What you REALLY want from the next CS release

Oct 21, 2012 at 9:09 AM
I don't anymore.
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Cave Story has seen many many rereleases from Nicalis, each one leaving a bit to be desired. Obviously with each port simply being a rehash or recreation of old code we know they've taken time to redo art or music or add new game modes, but I'm sure that a few of you would agree that the juke box on the DSi version isn't enough to make you buy it when you have the Steam version or whatever else have you. Point being, we've all seen Nicalis try to make little addons to make each release different. So what did you want to see done with a potential next release? Was there a specific artstyle you wanted to see or a gameplay mode you craved? Perhaps you wanted more added to the game or certain things removed for whatever reason you may. Also any dissapointments you've had with a particular release? I for instance thought the 3DS release had art that did not meet my expectations after seeing concept art. That's just me, I figure we should make this a thing so we can set our expectations.
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 10:46 AM
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The next release should have the following...

--Classic graphics. No double res-ing. Just the regular stuff from good old PC Cave Story.
--Several modes. There should be a "sit back & relax" mode, which is just a set of hand-crafted cutscenes made by Nicalis, CSTSF, and other Cave Story fan communities. The cutscenes might explain the history of the past crown holders. Next is action mode: you explore a fortress (totally new playable zone) that just has monsters and some puzzles to solve. The new area will be pretty big. Finally there is party mode. The game of Cave Story is the same old plot line, but you can choose a bunch of characters to play. You can switch out the main character with Santa and attack Jellies with Fireball only. You can use Jenka and experiment a bit with her rusty magic. Also the motorbike won't be destroyed. Instead it will be a viable means of transporting yourself after Grasstown / Bushlands. Curly will be available after Sand Zone, and you can play as a Colon too!
--As for platform, whatever platform they want to release on they can release on. As long as it's not something ridiculous like "CS Diamond New Cave Story Release for Roadside Parking Meters by Nicalis".
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 3:38 PM
Hey.
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I think that they've already done enough CS re-releases, what is it now, three? I think if they made anything new related to Cave Story, it had better have a ton of features and added content, or just be a new game, because if it's just same old Cave Story with different graphics and music, then it really isn't worth it. If they were to do the former, then I'd prefer it not be in 3D, Cave Story doesn't work well like that. I'm not really sure what else they could add, though, new places to go to, new story elements, etc..

Overall, I don't think they should release Cave Story again.
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 3:42 PM
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We need a Rockfish release instead.
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 3:55 PM
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Good topic, good topic. I'm with Ollie, but I'll accept another Cave Story release if it will actually bring new things to the table.

Doable things:

+ GIR's Lost Item mod implemented.
+ DT's mod implemented.
+ Just... every "challenge mode" type of mod that doesn't interfere with the main story needs to be implemented. There's no reason why there shouldn't be a big library of new modes.
+ Ability to switch between different res (I prefer high by far, though) and musics, because this feature wasn't in every version.

Pipe dreams:

+ Cave Story 2, the actual prequel/sequel.
+ What Carrotlord said: cutscenes, and, with enough Pixel begging, maybe even like a little encyclopedia type deal or flavor text that gives some more info about what the world is like and what happened before the events of CS (i.e. previous crown bearers, the war).
+ Something similar to the expanded Cave Story mod: Cave Story, but with extra maps, higher difficulty and new dialogs. It would have everything from CS vanilla, just more content on top of it. I was a bit uneasy when the expansion mod actually changed a few key parts of the story altogether.
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 5:35 PM
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Oct 21, 2012 at 6:03 PM
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Honestly, the thing I want from an official port that hasn't been delivered yet and probably never will be is a release from NICALiS of Cave Story that is as polished and thoroughly debugged as the original Cave Story itself. Whenever I just want to play Cave Story for the sake of playing Cave Story, I play the original. Why? Not just because of the AGTP translation, but another thing. Just by playing the original Cave Story, I can tell that Pixel took his sweet little time in perfecting every detail, and fixing every last bug he found. Since he was able to release the original on his own watch, there were no deadlines. He could simply keep debugging it and not release it until everything was perfect. Unlike commercial games that have bugs that the developers most likely are aware of, but didn't have time to fix due to deadlines. Now I can really sympathize that, actually. Not just because I understand the train of thought, but because I've experienced something very much like that myself. I once made a game in Game Maker, and due setting a deadline for it, I kept having to cut more and more corners, and leave a TON of bugs in it. And really, the end product was pretty ugly for anyone outside the targeted audience. However, honestly. NICALiS' releases of Cave Story are far more buggy than any commercial game I've ever played aside from Big Rigs Over the road racing. I have a bit of a prejudice toward NICALiS due to all of their releases that are significantly more buggy than the original Cave Story. Now I'm not saying that the original was absolutely completely beyond a shadow of doubt perfect and without even one single tiny little glitch, but it was very, very close to that. All their releases (even Cave Story+) are so buggy, that it would really be worth pushing the release date. Some like the Wiiware version were so bad that it got patched, but even after that, it wasn't really perfect. And don't even say that this is just because NICALiS is a small company. Rayman Origins was developed by a relatively small team unless I am much mistaken. It was originally going to come out December 2010. However, its release date was pushed to November 2011 (admittedly not to further poolish it, but rather scrapping the idea of releasing the game episodically). And I've got to say, the final product is one of the most polished games I have ever played.

