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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => Hardcore Gaming 101 => Topic started by: Dracula9 on August 11, 2014, 04:24:30 PM

Title: Qa'Doth
Post by: Dracula9 on August 11, 2014, 04:24:30 PM
So, I've reached the point in game-making where I want to make my own product, and hopefully market and sell the thing. I can probably blame Shovel Knight for this sudden inspiration, but I'm glad it's hit me.

Haunted Castle is probably going to be on hiatus, since after making Castlevania (and also Mega Man) projects for the better part of six-seven years now, I'm pretty burnt out on making them. I know a bunch of folks have been pumped for HC, but I've just lost the drive for it. Can't say that's fair, but after coding the same shit for so long, I'm craving something more, something I can look back on and say "that's mine, I made that."

Which is what I'm currently doing now. I've noticed a considerable decline in good horror games as of late (this applies moreso to the indie market, which is where I'd doubtlessly be marketing this once I finish it), and especially 2D horror titles. I've taken it upon myself to try and add to that genre with Kadath (that name may or may not remain placeholder, haven't decided yet). On the same note of game types that are lacking, there aren't very many Lovecraft-based games. There are plenty of Lovecraft-inspired ones, but they don't draw too heavily on the mythos from what I've seen. And sticking Cthulhu or Yog-Sothoth or Nyarlathotep into a game as an enemy doesn't really count in my book, and there's been plenty of games that do that.

What I'm planning is a 2D horror platformer (oh boy is this one gonna be a struggle), based on and in NES graphic and sound styles (just like every indie developer, but hey, retro stuff sells), and also very heavily derivative of Lovecraft's mythos (and not just the Great Old One and Cthulhu mythos, the whole shebang).

What I've fleshed out so far is to have the game follow a plot and tonality reminiscent of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, one of Lovecraft's most thought-provoking and descriptive (and longest) stories. I don't think I'll end up going with the "it was all a dream" idea the story does, as that's become a cliched trope. However, I do want dream realms to play a large part. At present, the game will begin with a modernized version of the Antarctic expedition seen in At the Mountains of Madness. Once that plays out, and the protag and what's left of his crew flee the continent for safety, they will arrive at those fated coordinates, and the protag will subsequently have to navigate through R'lyeh. He will come upon the slumbering Old Ones, and the sight of them will fuck his mind up and he'll pass out. Once asleep, with his mind having become awakened to the Eldritch realms by now, his consciousness will travel beyond time and space before he finally settles in...Sarnath. And for anyone who knows Lovecraft's stories, you know that this poor bastard has precious short time before the Moon-Beasts totally destroy the city (I'll be changing this so that Bokrug himself is actually leading the charge, in the story he's only present as a magical idol). After fleeing the city and fending off Bokrug (pulling architecture down onto him and briefly trapping him)...I haven't worked out yet. kek

As for gameplay shit, I have settled on a couple of things.
>You will begin the game unarmed, and have to rely on using the environment to dispatch or avoid enemies (since it's a horror game in the end weapons should naturally be severely limited). You'll find a few things here and there, but largely it's being able to find a way to break shit.
>Non-melee attacks will be used by invoking and summoning various incarnations of the Fifty Names of Marduk (from the Necronomicon, which you will be given during the course of the game by a certain mad poet, who is also wandering between time and space). Certain invocations will summon various deities, who will function as shopkeepers (you can only summon them in certain areas, however, and there will be technicalities to fulfill before those areas are usable). Some will teach you spells, which can be used outside of the summons area once they've been learned. Others will function as weaponsmiths and your basic upgrade shop (maybe...I might nix this one).
>The big creatures (i.e. Bokrug, Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, Mordiggian, Shib-Niggurath, etc) cannot be killed. Their mere existence is something most mortals cannot even comprehend without succumbing to incurable madness, so naturally a normal guy would have no chance of actually slaying them. However, they can be sealed, injured, and temporarily incapacitated. But not killed.
>Nyarlathotep's gonna be the primary antag. Just because he's a dick like that. And it's gonna be fun to make a big twisted wormy final boss.

Aaaaand aside from all THAT, I've gotten a few non-conceptual things done so far.

First set of tiles for Sarnath (hey, it's a huge-ass city made of fuckin' gold, what'd ya expect? The areas will get progressively more disturbing as the game progresses)
(click to show/hide)

And the intended art style for the Great bosses, and the characters in general. But it looks best at a scale this big.
(click to show/hide)


And last, but CERTAINLY not least, it wouldn't be a D9 thread without some music; only this time, they're original. *le gasp*
Kinetic Heartbeat - Undecided stage theme (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/dt0pm8wstsl6cbq/Kinetic_Heartbeat.mp3)
Dimensional Lurkers - Suspense theme (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/0f5ke9qn6qisjiv/Dimensional_Lurkers.mp3)
Stellar Stalkers - Chase theme (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/rad2ga4f3rap5i8/Stellar_Stalkers.mp3)(note that this one is a variation (or a reprisal of sorts, I guess) of Dimensional Lurkers, which is intentional since this one will often follow the former.

I was kinda going for a Metroid-esque vibe in the music. With the game being 2D, I lose a lot of elements of horror buildup, so I have to make extra-good use of the classic methods; music setting atmosphere being one of the most basic. Let me know if I pulled it off or totally fucked it up.

And...that's it for now, I guess. :P
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on August 11, 2014, 06:29:10 PM
Looking good! Although I would suggest a Sega Genesis type palette, with 8 colors allowed for each sprite? Iunno, but it would allow for more horrific looking things. I would offer to help with sprites, but I'm only good at people and ground tiles.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 11, 2014, 06:32:17 PM
That Cthulhu IS eight colors. And I'm not following NES limitations exactly, I'm merely imitating the style.

And Genesis palette? Ew, no. Way too bright and high-contrast for a horror game.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on August 11, 2014, 06:53:36 PM
That Cthulhu IS eight colors. And I'm not following NES limitations exactly, I'm merely imitating the style.

And Genesis palette? Ew, no. Way too bright and high-contrast for a horror game.

Yeah, but look at what CV:Bloodlines did with it. Some of those sprites look horrifying and haunted me since I was a little kid. Of course, no sprite can compare to the horror of Silent Hill: Homecoming.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: darkmanx_429 on August 11, 2014, 08:32:45 PM
I approve this!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on August 11, 2014, 09:11:27 PM
Is there going to be mmx style wall jumping? I love  mmx style wall jumping.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 11, 2014, 09:18:09 PM
Will you release your existing Haunted Castle code, so that others may perhaps continue it?
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on August 11, 2014, 09:21:57 PM
Will you release your existing Haunted Castle code, so that others may perhaps continue it?

ooooor the VZ code......
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theANdROId on August 11, 2014, 09:36:53 PM
Looks/sounds pretty nifty so far!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Inccubus on August 11, 2014, 10:32:45 PM
Awesome! + What Jorge said.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: X on August 11, 2014, 10:58:29 PM
Love the tiles there! And that Cthulhu? Bad@$$. I'd hate to be on that very boat 'cause when Cthulhu wakes, everything dies. I agree that the Genesis palette is not the first choice for a horror theme game, however if you can pull it off like so few others have then by all means, go for it. I would recommend the SNES palette though seeing as how games like Super Castlevania IV and Nosferatu did so well with it.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on August 11, 2014, 11:39:32 PM
Drac, you should use a palette like this for the cthulhu scene: (https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGvfuOSC.png&hash=f83f26bbf911f16602041f63dc5987a5dfee6787)   It makes him look freaking scary as shit.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on August 12, 2014, 12:36:30 AM
Wow that looks amazing!

