MODCON 20 4-15 Discussion and Voting thread

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Here are my top three choices.

1. DELETE: I very much enjoyed playing this mod. I haven't finished it yet but the design and gameplay is fantastic. I'm guessing that heavy ASM went into this mod as well. The NPCs are fun and colorful. I've already recommended this to other people.
2. Terri's Night Out: Absolutely hilarious. Very reminiscent of Rave Story. VERY. Once again, colorful and fun, and probably full of ASM. The plot was both provocative and humorous. However, the cliffhanger ending was disappointing, causing this mod to reach only second place. I liked, by the way, that this mod had a non-heterosexual, feminine main character. It's not very often that you see such diversity in a mod. I just hope Terri shows up again in CSTSF Mod!
3. A Walk Through the Snow: Simple, interesting, and challenging, this mod was beautifully done. Good job!

Honorable mention:

• Don't Let Go: Though not too intuitive when it comes to gameplay, it had to take a lot of planning to produce this mod. Very well done, and I certainly enjoyed it. With the press of a single button, I was able to experience an onslaught of unique and startling ways to move the character along without death. Very well done, and I had a very close decision between this one and A Walk Through the Snow. However, this mod was extremely short, earning it an honorable mention but nothing more. Well done nonetheless!
• Pawprint Paradise: Though interesting and intuitive, with some interesting gameplay that I have not seen before, I got stuck in the second room with no way to move forward, despite talking to everything possible.

Notes on the other games.

• Hullet Bell: I'm not particularly fond of games of this genre. Also, this has been done before. By like several people.
• Story: While somewhat amusing and rather interesting, I almost lost interest at the start. Also, merely changing the tiles and a bit of gameplay isn't exactly "new". I have not finished this one as I have lost interest.
• Alosona.4: I quit in the first room. There is no obvious or really logical way out. I spent ten minutes trying to figure it out and then gave up. By far the worst of the mods.

10/10 you rumbled my jim-jams, are you going to do actual reviews after?

 

What's the deadline for this anyway? I've been procrastinating on writing up things for people's mods but I don't want to miss my opportunity.

Probably some time next month? There's no rush, personally I'd wait until it slows down and then give anyone left a hurry-up.

 

I just hope Terri shows up again in CSTSF Mod!

She already has shown up in CSTSF Mod. I think Terri's Night Out is pretty much now the official reason why she's in Jack's place.

Edit: Also, my mod does not deserve any of the winning places, even I'm honest about that.

 

I have just discovered that it also has Shift-hold for slow movement!(Not spoilering this because it seems more like an important feature than a secret.)

DT, please, I literally included a text document called "Controls" with the game. ;-;

Hullet Bell: I'm not particularly fond of games of this genre. Also, this has been done before. By like several people.

Oh really? How interesting. The only thing similar to this (kind of) that I'm aware of was my own Operation Delta: Space Attack, which was more of a side-scrolling shmup than a regular bullet hell game. Also, Dunc noted something, but I don't really know what else he could be talking about.
You don't even know how much work needs to be put in such a mod... I'm pretty sure that only a few people of our "great" community of modders would be able to do something similar to that.


EDIT: Honestly, copying Rave Story shouldn't be a thing to be proud of, in my opinion. Rave Story is Rave Story, original concept is original concept. So I guess a point called "this mod reminds me of Rave Story" should rather be a minus than a plus.

 

DT, please, I literally included a text document called "Controls" with the game. ;-;


Oh really? How interesting. The only thing similar to this (kind of) that I'm aware of was my own Operation Delta: Space Attack, which was more of a side-scrolling shmup than a regular bullet hell game. Also, Dunc noted something, but I don't really know what else he could be talking about.
You don't even know how much work needs to be put in such a mod... I'm pretty sure that only a few people of our "great" community of modders would be able to do something similar to that.


EDIT: Honestly, copying Rave Story shouldn't be a thing to be proud of, in my opinion. Rave Story is Rave Story, original concept is original concept. So I guess a point called "this mod reminds me of Rave Story" should rather be a minus than a plus.

I love how all of you are tearing my opinion to shreds. My opinion is my opinion, and if you don't like that, then you shouldn't have opened the mod to votes and OPINIONS.

And I apologize. I had not realized that Operation Delta was your mod idea. Still, whether it was yours or not, its still a space arcade-style shooter. Just a different format.

