30 replies to this topic

[Miles_Valentine]

UPDATED 8/9/11
I've implemented many of the changes highlighted by feedback in this small update. I have also put together an easy mode for those having trouble and am releasing both versions in one zip. Easy mode features more health, easier grinding and some of the tougher parts simplified. It was a quick set of edits i did because i need to compile a changelog of every coordinate i changed for the easy version. Because i may have to redo the changes later. The mirrors section has the new link you need. I heed all the feedback i recieve, so thanks for it. If it seems rushed, i admit it was a little. Mainly because i want an easy version for my nephews to check out. Also because this is like a trial run of "easy mode". What is likely is that the game will be available in both easy and normal modes every update.

Well it's been roughly a year, so i think it's about time i made a new demo of this. I'm releasing this demo mainly because theres already alot to look at and critique. From feedback, to critique to full bug reports, any help will be greatly appreciated. Me and my offline playtester Wayne combed the game many times for bugs and just seeing if things look right. He's as passionate about the game as i am and very much adores the characters. Everyone who has helped me with problems in the past is awesome.

First of all, this game is what i'd consider "pretty tough" so i have included the debug room in this release. Inside the debug room there are warps to various parts of the game, and various other things. Please make a reasonable attempt to play through areas legally before resorting to it. The weapons in the hack are intentionally flawed in the same way that castlevanias whip is intentionally flawed. The details for the debug room can be found below here, if needed.

If you arent cheating, dont enter the room in Mados bedroom, dont enter ANY of the door objects anywhere on the mountain quest (first quest with Mioko with you), These are warps, only for a last resort, and WILL cause bugs

[SPOILER]Only ever use the debug room if your very very stuck alright?
The door to it is at the very begining of the game in Mados bedroom. There are options to give you weapons, ammo and more max health. Even one to turn you into Mioko. The rest are warp doors, in order, left to right, corresponding to how far they will send you in game. Please note that warping to the dream sequence will trigger an autosave. Also there are warp doors at the begining of the mountain quest and further up the mountain. These will warp you to the rest of the areas.
Please note that using the debug room WILL cause bugs

Ok, this begins at the very begining of the final game, and ends in the room which has a boss based on Balrog two. This room is unfinished, so dont worry if thigns go wrong in there.

Onto the actual game. You control a Mimiga in a villiage of Mimigas who trains under an elder martial artist. This Master, has foreseen trouble in the villiages future and calls upon his two best students to look into it. The game involves travelling through your own dreams using "lucid stones" and uncovering what the threat on the villiage is. The antagonists are a band of discarded weapons from the war. Mimiga cyborgs leading the rest of the robots and machines into conflict with the Mimigas. At this point it's left ambiguous what they want and what thier problem is. To be revealed in coming demos.

Speaking of coming demos, i will always provide a save file up to the end of the last demo, so noone needs replay areas they have done. The save file will be the equivelent of 100% completion up to that point each time. Speaking of which, the game has a good ending and a bad ending. It's up to the player to figure out how to achieve the good one. And i'm planning on making it possible to obtain the good ending even by backtracking at the end of the game.

Here, have some screenshots.

http--,,--//i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc453/MilesValentine/title.png [/url]]

http--,,--//i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc453/MilesValentine/waterfalls.png[/url]]

http--,,--//i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc453/MilesValentine/underwater.png[/url]]

http--,,--//i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc453/MilesValentine/extractor.png[/url]]

http--,,--//i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc453/MilesValentine/mountain.png[/url]]

Here is the easy and normal demo:

http--,,--//www.mediafire...iojz9uwlo6c8glr

Please let me know if these go down. Well, i hope you enjoy the game. I'm sure it'll challenge most of you :3

e: replacement link [url=https--,,--//dl.dropbox.com/u/42853625/Permanent/Mimiga%20Story%20-%20Metal%20Paws.zip

Edited by Noxid, 13 March 2013 - 05:09 AM.

[trickybilly]

Tip: I suggest pressing the insert "image button" and pasting the "direct link" of the uploaded image in that field rather than giving an ordinary hyperlink. If you can not use Imageshack I suggest http://picturepush.com/upa. I am not, but some people are lazy to click.

Also downloading. It's always nice to see new mods coming up

[Miles_Valentine]

Done and done. I was worried the images were too large, but they seem to fit nicely. Hope you enjoy ^^

[Kick Ass]

I like the like of this!!!! I will give some feedback when I have some more time for the game. Only one thing I would comment on (which is as personal preference)... is that it doesn't look like you have spent a huge amount of times on finishing off the maps. I think it looks a big better if the walls aren't so "blocky"... so that they have a bit more detail. Apart from that the sprites look great and the title page very cool. I can't wait to play it!

[Miles_Valentine]

Thanks man! I'm glad you do. But yeah, thats a fair comment. Particuarly in the sections of the mountain where theres two tone rock. I havent made any transitions between the tones, and it looks a bit yeah, blocky, as you say. I'll be sure and add some kind of transition for those.

