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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => Fan Stuff => Topic started by: Archdemon on June 17, 2009, 01:11:41 AM

Title: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on June 17, 2009, 01:11:41 AM: As of now, I am conceptualizing a homebrew project, specifically: a remake of LoD in 2D.
This doesn't quite mean "What would LoD ~look~ like in 2D?" but rather "What would LoD be like had it been ~developed~ in 2D?"

Keeping this in mind, I get the impression that since LoD was developed after SotN, and if, say, the developers hadn't had to cope with a new 3D setting, the game could have been kind of similar to SotN in some ways, perhaps retaining the RPG-ism, the metroidvania levels (as opposed to LoD's more linear levels), and the smooth controls.

The fighting system might have been more complex. I might eventually take some liberties with the design, and implement a number of features such as a 'move combo' system. I thought that it might be different to have a castlevania game sporting a fighting-game styled combat system.
Initially, I want to focus on improving the aspects which received more criticism.

This project does not imply that I also am a critic of the original LoD. I am, in fact, a fan of both N64 titles, and to me they are like works of art. I, however, see tons of potential in the games, so I think they deserve a remake.

I'll be using this thread as a hub for any ideas, which will be added to the list below:

General Ideas
////////////////////////////////////////
-make the stories slightly more involved and less cheesy.
-last subweapon stays on the stage for a little while. The game remembers what lvl each subweapon was, unless you die. also, if you save, it still remembers.
-cornell's transformation will be cooler and more effective. It will be able to be toggled. the other characters will have item crashes or something.
-increase the number of day/night puzzles, and make it like CV2 where stronger monsters come out at night.
-cornell's village when he comes back from training, as a playable level.
-enemy health bars
-kojima's drawing style (currently teaching self...), pics needed (a lot!):
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 17, 2009, 06:03:21 PM: You could ask Darkmoon at the Inverted Dungeon/CVRPG.
He could give you hosting if you're doing Castlevania-related stuff.

You can find his site at www.inverteddungeon.com
or www.cvrpg.com
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Reinhart77 on June 17, 2009, 11:44:19 PM: How do you envision Cornell's basic moves? Would he use the ranged claw attack, how far would it go? There could also be more melee moves for him like in the LoD town intro. And then of course there's the claw slash and the moves he has in Judgment. Basically, which of those moves would you assign the normal "attack" button to, and how would the other ones come into play if at all?
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on June 18, 2009, 06:37:14 AM: ok, thanks, i'll look into that, but first i better get a good concept going.

Quote from: Reinhart77 on June 17, 2009, 11:44:19 PM
How do you envision Cornell's basic moves? Would he use the ranged claw attack, how far would it go? There could also be more melee moves for him like in the LoD town intro. And then of course there's the claw slash and the moves he has in Judgment. Basically, which of those moves would you assign the normal "attack" button to, and how would the other ones come into play if at all?

well i'm thinking about making the fighting system more complex, so i think i'll allow for combos.
the basic fighting controls will be split into the primary and secondary attacks like in LoD, a slower, strong, ranged primary attack and a faster, weaker, short range secondary attack, and you use the two controls in a certain sequence to utilize different combos (of about 5 moves), each of which will have a different finishing move which can be drawn from the moves in judgement or whateva, how does that sound?
this way, it will also give the game a fighting system similar to that of some simple fighting games. i think thats a good thing, because there isn't really much to be built on in the ways of fighting systems in this game, since there are no spellbooks, or souls, or ds cards, etc.
the ranged claw attack will probably go as far as reinhart's whip maybe? it will be cornell's primary attack as in LoD. his secondary attack will be his claw slash (which is his 'secondary' attack in LoD), but when you press a certain sequence of these moves, he will execute different things, like kicks, punches, etc.
in addition to that, there will be the unique toggled move, (cornell's will be the beast-form), reinhart's could be maybe imbuing the whip with some element? i need some ideas here...and there will also be the subweapons.
so, all in all there are no big changes to the controls other than the move combo system. there are still only four buttons to use: primary, secondary, subweapon, special toggled move.
i'm also thinking that the 'upgradeable subweapons' system from LoD can be improved on (as in, the more subweapons you collect, the stronger they are). i find a flaw with that system, being that if you get a large number of one subweapon, then decide you want to use a different subweapon, then you have to start collecting all over again. can anyone think of a way to improve this?

i'm also thinking about retaining the LoD's 'interact' control, so when you run into items or doors or levers, they don't get picked up, or don't open automatically, or get activated.

i haven't actually played judgement yet, i might watch some vids or something of it, so i can get some combo ideas.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on June 18, 2009, 07:52:33 PM: Quote from: Archdemon on June 18, 2009, 06:37:14 AM
so i think i'll allow for combos.