TL;DR

What I want to see in later ports of Cave Story is for it to be thoroughly debugged to the point where it does the original Cave Story justice, unlike all of NICALiS' other releases.
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 8:17 PM
Been here way too long...
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The next Cave Story re-release should just be Quote running around the island trying to gather enough money to buy the next Cave Story re-release from Tyrone and Pixel, who are the final bosses. When you beat them, you unlock the next Cave Story re-release, which is the same thing but harder and with better graphics. You beat it again. You get the next Cave Story re-release, which is harder with better music. You beat it again. Cave Story re-release with better writing. You beat it again. Sue mode. Beat it again. Bobblehead mode. Again. BFG mode. This cycle continues. You unlock the actual game by putting down your DS and downloading Cave Story from this website.
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 8:42 PM
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Great idea for a mod
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 11:16 PM
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I find it quite interesting hearing what everyone would like in the next release. :D

As for me? Some ideas (from most realistic to ...) :

+ Well, I'd like to see an alternate playthrough mode, with entirely re-done maps in the spirit of something like some of the Zelda games, the second quest.

So instead of difficulty levels that just adjust how much HP you have amung other things, I'd like to see the entire experience re-built in a rearranged more challenging fashion. But the best part would be having to look at Cave Story with fresh eyes, since it's different this time...
3DS still had mostly the same layout for everything right? So that really doesn't do it.

+ Good voice overs for all the game's dialogue could add new feeling to the game... (Of course let the user have an option to disable in options)

+ Open up the code to programmers, so that it would be a simple thing to create complex AI modifications. Whether it be expanded scripting or just having the scripts compiled at runtime... [Starsiege Tribes 2 for instance]

+ Expand the original game, if Pixel is up to the task. Wind Fortress was the right direction, but it had no relation to Cave Story, except as an extra challenge. If Pixel feels that Cave Story is right and finished with no ideas left undone, then I'd say either a Cave Story 2 [prequel or sequel], or snippet stories that give more insight into Cave Story, or something like King's battle through Sand Zone, or Sue's escape and encounter with Mimiga Village... etc etc

+ Multiplayer

+ Enhanced Curly AI. Poor Curly gets the short end of the stick when it comes to AI. How about having a smart AI that acts like a player or something? Whether it's the Curly boss battle or when she accompanies you, there's room for improvement. She doesn't even jump when fighting you in her house. @_@ I know it would be sick to try to fight a player Curly with a machinegun, but still.... I'm sure there could be a way to make it more on the level with Quote's abilities.

And during the cooperative scene, she can't even take any damage, and she has a pretty simple AI. If she acted more like a player, took damage if left alone, etc etc
And in Hell, instead of having her hooked to you, fight along-side you. (Well... assuming she could navigate without Quote's booster 2.0. (Machinegun lvl 3?)) If she picked up a Nemesis without being questioned, I could imagine her finding something allowing her to make it through Hell.

