Castlevania Dungeon Forums

The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => Fan Stuff => Topic started by: Inccubus on November 20, 2010, 08:16:02 PM

Title: [Fan Games] Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Eggerland, Mario, Megaman
Post by: Inccubus on November 20, 2010, 08:16:02 PM
Update: This thread is going to cover all of my fangame projects. I'll be creating a Blog to go along with it as well since my friend is graciously letting me have hosting on his own Wordpress blog that I admin.

These are my projects:
*Castlevania: The Demon Castle (as is widely known by now, at least on this site.)
*Megaman: Power Up!! (Remake of the original Megaman that I've made mention of.)
*Super Mario Bros.: Adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom (A huge mash-up that will include the stages of SMB1 & SMB Special.)
*Eggerland Saga (Another huge mash up of all the different versions of all the Lolo games.)
*Final Fantasy: Soul of Chaos (8-bit remake of the anniversary edition plus some neat surprises.)

----------UPDATES----------

9/20/2013 - Progress on Eggerland Saga. Not much, but better than nothing.
http://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php/topic,2978.msg147286.html#msg147286 (http://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php/topic,2978.msg147286.html#msg147286)

8/8/2013 - Got some work done on Eggerland Saga. Grab an alpha demo of the movement engine here:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/oqkmabcp42deccs/Eggerland_Saga-Alpha-0.2.0.0.exe (http://www.mediafire.com/download/oqkmabcp42deccs/Eggerland_Saga-Alpha-0.2.0.0.exe)
This is very early and very bare bones. It's really just Lolo in room with four posts. You can move around and that's pretty much it. If any of you are feeling generous please download this demo and tell me if you have any issues.

----------UPDATES----------

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Esco on November 20, 2010, 09:56:56 PM
I have to ask why so many people are insistent on doing an 8 bit fan project, rather than a more current 32 bit 2-d one? 8-bit is extremely old and played out by now, but I keep seeing 8-bit Castlevania rehashes. So far I seem to be the only person doing one that is at least 16-bit, and I do not understand why with all the talent that there is out there.  :( :o
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: crisis on November 20, 2010, 10:10:23 PM
My guess is because some people feel intimidated by the coding it takes for the 32-bit style. I wish there were more hacks like that as well, but the 8-bit versions and 16-bit versions are still pretty great.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Profbeanburrito on November 20, 2010, 10:34:03 PM
I think this would be really cool if the levels were significantly different from their inspirations. It sounds like each level is ripped straight from one of 4 games, including the boss and music. I also agree that 16 or 32 bit would be better than 8, you could get more details, and it might make it stand out more. I hope you do go through with it, I feel like a lit of fans have good ideas for fan games, but don't do it or never finish it. I like the idea, so I hope we see some progress
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on November 20, 2010, 11:50:11 PM
Quote from: Crisis on November 20, 2010, 10:10:23 PM
My guess is because some people feel intimidated by the coding it takes for the 32-bit style. I wish there were more hacks like that as well, but the 8-bit versions and 16-bit versions are still pretty great.

I'll be programming the game with game maker, so the issue of the graphics style is completely irrelevant to the programming itself as far as fan games are concerned..
The choice of 8-bit style graphics is my preference (I'm huge into retro gaming) and it will be a lot quicker for me to work with.

Quote from: Esco on November 20, 2010, 09:56:56 PM
I have to ask why so many people are insistent on doing an 8 bit fan project, rather than a more current 32 bit 2-d one? 8-bit is extremely old and played out by now, but I keep seeing 8-bit Castlevania rehashes. So far I seem to be the only person doing one that is at least 16-bit, and I do not understand why with all the talent that there is out there.  :( :o

Retro is 'in' right now for whatever reason. Part of it though is probably that the simple graphics are easier to work with for more ppl.

I have to point out something that I've been wanting to ask.
Lately it seems ppl are using the term fan game for hacks as well as actual fan games, why is that?
The CV2 project going on right now is a ROM hack. Your own project, Esco, is also a hack. (Excellent work, BTW.)
My project is a from-scratch fan game as far as programming is concerned.
I'm not gonna be using or modifying any code from any of the source games.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on November 21, 2010, 01:53:12 AM
I'll be programming the game with game maker, so the issue of the graphics style is completely irrelevant to the programming itself as far as fan games are concerned..
The choice of 8-bit style graphics is my preference (I'm huge into retro gaming) and it will be a lot quicker for me to work with.

I agree about retro being the 'in' thing now. I would love to play a full fledged 8-bit CV game that isn't CV1, CV2 or CV3. I've played those game so I want to see and play something new that is still retro at it's best. There's nothing wrong about creating something that seems to be outdated by the mass' standards. working with such graphics and sprites is actually quite fun to do. Though the coding part is a pain in the @$$, the story, graphics and music are the fun parts...well...putting together music can be a bit of a challange but no less then anything else in terms of game making.  ;D

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on November 21, 2010, 01:06:47 PM
My main focus here is creating the definitive version of CV1.
The first factor affecting this goal is how the various layouts fit together. I am keeping in mind the possibility that I will have to add some transitional rooms between sections of stages that don't quite flow right. Fortunately, I have some ideas for some new bits and pieces I can add to beef up some of the shorter levels.

For example:
Ages ago I had designed a portcullis area that goes between right after the castle's drawbridge. Since I'm separating the entrance and main hall areas into two stages, I'd like to add this bit to make the entrance longer. Also, this new area will include a puzzle involving the portcullis at each side of the fortified wall that houses the drawbridge mechanism. Thus, the stage will look like this:
exterior area with drawbridge -> fortified wall with gate puzzle -> entry courtyard area with front door.

The second factor affecting the integration of the original layouts is the scale factors for the later remakes. The NES and MSX versions fit together perfectly with little editing needed to merge the rooms. However, the Haunted Castle stages are basically 2x sized in comparison to the 8-bit games and will have to be scaled down. (The 'blocks' in HC are 32x32 as opposed to the 16x16 ones used in CV.) I think what I will do for the HC stages is scale them down and then make new areas to beef up the length of the stages.

The trickier ones, then, are SCV4 and Chronicles. These two games didn't really scale up the proportions of the levels, but did make their respective Simons bigger and thus able to jump larger gaps that classic Simon could never manage. I'm thinking of three possibilities here either 1) I will edit the platforms to extend them where appropriate or 2) include an item from Vampire Killer to let Simon jump higher and farther or even give him the double jump or 3) Add more whip swing anchors where needed.

When all the layouts are done I expect the game to be 75% nostalgia and 25% wierd sense of this isn't quite the same place. And adding to that will be revised 8-bit graphics that are at least on par with CV3 that take advantage of advanced techniques from the later NES era like using multiple sprites to give the impression of more colors (like Megaman) and dark shading (like Return of the Joker).

Aside from the stage layouts, I'm also considering several game play aspects from other CV games that have been either popular or rarely used for inclusion. First, and foremost, is whip swinging. Obviously with the inclusion of SCV4 stages there comes the possibility of this much missed skill. I will plan on some minimal Metroid-vania aspects such as equipable items, relics, and a simple map feature. I'm also considering removing the timer in favor of a more heavily exploration based experience such as was with Vampire Killer. And lastly, multi-directional whipping.

Thought's?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on November 22, 2010, 02:03:07 AM
Ages ago I had designed a portcullis area that goes between right after the castle's drawbridge. Since I'm separating the entrance and main hall areas into two stages, I'd like to add this bit to make the entrance longer. Also, this new area will include a puzzle involving the portcullis at each side of the fortified wall that houses the drawbridge mechanism. Thus, the stage will look like this:
exterior area with drawbridge -> fortified wall with gate puzzle -> entry courtyard area with front door.


This sounds like the watch tower stage in CV64.

In terms of the removal of the clock, I see no problems with it. It never added much to the games themselves in terms of challange so IMO, there really is no need of it. Or you could try this (And this is an idea that I had for my classic CV game that I wanted to make), keep the clock, but render it's function so as to help benefit with the points collected at the end of each stage rather then it being your character's limited existance. The more seconds you have on the clock by the time you get to the end, the more points you rank up. The clock would simply be a score additive.

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on November 22, 2010, 09:01:53 PM
I really like that idea for the timer. It makes more sense than Simon spontaneously dying for no real reason. Thanks for suggesting it!

I'd like the points to be more meaningful too. Maybe they can be used for buying bonus content?
I'm sure ppl wouldn't mind some unlockable costumes and extra playable characters.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on November 24, 2010, 09:31:14 PM
Here's a mock up of stage 1 - The Entrance:

Edit: Removed for not as to reveal secrets.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Joachim on November 24, 2010, 11:00:08 PM
the level design isn't very interesting. play around with the long flat rooms; add some platforms, or pits, or something of interest. maybe not necessarily the first set, before the castle, as that can be effective in building mood, but c-d strikes me as kind of pointless.

d strikes me as more of a tech demo than anything else, the level design doesn't make any sense. the whip swings anchors are ultimately inconsequential.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on November 25, 2010, 12:31:05 AM
They look plain now, but when you apply the graphics, music, foreground obsticles and enemies, then it becomes something more exciting. These are just test blocks for Inccubus' soon-to-be levels. I can actually see how these levels would look if they were complete, but others might not. What I did (and still am) with the levels for my game is do a complete stage map in full size with all the graphics in place. While it's not very practicle for programing, it does allow you to see how you want the finished product to look like.

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on November 25, 2010, 12:46:21 AM
Thanks for your input, Joachim! ^_^

I may end up shrinking c-d as it it 2 different versions of the same area doubled up for the sake of overall stage length.
As a matter of fact the first 3 rooms of a-b are another version of these rooms. Perhaps I'll merge a-b with c-d and just make that area a bit longer and spice it up with a few non-environmental surprises.
Then I'll have the gate house go directly to d.

EDIT: I have a modified version of c-d from an old hack I started years ago that might just be the thing to spice things up!

It's funny you call it tech-demo-y. That is a modified area from SCV4 and that whole game is a little tech-demo-y at times. I added the anchors in that area in order to have them in the first stage and give that set of platforms at the beginning a purpose since you can't reach it with an NES type Simon. The area makes more sense with the graphics in place and actually reminds me a bit of the castle from Bram Stoker's Dracula (movie). D, BTW, ends at the front door to the castle. The last three screens of that area is analogous with a-b & the constituent parts of c-d, but I decided it fits medieval castle design better to have a courtyard between the gate/defensive wall and the main building. Besides that it is also the most different version of these rooms in the series.

That's right, X, it'll be less plain looking once the props are in place.
I'm not dong the full blown layout thing since I'm working off mostly existing stages that I already have the maps for.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Aridale on November 25, 2010, 02:29:11 AM
how are you gonna do the whip swingin? Thats somethin Ive never had any desire to even attempt to make
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Joachim on November 25, 2010, 02:52:06 AM
I was more referring to the random placement of the swing anchors than anything else. they serve no purpose other than to be there. its like something that you would make for a debug mode, to test out the physics, rather than put in any kind of level. sciv was mostly "tech-demo-y" in that it experimented with what the technology could do and played with it; but, it did so with tact and intrigue, its excursions into experimentation aren't awkward and fit well within the context of the game.

so its kind of a different kind of tech-demo-y?

i guess what i'm trying to get at is that every element in a level should be considered and should have a purpose or reason for being. the issue with the anchors is that they don't work with the rest of the level design; there's no reason for them to be there and as is they don't accomplish much. maybe instead you could build on the idea and have the anchors lead to a slightly different route in that particular room/part of the level, that you normally wouldn't be able to access? (also, try not to chain so many anchors together like that, it comes off as tacky and unnecessary).

i also don't recognize what room its edited from in sciv.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on November 25, 2010, 12:44:41 PM
Quote from: Aridale on November 25, 2010, 02:29:11 AM
how are you gonna do the whip swingin? Thats somethin Ive never had any desire to even attempt to make

I don't think it will be very difficult. I've been working out some of the geometry and arithmetic in my head.
I'll start by having a collision between the whip and the anchors that will switch Simon and the whip into swing mode.
Then I'll just have an object for each chain link that contains the variable for a script that tells it how it should behave in relation to the other objects in the chain and build from that.


Quote from: Joachim on November 25, 2010, 02:52:06 AM
I was more referring to the random placement of the swing anchors than anything else. they serve no purpose other than to be there. its like something that you would make for a debug mode, to test out the physics, rather than put in any kind of level. sciv was mostly "tech-demo-y" in that it experimented with what the technology could do and played with it; but, it did so with tact and intrigue, its excursions into experimentation aren't awkward and fit well within the context of the game.

so its kind of a different kind of tech-demo-y?

i guess what i'm trying to get at is that every element in a level should be considered and should have a purpose or reason for being. the issue with the anchors is that they don't work with the rest of the level design; there's no reason for them to be there and as is they don't accomplish much. maybe instead you could build on the idea and have the anchors lead to a slightly different route in that particular room/part of the level, that you normally wouldn't be able to access? (also, try not to chain so many anchors together like that, it comes off as tacky and unnecessary).

i also don't recognize what room its edited from in sciv.

Well, that platform at the beginning isn't accessible by jumping with an NES style Simon. So the point of the anchors is to reach that ledge. I just haven't decided yet what is going to be up there. I see what you mean about there being too many anchors. I guess I'll break things up by adding intermediate platforms.

I'm updating the layouts now...
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Aridale on November 25, 2010, 05:18:18 PM
well if you go like the LoI type swingin where you hit it and basically just swing really fast and detach it should be simple rotation but if you wanna do like CV4... thats gonna take a loooooot of work and you might as well try for the whole effect and make the CV4 limp whip
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on November 25, 2010, 05:23:39 PM
Yeah, I 'm planning on the limp whip too.
From the start I intended to incorporate things from CV1, VK, HC, SCV4 & Chronicles.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on December 02, 2010, 06:37:20 PM
Here are the final layouts with all sources of fire, doors, & entrances.

This DOES NOT include enemies, secrets, or scenery.

[removed]
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on December 03, 2010, 05:04:48 PM
That bottom pic of you level; F. That's the 'Dracula's front door stage' from CV4 isn't it? I thought it looked familiar.

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: CristopherLee on December 04, 2010, 10:26:59 AM
Looks good. Have you any sprites?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on December 06, 2010, 02:22:30 PM
That's exactly it X. Most of the recycled stages will be left alone except for fitting them into the scale of an NES game.

Thanks, Cris! I don't have any sprites yet, but that is the next step... wait, that's not quite true. Someone made some updated Simon sprites for me a while back that I will most likely use.

