Shadow of the Beast Legacy semi-project - Page 5

darkfalzx · 01 July 2014, 22:48

@Leathered - you know what - you are absolutely right! But now I'll be a bastard and change the text a little anyway!: ) I'd still like to do a custom cutscene for the last level - just to make it feel a tad more special.

Here is what I have for that The Void stage cutscene:

Here it is at X2 magnification: )

Edit
Did a round of bug-fixing and populated the void a bit. Still far from done in terms of enemy patterns. It would also take some time to get the timing right on all the electric barriers and spikes and whatnot.
The Void is fully populated. Give it a go.

You can now warp between game areas in the debug mode - Ctrl+1/2/3/4 will warp you to the desired area. This feature might cause bugs though, so use it sparingly.

It seems the game is coming out a bit easier than the original, as I was able to reach the void with almost full health. Something I can never do on Amiga.
Implemented the cemetery parallax - just one more stage to go for game 1! Sweet!

darkfalzx · 04 July 2014, 03:47

Upper a new build - SOTB1 is playable until the final boss, though the final stage is mostly unpopulated aside from the powerup graves. Zelek's foot is there, but can't be killed just yet.

Grab em here (or from the old links):
Windows build
Ouya console build
General Android build (The touch-screen controls are invisible, and incomplete)
Ubuntu Linux build
Mac build

Qube · 04 July 2014, 20:21

Great work as always!

I spotted a possible bug, a missing collision wall perhaps, resulting in you falling through to the platform below. I've attached a pic and highlighted it..

Q;

darkfalzx · 04 July 2014, 23:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qube

Great work as always!

I spotted a possible bug, a missing collision wall perhaps, resulting in you falling through to the platform below. I've attached a pic and highlighted it..

Q;

Good catch sir! That wall had incorrectly set collision. Fixed in the new build.

Just uploaded a new build - The first SOTB game is all there. Sure - it's still missing the intro (Beast picture and music), missing some art (the background in The Void is unfinished) and there are bugs and scripting errors in some places - but it's 100% beatable, complete with the final boss and the "Congratulations" image.
Now to test it and add bells and whistles and whatnot...

capehorn · 05 July 2014, 00:58

Sounds great! I forgot to post but I played the previous build from the start to the end today, I agree it's slightly easier in parts than the original, which in part I put down to the fact that the void playing area is larger in your version, which makes it easier to avoid the onrushing enemies, especially those in groups that all come at you at once.

I noticed you had altered a few of the patterns in order to do something about this, perhaps a re-imagining of some of the obsticles in that section is in order to increase the difficulty?

Also the larger playing area means that the death skeleton, void boss and castle boss are so easy to hit from afar. But the biggest reason is simply because you've improved the game. Amiga SotB was difficult because it was what it was, the player had a slow turn, no control over jumps in mid-air, slow punches and at times dodgy collision detect. The player had to take hits sometimes because of these things. You've (rightly) improved these things, making the game easier. So I'm not sure that you need to make any further alterations.

The suggestion I would make to make the game harder is having to get closer to the enemies before you can punch them. This is most obvious in the early tree stages, those caterpillar type baddies (see the attachment), in the original you had to get right up close to them to kill them, and one pixel too close and they'd hit you. In the new build you can easily punch them from afar and get through that section very easily. I'm not saying that's wrong, or that it's even desirable that the original was that way in the first place, but it affects the difficulty. Maybe middle ground between these two would be best.

There is one other thing that actually makes your version more difficult, in yours when you get to 0 health, you die. In the orginal, that means you have one hit left!

darkfalzx · 05 July 2014, 02:17

Try beating the game - you actually can now. I also did some bugfixes and changes that made certain things a tad harder - like some of the sword-dudes would swing at you faster and the ones chasing you from behind wouldn't interrupt their attack if you moved away - so there are more chances of getting hit.
The only boss that got much easier is the Hydra - even sped up shots don't do much to help. The Void's boss - I made it harder to hit the mouths, and his shots are now faster and reach further. Zelek himself was always kind of a gimme fight - so it remains.

Only a few things left to do now for SOTB1 - I already added the nasty bear-trap on the way to the tree as well as the insta-kill trap all the way to the left - those things will be in the next update. I am also trying to finish the art for the intro screen (the only thing I could do is scale it up - so cleaning up the pixel art now), finish the void BG and maybe add a front menu... maybe a save feature and Continue options that would resume you from the last area you beat with all the items you had.

