[MA Winner] <(Schism)> - Demo 1.0

Mighty odd - after trying them again they seem to work fine. That's just my luck.

Either way, I believe all the save points beyond the Surface Storage were borked, including the one in the room itself (so I couldn't save after getting the gun, forcing me to pick up the weapon every time I retried), but maybe that was because I'd already used them at least once during that play session? I'm not totally sure, but maybe it'd be worth just checking out, in case there is some sort of lingering bug.

(Also, wat text file? You sent me a version without one, didn't you? )

(Also also, get on #jetsons when you next get the chance... got a bit of a sarprize. )

EDIT: Just also noticed, your health refills and weapon levels revert to 1 after skipping a cutscene (at least, the two beyond the Surface Storage save point). I don't know if this is intentional or not, but I don't really have the patience to find out. Heh.

 

I really need to figure out a proper way to explain the weapon reverting. It's done intentionally for the Escher fight, otherwise it's far too easy.

Also, I forgot I did the text after I sent you one. @_@ Silly me -- it's worth a read though.

Sorry I keep missing you on IRC -- stupid timezones. It's, what, 5 A.M. over there now, am I right? ;P

I'lll take a look at those savepoints, but in all honesty I'm stumped. They have no limit on the amount of time you use them, so who knows?

 

I'll take a look at those savepoints, but in all honesty I'm stumped. They have no limit on the amount of time you use them, so who knows?

Eh, if you're not sure, then I don't think I'll mention any more one-off issues that I may have encountered while playing through this gamod (). They don't impact the playability that much (a simple exit and restart should correct them) so don't pay 'em too much mind. B)

I really need to figure out a proper way to explain the weapon reverting. It's done intentionally for the Escher fight, otherwise it's far too easy.

Heh, I had a feeling you might say that. I personally found that fight very difficult the first few times, and there aren't any save points within close proximity to the point where you find Ian, so that was, heh, slightly aggravating.

Sorry I keep missing you on IRC -- stupid timezones. It's, what, 5 A.M. over there now, am I right? ;P

Post says 3:22AM.

Though you may want to search around a bit and see if you can find the big secret... ;P

Hurr durr durp? (Translation: I suck at finding secrets... )

 

Hey Xaser, sweet mod. I certainly hope you add more to it. By the by, is this supposed to be based off of anything? The script sounded (At least to me) like it was.

 

All right -- I think all the big bugs are ironed out, but if anyone finds any, let me know of course.

But without further ado,

-- Schism Demo 1.0 -- it's finally here!

Grab it, even if you've already played the older versions. There's new enemies and music galore, as well as a few choice bugfixes. Also, no more eSnips hosting either so hopefully the download should work for everyone. If not, say so.

Additionally, I finally struck gold and got the Library fight to work nearly correctly now. Kill all the enemies and use the computer, and you're done. The rocket launcher is independent now, as it should be. ;P

@Garde, Andwhy, or another mod: would you kindly change the thread title to "<(Schism)> - Demo 1.0" ? A bit of a big change, this release is.

So, have fun, all! Tell a friend, too!


@real: The storyline is an original creation started by a friend of mine and joined by me and one other nutjob (;P) -- though the version of the story featured in the game is a very stripped-down edition (I'm planning to write a novel of all things), it's still unique in its own wacky way.

Out of curiosity, what did it remind you of? I'm intrigued. ;P

 

For music hacking, search the forum, there is much information.
You need a programm called PXTone for that. Download it from the FTP.

@Garde, Andwhy, or another mod: would you kindly change the thread title to "<(Schism)> - Demo 1.0" ? A bit of a big change, this release is.

Me and andwhy are admins not mods

 

Ah, thanks for the topic change! Much better.

Also, I have PXTone and I've modified a few sounds, but I cannot figure out for the life of me how to convert the .pxa files to the format used in Doukutsu.exe. I have a list of where all the sounds start (hex) in the .exe, but I can't do a thing without knowing what to do with the .pxa's. That little bit, I haven't found yet (even Runelancer seemed puzzled on certain aspects of it).

