So much new stuff!

Last month I tested the game and there were many things I didn't like (see my last post). I tried to seek solutions to many of these problems, and it was indeed a very productive month. 

I don't get many suggestions or constructive criticism when it comes to art and design, so I have to rely on myself and be as subjective as I can. If we want to improve, then we should challenge any creative work, even our own. For example, when I was playing the game, I realized that Oak's background was just an uninteresting flat rock! Then I went to Forest B and I was like "wow this is boring! The graphics and the music changed but it's just another green forest with the same old platforms!". Forest C has also green trees (and some of them are wrong because they have trees from Forest A). And all these trees have zero parallax scrolling! Actually even now, the game doesn't have vertical parallax, only horizontal. (Titan was struggling with it but I recently found a tutorial, which hopefully will give us the gift of true parallax)

Old vs new Oak's stage sample

• New Art
Titan and the guys who did the level editing were struggling or they found that job to be a chore (Titan originally made the very first level using only code! I can't even fathom that). But now I know how the GameMaker works, and I can level edit myself, in the quality that I want. I'd love to revamp the levels, even tho it may kill me - so much work!

I created/updated over 50 objects, that will hopefully breathe some new air into the game. These objects will replace some old ones, as they try to conserve game memory. This clean up is crucial, because many objects exist twice in the engine (a lot of early art exists as both normal and mirrored). In my updated art, Forest B has now orange trees and Forest C has snow near the mountain peak. And Oak has a lake in the background! (see image above)

A lot of art and plans that was made behind the scenes, got rejected and abandoned. And lots of older art is replaced. The containers for example, were used in every level, but they now appear only in Docks and Forest A. Other levels will have new kinds of platforms and obstacles, and you can see most of them in the following picture.  

 

• New map details
So yeah, even though sometimes it's hard to be self-motivated, my muse spoke and made me stay home, not to talk to anyone, and just work work work! I updated the map and I wrote down in detail which character meets who, and where. These meetings must have a certain gravity to them. When Voms for example meets Ucogi, they need to talk about important story stuff, not about the weather.

 

yes, my maps are crazy

 

• Hostage Puzzles!
Most of the areas in the game were left empty until now, in hopes of populating them with platforms that I would make in the future. I'm happy to say that I finished with the platform designs and I know what goes where for the majority of the levels. Major factor was my decision to turn each Hostage scene into a puzzle. 

I'm proud of what I managed to do there. It was a huge task and challenge, as all 33 Hostage puzzles needed gradual difficulty and the chance of resetting them, if the player makes a wrong move. I love the fact that these puzzles are not mandatory. You can ignore them and continue with your quest! 

As an example, check the image below. That's Forest C11 and if you remember, there was just a building and a tower. But there's a new layer of depth now! You think you can reach the Hostage?

Hostage puzzle in the snow

• Ucogi Boss updates
Regarding Ucogi, me and Titan had many exchanges. I made a nude version, he added it in the game, it needed a few fixes. I updated Ucogi, he added it in the game, but it needed a few more fixes. I updated Ucogi again, but Titan was too busy with other things. Right now I'm waiting on Titan, so that I can check and make sure she's as awesome as she should be. And then finally dress her up!

I also made several storyboard pages, as to how the Ucogi Boss Fight should be. We thought it was finished but what Titan had done was the bare minimum, and we had to discuss and come up with a few cool ideas. Titan's next task is to finish this Boss battle.

Ucogi Boss fight storyboard

• Tool lv3 attack
What else, what else...  I changed Voms baseball-bat move. You get that move with Tool lv3. You are supposed to repel projectiles by pressing [Down, Forward + Attack]. Personally, I prefer if that attack was a charging move, because it would be easier to time and pull, and many players complain about button input in metroidvania games and they rarely use them. If you have an opinion about this, leave it in the comments.

The baseball-bat move was a good idea but it felt to me that something was missing (A). So after a lot of pondering, I made the Tool's effect cover 360 degrees (B), and even though I haven't tested it yet, it feels like a great addition to the game. 

A) original                   B) updated

 

Regarding the upcoming Beta... you will have to wait a bit. I need to finish Ucogi and apply the new designs to a few levels, while Titan checks his to-do list. And he has a lot to do until we are ready for a decent release.

Pheww.... I think I might need a break during August. I havent been on vacation in over 3 years.
Thank you for reading about our progress and for being around! It means a lot.

- Veins