And it's not COPYING Rave Story. Some of the tiles are REMINISCENT of Rave Story.

Jebus, since when is opinion such a terrible thing?

[AND I ADMITTED MY ERROR WITH THE SPACE THINGY]
[STILL DOESN'T MEAN I LIKE IT]

 

And it's not COPYING Rave Story. Some of the tiles are REMINISCENT of Rave Story.

some tiles are taken directly from it, a weapon was taken directly from it, the bar is literally designed as one big reference to rave story right down to the bathrooms for god's sake. it copied a hell of a lot from rave story bro.

 

I couldn't have said anything better than that, Dunc.

 

^^^ I think it would still be appreciated if you were a little less dismissive, especially if you're going to form said opinions based on shaky or incomplete knowledge.

DT, please, I literally included a text document called "Controls" with the game. ;-;

The one time I don't check every file...

 

I am glad to be a part of the competition held in honour of our great leader, Pixel (aka cave story man.)

clingy and ornery as my opinions may be, I have decided bring to you a delightful dilly-dally regarding the displays of our forumgoer talents in the Cave Story (Doukutsu Monogatari) modding scene.


My rankings from best to least best (in no particular order[actually they are in the order I played them in].)

Take for instance the beginning of my foray into the world of "A walk through the snow."
I began immediately confused as to what "snow" is, so I googled it. I was thoroughly disappointed.
The journey starts as I step out of the cabin to fetch firewood.
Wind chills me to the bone as I trudge through the dense snow particles scattered aimlessly around me.
I then use my jumping abilities to explore the caves and fall into spike pits repeatedly until finally I get wood.
Finally, I stow away in my cabin for the night, drinking hot Ale 8 to warm my soul.
My only complaint: Why is there no pizza in this mod? I feel like you missed the target by not putting any pizza in.
7/10


Then I played "Terri's night out."
I began immediately confused as to what "gg no re" is, so I googled it. I was thoroughly impressed.
I travel in a line towards the right as I shoot rapidly at the enemies around me.
Not stopping once, I see sparkles and obtain a save state item.
I do not attempt to abuse it because of my honourable gaming code.
I am in a city where I feel like I do not belong. I enter a pub of sorts. Who are these people; who shuts the bathroom door?
I approach a tunnel like area with music of my creation (well, built upon Lord Pixel's.)
I resume moving right as I make my way towards the front of the train.
I fight misery and continue on my way to the credits sequence.
5/10 because I wasn't active when these jokes were made


Onto the next Cave Story hack.

I feast my eyes on what appears to be "Pawprint Paradise."
I began immediately confused as to what "homestuck" is, so I googled it. I remained confused.
implementation of hacks was 9/10 I felt the connection the characters had with respects to one another.
Or something like that. The possibility that I may have missed some dialogue options could be a nice thing.
6/10 because confuse

I probably played "Hullet Bell" next.
I began immediately aware of the joke in the title.
The challenge was real, the ASM was interesting, I probably recognized one or two of the songs.
I got to the last level on my first try but died so
6/10

Soon I approach the imposing world that is "Alosona.4."
I began immediately reading "help" and seeing a tiny scratch in the wall. I then beat the mod.
4/10 needs more content or else

Then I played "Don't Let Go."
I accidentally let go the first time so I had to restart.
my finger pained from the holding of the left for so long that i almost broke it and cried
then i drank my

Kirks ORIGINAL Pasito Passionfruit Flavour

and I became a god to men, holding the left arrows with ONLY my pinky finger, for what before seemed to me like 50 years,
now only seeming to me like 2 nanoseconds

actually it was neat
7/10 for execution and patience also nice drawing at the end


"Story" Time.
I felt the drugs sting as they slowly and gradually entered my blood stream. My thoughts melted away until I became one with the game.
I became Quote. My inner fire burned as Jack stared deep into my eyes. I kept thinking to myself, why is this happening to me?
I attempt to gather my focus in an effort to attain passage to what was once the migma garden. I fail to accomplish my goal.
I lose control of myself as I continue to reenter the teleporter. My mind is running in an endless loop,
I feel as if my outward presence is irrelevant here.
I have fused with the memeworld and have now ascended beyond this plane of existence, desires to find the truth.
I float about, projecting my body into the space around me.
I avoid the dark blobs as I navigate my way through the hellish landscape.
Nearing the climax,
I carefully and gently maneuver my way through the last bit of darkness.
I am suddenly expelled from the adventure as my immersion is harshly broken, leaving my taste buds a bit dry.
I expected at least a battle with the doctor pepper, with the crown and all. but it was not so
7/10

 

terrible critiques i rate 0/10 get a better humour

 

i am sorry for the disappoint

 

Oh really? How interesting. The only thing similar to this (kind of) that I'm aware of was my own Operation Delta: Space Attack, which was more of a side-scrolling shmup than a regular bullet hell game.

