Ok, look's like I have another mod to look forward to for future releases!
Good things:
#1 The new textures are awesome...really.
#2 You didn't cheap out on cut-scenes like most n00bs do, I like how much extra work you put into it.
#3 Characters were well done, you kept the original feel there that pixel made.
Bad things:
#1 I went through 90% of the cavern bouncing of baddies to reach higher ledges...forcing users to take damage, until I found out that you keep the booster 2.0. (you should throw a EQ+ in the opening event where you get your weapons)
#2 The volcanic Caverns need it's own .org, I could make one if you would like.
#1 I went through 90% of the cavern bouncing of baddies to reach higher ledges...forcing users to take damage, until I found out that you keep the booster 2.0. (you should throw a EQ+ in the opening event where you get your weapons)
This is Fukuro, the first boss to appear in my mod. You will get to fight this boss in the next update.
Rubyyoshi said:
I took a look at this and so far, it seems very nice. Like it could be a possibly Cave Story 2. One thing that confused me, was the...
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second island thing. I thought the volcanic caverns were a dungeon/cave's of the second island. I didn't realize they were still on the original island.
Very well done so far, only thing I have to say, is that the majority of Sandaime (The mimiga in the plant) didn't have very much changed dialogue. (That, and there's an extra line break, making it look weird.) Another thing, is that Mr. Little is still there. I assume you left him there on purpose, or have no clue how to remove him.
God, after seeing the name for "War Memorial", I broke down inside a tad. (Toroko + King Scene man, always get's me...)
Minor Bug: I BELIEVE after you teleport in for the first time into Arthur's House and talk to Kazuma, Curly and Balrog both will teleport in as part of the cutscene. HOWEVER, if you save and restart, they will both be gone. Going into Mimiga Village and re-entering Arthur's House will make them appear again. This also occurs if you decide to go back into the volcanic caverns via teleport and teleport back in. (Curly + Balrog will be gone, however Kazuma is still there.) Luckily, Kazuma does not repeat the cutscene dialogue. He just says "Sorry, that's all I know right now. You should head over to the Sand Zone." and it acts like normal. There was something that made me laugh though. It was one of the Shovel Brigade Mimiga's in the residence. The one with the Fireplace.
Thank you! I'm glad you like it! Anyways...
1.) The Volcanic Caverns are in the second island. The islands are adjacent, so it's close enough to teleport. This is part of the reason why I made you manually connect to Arthur's teleporter manually - there's no way the second island would have been set to that location beforehand.
2.) Sandaime's text was intended to be mostly the same. I felt that it gave a sense of continuity with the original game, and the change was added to keep things current and spice things up. As for the extra line break... well, crap. I'll have to fix that.
3.) Mr. Little was left there intentionally.
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Because the Nemesis and the Spur were optional weapons, I didn't want to spoil their existence for people who hadn't found them by giving them to the player in the start. To solve this problem, these weapons are going to be obtainable in more or less the same way they were before.
...However, now that I think about it, it is pretty odd that Mr. Little has been away from home for over two years. I'll have to fix that, or at least edit his text.
4.) I wasn't aware of this glitch. Thank you for sharing that with me, I'll be sure to fix that in the next update.
Bombchu Link said:
Ok, look's like I have another mod to look forward to for future releases! Good things: #1 The new textures are awesome...really. #2 You didn't cheap out on cut-scenes like most n00bs do, I like how much extra work you put into it. #3 Characters were well done, you kept the original feel there that pixel made. Bad things: #1 I went through 90% of the cavern bouncing of baddies to reach higher ledges...forcing users to take damage, until I found out that you keep the booster 2.0. (you should throw a EQ+ in the opening event where you get your weapons) #2 The volcanic Caverns need it's own .org, I could make one if you would like.
Thanks a ton! As for the Booster thing, well, I had originally hoped that the first lava pit that can't be crossed without it would intuitively make players realize the Booster's existence, but now that I have heard from two people (you and someone on Twitter) that it took them much longer than I expected, so I suppose it's not as intuitive as I thought. I'll have to fix that. I don't want to automatically equip the Booster, because that would be both inconsistent with the original game and would probably have to be discovered accidentally. Maybe I'll have Curly remind you to equip it, or include a jump that can't be made without it early on - or both. And thank you for the offer, but I already have a friend I know personally who is going to make the music for this mod. Also, the custom music isn't going to be implemented until the final version of this mod, due to the complications that come with adding new songs to Cave Story.