I believe some of LoD's charm, and a reason some people like it, is that it was simple one hit moves that were reminiscent of 2D Castlevania.

I would be weary to tamper with that aspect of the game.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Aridale on June 18, 2009, 08:07:55 PM: For some reason I thought this was 2D LoI...
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on June 19, 2009, 06:54:32 AM: Quote from: uzo on June 18, 2009, 07:52:33 PM
I believe some of LoD's charm, and a reason some people like it, is that it was simple one hit moves that were reminiscent of 2D Castlevania.

I would be weary to tamper with that aspect of the game.

hm, yeah you've got a point there, well then first i'll just make it as similar to the original as possible; then i might deviate and play around with the systems a bit.
its going to be a 2d remake of the game, but i also want to add something more to it.
if, say, i didn't add this proposed move combo system, what else could i implement into the game, if anything at all, that would make it more interesting? or is it really that necessary?
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on June 19, 2009, 11:21:08 AM: I think transitioning the game into 2D is quite enough change in itself.

I believe it would be interesting if you adopted the DX movement style for this game. You cant move back in the air much anyway in CV64.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on June 19, 2009, 05:22:22 PM: Quote from: uzo on June 19, 2009, 11:21:08 AM
I think transitioning the game into 2D is quite enough change in itself.

I believe it would be interesting if you adopted the DX movement style for this game. You cant move back in the air much anyway in CV64.

you have a point there, and the characters walk with stiff movements as well.
however, another point to note is that LoD and 64 came out after SotN, where the awkward controls had been fixed. if I keep to my original question, you could presume that the games would have been rather like SotN in style, had they been 2d. this also means that a lot of LoD's systems would have been far more complex, much like SotN. I mean, in LoD, they didn't retain SotN's rpg aspect at all, they didn't have equippable accessories and weapons etc, and the levels were linear. I'm presuming, that they thought the transition to 3d was enough to deal with, let alone making it like SotN. if this hadn't have been the case though, they would have improved certain things such as making the levels more metroidvania-styled, and adding random features, such as bossrushes etc.

so, really the question 'what if LoD had been 2D?' does not really mean 'what would LoD look like as a 2D game, retaining all its original characteristics', but rather 'what would LoD have turned out like, had it been developed in 2D instead of 3D?'
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on June 20, 2009, 07:38:09 AM: Ah, I see what you mean there. There is a lot of room for leeway there. Including bringing back hearts :)
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Aridale on June 20, 2009, 09:06:14 AM: I got a relatively barebones engine for GM6 if ya need a jumpin point
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: fallenangel86 on June 22, 2009, 09:00:22 AM: The way it was setup, I would have figured it makes more sense to make a platformer out of it. Then again, with those stages with the stores, I suppose I could see where the current direction of the series might sound like a better idea.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on June 25, 2009, 12:56:47 AM: sorry, guys, i haven't been active for a couple of days, study<<< bleh.

Quote from: uzo on June 20, 2009, 07:38:09 AM
Ah, I see what you mean there. There is a lot of room for leeway there. Including bringing back hearts :)

so you think i should bring the hearts back? i'll consider that, however i find them just a little bit random, and they could be detrimental to LoD's horror-ish atmosphere.

Quote from: Aridale on June 20, 2009, 09:06:14 AM
I got a relatively barebones engine for GM6 if ya need a jumpin point

cheers man, i did make my own platform engine in GM7, but if your engine is more castlevania-geared, then i'll have a look at it. thanks a heap. ah, this brings me back to something i've been contemplating: how to go about actually making the game. i have two options in mind.
-i can use GM7 proficiently, but i'm concerned about gfx features and speed.
-i could use another 2d engine (perhaps with 3d capabilities like the SotN engine) which could perhaps be faster, more compatible, and have more features. 2 i can think of are allegro and HGE. both use c++, which is my language of choice.

