Another Cave Story Sequel (ACSS) V: 1.19.1

1.10 is here

 

Cold you need to make the Cat Spirits not furries anymore unless you are insinuating that Curly and Balrog are furries. Also the dying leaf looks like some beef jerky. Also you should add the words "Fire Emblem" to the beginning of the first map name you appear in.

Spoiler

Ump-45 is overrated.

 

Cold you need to make the Cat Spirits not furries anymore unless you are insinuating that Curly and Balrog are furries. Also the dying leaf looks like some beef jerky. Also you should add the words "Fire Emblem" to the beginning of the first map name you appear in.

Spoiler

Ump-45 is overrated.

Well obviously I hope to imagine what you're saying is joke but I do intend to change the sprites for the Spirits and the Dying Leaf, but due to my limited skills, that's easier said than done... I will try my best to change those later down the line.
And I'm not changing the first map title...

Spoiler: Spoiler

I will slay you

 

Hello everybody, Loopy here. I am happy to release version 1.15! (Originally it was meant to be Version 1.13 but I skipped a few numbers because of the amount of content I added)
Basic Synopsis:
1.15 adds a new major area and two subareas to explore, Quote can talk, and there's a few more new faces.
Training Test 3 is also added for those who enjoy those challenges.
The Sand Heights will be the next major area, and I'm excited to work on it (though, it will be a tall map)
In 1.16 (or whatever number I make the next update), Misery, Jenka, and Booster will most likely be present, as well as a
glimpse of the new terror on The Island, the "Rose Virus".

Spoiler: Changelog: 1.15

1.15 (Released 4/16/2020)
New Areas/Challenges:
- The HydroElectric-Facility Interior
- Mimigo Villas
- Sandy Path
- Training Test 3 added

General Changes:
- Dying Spirits changed to Radical Spirits - consequentially, the Dying Leaf item isn't as important anymore, I'll figure out what to do with it later down the line
- Training Tests actually tell you their first-time reward
- Added some extra hearts, missiles, and exp capsules in a few waves in the Training Tests
- When turning on the "power" in the HEF, an extra platform is turned on in the Bottom of the Island
- Malco Brothers renamed:
- Bit -> Amp
- Memoro -> Watt
- Joulius -> Joules

Buffs/Nerfs:
- Buffed Training Test 2 boss' hp (300 -> 480)
- Baby Polish damage nerfed (3 -> 2), Exp drop nerfed (8 -> 5)
- Fire Whirr projectile damaged debuffed (5 -> 4), now shootable, Projectile HP nerfed (50 -> 12) yes it had hp in vanilla despite being invincible, Projectile doesn't drop EXP, Main body exp nerfed (20 -> 14), Main body contact damage nerfed (10 -> 5), HP nerfed (70 -> 40)
- Buffed Circling Bat's HP: 7 -> 9
- Buffed Hanging Bat's HP: 7 -> 11
- Nerfed Training Test 1 Boss' HP: 420 -> 350
- Nerfed Radical Spirit Boss HP: 320 -> 260
- Night Spirit enemy now has 60 hp
- Training Test 2's boss' missiles are now invincible

Misc:
- New thumbnail art
- Changed some art assets slightly (face pics, tiles, etc...)
- Quote officially has a in-game voice, with face pics by the amazing Romana Dell
- Reworked a lot of the story
- Cut unused faces out of Face.bmp
- In Training Test 2, the Polish enemy was never required to beat, but after every wave following Wave 2, the Baby Polishes will be deleted as to prevent a bunch of them flying all over the place
- New mouse-icon for those playing 640x480 (it's a Tri-Blade)

Hacks Applied:
- CNV Hack (TheCyberSlueth/Rainbow Critter Txin)
- Smart Croc Hack (Rainbow Critter Txin)
- Fireball Velocity ASMing (Me)
- Night Spirit Hack (Started by TheCyberSlueth, finished by Rainbow Critter Txin)
- Smart Missile Spawns Hack (Rainbow Critter Txin)
- Water-Foreground Hack (Bombchu Link)
- Skip Cutscenes Hack (Kenzo_ITN)

Personal Notes (usually TSC stuff):
- Condensed and cleaned up some of Training Test 1's TSC so it's not as cluttered
- Dying Leaf TSC was cleaned up, now it changes depending on the area
- Sarah's face pics are a place holder for now (Romana Dell is helping me produce them)

You can download version 1.15 here and you will be led to the Doukutsu Club page.
More updates are to come, and I am always happy to be working on this project!

