Vacations

I was able to, after quite some time, go on vacations.
Being able to relax at the beach with my family is something I really missed.

Anyway, back to the project.
One of the features of the game that still needs improvement is the logbook. Besides this topic being a suggestion from several of you, I saw several playthoughs where the player was confused about the scrolling, taking a couple of moments to understand how it works.
Something like this must be intuitive, the focus must be on what the new log is about and its discovery, not on how to make it work.
It's a minor thing, but I'll be restructuring the log screen within these days.

Progress wasn't that much this month, but development and testing will be back to their usual pace.
In the meantime, tell me, is there any other aspect of the overall game you think needs improvement?
Feel free to comment here (even if I don't respond that often I do read all the messages), or at the Forums.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Nice work DoctorM64. I hope you are able to progress on this project, and enjoy your time more. (#First) By the way, I saw someone play through Metroid II completely without using spider ball or space jump. It seemed like a miracle to me.
Anonymous said…
Hi there!

To answer your question I think there really isn't anything I'm missing in the game. You mentioned the log book, but it didn't bother me much at all.
If you want to restructure it, that's fine but wasn't necessary imo.
Looking forward to the last few areas of the game and (of course) the Metroid queen! :o
Good luck with the project and I'll be back next update ;)

with regards,

SmashTom
SamusStar224 said…
So far great work on this project! When I first played the demo I was astounded that it was fan-made and since then I check the blog and forums on a daily basis to see when new progress has been made. Hopefully the game continues progressing and I really look forward to playing the full version and I wish you and the development team the best health and happiness as you continue working on this masterpiece. Thank you so much for taking so much of your own time to bring us the metroid 2 remake we all want and wish for.
-Best Wishes from a big fan,
SamusStar224
Anonymous said…
I dont really see anything other than the log book that needs to be changed, yes I was one who didnt know about the scrolling which I only found out AFTER starting the fight with the miniboss that comes after the area where you get the spider ball where I took forever to figure out how to actually even harm the boss then I read the log book without scrolling and that didnt help me at all then I thought hey, click A, then it scrolled, thank god. but other than that nothing, the control is just as smooth as before, although I would like to request something, I personally use my dualshock 4 with my PC and the way I do it tricks my PC into thinking its an xbox 360 controller, and I was thinking that maybe you could add a setting to the options menu that allows you to swap the text and button prompts from the xbox 360 layout to the dualshock layout, like RT to R2, B to circle, Y to triangle, you get my point, granted it isnt that big of a problem playing it with the xbox layout on screen with the dualshock layout on my gamepad although I thought it would have been a nice little addition.
Unknown said…
The pause menu screen. It gets confusing where to go like from the map to options or whatever.
Sir_Poeta said…
Hola Doc, como dije en otras ocasiones, creo que deberías colocar más jingles clásicos, para darle un aire más familiar al juego. Me fascinó la transmutación que tiene Samus en el AM2R cuando descubre y toma el Varia Suit, jugaste impresionantemente con la esencia antigua mezclándola con la actual. El sector de la Guarida de la Reina Metroid (no sé si ya has trabajado en ello), debería tener la misma música, remasterizada, que produzca temor, al igual que lo que produjo el original hace varias décadas, cuando recién salió.
Espero algo de esto puedas tomarlo en cuenta. Queremos todos que este proyecto quede lo más genial posible. Suerte y saludos.
Anonymous said…
Well 2 things doc. Now we might be too far into developement for this to be changeable, but I just want to say that I don't like the jumping mechanic, it feels too vertical and not horizontal enough. I also think there should be a super metroid style dash button. Aside from those, The game is pretty damn solid!
Anonymous said…
The graphics definitely I feel need some improvement. If this game is going for Metroid zero mission style a lot of sprites don't exactly match. A lot I noticed is actually pillow shaded...Which is never a good thing. I'm talking about mostly the enemy sprites (not the metroids I'd say those are probably the nicest looking sprites in AM2R). A few tilesets are completely pillow shaded like the nest portion of Torizo's area. The statue on top of the temple in first area looks very poorly done. If you want I really can improve all of these things for you! I really want to see this game become the best it can possible be. Email me : Gogmazios@yahoo.com . I will fix these sprites for you.
Anonymous said…
Checking progress reports of your game on a daily base for more than 2 years now. I'm really impressed and always hoping for a new demo. So as for your question I think you should improve the difficulty balance. The miniboss of the third area is pretty hard, but some metroid fights are far too easy. As the metroids are the main villains of the game, they should feel as such. Especially the super missiles are far to strong. With them you can just tank a bit damage and put 2 missiles into their belly. Anyway, thanks for your hard work and I wish you a nice vacation.