+ Full 3D FPS without it blowing? D: Same strange mechanics, limited field of vision [perhaps a robotic issue of how he scans only a certain amount ahead, rather than always being optical]. I think CS could make a fine fps, if treated with respect, and not like a usual FPS... No gimmicks, make it CS but better :D
Like having Ballos grind up the Throne room with skulls getting knocked around as the giant Ballos ball in full frightening 3D regalia comes for you D: I think the look of the game would need to be some kind of mixture of an anime look, so it wouldn't look too realistic or too retro [don't want it to look amateur 3Dish especially]

This is a pipedream obviously, because I can't think of a comparison to the style needed, but I can see it in my head... lol

All the levels should be similar to the layout of Cave Story, but with an entirely new dimension opened up. Also, RED CAP would be in the vision lol.

Anyways, I think 3d could work, but yeah, in my dreams for getting it right.

You'd want it to basically look like a movie, but come to life. Every scene should look you're watching an anime.
If you're going this far to reinvent CS, you could probably add stuff like Quote talking... under your discretion. Type in what you want Quote to say DOS style, and he'll respond accordingly.
Add a bit of flair to Quote's vision too... Huds, etc. Maybe have them evolve as he comes to realize who and what he is. At the beginning, maybe it'd look like halluctinations or special effects. But, by the time you're a robot, you're able to look at things differently.
I could probably write up a long topic on what I'd want in an ideal 3D FPS Cave Story...

+ I want an item from CAve STory to come with the next release! A Red Flower would be fine too... [in a protected capsule of course]
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 11:17 PM
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Maybe statistics? It would be nice to see how much exp you collected, or how many enemies you've blown up, and how many times they blew YOU up!
 
Oct 21, 2012 at 11:32 PM
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Statistics would lead to some Sacred Grounds leader boards for sure. Maybe I'd like to see game modes that encourage different styles of play. Like all missles or some new weapon you're stuck with or something. Really I want to be able to have a new experiance from the game. In art I really want them to do something with flare. The 3D art was meh and polygonal, and the double res art is honestly to cartoony compared to the original for me.
 
Oct 22, 2012 at 2:30 AM
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Free Roam/Island defense. Set up a little league of robots and send them to different parts of the island for replay value, sort of like a conquest mode. Make that multiplayer.
Death match.
Co Op
Backstory.
Cave story with more cave story.
 
Oct 22, 2012 at 3:17 AM
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Pretty much what Hayden said. I really thought I could've thought of something to add, but the game has been milked to the point where I think there is a perfect amount of extra content by now.
 
Oct 22, 2012 at 5:53 AM
I don't anymore.
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Nicalis isn't done rereleasing CS. I can tell they have at least one more in them. Instead of something crappy we can at least come here to set our expectations and confront whatever they put up next time.

Anyone who read on Nicalis' site awhile ago knows theyw ere gonna add new content to Ikachan before releasing it for Eshop. Anyone who read Tyrone's last post also knows that stuff is probably not being added. I think next time I wanna buy a CS release, I'll just forward the money to Pixel.
 
Oct 22, 2012 at 5:35 PM
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Everything that is in this thread. Why? Because there are some brilliant people here. :awesomeface:
 
Oct 22, 2012 at 7:26 PM
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What I want from the next release is there to not be a next release 8V
 
Oct 28, 2012 at 1:20 AM
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I think there really needs to be a "complete" version. That is, option of graphics and music from original, Plus, and 3D. I really don't understand why Cave Story 3D didn't do this, or at least replace that stupid "classic" mode with the graphics of original and +.

But seriously, I think we've seen enough "updates." Sure, it would be nice to see the game on smartphones, as well as digital downloads on major consoles/handhelds it hasn't been on yet (PS3, 360, PSVita), so people who don't want to game on PC and don't have a Wii or DSi/3DS can play it. But aside from that, I think it's fine the way it is.
 
Oct 28, 2012 at 1:30 AM
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I really don't understand why Cave Story 3D didn't do this, or at least replace that stupid "classic" mode with the graphics of original and +.
I believe I heard that they couldn't put the original CS on CS3D because they ran out of space. Thus, they made Classic Mode.
 
Oct 28, 2012 at 2:35 AM
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I believe I heard that they couldn't put the original CS on CS3D because they ran out of space. Thus, they made Classic Mode.
That doesn't make sense... why would they not have enough space for a "true" classic Cave Story (which is what, 5mb?), but have enough for sprite models?
 
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