Check out this thread:
http://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php?topic=2516.0 (http://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php?topic=2516.0)
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on December 07, 2010, 04:29:00 PM
Here's some early in-game shots of 1-1 & 1-2 with temp graphics in place.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FStage1-1in-gametempgfx.png&hash=c3ae9efc4bf4e850b1e21a2a2f97a5855e7df3e8)

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FStage1-2in-gametempgfx.png&hash=acfefc647357c4ba4a4ac523ca339aa09d4da914)
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: HeliosCentaur on April 26, 2011, 05:31:01 PM
Do you have the player engine complete?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: TheouAegis on April 26, 2011, 10:13:41 PM
*NOTE: I'm not the guy making this game*

My player engine based on Trevor is nearing completion. I'm probably going about it completely differently than this guy, though.

As for doing swinging, just mess around with Bionic Commando. Study the mechanics and sprites and then take it from there. That game had one of the best swinging mechanics to date and it was an NES game!

And I just want to add to the issue about 8-bit games rather than 16-bit or 32-bit games. Personally, I hate 16-bit and 32-bit fan games.  Sure, they look nice, but they feel more dated than 8-bit games. I mean, all you see nowadays are 16-bit or 32-bit games whenever you play video games, so there's no novelty in a fan game of that bit depth. I enjoyed SNES and Playstation games when I was in college, but now I play mostly NES games because new games just don't feel fun to me.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on April 26, 2011, 11:10:08 PM
I enjoyed SNES and Playstation games when I was in college, but now I play mostly NES games because new games just don't feel fun to me.

What's old is new again. I know the feeling. Screen-shot looks good so far, keep it up  :)

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on April 29, 2011, 07:55:46 PM
@TheouAegis: Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to be working on this some more now that things have settled down for me some. Just got divorced less than two weeks ago and I've been too much of a wreck to work on any of my projects the last few months.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 12, 2011, 10:50:47 AM
Thanks to TheouAegis, I'm getting back into this project. His engine is going to save me a ton of time! Thanks for you work, TheouAegis!!
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on May 12, 2011, 01:51:53 PM
Let me know if you decide to use my MiniSprites.
Although they're not 3-color NES-Style, it looks like they might fit well within your game.  :)
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 12, 2011, 07:05:39 PM
Yeah, I'm going for a cross between NES and MSX styles for a slightly more updated look, but I may need a little color reduction so it doesn't look 16-bit. ... Or then again I could pull a Ninja-Gaiden-Trilogy and have a pure NES mode, an MSX mode, and a 16-bit mode.
The biggest thing is that I'd like the player to be able to choose between different costumes. So eventually I'd like to have a version of Simon in each mode with the different outfits he's had in the constituent remakes. That's a lot of sprites. We'll talk once this thing is actually playable.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: darkmanx_429 on May 21, 2011, 05:41:57 PM
Quote from: Esco on November 20, 2010, 09:56:56 PM
I have to ask why so many people are insistent on doing an 8 bit fan project, rather than a more current 32 bit 2-d one? 8-bit is extremely old and played out by now, but I keep seeing 8-bit Castlevania rehashes. So far I seem to be the only person doing one that is at least 16-bit, and I do not understand why with all the talent that there is out there.  :( :o
Your not the only one... ;D
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 22, 2011, 07:24:28 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on November 20, 2010, 11:50:11 PM
I'll be programming the game with game maker, so the issue of the graphics style is completely irrelevant to the programming itself as far as fan games are concerned..
The choice of 8-bit style graphics is my preference (I'm huge into retro gaming) and it will be a lot quicker for me to work with.

Retro is 'in' right now for whatever reason. Part of it though is probably that the simple graphics are easier to work with for more ppl.

I have to point out something that I've been wanting to ask.
Lately it seems ppl are using the term fan game for hacks as well as actual fan games, why is that?
The CV2 project going on right now is a ROM hack. Your own project, Esco, is also a hack. (Excellent work, BTW.)
My project is a from-scratch fan game as far as programming is concerned.
I'm not gonna be using or modifying any code from any of the source games.

That and I'm an 80's kid. I grew up with Atari and NES. Just be glad it isn't a 4-bit style project. LOL
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on May 22, 2011, 08:39:35 PM
That and I'm an 80's kid. I grew up with Atari and NES. Just be glad it isn't a 4-bit style project. LOL

There's nothing wrong with retro man! I'm also an 80's kid and I WILL play this game if and when it comes out  8)

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 22, 2011, 09:05:10 PM
Thanks, X. I hope you enjoy it. I just finished building the Second stage layouts this week, It's a massive recombining of all 4 versions of the Main Hall sans the courtyard area since that was expanded into a stage of it's own. It doesn't have a lot of new rooms, but by sorting out all the old rooms in a new lay out it should provide a new experiance especially for those unfamiliar with the rooms from say, the MSX version. And when I say massive, I mean it ended up being something like 50 screens with 2 main branching paths and some hidden areas.

I'm thinking something I can do to make the game feel a little more fresh is completely disregard the original distribution of candles, chests and keys and rebuild them from scratch. Maybe do the same with enemy placement too. What do you guys think?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on May 22, 2011, 09:07:27 PM
Sounds like a plan.

Also, the original games did not have vertical areas.  Perhaps it would be cool if you incorporated more of them into the stages, that way you can have upward-branching paths, sort of like in Harmony of Dissonance or the towers from Dracula's Curse.

I'm interested in this.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: darkmanx_429 on May 23, 2011, 05:50:56 PM
This project shows promise...
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 24, 2011, 01:07:25 AM
Thanks guys. ^__^

@Jorge: I am, as a matter of fact, using some vertical areas as they are present in the stages from the SNES & X68K versions. Also, something I'm doing often is adding custom rooms to transition between areas that don't totally jive because the doors are in awkward places. My current concept for the clock tower has a big fork in it built primarily from the SNES & X68K clock towers since they're of completely different design.

If I have time tomorrow I'm gonna convert my hand-drawn maps into png's so I can post them.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on May 24, 2011, 02:56:20 AM
Having forks in the paths you take will definitely add to some replay value.

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 24, 2011, 04:26:49 AM
Yeah, I'm keeping that in mind because it sometimes makes merging the different versions of a stage easier as well.
I changed the stage content a bit from the original concept, but I'm keeping the big for in stage 2 (Main Hall) because it adds abit of that Rondo feel and helps preserve the stage order of CV1 & SCV4 by making two paths. So basically if you go through the Main hall the way you remember from the early days you'll get more old school stages, but if you go off the beaten path you'll end up in the newer stages.

BTW if anyone has any suggestions for adapting the Chandelier room concept from SCV4 into one more compatible with the NES/MSX capabilities please let me know. Right now I'm thinking of changing the over-sized chandeliers into smaller ones more akin to the swinging clock thingies in CV3.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on May 24, 2011, 04:33:44 PM
BTW if anyone has any suggestions for adapting the Chandelier room concept from SCV4 into one more compatible with the NES/MSX capabilities please let me know. Right now I'm thinking of changing the over-sized chandeliers into smaller ones more akin to the swinging clock thingies in CV3.

There called Pendulums  ;) While the Chandeliers were on the large side in SCV4 that was just for the large Simon sprite. But actually I think it would be cool to have gigantic, massive chandeliers for your game! It would add to the difficulty just a tad and look impressive to see an 8-bit Belmont swinging on a massive 8-bit chandelier. Dracula's castle is huge from how your game is going to interpret it, so why not go all the way?

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 24, 2011, 07:50:19 PM
Ah, yes! Pendulum was the work I was looking for. Thanks.

True, but is something the scale of the SNES chandeliers doable on NES/MSX style hardware?
That would require a fuck-ton of tiles and bank swapping. Would the NES or MSX have been able to handle such a complex background effect? (I definitely rule out it being done as sprites.)

What do you think about mixing it up with some smaller ones too?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on May 24, 2011, 11:53:42 PM
A whole mesh of different-sized chandeliers would be neat. But if you're worried about incorporating the ones from SCV4 into your game then wouldn't it be easier just to custom make them? A completely new chandelier design just for your game  :)

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on May 25, 2011, 12:12:30 AM
If you want to use the large ones, they're here:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.inverteddungeon.com%2Fjorgefuentes%2Fimages3%2Fcv4chandeliers1.png&hash=9fe4f53767d86001a1d10a630e21165c5db6830b)
(fire not included)

You can use that as a base and make low-sized versions.  Do you intend for them to swing?  If not, you can probably use the ones from Dawn of Sorrow.  If you need them smaller, there are small chandeliers in CV4 and in Bloodlines (and X68000).

If you need them in 3-color (NES look) you'd have to do some sprite magic, or find games that used those (Gameboy games come to mind).
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on May 25, 2011, 03:24:23 AM
Yeah if I'm not mistaken, the smaller chandelier would fall on you if you stepped under them.

"The chandelier always falls when we have guests" -Count Orlock. Transylvania Twist.

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 25, 2011, 07:27:28 PM
I do intend for them to swing which is why I'm worried about whether the NES could have handled something as huge as SCV4 ones.
The smaller ones should work just fine if I model them after the old pendulums. I think what I'll do is limit how far the big ones swing to reduce the number of "tiles" they would use. It would also make room for small ones and change how platforming across them feels.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on May 25, 2011, 08:44:22 PM
Yeah if you go back to the old NES games, big sprites were done with some NES magicwork (Dracula's Final Form and Death's 2nd Form come to mind).
Other great shenanigans that CV3 did were the aforementioned pendulums, and the teeter-totter platforms (it set them up in an rotatable array and would swap sprites when it triggered a threshold, so it would look like one long beam was rotating).

But you're having a large object swing in a long arc... not sure I ever saw that in the NES titles.

IDEA:
Why don't you make them fall instead of swing?  You can have it so that when the hero jumps on them, they start to unravel at the chain, so they first fall one tile, then another tile, then they fall off the stage altogether.
Sure it's not 'swinging' but it's still a nice stage dynamic, and you can have areas that you need to ride the chandelier until it's almost off-screen and then jump off to reach a certain set of goodies or something.
You can even have them teleport back.  And, since they're so big, you can set up multiple platform areas on them...
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 26, 2011, 12:25:40 AM
That's a pretty good idea, Jorge. Thanks. That combined with the smaller swinging ones will be very interesting indeed. Might even have to expand the area a bit too.

You know what's gonna be fun? Converting that giant, blood-crying Medusa statue from the X68K into an 8-bit style BG. ^__^
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on May 26, 2011, 02:55:09 AM
You know what's gonna be fun? Converting that giant, blood-crying Medusa statue from the X68K into an 8-bit style BG. ^__^

I used to think that statue was of Carmilla because she was crying blood. But I convinced that it a bastardized likeness of the warrior Goddess; Athena. I saw a pic of Athena's statue and it's identical.

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 26, 2011, 06:51:16 AM
Actually that makes sense since Athena was the one that turned Medusa into a gorgon.

Updated first post with the new stage progression.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 27, 2011, 10:22:11 AM
How's this look?

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-0x1.png&hash=28af0f4f28a641b128f617fa4e1a996b620d339f)
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-0x2.png&hash=e84218ffe21f980fa3b0180a43270d45a9831e67)
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: HeliosCentaur on May 27, 2011, 03:51:54 PM
When converting the 16bit to the 8bit, what kind of scale reduction are you using (if any) for the backgrounds?  Are the environments the same size and it's only the Simon sprite that's been doubled?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on May 27, 2011, 04:26:20 PM
Now THAT is an awsome into!  ;)

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 27, 2011, 08:43:08 PM
@HaliosCantaur: Haven't done any conversion from 16 to 8-bit as of yet, but I intend to simply redraw them by hand. What you see there are taken from the original CV, Disney's Adventures in the Magic Kingdom, Battle Kid, and some custom work. Gonna re-do the trees in the next version.

@X: Thanks! ^__^
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: TheouAegis on May 28, 2011, 01:39:08 AM
Most 16-bit tiles are NES-compatible as far as dimensions. Sprites though tend to be 8 to 16 pixels taller and many are too many pixels wide if you want to stick to NES limits. Not sure about an MX.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: thernz on May 28, 2011, 02:01:51 AM
That's some nice ground. But the brick and gate colors are bright enough that they seem closer than the ground does. Theres a lot more contrast in them than the ground. I'd also try to select colors to better the ambiance. Like, slowly shift the hues of the bricks to a blue for a more cohesive composition.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: darkmanx_429 on May 28, 2011, 03:24:44 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on May 27, 2011, 10:22:11 AM
How's this look?

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-0x1.png&hash=28af0f4f28a641b128f617fa4e1a996b620d339f)
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-0x2.png&hash=e84218ffe21f980fa3b0180a43270d45a9831e67)

Great update! Can't wait to see some animation soon!
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 28, 2011, 06:23:51 PM
Quote from: TheouAegis on May 28, 2011, 01:39:08 AM
Most 16-bit tiles are NES-compatible as far as dimensions. Sprites though tend to be 8 to 16 pixels taller and many are too many pixels wide if you want to stick to NES limits. Not sure about an MX.

Not exactly. The nes can have a sprite be as large as it has space in RAM to define the tiles for it. Realistically there is a limit to sprite size only in so far as you want multiple sprites on the screen at once. But I'm not using any sprites from the 16-bit era anyway except for enemies unique to the Arcade, SNES, & X68K games which are few. Those that are unique will be redone in 8-bit style. Pretty much any tiles I wish to use from the 16-bit games will have to be redrawn or a suitable substitute ripped from an 8-bit game.


Quote from: thernz on May 28, 2011, 02:01:51 AM
That's some nice ground. But the brick and gate colors are bright enough that they seem closer than the ground does. Theres a lot more contrast in them than the ground. I'd also try to select colors to better the ambiance. Like, slowly shift the hues of the bricks to a blue for a more cohesive composition.

Yeah I was thinking about that as I was putting this together. I just used the existing colors for the moment to see what it looks like structurally. I'll mess with the colors as I go along.

Quote from: darkmanx_429 on May 28, 2011, 03:24:44 AM
Great update! Can't wait to see some animation soon!

Thanks! ^__^
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Pemburu Vampir on May 28, 2011, 08:23:27 PM
Great project. I'd love to play this game when it's finished.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on May 28, 2011, 10:21:22 PM
Thanks to TheoAegis' awesome work on his cv3 engine you'll definitely get to try this out sooner rather than later!
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: darkmanx_429 on May 30, 2011, 02:32:15 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on May 28, 2011, 10:21:22 PM
Thanks to TheoAegis' awesome work on his cv3 engine you'll definitely get to try this out sooner rather than later!
That's good news!
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 02, 2011, 03:53:54 AM
What do you guys think if I give Simon the slide kick from CVHD?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on June 02, 2011, 04:10:49 AM
If you intend on giving Simon a slidekick then why not make it necessary for it to help you traverse stages. Kinda like Mega man where you had to slide through narrow corridors in order to progress. I think turning this slide attack into a gimmick would add some extra dimension to your game.