 

I really can't wait to see the bees doing their thing in 1.15! Of all seriousness though, I'm excited to see what improvements have been made to the mod! Now to wait until I'm more awake enough to play the mod...

 

Uh, a relatively old mod is still being worked on? That's rare.
I'll definitely play it.

 

I really can't wait to see the bees doing their thing in 1.15! Of all seriousness though, I'm excited to see what improvements have been made to the mod! Now to wait until I'm more awake enough to play the mod...

I can't wait for you to enjoy it Serri! I do genuiely hope that the content is getting long enough where people are satisfied with it.

Uh, a relatively old mod is still being worked on? That's rare.
I'll definitely play it.

I made a promise to myself back in 2017 that the mod would be finished, no matter how long it takes. Like Yandere Simulator but with less ambitions and more percentage of work done. lol.

 

I do genuiely hope that the content is getting long enough where people are satisfied with it.

Did people actually criticize your work because they thought it was too short?
I haven't played it, but unless it's 5 minutes long I see no reason to criticize any free game you didn't spend any money on for its length. At least that's what I think.

 

Did people actually criticize your work because they thought it was too short?
I haven't played it, but unless it's 5 minutes long I see no reason to criticize any free game you didn't spend any money on for its length. At least that's what I think.

It's more of a personal worry that I don't want the mod to feel too short. I still have a lot of work ahead of me and I'm probably ~1/4th or ~1/3rd done with the mod. But there are still lots of things I'd love to delve into and expand upon; heck, you only have 2 weapons as of now, I can't wait to start giving the player upgrades like the Booster and new weapons like the Tri-Blade, Bubbler, and Iceball.

 

Cold you shouldn't use version 1.xx it makes people think your mod is already done when there's at least another 8 years.

 

Yeah, Cold this is cringe, unlike my pal Kenzo, who is based

 

Cold you shouldn't use version 1.xx it makes people think your mod is already done when there's at least another 8 years.

Because ACSS is a continuation of CS, so it's a kind of fancy way of like, continuing from 1.0.0.6 with the numbers for ACSS, so at 2.0, ACSS would be complete. It's just my way of doing things, nothing more.

 

Why is people making ACSS for you??

 

Why is people making ACSS for you??

I mean, just a lot of help has gone into making the game, this is certainly no project that somebody does for a month and releases what's basically a demo. ACSS has a lot of new content and I require extra help from all over the community, of course I keep note of everybody who has contributed to the game in the Special_Thanks.txt file in the game's download.

 

That's cool but do you remember what npc sprite did i make

 

Good evening everybody, update 1.16 is out, for real!
Here is the changelog, it's long:

Spoiler: 1.16 changelog

New Areas/Challenges:
- The Sand Heights
- The West Side of The Island
- True Bottom of The Island