I agree with Zero's cthulhu recolor. It's scarier and more disturbing.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 12, 2014, 03:52:51 AM
Bitch did I say you could recolor my shit I oughta slap you silly

I'm going for book descriptions here. Cthulhu in Call is described as green, flabby, and amorphous. That recolor looks a little too "generic scary colors," but the scheme isn't bad. I'll work with the NES palette and see what sticks.


Jorge, I'll probably release the HC code, but ZSG, again, I'm not releasing Variable Zero. You need to learn how to do this stuff yourself, seriously. All this going around asking for everything else to be done by other people is fine, but you still should learn this stuff yourself as a backup. And, if you do get a team together, learning this will make it easier to understand what you're asking of your crew. I'll give you krw's X engine, but you'll have to edit Zero's gameplay into the engine and everything else yourself. I'm not just going to give you a nigh-complete and pretty complicated engine just so that you conveniently have half the work done for you.

And no there won't be wall-jumping. You're a human and this is a horror game. The only wall-jumping that should be in a horror game are monsters.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: VladCT on August 12, 2014, 09:40:34 AM
Since retro-style indie games tend to be equated with lack of effort by its detractors, you'll have to go for the extra mile with this one.

Also, I dunno about the others, but I didn't find Kinetic Heartbeat to be that scary for its purpose. Foreboding, yes, but not so scary.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on August 12, 2014, 01:22:30 PM
Bitch did I say you could recolor my shit I oughta slap you silly

I'm going for book descriptions here. Cthulhu in Call is described as green, flabby, and amorphous. That recolor looks a little too "generic scary colors," but the scheme isn't bad. I'll work with the NES palette and see what sticks.


Jorge, I'll probably release the HC code, but ZSG, again, I'm not releasing Variable Zero. You need to learn how to do this stuff yourself, seriously. All this going around asking for everything else to be done by other people is fine, but you still should learn this stuff yourself as a backup. And, if you do get a team together, learning this will make it easier to understand what you're asking of your crew. I'll give you krw's X engine, but you'll have to edit Zero's gameplay into the engine and everything else yourself. I'm not just going to give you a nigh-complete and pretty complicated engine just so that you conveniently have half the work done for you.

And no there won't be wall-jumping. You're a human and this is a horror game. The only wall-jumping that should be in a horror game are monsters.

Dude i was kidding about the VZ engine. I knew I wasn't gonna get it. I think the problem I'm gonna run into is coding the slashes. That stuff looks hard.

I think your game would be even more horrifying if it had "Out of this world" type gameplay. That game was awesome with the way it limited your movement like a real human's.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 12, 2014, 05:52:20 PM
They're tedious but not hard. It's basically checking whether the slash animation is at or past X frame, and if it is, then pressing the button triggers the next slash, but only if the animation is at or past a given frame.

Okay, so I took your advice, and it does work better. It's not as dark as your recolor, but I do want to stick to the NES palette as much as possible, and I already broke that with the middle-shade of his skintone. But hey, Shovel Knight stuck to the palette really well and even still had to make a few custom colors.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fy24SudO.gif&hash=6de1899fe91ef0fd5bd8574552431f50ab64c290)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on August 12, 2014, 08:09:36 PM
The dark blue should be dark grey. :I But that does look way scarier than before. The Cthulhu from this game I want to remember is by sitting in a corner huddled over wondering if he's come to eat me yet. That thing on the first post was implying I remember: HurHur. Yur purty.

Glad you made him look scarier, and thanks for the advice on Zero. How do you handle his saber hitboxes? Is it seperate from Zero's sprite? Also, do you have the hitbox the same as his sprite, or in a square-ier shape?
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 13, 2014, 03:55:56 PM
I use frame-specific hitboxes over squared parent hitboxes. Saves me a lot of time when dealing with platforming issues (but it creates some new ones, but they're easily fixed). Since you're using GM, make a sprite set of Zero slashing with the saber. Then, duplicate that sprite and remove Zero, so it's just the saber slashes, then go remove the saber from the other one. Now, you have slash frames and Zero frames, using the same sprite and same origin points, so that the saber doesn't spawn a foot away from him or something. Next, for the hitboxes, just use the "Separate collision masks" option and the "Precise" hitbox default. All done!

Fixed it again, because I'm colorblind and thought that one ^there was a dark blue-green. Aaaaaand of course he's bright fucking blue. Broke the NES palette, but I think I'll pull a Shovel Knight and use both interchangeably where I need to.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F9WtqltB.png&hash=4dbe4451dd1b504a45dda33a7de6dae6e3edfb32)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 19, 2014, 06:24:48 PM
Story update. Let me know if this is good enough to stick with/pursue.

Your character (still nameless) is an archae-anthropologist specializing in lost/ancient cultures and ruins. Word has spread over primordially-ancient ruins spotted in the ice shelves near a large mountain range in the lower Antarctic. Naturally, being high in the field, the protag is called in for exploration and excavation, as only small projections are exposed, and the remaining visible structures are just barely seen through the ice, and at very high altitudes.

For those who know Lovecraft, this is essentially At the Mountains of Madness, only set in more modern times.

Your character (who I'm just gonna refer to as 'protag' from now on since I haven't named him yet) currently resides in Southern California, where he usually spends his non-excavation time in lecture halls. Since Protag has been appointed as head of the expedition, the crew leaves in two groups from California and sails south, past the western coastline of South America.

During the shift in position to reach the designated dropoff point in the Antarctic, the ship and crew (naturally) comes across another ruin at 47°9′S 126°43′W.

R'lyeh.

Wait a minute, what the hell is R'lyeh doing above the surface? Well, according to The Call of Cthulhu, Cthulhu and his hordes can only awaken when 'the time and stars are right.' That 'time' is specified to a time when mankind has become wild and free, with the old laws and restrictive morals cast aside in favor of individual freedoms and pleasures, with a sort of 'do what thou wilt' mentality encompassing the majority of the world's population.

While we're not quite 100% there just yet, we are in the process of casting off the old-old morality and ethics systems put in place and entrenched by the old religions, at least in the States and a decent portion of Europe. Obviously, places like the Middle East, which still adhere rigidly to the old ways, don't fit this bill, but the sublime acts of violence committed by its extremist radical factions happen to fall under Cthulhu's Bill of Rights all the same.

However, since we're not completely 'free' yet, the Great Old Ones have not yet awakened from their aeons-long slumber. R'lyeh has risen due to an onset of that 'time', but the time of the Old Ones is not yet nigh.

Naturally, being an archaeologist, you and the first wave of the crew go in to investigate, while the second stays outside as a precaution. Once your group finds a way inside (which is very difficult because fuck your human geometry), they discover massive monoliths and sculptures, sculpted out of unknown stone and by unknown methods (because again, fuck Euclid), as well as gigantic statues of strange creatures unbeknownst to any man in any age. Several of the crewman lose their shit and take off to the safe mental haven of the ship. Those brave enough to face the monstrosities press onward, with Protag taking point. Eventually, samples are collected and sent back for study by a few more crewmen, leaving only Protag and two others. At a staggering depth within the ruins (noted by water beginning to fill more and more of the structure), the remaining three come across a massive threshold. They find that the huge door can be lifted rather easily (because fuck physics this time), but falls shut again immediately. Steeling his resolve, Protag instructs the two others to hold the door up enough for him to pass, leaving him to whatever lies beyond. When they protest, he tells them to first fetch him a scuba suit (which they would have needed for the inevitable Antarctic plunges), and to bring more crewmen to reopen the door and come looking for him should he not return in an hour. They grudgingly comply.