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 02, 2011, 12:17:07 PM
That's true especially since I just decided to incorporate some of CVHD's stage 10 designs into my game as well.

BTW, is this any better?
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-0x2b.png&hash=7a0e3b2cac8a58533aa163c1a8243388a914390d)  (https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-0x2.png&hash=e84218ffe21f980fa3b0180a43270d45a9831e67)

Before I call this *done* I'm gonna redo the silhouette tiles for the trees and castle some.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on June 02, 2011, 04:17:06 PM
That darker fence adds the depth to the intro. I would recommend you put some lighter pixel coloration on the top of the fenced wall to help give the illusion that the moonlight is shining off of it. Kind of like how you have it going on with the pitch-black castle but not as intense.

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 02, 2011, 06:35:50 PM
This game looks like it's coming along pretty well. It sounds really interesting. Can't wait to try it out. ^.^
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 03, 2011, 11:37:43 AM
Here. Now I think I can say it's finished. Edited the castle from the Akuma-jou Dracula title screen.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-0x2c.png&hash=06dab23f0843029c87fa68d4800b4488f1982087)
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 03, 2011, 11:39:23 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 03, 2011, 11:37:43 AM
Here. Now I think I can say it's finished. Edited the castle from the Akuma-jou Dracula title screen.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-0x2c.png&hash=06dab23f0843029c87fa68d4800b4488f1982087)

Like Brauner put it best: "This is ART!"
Nice job, man. Really like how that's lookin'.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 03, 2011, 11:59:43 AM
Thanks. It's really just a lot of cutting and pasting and maybe just a bit of my art school lessons paying off. Oh, and here's a little something for anyone wondering why my colors look off. It's because I'm using a custom palette I made. You see, my 8-bit style label uses a hypothetical melding of NES and MSX technology. The label has the clever name of NE/SX. This is the custom palette I'm using:

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FNE-SXCustomPalette.png&hash=2418ef90ec49db88b313c0f7a728a7ff35912e4c)

I gave myself the luxury of a larger variety of colors but I'm sticking to a strict limit of 8 palettes at a given time, but with 5 colors instead of 4 ... or would that be 4+1 colors instead of 3+1. But I'm only using the extra color per palette sparingly.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 03, 2011, 12:20:26 PM
The entire process is pretty clever right down to the name. :D
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 03, 2011, 01:58:04 PM
Thanks! ^__^
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on June 03, 2011, 04:26:05 PM
Seriously Inccubus, this updated intro pic is making me cream my geans! I want to play that game!

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 03, 2011, 11:19:29 PM
Well as soon as i finalize the graphics for the main hall stage I'll put together a quick demo using TheouAegis' engine. It'll give you a basic idea of what the game will feel like with the new stage structure. Lots to see in that stage too since it's pretty massive for a CV stage.

Here's the basic room map:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FStage2RoomMap.png&hash=cc633e4097c5eaeef22af5333f1ead487503bfa0)
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: X on June 03, 2011, 11:33:51 PM
Is this stage like it was in Vampire Killer? The layout looks similar.

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 12:21:11 AM
Like the rest of the map work in my game it is a combination of layouts from CV1, VK, HC, SCV4, CVC, & (hopefully soon) Stage 10 of CVHD.
It has a bit of custom stuff too, but not nearly as much as stage one does.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 04, 2011, 12:26:57 AM
That first stage is massive. That looks exciting. :D
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 01:04:11 AM
There will definitely be plenty to explore. No timer either. Decided to do away with it.

Question: Hearts exclusively for MP & multiple weapon pickups for ammo, or classic hearts for ammo, or selectable in options?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 04, 2011, 01:10:57 AM
I think hearts would be cool if they functioned like in SotN, like they're ammo for your subs only, whereas MP could be used to fuel magic attacks.

Like giving Simon some reference to Sypha would be cool, in giving him her magical abilities.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 01:25:04 AM
I was thinking more along the lines of how Juste can infuse the sub-weapons with magick, but not to the same extent. Oh, just remembered the perfect reference; the item crashes in Bloodlines! It would be like that. Use hearts for simple weapon boosts and multiple weapon pickups for ammo. So you would need both weapons and hearts fr the mini crashes. That way you can always have the right sub-weapon for the right situation provided that you've picked them up. How is that? I'll still include a classic mode for the true old-school experience.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 04, 2011, 01:46:13 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 01:25:04 AM
I was thinking more along the lines of how Juste can infuse the sub-weapons with magick, but not to the same extent. Oh, just remembered the perfect reference; the item crashes in Bloodlines! It would be like that. Use hearts for simple weapon boosts and multiple weapon pickups for ammo. So you would need both weapons and hearts fr the mini crashes. That way you can always have the right sub-weapon for the right situation provided that you've picked them up. How is that? I'll still include a classic mode for the true old-school experience.

I like the Juste reference, mainly cuz Simon was reference in HoD. I like all the ideas you're tossing out. Shows a lot of promise so far. (:
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 02:03:05 AM
Thanks! I figure if I'm gonna bother to remake a game that has been done half a dozen times already, I might as well add stuff that people will enjoy. When this is done and if people like it i'll tackle CV2 next, only my version will have everything CV:tDC has and then some! But that is for an eventual future. Right now theres plenty to do in this game. I want this to be something people look at and say, "Now THIS is the ultimate old-school Castlevania reborn!" And with everyone's input and both TheoAegis' & Jorge's help it will be!! Damn! I'm stoked!!
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 04, 2011, 02:12:59 AM
I'm actually excited about this project a lot. There are ideas in here that I've concepted for a game, but I don't have the skill to do it. If there's anything I can help with, I'd love to. (:

A suggestion would be this:
Try something like CV3 or RoB and give multiple stage paths, so you don't play every stage in one playthrough. That would increase the replay value. (:
Course, I realize it's hard to do, but its a suggestion.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 02:15:04 AM
Already planned around that. ^__^
Check out the first post for the stage progression I came up with. It basically splits the came into a classic CV1 path and a modern CV4/X68K path. I mapped out the stage progression of CV3 yesterday for comparison and it's actually very similar except without a bit simpler.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 04, 2011, 02:22:53 AM
Okay, I'm definitely getting this when it's a finished project. :D
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 05:42:24 AM
 ;D

Here's the stage 1 room map. New version with less repetition and more custom rooms. 1/3rd of the stage is new content.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FStage1RoomMap.png&hash=41b3f1d781a624063bf072c5e0900a0a4f50f870)

That first room is the intro screen.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 04, 2011, 05:52:53 AM
So I'm guessing there's gonna be some advantage to going to the top room in section 1-2? Cuz if not... then it seems like it's just a pointless way around. o.o
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 05:59:55 AM
No choice. Have to go that way in order to figure out the portcullis puzzle otherwise you can't go through on the ground floor.
Then there's figuring out how to get to that basement.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 04, 2011, 06:12:23 AM
Oh, see thought it'd be like that too, but didn't think it'd work, but since that's how you're doing it...

The basement floor is only one room. Something hidden in there?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 06:24:40 AM
Maybe. Maybe not.  ;D
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 04, 2011, 11:23:51 AM
Oh well. I'll stop asking questions about the content of the stages (unless its something broad like "Are there gonna be enemies?"). Don't wanna spoil the fun for anyone. Or myself.

But yeah, keep up the good work. I hope to see some screens of the finished (or coming toward finished) stage. (:
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 04, 2011, 03:18:44 PM
I'll be working on the tiles today. I should be done in a couple of days. I'll put it together sans sprite so I can release an Alpha demo.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 04, 2011, 03:25:21 PM
Cool. I'll give it a shot when you release that demo. (:
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 05, 2011, 07:33:28 AM
Wip of section 1-1 bg:

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-1x1WIP.png&hash=00612bcbd1a4337b348637a06a15bf6c3b7c3276)

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-1x2WIP.png&hash=616bbf223d169770c72720f2cf77cc9290459208)
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 05, 2011, 10:59:28 AM
That is a really awesome-looking cliffside.  However, there seems to be a lack of plant life (even if it were dead).  Perhaps a few tiles of tufts of grass in dark green or brown wouldn't be a bad idea, peppering the wall.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 05, 2011, 02:12:23 PM
Oh, it'll have trees and other such shrubbery. It's still really early. It's that first section of stage 1 from the X68K. I still have to do the crumbling arches and dying old trees too.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 05, 2011, 09:39:16 PM
You should add other things, too, like skeletons or something. After all, other people tried to fight Dracula the same time as the Belmonts. Another cool thing would be like, crows in a tree, and when you walk by they fly off. (:
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 01:00:26 AM
I hadn't thought about Skeletons, but I think perhaps some impaled victims would work rather nicely. I was already considering crows.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 01:06:04 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 01:00:26 AM
I hadn't thought about Skeletons, but I think perhaps some impaled victims would work rather nicely. I was already considering crows.

Impaled victims = nice reference. Just don't put too many or it'd be an overly-morbid scene.
A few skeletons, maybe two or three, would be a good addition to the impaled people.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 01:57:54 AM
This first section is supposed to have a few nearly dead trees, maybe I could add a couple of crows that just sit there and stare at you with red eyes.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 02:07:34 AM
With some variety, too. Some could stare, one or two could fly off, maybe one could squawk at you. It'd make for a very interesting entry into the castle.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 02:27:22 AM
That's not a bad idea at all. I could have two on one tree, one squawks and the both fly away and the last one has glowing eyes and just stares at you from it's perch. With palette cycling in mind I could make a cool glowing eye animation.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 02:48:07 AM
And then if you stand there too long it jumps down and attacks you. :D
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 03:50:02 AM
That's Evil! I like it!  ;D
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 03:56:54 AM
That'll get some laughs and scares. ^.^
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 04:04:20 AM
Hmmm... I'm gonna need a new 4-color Simon sprite. I'm gonna go ahead and say that my hypothetical NE/SX aesthetic has a limit of 8 palette consisting of 4 colors each +1 universal BG color. That's why a "4" color sprite is needed. It will also have a simple 2 layer system that allows for the use of foreground tiles. That will go a long way towards making this seem like a game on an advanced 8-bit system.

I'll also want a CV2 sprite and an SCV4 sprite. Any other suggestions for possible bonus outfits?
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame project ideas
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 04:12:51 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 04:04:20 AM
Hmmm... I'm gonna need a new 4-color Simon sprite. I'm gonna go ahead and say that my hypothetical NE/SX aesthetic has a limit of 8 palette consisting of 4 colors each +1 universal BG color. That's why a "4" color sprite is needed. It will also have a simple 2 layer system that allows for the use of foreground tiles. That will go a long way towards making this seem like a game on an advanced 8-bit system.

I'll also want a CV2 sprite and an SCV4 sprite. Any other suggestions for possible bonus outfits?

Well, I'm an Ayami fan, so a Chronicles outfit would be cool.

Another Suggestion: You should actually add surprise attacks throughout the game. Like enemies jumping through windows or from above and stuff. Or enemies that look like part of the backdrop attack, like the crow.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame
Post by: X on June 06, 2011, 04:58:43 AM
Another Suggestion: You should actually add surprise attacks throughout the game. Like enemies jumping through windows or from above and stuff. Or enemies that look like part of the backdrop attack, like the crow.

They had some of those surprise attacks in Rondo's village stage. I think I'd work well inside of Castlevania  :)

-X
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 05:02:19 AM
Definitely. I want the game play to be a bit more exciting than the original. Plus having all the moves my version of Simon has will require some stronger, smarter enemies.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 05:42:37 AM
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-1x2WIPa.png&hash=d0c1346af903392f7a6ac3aa01139edac1039b6e)

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-1x1WIPa.png&hash=928d521e7f2768f79284a99734f95b7aefb1d1c4)

Added the far trees and the drawbridge tiles.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 06:22:02 AM
Quote from: X on June 06, 2011, 04:58:43 AM
Another Suggestion: You should actually add surprise attacks throughout the game. Like enemies jumping through windows or from above and stuff. Or enemies that look like part of the backdrop attack, like the crow.

They had some of those surprise attacks in Rondo's village stage. I think I'd work well inside of Castlevania  :)

-X

Yeah, that was cool, though not exciting enough. Plus, it'd be cool if it was a (not overly-used) recurring factor throughout the game. It's way more exciting that way instead of automatically knowing where all the enemies are at on screen.

@Inccubus
You should do that thing like in CV4 where the draw bridge goes up slowly once you step on it. Anything to make the stages as interesting as can be, right? ^.^
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 07:04:39 AM
I was considering something like that as well, but I'm wondering if that would be beyond the capabilities of my hypothetical NE/SX hardware? The thing is that it would be at an angled view. I think that would be a lot of sprites, but perhaps if I were to make it  more of a BG animation I could get away with it. I'd rather it was the drawbridge opening rather than closing.
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 07:48:01 AM
Had to redo the tree arrangement because my computer decided to crash right as I was about to save my work.
Here's the new one. Also redid the 'moat' since I'm going to do an animated drawbridge instead. It'll be interesting to animate, but I think I'll simplify it by using round logs instead of what I had before.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-1x1WIPb.png&hash=8d8e9668732c6785d6a0e4fd34336c65c48f2722)

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-1x2WIPb.png&hash=402ab0839e392d1a4fa1214908a0d8d239267f32)


Edit:
OMMFG!!! I just tried out the WIP of the first stage with the rendition of Vampire Killer that Jorge made set as the BGM and was just fan-frickin'-tastic!
Title: Re: [Feedback] Castlevania: The Demon Castle fangame
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 11:54:23 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 07:04:39 AM
I was considering something like that as well, but I'm wondering if that would be beyond the capabilities of my hypothetical NE/SX hardware? The thing is that it would be at an angled view. I think that would be a lot of sprites, but perhaps if I were to make it  more of a BG animation I could get away with it. I'd rather it was the drawbridge opening rather than closing.

Well, considering the NE/SX hardware...

SotN's door animation had like, 20 frames, whereas CV1 had 3 frames. You could do something similar with the bridge.