General Changes:
- Renamed two areas:
- Mimigo Villas -> Mirfield Villas
- Bottom of The Island -> The Island's Underbelly
- In Training Test 3, changed the sprite sheet out so the goldfish missiles look like actual missiles (this was done back in 1.15 but I forgot to change the sprite sheet when developing the Training Test)
- Cutscenes in the Mirfield Villas' Townhall and Outer Catacombs Boss Fight are now skippable
- Made the TSC in Inner Catacombs a lot more efficient for it's E-Bit puzzle; and e-bits 22, 23, and 24 are all now delegated to a single item slot
- Removed the life capsule in Malco's Hideout, going a similar path will yield the capsule from the Innermost Catacombs
- Fixed TSC in Malco's teleporter (after gaining access to Amp's teleporter) so it correctly allows you to teleport to the locations you've accessed
- Fixed a name in Amp's terminal to correctly say Amp, not his old name, Bit
- Changed Malco's teleporter in Amp's teleporter where you need to be in Malco's Hideout to access the Southern Island's teleporters. The Malco Brother's teleporters all still connect to each other
- Added a teleporter into the HEF via Amp's Hideout
- A brand new background for the HEF, special thanks to Jacob Turbo for the help!
- Removed Flash Protection and subdued a lot of flashes that occurred
- Raised starting HP to 5
- Added a skip to the sequence in the Control Room (in the HEF)
- Now you need to turn the power on in the HEF to activate teleporters
- Removed Blue Flame and a few enemies from HEF Monster Hive fight
- Added Aegis-Pump in game, icon originally made by Lethrys, new icon by AsperDev
- AsperDev updated weapon icons, tiles, and items
- Changed the Missile enemy noise to a roar instead of a squeal
- Added the Mimiga workers in the Mirfield Villas outside after you go in the Town Hall
- Fixed some events using the incorrect faces
- Changed all teleportation icons (The block not the teleport icons themselves when you're in the teleporter menu)
- Fixed camera panning in opening map (<FOM0016 after a <FOM0001)
- Fixed a myriad of spelling errors thanks to Woddles
- Lowered Missile Expansions, in Inner Catacombs it's +2, and in the HEF it's +3
- Fixed a bug where you can break Training Test 3 with the Aegis Pump at wave 2
- Added <DNB hack (Props to Txin for creating it) that allows me to delete all bullets fired by the player; this fixes a huge bug in the Training Tests and the Waterway enemy horde fight
- Changed required item needed to access more information in the opening map
- Originally you needed "E-bit 25" (which didn't exist), now you need the weapon Beta Majoris
- New hack added that allows for invincibility frames to still be active during frames, now you won't need to worry about being juggled during Training Tests or enemy wave bosses!
- Changed TT3's boss wave in wave 5, now 3 separate missiles come toward you while you must destroy a singular one with a health bar, the other 3 can be destroyed to make the fight easier; the other 3 missiles drop 10 exp each and do 2 damage (The first missile has 150 hp, the other 3 have 60)
- You can now talk to Prellim once you know more of the Rabid Mimis in the Sand Heights
- Added Clownancy's dll mod loader and Brayconn's improved map system
- Minor change to dialogue cutscene after Quote gets his voice, Malco poorly explains what to do next, that's been fixed hopefully.
- Removed homing flame from Waterway Surprise Attack and Training Test 3 Boss
- Added timer into HEF Monster Hive where the ceiling with the frogs will open up if the player is unable to kill them in the allotted time (45 seconds)
- In Training Test 2, during the intermission the timer hack is used during it so you can't just suicide and cheese the intermission
- Changed a Terminal in the HEF to state "you need to activate the power" rather than "Administrative card required" as this is now incorrect information
- Misery's sprite now features orange eyes and green hair to better represent her portrait
- The janitor Mimiga in the Control Room now sweeps his broom instead of blinks
- Added a new pathway in the Mirfield Villas that allows one to go quickly go back to Amp's Hideout without having to go through the Town Hall (only when returning to Amp's, not going from)

Buffs/Nerfs:
Fire Whirr:
- Buffed Fire Whirr Projectile's HP: 12 -> 30
- Nerfed Fire Whirr's exp drop: 14 -> 8

Power Critter:
- Nerfed exp dropped from Power Critter: 12 -> 7

Skeleton projectile:
- Nerfed projectile exp: 3-> 1
- Buffed projectile HP: 4 -> 6
- Damage lowered: 6 -> 4