br
a fan
Unknown said…
I love the way the game looks!. In any case, apart from the issue of front sprites of Samus (which I think I mentioned in another comment, sorry!), the only thing I miss, and that's probably because I'm a nostalgic,is the SM charge of the beam: a perfect, shiny sphere of energy with particles around, rather tan the X-cross pattern of light on ZM. I'm talking about personal tastes, but, seriously, it can't be found any real defect on the game. Dude, is more and more awesome every day.
The7thGuest said…
That is really nice :)
Progress is nice.
Nice is nice :p
^^
Anonymous said…
This is truly an amazing project. I think you should follow your vision of how the game should be. I sometimes play this game not for progress but just to play around with the Morph button, cause that is one of the coolest mechanics of any of the Metroid games.

But if you really want a suggestion, and I see this has been echoed in some other comments, I would say that the physics of the game could be more comfortable. Horizontal running speed feels too slow for the quick strides of the running animation, and a faster in-air speed would be more natural. Horizontal speed should be closer to vertical speed for spinjumps. Also, a really cool aspect of a Project Base(SM hack) was that momentum was not lost after landing from a spinjump. Made the game a lot more fluid, and also allowed jumping and landing with speed booster which enabled some really cool maneuvering.
Anonymous said…
I Hope you had fun on your vacation!
It would be nice to have a button specifically for firing super missiles instead of switching from normal and supers, obviously this can be translated to the power bombs.
Unknown said…
I actually thought it was fine before, but polishing up certain parts of the game never hurts. This is a really well made game by the way, I couldn't find anything that I would say needs to be made better myself. It feels like an official Metroid game! I'm currently doing a play through of all the Metroid games in chronological order, and after playing Metroid zero mission again, I really found myself missing the auto climbing feature you put in for smaller ledges. Especially the shortcut for going into morphball when coming to a gap in a wall. So much better!
Anonymous said…
I even have Direct X 9.0c and it still won't work on Win XP! I have even tried the software thing in the shortcut target field, and it didn't change a thing! I also have Service pack 2 and 3, yet it won't work on either of my computers! Please, please, please fix this issue! I've been wanting to play for so long but I still can't play it due to these problems!
Unknown said…
At first when I played this, I completely forgot that it was not made by Nintendo, and when AM2R did this, it did something so right. In my opinion, this game is probably way up there with the likes of Super Metroid (Yes, I do believe it is that much of a masterpiece). This one project really shows how compassionate gamers can really be. You got this. You also said that you wanted a suggestion, but I could only come up with one. However, this might prove to be kind of a cool idea: if you could put extra suits as easter eggs available to be found and equipped (like the Light/Dark suits from Metroid Prime), many players of the Prime games would be alerted to how much care you put into this project. Plus, it would be really cool to see the Light suit in a 2D perspective!

Keep up the great work!

If you want to respond, please email me, as I never really go onto blogs that much to post anything. I prefer Email and the like. Sorry, but its just me. XD
Anonymous said…
Good work as usual~ Keep it up, Doc!
Unknown said…
PLEASE, will you make the full version soon, and allow us to select item on\off.Thank you. (p.s. will the game be free?)
Unknown said…
Phenomenal work so far, Doc! Glad you're able to enjoy yourself while still giving us such a great game! As far as things to change, the Log Book is more or less fine in my opinion, but maybe other people don't find it very intuitive. I, for one, think the sprites are absolutely gorgeous; better than Zero Mission even (and that's coming from someone whose favorite Metroid game is ZM). The physics engine is spot-on, exactly the way a Metroid game should play; the music is fantastic; honestly, this is easily one of the best Metroid games ever made, and it's not even a Nintendo creation!
The only thing I would recommend altering is the way the Pause menu works. I agree with having Start take you straight to the Map, but the way the four-direction menu layout works is a little disorienting and un-intuitive to me. Maybe you could make it like Zero Mission and Fusion where the player can access the other Menu features (Log, Power Suit, Options) from the map by pressing L, R, or Select, respectively.
As it is, it isn't game-breaking or anything. Just feels a little weird, a little too different from the way other Metroid games handle the Pause Menu. But, again, the game is superb overall. Keep up the good work!
djnforce9 said…
Really impressed how he is checking the community directly in order to determine what is best for the game as opposed to just making numerous assumptions. Looking forward to the finished version as most here :).
Dickfor said…
The lack of playable release needs improvement.
GAVITRAX MZ said…
Thanx again doc. It sounds like things are going good. I know you probably read my last comment about this but the only thing I have to complain about is the music. It really isn't that bad, I just noticed it sounds a little high pitch and kind of lacks the originality of other metroid games. The music remakes sound good but they could use a little deeper sound. Personally, I would create a whole new song, completely original and matching the tone of maridia or red brinstar in super metroid. Again, these observations are not a huge deal, just something I noticed.
GAVITRAX MZ said…
Branching off from my other comment, something I noticed that someone commented on is the charge beam. It is funny because I was thinking the exact same thing. The charge beam just looks to two dimensional and unrealistic compared to the sprite used in super metroid. I would just say that it would bring back some of that heavy gun feeling that you get in super and the prime games.
Anonymous said…
its the best remake, wish you could make it playable on a psp, gba emulator something like that.