Or as an easier solution, considering the wood is very old, it starts to fall apart as you cross it.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 12:20:51 PM
Here we go! I'll redraw the bridge with logs to make the animation make more sense. Then I'll have it slam down as you approach. When you finally get to walk on it the logs start to crumble under foot. ^___^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 12:26:09 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 12:20:51 PM
Here we go! I'll redraw the bridge with logs to make the animation make more sense. Then I'll have it slam down as you approach. When you finally get to walk on it the logs start to crumble under foot. ^___^

That's a nice idea. :o
Although, the logs made more sense anyway. Most bridges I've seen in NES or MSX games had their bridges as multiple pieces using the same tile.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 12:30:20 PM
This'll be more interesting though since it'll be at an angles view before it falls.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 01:07:20 PM
Alright, I think you got enough there to make the entry into the castle rather interesting. ^.^

Problem is, can you make the rest of the castle just as (or more) interesting? o.o
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 02:53:10 PM
That's the challenge! ^___^
It shouldn't be too difficult what with retooling of existing elements and suggestions from you guys.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 06, 2011, 02:54:35 PM
Well, hopefully you can make the castle at least as interesting as SotN's, since any game after that just felt empty in comparison.

If you need anymore suggestions, I'm all up for helping you out with certain little things that could make it that much more interesting. ^.^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 06, 2011, 03:33:47 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 06, 2011, 07:48:01 AM
Had to redo the tree arrangement because my computer decided to crash right as I was about to save my work.
Here's the new one. Also redid the 'moat' since I'm going to do an animated drawbridge instead. It'll be interesting to animate, but I think I'll simplify it by using round logs instead of what I had before.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-1x1WIPb.png&hash=8d8e9668732c6785d6a0e4fd34336c65c48f2722)

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-1x2WIPb.png&hash=402ab0839e392d1a4fa1214908a0d8d239267f32)


Edit:
OMMFG!!! I just tried out the WIP of the first stage with the rendition of Vampire Killer that Jorge made set as the BGM and was just fan-frickin'-tastic!

Youtube Video plz! :P :P :P
Glad you're using those retro-ish tunes well.  Let me know if you need to know the loop points & such.  I believe I can provide that info.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 07, 2011, 08:25:23 AM
I'll tell you what, Jorge. I'll throw in some sound effects and add in a few objects so the video has a bit more substance and then I'll post it.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 07, 2011, 02:47:13 PM
Alright, screw this.
You guys can just try this out. :P

http://www.mediafire.com/?91uzpcyabpfcauh (http://www.mediafire.com/?91uzpcyabpfcauh)

A is attack. Z is jump. Space changes your sub-weapon.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 07, 2011, 03:41:02 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 07, 2011, 02:47:13 PM
Alright, screw this.
You guys can just try this out. :P

http://www.mediafire.com/?91uzpcyabpfcauh (http://www.mediafire.com/?91uzpcyabpfcauh)

A is attack. Z is jump. Space changes your sub-weapon.

That was actually pretty cool. I tried it out. The music blends in well with the stage. TheouAegis's engine plays extremely well.

Is it possible to switch the attack button to "X"? Or.. rather if more people want it or something. I was about to complain about the control placing, but A and Z are actually fine.

And I jumped off the edge where the bridge should be. XD Nothing happened.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on June 07, 2011, 04:00:01 PM
I'll hold off till there's a button config. Crossing my arms just to play games with the proper hands really hurts T_T;

-X
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 07, 2011, 04:13:18 PM
This is a good start!  I don't have much else other than to say, the graphics look like a NES/GameGear Castlevania now, and the 'feel' is totally classic.
Fell off the Bridge, wheeeee! xD

The music starts off a split-second too late, so it 'cuts' the beginning of Vampire Killer, at least on my version.
Do you need the tunes to have some silence prior?  And, again, I can provide you with loop points for your MP3 handler to seamlessly loop, when you get far enough for that stuff.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 07, 2011, 04:44:32 PM
@X: Do you have a game pad? Just use joytokey to map the controller.
If not then I could always just have A = 0(numpad) and Z = .(numpad)
Would that work for you?

@Jorge: I thought I fixed that music thing. Yeah, please do add some silence to the beginning. And if you could let me know the loop points I'd appreciate it.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: capkcan on June 07, 2011, 08:13:32 PM
OMFG YOU TOTALLY STOLE THIS CONCEPT FROM ME!!!  >:( this just a copy paste from a tread I posted afew months ago on CVC! I've been working on this for almost a year know and was planning to post the final copy by the end of the month til Inccubus stole a copy of the game I stored on a flash drive he hack into and left this message on a MSWP file
Quote
lol guess who got pwd? you gay
It's original title was the demon sonata WAY COVER YOUR FUCKING TRAIL!!!

do your self a favor and don't believe a word this guy says
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 07, 2011, 08:49:07 PM
Who the FUCK are you?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 07, 2011, 09:50:17 PM
This guy has been making trouble for the longest.
Just... never mind the warning, you're gone, capkcan.  ffsfds
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 07, 2011, 10:03:23 PM
Yeah, plus little does this boy know I first conceived of this project back in '92.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on June 07, 2011, 11:37:42 PM
Do you have a game pad? Just use joytokey to map the controller.
If not then I could always just have A = 0(numpad) and Z = .(numpad)
Would that work for you?

Aww for Christ sake, I forgot about that! Thanks for the reminder. I'll give this a shot then  :)

-X
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on June 08, 2011, 12:20:44 AM
So, let me get this straight.

capkcan claims you stole his game, so, that means, TheouAegis really hacked into his computer, stole the source code and current demo build, while giving you the graphics and layout to post here, and then you state you 'barrowed' the engine off of TheouAegis to build this supposedly already completed stolen demo... But really he had to continually steal the demo source code to post those updates, and build the demo that already was built and stolen, but had yet to be made cause it wasn't stolen yet, to be built from the-

Wow. If you're going to lie about how someone stole your stuff, make sure your story at least doesn't end in a time travel paradox. That kind of, you know, kills all the credibility.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 08, 2011, 12:30:53 AM
He's a troll, plain and simple.

He may (if I were to give him the benefit of the doubt, which I'm not, because he's been a troublemaker for pretty much every post he's made this year) have had some kind of an idea that was similar (who hasn't?), which is why he says that thing about Inccubus taking his concept... but the reply was totally troll-ish.  And we know he's not stealing anything because he just borrowed my sprites and is using TheouAegis's engine, which he said he would do.  He's even helping other people with GameMaker tutorials.  Seriously, now....

Plus he's gone anyway.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 08, 2011, 12:59:07 AM
*sigh* Hacking into a flash drive? At least make it sound reasonable. People these days... Similar project doesn't mean stolen ideas.

On another note, I still can't wait to see the complete stage. :D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: TheouAegis on June 08, 2011, 01:03:16 AM
If you don't want to be assed to include a key config (not too hard, though), set attack to Z and jump to C. There are two reasons for this. First off, most of the time emulators assign Z to B and X to A, or Ctrl to B and Alt (or Space) to A, since B was to the left of A on the NES gamepad. However, Z and X pressed at the same time causes an I/O error, but Z and C doesn't. It doesn't feel too unnatural either. People can play with their ring finger and index finger or middle finger and index finger, whichever is more comfortable, whereas with Z and X they're forced to play with fingers close together which, I feel, causes additional strain.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 08, 2011, 01:06:19 AM
Quote from: TheouAegis on June 08, 2011, 01:03:16 AM
If you don't want to be assed to include a key config (not too hard, though), set attack to Z and jump to C. There are two reasons for this. First off, most of the time emulators assign Z to B and X to A, or Ctrl to B and Alt (or Space) to A, since B was to the left of A on the NES gamepad. However, Z and X pressed at the same time causes an I/O error, but Z and C doesn't. It doesn't feel too unnatural either. People can play with their ring finger and index finger or middle finger and index finger, whichever is more comfortable, whereas with Z and X they're forced to play with fingers close together which, I feel, causes additional strain.

The Z and A config he has now is quite comfortable. But as long as the controls are reasonable (unlike a homebrew I played before. He literally set attack to A and jump to B keys), I'm cool either way.

It might just be a few people, but it's not really that hard to switch hands to playing on a keyboard. If anything, though, the movement can be changed to W, A, S, and D like most MMORPGs on PC, and have the attacks and stuff on the other side.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on June 08, 2011, 04:38:41 PM
I played the demo last night and it was amazing. The skeletons I thought didn't quite move as I've seen the in the NES games ie. they continuously move in one direction until they come to the end of the platform they're on before reatching the end, turning around and moving back in the apposite direction. I've also noted that Trevor functions as he should which was very nice to see and the controls felt solid too. However when I attack, even if I'm still holding the movement key, Trevor will stop and I'll have to let go of the key and press it again to make him move forwards once more. While this might not seem to be a real issue with some, I foresee problems in the future depending on the types of stages Trevor will progress through. For instance, the collapsing bridge. When the bridge starts to break up, you'll need to reach the end as fast as you can while enemies are in the way. You'll have to attack them but you will stop moving after attacking even though the movement key is still pressed. This scenario will ruin the natural flow of the game. Just to let you know  :)

-X
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 08, 2011, 04:58:50 PM
@Theou: If you don't do a key config, I will. I totally hate not having that option personally. The current configuration in the demo is just my preference and doesn't reflect what will be in the final game. (How corporate sounding of me! =P) I didn't know Z & X caused an I/O error. That isn't the case wit A & Z is it?

@Claimh: I might just use an alternate control scheme in future demos. It'll cover all the bases.

@X: I wouldn't worry about the enemies. TheouAegis is still not done with them. And as for that wierd control issue, I have experienced it myself. However, for me it doesn't always happen, so I'm wondering if it's just a keyboard thing. At any rate, the next demo will be on the next version of Theou's engine which he promises is a marked improvement and feels even more accurate to the originals.

That said, I'm working on the rest of the graphics for stage 1 at the moment and mapping out Harmony of Despair's stage 10 at the moment while I await the nect version of the engine. Stay tuned guys! ^___^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on June 10, 2011, 12:55:59 PM
More parallex please! ;D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 10, 2011, 03:23:42 PM
I'll see about that. It'd be limited, though.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 13, 2011, 09:03:50 PM
Sweet! ^____^
Now with parallax!

http://www.mediafire.com/file/i8wc5e80ekjey61/cv_fc_engine_v0.002.exe (http://www.mediafire.com/file/i8wc5e80ekjey61/cv_fc_engine_v0.002.exe)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 13, 2011, 10:20:34 PM
Wow that's really nice.
Also, love "In the Castle", although it doesn't loop... :\

One thing that bothers me (very slightly) is that the dagger doesn't seem to go off-screen when you chuck it.  Rather, it disappears when it gets to the last tile (the very last 16x16 tile on the edge of the screen).  It looks really weird when it does that.  I don't know if people have pointed that out already.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 14, 2011, 12:20:59 AM
Quote from: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 13, 2011, 10:20:34 PM
Wow that's really nice.
Also, love "In the Castle", although it doesn't loop... :\

One thing that bothers me (very slightly) is that the dagger doesn't seem to go off-screen when you chuck it.  Rather, it disappears when it gets to the last tile (the very last 16x16 tile on the edge of the screen).  It looks really weird when it does that.  I don't know if people have pointed that out already.

I thought I set it to loop. Hmmm... I'll check on that.
The dagger thing is TheouAegis' department. I'm pretty sure that will be different in the next release of the engine.
There is an issue with the Axe disappearing at the top of the screen so fixing that may also fix the dagger.
At any rate go ahead and report about the dagger in his thread just in case.

Edit: It DOES loop!! It just takes like an eternity for it to start back up for some reason.

Edit2: Hey! Cross your eyes and focus on the wall in the background for a nice 3DS effect! :P

Edit3: Jorge. Check your PMs.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 02:41:28 PM
New WIP of stage 1-1. In hypothetical NE/SX terms there are 2 BG layers; the grass is on one layer, everything else is on the other. The second BG layer is split into 3 bands of parallax. In actuality I did it using 5 or so tile layers. Thanks to Esco thinking outide the box the music can now pause too.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2F1-1x2WIPc.png&hash=de8043dd362e0ed49ddc752513c08d1c7bdaa08e)

If anyone can guess where I got the mountain graphics you get a cookie. ^__^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 15, 2011, 02:43:49 PM
It's lookin' nice. Comin' along quite well. :D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 02:49:10 PM
I'm thinking of completely reworking the HUD with a more minimalistic approach.
For example, I might replace the big sub-weapon graphics with mods of the weapon icons from CV2 and shrink down the item box.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 15, 2011, 02:52:11 PM
Yeah, that and you should probably add the black box behind all of the HUD like in CV1 and CV3. The HUD might be hard to see in brighter areas.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 03:02:51 PM
Nah. I'm gonna add a black boarder to everything instead. I need the Hud to stay out of the way of the stage graphics since I'm taking advantage of the full screen area for this game. I might even have the HUD hide when there's nothing going on. That wouldn't be so hard to do in a pseudo-8bit system such as NE/SX. Also, I could make it into a simple menu system such as in CV2. Still minimalistic, but eliminating the clutter on the screen during play.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 15, 2011, 03:08:35 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 03:02:51 PM
Nah. I'm gonna add a black boarder to everything instead. I need the Hud to stay out of the way of the stage graphics since I'm taking advantage of the full screen area for this game. I might even have the HUD hide when there's nothing going on. That wouldn't be so hard to do in a pseudo-8bit system such as NE/SX. Also, I could make it into a simple menu system such as in CV2. Still minimalistic, but eliminating the clutter on the screen during play.

Yeah, that makes sense. Also, is it possible to make an option to hide HUD the whole game? That'd make for some exciting boss battles. :D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on June 15, 2011, 03:08:47 PM
HUDs should always be visible, unless you're in a cutscene. Also with a HUD like that, extending the play area into it sounds like you're inviting player frustration due to low visibility. There is a reason they did it on the NES the way they did.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on June 15, 2011, 04:31:41 PM
The screenshot looks good from where I'm sitting. But uzo does have a point. The game could get very busy up there and lead to some unwanted distractions. If you're using that amount of screen for your game, couldn't you then raise up the HUD so that it doesn't interfere with the gameplay?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 04:42:36 PM
Small minimalistic HUDs worked just fine with CVDX & RoB. There are tons of games on the nes that use the full screen area with small HUDs that aren't big ass blocks on the top of the screen.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 15, 2011, 04:43:28 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 04:42:36 PM
Small minimalistic HUDs worked just fine with CVDX & RoB. There are tons of games on the nes that use the full screen area with small HUDs that aren't big ass blocks on the top of the screen.

Dracula X and RoB also used gauges to measure health and such rather than blocks, so they were easier to see to begin with.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 04:52:23 PM
I have to disagree here. The gauges in those games are really no different than the gauge in CV1 &3 they're just animated better. And besides that visibility has to do with the colors you use and having a distinct boarder. Look at the power meter in Megaman. It's perfectly visible all the time. The one in CV2 is crap cause it has no border.