Now the real gameplay begins. You navigate through the corpse-city of R'lyeh and its black waters, never once suspecting that the 'statues' are cosmic deities from aeons long before human existence. Protag, being human, has all the limitations of an ordinary man.

That means no double-jumps, no wall-jumping, and no unrealistic physics. You will take fall damage if you fall from too high, you will drown if you remain in water too long without scuba gear, and most injuries will kill you outright.

Basically, I decided that Oddworld-styled gameplay would be more fitting than trying to mold a 2D platformer after something like Silent Hill.

I should mention that there will hardly be any enemies in R'lyeh, if I put any in at all. But you never know what might happen if a 'statue' starts to move...

Eventually Protag comes upon the chamber of the Star-Spawn himself, Great Cthulhu. This muthafucka big. Real big. So big it takes three or four screens of vertical ascension to fully see all of him. There's no goal to this climb other than to see all of his horrid majesty, but once you return to the ground level of the chamber, something happens. He appears to open his eyes, yet they remain closed. He appears to move, yet stays still. His muscles appear to ripple, but stay still as stone. Suddenly, the screen begins to glitch out (think NES/arcade debug screens, and you're on the right track), and Cthulhu's color changes from that of a statue to his famous sickly green. Just as soon as this happens, he settles back to stone and all is normal again, but the ordeal on Protag's mind causes him to fall unconscious.

For the time being, that's all I'll tell, and I think once I get around to production, that would be a pretty decent beta demo IMO.

Lemme know what you think.

Also, minor gameplay update, you're not fighting Cthulhu anymore. That sprite of him will probably find a use somewhere, but consider all that shit kaput. It wouldn't make sense to be able to fight something the size of a skyscraper with nothing but plain ol' human powers, even if I went with a Shadow of the Colossus approach or had you run the ship through him like in the story (which still makes no sense, how could a regular ship cause him to fucking explode if it's figuratively only about a fourth or fifth the size of his fucking stomach...but I digress).

And two more songs for R'lyeh. One for traversal, and one for entering the domain where the major GOOs are asleep.
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/0vd5mk1gc7o6or6/R'lyeh.mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/0vd5mk1gc7o6or6/R'lyeh.mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/g77py82v83qf381/Den_of_the_Old_Ones.mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/g77py82v83qf381/Den_of_the_Old_Ones.mp3) (yes, I know, lazy variation, sue me)
>inb4 they're not scary enough

Soooo...that's it for now, I guess. :U

Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: X on August 20, 2014, 12:20:57 AM
Quote
47°9′S 126°43′W

Interesting that R'lyeh would be located there. But from what I remember the ancient city was nearby North America's New England area (off the coast of Boston). It has been a while since I read the call of Cthulhu so I could be wrong.

Quote
>inb4 they're not scary enough

Those two tracks a pretty good for expressing 8-bit creepiness! And don't worry too much about the variation thing. You're not the first one to do it, lol!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on August 20, 2014, 06:19:10 AM
I find the story interesting.
Maybe the intro parts could be played as a visual novel before the real gameplay.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 21, 2014, 01:34:56 AM
That was the idea, Shiroi. Glad to know it came across well. :)

And 47°9′S 126°43′W are the coordinates for R'lyeh as noted in The Call of Cthulhu, X. It's off the southwestern coast of South America, at a point in the ocean where the greatest distances from any landmasses converge onto that point. Basically, Lovecraft put the city in a place so far from human civilization that (at the time, this WAS the 20's and 30's) that its location would be largely incomprehensible.

Gotta give him credit, guy did his homework.

Also, been toying around with the idea of glitching out the screen when seeing the Old Ones. Right now my favorite build uses a pixel shader distortion, which obviously the NES couldn't handle, so I don't know whether to convert it to sprite somehow or keep the shader in as a visual hook. I still don't know how NES-accurate I want this to be. I'll probably find a use for the NES debug screens regardless, though. They just rock.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F9sdf4gI.gif&hash=93e8a0c2855f8a68e2ea77b27d4b113357bc61f3)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: X on August 21, 2014, 04:17:03 AM
Quote
And 47°9′S 126°43′W are the coordinates for R'lyeh as noted in The Call of Cthulhu, X. It's off the southwestern coast of South America, at a point in the ocean where the greatest distances from any landmasses converge onto that point. Basically, Lovecraft put the city in a place so far from human civilization that (at the time, this WAS the 20's and 30's) that its location would be largely incomprehensible.

The guy didn't have to do his homework. Much of this stuff came from his mind (or dreams) which just proves how awesome a horror writer he was. But he did do research on ancient middle eastern civilizations which is why we hear about creatures like Dagon in his works. H.P. Lovecraft was the man of his day.

I like how you got Cthulhu to mold and bend. It's as if his very presence is warping space-time. However my only concern is the glitch effects going on in near-rapid succession. Some people might be visually sensitive to that. Worst case scenario would be for those who've suffered a seizure due to this. Also it might be a little distracting and take away from the effect that is Cthulhu itself.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 22, 2014, 01:37:33 AM
Well, I do want there to be some degree of making the player question what they're seeing. If I make Cthulhu's (or anyone else's, really) sprite begin to warp in a way that the NES could never be expected to handle, and then simulate a visual hardware crash with the glitchout screens, then that would sell the notion that the Old Ones are too much to fully comprehend in the real world, even on a gaming console. Of course, having it all stop just as quickly would be equally unsettling. Since I can't rely on things like fog filters and dynamic lighting for the subtler horror aspects, glitchy mindfucks are a good way to go, I think.

Also, R'lyeh tiles. Spriting Giger stuff is a pain in the ass, but it sure looks good.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fg2UsRVg.png&hash=f78fa3f842a3f18d2bba1289bec74c7aa818dbe5)

Just a mockup to give the picture. The mirrored...thing there is actually the two halves of what will be the edges of the very bottom of Cthulhu's throne.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 22, 2014, 01:48:45 AM
The guy didn't have to do his homework. Much of this stuff came from his mind (or dreams) which just proves how awesome a horror writer he was. But he did do research on ancient middle eastern civilizations which is why we hear about creatures like Dagon in his works. H.P. Lovecraft was the man of his day.

Actually, Lovecraft did a lot of research on the stories that warranted it, despite the popular belief that he just dreamt everything up. For instance, all his knowledge of Egypt came from incessantly visiting museum exhibits. When writing the Necronomicon (as well as a good portion of his deities), the names of the gods and demons mentioned are derivative of extremely ancient cultures, some of which were as early as the first beginnings of Babylon. Cthulhu's name probably came from the Semitic-Sumerian deity Kutulu, who is mentioned in the Necronomicon with the same spelling. Even one of his earliest works, The Beast in the Cave, was researched heavily by looking into cave settings, tours, and descriptions of Mammoth Cave here in Kentucky, as well as many other large cave systems.

Funny you mentioned Dagon, since I was going to bring him up as the Sumerian god of fishy endeavors.

Of course, his purely dreamt stories can't be downplayed as anything but sublime. Look at Nyarlathotep for example. That whole thing was a dream, and Lovecraft actually wrote the first major paragraph of the story while he was still half-asleep.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: X on August 22, 2014, 02:57:47 PM
Quote
Since I can't rely on things like fog filters and dynamic lighting for the subtler horror aspects, glitchy mindfucks are a good way to go, I think.

Actually you can do a fog-like effect with NES hardware. It was done in CV III for some segments of the forest stage and at the beginning of Dracula's tower (final stage).
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: darkmanx_429 on August 22, 2014, 03:24:56 PM
That was the idea, Shiroi. Glad to know it came across well. :)

And 47°9′S 126°43′W are the coordinates for R'lyeh as noted in The Call of Cthulhu, X. It's off the southwestern coast of South America, at a point in the ocean where the greatest distances from any landmasses converge onto that point. Basically, Lovecraft put the city in a place so far from human civilization that (at the time, this WAS the 20's and 30's) that its location would be largely incomprehensible.

