Area 5 is getting big
While playing AM2R on the go sounds really cool in paper, I left the whole Android port for later.
It's very likely that this port will work with bluetooth controllers only at first. Touch controls are a science that requires a lot of research and experimentation. Right now I prefer to spend the few hours of free time I have on completing the game.
Progress was pretty steady this month. Area 5 is feeling a lot better, the new layout introduces the new mechanics and enemies gradually, and there are some tricky rooms to overcome, even with all the equipment you have at that point in the game.
For every revision the area gets, more rooms are being added. It's starting to be a pretty big place.
Also, there are going to be Metroid fights, making the area non-optional, as it was once planned. Some Metroid encounters are going to be very intense.
There's many small details to iron out before the testing phase can begin. There's still rooms that don't have their tile work complete, and the destructible blocks that have associated tiles are very time consuming to setup.
Also, there are changes that affect earlier areas, so testing will need to focus on the whole game, instead of just the new area.
Hopefully, if everything goes well, testing should start in a couple of weeks.
As always, suggestions and comments are welcome.
It's very likely that this port will work with bluetooth controllers only at first. Touch controls are a science that requires a lot of research and experimentation. Right now I prefer to spend the few hours of free time I have on completing the game.
Progress was pretty steady this month. Area 5 is feeling a lot better, the new layout introduces the new mechanics and enemies gradually, and there are some tricky rooms to overcome, even with all the equipment you have at that point in the game.
For every revision the area gets, more rooms are being added. It's starting to be a pretty big place.
Also, there are going to be Metroid fights, making the area non-optional, as it was once planned. Some Metroid encounters are going to be very intense.
A sneak peek of how the main facility of Area 5 looks like now.
There's many small details to iron out before the testing phase can begin. There's still rooms that don't have their tile work complete, and the destructible blocks that have associated tiles are very time consuming to setup.
Also, there are changes that affect earlier areas, so testing will need to focus on the whole game, instead of just the new area.
Hopefully, if everything goes well, testing should start in a couple of weeks.
As always, suggestions and comments are welcome.
Comments
This is stil my most anticipated "indie" game, and Metroid game for that matter.
Also, as I've stated before, I would really love to do save states :D.
I have been waiting for a good Metroid title and I am not one of the guys that go like,
"I really love Metroid. I played every Metroid game and read all the comics and mangas."
I don't play or read Metroid. Call me freak but I live Metroid. I waited for five long years for a new Metroid to be released and what do I get?
Nintendo presents this awful piece of crap called Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
Don't get me wrong here. Most people think I'm just another hater because nobody likes it. I hate it because I spent so much time waiting for a propper title to show up with Samus pointing her blaster at you from the 3DS-Screen making you think she'd blow your brains out. But what I get is "Disney's roly poly Space Dudes"
Metroid other M already disappointed me. It turned kickass lady bounty hunter into a whiny wimp who still freaks out when Ridly shows up. After the fourth encounter. I'd be more like, "Damn it's him again. Time for you to die...again! I guess!"
But it tried to give her a little more personality and even if poorly executed, I appreciate the idea.
But MP: Federation Force is too much.
I am still going to play it, because it claims to take place in the Metroid universe but it just isn't what I wanted.
I need a new Metroid and I need it bad.
AM2R will satisfy my needs. I played every demo and read all the comments and updates and this really is mindblowing. I knew that someone would come up with the idea of remaking Metroid 2 but I never expected something beautiful as this to be the outcome. The soundtrack, the design, the enemies. Everything this game offers is satisfying.
Dr.M64, you Sir are a genius.
I played the 1.41 again and it even made me forget about the shit Nintendo tries to pull off.
Do me a favour and finish that game so I can die in peace when "Metroid5:Black Ops" or
"Space Marinies in Candyland" gets released.
Esta nueva zona luce emocionante! Ojalá esté lista pronto... Muy buen trabajo Dr. felicidades!! :D
Lo único que yo criticarÃa es la música de Super Metroid (que también sale en Metroid Prime), añadida en la última zona. Algo más original y con altura de mira le irÃa excelente a esta última zona en A y B.
Un saludo.
Thinking logically, Nintendo DEFINITELY know about this project. Nintendo DEFINITELY know how well it's being received and I am completely confident in saying that they are taking notes, man. Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo are silently following this project as well like we are. Now don't get me wrong, all of that sounds a bit too good to be true, but just hear me out.
What I honestly believe Nintendo are doing, are deliberately waiting for you to finish the game. The main reason I can think of is so they can name a price to buy it off you, and brand it properly as a Nintendo licensed product, obviously with your name in it's appropriate accreditation's, but just so Nintendo can sell it off to fans and say "hey look at this, we've got a new thing!" and market it properly to sell. Honestly, if they did that, they WOULD fucking sell this game, with ease. It'd put Metroid back into the gaming world as a leading product of Nintendo. Who knows, they might even offer you a job.
OR, they probably haven't approached you yet because you haven't given them enough of a reason to by avoiding every possible copyright infringement possible, learning from the mistakes of the other Metroid remakes that copped the back-hand of Nintendo across the face. Haha.
Or, Nintendo have given up on Metroid and couldn't give a shit what happens with it (about .4% sure that is the case).
Basically I can only see bright things for you and this project, Doc. I'm not just saying that because I wet myself every time I see a new demo update, and then wet myself again when I'm playing it, but I honestly think, from putting 2 and 2 together and from experience and observing things around the Internet, that this project will see through to the end, polished and completely accounted for.
I wish you the best of luck, Doc; you're almost home.
