Topic: Castlevania: Ballad of Darkness *NEW* Castlevania Fan Game by Patheticmw

[Zuljaras]

I am also using GMS for my game and at the start I used the mouse to select stuff. However after that I made it so that mouse + selecting with keys is used. Also mouse selecting is used for touchscreen stuff.

Believe me it is essencial to make keyboard keys usable. I also thought that Joy2Key was the right way but it is only a workaround.

Polish is the key to everything. Take your time and add only key functionality.

[Patheticmw]

I am also using GMS for my game and at the start I used the mouse to select stuff. However after that I made it so that mouse + selecting with keys is used. Also mouse selecting is used for touchscreen stuff.

Believe me it is essencial to make keyboard keys usable. I also thought that Joy2Key was the right way but it is only a workaround.

Polish is the key to everything. Take your time and add only key functionality.

Hey Zuljaras, I'm a fan of your castle of nightmares project, so I appreciate your input greatly! I'm currently implementing a lot of new things, so keyboard functionality on the map is something I am definitely looking at since so many people are commenting on that.

[Patheticmw]

Hello everyone, I will soon be changing the game file into the newest updated version, so if you are wanting to play the game, I would suggest waiting until I put it out after a couple test runs. In the spoiler is a list of updates for the game. The version I will be releasing soon is V1.1.2. A lot of things that people have commented on have been fixed as well as some other things I found along the way. If you have already played an older version of the game, your feedback on newer versions will be most valuable, and please everyone else give feedback too! Thanks! 

(click to show/hide)

V 1.1.0
-Added and changed various sound effects
-Made jumping faster
-Releasing Z cancels a jump
-Fixed some backgrounds
-Fixed some bad clipping
-Fixed bone pillar stacking issues
-Slightly changed some areas to make platforming easier
-Made Beelzebub physics make more sense
-Reduced health of Death fight part one
-Made Death fight part two less underwhelming
-Updated enemies death animations
-Slightly reduced game music volume
-Game music no longer makes the game stutter when looping

V 1.1.1
-Fixed some backgrounds
-Fixed some clipping

V 1.1.2
-Fixed some backgrounds
-Fixed left wall clipping problems
-Fixed minor Vorpal Knight range (Level 6 normal enemy version of Vorpal Knight boss)
-Changed jump height minutely to aesthetically fix certain jumps
-Fixed Imp familiar targeting
-Made Imp familiar last longer before dying
-Made crouching hitbox more accurate
-Beelzebub's boss room no longer takes away your subweapon (Used to be intended)
-Added candles and a subweapon to every boss room (no subweapon in Slogra and Gaibon rooms)
-Added message after pressing switch in stage 5
-Changed health of Malphas, Vorpal Knight, and parts of Beelzebub
-Changed Dracula part 2

Things planned for future updates:
-Make Dracula fight less underwhelming
-More fluid stairs movement
-More aesthetics updates

More things for future updates TBD

[Patheticmw]

The original post has been updated to include the link to the new version of the game. The current version is a huge upgrade compared to the original so I encourage everyone to give it a try and tell me what you think! 

Here is another link to the newest version and attached is the update log
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t1b3q22dnt62w12/Castlevania_Ballad_of_Darkness.exe?dl=0

[Patheticmw]

I've noticed that some people, even on very capable computers, are experiencing low frame rates at certain points in the game, while some people, even on lower end systems, don't experience this at all. I personally don't experience it on my home PC, so it's kind of a hard problem to narrow down, but I'm almost certain it is some disagreement between certain versions of Windows and the version of Gamemaker I used to make a lot of the game. Some people can resolve this issue by running the game as an administrator and/or running it in a compatibility mode for a different version of Windows. If neither of those options work, I'm sorry, I don't know how to solve it except by trying to play on a different computer.  Even a lower end computer may be able to avoid those problems. I haven't had much time to work on this game recently, but I still may make more updates in the future, especially if it ever picks up a little more steam. Thanks to anyone who has played! (Also, I made this game in an engine format that should be pretty workable around a lot of new variables or redesigns, the goal when I first started was actually to make a classicvania engine, so if anyone wants to try it, just message me with your idea and I'll be glad to send you a copy with a couple tutorial stages to show how things work. I'll try to check messages on this site, but I will definitely be easier to message on Steam, which I have linked in my profile.)