thanks for the game :)
Ricardo Suarez said…
La verdad doc es que me alegra que hayas disfrutado con tu familia en la playa descansando ^_^ , Quisiera un remix de la cancion Freeza de Maximum the hormone en una batalla "epica" y divertida , puedes elegir cualquiera =) pero bueno eso para despues si quieres aqui esta un video de la propia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgFlQq3jfWU , La mejor de las suertes Doc =)
Anonymous said…
I'm glad that you're taking time for yourself. It must be nerve-racking if you have to keep going without a break. As most people would say "You can't rush greatness". I know from experience on what happens when a highly anticipated game gets rushed because they have to meet deadlines and it ends up tanking. So please take your time and we all look forward to when the next beta is finished (I know I will)
Anonymous said…
Howdy there!

Been following your project for some years now and finally decided I should comment on it. You've done a phenomenal job with this remake. I never played the original release despite owning it on several consoles/handhelds. I think what held me up was the fact that this game did not look nearly as good as super Metroid did and much of it was black and white. It is truly a long overdue remake, for the life of me I don't know why Nintendo didn't remake this already.

Perhaps they should just take your version and give credit where credit is due; unfortunately I feel that's a bit shall we say far from (Nintendo’s) reality… but still if someone told me this was a Nintendo remake I’d believe it. I'm seriously impressed by it. I have completed and done everything I can do in the current demo. I'll continue to follow you and I await the next installment whether that is another demo or the final product.

Keep up the great work! Cheers!
jorge said…
tomate el tiempo que quieras doc a veces es mejor tomar un decasnso
Anonymous said…
Que hay DoctorM64, tu esfuerzo merece un buen relax después volverás con muchas ganas para continuar. Aun espero paciente mas novedades de este excelente proyecto. Tal vez sea tonta esta pregunta ¿Se puede jugar este juego con un joystick de Ps2/ps3?
GAVITRAX MZ said…
I just had a great idea. What would be cool is if you had a backtracking deal after the mining facility. Say you get a transmission from your ship that something is damaging the hull, similar to the attack ghor made in prime 3. You go back to the surface to find that your ship has flown away damaged and a zeta is there attacking some sort of x parasite. You could possibly make it that samus could get an upgrade afterward. Then, as usual, her ship will repair itself before the end of the game. Just a theory.It is a stretch and would be a bitch to program, but I think it might make a nice break in the classic metroid battles.
Anonymous said…
The X would be cool, but it won't happen. Samus never sees the X until fusion, so an X attack right in front of her would be canoncally wrong. I always thought an X cutscene after the credits would be cool.
Ricardo Suarez said…
es una buena idea la gavitrax de poner a un zeta o omega (ghor era tan grande como un omega) para que intente destruir la nave pero tiene razon seria...bueno jodidamente dificil para programar , Bueno la mejor de las suertes con tu proyecto. posdata: Proyecto maravilloso XD
Ridley12 said…
That expansion in the dark grassy area and you need the Speedboost. I HATE that one!! I think I've only got it once, if at all. If you could, could you make that a little bit easier. I am a completionist. I try to 100% every game I play. Please???
Jokerwolf said…
I think everything is shaping up amazingly, I already like it way more than the original Metroid 2. The only thing I would add is some interesting weapon combinations when certain beams are turned on and or off for different shaped maybe slightly more powerful shots and charged shots, heck maybe even make the different stages of the Metroids vulnerable to certain specific combinations of your beams, and enemies too even. That could add a nice customization element to the game and give it some more replay ability aside from the timed runs.
JD said…
There are only two things I think need attention. One, I hit metroids right in the sweet spot, and because they made their "dodge" movement, it still bounced off.

