Metroid Final. My Metroid game.

2008-03-12 08:20:06 am

It's a project i've been working on for over four years now. After a few minor engine rebuilds and one MAJOR layout rebuild, i have a sizeable portion of game ready to play. I'm releasing it in episodes so there will be a feeling of completion througout. Plus it makes it cool like the old serial novels, and i hope, builds aniticipation for the next episode. Several members of this site played the previous build, and a few minor complaints aside, all seemed to quite enjoy it. This isn't your typical fangame fair. It looks, sounds, feels, and plays...like a Metroid game. I've put immense effort into making sure of that, and I'm quite proud. Anyways, below is a download link where you can get episodes 1 and 2. I just finished episode 2 a few hours ago, so it may be buggy. But that's the purpose of this...to get lots of people to play it and possibly find the problems i missed. If you're interested in playing, please do, and email me, letting me know what you think. Make sure you include "Metroid" in the subject line of your email so i don't think it's spam. All the info you'll need to play is in the documentation. PLEASE read it. Thanks in advance. The testers I've gotten from this site already have done WONDERS for the game, so i'm hoping to get more of the same.

http://pksmetal.com/MetroidFinalV2.rar

-Scum

Thread title:

It's a project i've been working on for over four years now.  After a few minor engine rebuilds and one MAJOR layout rebuild, i have a sizeable portion of game ready to play.  I'm releasing it in episodes so there will be a feeling of completion througout.  Plus it makes it cool like the old serial novels, and i hope, builds aniticipation for the next episode.  Several members of this site played the previous build, and a few minor complaints aside, all seemed to quite enjoy it.  This isn't your typical fangame fair.  It looks, sounds, feels, and plays...like a Metroid game.  I've put immense effort into making sure of that, and I'm quite proud.  Anyways, below is a download link where you can get episodes 1 and 2.  I just finished episode 2 a few hours ago, so it may be buggy.  But that's the purpose of this...to get lots of people to play it and possibly find the problems i missed.  If you're interested in playing, please do, and email me, letting me know what you think.  Make sure you include "Metroid" in the subject line of your email so i don't think it's spam.  All the info you'll need to play is in the documentation.  PLEASE read it.  Thanks in advance.  The testers I've gotten from this site already have done WONDERS for the game, so i'm hoping to get more of the same.

http://pksmetal.com/MetroidFinalV2.rar

-Scum

KennyMan666

2008-03-12 06:38:38 pm

Viking

Precursor

So, yeah, I can accept you not liking Prime, but you don't have to include that fact in both the documentation and the startup... it honestly made me go :/ about this entire project without even starting to actually play.

(Prime definitely wasn't "Doom with a wave beam" either, but yeah)

arkarian

2008-03-12 06:48:34 pm

red chamber dream

Wow, that's bad form at its worst.

JacobXScum

2008-03-12 06:50:01 pm

Sorry man. Didn't mean to offend. It's more meant to get a laugh out of people. Metroid was always something i cherished...and to see it brought into a genera of game that i never enjoyed outside of Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein 3D made me a bit sad. Don't be so serious man, it's all in fun.

arkarian

2008-03-12 06:53:33 pm

red chamber dream

But very few people dislike Prime, so they're not going to think it's funny. I could understand you making fun of the E.T. game or something, but not Prime–– just makes you seem like a troll.

JacobXScum

Edit history:

JacobXScum: 2008-03-12 07:07:22 pm

2008-03-12 07:03:37 pm

But the ET Game was so OBVIOUSLY bad. HA. So, i'm guessing i should lighten up on Prime a bit? Honestly after the dozens of testers i've had you two are the first to complain about it. Doesn't make you wrong in feeling that way, but it seems such a minor issue. I personally like games that make me feel like i'm crap....haha. Contra 4's booklet goes out of its way to make you feel like the games you play are stu[id. I got a real kick out of it. Then after i beat the game, i can be like "No...YOU'RE CRAP!!!....you stupid....GAME!!"

