Topic: CASTLEVANIA THE LECARDE CHRONICLES II April 2017

[Belmontoya]

Suddenly I thought I'd like to see a place in the game where I can just blow several dozens of enemies away, not too much, two or three will be OK, but I think it can cure players' desire of breaking stuff if such place exists

  I'll be waiting for your information when you make the refined demo public
And two important and serious questions: Was freedom keyboard key mapping and adjust-able jumping height done?

Sounds like someone might have upgraded to the mace in the demo huh? Oh man... You're in for some fun. There are crowded corridors of undead in the full game waiting for your fury.

The final demo has some big changes from the version you played, and as I said Mig added the diagonal downward attack. I even added a little more music! Some bugs were addressed as well. However, any additional changes to gameplay Mig makes I imagine will be dependent on player feedback, and what can work within the balance he has created for the game. The addition of the diagonal downward attack had a ripple effect on the balance and some enemies had to be changed. Any possible further changes will have to be carefully addressed to not throw off of the game and delay our progress.

I want to remind people that LC2 is not meant to play exactly like SOTN. It is paced more like Rondo of Blood, has entirely new mechanics, and is in the sum of its parts, more of its own beast.

When it is released keep in mind that it is only 3 levels, and that Efrain gains many abilities throughout the game.

Keep a close eye here and on our twitter my friends. We'll be releasing the demo any day now!

[eryson]

I know that the game is planned to be longer than the first (what is indeed a long game), but I really expect LC2 to be a very long adventure, with more places and different atmospheres because, eh, I love these games that seems to be some sort of 2d action travel

[Aceearly1993]

Well...Belmontoya you mean the jump control cheme in Lecarde Chronicles 2 is not meant to play like SotN/DS titles at the first place right? Got it.

I'm still worrying if the freedom keyboard key mapping was ready. I myself have no trouble but there're voice of pain from keyboard-only players since Lecarde Chronicles 1 was out.
One would say Extended key tools are good, but in fact they can't be a forever-deal with anything

Well, now is the moment I can expect the awesomeness and keep my interest fresh

[Belmontoya]

Well...Belmontoya you mean the jump control cheme in Lecarde Chronicles 2 is not meant to play like SotN/DS titles at the first place right? Got it.

I'm still worrying if the freedom keyboard key mapping was ready. I myself have no trouble but there're voice of pain from keyboard-only players since Lecarde Chronicles 1 was out.
One would say Extended key tools are good, but in fact they can't be a forever-deal with anything

Well, now is the moment I can expect the awesomeness and keep my interest fresh

Castlevania with a keyboard!?

That's like playing a guitar like a piano with it resting on a table. Sure you can play that way, but it's awkward as hell and you just can't rock out like that!

I think the best way to go is the Logitech F310 USB controller. It works great for LC2. Just plug it in before you open the game and it's good to go with the perfect button layout. It's $20 and available everywhere.

I'll be using that controller and plugging into my living room tv and playing that way. Pretending I'm playing a rare long lost Castlevania game on an obscure console. ;-)

[X]

I think the best way to go is the Logitech F310 USB controller.

I used to get these. But for some reason all the controllers suffered from sticky keys amongst other issues. So I'll just use my 8-BitDo Pro SNES controller. That's if LC2 will acknowledge it though.

[Aceearly1993]

Castlevania with a keyboard!?

That's like playing a guitar like a piano with it resting on a table. Sure you can play that way, but it's awkward as hell and you just can't rock out like that!

My original question is "Was freedom keyboard key mapping  ready?" and I want to hear the direct answer.




Maybe a too-much-worrying thought, but keyboard-only Castlevania players did exist, and several are really loving this project, LC2.

[Dracula9]

I beat LC1 on keyboard just fine until I got my current controller.

Might not be as preferable as the controller IMO but it's certainly doable.

[Aceearly1993]

I used to get these. But for some reason all the controllers suffered from sticky keys amongst other issues. So I'll just use my 8-BitDo Pro SNES controller. That's if LC2 will acknowledge it though.

You mean when you press left and the d-pad sometimes reads upper left, right? It did cause several problem, especially in Lecarde Chronicles 1. (air floating→air dash   ) I read controllers with this kind of problem as faulty ones. I finally decided to plug a different PS2 controller with USB port

Or another kind of sticky buttons that buttons would stuck at one place for times when press down? I read this kind of controllers as faulty either

I'm not a keyboard only player myself but the choice may heavily depend on specific games. I have no trouble beating more than 99 rounds in Castlevania Chronicles with keyboard but finally decided to pick controller for LC1
This time I prepared several SNES style USB controllers and 3rd party PC controllers just for LC2. (I'm curious about the quality of d-pad and is a controller killer myself)
Not able to find Logitech F310 USB controller in local shops at my region, but it'll be soon to order one online

[Castle34hk]

From twitter: The LC2 demo will be out soon

https://twitter.com/migami_games

Cant wait to try it

[Belmontoya]

My original question is "Was freedom keyboard key mapping  ready?" and I want to hear the direct answer.