Also, according the Distribution of Powers Clause of the Imaginary Forum Moderation Constitution I made up, due to the fact that admins also have moderation powers, by law, such admins are also, in a sense, moderators. ;P

Though I guess you're certainly not a "mod" in the Cave Story sense. Would you rather I call you a "game"? *is shot* ;P

 

Cool update, love the new sprites and music. I was kinda hoping for some more story, though.

Also, I found a bug:

 

*Yoink*

SCARY RED TEXT
-New intro is cool, but I seem to remember you saying something about different music being used at the title screen.
-...I think it's the one now in the prologue ._. Great little piece of music it is too.
-Travis is wearing a labcoat but his facepic has a black collar o_O
-Heeeey, more new music in the first area... reminds me of the character naming screen in Earthbound :eek: The graphics are looking more polished as well. Toucan crows!
-In the Relay Station, when you examine the damaged robot, there's a delay before the script kicks in where you can move and jump, and you'll continue jumping even when it does. At a guess I'd say it's impossible to get through that area without the Micron Magnum, so I'm not gonna try anything fancy Also is it just me or does that thing shoot $ signs? >_>
-I know where this music is from now too. Now I can't play though NFC without thinking about seal pinning D:
-AAAH HOBOS WITH KNIVES. Also I never asked but where'd you get the fancy backgrounds from? Or did you make them yourself?
-The slopes are fixed! Almost... enemies still walk behind them. This game really doesn't like being modded...
-Miniboss time! I remember this bit though... fuuuun.
-More new music after that? I'm just going by ear here based on the orgs you've released.
-Do I smell... Mischievous Robot remix? OH HOLY SHIT YES. I can hear a bit of Dorian Grey in there too... and... BeheTrains?
-Computer documents... that's new Although now that I think about it... the archives are surprisingly not-temporally-screwed-up. Hmm...
-Freeze screen: Now with reality-warping ripples.
-Thank you for having visible projectiles this time...
-Heeey, you can't hide behind the background tiles! That's cheating!
-I remember this bit too. Preeeeetty~
-The scene with the Jeep still doesn't quite work properly.

Guess that's it then, no new content yet. You're obviously putting a lot of work into polishing this thing, and it's really paying off. I don't suppose you could tell me/us how much more you've got done/how big the final thing will be/how much % complete it is? Also, there's something I wanna ask you, so I'll be sending a PM at some point.
Another day, another time period...

 

Lots of new music and new sprites. No new gameplay. I was slightly disappointed, because I thought you had the former, but the polish you added is pretty good and it's a fun mod.

The music is hit or miss. Some I like, some I don't. I really like "Dorian" aka that one from the intro cutscene, and the new archives music, and the New Fork City song (though it was already there). I really don't like the boss music for all but Escher. I did notice that you left one, and exactly one, song from the original cave story in there: "White", aka king's hidden song that you get by getting some ridiculous time in hell and isn't in the org viewer. But it's used in many other mods, so you can't hide it.

Interesting how you got the screen pulled back so everything's smaller. I think. Or maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me and the fact that this mod plays in windowed mode. Personally I prefer the bigger sprites and zoomed in-ness, but if you're already doing a full graphical and audio rehaul I can see where you're coming from.

I like most of the new enemy sprites. Especially the hobos. Actually, I like all of them except the mushrooms. Those look rather bland. And the APC guards, aka gaudis, seem too small; I'm used to seeing larger and more visible enemies than that filling the gaudis AI and it just doesn't click here. Also, is it me, or did you steal the critters from original sin?

Escher still hides behind the lasers occasionally. Annoying. Also, I noticed that for some reason the goons only do two damage rather than the 6 I remember them doing. That's practically free mercy invincibility right there, and so are the lasers. I also have this feeling Kate used to have 15 health...

 

Oh, wow. Plenty of responses...

@Dooey: Aah, thanks. Can't believe I missed that spot! ;P

-New intro is cool, but I seem to remember you saying something about different music being used at the title screen.
-...I think it's the one now in the prologue ._. Great little piece of music it is too.