Dunc2403 said:
it's not like you had to equip it manually in the original or anything
no, actually it doesn't. custom orgs aren't a necessity and most of the time the regular orgs fit perfectly well.
1.) True, I don't intend to have it equipped automatically, mostly for the exact reason you specified.
2.) Actually, this mod will have custom music - it just won't be implemented until the final version.
Thanks a ton! As for the Booster thing, well, I had originally hoped that the first lava pit that can't be crossed without it would intuitively make players realize the Booster's existence, but now that I have heard from two people (you and someone on Twitter) that it took them much longer than I expected, so I suppose it's not as intuitive as I thought. I'll have to fix that. I don't want to automatically equip the Booster, because that would be both inconsistent with the original game and would probably have to be discovered accidentally. Maybe I'll have Curly remind you to equip it, or include a jump that can't be made without it early on - or both. And thank you for the offer, but I already have a friend I know personally who is going to make the music for this mod. Also, the custom music isn't going to be implemented until the final version of this mod, due to the complications that come with adding new songs to Cave Story.
Oh, no, of course I'm not using Sue's Workshop. I'm using CaveEditor. But I was under the impression that you had to do hex editing to put .orgs into Cave Story, and that once you did so, you couldn't edit it, so you would have to repeat the process each time you updated the mod. I had heard that on a thread somewhere. Is that not the case?
Oh, no, of course I'm not using Sue's Workshop. I'm using CaveEditor. But I was under the impression that you had to do hex editing to put .orgs into Cave Story, and that once you did so, you couldn't edit it, so you would have to repeat the process each time you updated the mod. I had heard that on a thread somewhere. Is that not the case?
Hey, everyone. I'm currently learning assembly hacking so that I can program a high-quality boss for the next update, so please be patient. I'll try to get the next update out as quickly as I can. Here's a little preview of that boss, 'Fukuro'. It's what I have so far of their stationary sprite. (Note: their feet are not touching the ground because this boss flies in the air.)
EnlightenedOne said:
That only applies to Sue's workshop. Cave Editor and Booster's Lab both allow custom Orgs without problem.
Hey, everyone. I'm currently learning assembly hacking so that I can program a high-quality boss for the next update, so please be patient. I'll try to get the next update out as quickly as I can. Here's a little preview of that boss, 'Fukuro'. It's what I have so far of their stationary sprite. (Note: their feet are not touching the ground because this boss flies in the air.)
Honestly I really like what you've done/are doing, but please don't underestimate how hard ASM is to learn... Especially programming complicated Bosses. I know your aiming for high standards. (And anyone can see that just by the time you've put into the art/drawings for the game) But just know that ASM is a long and hard road. I'm just now learning ASM after spending 6+ months modding Cave Story already.
I do have faith in you from what you've done so far though. Good luck, you'll need it.
Honestly I really like what you've done/are doing, but please don't underestimate how hard ASM is to learn... Especially programming complicated Bosses. I know your aiming for high standards. (And anyone can see that just by the time you've put into the art/drawings for the game) But just know that ASM is a long and hard road. I'm just now learning ASM after spending 6+ months modding Cave Story already. I do have faith in you from what you've done so far though. Good luck, you'll need it.
Thank you for your concern. I really do understand how hard ASM hacking is (especially now that I'm actually learning it), but I really do think I can pull it off. I'm currently at lesson 27 (of 39) of Carrotlord's Beginner's Guide to Cavestory Assembly, and so far I've understood everything that's been said. I'm taking my time to make sure I understand it all. And I have some experience programming in Visual Basic and C++, so it's not like I'm going into this blind. I have a document written up that explains the first boss's behavior in detail, and I already understand, for the most part, how I will achieve those behaviors. I'm not going into this unprepared, so don't worry! I'll be careful not to let this overwhelm me.
knuckles5577 said:
I just tried out the mod. Pretty good so far.One problem though... Warning! Image may contain spoilers!
That glitch isn't happening for me for some reason? Maybe I already fixed it, and then forgot that I did. Who knows? Anyways, thank you for telling me about this.
IdioticBaka1824 said:
I just hate it when mods are made too hard. Could you please make this one about as easy as the original Cave Story?