Maybe a too-much-worrying thought, but keyboard-only Castlevania players did exist, and several are really loving this project, LC2.

The direct answer is that I don't know at this point. I correspond with Mig 1 to 2 times a week and our recent messages have been flooded with questions and content between the two of us. I can't overwhelm him with too much at a time. If he doesn't come on here and answer the question himself, I will ask him about it in the next round of e-mails.

I have 2 Logitech F310 controllers and have never had an issue with button sticking or any issue at all for that matter. The SNES controllers are nice too though!

[X]

You mean when you press left and the d-pad sometimes reads upper left, right?

Or another kind of sticky buttons that buttons would stuck at one place for times when press down?

Yes and yes. I had to take apart my controllers just to fix the issues, but they continued to persist after a time so I gave up on em.

[Belmontoya]

 The demo is now available! We hope you all enjoy it!

 Visit our website to download it.

http://the-mig-page.wifeo.com/

[Claimh Solais]

Yooooo! Definitely gonna give it a playthrough and do a write-up on it to give you guys some feedback. Pretty excited!

EDIT:
Couple things from the few minutes I played of it. Note: I only made it as far as Medusa before I accidentally shut the game off.

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• "Independently" is spelled wrong on the opening flash screen.
• The rings you grab onto to swing onto other platforms have a really small area to grab onto them. The first area you see them I found myself jumping right past them way too often.
• Your health drains way too fast when underwater. Couple this with the above point and I was taking way too much damage at the start of the demo.
• Is it just me, or are the jumps across the spikes after the water area a bit too far? No matter how much I tried I couldn't cross them in a single jump and fell into the spikes.
• Having literally every falling piece of rubble damage you is quite annoying. It's already bad enough the first few can hit you multiple times for a lot of damage. I consider those somewhat fair because you can see them coming. But a couple times, such as when you beat the first boss, there's no indicator the roof will cave in, and I got hit with that. And after Death appeared, all those statues broke and did damage to me. If my health were just a little bit lower, I would've been dead, and that would've been a very unfair death.
• Having "ESC" completely exit the game is kind of annoying. I figured it was going to be the pause button but it shut the game off completely. This is about where I stopped playing. lol

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This is also a bit of a personal point, but I was taking so much damage from enemies that I didn't even realize I was wearing powerful equipment until the scene with Death. I realize is scene is supposed to be similar to the beginning of SotN, but it didn't convey the same feeling to me.

In SotN, you're fighting off not only zombies and mermen at the beginning, but this huge wargs as well. And you're killing everything in one hit. You wouldn't take damage here except for a hit or two, maybe, but extensive damage didn't happen to you unless you actively tried to take said damage.

Here, enemies were frequent. And then you had a platforming challenge with the water and spikes that I pointed out above, as well as the falling rubble that can do a lot of damage. There's a mid-boss fight that is pretty easy to take damage in because Efrain has pretty big hitboxes, and afterward another piece of rubble lands on your head. And as you're leaving, more rubble begins to fall which I was hit by, and then outside, Death knocked the pillars over which also hit me and then he took my equipment. Skeletons suddenly became really tough because it took me like 6 hits to kill them now.

Basically, in SotN, at the beginning, you feel powerful. Everything in your way is a joke, and suddenly Death gives you a wake-up call by taking your stuff away. Afterward, you're left to fend for yourself and the difficulty ramps up a bit and you feel on-par with the enemies around now.

I didn't feel powerful here. I felt reasonably equipped for what I was fighting. When Death took my stuff away, I felt weak as a result. I wasn't even aware I had a powerful weapon until Death swiped it away from me.

Note: This is just a personal complaint. I don't know if anyone else would feel the same, and not really asking for a change here.

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That aside, now let me point out the good things I thought about the game.

-The gameplay is solid. The original had a sort of stiffness to it, and just didn't feel right. Here, while the feeling isn't perfect, I still feel like I'm playing a Castlevania game. Jumping, attacking, moving, it all feels solid. It feels fluid. Genuine.

-I was worried when watching trailers and such that the large graphics would make the game harder to play. I was wrong. Never does Efrain or the enemies feel like they're taking up too much of the screen. Unlike the first game, all enemies and hazards are easy to see, so if an enemy hit me, it felt fair. It was my fault I got hit.

-The music is fantastic. I'm not saying this just to seem nice or anything. Like, that music is phenomenal. All throughout, I was enjoying the hell out of the soundtrack. I'd rank it up there with the likes of SotN's or LoI's soundtracks, which are some of my favorites from the main series.

-The level design so far is nice. I only got as far as the Medusa fight before I hit ESC and accidentally closed the game. But while visually the environments aren't anything spectacular, they're designed well. I always know where I'm going. Traps and enemies are easily seen. Even after the first mid-boss, I immediately knew to begin backtracking down the hall. So absolute kudos for giving the game proper conveyance.