Qube · 05 July 2014, 15:51

Darkfalzx - Been playing through SOTB1, found a few more fixes for you, see the pics... It's been a long time since I played beast fully, you forget how many different graphic assets are in this game!

Q;

s2325 · 05 July 2014, 15:56

I think ladders should not be covered.

darkfalzx · 05 July 2014, 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qube

Darkfalzx - Been playing through SOTB1, found a few more fixes for you, see the pics... It's been a long time since I played beast fully, you forget how many different graphic assets are in this game!

Q;

Thank you. Fixed all of these.

Quote:

Originally Posted by s2325

I think ladders should not be covered.

Not certain what you mean by that.

s2325 · 05 July 2014, 16:33

but maybe each level have different ladders

darkfalzx · 05 July 2014, 16:35

These ladders are all straight out of the original game and are part of the tileset. I haven't changed a thing there.

lilalurl · 05 July 2014, 21:05

I think that what s2325 is trying to say is that the ladders in your project appear behind/beneath the tiles forming the floor on which the character can walk.

In the original game (bottom screenshot in s2325's post), as you can see the top of the ladder is seen, whereas in your project (top screenshot) one of the rug near the tope is hidden.

An issue of layer priority (or something like that).

Qube · 05 July 2014, 21:17

I think the ladders vary in the original version between levels, you can see from the HOL shots that they look like this remake if you compare the same levels..

http://hol.abime.net/1891/screenshot

Q;

lilalurl · 05 July 2014, 21:28

Indeed. Screenshot #11 for instance.

I blame s2325

Or perhaps he was expressing a wish for an "improvement" over the original.

darkfalzx · 05 July 2014, 21:55

Thanks Qube for pointing out the ladder inconsistency in the original - The entire level is all on a single tile layer - including the ladders, so there was nothing I could change without altering the art.
I tried to stay away from changing the art much at all unless it was required due to the larger play window.

Upped a new build - the collision issues pointed out earlier are fixed. SOTB3 level 2 (Fort Doormor) has some basic scripting and camera work in it.

...I was thinking - whether or not I finish this project thing - I should do the Psygnosis Barbarian game ports at some point. Barbarian (1) could be cool for mobile, and 2 was just an awesome little Metroidvania. Could also do Fatal Rewind, Ork (that could seriously use some gameplay improvements) or Leander (would be annoying due to sheer number of levels).

Qube · 06 July 2014, 08:58

Darkfalzx - Sounds like you're going for a "Psygnosis Legacy" project

, perhaps you could throw all the games in together and just select from the main menu?

I'll give SOTB2 a run through at some point, see if I spot any issues etc.

Good fun all round!

Q;

darkfalzx · 06 July 2014, 09:53

SOTB2 has very little content at this point - SOTB3 on other hand has one complete level, and semi-implemented 2nd level. Only SOTB1 is complete.

Psygnosis Legacy sounds awesome! I'm kind of obsessed with their work for a mostly irrational reason, and would've loved a hassle-free way to play those games whenever I feel like it without the pain of emulating them.

Barbarian (1) would've been a very easy project. Moreover - I could probably have it with a choice of classic icon controls, or direct input via additional action buttons. The only problem with it - like SOTB1 it has a ton of assets.

jamielemon · 06 July 2014, 20:21

Hi, Chrome is blocking my download of this as it says it is malicious - I know it's probably a false positive, but just thought it was weird no one else had mentioned it, so thought I'd better check!
Can anyone confirm they have downloaded this today and it's been fine?

Dunny · 06 July 2014, 23:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamielemon

Hi, Chrome is blocking my download of this as it says it is malicious - I know it's probably a false positive, but just thought it was weird no one else had mentioned it, so thought I'd better check!
Can anyone confirm they have downloaded this today and it's been fine?

I get that too, but it's easy to fix. When Chrome informs you in the download bar that it's blocked, don't click anything. Head into your downloads folder and sort by date - the most recent file will be a chrome temporary file.

Rename that to anything you like - SOTB.exe is what I use. You can then copy it out to wherever you like, and dismiss the Chrome prompt.

D.

darkfalzx · 07 July 2014, 00:36

I have no idea why Chrome is complaining. Maybe you could adjust it in settings somewhere.