And I forgot to mention, that the reason that the HUD in CV1&3 look like they do is because they're drawn with background tiles instead of sprites. I'm not bothering with Sprite limits for my game so I can afford to do it the way I am. Don't worry about it cluttering up the screen though. I am going to make it minimalistic like I said. You'll see guys.


(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coolrom.com%2Fscreenshots%2Fsnes%2FCastlevania%2520-%2520Dracula%2520X%2520%282%29.gif&hash=39e0dd39b5a9d62f4865617e6ce4047b84a0210c)(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.consoleclassix.com%2Finfo_img%2FCastlevania_Dracula_X_SNES_ScreenShot3.jpg&hash=2ae8cb09c2fd367079f09cbe3e4dc92b23059dd4)
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcache.gawker.com%2Fassets%2Fimages%2F9%2F2009%2F12%2Fcastlevania_rondo.gif&hash=467265fe6a2b245a13e51d4d7f368c2ffdb6db86)(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_7IcDtaK0adU%2FTJtk__V35RI%2FAAAAAAAABik%2FhNkl6YU_PVc%2Fs1600%2Fmario_brothers.jpeg.gif&hash=3a2c97877c0e1f8eb5efd2cc7761c5859d9151eb)
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpnmedia.gamespy.com%2Fclassicgaming.gamespy.com%2Fimages%2Foldsite%2Fclusterimages%2Fbm2.gif&hash=5de6927f9ad6708eeb871241806f3073f824dbca)(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwis.wcg.com%2Fsp%2Fweb%2Fnews_photo%2Fupload%2F20070214%2Fkid_icarus_codes.gif&hash=f6e5ae8a9ea501d223d202082a26685500f4470a)(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mobygames.com%2Fimages%2Fshots%2Fl%2F312621-metroid-nes-screenshot-this-monster-is-called-kraid-and-is.png&hash=427c20acbc8647b564804a0a5636d25fdbf2dcbb)(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hardcoregaming101.net%2Fnatsume%2Fshatterhand-4.png&hash=6a3a0eb9e1d918a99eade81a98e10543fc06b86b)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on June 15, 2011, 05:01:27 PM
Wait, didn't Super Castlevania IV also employ the same type of HUD as Inccubus' screen cap? If that's the case then there's no real problem.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 15, 2011, 05:06:36 PM
Quote from: X on June 15, 2011, 05:01:27 PM
Wait, didn't Super Castlevania IV also employ the same type of HUD as Inccubus' screen cap? If that's the case then there's no real problem.

It also used a dark green that blended in with half the backgrounds in the game.

Quote from: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 04:52:23 PM
I have to disagree here. The gauges in those games are really no different than the gauge in CV1 &3 they're just animated better. And besides that visibility has to do with the colors you use and having a distinct boarder. Look at the power meter in Megaman. It's perfectly visible all the time. The one in CV2 is crap cause it has no border.

And I forgot to mention, that the reason that the HUD in CV1&3 look like they do is because they're drawn with background tiles instead of sprites. I'm not bothering with Sprite limits for my game so I can afford to do it the way I am. Don't worry about it cluttering up the screen though. I am going to make it minimalistic like I said. You'll see guys.

The game looks good so far, so I'm sure you'll come up with something good. ^^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 05:14:13 PM
Yeah, I will!  ;D

I'm not gonna do anything here half-assed. If there's a problem I expect you guys to let me know, but I'll try my best to anticipate most of your concerns.

BTW, added a bunch of example pics of Sprite based HUDs in NES games with CVDX & RoB shots for comparison.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on June 15, 2011, 09:42:49 PM
For spanning HUDs, even if transparent backgrounds, you have to pay close attention to the level design. You will notice they dont lead the player up there as much as they can help it. It's too distracting and cluttered to be doing that. Case in point, for mario, no blocks are up there, especially in the underground areas. It effectively IS a black box because they wont put anything there.

You'll need a really compact HUD to pull it off, but I wonder how good it'll look for Castlevania. On the flip side, does that two lines of tiles really mean that much? You wont want to lead the player up there anyway as much as you can help it, so why bother?

$0.02
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 15, 2011, 11:34:15 PM
I hear you, but in point of fact a lot of the stage layouts I'm going to be using from the MSX, SNES, and X68K versions do in fact like to have stuff up there, plus it just looks better to have a ceiling. The HUD I'm designing is going to be as compact as possible. And it will be much more sleek than the original.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 16, 2011, 07:06:49 AM
OK. here's what I have for the HUD so far.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FHUDWIPa.png&hash=d234b0af3b6d38b405661d932ac98013525e64f8)(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FHUDWIPb.png&hash=e4c78d2ddb54505102e0504675dd4ef7101c5ac4)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 16, 2011, 10:59:02 AM
The first picture looks nicer, more compact. The second one looks like a fighting game HUD. :P

And yes, I'm aware some games, like Adventure Rebirth, had their HUD laid out the same way.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Aridale on June 16, 2011, 11:47:52 AM
I like the first one better but the greens too strong blend it more like the blue bar. And the boss bar you should get rid of entirely until theres actually a boss
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 16, 2011, 12:29:24 PM
Maybe make the Boss bar a menacing color like red? I 'unno...
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on June 16, 2011, 02:01:53 PM
I like the first one better by far. Nice style and compact nature. You could even eliminate the = in the heart part and just have the numbers next to it.

If you aren't going to label PLAYER and ENEMY on the bar, the boss bar should not be in the HUD. I'd say it would settle better to have the boss bar only appear when fighting a boss, perhaps on the opposite side, and not connected to the player's status HUD.

An addition note:

Since you did color Trevor into a higher color count than everything else, you should probably up the colors of the other things too. Style consistency is important to creating good aesthetics. I like the retro higher color look, but it looks weird seeing it along with strict 2bbp (4 color format) NES pixel art.

The color and shading progression also seems different. As to say, the colors on Trevor are more realistic, and less bright cartoony, while the ground colors are bright and cartoony. The ground's lightest shade, make that less saturated and it would probably match Trevor a lot more.

Either that or revert Trevor back to 2bbp standards. But I really like the high color retro look. I'd be interested to see how the whole thing looks in that style.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 16, 2011, 05:18:35 PM
@Aridale: Yeah I noticed that the moment I posted the first pic. Already fixed.

@Uzo: I think I'll try using a darker shade for the highlight on the floor.
The palettes in this aesthetic are 4 colors + clear. That sprite is intended to look as if it has 2 palettes in use like Megaman. I'm not using that for Simon's final sprite anyway so don't worry. I'll probably stick to a single 4+1 palette for his sprites.
BTW I'm not using the NES palette, but rather a custom one I made.

@Everyone: I think I go ahead and hide the boss bar and move it to the right side of the screen. I might have each boss have a different colored bar.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on June 16, 2011, 07:37:45 PM
Not darker, less saturated. Aka less 'color' more 'gray'.

Darkening it will ruin the selective highlighting of the floor. Selective highlighting is a visual indicator that uses a highlighted/brighter color as a visual indicator that "this is a floor/wall/interactive object/tile". It basically makes it easier for the player to notice what is and is not interactive, versus just empty space/background design.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 16, 2011, 08:08:05 PM
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FNE-SXCustomPalette.png&hash=2418ef90ec49db88b313c0f7a728a7ff35912e4c)

This my palette. I have space for several additional colors, but I'd prefer not to add any unless absolutely needed.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on June 16, 2011, 10:38:39 PM
You'll have to live with cartoony then. I'd say dont change it if that's all the colors you have available.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 17, 2011, 03:55:43 AM
OK. These have the floor highlight modified, new colors for the HP meters & two alternative set ups.
Either way the boss hp meter will be hidden unless the boss is present. And a simple solution for the HUD not messing with your view is to turn it off if the player object is within a certain area of the screen. Opinions?

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FHUDWIPd.png&hash=93355a6e015cdee79095ef0a8f3e7f424fbb35d3)(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FHUDWIPc.png&hash=ccfb2bd234e774a3533cf04de311a07e58ac3ac3)
Old pic for comparison:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FHUDWIPa.png&hash=d234b0af3b6d38b405661d932ac98013525e64f8)

Edit: Looking at it, that ne ground highlight looks worse.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 17, 2011, 04:37:51 AM
The new one looks nicer in my opinion. It looks more dark.

As for the HUD, use the one in the second picture. There's something about the heart meter being in between the gauges that just looks ugly. However, you might wanna reposition the boss meter. Put it somewhere else. Like maybe on the bottom right of the screen or something. It can be a little confusing with those not familiar with the old-school Castlevanias.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on June 17, 2011, 04:15:17 PM
That's a more compact HUD. It looks like it doesn't interfere with what's happening on-screen as much now.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 21, 2011, 06:40:01 AM
Now for a really compact hud. Also, all of the current sub-weapon pickups. Still need to add a couple more from haunted castle.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FHUDWIPe.png&hash=76e69834d130e930560abb55fa4f6413522f14a6)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 21, 2011, 11:04:41 AM
Now that is nice, sir. Everything's all nice and tidy and simple.
One question though... Why is there a 55 next to the knife and then one for the heart meter?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 21, 2011, 08:10:50 PM
Thanks! :)
Each sub-weapon pickup gives you 3 of that sub-weapon. You'll be able to switch between your available sub-weapons at will. The way it'll work is, that when you get a certain relic, if you are down to just one of a sub-weapon it'll use hearts instead. Hearts will also be used for some basic item crashes akin to those in Bloodlines, but different. Right now I'm using the same variable for both as a place holder. That's why there's 55 by both.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on June 21, 2011, 08:59:36 PM
FYI hated that about LoS, as did many others. Just saying.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 21, 2011, 09:45:13 PM
Well, I like it, so if enough people speak up I can just include an option where hearts are exclusively ammo. No biggy, just a quick if statement to diverge the code and done.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 21, 2011, 11:56:49 PM
I like the idea. It makes you think more rather than just "HURR DURR SPAM SUBWEAPON" like everyone does (well, everyone I've seen play). Like, in HD online, in Chapter 9, you'll see nothing but Belmont users spamming the damn knife subweapon like crazy, and most of them already finished leveling up their subweapons.

You got a whip for reason.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 22, 2011, 01:03:08 AM
Exactly! That sort of having to think about what you were doing is one of the things that made CV1 & 3 so great. I'm just taking it to the next level. BTW, I never thought I'd read 'spamming' & 'knife sub-weapon' in the same sentence. That thing is supposed to suck. That's the trade-off for it being the fastest sub-weapon.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 22, 2011, 01:11:20 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 22, 2011, 01:03:08 AM
Exactly! That sort of having to think about what you were doing is one of the things that made CV1 & 3 so great. I'm just taking it to the next level. BTW, I never thought I'd read 'spamming' & 'knife sub-weapon' in the same sentence. That thing is supposed to suck. That's the trade-off for it being the fastest sub-weapon.

Ever see what that thing can do at LV9 in HD with Berserker Mail and 2 Miser Rings equipped? You'll anally rape everything in the long pathway that leads to the castle entrance in Chapter 9.

Oh, and by the way, I hardly use subweapons in Castlevania. ^^ I like melee attacking. That's probably why my Richter is so weak in HD. Or any Belmont for that matter.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 22, 2011, 02:13:03 AM
Quote from: Claimh Solais on June 22, 2011, 01:11:20 AM
Ever see what that thing can do at LV9 in HD with Berserker Mail and 2 Miser Rings equipped? You'll anally rape everything in the long pathway that leads to the castle entrance in Chapter 9.

What's the fun in that?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 22, 2011, 02:20:09 AM
Simple. You're destroying everything with a dagger of all things. ^^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 22, 2011, 02:24:33 AM
Meh. I'm more of a 'the journey is more important than the destination' kind of guy.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 22, 2011, 02:26:09 AM
Well, I more or less generally use Alucard in HD since he's the most fun in my opinion. So I'm not going around spamming anything other than Form of Mist.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 28, 2011, 09:29:42 AM
Update:

Over the weekend I decided to officially add 4 more stages to the game. These will form path C through the castle and are super secret bonus stages packed with tons of delicious awesomeness. Added them to the first post.

Additionally I added some info on the various suits you'll be able to have Simon wear. They will all change Simon's sprite, and most of them change some aspect of his abilities. These will add a good deal of variety to the game.

Stay tuned for more!!! ^_____^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: julianbelmontxx1 on June 28, 2011, 03:57:48 PM
that sounds cool.
post some screens if you can
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 28, 2011, 04:33:02 PM
The new stages are secret.  ;D
No pics until later. I'm wrapping up the graphics for stage 1, so I'll post those as soon as I'm done along with a new demo.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 28, 2011, 05:34:33 PM
New demo, you say? :D

Think you might have a use for the Simon sprite sheet I made? ^.^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 29, 2011, 12:25:15 AM
I'm thinking of using it as a base for some further modifications, yes.  ;D

Update: Huzzah!! Got the animation for my drawbridge done! Now I just have to do the chains and the last of the graphics and 1-1 is finished except for the last of the parallax bugs.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on June 30, 2011, 12:41:44 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 29, 2011, 12:25:15 AM
I'm thinking of using it as a base for some further modifications, yes.  ;D

Update: Huzzah!! Got the animation for my drawbridge done! Now I just have to do the chains and the last of the graphics and 1-1 is finished except for the last of the parallax bugs.
Are we goin to get a preview of the animation?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 30, 2011, 03:13:51 AM
I've been trying to make a video of it, but so far all the screen cap programs I've used suck. Any recommendations?

Update: Woot!!! Worked out the bugs in my parallax code! Sweet!
I'm noticing a trend in my coding of over complicating things needlessly. Seems that more often than not the solutions i come up with are simply to rewrite my code with an emphasis on minimalism. I should keep this in mind from now on.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on June 30, 2011, 11:33:19 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on June 30, 2011, 03:13:51 AM
I've been trying to make a video of it, but so far all the screen cap programs I've used suck. Any recommendations?

Tried Fraps?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 30, 2011, 12:23:05 PM
Quote from: uzo on June 30, 2011, 11:33:19 AM
Tried Fraps?

Nope. I'll try it and report back. Thanks for the suggestion.

In the mean time here's a little something to tide you guys over:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FWIPPreview00.png&hash=33e244225a71c4a177bf67042f66473e9c3e8bd1)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 30, 2011, 12:35:19 PM
Do you get treasure by crouching there? :D

Fraps is good.  Hypercam3 is also good but puts a "Unregistered Hypercam" at the top left (but if you record the entire window, you can crop out that watermark by using Virtualdub, which IS free).

Actually, I think Virtualdub also does video/screen-capturing, but I've not used it for those purposes.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 30, 2011, 12:47:09 PM
Quote from: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 30, 2011, 12:35:19 PM
Do you get treasure by crouching there? :D

Fraps is good.  Hypercam3 is also good but puts a "Unregistered Hypercam" at the top left (but if you record the entire window, you can crop out that watermark by using Virtualdub, which IS free).