KennyMan666

2008-03-12 07:03:54 pm

Viking

Precursor

Quote from JacobXScum:

Metroid was always something i cherished...and to see it brought into a genera of game that i never enjoyed outside of Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein 3D made me a bit sad.

Thing is, those you listed are FPS's. Prime... isn't. It's an adventure game with the same kind of exploration and puzzles as there was in the 2D Metroid games, only now it's in 3D and you see it through Samus' visor.

Either way, from playing a bit, I can definitely see you have a solid engine, but I'm no big fan of the morphing command and not staying crouched after hitting down. Furthermore, I'm already screaming after a button for aiming diagonally.

And though I haven't found anything except the morph ball yet, those refiring upgrades you mention in the documentation seem insanely pointless, as there's already no cooldown whatsoever between shots - the only thing currently limiting how fast I can shoot is how fast I can mash the fire button.

Also, the status bar disappearing when hitting up seems only half-working, as doing any other command such as jumping or shooting makes it come back. I'd rather see it not disappearing at all when holding up.

May or may not come with more points when I've gotten somewhere.

[quote="JacobXScum"]Metroid was always something i cherished...and to see it brought into a genera of game that i never enjoyed outside of Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein 3D made me a bit sad.[/quote]
Thing is, those you listed are FPS's. Prime... isn't. It's an adventure game with the same kind of exploration and puzzles as there was in the 2D Metroid games, only now it's in 3D and you see it through Samus' visor.

Either way, from playing a bit, I can definitely see you have a solid engine, but I'm no big fan of the morphing command and not staying crouched after hitting down. Furthermore, I'm already screaming after a button for aiming diagonally.

And though I haven't found anything except the morph ball yet, those refiring upgrades you mention in the documentation seem insanely pointless, as there's already no cooldown whatsoever between shots - the only thing currently limiting how fast I can shoot is how fast I can mash the fire button.

Also, the status bar disappearing when hitting up seems only half-working, as doing any other command such as jumping or shooting makes it come back. I'd rather see it not disappearing at all when holding up.

May or may not come with more points when I've gotten somewhere.

JacobXScum

2008-03-12 07:18:35 pm

"Either way, from playing a bit, I can definitely see you have a solid engine, but I'm no big fan of the morphing command and not staying crouched after hitting down. Furthermore, I'm already screaming after a button for aiming diagonally."

What situation would require more than the Hold Position button i've included? Outside of adding a true strafe feature? My game allows you to do any shooting tactic you could do in any of the previous games. So far, everyone has come to appreciate the way my morph ball works.

"And though I haven't found anything except the morph ball yet, those refiring upgrades you mention in the documentation seem insanely pointless, as there's already no cooldown whatsoever between shots - the only thing currently limiting how fast I can shoot is how fast I can mash the fire button."

When you get the long beam and missiles you'll understand.

"Also, the status bar disappearing when hitting up seems only half-working, as doing any other command such as jumping or shooting makes it come back. I'd rather see it not disappearing at all when holding up."

This system has been revamped several times. By request by several testers from this site, it was changed to it's current incarnation. If it didn't disappear at all, things hidden in the ceiling would be eclipsed by the status bar...which i simply cannot have. It reappears when you jump or shoot specifically by request from certain testers. It became an issue during boss fights when the bar was invisible, you couldn't see which weapon you were on....and a lot of them require some fast switching back and forth. This is the method i could use to appease the most people.

This is awesome man. I appreciate any comments, good bad or otherwise. All these will go on the list of possible changes.

"Either way, from playing a bit, I can definitely see you have a solid engine, but I'm no big fan of the morphing command and not staying crouched after hitting down. Furthermore, I'm already screaming after a button for aiming diagonally."

What situation would require more than the Hold Position button i've included?  Outside of adding a true strafe feature?  My game allows you to do any shooting tactic you could do in any of the previous games.  So far, everyone has come to appreciate the way my morph ball works.