I just noticed, i havent any screenshots of the first dream sequence, which is all custom and really abstract. Guess you'll have to play it to see it XD

[Noxid]

Is the first boss beatable without a full clip of ammo?
I was going to try to tediously grind those enemies at the save point to get upgraded gun to at least do a better chunk of damage to him before having to resort to (somehow?) killing it with a knife but limited-use save points?

So I'll probably have to enlist the help of my friend Oleh Yuschuck to get past this
(I am going to cheat)

[cultr1]

the map layout looks a mite sporadic

[Miles_Valentine]

Is the first boss beatable without a full clip of ammo?
I was going to try to tediously grind those enemies at the save point to get upgraded gun to at least do a better chunk of damage to him before having to resort to (somehow?) killing it with a knife but limited-use save points?
So I'll probably have to enlist the help of my friend Oleh Yuschuck to get past this
(I am going to cheat)

Mmm well Noxid you need i think about 15 shots to kill it with the crossbow only. Normally i have to resort to the knife for the last quarter or so of his health. It'd be nice if you didnt cheat, but i cant stop you.

the map layout looks a mite sporadic

Mmm yeah it is in places.

[Noxid]

Mkay, so I've had a chance to play the mod a bit more (with god mode hax), and the one concern I have that really overshadows everything else is the difficulty. There's very little health, the weapon is very close range (or limited ammo), and the enemies and spikes are plentiful. The bosses have a lot of health and can effectively insta-kill you, as well as existing in extremely hazardous arenas. Add the fact that I'll drown if I don't hurry it up half the time and it all adds up to a mod that I think would test the patience of even the most skilled Cave Story players.

You do have the cheat rooms and warps which are only really a bandaid solution and to me indicates that you're aware of the issue, but not quite facing the right direction to solve it. I think it needs some balancing, from a design standpoint, to make it more accessible to everybody. Because after all, if you go to all the work to make a mod then you want lots of people to be able to play it right?

Making really difficult mods is a common thing that seems to happen to people when they first start out. I had a lot of complaints from people about how my mod was too difficult (something about needing to dodge a dozen dragonflies while making a pixel-perfect jump) so I kept adjusting and reworking it until they shut up it was better.

There are some other pros and cons I can go over but this is all I have think to make at this time of an hour

Basically there's a time for difficult level and it's not the first ones

[Carrotlord]

I haven't finished this mod yet, but here's my review up my current progress.

Spoiler

General comments / feedback / thoughts and/or praise:
--Very weird transitioning between maps, rooms, and such. It's a unique experience when compared to Cave Story though.
--The title screen is very nice.
--Facepics are good in most cases. Especially the ones for the main character. Mioko as well.
--Health bar and EXP bar graphics are well done.
--I like the fact that things are hidden in non-obvious ways in the first area. Prevents boredom, I guess.
--You get 2 weapons at the start. Nice.
--EXP "sparks" look good.
--I like Trapper's "trapping you in a cage" animation.
--Heh. Len. That name cracks me up for some reason. Maybe I've been spending too much time on the Internet.
--Does Mayun's coin serve any purpose?
--Realm of dreams is cool. It has a nice custom background & good tileset.
--Just the idea of lucid stones + world of dreams is quite original.

Points for improvement:
--The fade in/fade out transition is interesting, but it's too colorful for its own good.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I suggest sepia tones.
--Yes, the maps need to be more coherent, like other people have said.
Since coherent is possibly the vaguest word ever, by that I mean the landscapes should be smoother, the buildings should look more organized in their construction, and blocky ends should be capped with curved tiles or something that gives texture to flat line borders. Otherwise some maps are hard to look at. Even so, I think that one case of good map design is inside the castle.
--The main character's sprite (not the facepic, which is fine, but the in-game sprite) is a little iffy. It looks like he's constantly trying to punch the air. Can you make his walking animation more realistic?
--Is there a reason there's no death animation?
--I'm sorry, but the first dungeon is far too difficult. It is tedious to grind and ridiculous to expect any safety when approaching a monster. In other words, it's difficult in a not-so-fun way.
--The first coin is not very obvious... well maybe it is considering that the pipe has "opened", but hidden chests inside pipes are not the first thing that comes to mind.
--During the Cyborg boss fight, the cutscene should probably skip using a skipflag after you die for the first time. Otherwise it gets really tedious.
And yes, I am trying to knife him to death because my crossbow isn't leveled up.

Sorry if I complained too much in the review. I'd just like to say that you clearly know what you're doing in terms of modding.
Your mod isn't boring and it certainly doesn't consist of traditional gameplay.
This mod is also decently long, and I thank you for that.
Just need to polish up some areas, tone down the tediousness of some fights / monster-filled zones, and things will be great.