Actually, I think Virtualdub also does video/screen-capturing, but I've not used it for those purposes.

Treasure? Maybe. :)
I'll check those programs out too. hopefully one of them is light enough to work well with my old hardware.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 30, 2011, 02:12:40 PM
Are you sure Hypercam doesn't only do that if you don't have the full version, Jorge? (that's assuming there's a demo/full version). Fraps will put "www.fraps.com" at the top of the screen if you're using the demo, and also limits you to .mpeg files that are up to 30 seconds long. Fraps also only records on certain programs. I dunno if it does it with things like Game Maker or MMF2. Usually if it doesn't record on a program, you might have to make it full screen.

If you're interested in Fraps, I have the full version of it, Inccubus.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 30, 2011, 02:37:47 PM
Both Fraps and Hypercam will watermark (www.fraps.com (http://www.fraps.com) at the top center, or 'unregistered hypercam' on the top left) with the free demo versions, yes.
(LOL I don't pay for those programs, I just find ways to circumvent the problem).

Hypercam has no limit on the length of the videos, and 'appears' to work with most captures.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 30, 2011, 02:40:43 PM
Hypercam does sound better. Wish I'd known about it before I got Fraps.

(But LOL I no pay either)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on June 30, 2011, 02:52:55 PM
All of my Youtube videos for my music are captured with Hypercam 3 (Demo Mode), and then I crop out the Hypercam with virtualdub (which is free). ;)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 30, 2011, 04:36:31 PM
Critique?

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FWIPPreview01.png&hash=055e502346d943000472bb385febb122c7807bc4)

Just FYI, the, heavily modified, tiles in this screen shot are from the following games:
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Ninja Gaiden
Shatterhand
Silver Surfer
Vampire Killer (MSX)
+some custom stuff as well
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 30, 2011, 04:39:43 PM
Wow. It's lookin' hella nice now, man. :O
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 30, 2011, 05:08:01 PM
Thanks! ^___^

Just gotta do the archway and the gate house facade and I'm pretty much done with the graphics for this part of stage 1.
After that I just have to do the event where Simon has to stop and wait for the drawbridge to open and I'm finished.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 30, 2011, 05:12:22 PM
Yeah, the tree you added in there was a nice touch.

Find some way to record a vid, so we can see the walk to the drawbridge when it's finished. ^.^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 30, 2011, 05:39:46 PM
I got Hypercam, but the video keeps coming out wierd. How am I supposed to set the thing up?

Never mind. Got it working more or less. Here's the video:
CVtDCPrev001.wmv (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-J0KU3WM2w#)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 30, 2011, 06:35:31 PM
Whoa. That was a cool animation. o.o
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 30, 2011, 06:38:14 PM
Thanks! Had to re-learn the formula for a circle to do it. And when it didn't work how I wanted I adapted a tutorial on doing orbital paths. ^___^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on June 30, 2011, 06:42:25 PM
Haha, yeah. On the bridge, I was expecting a more side-view of it lowering, not the interesting 3-D like view you gave it. Nice work.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on June 30, 2011, 06:48:18 PM
Thanks. I did it that way because I want to keep the same sort of angled view for the facade of the gatehouse & also I thought it would be more interesting.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: ScionOfBalance on June 30, 2011, 07:33:49 PM
lol,the bridge got me surprised.I thought it was gonna be like super castlevania 4.Very good.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 01, 2011, 03:40:30 AM
One of the things I like the most about that animation is that it would totally be doable on real hardware... it would just cause major flicker with all the sprite tiles it would require. ^___^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on July 01, 2011, 04:13:45 AM
That all looks really cool Inccubus! Congratulations  :D Bring on the demo when you can.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 01, 2011, 04:16:54 AM
You got it! It'll still have whatever bugs are from TheouAegis end, but you'll get to see more or less what Stage 1-1 will be like. ^___^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 01, 2011, 11:30:29 AM
Archway graphics are done:
Yes, they are partly in the foreground.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FWIPPreview02.png&hash=390607c87b1fe3823a22d5558aecc5c1313d343f)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on July 01, 2011, 11:58:32 AM
I'm happy you got Hypercam working!  Seems you're having some framerate issues.  That could be the settings on Hypercam for record/playback, or it could be that your system cannot handle both the engine and hypercam at once.

Niiiiice bridge! :)
Also, wh00t Room of Close Associates! :D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 01, 2011, 12:13:58 PM
Glad you liked it. Maybe when I get the next demo out I can have someone give another video a try for me.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on July 01, 2011, 02:52:24 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on July 01, 2011, 03:40:30 AM
One of the things I like the most about that animation is that it would totally be doable on real hardware... it would just cause major flicker with all the sprite tiles it would require. ^___^

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no, it actually isn't doable on the real hardware.

The flickering you see on the real NES is caused by sprites occupying the same scan line. In other words, if a sprite is horizontally within the same range as another sprite. This is common in NES games, and causes a little bit of slowdown in some cases. Fun fact: this is why most candles in the NES Castlevania games were placed where you have to jump and hit them, to keep them off the same scanlines as the player and ground based enemies.

However, that is not the only limitation for NES sprites. The NES has a 64 sprite hardware limit per rendered frame. The NES defines sprites as; 8x8, 16x8, 8x16 only. Those are the only sprite sizes available. This wouldn't make sense cause you would say "well Megaman/Simon Belmont/Samus/Mario/etc are bigger than that!". Yes, that is also true. Typically player characters in NES games are comprised of multiple sprites. Common platformer player sprite sizes are 16x32, 16x24, 16x16 because they are easily built by drawing anywhere between 2 and 4 separate 16x8 sprites.

Each log of the bridge would be, I'm guessing, at least 5-6 sprites each? And how many logs do you have there? at least 10? That's pretty much topping the limit already.

Sprite limits being hit don't flicker either. They just don't draw period, lag everything, and or crash the game outright. The flicker is only a scanline correction.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 02, 2011, 12:55:01 AM
Well, then it's a good thing my game is assuming a hypothetical 8-bit system with features of both the NES and MSX systems and then some. Even then, I still think they could have figured out a way to do it. I've seen some NES tech demo's that can do a lot more than that drawbridge. but it's all moot anyway since this is a PC game with an enhanced 8-bit aesthetic.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on July 02, 2011, 03:43:17 AM
You do realize those tech demos are only as advanced as they are because they don't have gameplay, right?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Esco on July 02, 2011, 06:50:47 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on July 01, 2011, 11:30:29 AM
Archway graphics are done:
Yes, they are partly in the foreground.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FWIPPreview02.png&hash=390607c87b1fe3823a22d5558aecc5c1313d343f)

Looking good bro! Sometime this week you and me need to get together and talk about parallax. it's about that time man.  ;D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 03, 2011, 08:24:38 AM
No problem, dude. The code turned out to be super simple. It aught to be a snap to implement it in your project.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Aridale on July 03, 2011, 01:18:10 PM
yeah parallax isnt hard at all you just move every bg by a small amount when the view moves. You move the "farther away" bgs more than the "closer" bgs. Its easy stuff
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 03, 2011, 07:47:11 PM
Yeah, the only pain in the ass was that tiled bgs in GM don't have specific coordinates.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on July 03, 2011, 09:46:04 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on July 01, 2011, 11:30:29 AM
Archway graphics are done:
Yes, they are partly in the foreground.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FWIPPreview02.png&hash=390607c87b1fe3823a22d5558aecc5c1313d343f)
Sprites look great! Colors look great! The only thing I notice is that you don't have any icon for how many lives you have remaining....love the 2.5D bridge! Hopefully, you'll use this effect for other stuff in the game as well! You should add water in the chasm and add some splash when the bridge falls to give the illusion of heaviness to it!
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 06, 2011, 09:04:08 AM
Thanks. I'm gonna set it up like in Dracula X where when you press pause it switches the HUD to show lives & score.
I already have a plan for the drawbridge feeling heavy. I'm not feeling the water on this one. I'll see though, I could always rationalize it and change my mind. ^___^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on July 06, 2011, 04:15:50 PM
If you're not feeling the water on this one you could always save it for a later level inside the castle.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on July 06, 2011, 04:20:35 PM
It'd be pretty sweet to see an expanded NE/SX version of the Underground Caverns from SotN.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 07, 2011, 10:17:10 AM
I'm not touching anything from SotN, However, I AM doing a composite stage based exclusively on the cavern stages present in CV1, VK, & the X68k versions. Those stages all have water effects and the VK version even has a blue/grey palette. So I think things will work out well.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on July 07, 2011, 04:10:30 PM
I thought the Underground Caverns from SotN were a throwback to the caves of CV1, VK and X68.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 07, 2011, 04:38:30 PM
They are, but I'm not using the layout from SotN. Incidentally, almost all the stages from SotN are throwbacks to earlier concepts just with mostly interesting new takes on old ideas.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on July 07, 2011, 04:46:31 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on July 06, 2011, 09:04:08 AM
Thanks. I'm gonna set it up like in Dracula X where when you press pause it switches the HUD to show lives & score.
I already have a plan for the drawbridge feeling heavy. I'm not feeling the water on this one. I'll see though, I could always rationalize it and change my mind. ^___^
No biggie dude, just an idea to play around with. Is this going to be a remake or are you going to have your own original levels and such?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 07, 2011, 05:27:35 PM
My main concept for this game is a massive remake of Castlevania 1 that includes all the stages from all the remakes of CV1 (sans outdoor areas) mashed together into the ultimate nostalgia-fest with a health sprinkling of new content to go with it. Check out the first post for all the details. The layouts of stages 1 & 2 are a good example of what I'm trying to accomplish here.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on July 07, 2011, 09:20:47 PM
Are you going to make those map screens you made accessible in-game similar to SOTN?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 07, 2011, 09:55:25 PM
I have been thinking about doing something like that since the MSX version of cv1 had map items you could find that let you bring up the map for the current stage. If I do it it'll be more or less like SotN.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 08, 2011, 03:06:09 PM
Alright. Here's another demo for you guys to check out:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/k4a9tm5vdea44eh/CV-tDC_alpha_v0.005.exe (http://www.mediafire.com/file/k4a9tm5vdea44eh/CV-tDC_alpha_v0.005.exe)

Changes:
-Most up-to-date graphics.
-Some tweaks to Belmont's physics.
-There's a pesky pair of blocks on the first screen for testing purposes.
-And last, but not least, the completed drawbridge animation.

Hope you guys enjoy it.
Next on the itinerary is the last of the tiles for stage 1-1's bg.
As well as the drawbridge chains and the actual enemies.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on July 08, 2011, 03:38:44 PM
You still 'die' if you walk left of the start.
I keep doing that for some reason.

Also, jumping those two blocks when you're, say, 4-8 pixels away makes Trevor jump straight up and then around.  Not particularly bad, but it looks weird, as if there was an invisible 4-8-pixel wall padding those blocks.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 08, 2011, 06:55:09 PM
Thanks for reminding me about the lack of screen boundaries. I keep forgetting to adjust that.
I know about the wierd collision when jumping. That' why those blocks are there. I'm in the process of debugging parts of TheouAegis' engine right now. Let me know if you find anything else. Oh, and I am aware that there's some wierdness with falling off ledges.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: HeliosCentaur on July 08, 2011, 10:04:56 PM
I get an error that says "OpenAL34.dll is missing" and can't open?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Aridale on July 08, 2011, 10:13:00 PM
I had no music in this version also do you have treat uninitialized variables as 0 checked? cause I get this over and over in a game_errors log

ERROR in
action number 1
of Draw Event
for object debug:

In script draw_status:
Error in code at line 5:
   
a=string(obj_Belmont.hearts);
                        ^
at position 23: Unknown variable hearts


ERROR in
action number 4
of Draw Event
for object debug:

Error in expression:obj_Belmont.stop
 position 13: Unknown variable stop

 
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 08, 2011, 10:16:07 PM
Quote from: HeliosCentaur on July 08, 2011, 10:04:56 PM
I get an error that says "OpenAL34.dll is missing" and can't open?

Might be your directX isn't updated or something. What I do in these cases, though, is just download said .dll file and through it in the same folder as the .exe I'm trying to run.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 08, 2011, 10:18:13 PM
Quote from: Aridale on July 08, 2011, 10:13:00 PM
I had no music in this version also do you have treat uninitialized variables as 0 checked? cause I get this over and over in a game_errors log

ERROR in
action number 1
of Draw Event
for object debug:

In script draw_status:
Error in code at line 5:
   
a=string(obj_Belmont.hearts);
                        ^
at position 23: Unknown variable hearts


ERROR in
action number 4
of Draw Event
for object debug:

Error in expression:obj_Belmont.stop
 position 13: Unknown variable stop

Hmmm... I thought I had caught those loose variables. Oh well, thanks for mentioning it. As for the music, I have it set not to start automatically, so just press 1 to load "In the Castle" or 2 to load "Vampire Killer".
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: HeliosCentaur on July 11, 2011, 11:20:55 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on July 08, 2011, 10:16:07 PM
Might be your directX isn't updated or something. What I do in these cases, though, is just download said .dll file and through it in the same folder as the .exe I'm trying to run.
Thanks, worked perfectly.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 14, 2011, 03:10:31 AM
No problem, dude! ^___^
Make sure and post your critique. :)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 23, 2011, 11:18:45 AM
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FNewTorchAnim.gif&hash=1b07201248293e1cb974e1bc0ce25fe30d405730)

Just a little something new.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on July 23, 2011, 06:32:08 PM
Looks smooth. I likes!  :D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 24, 2011, 01:10:39 AM
Thanks! and it's only 4 frames.  8)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on July 24, 2011, 01:23:45 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on July 24, 2011, 01:10:39 AM
Thanks! and it's only 4 frames.  8)
Very impressive for only 4 frames!
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 27, 2011, 09:02:32 AM
Here's a preview of the pause menu:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FWIPPreview03.png&hash=87ff9446963b05126c94238a031cc086e877c8e7)

Notice the new icons based on official art where possible. If I didn't have official art for an item I used the original graphics as a guide. And where there were multiple versions of the same item I tried to combine them into something new.

And, yes, that first row of items are from Vampire Killer and will be incorporated into the game.
They are as follows:
(left to right)
Map, Secret Candle, Door Key, Double Shot, Knight Shield, Mercury Boots, Gryphon Wing.
Triple Shot and Heavy Shield will also be included, but they replace their corresponding partners.

The Icons in the middle are for your regular weapons. The whips will only display the current form, but that hasn't been implemented yet. You also get to use a short sword when equipped with the Vampire Hunter outfit.
You can only swap main weapons in the menu. Sub-weapons can either be swapped in the menu or switched by pressing "select" when not in the menu.