"And though I haven't found anything except the morph ball yet, those refiring upgrades you mention in the documentation seem insanely pointless, as there's already no cooldown whatsoever between shots - the only thing currently limiting how fast I can shoot is how fast I can mash the fire button."

When you get the long beam and missiles you'll understand.

"Also, the status bar disappearing when hitting up seems only half-working, as doing any other command such as jumping or shooting makes it come back. I'd rather see it not disappearing at all when holding up."

This system has been revamped several times.  By request by several testers from this site, it was changed to it's current incarnation.  If it didn't disappear at all, things hidden in the ceiling would be eclipsed by the status bar...which i simply cannot have.  It reappears when you jump or shoot specifically by request from certain testers.  It became an issue during boss fights when the bar was invisible, you couldn't see which weapon you were on....and a lot of them require some fast switching back and forth.  This is the method i could use to appease the most people.

This is awesome man.  I appreciate any comments, good bad or otherwise.  All these will go on the list of possible changes.

arkarian

2008-03-12 07:20:52 pm

red chamber dream

Quote from JacobXScum:

So far, everyone has come to appreciate the way my morph ball works.

That doesn't mean it's not flawed.

JacobXScum

2008-03-12 07:21:23 pm

Everything that you've put up here so far is fine...but if you get to the point where you feel something you're gonna say might be a spoiler please email it to me instead.

arkarian

2008-03-12 07:23:05 pm

red chamber dream

Or just post in spoiler tags.

JacobXScum

2008-03-12 07:26:07 pm

Quote from Arkarian:

Quote from JacobXScum:

So far, everyone has come to appreciate the way my morph ball works.

That doesn't mean it's not flawed.

True enough, but also consider that you not liking it or being used to it yet, doesn't necessarily mean it's not better. Normally a game sequel will have subtle changes that take some getting used to. There are situations in the game where Down Down wouldn't be fast enough to avoid being damaged, where the current system allows you to save some health by the skin of your teeth.

KennyMan666

2008-03-12 07:35:47 pm

Viking

Precursor

Both hold position and morphing is growing on me, but I'd still see staying crouched after hitting down and hitting down twice for morph. Actually, assuming you actually change the crouching thing, is there anything preventing you from having both down + jump and down - down be acceptable commands for morphing? A possible compromise I see about crouching is that holding down, then holding position has Samus stay crouched even if you let go of down, and regardless of what other buttons you hit - meaning you'd be able to aim up and so even when crouching. This also meaning that if holding position while standing up, hitting down would make you aim straight down rather than crouching.

Also, I assume a jump ball upgrade is to be found somewhere, but before it is acquired, the jump button when morphed should definitely unmorph Samus.

As for the status bar thing, maybe it should be revamped slightly - moving the weapon icon and time to the other two corners? Making the entire thing transparent?

(as for a personal nitpick, two spaces after a full stop looks weird. I know it's not incorrect, but still.)

Both hold position and morphing is growing on me, but I'd still see staying crouched after hitting down and hitting down twice for morph. Actually, assuming you actually change the crouching thing, is there anything preventing you from having both down + jump and down - down be acceptable commands for morphing? A possible compromise I see about crouching is that holding down, then holding position has Samus stay crouched even if you let go of down, and regardless of what other buttons you hit - meaning you'd be able to aim up and so even when crouching. This also meaning that if holding position while standing up, hitting down would make you aim straight down rather than crouching.

Also, I assume a jump ball upgrade is to be found somewhere, but before it is acquired, the jump button when morphed should definitely unmorph Samus.

As for the status bar thing, maybe it should be revamped slightly - moving the weapon icon and time to the other two corners? Making the entire thing transparent?

(as for a personal nitpick, two spaces after a full stop looks weird. I know it's not incorrect, but still.)

JacobXScum

2008-03-12 07:46:44 pm

"Both hold position and morphing is growing on me, but I'd still see staying crouched after hitting down and hitting down twice for morph. Actually, assuming you actually change the crouching thing, is there anything preventing you from having both down + jump and down - down be acceptable commands for morphing?"