Gotta give him credit, guy did his homework.

Also, been toying around with the idea of glitching out the screen when seeing the Old Ones. Right now my favorite build uses a pixel shader distortion, which obviously the NES couldn't handle, so I don't know whether to convert it to sprite somehow or keep the shader in as a visual hook. I still don't know how NES-accurate I want this to be. I'll probably find a use for the NES debug screens regardless, though. They just rock.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F9sdf4gI.gif&hash=93e8a0c2855f8a68e2ea77b27d4b113357bc61f3)

I am loving this idea! Alot of forth wall stuff going on.

Stuff like that reminds me of that old N64 game, Eteneral Darkness. You should definitely check out that title if you haven't heard of it.

The sanity sound effect gimmick could def add to you title as well!

Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 22, 2014, 10:01:22 PM
That was for Gamecube, and an AWESOME title (I loved it).
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theANdROId on August 23, 2014, 02:55:18 PM
I was gonna suggest looking to Eternal Darkness and it's sanity effects for trippy ideas!  I like your thoughts for this though...tying that stuff to the Old Ones because they're just too much!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on August 24, 2014, 07:00:29 PM
Are you going to use these for the player? (https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FtlhNI.png&hash=af610b3999c818c50509fc6969998ebb6d087f18)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 24, 2014, 10:09:20 PM
ZSG, please stop posting shit from my old threads/my old sprites. Their content is old for a reason.

And no, I'll be using this fellow, who for whatever reason came out looking like Harry from Silent Hill.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQ1nCb5L.gif&hash=9673e5745e7da84e0845b587490dd1690e5827fa)     (https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgyZ8aoN.gif&hash=90a4c7a8b318108af2062517768a2d59376d7bfc) (https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaT5MH1F.gif&hash=9c6026199df839c8854096c58a1e27dbd3cb028d)


Also, if you do anything while he's smoking, he drops the cigarette. I thought that'd be a neat little gimmick to put in (ignore the bad bounce, the screencap framerate fucked up).
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7QBFjYC.gif&hash=57ce393f5e3c904390fcdbb581b489a5afae5404)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 24, 2014, 10:21:37 PM
Double post but MAI THREAD so meh

As for the sanity effects, I've never played Eternal Darkness (don't hit me) because I never had a Gamecube. However, more than a few people have suggested looking at it for reference material, and I have. In particular, those sanity effects are fuckin' awesome. However, having never played it, I don't know how 'serious' of a game it is. I'd personally love to include fake BSOD screens when in fullscreen and joke deaths and fake empty inventories, but I don't know if those would be too comic for something like this.

And I'm assuming it would be acceptable to use NES-breaking effects for the big sanity effects? I'm a little iffy on it due to wanting to stay console-accurate where I can, but at the same time having stuff come up that would cause a physical console to catch on fire would be a really good way to sell the idea that this big fucking thing right here is so far out of your mental understanding it's literally breaking the game. Thoughts?
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theplottwist on August 24, 2014, 11:31:21 PM
ZSG, please stop posting shit from my old threads/my old sprites. Their content is old for a reason.

And no, I'll be using this fellow, who for whatever reason came out looking like Harry from Silent Hill.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQ1nCb5L.gif&hash=9673e5745e7da84e0845b587490dd1690e5827fa)     (https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgyZ8aoN.gif&hash=90a4c7a8b318108af2062517768a2d59376d7bfc) (https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaT5MH1F.gif&hash=9c6026199df839c8854096c58a1e27dbd3cb028d)


Also, if you do anything while he's smoking, he drops the cigarette. I thought that'd be a neat little gimmick to put in (ignore the bad bounce, the screencap framerate fucked up).
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7QBFjYC.gif&hash=57ce393f5e3c904390fcdbb581b489a5afae5404)


I like this so much, you're hitting all the correct keys here. Once I made a romhack of Mario inside Call of Cthulhu (looseliest inspiration, not like yours that is extremelly true to the source) and I must tell you that the more you screw with the player with fourth wall breaking, the more you'll accomplish it right. And yes, watch some videos from Eternal Darkness. It's a great game with great examples.

One nice sanity effect to have would be "closing" the game, and go back to "Windows", where the person has a Google Chrome screen open on a newsletter site, documenting how Cthulhu has awakened and is destroying the world, like a post apocaliptic news. Then, as the player tries to exit the window, it goes back to the "Desktop" where there is a picture of [insert elder god abbomination here] as the wallpaper. And then the game suddenly returns.

About your graphics, I think you're pulling this off incredibly well for a project start. You already set the tone for the whole thing only with such few graphics (Few in comparison to a whole game's worth of graphics, because I know you already have a shitton of Kadath graphics there ;) ).

If I may suggest some things for the protagonist's smoking:
-Make him throw the cigarette, not just drop it. And make him throw it foward, so it feels more natural and laid back.
-Do not make him smoke always.
-Make the cigarette not light always consistently, prompting him to throw the failed cigarette and take another to light it.
-Make the lighter's flame go off as if the wind had blown it when he's somewhere ghastly/dark/empty.
-Finally, make it be a gameplay puzzle somewhere. Say, he's trapped inside a very dark room full of bottomless pits. The player must stop and wait him light one cigarette, then throw it foward by moving a little so he can see if the cigarette goes down a pit or not.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 25, 2014, 12:11:10 AM
Plot do you realize how much sprite data all that would use up that animation is already 120-something frames as it is-loljk i know it has to happen.

>using cigarettes to find pits
Totally doing this, GREAT idea.

Actually the .gif is just that. In the engine he's coded to spawn a cigarette which has 'thrown' physics in place. I chose to use a gif to show off the sprite more cleanly.

Actually, I would really love to be able to close the game window out and do shit like that. I know GM can do it, as imscared.exe utilizes this, but I've never messed with it so I have a lot of homework to do to get it to work.

I'm actually discussing this shit in Inc. Chat right now, and I've settled on having a ton of endings based on when things happens. For instance, dying in R'lyeh in the very beginning may result in your rescue squad waking Cthulhu and his hordes up in the process (and maybe having a joke screen with Cthulhu humping the planet and calling the player a casual for dying in an area with no enemies, gotta have those joke endings). Defeating the final boss under certain conditions will determine whether you get the ending where he comes back for you, or whether you've truly evaded him. Although there's been talk of a joke ending in which every monster wakes up at once and just fucks up everything. I thought about doing a Silent Hill 3 reference in making a Cthulhu-dog running everything behind-the-scenes, and then the ending has UFOs and tons of other wacky shit wrecking the planet, but do it so whimsically that the player still has to stop and wonder what the hell they're looking at. But again, joke ending, every good horror game has one.

Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: X on August 25, 2014, 03:18:49 AM
Quote
(and maybe having a joke screen with Cthulhu humping the planet and calling the player a casual for dying in an area with no enemies, gotta have those joke endings)

Thanks for the laugh track! Seriously I laughed hard at this! I can actually see it in my mind it's so damned funny  ;D
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theplottwist on August 25, 2014, 06:13:12 AM
>using cigarettes to find pits
Totally doing this, GREAT idea.

Not only that. There is actually a lot of uses for this. I used the pit idea as an example, but if fits you, then do it :P

Quote
Actually, I would really love to be able to close the game window out and do shit like that. I know GM can do it, as imscared.exe utilizes this, but I've never messed with it so I have a lot of homework to do to get it to work.