I probably meant the prologue music ("Dorian Grey") -- thanks! Good to see it fits... I was almost afraid it would be too "different" for the average ear.

The full version will have something different for the title screen, yes, but I figured the one I had fit for now.

-Travis is wearing a labcoat but his facepic has a black collar o_O

Oops. I always miss those silly details. ;p

-Heeeey, more new music in the first area... reminds me of the character naming screen in Earthbound

Oh, dear! I was wondering if anyone else would spot my inspiration source!
Best part is, I didn't even realize I had it in mind until the song was halfway done. I was all "hey, this sounds familiar..." ;P

-In the Relay Station, when you examine the damaged robot, there's a delay before the script kicks in where you can move and jump, and you'll continue jumping even when it does. At a guess I'd say it's impossible to get through that area without the Micron Magnum, so I'm not gonna try anything fancy Also is it just me or does that thing shoot $ signs? >_>

I didn't notice the robot delay until now. I think I just assigned the wrong script number. It's an easy fix but an annoying silly mistake. xD

Also, I don't think the magnum makes anyone richer, but... ah, it works. ;P

I was thinking of changing the magnum projectiles a bit, though. The ones you see are old and silly, really. ;P

-I know where this music is from now too. Now I can't play though NFC without thinking about seal pinning D:

Guess that's what I get for using the song in the old version without even knowing where it was from. ;P

-Also I never asked but where'd you get the fancy backgrounds from? Or did you make them yourself?

Aww, fudge. I got the city backgrounds from an RPGmaker artist -- a crazy talented one, but I forgot to link to his page in the credits. I did modify the heck out of them though (the "night city" I synthesized from the day one), but still not my work originally. ;P

I do take credit for the roads and Highway backgrounds though, and I cobbled together the Archives one from all sorts of weird resources. Wacky, they are. ;P

-The slopes are fixed! Almost... enemies still walk behind them. This game really doesn't like being modded...

I think I've hit my limit with the slopes, unless somehow someone knows what controls which sprites are shown on top of other ones. *shrugs* -- I'm beat. ;P

-More new music after that? I'm just going by ear here based on the orgs you've released.
-Do I smell... Mischievous Robot remix? OH HOLY SHIT YES. I can hear a bit of Dorian Grey in there too... and... BeheTrains?

DEAD-TRAINS
I mean, yeah... I guess they do look a bit more loco than I intended. xD
And yes, new music all around. It really does make a difference, seems. And I wasn't shooting for that song to sound quite that much like Robot, but it did anyway... fittingly. ;P

-Computer documents... that's new Although now that I think about it... the archives are surprisingly not-temporally-screwed-up. Hmm...

I think the documents were there before, actually... though who knows?
Also, the Archives are actually the most normal part of the game, now that you mention it. I guess the Forest in the full version isn't that wacky, but then you get to Schism City and it's all sorts of insane from there on out.

-Freeze screen: Now with reality-warping ripples.

-Thank you for having visible projectiles this time...

I have no clue how those slipped by last time... xD

-Heeey, you can't hide behind the background tiles! That's cheating!

Escher always cheats. It's his thing. ;P

-The scene with the Jeep still doesn't quite work properly.

The 'escape' sequence still looks a bit silly... but that diagonal animation is the only one that sprite has. Not sure if I can somehow hack around it, unfortunately.

Guess that's it then, no new content yet. You're obviously putting a lot of work into polishing this thing, and it's really paying off. I don't suppose you could tell me/us how much more you've got done/how big the final thing will be/how much % complete it is?

I've been working on the full version, never fear. I just decided to "patch up" the demo release since it was never finished in terms of non-map content.
I'm terrible with percentages so I can't say at the moment, but I'm over halfway done with the primary stage in the game, so that's a good sign. I'll post updates and such every once in a while, just for grins. ;P

Also, there's something I wanna ask you, so I'll be sending a PM at some point.
Another day, another time period...