- MJN
P.S:
Oh. My. God.
!!!!!!!!!!G.R.A.V.I.T.Y. S.U.I.T!!!!!!!!!! (Losing my mind. I can't fucking wait!)
im very anxious to be playing the last parts of the game
im impressive with your work, and im pleased to test it before the formal release
with that screenshot i want to have the gravity suit!
keep the good work and inform us later when you have Area 5 done!
Can't wait to see the final game.
Not what I was expecting, to be honest, but I can certainly see things moving that way after the end of the last area that was released.
One of the things I really liked about Metroid 2 was that it felt like you were getting further and further from civilization the deeper you went.. into a metroid hive deep in the darkest reaches of the planet - where nothing else could survive.
I'm all the more curious to see how to handle the Queen area now - whether it will be a desolate, dark, lonely cavern, or some proverbial hell that will require everything you learned up until that point..
Keep up the great work!
Keep up the good work Doc, show those fools at Nintendo how a REAL Metroid game is made.
Really wish they (the zetas) could get hit by a beam weapon of some kind, then there wouldn't be the problem of restarting the fight because the missiles ran out again. Really hate it when that happens.
when your 'done' will you be adding the entirety of metroid 1 and super metroid to the game?
need more content *nods*
I've just tested it on my debian kernel 3.2.0-4-amd64 and it work really fine and smooth. Just check the keyboard, don't have a keypad.
Really good work.
Regards,
Johann
Go for it MAN!!
te sigo desde hace 4 años
saludos desde chile
I trust you on that
Anyways i'm glad that someone decided to make this and we are all grateful even on this demo let alone finished game itself. I'm looking forward to see it's finished...
When finished with the game, will you post a map where all the items are at?
Sure, I'll try and beat it without the map, but I like a map to see where the items are and how to get them too.
In update 1.32, the controls for a joypad were all labeled as the respective button (at least with an xbox controller) and all buttons were usable, which made it very easy to set them to a very natural-feeling configuration.
However, in the 1.41 update, the buttons were labeled as "Button 1" or "Button 2" and the left and right bumpers are no longer usable, which was a bit disappointing.
I understand it's not finished and this will likely be addressed anyway, but I just wanted to make sure it was out there.
We love you.
As always, take your time. This game has so much heart on it to rush.
Thanks for your dedication.
As someone who is dabbling into GBA development.... It'd be very hard.
AM2R is being developped using Game Maker, a tool that makes game development on the PC rather easy (compared to building everything up from scratch).
Development for the GBA requires building everything up from scratch (essentially programming in C++ and compiling over the specific chip the handheld uses) which precludes using Game Maker, and is very non-intuitive.
As for modding existing games, like Metroid Zero Mission, that'd probably drastically limit what could be done with the game, as most modding limits itself to changing the look of things, and mybe altering the specific layouts of rooms, but adding new functionalities is usually next-to or outright impossible while modding.
Also, on the topic of music, will the Larvae's theme still be in AM2R?
Keep up the great work, Dr, can't wait for the next update!
Thank you so much for doing this!
I agree that Nintendo has their eye on this project. I highly doubt that they haven't heard or seen of it in the past several years you've been working on it. I don't know what they've been intending to do, but i'm pretty sure if you were gonna get a C&D, then they'd have sent it by now. I'm pretty sure they've noticed the differences between fans' reactions to AM2R and to Federation Force, and are regretting not following in your footsteps. (As far as MP:FF, it looks like $h!T but i'll give it a chance when it's released.)
Please ignore all the people saying to change things, or add things, or remove things. Also ignore the people saying to speed up development. This game is your child, and it's quite a beautiful and popular one. I hope you make it exactly how it was intended, and that you don't cut any corners to speed up development time. Even if it takes another three years to finish development, we'll all still be here, waiting. Also, you do release stable demos every so often, so we all do get new content, which i really enjoy :)
I'm glad you're making the next installment in the Metroid series since Corruption, and that its quality rivals and maybe even exceeds that of Prime and Super. Keep up the good work!
I just want to say that the quality of your work has been absolutely astounding and I am honored to have been able to play these demos. Keep up the great work, and know that a vast majority of your fans here are patient and want you to take your time so this game can be the best it can be. Thank you very much for one of the best gaming experiences i have had yet.
Just thought I'd drop an idea. Good luck with the rest of the game!
1: Beams fire rate slows down each time you get a new weapon powerup. One might think this ok because lets face it, you don't want to be overpowered. Funny then that Zero Mission's fire rate was the same speed throughout. Also, Plasma beams are so wavy that they sometimes miss enemies.
2: I said it once, I'l say it again. METROIDS NEED TO DROP SUPER MISSILES! It would be a natural instinct for players to use the super missile against metroids, especially Zetas (which, on a side note, their weak point is too small and too well defended to defeat the without taking a beating) once they obtain it. So why can't they drop super missiles too?
3: Maybe the fact that the last area after getting the power bomb is so small it doesn't matter much, but I still notice that no enemies drop power bombs. Backtracking is natural in Metroid games, but having to backtrack to a save station just so you can have power bombs just makes no sense. This is why enemies drop stuff.
4: Why is the lower tower a forced-failure situation. Making a "hurry up" section which your two options are death or lose all but 5 health doesn't seem right. Yeah, there is that one E-tank if you go back down, but I didn't know that at first and ended up dying a bunch of times trying to go back to a save station in the upper tower. After so many times, I went back down and found the e-tank and was like "Oh come on!!!"
But it is doing better. The above stick out like a sore thumb to me. Good luck.