The other is that I lose my speed boost upon landing from a jump. I think it would be a lot better if you could maintain the boost.

Other than those teeny things, this game is amazing and an absolute blast to play. Can't wait to see Zeta, Omega and the Queen!!
Pattz said…
I absolutely love everything that has been put into this game so far and I look forward to future updates and eventually the complete work! However, if there's one suggestion I'd make it would be maybe updating beam sound effects just a bit. In NO way is it needed, and I'll be satisfied regardless, but just small idea ^^ Even if you don't, I'm so glad this project is still being worked on. I found out about AM2R YEARS ago, and I found it again in 2012 or so and played the demo. I was stunned back then. I forgot about the project again and just remembered it back in January. I didn't know it could've gotten so much better when I played the latest version. Anyway, simply put, keep up the EXCELLENT work! :3
Anonymous said…
Good to see this is still going.
I'd love to see the whole pause menu in a layout similar to Metroid Prime Hunter, it's colorful and easy to understand (especially the ship's menu).
This project inspired me to begin working on my own game. Already got a few small prototypes going and I'm mostly sure I can begin working on a larger, more complete game.

Won't post any links to it, last thing I want is to advertise it here and leech off Doc's hard work.
Anonymous said…
i love this game i am probably the biggest metroid fan on earth and there is nothing that should be changed, i have played metroid 2 return of samus and i find this game as good if not better than metroid 2 and close but not better than super metroid.
Anonymous said…
Once you have completed the work... is there any way to port it to the DSTWO flash card? It would be so AWESOME to play this on a nintendo handheld.

Otherwise, I am amazed by the quality of your work. I can't think of another fan work at the level this one is!

Thank you for your team's work on this!
a fan
Anonymous said…
My only beef with the game is that it's not out yet >:( :P.

Jokes aside, it is really awesome, and there is really nothing I can think of that could make it better.

A cool ominous X-parasite scene at the end after the credits with Samus having left the planet would be kind of cool, say for people who got 100% item pickups? :P
Anonymous said…
If you want to find out when this project will be complete, then scroll.

















































































































































































































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October 5, 2016
Kyle edwards said…
Hay DoctorM64 why not do what the first Metroid game did when you beat the game have an extra mode with no power suit and maybe a secret area in the game with loads of secrets and stuff it would be pretty sick to see you do all that if it is possible but only do what needs doing stay awesome dude. and even though it's not a proper Metroid game it's still second best for me good job
Anonymous said…
You sir are a hero for still continuing this project for the community after all this time.
Thanks for not becoming a ghost like the rest of the game modding projects
Unknown said…
The only things I had issues with:
1) Please allow a, "Do you want to save?" popup before saving. because sometimes you just accidentally land on a save station...
2) There is a bit of a glitch with having the shift key assigned to diagonal aiming where the beam will either not fire or will fire rapidly but refuse to charge. Missiles tend not to work well, which is a pain when targeting metroids or other flying enemies.
Anonymous said…

does anyone else know about the secret room(i think) to the left of your ship, over the mountain, could it be area 4 maybe
Brutalious said…
Sometimes when the game prompts to open the log book for a new entry, there won't be one. I believe it has happened two or three times. Is that because the entries aren't finished or is it a bug?
Stealthycow said…
What's up Doc?
I do not, as of yet, see any major things graphically or game play wise that are in need of your attention. I would like to take this time to say how much we as a Metroid fan community appreciate the time and effort you are putting into remaking a game that, quite frankly, Nintendo should have remade themselves. You are remaking a great game and by doing so, many people will now be able to connect Metroid 1 to 2 without having to play the black and white Gameboy game we all now know. I hope you get the recognition for the justice you are doing by remastering a classic.
Thanks again for you work :3
Anonymous said…
Is there a map of v1.34? There's one last Metroid I can't find before the next quake happens to lower the lava. Have zero idea where the little bugger is!
Ricardo Suarez said…
Haciendo moonwalk al estilo Samus y esperando el TREN DEL HYPE De DoctorM64 FTW lml
Unknown said…
Yes it is free and always will be.
Tihan said…
There are some blocks in the game, it appeared to be an upwards diagonal block, that if spider balled up to from below, will cause you to fall down.
Anonymous said…
Actually one thing that kind of did irk me was the insane amount of Alpha Metroids on normal difficulty. Not saying the amount of Metroids should be reduced, but I think changing some of them into Gamma's would be kind of nice. I'm hoping the final product there will be a nice diversity of different Metroids.