Well, you don't reaaaaaaally have to close the window. You can simply screen capture the user's desktop, and use it as a background for a "level" that you'll set up to look like a corrupted version of the user's desktop. If this is easier to do, I'd say to go for this one instead of actually changing shit on the user's PC.

Quote
I've settled on having a ton of endings based on when things happens. For instance, dying in R'lyeh in the very beginning may result in your rescue squad waking Cthulhu and his hordes up in the process (and maybe having a joke screen with Cthulhu humping the planet and calling the player a casual for dying in an area with no enemies, gotta have those joke endings).

You absolutelly need to do this. Like, right about now.

I have a question: How long do you plan on making the game? And if I may be so bold of suggesting: Your game could become a killer metroidvania, with everything taking place on R'lyeh, and have the map change now and them to reflect the warping nature of the city.

And one thing. Here is the romhack I made. I'm not linking it for self promotion. I'm linking because I used some fourth wall breaking and mood that can be useful for you (Like making the emulator activate alone, or fake game over screens).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mnaf1sp9-A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mnaf1sp9-A)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Inccubus on August 25, 2014, 08:17:34 AM
I was gonna suggest looking to Eternal Darkness and it's sanity effects for trippy ideas!  I like your thoughts for this though...tying that stuff to the Old Ones because they're just too much!

I second this... or err third? Whatever. Just DO EET! GET TO DE CHOPPA!! Heh, sorry. Was just watching Berserk outtakes. :P
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 25, 2014, 02:00:39 PM
Dracula9, if you need to talk about Eternal Darkness, I know a lot about the game, since I've fully played all three campaigns.

It's not a 'funny' game.  The effects thrown at the player are at times, very serious, but at other times, stupidly funny and would not mind-screw the player, but rather put his/her heart at ease.

Funny effect:
-You walk into a room and your head is decapitated.  However, you can still control your bleeding body.  Your heads falls to the floor and is actually an in-game object, which can be picked up.  Normally, when a player picks up an item it becomes a 4th wall item, hovering and slowly spinning in the air, with a description of the item below (imagine like when Link from LoZ picks up an item like the Ocarina of Time and he holds it up in the air and it floats while spinning, while you get a caption "You received the Ocarina of Time! Here's a description blurb about how to use it".

Except, y'know, you just picked up your own head.  There is no description.  It's bleeding, but it starts to talk while spinning while quoting Shakespeare.

Mindscrew Effect:
-You walk into a room and your head explodes.  Your body falls to the floor as if you had gotten hit by a nasty invisible enemy attack (the game actually has a few instances in which there ARE invisible enemies).  The screen fades to black as if it were heading toward GameOver, but instead, you walk into the room again as if nothing had happened, in a flash.  Your character then says "This... isn't... really happening!"
-You walk into a room.  Normally there is no door-opening animation.  The character just 'loads' with the last door behind them into a room.  There are door closing animations when you leave a room, however.  Except when this room loads, it loads upside-down.  Your character is right-side up, but the room loaded in reverse.  You cannot access the exit doors because they're in the ceiling, facing downwards, and you can't reach them.  After attempting to explore the room, the game 'flashes' into the correct room.  You're back in the proper location.  Cue the "This isn't really happening!" line.
-You're already in a room.  The game works such that if there are no enemies in a room, you can always Save by pausing and going to the Save Menu.  If there are enemies in the room, when you attempt to go save, the Save Game screen says something along the lines of "It's too dangerous to save!".  Well, this 'effect' has a "Save Menu" that resembles the real one, except it says something like "Error saving! No Memory Card!" and if you try to save again it says "Error in memory Card! Now Formatting Card!"... followed by the flash to the room and the "This isn't really happening!" line.  THIS ONE IS SO EVIL!
-Game screen goes black.  Game screens has "Please Insert Eternal Darkness Disc 2".  The game only has one disc.  THIS ONE IS AWFUL IF YOU RENTED THE GAME.

Effects that are purely aesthetic:
-there are flies on the camera lens in the room you're in.  They're moving around the display as if they were on your TV screen, OR in the corners you can see a fly's gigantic legs moving about, juuuust off-camera.  A buzzing sound can be heard coming out of the speakers, but it's subtle.

-atmospheric effects are intensified: You can hear someone walking behind you even though there are no enemies in the room.  The walking steps stop if you turn around.

-you hear scratching, or banging, or crying, behind the walls.

-As your sanity increases, the camera angle for the room slightly starts go go askew.  When you're fully-insane, it's nearly diagonal.

-statues and busts in the game start tracking your movement.

...these are but a few.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theANdROId on August 25, 2014, 03:37:36 PM
Dracula9, if you need to talk about Eternal Darkness, I know a lot about the game, since I've fully played all three campaigns.

I'm pretty familiar with the game too for the same reason...willing to answer any questions or whatever.

The effects thrown at the player are at times, very serious, but at other times, stupidly funny and would not mind-screw the player, but rather put his/her heart at ease.

Still, even the funny ones have that, "What the hell?" effect on you.  I mean, you know the BSOD isn't something that would happen on the GC (or do you?!?!), but it still gives you a little skipped heartbeat when it happens.  Especially when it decides to happen during intense moments or tougher enemies.

Mindscrew Effect:
-You walk into a room and your head explodes.  Your body falls to the floor as if you had gotten hit by a nasty invisible enemy attack (the game actually has a few instances in which there ARE invisible enemies).  The screen fades to black as if it were heading toward GameOver, but instead, you walk into the room again as if nothing had happened, in a flash.  Your character then says "This... isn't... really happening!"
...
-You're already in a room.  The game works such that if there are no enemies in a room, you can always Save by pausing and going to the Save Menu.  If there are enemies in the room, when you attempt to go save, the Save Game screen says something along the lines of "It's too dangerous to save!".  Well, this 'effect' has a "Save Menu" that resembles the real one, except it says something like "Error saving! No Memory Card!" and if you try to save again it says "Error in memory Card! Now Formatting Card!"... followed by the flash to the room and the "This isn't really happening!" line.  THIS ONE IS SO EVIL!
The first REALLY screws with you in this game, especially when it's just after dealing with Bone Thieves or Gate Keepers!  Not sure how you might pull it off in an NES-style game, but it's a good one if you could somehow use it.
The second is my favorite effect!  I first saw this one when a friend was playing, had no sanity, and was having a hard time with the level.  When he finally got past the difficult room, he saved and it did this.  I don't know that I've heard so many curses strung together in my life before he realized it was just a mind-screw!

In one particularly creepy aesthetic effect, (and I think I'm remembering this right...) you can hear a woman sobbing in the background.  After awhile, you hear a chainsaw rev up and...well, the crying stops. X-S  It's subtle enough that you might not notice it...I never really noticed until I decided to really go hardcore and play late at night, in my room with all the lights out, and wearing headphones.  It was actually pretty freaky, but it was fun to play that way!

Again, I'm not entirely sure off the top of my head how you'd make them work for the NES-style, but it'd be awesome in connection to the Old Ones!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 25, 2014, 04:11:46 PM
I remember the sobbing woman, yes.  I don't recall there being a chainsaw sound.
"A-haaa...ah-haahaahaaawaaaa...aawaaaahawaahwaaaaaa...**sniff** **sniff**"  I can hear it even now!

And yes, the game had Dolby ProLogic II sound, so I would turn up the stereo and play with the lights off.  CREEEEEEPY!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theANdROId on August 25, 2014, 05:16:50 PM
Maybe they were different sounds that just happened to go together that time (Often, I deliberately didn't restore my sanity), but I distinctly remember being under the implication that she was suddenly silenced/murdered.  I remember thinking, "Geez, this game really is freaky!" and laughing at the irony that I was playing such a game, in such a way as I was, while staying in the dorms at a "Distinctively Christian" university!