Quote from: fallenangel86 on June 22, 2009, 09:00:22 AM
The way it was setup, I would have figured it makes more sense to make a platformer out of it. Then again, with those stages with the stores, I suppose I could see where the current direction of the series might sound like a better idea.

yeah, i know what you mean, but i think it will be okay, since the layout of the LoD world isn't really metroidvania, its more like CV2 where there is no real central 'hub', so i think making it a challenge to try and find the store in each level would be something to build on maybe.

ok, i've got another point for discussion: certain levels such as the maze level, would be hard to redesign in 2d. As for the maze, I could perhaps make the maze have layers, but that sounds a bit weird for a hedge maze, or i could make kind of passages and doors which you can travel into, by pressing the interact button. this comes to yet another question: should i keep the linear passage structure of other castlevania games (i.e. entrance at either end of the passage), or should i have doors inside the level (in the background) which you can walk through?
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on June 26, 2009, 02:03:55 PM: I found the Abandoned Mine creepy as shit, despite that hearts still came out of the candles.

As for doors, and such. I believe it would be fine to add in background doors, much like Castlevania 2 did, and OoE did in the village. In fact, I would encourage it to be done.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on June 26, 2009, 05:00:16 PM: Quote from: uzo on June 26, 2009, 02:03:55 PM
I found the Abandoned Mine creepy as shit, despite that hearts still came out of the candles.

As for doors, and such. I believe it would be fine to add in background doors, much like Castlevania 2 did, and OoE did in the village. In fact, I would encourage it to be done.

ok, are there any more reasons why you'd prefer the hearts over crystals?

ok, thanks, i'll add background doors to the list.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Aridale on June 26, 2009, 05:50:52 PM: crystals never felt right to me. It just doesnt feel like CV without hearts
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on June 27, 2009, 10:17:10 AM: Hearts are the traditional candle drops. Its been so for generations, and Bloodlines eliminating them was lame. You just don't mess with series staple icons.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on June 29, 2009, 12:45:13 AM: alright. decided, hearts are comin back. i'll change the list.

i'm going to keep the white 'save' crystals though. i'll make them look cooler, like part of a fountain or sculpture or something, and when you save, they do something similar to what they do in the 2d castlevanias.

ok, next i want to discuss whether the music remixes should retain the 'ambience' of the originals, or to be more traditional styled. the disadvantage of making the music less ambient would be its detrimental effect on the the horror theme.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 30, 2009, 06:43:48 PM: In Reply To #18

I have MP3 arrangements of "The Sinking Old Sanctuary" (the Art Tower), and "WatchTower" (The Castle Wall).

Let me know if you want 'em.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 01, 2009, 01:16:12 AM: Quote from: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 30, 2009, 06:43:48 PM
In Reply To #18

I have MP3 arrangements of "The Sinking Old Sanctuary" (the Art Tower), and "WatchTower" (The Castle Wall).

Let me know if you want 'em.

thanks man, i'll keep that in mind. your remixes are awesome.

btw, the remixes in the homebrew gotta have a consistent style, and i actually need a remix of every single song in the game plus a few more i guess.
i just wouldn't want to group your remixes alongside a ton of amateur ones.

about how long does it usually take you to make each remix?
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on July 04, 2009, 08:18:47 PM: In some ways the lack of music in CV64 was kind of lame. It seemed to be more lazy than lending to the atmosphere. Music can add more atmosphere than silence. Even if its ambient music, or just something simple.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 04, 2009, 11:45:02 PM: hm, i guess SotN styled remixes would be the way to go. i'll probably use the original soundtrack first to see how ambient music would fit in 2d, and then maybe make a switch to a more SotN-like style.
regarding this, i'll probably rely more on the graphics, and the color pallet to express the horror mood.

anyway, lets discuss something more productive, um, about the improved subweapon upgrade system. the flaw i see is that if you want to switch your subweapon, you have to start collecting all over again, to upgrade your subweapon. perhaps i could switch it with a subweapon 'training' system where you have all of the subweapons to begin with but just 'upgrade' them from finding more throughout the game?