This is possible. Maybe. I'm worried it may affect other aspects of the game though. I can definitely work on it.

"A possible compromise I see about crouching is that holding down, then holding position has Samus stay crouched even if you let go of down, and regardless of what other buttons you hit - meaning you'd be able to aim up and so even when crouching."

THAT sounds cool. I'll see what i can do.

"This also meaning that if holding position while standing up, hitting down would make you aim straight down rather than crouching."

This would be entirely new to Metroid. It's a definite possibility.

"Also, I assume a jump ball upgrade is to be found somewhere, but before it is acquired, the jump button when morphed should definitely unmorph Samus."

There will be a jump ball eventually, but it will only be useful in tandem with another powerup that renders it obsolete on its own.

"As for the status bar thing, maybe it should be revamped slightly - moving the weapon icon and time to the other two corners? Making the entire thing transparent?"

I don't think there's too much more i can really do with the status bar. I am, unfortunately limited by the programming environment.

(as for a personal nitpick, two spaces after a full stop looks weird. I know it's not incorrect, but still.)

"Both hold position and morphing is growing on me, but I'd still see staying crouched after hitting down and hitting down twice for morph. Actually, assuming you actually change the crouching thing, is there anything preventing you from having both down + jump and down - down be acceptable commands for morphing?"

This is possible.  Maybe.  I'm worried it may affect other aspects of the game though.  I can definitely work on it.

"A possible compromise I see about crouching is that holding down, then holding position has Samus stay crouched even if you let go of down, and regardless of what other buttons you hit - meaning you'd be able to aim up and so even when crouching."

THAT sounds cool.  I'll see what i can do.

"This also meaning that if holding position while standing up, hitting down would make you aim straight down rather than crouching."

This would be entirely new to Metroid.  It's a definite possibility.

"Also, I assume a jump ball upgrade is to be found somewhere, but before it is acquired, the jump button when morphed should definitely unmorph Samus."

There will be a jump ball eventually, but it will only be useful in tandem with another powerup that renders it obsolete on its own.

"As for the status bar thing, maybe it should be revamped slightly - moving the weapon icon and time to the other two corners? Making the entire thing transparent?"

I don't think there's too much more i can really do with the status bar.  I am, unfortunately limited by the programming environment.

(as for a personal nitpick, two spaces after a full stop looks weird. I know it's not incorrect, but still.)

uNsane

2008-03-12 08:40:12 pm

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Would it be possible to have an option somewhere to change whether or not the status bar disappears?

I myself can't play this (don't meet the RAM requirement), though, so I don't actually know what yins are talking about. :|

JacobXScum

2008-03-12 09:04:23 pm

How much RAM do you have...you may still be able to play it. If you meet the other requirements, it may still work.

uNsane

2008-03-12 09:24:35 pm

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

442 MB or something stupid like that. Why? Because Compaq sucks.

Also, 1.8 GHz single-core processor.

nn12000

2008-03-12 09:38:05 pm

Mister ...

if 448MB of RAM isn't enough to run this game, then there is no way in hell that my Compaq will run this game, as it only has 128MB of RAM.

JacobXScum

2008-03-12 09:45:15 pm

Your processor is far more than enough to play it and the RAM is close...so it should be OK.

BAH!! There's a bug in the Platform Rippers, they weren't moving. It's been fixed. Redownload the game, and replace ONLY the .exe file in yours with the new one you download. Leave the rest alone if you want to keep your save data.

uNsane

2008-03-13 06:46:35 pm

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I got stuck.

Other than that, here's my rating so far:

Things I like:

The level layout is challenging, with some cleverly hidden upgrades (most of which aren't ridiculously hard to find)
The control layout, even the keyboard one, is actually pretty good.