I must admit though that it has been a while since I've played Eternal Darkness.  I sold my GC (probably shortly before the WiiU was first announced, just as a time reference for you readers) because I owned a Wii and never actually used the GC.  When the WiiU came out, I traded up, not even thinking of the loss of GC playability.  I'm still kicking myself for that and just haven't gotten around to buying an old GC yet.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 25, 2014, 08:42:13 PM
I can play Gamecube ISO's on my Wii-U.  I've lost NOTHING!
I kept my Wii though since it can also do this, and use it to backup my discs to harddrive.

But yes! Sanity effects were great in that game. :D
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 25, 2014, 09:11:51 PM
Yeah, I've read about a bunch of those, but to hear a first-person description of the effect rather than a textbook one is much more helpful.

Also, updated Protag's delicious cancer-stick animation, with special thanks to -Eric- over on Inc. for fixing his leg and some arm positioning.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FY4B1MlV.gif&hash=3e3f77db89764a87a6303db31a6dbe14089ab308)

Feels more natural this way, I think.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Claimh Solais on August 26, 2014, 06:36:54 AM
I've been getting annoyed with all these "retro-styled" games coming out lately, but for some reason, I'm really drawn to the visuals of this. It's got this real... dark, gritty, noir-ish look to it. The protagonist seems like a mix of Harry from Silent Hill and the dude from Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars to me, kinda gives him this whole mysterious look.

Not to mention that darker Cthulu looks fucking freaky as shit.

Anyway, it's looking to be something a little more fresh, even in the visual sense. Keep up the good work!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Inccubus on August 26, 2014, 02:01:38 PM
One effect in Eternal Darkness that always messed with me bad was when you'd walk into a room that has a bunch of ammo/healing items then after you pick it all up you get the flash and you realize all that stuff that was going to save your ass was never there.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 26, 2014, 11:04:40 PM
Oh, you don't like fake items?

*laughs evilly*

EXPECT THEM

Also, video related.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgnwu7rc6uU&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgnwu7rc6uU&feature=youtu.be)

I should specify just how glorious this effect is. Not only is the sound glitching pretty accurate to an actual system crash, I coded the effect to basically render any action null once the bluescreen pops up, and this lasts until the effect is over. The bluescreen spawn triggers fullscreen and disables the player's ability to exit fullscreen and exit the game. GM also renders the cursor invisible within the game, but since the game is at forced fullscreen, it will appear as though the cursor has stopped working. Of course, I still have to grab an actual Windows startup screen, as the one I used was just a background I had in my sys32 folder. But the effect is there, and that's what matters.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: VladCT on August 26, 2014, 11:24:10 PM
You'll have to detect what OS the player is using and whip up the correct screens based on that to really sell the effect. Does Win8 even still use that BSoD screen?
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 26, 2014, 11:44:16 PM
Game Maker can't detect operating systems, or I'd be doing that. As far as my research has told me, anyway. Opening external programs (another effect I'm using, basically opening up invisible text files with R'lyehian text, Necronomicon incantations, and file-conversion gibberish) in GM is one thing, I don't think the program's capable of actually doing something as complicated as OS detection.

And no, Win8 uses one with a FUCKING SADFACE that only says something like "ooh, yeah, sorry, something's wrong, let us restart for you real quick" with a progress bar. Totally downpalying the horror that a bluescreen actually suggest. Fuckin' bastards. Win7 uses a different one, too.

I mean, ultimately this is no worse than Eternal Darkness using a BSOD when Gamecubes didn't even have them.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theplottwist on August 27, 2014, 12:33:29 AM
Game Maker can't detect operating systems...

Man, I know an experienced programmer who uses Game Maker a lot, he is pretty sure that you can indeed detect operating systems with Game Maker's code.

I'll see with him if I can get the function/codes for you.

Also, for added freakyness, why don't you corrupt the logo for the OS itself? You'll be able to avoid lawsuits if you ever wish to sell your game (which, in my opinion, you should totally aim for), and get yourself a nice "WTF this game did to my PC?" reaction!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Lelygax on August 27, 2014, 01:11:57 AM
You'll have to detect what OS the player is using and whip up the correct screens based on that to really sell the effect. Does Win8 even still use that BSoD screen?

Sadly yes, but only Grand Chase was masterful enough in being buggy to trigger it on my laptop.

And no, Win8 uses one with a FUCKING SADFACE that only says something like "ooh, yeah, sorry, something's wrong, let us restart for you real quick" with a progress bar. Totally downpalying the horror that a bluescreen actually suggest. Fuckin' bastards. Win7 uses a different one, too.

Yes, its a sadface, but I dont remember seeing a progress bar. Also any Windows tries to restart your PC when you get a BSoD, the thing is that sometimes it just can't lol


Also, for added freakyness, why don't you corrupt the logo for the OS itself? You'll be able to avoid lawsuits if you ever wish to sell your game (which, in my opinion, you should totally aim for), and get yourself a nice "WTF this game did to my PC?" reaction!

What about a virus warning? Everybody hates viruses.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Claimh Solais on August 27, 2014, 01:52:41 AM
Also, video related.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgnwu7rc6uU&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgnwu7rc6uU&feature=youtu.be)

This would have creeped the shit outta me if I first witnessed it when playing.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theANdROId on August 27, 2014, 02:59:29 PM
This would have creeped the shit outta me if I first witnessed it when playing.

Ditto!  That is a wicked-stinkin'-awesome effect!!  And you said it locks stuff right? (sorry for the lack of techno-jargon there)  I can almost see myself trying to close the window, force-quit, reset, etc. when that happens.  The only reason I might not is my experience with Eternal Darkness, but for anyone who quits too quick, it would suck to have to restart and lose game progress, only to find out it was an intentional glitch.

Then again, that would be hilariously evil! }:-)  Imagine their thoughts when they get back and it does it again, and somehow they finally realize it was planned and they restarted for nothing...MWA HA HA!!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 28, 2014, 02:33:04 AM
Man, I know an experienced programmer who uses Game Maker a lot, he is pretty sure that you can indeed detect operating systems with Game Maker's code.

I'll see with him if I can get the function/codes for you.

Please do. I know Studio has an os_type check function and subsequent follow-up codes, but since I don't have Internet at the house (because money), it's basically impossible for me to effectively run Studio. As such, I'm still using v. 8.0 (because 8.1 is utter shit), which AFAIK has no built-in OS-check functions. I'm sure there are ways to do it with DLLs and whatnot, but that's not my area of expertise. If this programmer knows any GM8 and before methods of doing so, please inform me. I'd love to be able to do this effect on multiple OS platforms.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 28, 2014, 08:07:51 AM
Quick sketch for the encounter with The Crawling Chaos.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F445qTVB.jpg&hash=f1a6e4edc4da4010c2f1143a1b4724da064da071)

I'm gonna take that shader effect on Cthulhu and hike its values up until this thing here gets some Giygas-level shit going on.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Inccubus on August 28, 2014, 04:01:28 PM
Please do. I know Studio has an os_type check function and subsequent follow-up codes, but since I don't have Internet at the house (because money), it's basically impossible for me to effectively run Studio. As such, I'm still using v. 8.0 (because 8.1 is utter shit), which AFAIK has no built-in OS-check functions. I'm sure there are ways to do it with DLLs and whatnot, but that's not my area of expertise. If this programmer knows any GM8 and before methods of doing so, please inform me. I'd love to be able to do this effect on multiple OS platforms.