The first heart under the clock icon for the time is lives, and the one below that is for gold. Obviously the icons for these two aren't done.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on July 27, 2011, 11:03:49 AM
The original games just used P as the icon for lives, I think.
Nice job though! Looks retro, like a GameGear game. :)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on July 27, 2011, 02:15:27 PM
FYI time limits are lame and archaic.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on July 27, 2011, 03:43:58 PM
Quote from: uzo on July 27, 2011, 02:15:27 PM
FYI time limits are lame and archaic.

And also stop you from screwing around the entire stage, and also gives a sense of urgency.


Though as unrealistic as they are...
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on July 27, 2011, 04:18:53 PM
I had mentioned this to Inccubus about the clock and gave him the idea of using the clock for a point system rather then a stage time limit. If you've ever played any of the Super Star Wars games on the SNES, they use a clock but it's only for more points at the end of the stage. The more time you have on the clock, the more points you get. So I think that this is true about Inccubus' game as well since it'll be a bit too complex and unrealistic for a stage time limitation.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 27, 2011, 07:43:28 PM
Quote from: X on July 27, 2011, 04:18:53 PM
I had mentioned this to Inccubus about the clock and gave him the idea of using the clock for a point system rather then a stage time limit. If you've ever played any of the Super Star Wars games on the SNES, they use a clock but it's only for more points at the end of the stage. The more time you have on the clock, the more points you get. So I think that this is true about Inccubus' game as well since it'll be a bit too complex and unrealistic for a stage time limitation.

This! ^___^
The timer is exclusively for a reward for people that have already explored the game and want to do speed runs to build their funds to buy unlockables. And I'm including everything from new outfits to extra songs.

@X: You will be getting credit for that idea, BTW. So will everyone else that contributes to the project. I have been noting everyone in my credits list.


Quote from: Jorge D. Fuentes on July 27, 2011, 11:03:49 AM
The original games just used P as the icon for lives, I think.
Nice job though! Looks retro, like a GameGear game. :)

Thanks, Jorge. ^___^
I basically decided to dump the whole palette limit thing. Now I'm just keeping a strict limit of 4 colors + black if opaque or 4 colors + clear if transparent. I figured that would give the game the slightly more enhanced look I was going for without having to micromanage the total number of colors.

And on that note... anyone have any suggestions for an 8x8 icon to represent lives? I don't want to use a "P".
If I don't figure one out I'm just gonna change everything in the pause menu to text to keep things uniform.

Also, updated stage layout info on first post. Check it out.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: julianbelmontxx1 on July 27, 2011, 09:57:46 PM
i love that pause menu.
you will make a metroidvania style game,right?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 28, 2011, 01:13:48 AM
Not exactly. It is going to end up being closer to Vampire Killer on the MSX.
You will be able to backtrack through stages, but they won't require any relics to fully explore them.
Secrets will be plentiful, and getting to some stages will require you to discover some of them.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on July 28, 2011, 01:34:38 AM
Any redone stuff from Haunted Castle?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 28, 2011, 01:43:55 AM
Yes! ^____^
Since Haunted Castle is the arcade version of Akumajou Dracula it's resources are included in this project. As with SCV4 I'm only using music and level layouts from within Castlevania in order to reserve those for my CV2 remake that will come later on. Also take note that the outfit "Dusk Mail" is based on a combination of features from both HC and SCV4 since they have very similar designs.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on July 28, 2011, 01:45:56 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on July 28, 2011, 01:13:48 AM
Secrets will be plentiful, and getting to some stages will require you to discover some of them.

Hence why I am so excited about this game. I find secrets very very enjoyable. Keeps me wanting to play. ^.^

...Or rather, keeps everyone wanting to play. Or should. Whatever, I made my point.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Pemburu Vampir on July 28, 2011, 02:07:11 AM
I'm downloading the demo right now. Can't wait to try it.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 28, 2011, 03:03:22 AM
There really isn't much to it yet. The next demo will have the pause menu complete and maybe even a little surprise.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Pemburu Vampir on July 28, 2011, 03:51:11 AM
I get an error while trying to install the game.

Seems like I'll have to update my Directx. But unfortunately, my PC has no internet. :(
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 28, 2011, 04:29:47 AM
Yeah the direct X thing is 99% of the problems people have with GM games. Its doesn't install, BTW, it just plays.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 28, 2011, 09:06:08 PM
Here's a complete sheet of the weapon & item icons. Maybe you guys will be able to decipher some of the bonus content from this.  ;D

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FCastlevania%2520The%2520Demon%2520Castle%2FWIPIcons.png&hash=7759c6f8473849449d5817e73c4de6a6fd5b9c24)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: julianbelmontxx1 on July 30, 2011, 02:04:00 AM
what is OpenAL32?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on July 30, 2011, 02:56:59 AM
it's just a dll file GM requires.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 04, 2011, 05:07:59 AM
Here's a near complete set of icons for the game:
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on August 04, 2011, 11:36:19 AM
Dude. Is that a revolver in there?  :D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 04, 2011, 12:58:55 PM
As a matter of fact it is.
Don't worry there's a good reason for it showing up about 300 years early in 17th century Romania.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on August 04, 2011, 01:16:46 PM
As soon as I saw it, the first image in my head was 8bit Simon pointing a gun at Dracula. XD
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on August 04, 2011, 04:26:07 PM
Rather then using a revolver why not instead use the Colt model Dragoon II. Even 300 years ago we had firearms but they were simply flintlocks. The Dragoon though existing much later, is the same as a flintlock except it fire six lead shots like a modern revolver. I do believe Henry in LoD used a Colt Dragoon as well.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 04, 2011, 05:30:04 PM
The revolver has to stay a revolver for a good reason that I'm not going to spoil. ^_____^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: uzo on August 04, 2011, 05:41:02 PM
In b4 Saint Germain.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 04, 2011, 06:00:53 PM
Oh man, now I wanna play Henry's Quest again.
**Blasts Giant Skeleton Ape IN THE FACE WITH THE HOLY GUN GOODNESS** xD
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Flame on August 04, 2011, 07:00:36 PM
Its ok. Dracula pretty much invented all modern technology. Dont you remember Castlevania 64?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Pemburu Vampir on August 04, 2011, 08:03:06 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on August 04, 2011, 05:30:04 PM
The revolver has to stay a revolver for a good reason that I'm not going to spoil. ^_____^

Does that mean Ocelot is going to be playable? Ya know as soon as I heard revolver, it reminds me of Ocelot from MGS.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 05, 2011, 03:03:43 AM
Quote from: Pemburu Vampir on August 04, 2011, 08:03:06 PM
Does that mean Ocelot is going to be playable? Ya know as soon as I heard revolver, it reminds me of Ocelot from MGS.

LOL.
No, Simon is the only playable character... ^____^


Update: Made some changes to the info in the first post.
Preview of newest iteration of the pause menu.
Decided on a gold coin for the score/money icon.
Semi-jokingly used a modified Dracula's Heart from CV2 for the lives icon.
The menu frame is partially dynamic allowing for up to 9 sub-weapon icons.
The gold crosses are place holders for other drop items.
SLight update to the fire stands or whatever the hell those things are called.
You may continue to ignore the numerical data above the menu.

Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 05, 2011, 02:12:29 PM
Cleaned up the screen a bit.
Fell free to disregard the typo.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on August 05, 2011, 02:43:00 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on August 05, 2011, 02:12:29 PM
Cleaned up the screen a bit.
Fell free to disregard the typo.[/u]

Was that..? Did you just..?
...
...
You're good, Inccubus.



I be likin' the way it looks. Looks pretty nice so far, and pretty legit. I really wanna see the way the rest of the stage looks cuz your layout looked nice. ^.^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 05, 2011, 03:11:22 PM
Thanks. I'll be working on the rest of the stage as soon as I finish the menu completely and work out a couple of bugs in this version of the Belmont that arose when I switched the sub-weapon variable to a string. I want to have the menu fully dynamic for easy modification later on.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 24, 2011, 05:23:11 PM
OK. Woke up this Monday with an itch bout the pause menu. Decided to switch to a full screen pause menu like in the later games. Streamlining my code while I'm at it too. Decided to have shields as selectable equipment instead of a power up item. Also, having relics instead of the standard items from Vampire killer. This is largely just semantics, but I am also adding in some more relics that can be turned on or off at will.

The most important thing about this new menu is that it will be more customizable than the previous one. This will be important because it will give a boat load of options for the player as well as anyone using my game as a base for their own project.

Screen caps pending completion.

Edit:
Here's the two candidates for the final HUD. Which one do you guys like better?
Yes, the bosses will all have a standard 32 unit health meter.
No, THAT giant medusa head is just a test enemy.

While I'm at it let me explain the two numbers.
The number on the right is your current supply of hearts.
The number on the left depends on a couple of things. Initially it's the stock of your current sub-weapon a`la Lords of Shadow. Before anyone tracks me down and kills me for this blasphemy, let me assure you that having to collect individual sub-weapon units isn't going to be forced. One of the first relics you'll be able to find is the infamous Duplicator from SotN. What it does is consume hearts to duplicate your sub-weapons in the way the old games always did. Now there are advantages and disadvantages to this. Primarily there's the fact that while using the duplicator you're using up your hearts that might be better used for weapon crashes or spells. It's up to the player though how they want to do it.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 26, 2011, 02:32:55 AM
Here's a WIP of the new pause menu:
All numbers separated by a "/" are current values on the left and maximum values on the right.
Also, should have mentioned a while back that I switched the numbers in the font to those from CV2 since they match the style of the letters from CV3 better. Speaking of which you might notice some subtle modifications to some of the letters in said font.
Oh, and those small frames in the top section are for the relics the first 3 of which are collectable on a per stage basis.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on August 29, 2011, 11:30:55 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on August 26, 2011, 02:32:55 AM
Here's a WIP of the new pause menu:
All numbers separated by a "/" are current values on the left and maximum values on the right.
Also, should have mentioned a while back that I switched the numbers in the font to those from CV2 since they match the style of the letters from CV3 better. Speaking of which you might notice some subtle modifications to some of the letters in said font.
Oh, and those small frames in the top section are for the relics the first 3 of which are collectable on a per stage basis.
I have the actual CV3 font package if you need it...
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 30, 2011, 12:20:09 AM
That's cool. I'm good with what I got, but thanks for the offer! ^___^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 30, 2011, 04:04:46 PM
Not the most exciting thing in the world, but here it is anyway.

Pause Menu Update!

Note: The spirit orb & Duplicator are animated.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 30, 2011, 06:20:53 PM
"Thank you, sir. May I have another."
"Why, yes, you may!"

EDIT: I turned the spirit orb & duplicator relics off so you guys can see what happens when you do that. Also, the two animated relics are not animated when off.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Pemburu Vampir on August 31, 2011, 02:19:13 AM
That Health's icon looks more like a money bag.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: VladCT on August 31, 2011, 10:30:10 AM
I think it's pot roast on a plate, but yeah, looks a bit too small and confusing.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 31, 2011, 03:12:52 PM
Should I ditch the plate and just go for a slightly bigger drumstick? I'm doing the best I can with an 8x8 sprite.
Or should I go with a potion bottle instead?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 31, 2011, 06:31:45 PM
If I may make a suggestion or two:

1. The Health should be a heart icon, just not a Red Heart (use a Gold heart... I would also recommend a Green heart but you have a Magic counter and that would confuse people)
2. The Hearts should stay as it is.
3. The Lives counter should either just be an L like in Simon's Quest, or a very tiny version of the character.
I went and made one for you.  It's teensy, hehe:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.inverteddungeon.com%2Fjorgefuentes%2Fimages3%2FLives.png&hash=3e9eb70eb2ece9cbfffb9d989dc0b22a5e0eb13a)

Here it is, at 3X the size:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.inverteddungeon.com%2Fjorgefuentes%2Fimages3%2FLivesx3.png&hash=477cc5a0d0cea787af95b7c975e822af6687c87e)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on August 31, 2011, 07:47:25 PM
1) Huh? I don't have a magic counter. I just keep track of units of each sub-weapon & hearts.
Generally I'm trying to use 8x8 versions of the most common item used to replenish each stat. I figured Health should be food because that's what you pick up to restore health more often than not. I'm open to other suggestions, of course, but I definitely don't want to use another heart icon. If I don't use meat, I'd like to incorporate the green palette I'm using for Simon's health meter.

2) Definitely not gonna mess with that.

3)That is awesome!
I'd like to put it to use somewhere, but I'm not feeling it for the lives.
Lives have been a bitch, cause CV1 uses literally a big [1up] for extra lives.
Some games use a blue crystal, so that's what I was thinking I'd use.
Never mind, that looks pretty damn sweet! I can even do something neat and change it's colors depending on the outfit the player chooses to equip Simon with.

I did a new meat icon for the health, and I'm pasting in your mini-simon for lives just to see how it looks.
Here's the current pause menu now with working shields:
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 31, 2011, 08:19:01 PM
The new Meat icon for health is great.  Good job.
Haha!  Little 'puppet' icon for Lives looks awesome and matches your menu.  :D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Pemburu Vampir on August 31, 2011, 10:41:32 PM
That lives icon looks too small. Since many games have the main's head as the lives icon, I suggest you to use just Simon's head for it instead of a whole tiny Simon.

Also, that meat icon actually looks better now without the plate.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on August 31, 2011, 11:13:57 PM
Like your meat icon Inccubus, however it does come off as a little too dark. If I may suggest a more golden brown. *starts drooling* Y' know just too differentiate it from the heart's color palette a little.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Sonic_Reaper on September 01, 2011, 03:54:16 AM
Just use his head for the Lives icon, instead of trying to fit the entire body in there.  I like the concept though, but it's too small to see.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Pemburu Vampir on September 01, 2011, 03:59:19 AM
Quote from: Sonic_Reaper on September 01, 2011, 03:54:16 AM
Just use his head for the Lives icon, instead of trying to fit the entire body in there.  I like the concept though, but it's too small to see.

Yeah, like I said in my previous post.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Sonic_Reaper on September 02, 2011, 02:16:56 AM
Yes, I know, I was agreeing with the suggestion  ;D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on September 03, 2011, 02:54:59 PM
I hesitate BECAUSE that's what most other games do.
I'd rather be unique if possible, and if not than unusual will do. ^___^
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on September 03, 2011, 10:32:27 PM
Quote
I hesitate BECAUSE that's what most other games do.
I'd rather be unique if possible, and if not than unusual will do. ^___^

Maybe you should create a unique lives icon that will suit castlevania. Contra had medals of honor, Mario Bros had Mario heads... just thought of an idea. What about using a shield icon or coat of arms icon?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on September 04, 2011, 04:14:19 AM
The thing with that is that they basically use a rudimentary coat of arms for the whip power up and I have shields in the game for shields so that won't work. The only thing that has ever been used for a 1up other than a literal 1up is a blue crystal thingy. Any other ideas, cause I'm coming up short on this one?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on September 04, 2011, 01:19:33 PM
OK. I got two more suggestions for a life icon.
1) an ankh.
2) a dove.