Nah the shmup thing has been done before, in boostmania:

 

you forgot safusaka's mod, sahfoosake

 

My vote for the contest.

Top 3:

1. Don't Let Go - I really enjoyed this mod. Not much much on gameplay, but the planning put into this reminded me of the old Super Mario World music runs that I used to watch a few years back. Well done! (Unfortunately, on my first try, I failed (1 second, in timing, off). Am I not a good gamer anymore?)

2. DELETE - This mod was the last mod I played in the list of Entries and I loved it. Great gameplay, and awesome asm hacks (I liked the intro for this game). Great mod.

3. Hullet Bell - Let me say that I was not expecting something like this mod would ever show in the list of entries. I was honestly impressed and I am now thinking about rereading those old asm tutorials by Carrotlord. Great job!


HM:
Story - When I first played this mod, I was confused as it seemed to be just a copy of the original game. Neverless, I played through it and just as I expected from the mod, something truely different happened, and I loved it. I really enjoyed the mod, and was disappointed when I had reached the end and I wanted more. I hope this mod can be progressed furthur sometime in the near future.

 

Ready to do my semi-detailed responses now. In alphabetical order:

Spoiler

A Walk Through The Snow

Spoiler

Nice little atmospheric/explorative mod. The physics changes are integrated well, while the environments and scene settings are attractive and relaxing. Great use of sound also. Everything really works together to capture the feel of a snowy environment. The optional platforming route back up to the bridge tends toward the pointless though, especially considering that the player has to continue on well past it. Still likable and a very solid entry.

Alosona.4

Spoiler

Whatever the message here was got somewhat lost in implementation. Fortunately I am very good at existing, and fairly experienced at keeping hypothetical party members alive. It didn't take me too long to get out of the first room since I'm used to speed-checking tiles. I think you do deserve some credit for this, considering how much you had to learn about modding over a short period. I liked the artwork too, aside from the far side of the textbox making letters hard to read.

DELETE

Spoiler

Incredible art, music and use of animation effects. Some solid level and weapon design too! Not a big fan of floaty controls, but I managed to make it through the last area before I started getting annoyed. Obviously is this some way from being completed, leaving inconsistencies in the writing and tone. However, I don't feel as though this affects the overall experience very much, given the time and scope limitations. Amazingly impressive, and, like your entry in the hell mod contest long ago, gets my top vote

Don't Let Go

Spoiler

This idea actually started out as a map for a speedrun mod (yes) I had started planning several years ago, which on impulse I decided to turn into an entry for this contest. Games never scroll to the left enough! I was originally planning the enemy and wind/water related areas to be separate, but I ran out of time and both of those styles have been done to death anyway. Getting the timing down wasn't really that hard, it was fairly simple to work on individual segments while setting them to match up with the previous ones. Feel free to look at my maps and scripts if you want to know how it all works. WAI and H/V triggers are my friends

Hullet Bell

Spoiler

Shmoooooops! Very good pattern designs for the most part + an interesting powerup system and decently-balanced challenge. The music in the stages isn't too shabby either - I think stage 3 is from Pokemon Black & White? Props for the visible hitbox and the fact that the game doesn't look stretched when I go full-(wide)screen. Some of the boss designs are a little... odd, but I like the use of colours for enemies and boolets. Overall I think by now you may have done as much hacking of this game as anybody has; certainly in terms of the variety of what you've produced.

Pawprint Paradise

Spoiler

This definitely gave me some insight into Homestuck and why it's so popular and oh god it reminds me of the way some of you talk now and I can't un-read it Still found it quite amusing and was impressed by the animated character pics. The CS-ified sprites are also rather nice, as are the couple of music tracks. Note a whole lot to comment on aside from that.