How so? I've never had an issue running studio if my internet goes out.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theplottwist on August 28, 2014, 04:28:26 PM
Please do. I know Studio has an os_type check function and subsequent follow-up codes, but since I don't have Internet at the house (because money), it's basically impossible for me to effectively run Studio. As such, I'm still using v. 8.0 (because 8.1 is utter shit), which AFAIK has no built-in OS-check functions. I'm sure there are ways to do it with DLLs and whatnot, but that's not my area of expertise. If this programmer knows any GM8 and before methods of doing so, please inform me. I'd love to be able to do this effect on multiple OS platforms.

Hey man got the response and you are right, it's only in Studio. My programmer friend and I though you were using Studio.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 29, 2014, 01:28:51 AM
Studio needs an internet connection to install, which is problem one. I have it installed on my laptop, but this thing hasn't got the RAM to run games effectively, so that's null. And even if I got Studio to install properly, it also needs to check the license once a month (because retarded reasons, I'm sure), so after a month it'd stop working. I could use the reg. key file solution, but that only works if GM runs. And while the software DOES open and run, it won't let me import the GM8 .gmk I'm using now without installing.

Basically I can't use Studio, so I don't even know how the fuck I'm going to sell this damn thing on Steam once I finish it.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on August 29, 2014, 01:30:10 AM
Also,

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AWW6iGSIAjk (http://youtu.be/AWW6iGSIAjk)

fuck yeah.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theANdROId on August 29, 2014, 02:13:43 AM
Very cool!  That's freakin' awesome!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on August 29, 2014, 11:55:01 AM
I cannot comprehend the true form of that video's attack.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: VladCT on August 29, 2014, 12:21:44 PM
Also,

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AWW6iGSIAjk (http://youtu.be/AWW6iGSIAjk)

fuck yeah.
Okay, now that's legit creepy, with the noise and the "I can almost see something" visuals.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: darkmanx_429 on August 31, 2014, 12:59:25 PM
You should do another creepy effect, like a bunch of popups spamming your monitor. That would really freak people out!
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on August 31, 2014, 01:35:19 PM
ZSG, please stop posting shit from my old threads/my old sprites. Their content is old for a reason.

And no, I'll be using this fellow, who for whatever reason came out looking like Harry from Silent Hill.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQ1nCb5L.gif&hash=9673e5745e7da84e0845b587490dd1690e5827fa)     (https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgyZ8aoN.gif&hash=90a4c7a8b318108af2062517768a2d59376d7bfc) (https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaT5MH1F.gif&hash=9c6026199df839c8854096c58a1e27dbd3cb028d)


Also, if you do anything while he's smoking, he drops the cigarette. I thought that'd be a neat little gimmick to put in (ignore the bad bounce, the screencap framerate fucked up).
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7QBFjYC.gif&hash=57ce393f5e3c904390fcdbb581b489a5afae5404)

The sprites are good, but his walk looks wierd. He's a bit too thin, and his face doesn't look like it's facing sideways, it looks like he's staring at the background from an angle. :I

Also, do you think it'd be good if he grabbed the cigarette or the lighter out of a shirt pocket instead?
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: X on August 31, 2014, 04:14:53 PM
The walking animation is actually pretty good. The only detail that needs work is his shoulder. It's moving a bit disproportionate compared to the rest of him. Fix that up a little and the sprite will be perfect.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: darkmanx_429 on August 31, 2014, 05:25:21 PM
Does smoking the cig take off life? I think it would be cool if you could just light up a cig at will. It would also be cool if you could use the cig to light up darkened areas.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: eryson on August 31, 2014, 10:20:20 PM
Also,

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AWW6iGSIAjk (http://youtu.be/AWW6iGSIAjk)

fuck yeah.

really Disturbing.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on September 03, 2014, 04:54:13 PM
Nothing really new to report besides these. I've been doing level design for a separate indie release as of late, and with that being on someone else's time, that gets priority.

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/6r874z7pjh6c4zn/Cosmic_Dread.mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/6r874z7pjh6c4zn/Cosmic_Dread.mp3)

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/6fr6qhqrd7yc3sa/Nyarlathotep.mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/6fr6qhqrd7yc3sa/Nyarlathotep.mp3)

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I've been on a Clock Tower binge the last week or so, so Cosmic Dread is loosely inspired by and based off of Don't Cry, Jennifer. Just wanted to let that be known.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on September 09, 2014, 05:27:43 PM
So, key-input oldskool cheat codes are now a thing. And another minor sanity effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxopYdKdD64 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxopYdKdD64#)

For obvious reasons, I didn't and still won't divulge the more serious cheats, though I'm sure people can guess a few (I won't confirm or deny, though), and naturally the code in that video won't be the one I use in the final game. But the input check works perfectly, and best of all there's no limit to characters; so theoretically I could include a super-hard-to-find 100-character cheat that either does something so amazing your eyeballs explode...or fuck-all. Just for kicks.

Which raises the question of; should I make the cheats reset after the game is closed, so that you have to input them again at each startup, or do what Red Dead: Redemption did and make them accessible in a cheat menu once they've been unlocked? I'd much prefer the former, as it's more retro-accurate and saves me some coding time, but I wanted to get some second opinions.

Also, game over mockup. Wheeee.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FlDRKm1G.gif&hash=c5204a5a025ce34f8fdcd9fa2e89fb2516f0770b)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theplottwist on September 09, 2014, 06:42:02 PM
I like the cheat code thingie (Beware the feature creep, man). Will this be a "pause" feature?
Also, what the heck is that music man? I sure hope it comes from your game, 'cuz sweet freakish damn!

And finally, dat Game Over mockup! Will you be using the symbols somewhere else on the game?
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on September 10, 2014, 06:55:49 PM
...Feature Creep?

Anyway, no, I think I'll do a mix of RDD and typical NES code entry. In the in-game options menu, there will be a cheat list section. The cheats can be enabled in that menu by entering them at the title screen/title screen cheats menu. Once unlocked, they can be turned on or off in-game. Once the game is exited, however, they leave that menu and have to be re-entered at the title again. This might annoy some people, but one of the biggest things about childhood gaming for me was having to write down your cheats/maps/secrets and hoard them like some sort of treasure. I loved that experience, and I think an homage to it will be appreciated.

Yes, that font is the typeface used in Lovecraft's Diary. I'll use an actual font for it in game overs/titles/conversations with Old Ones or whatnot/etc.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theplottwist on September 10, 2014, 08:01:12 PM
Feature Creeping is when one inserts too much features in a game/software, features that far surpass the game's objective, making it unnecessarily cluttered/complex.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_creep) explains it better.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on September 10, 2014, 08:14:40 PM
Ah.

Well, for a game whose context pretty much guarantees a happy ending isn't going to happen, where's the harm in having a few goofy cheat modes?

I mean, functionally this isn't too different from the UFO and Dog endings in Silent Hill.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theANdROId on October 09, 2014, 09:00:20 PM
I just saw this...maybe it's the type of thing you'd wanna put in your game...perhaps even hidden in walls.  It'd be some serious wall meat!  Behold, the Cthulken!

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi6.cdnds.net%2F13%2F51%2F450x450%2Falternative_christmas_dinner_cthulken_scary_food_diet_food_news_handbag.jpg&hash=16867e43a219bbdca992b7d501e77e4fd0a58e87)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: X on October 09, 2014, 10:47:26 PM
Aww man! What the f@#k am I looking at!?  :P
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: darkmanx_429 on October 09, 2014, 10:56:17 PM
You can light up a cig now at will right?

Does it take your life away?