I have upped a new build.
What's new in the build:
SOTB1:
You can now turn while crouching!
Correct flame graphics for the rhino-looking boss.
The slinky enemy shouldn't get stuck in the jump AI cycle.
The final boss glitch is fixed. (Killing the final boss didn't trigger the ending if you got to the end without warping).

SOTB3:
More Fort Doormor camera refinements. Should follow the player pretty gracefully.

01 July 2014, 22:48	#81
darkfalzx Developer extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ocean, NJ USA Age: 45 Posts: 114	@Leathered - you know what - you are absolutely right! But now I'll be a bastard and change the text a little anyway!: ) I'd still like to do a custom cutscene for the last level - just to make it feel a tad more special. Here is what I have for that The Void stage cutscene: Here it is at X2 magnification: ) Edit Did a round of bug-fixing and populated the void a bit. Still far from done in terms of enemy patterns. It would also take some time to get the timing right on all the electric barriers and spikes and whatnot. The Void is fully populated. Give it a go. You can now warp between game areas in the debug mode - Ctrl+1/2/3/4 will warp you to the desired area. This feature might cause bugs though, so use it sparingly. It seems the game is coming out a bit easier than the original, as I was able to reach the void with almost full health. Something I can never do on Amiga. Implemented the cemetery parallax - just one more stage to go for game 1! Sweet! Last edited by darkfalzx; 04 July 2014 at 00:49.

04 July 2014, 03:47	#82
darkfalzx Developer extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ocean, NJ USA Age: 45 Posts: 114	Upper a new build - SOTB1 is playable until the final boss, though the final stage is mostly unpopulated aside from the powerup graves. Zelek's foot is there, but can't be killed just yet. Grab em here (or from the old links): Windows build Ouya console build General Android build (The touch-screen controls are invisible, and incomplete) Ubuntu Linux build Mac build Last edited by darkfalzx; 06 October 2014 at 17:24.

04 July 2014, 20:21	#83
Qube Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: England Posts: 218	Great work as always! I spotted a possible bug, a missing collision wall perhaps, resulting in you falling through to the platform below. I've attached a pic and highlighted it.. Q; Attached Thumbnails

05 July 2014, 00:58	#85
capehorn Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: UK Age: 42 Posts: 1,794	Sounds great! I forgot to post but I played the previous build from the start to the end today, I agree it's slightly easier in parts than the original, which in part I put down to the fact that the void playing area is larger in your version, which makes it easier to avoid the onrushing enemies, especially those in groups that all come at you at once. I noticed you had altered a few of the patterns in order to do something about this, perhaps a re-imagining of some of the obsticles in that section is in order to increase the difficulty? Also the larger playing area means that the death skeleton, void boss and castle boss are so easy to hit from afar. But the biggest reason is simply because you've improved the game. Amiga SotB was difficult because it was what it was, the player had a slow turn, no control over jumps in mid-air, slow punches and at times dodgy collision detect. The player had to take hits sometimes because of these things. You've (rightly) improved these things, making the game easier. So I'm not sure that you need to make any further alterations. The suggestion I would make to make the game harder is having to get closer to the enemies before you can punch them. This is most obvious in the early tree stages, those caterpillar type baddies (see the attachment), in the original you had to get right up close to them to kill them, and one pixel too close and they'd hit you. In the new build you can easily punch them from afar and get through that section very easily. I'm not saying that's wrong, or that it's even desirable that the original was that way in the first place, but it affects the difficulty. Maybe middle ground between these two would be best. There is one other thing that actually makes your version more difficult, in yours when you get to 0 health, you die. In the orginal, that means you have one hit left! Attached Thumbnails

05 July 2014, 15:51	#87
Qube Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: England Posts: 218	Darkfalzx - Been playing through SOTB1, found a few more fixes for you, see the pics... It's been a long time since I played beast fully, you forget how many different graphic assets are in this game! Q; Attached Thumbnails

05 July 2014, 02:17	#86
darkfalzx Developer extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ocean, NJ USA Age: 45 Posts: 114	Try beating the game - you actually can now. I also did some bugfixes and changes that made certain things a tad harder - like some of the sword-dudes would swing at you faster and the ones chasing you from behind wouldn't interrupt their attack if you moved away - so there are more chances of getting hit. The only boss that got much easier is the Hydra - even sped up shots don't do much to help. The Void's boss - I made it harder to hit the mouths, and his shots are now faster and reach further. Zelek himself was always kind of a gimme fight - so it remains. Only a few things left to do now for SOTB1 - I already added the nasty bear-trap on the way to the tree as well as the insta-kill trap all the way to the left - those things will be in the next update. I am also trying to finish the art for the intro screen (the only thing I could do is scale it up - so cleaning up the pixel art now), finish the void BG and maybe add a front menu... maybe a save feature and Continue options that would resume you from the last area you beat with all the items you had.