Crow:
- Nerfed exp drop: 6 -> 4
- Damage lowered: 5 -> 4

Crow & Skullhead:
- Nerfed exp drop: 9 -> 5

Polish Baby:
- Nerfed HP: 10 -> 8
- Exp nerfed: 4 -> 3

Skullhead:
- Damaged nerfed: 8 -> 5
- HP nerfed: 50 -> 25

Sand Croc:
- HP nerfed: 60 -> 34

Fuzz Core:
- Nerfed exp drop: 12 -> 8

Radical Spirits:
- Nerfed HP: 260 -> 100 each

Training Test 1 Boss:
- Training Test 1 Boss fires 5 projectiles instead of 3 and fires them more quickly; he also deploys 6 balls on dropping down rather than 8
- HP nerfed: 350 -> 215

Training Test 2 Boss:
- Training Test 2 Boss fires more missiles, they accelerate faster, but fires them slightly less accurately; and the boss spits you out quickly
- HP nerfed: 480 -> 340

Orange Bell:
- HP nerfed: 80 -> 50

Goldfish Missile:
- Buffed damage by 2 -> 3

Alpha Minoris:
- Changed exp requirements:
- Level 1: 30 -> 20, Level 2: 50 -> 40, Level 3: 10 -> 15
- Buffed range:
- Level 1: 9 -> 12
- Level 2: 10 -> 13
- Level 3: 10 -> 15

Snake Launcher:
- Changed exp requirements:
- Level 1: 30 -> 25, Level 2: 50 -> 35, Level 3: 20 -> 10

Misc.:
- Difficulty in main areas has been reduced to accompany more steady progression
- tldr; the game's easier now
- Training Tests are still brutal though and will remain unchanged overall
- Added hidden missile drops to the HEF Monster Hive fight
- Added Tri-Blade in game (will implement it at some point into the game itself)
- Changed a few rooms slightly (I can't really tell you specifically because I changed a lot of maps in both major and minor ways, just know that I'm trying to make rooms look a little more unique so they're not all boxes
- No this is not like Minecraft 1.16, there is no Netherite in this update (Sorry everybody :C )

New Hacks Applied:
Cyberslueth: Timer hack
GabrielTFS: Aegis Pump (Lvl 1 only right now)
Clownancy: Clownancy's .dll Mod Loader
Brayconn: Improved Map System used in the .dll Mod Loader
Txin: <DNB hack

Personal Notes (Usually TSC stuff/Random bug fixes):
- Fixed some skip cutscene events in the Outerwall and The Island's Underbelly to use <FOM0016 because of camera issues.
- Fixed a bug in the Innermost Catacombs where after talking to the door (after being granted access to the Outer Catacombs), if you didn't skip the sequence, flag 2000 would still be set, and you could then press q in any room that had skippable cutscenes/sequences, assuming you didn't pass another cutscene that would turn off flag 2000 correctly, and it would automatically go to event 500 in said room. (I ended up fixing this issue three times, go figure).
- Fixed a bug in the Innermost Catacombs switching two lines of TSC so when you go through the mid-door on your way to Malco, flag 2000 isn't set (this would cause the same as the other bug from above).
- Changed flags up for Dying Leaf so it wasn't stretching into OOB territory
(Tl;dr, OOB flags are any flag above 7999, which affects the game's memory, and my flags were flags 9000 - 9007, so I moved them all the down to 3000 - 3007, so no more memory harm, assuming it was causing any)
- Made some minor changes to the Special Thanks file (Not including adding new names)
- Fixed a sleuth of bugs in the Training Tests (for example, you could deactivate TT1 and the icons wouldn't load correctly afterward)
- Fixed a bug where you could beat the Radical Spirits and then return to the room and the music would be silent
- Fixed a bug where flag 3306 wasn't unchecked so a random missile in Training Test 3 wouldn't work properly (it didn't break the Training Test or anything but it was an issue I noticed during random testing)
- Emptied out a bunch of useless .pbms in the files that merely took up space
- Any people I have not mentioned for their work will be in the "Special Thanks!.txt" file (Thank you once again everybody who has contributed to this mod! I would be nowhere without you all after all of these years!)