Story no Caves

Spoiler

Oh great a spoof mod because THAT'S never been done before I'm kidding. Unfortunate you couldn't get it finished, because it takes a while to wind up for ultimately not that much payoff. Still a reasonable amount of evidence of your skills here; I'm sure the tiling in those later maps was deceptively painstaking. I however am a nervous creature and this left me feeling slightly more uneasy than intrigued, although the last part gave me a JN Original vibe which is always a positive.

Terri's Night Out

Spoiler

Foreword: I haven't completed Rave Story so I'm not 100% on how many assets were borrowed, aside from the bar area. Either way I'm impressed by the graphical overhaul. The jokes ranged from snort-out-loud funny to quiet-out-loud; I particularly enjoyed false Quote and his Lonk mouth. On the other hand, heavy OC shipping with an established character is a bit much. There's actually quite a lot of content here. I really liked the design of the train, but for being the bulk of the mod it was very repetitive on the enemy front. When did background images become so popular anyway? Good to see that idea finally getting some use. Anyway, tl;dr has some good content but doesn't get me overly hyped.

And, to confirm my personal vote:

Spoiler

1. DELETE
2. Hullet Bell
3. A Walk Through The Snow
HM's: ALL THE MODS

I didn't go into super-detail or anything but this post has already taken forever and I need to sleep'd.

 

I love how all of you are tearing my opinion to shreds. My opinion is my opinion, and if you don't like that, then you shouldn't have opened the mod to votes and OPINIONS.

Jebus, since when is opinion such a terrible thing?

There are times the illegitimacies in criticism need to be addressed. We're correcting you jaws, not attacking you.

 

Time for a bump. I count nine officially-ranked votes so far, from the following people:
2DBro, Paths, Me, X-Calibar, SeasonsOfDestiny, Kim Tyranto, Noxid, SuperJaws100 and Solaris.

If you're not on this list, and want to be on it, now is not the time to languish!

 

Stuff time. I already rated everything so I'll just put my quotes here and then I'll post my top three. (or top whatever)

Terri's Night Out

Spoiler

That was pretty fun, Linc. The story was okay, the music & graphics were good, some memes included, pretty good humor.
I liked it.

+1 for Detonator 0.8

A Walk Through the Snow

Spoiler

That was pretty fun, PolarStar. It was pretty fun, although I hated the jumps at one point because I kept falling off the blocks...
The custom graphics were pretty good, the music was 2/10, the gameplay was good. The new physics were pretty cool, and I like the way you used the snow.
I wouldn't call it "short", because most contest entries are about the same length.
Good job!

Pawprint Paradise

Spoiler

OK, Doors, finished (?) it.

Spoiler

I'm pretty sure it ends after the... uh... tea purrty. Am I right or not?

I really liked the graphics, the hacks were interesting (I knew that one day somebody would do what you did in this mod), the concept was quite new and fresh, and pretty good as well.
Generally, this is a great entry, in my opinion.

A.4

Spoiler

Finished it.

Spoiler

Spirit, I thought you'd do something good to this mod. But what I saw... was pretty poor.
No, really. This mod had potential. But... uh... well.
First of all, I had no idea what to do in the first room. No, I could not see the scratch well because it pretty much blends with the background. Oh, and I could fall through what I thought were blocks.
When I was greeted by the "MOMMY MOMMY" part, the title screen showed at brief moment, and I was like "what the", but continued to play.
Then I took this ninja on my back and we happily died behind the transparent door. The end.
And apparently it's because of me. That makes me think, were there any alternate endings? If not, their deaths wasn't my fault, but yours. Because you didn't let me finish it in any other way. (see: 4.13th, where I still can choose my path)

Tl;dr I didn't really like this entry. I could have been polished, it could have been better. But it wasn't.
Sorry.

DELETE

Spoiler

OK, Safusaka. Played your entry. Did not finish.

Spoiler

The mod would be pretty fun if it wasn't the physics. I hated one time jumps with them. Not fun to fall and start the entire area again.
But oh well. Your graphics and sprites are brilliant as usual. Music is great. Weapons are quite cool. (+1 for the assembly hack for Machine Gun and making it fire rocket-like projectiles, that was OP)
Enemies are placed kinda well, maps design was good as well. Your tiles aren't like by Cave Story, though, and sometimes I could jump into walls, sometimes I would fall through the ground around the edges. I didn't like this.
Generally, it was pretty fun, but since I haven't finished it, I have no idea what the name is supposed to mean. I didn't delete anything, really, just destroyed everything.
Also, nice animation at the beginning. And Sue is the ultimate troll. I stopped at that are where she is because of stupid jumps. (little block NPCs and single tiles)
In the beginning, I had problems with understanding where I should go until I noticed you can go through the ventilation shaft in the ceiling. That wasn't too obvious for me.