also, should i keep the 'powerups'?

another question: should the game be cross platform, or is just windows fine?
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Aridale on July 05, 2009, 06:02:26 AM: In Reply To #22

if you could get it to run on psp too thatd be the shit. =D
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 05, 2009, 07:39:11 PM: In Reply To #23

lol. we'll see.
i guess cross-platform games attract more players...

alright then, in that case i'll use sdl. its gonna be tough, but its the best solution for cross-platforming. also, there are ways to port it to psp (taking your suggestion seriously here ;D ). ok, i've got some learning to do ;)
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on July 05, 2009, 08:04:08 PM: I suggest not worrying about multiple platforms. The likely hood of you getting even one working single platform demo is low. Try just getting anything working. Don't set your goal too high, or it'll never happen.

There are only an exceptional minority who can really make a large feature filled game with no budget and spare time.

You cannot make a game on a whim. It is something that must be in your blood. Something that you are completely deticated to. It is a monumental amount of work, and if you dont love every minute of it, you will fail to reach your goal.

As much as I hate to say it, using limited, "quick & dirty", and "do it for you" programs like Game Maker or Multimedia Fusion might be a better route for you to go. You cant just "learn SDL & C++" in a few weeks. Its a very long process, that could take years on your own.

Though, if you really use your spiral energy, maybe you can become one of the minority who can do the impossible, see the unseeable, and break the unbreakable.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 06, 2009, 12:27:21 AM: In Reply To #25

awesome way to put it. ;D

i completely understand what you're saying, and its true that i'm only halfway through learning c++, but if you can spare some faith in my abilities, i'll dedicate my best effort to this project. learning stuff that i'm psyched about is one of my strong points. ;)

well then, i'll see what i can do...
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Aridale on July 06, 2009, 08:20:27 AM: The biggest problem isnt dedication its burn out and roadblocks. Ive started countless projects and havent finished a single one all because Ive either got completely burned out and lost interest or hit some kinda roadblock that I couldnt get around and completely drained all my interest in continuing. I dont just mean my own games like your wantin to make here but everything including this and mods for other games (Ive a shit ton of stuff for Oblivion)
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on July 06, 2009, 02:25:28 PM: Quote from: Aridale on July 06, 2009, 08:20:27 AM
The biggest problem isnt dedication

Quote from: Aridale on July 06, 2009, 08:20:27 AM
Ive either got completely burned out and lost interest or hit some kinda roadblock that I couldnt get around and completely drained all my interest in continuing.

This is where dedication comes in. If you have it, you can forge your way through road blocks. If you do not have it, you quit.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on July 06, 2009, 03:43:42 PM: The weapon upgrade system of LoD was great.
The way you should have it is, the game remembers whether you're Lv2 or Lv3 at a Subweapon, unless you die.

If you save, it still remembers (unlike the real game in the N64, which would forget about your upgrade, much to my chagrin).

That means that if you collect three of every subweapon, you should be able to switch between 'em all by picking up a fourth, and they'd still be powered up. Hopefully you won't die though... 'cuz then you'd lose all the upgrades, and that would suck.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on July 06, 2009, 04:26:59 PM: Also would be cool if your last sub weapon stays on the stage for a little while like Dracula X. I hate to get a knife by accident when i had a triple cross.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 06, 2009, 06:32:03 PM: ok thanks guys. i'll add the stuff to the list.

alright, now i need some ideas for the plot to go with the extra quest featuring charlie vincent as the playable character.