I love that for some reason. Reminds me of Constantine...
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theANdROId on October 10, 2014, 01:46:38 AM
Aww man! What the f@#k am I looking at!?  :P

A Cthulken apparently...I would never have imagined such a thing.  It's octopus, stuffed inside a turkey, on top of a king crab...with bacon on top.  It just seemed appropriate to share it for Drac9's game. ;-P
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on October 15, 2014, 10:19:38 PM
Super Ultimate Turbo Bacon Cannon unlocked! All enemies now explode into bacon when shot.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on October 16, 2014, 05:05:44 AM
Now you're making me hungry.
I want to see the bacon confetti sprites. hehehe.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: theANdROId on October 16, 2014, 05:09:53 PM
Bacon confetti!  Why doesn't this exist! ;-P
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Lelygax on October 17, 2014, 06:57:46 AM
Maybe it existed, but people ate all of it. :P

Cool features, you plan to add a big head cheat?
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on October 17, 2014, 10:05:25 AM
Nah. I don't expect many cosmetic cheats will be present.

Also, Dinner Blaster 9001 confirmed as in-game weapon.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on October 18, 2014, 02:49:08 AM
Also, Dinner Blaster 9001 confirmed as in-game weapon.

So, would that be a cornucopia blasting turkeys and other food stuff?
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on October 18, 2014, 03:03:36 AM
You'll see.  ;)

Also. SNES variations. All Clock Tower-inspired instrumentation.
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/d92llb1mgq9m7wf/DenOfTheOldOnesSNES.mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/d92llb1mgq9m7wf/DenOfTheOldOnesSNES.mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/4g79d33aycxili5/CosmicDreadSNES.mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/4g79d33aycxili5/CosmicDreadSNES.mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/wsa7uaozb42nowx/StellarStalkersSNES.mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/wsa7uaozb42nowx/StellarStalkersSNES.mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/3i1zo6xfbi1xy74/NyarlathotepSNES.mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/3i1zo6xfbi1xy74/NyarlathotepSNES.mp3)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: BLOOD MONKEY on December 15, 2014, 09:40:50 PM
Just wondering, what happened to this game? Did life get in the way?

(also, if you flatten the characters hair, he looks like you. :P)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on December 16, 2014, 02:12:48 AM
I do think I subconsciously imprinted myself into his design. Good thing dudes in jeans, plaid, and brown jackets with brown hair (HI HARRY MASON) are common as shit. :P

And yes, life got in the way. In addition to that, I'm also helping Montoya out with his project.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on March 24, 2015, 05:55:56 AM
Possibly gonna scrap the 8-bit approach and just go for a higher-quality project overall. Too much damn work getting the atmosphere I want/need with such bright palette and contrast limitations.

Note, this post doesn't mean I'm working on it again. Due to life, necessity of other projects' priority, and a ridiculously confusing status regarding Lovecraft copyright and who the fuck owns which stories, it's on hiatus.

That being said, in accordance with aforementioned thought to scrap the NES inspiration, music's being updated. And I like these better.

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/5tq6a9zzao7gw9x/R'lyeh(arr).mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/5tq6a9zzao7gw9x/R'lyeh(arr).mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/qy5ltcyq8x85s20/R'lyeh2(arr).mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/qy5ltcyq8x85s20/R'lyeh2(arr).mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/4l9ai16jrl2jwx4/polyphemic-pursuit(arr).mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/4l9ai16jrl2jwx4/polyphemic-pursuit(arr).mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/303ql9yr8250cgt/kinetic-heartbeat(arr).mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/303ql9yr8250cgt/kinetic-heartbeat(arr).mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/51gz8it42n98e6t/nyarlathotep(arr).mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/51gz8it42n98e6t/nyarlathotep(arr).mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/fdmc6c3ih6srmtz/cosmic-dread(arr).mp3 (http://www.mediafire.com/listen/fdmc6c3ih6srmtz/cosmic-dread(arr).mp3)
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: X on March 25, 2015, 04:59:59 AM
Are you working with the NES palette limitations? There are other less-drastic ways to get what you want without scraping your current project. Your game can still be 8-bit, but unlike the NES (and I'm sure you already know this) a PC game can sport far more colors on-screen at any given time. If you want your game to have a dark and foreboding atmosphere then choose an 8-bit palette that will reflect this. In fact you can have many different types of palettes as you want, but all in 8-bit colors. It doesn't need to be one palette for the entire game either. You can have have specific palettes for whatever the levels call for. I thing this approach would be cool and allow you to still get what you want out of it.
Title: Re: Kadath
Post by: Dracula9 on March 25, 2015, 05:43:07 AM
Nah. The 8-bit approach was mostly a play on retro factor that wasn't really necessary, or so I'm seeing looking back on it and thinking about it. Sure, making it 8-bit basically means it's gonna get attention on whatever I wind up releasing it on, but if that means I'm going to have unnecessary difficulties in conveying the plot and tone I want to get across, then fuck it. My primary goal should be telling the story in as clear a way as I possibly can (well...as clear as a Lovecraft-inspired story can be, anyway), how pretty that telling looks should rightfully come second.

And I think you guys are convinced I have more stuff done that I've posted. I don't. What sprites you've seen and music you've heard is all there is. What's the worst I'll have to do with the engine, change a few sprites? I'm not losing anything from this decision, and in removing those limitations I'm opening a way to tell my story more effectively.

Plus, those arrangements sound kick-ass, but there ain't no way in hell they'd fit an 8-bit game.
Title: Re: Qa'Doth
Post by: Dracula9 on June 15, 2016, 11:25:33 AM
Just a little thingamajig I got bored and made, as well as an update to a few of the tunes.

More or less my "okay do something small so you don't forget about this project and never finish it" maneuver or something like that.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FbuHbZTV.png&hash=481391fe7e997c87efa128fa51c9bc298f91ed5b)

https://soundcloud.com/dracula9antichapel/qadoth-cosmic-dread (https://soundcloud.com/dracula9antichapel/qadoth-cosmic-dread)

https://soundcloud.com/dracula9antichapel/qadoth-the-writhing-ataxia (https://soundcloud.com/dracula9antichapel/qadoth-the-writhing-ataxia)

https://soundcloud.com/dracula9antichapel/qadoth-den-of-the-forgotten (https://soundcloud.com/dracula9antichapel/qadoth-den-of-the-forgotten)

*does a dance*
Title: Re: Qa'Doth
Post by: X on June 15, 2016, 02:44:09 PM
That's a real pretty image! Bravo! If you were willing you could probably make an adventure-styled game using images like that. Games like Loom were good for that. Especially the updated version.
Title: Re: Qa'Doth
Post by: Dracula9 on July 02, 2016, 09:32:14 PM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SofuhQTC2bg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SofuhQTC2bg)
(if the embed fails)
Title: Re: Qa'Doth
Post by: theANdROId on July 02, 2016, 09:38:39 PM
I hadn't forgotten about this, and was actually gonna ask what (if anything) has become of it.  Based on all you'd said way back when you started, I'd filed it in the, "definitely getting this game someday" category because it sounded so awesome!
Title: Re: Qa'Doth
Post by: Dracula9 on July 02, 2016, 09:48:42 PM
Quote
Just a little thingamajig I got bored and made, as well as an update to a few of the tunes.

More or less my "okay do something small so you don't forget about this project and never finish it" maneuver or something like that.
Title: Re: Qa'Doth
Post by: theANdROId on July 03, 2016, 05:30:38 PM
Yup!  If and when you do finish it, I hope I find out (if we're not still here on the forum) somehow!
Title: Re: Qa'Doth
Post by: Gunlord on July 03, 2016, 09:48:27 PM
Lookin cool indeed :D