You can play the new update here, this link will take you straight to the download page.
I'm really excited to continue work on this mod and get it into 1.17 and beyond. Thank you everybody so much for your patience, contributions, and criticisms, I want to make this mod the best it can be!

 

Dude, this update is great! I love the new animations and changes in the Mirfield Villas. Especially the one you trigger by talking with new Kanapachi. Keep it up, this is better than Jenka's Nightmare!
Also, did you do some work on the face pics? This may just be my brain, but they're so DAMN GOOD NOW! I rememberd them being slightly janky, now they're amazing.
Let me just point out a thing: in the HEF, after rescuing the janitor mimiga, sometimes after the battle is done and the monsters are defeated, it still keeps playing battle music and the gate doesn't open. After a reset it works, so it isn't properly game breaking.
Thank you for this update, for real, I hope this will one day be a finished mod

 

Dude, this update is great! I love the new animations and changes in the Mirfield Villas. Especially the one you trigger by talking with new Kanapachi. Keep it up, this is better than Jenka's Nightmare!
Also, did you do some work on the face pics? This may just be my brain, but they're so DAMN GOOD NOW! I rememberd them being slightly janky, now they're amazing.
Let me just point out a thing: in the HEF, after rescuing the janitor mimiga, sometimes after the battle is done and the monsters are defeated, it still keeps playing battle music and the gate doesn't open. After a reset it works, so it isn't properly game breaking.
Thank you for this update, for real, I hope this will one day be a finished mod

I can't begin to describe how happy this post made me, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
The updated face pics have been the help of
many collaborators throughout the years; alongside the many contributions to music, ASM, and sprites this mod has become another level of greatness I am so proud of.

As for the bug in the HEF I know exactly what it is and I'll be fixing it next update, thanks for still bringing it it to my attention. It's funny because I never encountered it once in any of my runs because of how quickly I can do certain segments but it'll be fixed in 1.17.

Thank you so much for playing, reading your post tonight melted my heart and it makes me feel like all of my work hasn't been for nothing after all of these years.

 

hi

Spoiler: review n stuff

I played an older version ~2 years ago. It only got until the "Mimigo Villas"

==

"Quote, you think you have any way of speaking?"
obvious foreshadowing is obvious and probly unnecessary
Quote shows his face during the first cutscene. Nitpicky as it may be, I think it'd work better if Quote only has a facepic when he first talks. That way, this cutscene is more consistent with the original, and it's more of an event when he does talk & get a facepic.

Curly's expression is so... intense. It's prob'ly really hard to edit vanilla facepics, but I can't imagine Curly making a face that looks like *that.* Not only that, but the teeth are a bit detailed in a way that doesn't mesh well with the original game's art style.

This cutscene's great. It's got the clouds that get denser as the cutscene goes, cool lightning strikes, and an (offscreen) epic freefall fight with Curly and Balrog.

Nice, fittingly cramped first cave. There's a bit of cutoff in the tiling, but it doesn't matter much.

This fall-through block here is interesting, but I can't tell why it's here. Was it for teaching the player that fall-through blocks are a common thing here? Or is it just there to look nice without getting in the way of gameplay?

"I'm sorry if it's much to ask but I actually need your help."
Missing comma, should be "much to ask, but". Also the phrasing's kinda awkward to me. Maybe "a lot to ask, but"? Amp, Watt, and Joules. Nice.

Time for the training arena, the thing i ripped off for my first mod. It's pretty good. I like how Wave 6 and its boss used a different enemy set.

ok so there was a bug here
while going up this shaft (around where Quote is in teh screencap), I pressed Q, and somehow triggered the event to enter the door on the lower left of here, thus entering the path to Malco's place. Nothing else happened. I'm assuming it's part of that "press Q to skip cutscenes" thing, but... how...?

Fun little puzzle with the green blocks. But I think the message on the exit door is too hand-holding. It spells not only what holds the "bits" to unlock the door, but it mentions green blocks, tells you that you need the Snake Launcher, *and* moves the camera to all 3 of them. If a player didn't notice the blocks before getting to the door, hitting them would be tedious busywork, since they already know exactly what to do and where to go. Just say that the bits are hidden inside special blocks, and maybe mention that they're green. That way it's still a puzzle, without being hyper-confusing.