Other than that, really good, and can't wait until this is finished. Is there an eta on that btw?
Ricardo Suarez said…
seria bueno que pusieras el rayo ancho de metroid fusion o los misiles de difusion , tal vez no sea necesario pero son de mis armas favoritas ^_^, ademas si es posible pon un buen sonido de explosion a la bomba de energia porque el sonido de fusion o zero mission me parece un poco molesto con su "FUISH" La mejor de las suetes doc =)
TheBlackWizards said…
DoctorM64 - ive just discovered AM2R and i wanted to let you know that i love the project and played it for an hour or two immediately when i discovered it tonight. cheers, thanks for all your hard work :D
Anonymous said…
new post?
Anonymous said…
ikr
Unknown said…
Hi DoctorM64, i'm a fan of your work for de quality of your project behind a familly and professionnal life. I've read couple month a go that you switch from C++ to gameMaker... Technically I'm very curious where was the limitation or difficulty etc you face for switch to switch to gamemaker. And the library you use when you start your project if it is'nt undiscret . Sorry for my bad english . I speak french, and the worst: Quebec's french ;)
Unknown said…
OK, I tested your demo all the way thru till the end. So far so good. The controls feel nice and smooth, the puzzles are a little bit hard, but I love a challenge. The fights against the Metroids are good too along with the other bosses and the map layout is awesome. Had a hard time finding some of the missiles and energy upgrades, but who said it was going to be easy. Final verdict, the game is a nice throwback to the original, considering it has a Metroid Prime feel to it and thats alright with me. I do not see if there is any adjustments to be made in the game so far. All the added extras makes it a great game. Consider yourself to have a tester in me, cannot wait for the next update. Keep up the good work.
GAVITRAX MZ said…
It amazes me just how large the am2r community has become. Thanx Doctor M64 and thanx commentators for keeping this project going.
Anonymous said…
Another thing that I wouldn't mind seeing are Save States :D.
Loko said…
I recently completed the AM2R demo, and what a joy it was :) thanks!
RecordedLogbook said…
Good afternoon Doc! I've been an avid Metroid fan ever since I picked up Super Metroid in my youth; wanting to know the whole story, I backtracked to the first two after and have played and replayed every M game I could get my hands on (with the exception of Hunters, for reasons outside my control >.< ) and still can never get enough.
One of my favorite parts, besides our dauntless hero, is the environments and creatures. You could imagine my joy with the scan feature introduced in the Prime series, with all the flavorful details and insights accompanied with various images! The small things really bring it all together so nicely, so perfectly that I often wonder how it was all pieced together so well.
Then, sometime last year, I came across a link to your AM2R site and couldn't believe what I saw. I had often dreamed of doing something like this, and was amazed at the detail and great lengths gone to resemble the environs of the original M2...not to mention the most likely staggering work and thought process it takes to make it all work together. I have not played the demo, because I am eagerly awaiting the full version--I want the whole thing to be a new discovery!--but I frequently check back here to read up on updates.
One thing that caught my attention this time was that you had mentioned that the next area is already drawn on paper. For awhile now I've been working on my own Metroid project (tho', not of the technical nature; I am horribly program illiterate) that involves lots and lots of drawings, and I was wondering what process do you use to draw it out? Caverns and ruins drawn out in detail, or by a simple grid-map like ones used in non-Prime games? I'm very curious to know, if it's not too much of a secret or personal thing to ask about!
Anonymous said…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBZQnQ0thSw
Anonymous said…
Save States are nice when you are playing an emulator for a game, but at the same time, save states also ruin the game's natural saving, meaning that there would be no need for save stations, therefore eliminating an entire feature from the game. I personally enjoy having save stations, so you have to avoid death at all costs, unlike where you have save states, eliminating the dangers of not saving, and therefore destroying the feeling of "I need to get to a save station"! It's just my opinion though.
Ricardo Suarez said…
=D Ya sali a vacaciones y espero con ansias la version 1.4 y tal vez sus avances serian la nueva area , la torre chozo , los Zetas y las mejoras serian : El traje gravitatorio , salto en barrena , Rayo de plasma y ancho y las bombas de energia (lo siento si dije todo eso doc solo estoy emocionado :D)
Anonymous said…
^Then add the challenge for yourself and just do not use save states as opposed to acting like one of those people that want to force the way you like playing a game on other people ;).

I usually have one easy file and one hard file ;).
Anonymous said…
come on its been over a month new post!

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