also, i want suggestions for a new name for the remake. it must allude to the original title (Legacy of Darkness). e.g. Dark Legacy, or something lol
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on July 08, 2009, 06:04:46 PM: CASTLEVANIA GAIDEN
Return to Darkness
[/b]
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 08, 2009, 10:44:09 PM: hey, not bad. i was actually thinking along the lines of 'gaiden' myself, cos of the name of the japanese version of LoD which has 'gaiden' in it.
well, i can't think of anything better myself, but is it ok to deviate from the 'something-OF-something' structure of the other titles?
ok, so if i don't get any more suggestions before i design the title screen (which could be in a rather long time), i'll use this.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Aridale on July 09, 2009, 11:11:01 AM: my biggest question to you is: where do you plan to get all the graphics for this? These chars have never been in 2d before so their gonna need all new sprites
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 11, 2009, 01:15:04 AM: well, i admit that that is also my biggest question regarding the project.
unless i can find someone skilled and dedicated enough to create all the ingame graphics for me, then i can only see me doing it all myself. that would take a long time and might not look very good, cos i'm not very good in that area. i'll see what i can do...

btw, the default video res is going to be around 1024x768, so the sprites are going to have to be quite detailed.

ok, so i know that all of this sounds a bit unrealistic at the moment, so please bear with me.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: uzo on July 11, 2009, 08:37:37 PM: Quote from: Archdemon on July 11, 2009, 01:15:04 AM
btw, the default video res is going to be around 1024x768, so the sprites are going to have to be quite detailed.

You will never get this game to a demo if you're seriously considering that. There is a reason most professional companies don't even do this. Too much time, even for high budget titles, even with a complete staff of professional artists.

Continue down this path and you're not going to even get off the ground.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 12, 2009, 10:25:08 PM: yeah, ok. sorry, i realise i'm getting a bit carried away with all these ideas lol...
ok, i thought a bit, and i thought that since i'm definitely going to try and use the psp port for sdl, i'll use the psp's screen dimensions of 480x272, thats a bit more reasonable, maybe...?

ok, and while i'm here, i want to ask some opinions on whether i should utilize 'blocking' in combat. there are 8 usable keys other than the d-pad, so there was an extra key to be used, so i decided that 'block' could be used. this would be a deviation from classic castlevania fighting systems, but would alude to the concept of a 'fighting game' style combat system, also linking to the idea of judgement.
if i did use 'blocking', i'm not sure whether there would be much use for it. uses would include: cut damage from attacks in tight situations (not complete negation, cos thats lame), guard crushes, and other than that, it would be kind of lame in a 2d platform game with tiny sprites.
so, if anyone can think of a better function for that button, i'd like to have some ideas.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Aridale on July 13, 2009, 07:30:25 AM: In Reply To #37

Id make the screen res somethin basic maybe a widescreen res but small then make the image scaled to fit the window size. Then you can port it to whatever size screen or resize the window to whatever size and the game will look fine. Of course itll look stretched or pinched if you make the window some crazy size but itll still look and play fine
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 14, 2009, 08:27:11 PM: ok, thx for the suggestions, i'll think about this.

um, this is a bit early, but another thing i'm thinking about is items, should i just keep the roast beef and chicken, or add extra types of things for restoring health?
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Aridale on July 14, 2009, 10:42:41 PM: In Reply To #39

well theres plenty of food item sprites from the various games... maybe make em have a random sprite assigned when its created and base the name and stuff off that. Or types that restore the same amount of hp just get a random sprite and named based on it
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Venkman on July 16, 2009, 10:44:53 AM: I would like 2 see some 2d charicter sprites, ik ther is that really cool Dungeon Forums banner, but some full sheets would be neat, if i had the skill id make them lol, but u know how that goes lol
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Archdemon on July 17, 2009, 04:13:43 PM: ok, another thing i'm wondering about is whether i should keep the classic 'powerups' from the original, or should i use levels and experience points like any other metroidvania?
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Phil Belmont on October 26, 2011, 03:06:58 AM: I hope someone will do this game in 2D ! That's one of my dream :)

I did this in few minutes with ''Photofiltre''

(http://i46.servimg.com/u/f46/12/46/01/66/castle46.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=486&u=12460166)
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Donvermicelli on October 26, 2011, 05:54:57 AM: This idea sounds cool.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on October 26, 2011, 08:18:45 AM: I can certainly make the sprite.
That old sprite of mine needs some heavy work!
Also, Holy Thread Necromancy, Batman!
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: X on October 26, 2011, 11:28:55 AM: Quote
ok, another thing i'm wondering about is whether i should keep the classic 'powerups' from the original, or should i use levels and experience points like any other metroidvania?