Also, the final bit was collected while there was an enemy nearby. I couldn't move during the "you got an item!" textbox, while a critter slowly jumped on me, and damaged me as soon as the cutscene ended.

Dam, those Radical Spirits. Cool little fight, but I think it's too short. IIRC they were damage sponges in earlier versions, so who knows.

Huh... I remember the "ghosts" of Curly and Balrog being here.

that little girder looks really out of place.
Why are Gaudis here? Last I checked, they were all trapped in the Labyrinth. That's a genuine question, not nitpicking.

The Hydro-Electric Facility looks great! Custom background & tiles that all fit with the mod.

This part looks kinda bad. The poles totally cut off the currents and you can't see the top of the water, meaning the water currents look more like air currents.

And this part is even worse about it.

...Why the heck does every enemy have so much health? Even the bats have 9 health! Apparently they're robots, but... I only know that because I vaguely remember you mentioning it in this thread. The red eyes don't make them look like robots.

Quote's face is shown at the ambush, and I don't think that's necessary. But damn, you have some TSC skills here! All the cutscenes, programming so many of these "kill all the enemies" gauntlets. Or even just the dying leaf, and how it changes when you get to the Waterway.

...Mirfield, eh? That's... different. I kinda prefer "Mimigo Villas," if only because of how silly it sounds.

What are these wooden background things supposed to be? They're so bright and don't seem to do anything.

Crap, this part is really cool. You're doing a bangup job on the environments. Though, that one slope near the top-right looks weird. The Waterway rock clashes with the Mimigo Villa rock.

"Another" non-mimiga... makes it sound like you're a non-mimiga yourself.

I'd recommend giving some of the mimigas new dialogue when you talk to them a second time. It's far from necessary, but it can become a bit tedious if not handled well. You talk to an NPC and get 2 paragraphs of information. Then, when you talk to them again, and they say it again. Pretty small problem, but I talk to nearly every NPC twice, so it's kinda annoying if a lot of NPCs do it. Maybe it's my fault, but I don't wanna miss anything.

"Amp's cool, and that girl of his, Sarah"
Are we getting OCs now? I do feel somewhat weary about that, since from the Discord server, she looks like a Curly recolor. That might be pretty hard to make it fit without getting too... fanfic-y, I guess.

"Terminals C and D must be used to unlock Sector E."
Again, with the <FON on the terminals. You don't know exactly *how* to get there, but it still takes out a lot of exploratory elements the map could've had. A textbox is all you need.

that timer system at Terminal C is really cool! Dunno how you did that, but it's nice. That said, I'd killed all the enemies when the timer was only 1/2 out. Maybe get some bulkier (or invincible) enemies for this.

uh...
hello?
I killed every enemy and the ceiling broke, but... nothing? Looks like it softlocked because I killed the frogs with the Snake Missles. I reset, and yep. That's a pretty big oversight there.

Nice little block puzzle on the way to Terminal D. That said, it was a bit hard to even see the blocks, let alone know how they worked. They were a similar color to the normal rocks, and the area around them was so detailed that they didn't stand out too much; I almost missed them entirely. Also, the little wind current tiles should prob'ly just be arrows drawn on a stone; that's more simple and more sensical.

Uhhhh.....
After Terminal D, the game crashed when I entered the save room.

Why are these blocks in front of you? They're darkened out, meaning they should be in the background. Heck, the darkened pipes with X's on them are in the background.
Also, while I really do think the tiling is good... in this area, it's a bit much. There's just so much going on, with detailed shapes and tiles galore. You need an interesting amount of detail, while still leading the player along and not cluttering the screen up. All the other areas captured that balance really well. I can tell there was a lot of effort put into this, but it results in a lot of distracting *stuff*.

UUHHHHH...............
I entered the door in Sector E, and this happened. There doesn't seem to be any other route, either.
So... the end.