Is it really too hard? It's very hard to judge difficulty level as a developer, since I've become so good at my mod that it seems quite easy for me. Please keep in mind, however, that this mod is designed with the assumption that players have already beaten the original Cave Story. As such, the difficulty will be higher than in the original Cave Story - that is intentional, and will not change. But still, I don't want this mod to be too hard. Can you please give me an estimate on how many times you died in the Volcanic Caverns? Also, have you beaten the original Cave Story? What is the best ending that you've gotten in the original game? Also, do you have any specific suggestions? I would really appreciate it if you answered these questions - it would give me a good idea of what changes need to be made. Thank you!
I just realized that there's a pretty major glitch in v0.1.2 that I didn't notice before. When you first enter Arthur's house, the game acts like you have finished the cutscene after you talk to Kazuma, although you have not actually talked to him yet at that point. I thought I had gotten all of the problems with that cutscene fixed, but I guess it still needs some work. That glitch will be fixed in the next update. Sorry about that.
Anyways, v0.1.3 is coming along smoothly! The cutscene before the first boss battle is nearing completion, I am almost done reading Carrotlord's Beginner's Guide to Cave Story Assembly, and I have all of the first boss's behaviors and attack patterns planned out. Hopefully it shouldn't take too long to release it, though it will still be a while. Unfortunately, I cannot be any more specific than that. But please know that I am working hard to make this next update a great one!
I didn't mean very easy, I meant as hard as the original Cave Story. Since we're so used to it, it seems easy, bu the first tie we played Cave Story, it must have seemed difficult to some extent.
So, here's my thoughts on the game as I played through it.
Hmmm....
Well, I suppose I can say the first minute or so is a good start to a mod. Well, at least when the cutscene starts. No intro or anything until talking to Curly and having Balrog reference his entrance in the first game. Not sure why, but Curly's Inner-Outer Monologue of what happened since the events of the first game felt a bit weird. Maybe cheesy. Guess it's because she's saying this right in front of Quote and Balrog. If she thought this to herself while the two were flying, maybe it'd feel a bit better. Oh right, the flying cutscene was good, admittedly.
Caverns
Once that crashland into the caverns and after equipping the Booster, I just....whizzed past everything.
Literally, just flying past everything without a second thought. Maybe it was because of the 55 HP and having King's Sword from the last game, but eh, didn't really feel anything to worry about or care at all. I do like the tileset and background, though.
Mimiga Village
I was left somewhat confused once teleporting back into Arthur's house to find Balrog and Curly have already beaten me there. I suppose they just used the power of disappearing off-screen to do that. Sue's Big Brother didn't say anything of worth. Maybe it was supposed to be a cutscene, I'm not sure.
The Mimiga Village having a new section here and there was nice. Though, I would prefer the 'Memorial' to be at the Graveyard, with every other Mimiga/Person that has died in the Village's history. Probably among other friends and loved ones we don't know about. Chie and her Father's/Grandad house is pretty damn huge. Most of the new homes are, but eh, considering how many Mimiga there actually are, I suppose that's justified.
Sand Zone
Once going to the Sand Zone, since they told me to go there - just more whizzing past everything. Again, I have already been through here and already have a Booster 2.0, Sword, and 59HP on hand. I might as well let the enemies live out of pity.
After snagging some Panties, I reach a stopsign telling me the demo has ended. Reminds me of my own first demo of Jenn's Journey.
Verdict
Overall, I just think it's.....eh? At least for everything after the cavern. I think I can see why Pixel made this kind of stuff for the Endgame, when everything was built around how seemingly Overpowered you are with the Booster, HP, and weapons at hand.
Maybe if you had the enemies be able to take more than 1 or 2 hits from the sword, it would be a bit harder. Maybe move some mobs around, have some good placement of Spikes and Lava as obstacles that won't be able to be flown over. Or just literally power your way through and let the invicinbility save you. I mean, since you have a LOT of control of where you go with the Booster. Plus you have 55+ HP at this point, so the punishment isn't that cheap or unforgiving when compared to a Mod that has the main character have at most 15 or 20.
So far, that's what I can say in a short time. I could be a bit more critical later, once I have time to assess and examine things step-by-step.
Thank you for your honesty! You made a lot of good points, and I'll try to improve my mod accordingly. Now...
JonSpider said:
Hmmm....
