: "Castletoria" - In Development!
Post by: X on June 13, 2021, 10:43:42 AM
Some of those sprites remind me of classic arcade games!  :D