I like both, but I fear the one is too Egypt, and the other is too Christian. What do you guys think?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on September 04, 2011, 02:31:23 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on September 04, 2011, 01:19:33 PM
OK. I got two more suggestions for a life icon.
1) an ankh.
2) a dove.

I like both, but I fear the one is too Egypt, and the other is too Christian. What do you guys think?
They do have mummies in Castlevania, so no worries.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on September 04, 2011, 02:48:48 PM
Here's another suggestion.
I modified the DraculaX "1-Up Crystal" Icon to help you.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.inverteddungeon.com%2Fjorgefuentes%2Fimages3%2Fcrystal-life.png&hash=36bcdeb5550bf3557c989054e0877160eebd7c2c)
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.inverteddungeon.com%2Fjorgefuentes%2Fimages3%2Fcrystal-life.png%5B.img%5D&hash=9f6d9ff836cd71e88912442370aa16f5088b3a43)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on September 06, 2011, 01:52:16 AM
Cool. Thanks again, Jorge. I'm gonna try it out along with all the other suggestions and let the community decide on this one.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on September 07, 2011, 01:05:54 AM
OK here are the candidates for the new Lives icon:
1) Mini Simon by Jorge
2) CVDXX 1up crystal by Jorge
3) Ankh by me (looks like ass)
4) Blue Cross by me (with platform)
5) Blue Cross by me (without platform)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on September 07, 2011, 01:09:51 AM
Fifth one didn't fit so....

Also, I should mention that the pause menu is pretty much done except for the lives icon and the fancy corner graphics.
Added 4 more sub-weapons: Oak Stake (CV2), Rebound Stone (CV2, big version), Crystal (LoI), Pumpkin (LoI).
Renamed smaller rebound stone to Rebound Gem.
Thinking of adding Death's Sickle as a sub-weapon.

Anywho, here's the fifth lives icon candidate:
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: C Belmont on September 07, 2011, 01:55:54 AM
I'd go with either mini simon or the cross without a stand
If you decide to use the cross though I think you should simplify it's shading a bit so that it's more clear what it is.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Sonic_Reaper on September 08, 2011, 05:25:51 AM
I'm actually digging the one-up crystal.  It's very clear and separated from the other icons, and it's obvious what it means.  At least IMO.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on September 08, 2011, 10:01:04 PM
I'm diggin' the crystal for the same reasons. Actually makes me wanna do a little something more with the clock icon.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on September 08, 2011, 10:48:13 PM
Glad you like it! :D
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on December 14, 2011, 04:44:51 AM
While I take a break from this fangame, I'm working on Megaman fangame too.
I got an open-source Megaman engine and I'm improving it.
Test it and tell me if the jump physics feel right.
There are a lot of bug to be worked out still, but I'm concentrating on fixing the jump first.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sv1hnunjbf3bbj2 (http://www.mediafire.com/?sv1hnunjbf3bbj2)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: BMC_War Machine on January 02, 2012, 11:21:27 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on December 14, 2011, 04:44:51 AM
While I take a break from this fangame, I'm working on Megaman fangame too.
I got an open-source Megaman engine and I'm improving it.
Test it and tell me if the jump physics feel right.
There are a lot of bug to be worked out still, but I'm concentrating on fixing the jump first.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sv1hnunjbf3bbj2 (http://www.mediafire.com/?sv1hnunjbf3bbj2)
Inccubus, im a HUGE megaman fan, if you're interested in having any metal mixes of any megaman tunes be sure to let me know and i'll hook it up dude!  8)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on January 03, 2012, 12:26:35 AM
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.


EDIT:

OK. Small status update for Megaman.
(Should I make a separate thread for this game? If so, where should it go since it isn't Castlevania related?)
Rebuilding everything from the ground up.

What's done:


What's next:


Another demo will be out as soon as I finish all of Megaman's basic moves.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on January 07, 2012, 03:36:37 AM
Yo, Inccubus, you probably already covered this question before, so forgive me if you have, but...

Since you're taking reference from all CV1 incarnations, will the weirdo merchant from Vampire Killer appear?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on January 07, 2012, 10:39:57 AM
I haven't thought about that too much, actually.
There are 2 wierdo merchants I can use. There's also the freaky red-eyed one from Chronicles.
I'm not sure how to handle them. I definitely don't want to have them hidden in blocks.
I suppose I can put in a special item the summons them or put them in hidden rooms.
Any suggestions?
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on January 07, 2012, 11:56:07 AM
Yeah, I was going to say add a room somewhere to use as a shop just like in SotN, just to restock on a couple things or so.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on January 07, 2012, 09:10:49 PM
I also have to decide on what to have them sell, because there aren't exactly a huge number of items thus far. I have to think about it.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Claimh Solais on January 10, 2012, 12:35:30 AM
It could even just be simple stuff, like refilling on hearts or health. Or extra subweapons you can't get anywhere else (like the Holy Bible and the Black Bible in VK).
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on January 10, 2012, 01:46:34 PM
Yeah. Something like that would be reasonable.

Huzzah!! My harddrive with all my projects on it just died. Looks like Megaman is going straight back to the drawing board. Fortunately I have a back up of my other projects.
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: darkmanx_429 on January 16, 2012, 03:06:30 PM
Quote from: Inccubus on January 10, 2012, 01:46:34 PM
Yeah. Something like that would be reasonable.

Huzzah!! My harddrive with all my projects on it just died. Looks like Megaman is going straight back to the drawing board. Fortunately I have a back up of my other projects.
If you can get into the hdd a program called DiskDigger can find your stuff for you even if the hdd has been reformated....
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on January 17, 2012, 12:08:03 AM
I'll look into it. I'm just waiting to get the rest of my new computer parts. How's this for the ultimate computer-nerd cocktease? I got my parts shipment today from fed ex. I open it up and got my shiny new 3.4 Ghz dual core cpu and the micro ATX motherboard that goes with it. And then I realized the whole thing was as useful as a paperweight. They forgot the RAM!! (And, no, I can't use my old RAM. It's DDR2 and this board only uses DDR3.)
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: X on January 17, 2012, 03:46:57 PM
Quote
And then I realized the whole thing was as useful as a paperweight. They forgot the RAM!! (And, no, I can't use my old RAM. It's DDR2 and this board only uses DDR3.)

Talk about being forcibly sat down and spun  :(
Title: Re: [Fangame] Castlevania: The Demon Castle
Post by: Inccubus on January 17, 2012, 05:36:49 PM
It's all good. They're sending the ram next day on their nickel.
Title: Re: [Elemental Games] NE[s]S[/s]/[s]M[/s]SX-style Fangames
Post by: Inccubus on January 26, 2012, 05:06:17 AM
Here's A little something I've been working on since the loss of my data.
Started as an upgrade of just one frame of the original Megaman sprite for a friend. Also, includes an 8-bit X & and an 8-bit-ish Megaman.EXE based on Zero (v2.0). Those are for a perler bead project for my friend's nephew, they aren't gonna be in the game.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FMMPD%2FTheMegamen.jpg&hash=2595cd59bb61248b06714ef7849a836e3557ad8f)

When I finish it, it'll be used as a base for some of the other playable characters. He ended up about the same size as Megaman from the Wily Wars, so I took part of one of those sprites for mine.

Edit:
Threw this together for an edit I'd like to do to Megaman Zero Collection so I don't have to put up with the rather nonsensical palette choices.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FNES%2520Graphic%2520Edits%2FGeneralRecolors-large.jpg&hash=4d73c52fcb58283d7092f4eb0e3698f476617788)
Title: Re: [Elemental Games] NE/SX-style Fangames
Post by: Inccubus on January 29, 2012, 02:40:01 AM
Moar:

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh189%2Fkoala_knight%2FMMPD%2FTheMegamen-1.jpg&hash=0bfb26a55a1684881821487cbf3d8e1136cfae18)
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on March 30, 2013, 06:52:00 PM
I'm a necromancer.

After a very long hiatus, here is a sample of the new Lolo sprite I'm working on for "Eggerland Saga".
It's based on the frames from "Adventures of Lolo III" with the design from "Eggerland" (FDS/FC) redrawn from scratch.
I just need to add the arms and he's 1/2 done.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Lelygax on March 31, 2013, 06:50:30 AM
In Eggerland he doesnt have foots?
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on March 31, 2013, 06:54:44 AM
Feet? Yes. And hands, too.
Here's the finished animation:
(The sample image shows the three phases of the design.)
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Lelygax on March 31, 2013, 07:18:02 AM
I really need to search and discover what the difference in design them, I've only played one of Lolo's games for NES (I think its the second one). Also good job, these sprites are awesome.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on March 31, 2013, 07:37:02 AM
Thanks! Between the 9 or 10 games of the series there were like 8 different sprites. I based this one off of a combination of the sprites from the FC & FDS releases and the dungeon entrance sprites from Lolo III for NES.

EDIT: Finished the front view sprite.

EDIT: The back too. All basic frames and animation code has been created as well.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on April 02, 2013, 07:46:07 AM
Screen shot:
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Dark Nemesis on April 02, 2013, 09:20:38 AM
Quote from: Inccubus on April 02, 2013, 07:46:07 AM
Screen shot:

(https://photos-1.dropbox.com/t/0/AAC4nL-eZ0dOVlZywCSRkjYPun7ckp6TriGDtbpdOH73Dw/12/151262646/png/32x32/3/_/1/2/New%20Lolo%20-%20Sample%204.png/YjD3BILg42kh_4l33IbmVxBiHXDAYPrsZNFwItIbjqc?size=1600x1200)


Where?
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on April 02, 2013, 10:54:52 AM
A test room based on the tree tutorials from Adventures of Lolo 3?
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Aridale on April 02, 2013, 12:18:18 PM
links broken
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Dark Nemesis on April 02, 2013, 05:06:44 PM
Quote from: Aridale on April 02, 2013, 12:18:18 PM
links broken

^^This........
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on April 02, 2013, 09:24:36 PM
Wierd. It shows up just fine for me. Here:
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Lelygax on April 03, 2013, 01:52:01 PM
Maybe your image isnt open for the public before. I like what I see, you plan to release it for beta-testing like you did with your CV game in the future? This room seems to be fun. xD
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on April 03, 2013, 07:40:02 PM
I will. But this thing is so simple I expect it'll be all the way finished in no time too.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on April 08, 2013, 12:20:10 PM
Redrew the "up" frames on Lolo.
His basic physics are done so now I just have to make the HUD, objects, and monsters and that's pretty much it for the game play.
After that I'll start creating all the stages and organizing them into chapters.
Oh, and I'll release the demo once the stages for at least one chapter are finished.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Lelygax on July 18, 2013, 07:33:09 PM
We can ask for news here? I want to know about your projects :3
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on July 19, 2013, 06:47:39 PM
Lolo engine is almost done.
Still haven't gone back to work on the CV1 remake.
Finishing up an arcade shooter engine right now to get something published asap.
This will lead to another game that will be the center piece of a very modest crowd funding campaign.

Thanks for asking! :D
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Lelygax on July 20, 2013, 01:41:29 AM
Nice, this shooter will be vertical or horizontal? It will be like Gradius? It is Parovadius? LOL

ParoVadius (2002 Version) (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/54719)

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fhyc68yA.png&hash=3e9660dd9edd78d0aa9258648e128a74bced6840)

Release a Lolo demo when possible.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on July 21, 2013, 03:52:05 AM
The engine is for a basic shooter in the style of Space Invaders. The following one will be a hybrid of Space Invaders and a vertical shooter.
I have a cool idea for a reverse space invaders game starring Galaxyman from Megman 9, but that would be a fan game so it's kinda low priority right now.

+1 Parovadius is the shit!!
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on August 08, 2013, 03:18:19 AM
----------UPDATE----------

8/8/2013 - Got some work done on Eggerland Saga. Grab an alpha demo of the movement engine here:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/oqkmabcp42deccs/Eggerland_Saga-Alpha-0.2.0.0.exe (http://www.mediafire.com/download/oqkmabcp42deccs/Eggerland_Saga-Alpha-0.2.0.0.exe)
This is very early and very bare bones. It's really just Lolo in room with four posts. You can move around and that's pretty much it. If any of you are feeling generous please download this demo and tell me if you have any issues.

Also, pics:
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Lelygax on August 08, 2013, 01:37:47 PM
Im downloading it to test.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Lelygax on August 08, 2013, 02:29:31 PM
I tested a lot of crazy things and combinations and that doesnt broke your demo, bravo! The only suggestion that I have is that  instead of giving a installer for a demo, you could zip the files.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on August 08, 2013, 04:12:23 PM
Thanks for testing it out! :)
GameMaker Studio generates an installer by default, but I can zip up the files no problem.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Lelygax on August 08, 2013, 04:19:36 PM
Yeah, I expected to be something like that, it creating a installer and all :P

My idea is like that: install it in some folder in your computer, zip these installed files, uninstall it (if you dont use it for testing, so it free space in the HDD) and send the zip with the files, like a "portable" thing, only for the testing ones, a installer is cool for a finished game xD

Im saying that because some people avoid installers and prefer things that run "on the go", its only a idea.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on August 08, 2013, 05:05:47 PM
Agreed.

EDIT: I started a crowd funding campaign for my for profit projects. If anyone is interested please check out the link in my sig. Thanks!
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Lelygax on August 09, 2013, 06:47:24 PM
I dont have money, but it seems really worth since you only needs 2,000 bucks for everything.
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames Discussion
Post by: Inccubus on August 10, 2013, 05:15:09 PM
No worries. ;D
Title: Re: [FundamentalEssence] NE/SX-style Fangames
Post by: Inccubus on September 21, 2013, 01:46:26 AM
Progress!!
Not much progress, but hell. It's better than nothing.
Started the emerald framers. Those boxes you move around.
So far I just got them to detect the player as a first step. When you stand next to one it turns the side you're standing on yellow for debugging purposes. Now I went a step further and created a setting where users can set them to be pushable if the player is off center. And I programmed it to calculate the off center threshold based on the actual size of the player object's bounding box values. So you can make your player character any size you want and they'll still work. And like is shown in the picture, the framers themselves can be any size too.