Things I don't like:

The sounds are... yeah. Especially the NEStroid jump sound.
Enemies suck. Skrees and the little things that come out of tubes (can't remember what they're called; TOTs from here on out) are horribly slow, and TOTs shouldn't come out when you're standing on top of their tubes. Not only is it annoying, not challenging, when they come out right onto you, but they can be occasionally fooled into moving backwards. Also, they have a horrible tendency to fly straight through walls into adjacent rooms.

attachment:

finallystuck.PNG

Metroid Menace

2008-03-13 07:31:33 pm

May I ask why the RAM requirement is so high? Do you just load everything into memory and then start playing? (in other words, don't you manage your resource memory?)

JacobXScum

2008-03-13 10:35:29 pm

I didn't think the RAM requirement was all that high?

I'm somewhat limited by the programming environment. Multimedia Fusion only gives you limited options for memory usage. It may actually run with less, as long as you meet the other criteria...i don't have a computer with less than 500mb to try it on.

"The level layout is challenging, with some cleverly hidden upgrades (most of which aren't ridiculously hard to find)"

Thanks...there are some REALLY hard to find items.

"The control layout, even the keyboard one, is actually pretty good."

Thanks again...took a lot of time to perfect that aspect.

"The sounds are... yeah. Especially the NEStroid jump sound."

I wanted an all encompassing Metroid experience. There are sounds from all of the 2d games. I know it's a bit inconsistent, but i have a soft spot for the classic experience.

"Skrees and the little things that come out of tubes (can't remember what they're called; TOTs from here on out) are horribly slow"

They get progressively faster as the game goes on. In the middle levels of the game, they're at about normal speed. In the last few areas they're so fast you can barely hit them.

"and TOTs shouldn't come out when you're standing on top of their tubes."
Easily fixed. Will do.

"Also, they have a horrible tendency to fly straight through walls into adjacent rooms."

This i may possibly leave in. Since they can do it in the room you're in, i'd like to keep that consistency. If too many people complain about it i'll fix it. Plus it allows for some interesting sequence breaks if you draw them into rooms where they aren't supposed to be, and freeze them to ascend to higher places.

Fixing your "stuck point" as well. It'll be fixed in the next release. for the time being...don't go in there till you have bombs.

I didn't think the RAM requirement was all that high?

I'm somewhat limited by the programming environment.  Multimedia Fusion only gives you limited options for memory usage.  It may actually run with less, as long as you meet the other criteria...i don't have a computer with less than 500mb to try it on.

"The level layout is challenging, with some cleverly hidden upgrades (most of which aren't ridiculously hard to find)"

Thanks...there are some REALLY hard to find items.

"The control layout, even the keyboard one, is actually pretty good."

Thanks again...took a lot of time to perfect that aspect.

"The sounds are... yeah. Especially the NEStroid jump sound."

I wanted an all encompassing Metroid experience.  There are sounds from all of the 2d games.  I know it's a bit inconsistent, but i have a soft spot for the classic experience.

"Skrees and the little things that come out of tubes (can't remember what they're called; TOTs from here on out) are horribly slow"

They get progressively faster as the game goes on.  In the middle levels of the game, they're at about normal speed.  In the last few areas they're so fast you can barely hit them.

"and TOTs shouldn't come out when you're standing on top of their tubes."
 Easily fixed.  Will do.

"Also, they have a horrible tendency to fly straight through walls into adjacent rooms."

This i may possibly leave in.  Since they can do it in the room you're in, i'd like to keep that consistency.  If too many people complain about it i'll fix it.  Plus it allows for some interesting sequence breaks if you draw them into rooms where they aren't supposed to be, and freeze them to ascend to higher places.

Fixing your "stuck point" as well.  It'll be fixed in the next release.  for the time being...don't go in there till you have bombs.

arkarian

2008-03-13 11:03:17 pm

red chamber dream

Quote from Metroid Menace:

May I ask why the RAM requirement is so high? Do you just load everything into memory and then start playing? (in other words, don't you manage your resource memory?)

Regardless, if you don't have at least 512 MB memory, I don't see why you're bothering using a computer.

DJGrenola

2008-03-13 11:22:54 pm

http://kernel.org/

arkarian

2008-03-13 11:24:50 pm

red chamber dream

Should have specified doze, which I'm assuming this game requires.