I'd hold off on the metroidvania thing for this project. Personally I'd like to see it as much akin to LoD as possible in order to help preserve what the game was. Not only to us as fans but also to the game itself. Just have power-ups along the way as they did in LoD or in a similar case, the classicvanias. If you need a good reference to how a 2D version of LoD would work out, then go play Rusty for the PC98. Like LoD you need keys to help you progress and you do find yourself backtracking throughout the level you're in, in order to proceed onwards. For the graphics you should check out The Spriter's Resource. They have ripped the graphics for CV64/LoD. Backgrounds, items, text, etc. They may or may not be what you want, but it won't hurt to peruse.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Phil Belmont on October 29, 2011, 05:13:28 AM: I did a new one !

This time 1st Boss in ''Forest of Silence''

(http://i46.servimg.com/u/f46/12/46/01/66/castle48.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=488&u=12460166)

EDIT

(http://i46.servimg.com/u/f46/12/46/01/66/castle49.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=489&u=12460166)

EDIT

(http://i46.servimg.com/u/f46/12/46/01/66/castle51.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=491&u=12460166)
I will do some on my free time ;)

EDIT

(http://i46.servimg.com/u/f46/12/46/01/66/castle52.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=492&u=12460166)
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Arcraith on November 23, 2011, 02:45:15 AM: yo. I'm actually the guy who started this thread, er, is it two years ago? :P
Sorry it must have seemed like I was talking big about making the CV:LoD remake, but honestly one thing led to another, I was living overseas at the time, and then I had to move back and afterwards got embroiled in exam hell, then started my first year of doing engineering at uni, but believe me when I say that I've been thinking about this project on and off ever since I stopped posting. One of the reasons I signed back up to the forums was because Phil here necroed this thread and I was still subscribed. Well done Phil ;)

So lately I've found myself some free time (it is the summer break here at the moment) and I decided that its time I got back into honing my amateur game dev skills. Up till when I last posted I'd been using stuff like Game Maker though, and I thought that I'd like to use this remake as an opportunity to try a more programming intensive method, since I am studying computer engineering anyway, itd be a big help to me.

So in the last couple of weeks or so, I've picked up C# and decided to use Microsoft XNA as the basis of my future 2D game projects. The only drawback is that the amount of stuff to learn and code is monumentally larger than, say, GM. At the moment I'm working on a tile-based game engine and a level editor to go with it, and though I'm well underway with that, it will be some time before I'm able to actually start on the remake, which I plan to have as my first project using the engine.

I must say I immensely enjoyed the n64 games regardless of what noises of derision anyone may care to make, and I have a good idea of how I envision a 2D remake of it in play. In the meanwhile if anyone has any general ideas, or is keen to help on anything except the coding (for now anyway), I'd really appreciate it. I started some threads in the General Topics section about death pits, face-on doors, best aspect ratios, and so on with this project in mind, so I'd be keen to see some discussion there! (or here if this case of thread necromancy will be overlooked :rollseyes: )

Something I want to discuss right away is a revamp to the subweapon system. The subweapons seemed to be the most interesting part out of the rather mediocre battle system in LoD, where the more of the same subweapon you collected, the stronger they became. Can anyone suggest any improvement on this?

And although I do want the remake to be faithful to the originals, I don't want this to be a graphical remake only in the sense that it is a transition to 2D, but maybe even a reinterpretation or overhaul of some parts of the game which could be better. As for the story and setting, I believe only some of the dialogue needs rewriting.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: TheouAegis on November 23, 2011, 07:37:45 AM: Well I'm with the guy that said keep it a linear platformer. Just because SOTN was metroidvania ddin't mean LOD was going to be one in concept. Dracula's Curse wasn't a metroidvania even though Simon's Quest was, so the logic there kinda fails. There was no reason if they wanted a MetroidVania that they couldn't have done it a la Mario64/PoR.