Fire away! I'm usually around. ;P

Lots of new music and new sprites. No new gameplay. I was slightly disappointed, because I thought you had the former, but the polish you added is pretty good and it's a fun mod.

Well, 'tis still a "demo," but I haven't given up on the full one. I just hate giving spoilers... ;P

The music is hit or miss. Some I like, some I don't. I really like "Dorian" aka that one from the intro cutscene, and the new archives music, and the New Fork City song (though it was already there). I really don't like the boss music for all but Escher. I did notice that you left one, and exactly one, song from the original cave story in there: "White", aka king's hidden song that you get by getting some ridiculous time in hell and isn't in the org viewer. But it's used in many other mods, so you can't hide it.

Guess it all boils down to taste. Oddly, I never liked "Gravity" or "Eyes of Flame" from the original CS, and everyone else seems to. I'm an odd cookie. ;P

Thanks though about Dorian. That's the one I was afraid of. xD

Also, I like "White" -- I know it's recognizable but if anything it's a neat Cavestory throwback. ;P
Unless I somehow get some insane inspiration to somehow write something like it, I won't be replacing it simply for the matter that I love that song. Coincidentally, I was also considering keeping "Labyrinth Fight" because it rules as well, but I managed to create a better one in a similar style. So who knows?

I like most of the new enemy sprites. Especially the hobos. Actually, I like all of them except the mushrooms. Those look rather bland. And the APC guards, aka gaudis, seem too small; I'm used to seeing larger and more visible enemies than that filling the gaudis AI and it just doesn't click here. Also, is it me, or did you steal the critters from original sin?

Hmm... technically, the ACP guards *are* a heck of a lot taller than the other human characters, so... ;P
The full version will have many variants of them, which look a lot more sinister later on. Never fear! I hope.

The critter replacements are actually original, from-scratch by me (except the eye, perhaps -- I *might* have based it on the Press's eye). I didn't play Original Sin until later, actually, and I was quite surprised about their similarity. ;P

Escher still hides behind the lasers occasionally. Annoying.

I like the behavior. Makes you concentrate on dodging a bit. Changing it would probably mess up a few things though, so I doubt I will.

Interesting how you got the screen pulled back so everything's smaller...

...Also, I noticed that for some reason the goons only do two damage rather than the 6 I remember them doing. That's practically free mercy invincibility right there, and so are the lasers. I also have this feeling Kate used to have 15 health...

I think your mind's playing tricks on you. ;P
The screensize is just in the configuration settings -- it's windowed mode that's throwing you off.

Also, the goonies always did 2 damage (Escher's bullets do 6), and I consider their damage-invulnerability a bonus, actually. It's much better to take a hit from one than get shot. It's strategy. ;P

Kate's health is identical to Xaser's, so it all depends on the Life Capsules you find. Don't forget the easily-missed one in Epoch Manor.

 

Wow, I think I'm going to die of awesomeness poisoning when you finally finish this mod!!


The thingy that happens when you first run it is really cool, new I think.

As far as music, I for one think it's totally pwnalicious. The Mischievious Robot remix also sounds a bit like Meltdown, was this intentional? The title screen music (Dorien Grey did you say it was called?) is strange, in a good way, the 5/4 meter is cool.

This is such a high-quality mod that I think you should give it a bit more independence from Cave Story, especially when it comes to sprites. For example, the mushrooms, the motorcycle, the Basil, and Ravil/Discard could stand to look more different from their Cave Story counterparts. I like most of the sprites though. The ACP are good, although the flying ones I think look too different from the non-flying ones. I love the sprites for the critters, behemoths, Cthulhu/travelers, and hobos with knives. The facepics are also very good.

One problem is that there are a lot of places in the mod where the slope physics glitch. Unfortunately, unless you or someone you know is sick good at hacking, there's not much to do about this except re-design the levels. If you really don't want to do that, you could even make slopes that aren't really slopes, but are actually staircases, like I did in the mountain range of TWoR (my mod).