MISC. COOLBEANS STUFF:
skipping cutscenes? and it's really quick too!
you automatically sped the text up.
EXP refill thing
The teleporters in the waterway are really cool too. They got their own little cutscenes!

So yeah. Really good mod right here. Aside from that, I don't have many concrete judgements on this yet. I'll definitely continue after a patch.

 

hi

Spoiler: review n stuff

I played an older version ~2 years ago. It only got until the "Mimigo Villas"

==

"Quote, you think you have any way of speaking?"
obvious foreshadowing is obvious and probly unnecessary
Quote shows his face during the first cutscene. Nitpicky as it may be, I think it'd work better if Quote only has a facepic when he first talks. That way, this cutscene is more consistent with the original, and it's more of an event when he does talk & get a facepic.

Curly's expression is so... intense. It's prob'ly really hard to edit vanilla facepics, but I can't imagine Curly making a face that looks like *that.* Not only that, but the teeth are a bit detailed in a way that doesn't mesh well with the original game's art style.

This cutscene's great. It's got the clouds that get denser as the cutscene goes, cool lightning strikes, and an (offscreen) epic freefall fight with Curly and Balrog.

Nice, fittingly cramped first cave. There's a bit of cutoff in the tiling, but it doesn't matter much.

This fall-through block here is interesting, but I can't tell why it's here. Was it for teaching the player that fall-through blocks are a common thing here? Or is it just there to look nice without getting in the way of gameplay?

"I'm sorry if it's much to ask but I actually need your help."
Missing comma, should be "much to ask, but". Also the phrasing's kinda awkward to me. Maybe "a lot to ask, but"? Amp, Watt, and Joules. Nice.

Time for the training arena, the thing i ripped off for my first mod. It's pretty good. I like how Wave 6 and its boss used a different enemy set.

ok so there was a bug here
while going up this shaft (around where Quote is in teh screencap), I pressed Q, and somehow triggered the event to enter the door on the lower left of here, thus entering the path to Malco's place. Nothing else happened. I'm assuming it's part of that "press Q to skip cutscenes" thing, but... how...?

Fun little puzzle with the green blocks. But I think the message on the exit door is too hand-holding. It spells not only what holds the "bits" to unlock the door, but it mentions green blocks, tells you that you need the Snake Launcher, *and* moves the camera to all 3 of them. If a player didn't notice the blocks before getting to the door, hitting them would be tedious busywork, since they already know exactly what to do and where to go. Just say that the bits are hidden inside special blocks, and maybe mention that they're green. That way it's still a puzzle, without being hyper-confusing.

Also, the final bit was collected while there was an enemy nearby. I couldn't move during the "you got an item!" textbox, while a critter slowly jumped on me, and damaged me as soon as the cutscene ended.

Dam, those Radical Spirits. Cool little fight, but I think it's too short. IIRC they were damage sponges in earlier versions, so who knows.

Huh... I remember the "ghosts" of Curly and Balrog being here.

that little girder looks really out of place.
Why are Gaudis here? Last I checked, they were all trapped in the Labyrinth. That's a genuine question, not nitpicking.

The Hydro-Electric Facility looks great! Custom background & tiles that all fit with the mod.

This part looks kinda bad. The poles totally cut off the currents and you can't see the top of the water, meaning the water currents look more like air currents.

And this part is even worse about it.

...Why the heck does every enemy have so much health? Even the bats have 9 health! Apparently they're robots, but... I only know that because I vaguely remember you mentioning it in this thread. The red eyes don't make them look like robots.

Quote's face is shown at the ambush, and I don't think that's necessary. But damn, you have some TSC skills here! All the cutscenes, programming so many of these "kill all the enemies" gauntlets. Or even just the dying leaf, and how it changes when you get to the Waterway.

...Mirfield, eh? That's... different. I kinda prefer "Mimigo Villas," if only because of how silly it sounds.

What are these wooden background things supposed to be? They're so bright and don't seem to do anything.