Nice work, anyway. That was a well-done contest entry.

I did finish it later. The last boss was kinda meh, but I liked the credits.

Don't Let Go

Spoiler

OK, DT, that was short, but pretty fun.

Spoiler

You are a master of level design. How long did it take you to complete this?
And now I see why you needed to remove the jump key. Nice job with using it well.
+1 for the ending screen.

I encourage you all to try this out.

story

Spoiler

Noxid, played your entry.

Spoiler

The general idea was neat, but I didn't find this mod really enjoyable. Yeah, maybe that's only me, but still...
I liked the flight/levitation hack that was just before the end, though...
Well. Still, good one.

Hullet Bell

Spoiler

Well, what can I say about this? It needed an awful lot of work to finish. I hope I managed to keep its retro-ish feeling. It took me a lot of testing, fixing, time and nerves.
But the result is sort of satisfying.

My top three:
1. DELETE
2. A Walk Through the Snow
3. Hullet Bell (if we can nominate our mods) / Pawprint Paradise (if we cannot)

 

Good job on the contest, everyone. I didn't expect for this to take off, so I applaud the effort on everyone's part. Here is my list from favorite to least favorite. Some places you'll be expecting and some you won't be.

Spoiler

First place - DELETE​

The music and graphics are easily the star of this mod. I can honestly say that I've never heard a more creative use of OrgMaker than from these songs, and that includes vanilla Cave Story. The graphics in the last area make me feel like I'm playing Hidden Palace from Sonic 2. Given the satisfying weapons and interesting pacing, this could have close to perfect if it wasn't for the frustrating platforming sections, specifically at the end (and the one jump in the beginning area. You know the one). It simply does not work with the modified physics.

Second place - A Walk Through the Snow​

Good atmosphere. I'd say that this mod has the greatest aesthetics overall in the contest. Would it be fair to compare this to Knytt Stories? That's the first thing that popped into my head after I finished the mod, but it's been a while since I played Knytt Stories, so I'm not sure. Unfortunately, the experience is hampered by the rather irritating and nerve-wracking jumping sections. If they were designed in a more puzzle-oriented fashion instead of strictly to see if the player can time the jump good enough, this could have reached its full potential.

Third place - Terri's Night Out ​

A mishmash of forum culture (I can't believe I just said forum culture someone cut my tongue) slapped into a mod. References for the sake of references, but this mod embraces that and makes good use of it. Some of the graphics looked out of place and the level design felt somewhat repetitive (the train especially), but overall I did enjoy myself and it's something I wouldn't mind playing once more in the future.

Honorable Mention - Hullet Bell (Easy Mode)​

Comparing a bullet hell game to Cave Story mods. Tough. The upgrades, while simplistic, work for the length, the bosses have interesting patterns and they don't drag on, and the FINAL BOSS OH MY GOD YES. This is one of the most novel Cave Story mods out there, but unfortunately it also has very minimal content. Bullet Hell / shooter games like this are not my favorites, but making the easy mode was a great decision for players like me.

Honorable Mention - story​

Not much to say other than what I said here. Despite the repetition early on, it gets quite crazy later on which makes up for for the slow part in the beginning.

Honorable Mention - Don't Let Go​

This is funny. Only good for a laugh the first time around, but it was interesting the whole way through.

A.4​

Not sure what to make of this one. The writing, the best part (I found it funny), was cancelled out by the sloppy scripting. Other than that, it was easily the shortest of the mods and I don't really get the message. It's like one big reference that I'm missing.

Pawprint Paradise​

Speaking of one big reference I'm missing, this one was my least favorite because of that very reason. I tried to laugh even though I pretty much understood none of it, but it was tough. The bodypic art was really good and the music was exceptional, but those are about the only good things I can say. Unlike TNO, this mod doesn't have a game outside of the story to entertain those who don't understand the references. I rank this lower than A.4 because A.4 ended much sooner and didn't bore me for as long. I can appreciate the effort put into this and I almost definitely would have ranked this higher if I could understand the references, but unfortunately I have to agree that everything I did was a colossal waste of time.

 

How long do you think the hiatus wait period should be?