I LOVE the storyline, so far, very mysterious, very interesting. Escher is a really interesting character; I love how you keep the player on edge as to what his intentions are. The only problem I have with the story is, at the very beginning when that voice is talking about "Oh, shit, I just totally fucked up the universe and now you and everyone else is going to suffer for it" (only much more well written than that xD), I couldn't tell if Xaser was the one speaking or the one being spoken to. You should put something in the text that indicates which it is such as "I, Xaser, am the reason that you are here" or "I am the reason that you, Xaser, are here" or something like that.


I was hoping for more gameplay but I am still wickedly impressed by all the new graphics/music you've added.

 

@ Xaser: Dude, your inbox is full D:

@ Wedge and Biggs: Dorian Grey is the music in the opening cutscene, title screen is something else. If you want some of the music in this mod I think there should still be a link to it in the old "Post yer orgs!" thread.

 

Did you deal with the floating water issue, or is that not a problem?

http://www.cavestory.org/forums/posts/19142/

 

Yay!
The only thing that would make me happier than this would be if dragonboots came back to life and finished his mod, but,
Yay!

Edit:
Forgot to ask, is it okay if I use Traveler in my mod?

 

http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-03/art/ggx2-sol-badguy-02.jpg

 

Heh, in the intro, it shows a red crystal splitting into two pieces, and Kate has one of the those pieces. Probably a major plot point, but, meh.

 

@Wedge: Thanks for the compliments! It's always good to hear that this crazy mod is appreciated. Keeps the creative juices flowing.

I admit I found it pretty amusing at first that people liked the story for its in-depth-ness, considering how it's actually an incredibly stripped-down version of the full tale -- thanks regardless, though! I'm hoping to write a novel based on it some day. It's all I can do to pay homage to the crazy individuals who came up with it in the first place. ;P

Also, that particular part of the intro is purposely vague for now. It will naturally be explained later on, so no worries. Suspense, for now. ;P

Maybe some day I'll re-do some of the Doukutsu-based graphics, but I kinda like how they often resemble their forefathers. It's not like I can entirely seperate Schism from Cave Story without a new engine anyway, and that's way over my head. So at the very least, consider it an homage to the true game. ;P

About the slopes: some maps (Highway in particular) probably need a lot of TLC in that area. I'll take care of it at some point before the full release. Funny how us crazy modders keep coming up with ways to break the game, eh?


@ThinkThink: Oops. It's not full any more. Sorry about that.. seems these forums have an incredibly strict inbox limit. @_@

I'd like to hear from you, though! A second try, perhaps?


@Andwhy: Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it. I'd make the background scroll but I'd have to make it larger than 320x240 which is the biggest the Doukutsu engine seems to support. If you'll notice, the Highway background is actually larger than it shows up in-game. The scrolling just didn't work so I had to leave that extra part out.

For now, just assume it's just the universe purposely screwing up again. call it a "feature." ;P


@Lace: Go ahead with the Traveler. Just drop me a line in the credits/textfile somewhere and that's good. Though it's just a simple Cthulu edit anyway so no biggie even if you forget. ;P

Also, there really is a lot more you can get out of the storyline even in the demo just by noticing things like that. You're quite attentive... but what could it truly mean? ;P

@SeriousFace: Egad! I swear the resemblance is unintentional, though it's a little spooky, to say the least...

 

That new demo was just freaking awesome Xaser.
I totally love the Remix of Mischervous Robot

Anyway, good luck and I hope that a bigger demo will be released soon

Also, I have PXTone and I've modified a few sounds, but I cannot figure out for the life of me how to convert the .pxa files to the format used in Doukutsu.exe. I have a list of where all the sounds start (hex) in the .exe, but I can't do a thing without knowing what to do with the .pxa's. That little bit, I haven't found yet (even Runelancer seemed puzzled on certain aspects of it).

I have no idea how this exactly works either.
Just experiment with it.
There is a chance to load sound effects though when CL is released.

 

Oh yeah, I just remembered something I forgot to mention in my other post. I liked the old Life Capsule music better; I think you should switch it back.