Crap, this part is really cool. You're doing a bangup job on the environments. Though, that one slope near the top-right looks weird. The Waterway rock clashes with the Mimigo Villa rock.

"Another" non-mimiga... makes it sound like you're a non-mimiga yourself.

I'd recommend giving some of the mimigas new dialogue when you talk to them a second time. It's far from necessary, but it can become a bit tedious if not handled well. You talk to an NPC and get 2 paragraphs of information. Then, when you talk to them again, and they say it again. Pretty small problem, but I talk to nearly every NPC twice, so it's kinda annoying if a lot of NPCs do it. Maybe it's my fault, but I don't wanna miss anything.

"Amp's cool, and that girl of his, Sarah"
Are we getting OCs now? I do feel somewhat weary about that, since from the Discord server, she looks like a Curly recolor. That might be pretty hard to make it fit without getting too... fanfic-y, I guess.

"Terminals C and D must be used to unlock Sector E."
Again, with the <FON on the terminals. You don't know exactly *how* to get there, but it still takes out a lot of exploratory elements the map could've had. A textbox is all you need.

that timer system at Terminal C is really cool! Dunno how you did that, but it's nice. That said, I'd killed all the enemies when the timer was only 1/2 out. Maybe get some bulkier (or invincible) enemies for this.

uh...
hello?
I killed every enemy and the ceiling broke, but... nothing? Looks like it softlocked because I killed the frogs with the Snake Missles. I reset, and yep. That's a pretty big oversight there.

Nice little block puzzle on the way to Terminal D. That said, it was a bit hard to even see the blocks, let alone know how they worked. They were a similar color to the normal rocks, and the area around them was so detailed that they didn't stand out too much; I almost missed them entirely. Also, the little wind current tiles should prob'ly just be arrows drawn on a stone; that's more simple and more sensical.

Uhhhh.....
After Terminal D, the game crashed when I entered the save room.

Why are these blocks in front of you? They're darkened out, meaning they should be in the background. Heck, the darkened pipes with X's on them are in the background.
Also, while I really do think the tiling is good... in this area, it's a bit much. There's just so much going on, with detailed shapes and tiles galore. You need an interesting amount of detail, while still leading the player along and not cluttering the screen up. All the other areas captured that balance really well. I can tell there was a lot of effort put into this, but it results in a lot of distracting *stuff*.

UUHHHHH...............
I entered the door in Sector E, and this happened. There doesn't seem to be any other route, either.
So... the end.

MISC. COOLBEANS STUFF:
skipping cutscenes? and it's really quick too!
you automatically sped the text up.
EXP refill thing
The teleporters in the waterway are really cool too. They got their own little cutscenes!

So yeah. Really good mod right here. Aside from that, I don't have many concrete judgements on this yet. I'll definitely continue after a patch.

I'm really glad you enjoyed, and I think a lot of your criticisms are really valid and I agree on a few things.

You're definitely right with about the Quote face pic thing, it should be a big event when you first see his face (albeit a very controversial one that has a lot of players divided). As for Curly's stress face pic its had worse renditions. I'm still not 100% happy with it myself so I need to find somebody who can make what is probably one that's more subtle on the face.

I think your criticism on the puzzles has a lot of merit to it, and I actually really like your suggestions and I'll definitely implement them.

And as for that infamous softlock in the HEF monster-hive boss I need to fix it big-time, I'm pretty sure I know the issue. By the next update it will definitely be fixed. As for the crashes I believe it's all connected to that fight so I need to go back and fix it.

When you said you think the HEF is almost too much designed struck me, I took a lot of notes from Jenka's Nightmare's interior design and I wanted to specifically avoid being overly-cluttered on interior design. I'll definitely fix the tiles and make that interior a little more subtle. The bright thing in the background of the Mirfield Villas is supposed to be a pillar of sorts but I should darken it.

Thank you so much for playing it, all of the bugs and things you found will help a lot toward fixing the beginning 3rd of the game. Everytime I think I'm done with the beginning there's always something else to fix, but it helps go a long way toward making this mod something special.