05 July 2014, 15:56	#88
s2325 Zone Friend Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Gargore Age: 43 Posts: 17,789	I think ladders should not be covered.

05 July 2014, 16:33	#90
s2325 Zone Friend Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Gargore Age: 43 Posts: 17,789	but maybe each level have different ladders

05 July 2014, 16:35	#91
darkfalzx Developer extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ocean, NJ USA Age: 45 Posts: 114	These ladders are all straight out of the original game and are part of the tileset. I haven't changed a thing there.

05 July 2014, 21:05	#92
lilalurl Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: France Posts: 3,289	I think that what s2325 is trying to say is that the ladders in your project appear behind/beneath the tiles forming the floor on which the character can walk. In the original game (bottom screenshot in s2325's post), as you can see the top of the ladder is seen, whereas in your project (top screenshot) one of the rug near the tope is hidden. An issue of layer priority (or something like that).

05 July 2014, 21:17	#93
Qube Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: England Posts: 218	I think the ladders vary in the original version between levels, you can see from the HOL shots that they look like this remake if you compare the same levels.. http://hol.abime.net/1891/screenshot Q;

05 July 2014, 21:28	#94
lilalurl Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: France Posts: 3,289	Indeed. Screenshot #11 for instance. I blame s2325 Or perhaps he was expressing a wish for an "improvement" over the original.

05 July 2014, 21:55	#95
darkfalzx Developer extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ocean, NJ USA Age: 45 Posts: 114	Thanks Qube for pointing out the ladder inconsistency in the original - The entire level is all on a single tile layer - including the ladders, so there was nothing I could change without altering the art. I tried to stay away from changing the art much at all unless it was required due to the larger play window. Upped a new build - the collision issues pointed out earlier are fixed. SOTB3 level 2 (Fort Doormor) has some basic scripting and camera work in it. ...I was thinking - whether or not I finish this project thing - I should do the Psygnosis Barbarian game ports at some point. Barbarian (1) could be cool for mobile, and 2 was just an awesome little Metroidvania. Could also do Fatal Rewind, Ork (that could seriously use some gameplay improvements) or Leander (would be annoying due to sheer number of levels). Last edited by darkfalzx; 06 July 2014 at 06:01.

06 July 2014, 08:58	#96
Qube Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: England Posts: 218	Darkfalzx - Sounds like you're going for a "Psygnosis Legacy" project , perhaps you could throw all the games in together and just select from the main menu? I'll give SOTB2 a run through at some point, see if I spot any issues etc. Good fun all round! Q;

06 July 2014, 09:53	#97
darkfalzx Developer extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ocean, NJ USA Age: 45 Posts: 114	SOTB2 has very little content at this point - SOTB3 on other hand has one complete level, and semi-implemented 2nd level. Only SOTB1 is complete. Psygnosis Legacy sounds awesome! I'm kind of obsessed with their work for a mostly irrational reason, and would've loved a hassle-free way to play those games whenever I feel like it without the pain of emulating them. Barbarian (1) would've been a very easy project. Moreover - I could probably have it with a choice of classic icon controls, or direct input via additional action buttons. The only problem with it - like SOTB1 it has a ton of assets.

06 July 2014, 20:21	#98
jamielemon Zone Friend Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: UK Posts: 58	Hi, Chrome is blocking my download of this as it says it is malicious - I know it's probably a false positive, but just thought it was weird no one else had mentioned it, so thought I'd better check! Can anyone confirm they have downloaded this today and it's been fine?

07 July 2014, 00:36	#100
darkfalzx Developer extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ocean, NJ USA Age: 45 Posts: 114	I have no idea why Chrome is complaining. Maybe you could adjust it in settings somewhere. I have upped a new build. What's new in the build: SOTB1: You can now turn while crouching! Correct flame graphics for the rhino-looking boss. The slinky enemy shouldn't get stuck in the jump AI cycle. The final boss glitch is fixed. (Killing the final boss didn't trigger the ending if you got to the end without warping). SOTB3: More Fort Doormor camera refinements. Should follow the player pretty gracefully.

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