And lastly, just a quick question. Are the button layouts for controller designed with a specific controller in mind? I do like there's actually an option to remap the buttons yourself this time (IIRC, this option wasn't in the original? Or am I remembering wrong), but I don't like that I can't map movement in the game to my controller's D-Pad, which forces me to move with the analog stick (I use a wired X360 controller). Is there anyway to add in a function for that?

I'll be giving it a full playthrough later, when I'm not so busy.

[Belmontoya]

Thanks for the feedback claimh!

Thanks for the kind words on the ost. It means a lot to me!

"Fuck" is all I can say about the spelling error. It was a last minute decision to add that screen at the beginning and it didn't get checked. It got by a lot of people though! Lol. We will correct it. That's so embarrassing...

While I can't address all of your critiques directly I can assure you that we read, and take into account everything you guys say. There will be pros and cons, and we appreciate it all. Thank you!

This game has only been played on a few different computer set ups before today, so we are expecting that some people will have problems. Just remember this is not the final product and Mig will address what he is able to! He cares very deeply about giving the fans a worthy CV game.

Heads up. ThePlotTwist reported issues with Xbox controllers. If you have another brand controller to use, use that.

My Logitech works perfect and puts movement on the d-pad without any adjustment.

Mig will look into the issues. But we hope that issues aside, you guys have fun and get the warm fuzzy cv vibes from the demo that we do. We all know it's been too long since we've felt those.

We hope sharing this demo is a positive thing that helps make the final release more enjoyable!

[Dracula9]

Note: Still playing, post will be updated as I go along.


BUGS:

*Kneeling near the moneybag in the town well causes you to get immovably stuck and forces a restart. Seems to be that you crouch just close enough to the slide-required hole for the game to register that you're actually within that space, and since you don't have the slide yet you can't get back out of it. Haven't tested this on other similar spots, mostly because I don't want to be in the middle of a good run and force a reboot.

*"Continue" option seems to randomly decide that you chose "title screen."

*Can't access the submenu. At all. Assigned buttons don't do a thing, so all the potions I've stocked up on are completely useless, which makes the below issue of damage balancing even more of a problem. Not sure if this is a bug or not, but it's pretty frustrating that I'm stuck with one-going the entire thing every time I load a save.

*Fallen ceiling debris still hurt me even when it was fading away.

*My neato coolguy sword spinning around (like a record, baby) when Death steals it. That thing better have Boomerang powers when I get it back from him. #boomerangsword2017 #discosword2017 #deadoralivesword1985

GRIEVANCES/ANNOYANCES: (disclaimer that these are personal thoughts and should be taken as such)

*The tracking on those little rock-thrower bastards is a bit too much, I think. There doesn't seem to be a clear window to successfully dodge them without the rock readjusting its trajectory to hit you midjump. I don't think I can just chalk it up to me sucking at dodge timing (Souls has forever made me git gud at that), as I've tried jumping at multiple different points in his animations, and I only successfully dodged like two of the rocks. The rest readjusted my position as I jumped and left it impossible to evade them in time. Ducking seems to work better for dodging them when you're close enough to them, but evasion by jumping is where the problem lies.

*Those cursespitting blob things on either side of the rope in the inn basement make it rather outlandishly difficult to get back up the rope if you don't have an Axe, Hearts to knife the rightmost one from the ledge, or are unable to use subweapons thanks to them cursing you. If any or all of those conditions are met, then it doesn't seem possible to be able to jump onto the platform, get up the rope, and sword them before they attack. While it's presumably expected that the player will kill them as soon as they do down the rope, I didn't even see them at first thanks to them being awfully similar to the desaturated grey backdrops. But I am colorblind, so that could be to blame.

*The damage balancing is more than a bit ridiculous. I get that you're supposed to be weak and lacking your better armorstuffs, but I'm having serious trouble just progressing because of it. The worst offender is the barbs in the Dark Forest hitting you for 12 damage, especially the part where you have to jump from ring-platform-ring and hope you're fast enough to avoid the Skeleton to the right knocking you into the pit. If you do fall into that pit, you're basically fucked if you're not immediately within jumping range of the safe platforms, since otherwise a single jump isn't enough to get you anywhere safe and you'll run out of I-frames midjump and just get hit again. I've died about nine times this way and it's actually slightly hampering my desire to keep playing. It's not like it's within the realm of reason to expect myself to survive the caves and leaf-men to follow if I'm running on 4 HP.

*Echoing the problem of "analog-only" controller shenanigans.

THINGS I ENJOYED:

*Music is fucking on point. That compliment of Yamane's was well-deserved indeed. Feel like a kid again walking around a cleared room/area just to listen to it.

*Other than a few minor things like aforementioned ring-jumping having less power than a standard jump, "Sweet spot" timing on grabbables, etc., controls feel pretty solid overall.

*Ambience and general atmosphere is excellent. Much nicer to see a heavier usage of darker tones than in the first game.