I was going to have upgradable subweapons in my game (if i ever make it). Since it'll be a sequel to LoI, boss crystals will upgrade the subweapons. You can either just make the subweapons deal more damage, or do like LoI and have them change form too.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: X on November 23, 2011, 10:29:02 AM: Jorge hasn't mentioned anything in this thread about Necromancy and it's been up 'n running for a while. So it's not something to worry about right now. In terms of the sub weapons... I don't see how they can be upgraded any more then they were in LoD. while it's true that LoI had the spell crystals, and depending on which crystal was equipped would allow for a different sub attack. In the end it's your call as you know what you want. :)
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Arcraith on November 23, 2011, 02:37:59 PM: :P He did:

Quote from: Jorge D. Fuentes on October 26, 2011, 08:18:45 AM
I can certainly make the sprite.
That old sprite of mine needs some heavy work!
Also, Holy Thread Necromancy, Batman!

Anyway I thought maybe since LoD doesn't have the double and triple shot items, I could add those, and perhaps have it so that you can have all types of subweapons on you at all times and can switch between them like Julius can in the Sorrow games.
Also I was thinking of extending the types of subweapons beyond just the standard, that is including stuff like the bouncy crystal thing, the ashes of saints whatever its called, and stuff like that.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: X on November 24, 2011, 10:42:32 AM: I just had a thought: You start out with all your sub-weapons, however you can upgrade them by collecting more of the same that you have equipped. I'll explain better; You have the Axe currently selected. You find an Axe sub-weapon after destroying a torch or candle. You collect the Axe and your sub-weapon becomes more powerful just like in LoD. And if you select another sub-weapon from your inventory you can upgrade them as well by collecting the same sub-weapon icon. And by bringing in the multiple shots as you mentioned you can throw more then one. Also by adding in all the other sub-weapons from SotN which you also mentioned, you could have them power up as well. this would allow you to get creative with them at a higher level of power.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Arcraith on November 24, 2011, 04:17:43 PM: Good idea and perhaps the more of a certain subweapon you obtain, the harder it is to obtain another one of the same type, and sometimes there will be some free subweapons sitting in difficult to reach places, and the player would feel like taking the risk to go and get them since they get increasingly rare. Perhaps you could even buy them from Renon at gradually increasing prices.
And in addition to a button to switch between the subweapons, different subweapons could be assigned to different keys. Though I do want to design the control system so that the game is able to be played using a gamepad, so might have to cut down on the hotkeys.

@TheouAegis:
I definitely agree that it should largely be a linear platformer, however some parts of the original game require backtracking and stuff which is interesting. For example the Forest of Silence where you have to backtrack to open gates, and the Villa where you do a lot of walking back and forth getting keys and activating events like the one with Rosa and stuff like that. And there is a lot of backtracking possibility with the Sun/Moon card system which could be expanded on. In a way its a little like Ecclesia and PoR where there are these small self contained metroidvanias. An idea I want to take from CV2 is that enemies get stronger and more plentiful at night, I don't know whether this is already the case the in 64 games.

Something I definitely want to preserve from the original is the slightly creepy atmosphere. Most of the later metroidvanias lack this sort of feeling, which I think all Castlevanias could really benefit from. I think its largely to do with the music and level design, the music which is really ambient and not upbeat like many of the tunes in other games.
And I think its reinforced by the slightly difficult control system, causing you to feel the tension while playing like the older games. Also the main characters aren't portrayed as nor play like uberbadass heroes who kick everything ass.
Also, the 64 games are pretty much the only ones which include lots of actual vampire enemies, which provides some creepiness because of the aristocratic horror setting. Pretty much the 64 games just had a darker setting, and that made them more like what I believe any CV should be like.

Also, skeleton motorcyclists are just plain win.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: TheouAegis on November 25, 2011, 03:39:04 PM: I'm on my 3DS so this will be slow. °з°

Drac's Curse had backtracking in the clocktower stage. ReVamp said it was the same stage but with a door where blanks were and blanks where doors were. But it had two copies of the rooms for both directions. Might take a little planning to pull off.
Title: Re: Castlevania LoD 2D homebrew anyone?
Post by: Arcraith on November 25, 2011, 04:51:48 PM: hm I might play through that again to see what you mean.

One thing I kind of need to decide now is the screen res of the game, the aspect ratio and the tile dimensions, so I can streamline the editor progress a bit. I was thinking about making it 5:3 with a native resolution of 800x480 with tiles of 16pixels square. How does that sound?