Well, I suppose I can say the first minute or so is a good start to a mod. Well, at least when the cutscene starts. No intro or anything until talking to Curly and having Balrog reference his entrance in the first game. Not sure why, but Curly's Inner-Outer Monologue of what happened since the events of the first game felt a bit weird. Maybe cheesy. Guess it's because she's saying this right in front of Quote and Balrog. If she thought this to herself while the two were flying, maybe it'd feel a bit better. Oh right, the flying cutscene was good, admittedly.
I didn't really feel that any cutscene was necessary at the beginning of the mod. Because of the story, I just don't really feel that it would have been necessary. I prefer the sense of being thrown into the action, and I would really prefer to preserve that. As for Curly's monologue, it wasn't really meant to be a stating of information so much as a reflection of what she was feeling at the time. I personally quite like that line, and at this point I don't think I'm going to change it.
JonSpider said:
Caverns
Once that crashland into the caverns and after equipping the Booster, I just....whizzed past everything.
Literally, just flying past everything without a second thought. Maybe it was because of the 55 HP and having King's Sword from the last game, but eh, didn't really feel anything to worry about or care at all. I do like the tileset and background, though.
Hmm... I do agree with this. Keeping Quote's health and required weapons from the previous game has been quite a hurdle for me. It makes it difficult to make enemies a real threat. I think the best solution to this would be to add custom enemies that are far more dangerous than the regular ones, and to add more threats near the ceiling.
JonSpider said:
Mimiga Village
I was left somewhat confused once teleporting back into Arthur's house to find Balrog and Curly have already beaten me there. I suppose they just used the power of disappearing off-screen to do that. Sue's Big Brother didn't say anything of worth. Maybe it was supposed to be a cutscene, I'm not sure.
The Mimiga Village having a new section here and there was nice. Though, I would prefer the 'Memorial' to be at the Graveyard, with every other Mimiga/Person that has died in the Village's history. Probably among other friends and loved ones we don't know about. Chie and her Father's/Grandad house is pretty damn huge. Most of the new homes are, but eh, considering how many Mimiga there actually are, I suppose that's justified.
The thing about the events that take place in Arthur's house a glitch, and one that I believed that I had fixed. Are you sure you were playing v0.1.3? I fixed that glitch in this most recent version (or at least, I thought I did). There is supposed to be a cutscene as soon as you talk to Kazuma, but I had some trouble with the flag that checks whether or not you have already talked to him. Curly and Balrog are not supposed to get there before you - they teleport in during the cutscene. I disagree with the part about the memorial - I think it is very important that it is unexpected and striking. Otherwise, I feel that it would lose a lot of its impact. The large, empty, quiet room is very important to that effect. I may end up reducing the size of Zett and Chie's house, though. That is a good point.
JonSpider said:
Sand Zone
Once going to the Sand Zone, since they told me to go there - just more whizzing past everything. Again, I have already been through here and already have a Booster 2.0, Sword, and 59HP on hand. I might as well let the enemies live out of pity.
After snagging some Panties, I reach a stopsign telling me the demo has ended. Reminds me of my own first demo of Jenn's Journey.
I am actually planning to mix in some custom, more-difficult enemies into the Sand Zone to increase the difficulty, so hopefully that will solve the problem. I would have added them into this version, but they are not completed quite yet (I am still very new to assembly hacking, after all.)
JonSpider said:
Verdict
Overall, I just think it's.....eh? At least for everything after the cavern. I think I can see why Pixel made this kind of stuff for the Endgame, when everything was built around how seemingly Overpowered you are with the Booster, HP, and weapons at hand.
Maybe if you had the enemies be able to take more than 1 or 2 hits from the sword, it would be a bit harder. Maybe move some mobs around, have some good placement of Spikes and Lava as obstacles that won't be able to be flown over. Or just literally power your way through and let the invicinbility save you. I mean, since you have a LOT of control of where you go with the Booster. Plus you have 55+ HP at this point, so the punishment isn't that cheap or unforgiving when compared to a Mod that has the main character have at most 15 or 20.
So far, that's what I can say in a short time. I could be a bit more critical later, once I have time to assess and examine things step-by-step.
That's fair. I will most likely add some new, more difficult enemies to increase the difficulty. I cannot, of course, increase the health of the already-existent enemies, as that would cause problems with continuity, so I feel that custom enemies will be the best way to go. I will also improve the design in other ways, to make sure that the player cannot simply skip over everything.
