Project AM2R - Another Metroid 2 Remake

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. 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 ph...

Trying out the GMS Android export module was a very interesting process. On the technical side, the game ran straight away without having to do any change to the code. I was, at that point however, unable to go past the title screen, since I didn't have any touch controls coded. After some minor headaches with the scale and positioning, I was able to add a virtual dpad and some buttons. The game is playable, but implementing touch controls for such a complex game is going to be a challenge. All the mobile games I played that have decent touch controls are extremely simple, 2 directions and 1 or 2 buttons. AM2R not only has plenty of buttons, but one of the main features of the game, the Metroid fights, relies heavily on diagonal aiming. It took me 3 tries to beat the first Alpha with the improvised touch controls, so this feature will require a lot more work than I initially thought. Besides the in-game controls, the menus should be touch enabled, and the map could use sw...

I'm happy to announce that, thanks to a promotion in the YoYoGames store, I could afford a Game Maker Master Collection license for a decent price. This will allow me to experiment with several compile targets. AM2R could then, in theory, be ported to mobile. I'll post here if I can manage to do anything cool. One of the main mechanics to be used in Area 5 is working so far. This means I can now finish adjusting the layout of the overall area, so this new mechanic is used properly. I recently shifted my attention to the Omega Metroid sprite. The animations of the Zeta ended up looking pretty nice, and now the Omega will be receiving a similar treatment. New frames were drawn for some of the body parts, and the color pallette is being tweaked constantly, to match the environment of the Omega Nest. And last but not least, the first official Wallpaper Pack is now available at the DOWNLOADS  page, thanks to the awesome ZimK . There's more coming soon, so stay tuned.

Finally, the soundtrack received its official update. Now you can listen to the new, improved songs in either lossless or high bitrate mp3s. Also, the soundtrack now features an awesome album cover, made by the talented Zim K . She'll be contributing with custom made promo art for the project. DOWNLOAD HERE

This time, it's a couple of small fixes, and some improvements to the soundtrack. GET IT HERE NEW IN 1.41 - Added new song for Zeta fights - Made some adjustments to Alpha, Gamma, Area4A, Area4B songs - Fixed the Tester exploit - Changed the layout of one of the Zeta rooms, harder to exploit now - Fixed Motos getting stuck in the jumping state The updated soundtrack will be available by this weekend / early next week. Have fun!

Just a quick heads up, I uploaded the Linux version of AM2R Demo 1.4. You'll find the updated links in the Demo 1.4 Download page . Please share your experiences in THIS  forum topic, if you have any trouble with this build. Thank you very much for all the positive comments and suggestions. It's really comforting to see all the work that was put into an area to be enjoyed by people. During the course of this week I'll be updating the soundtrack as well, so stay tuned. Have a good week!

After a lot of work (more than I anticipated), here's a nice little update. DOWNLOAD HERE WHAT'S NEW: Acess to a new area New mechanic: Shinespark with variable height. Tap/Hold Jump while charged New control option: Analog walking with joypads is now optional New save format, it can be copied to other computers without issues Plenty of bug fixes and other improvements Compared to Area 3, Area 4 will feel a bit smaller in scale. It does, however, have some cool moments. It was quite a challenge, every mechanic introduced had its fair share of bugs and issues. But here we are, one big step closer to finish the game. Also, this weekend will be special. The great people at the Speed Demos Archives will be hosting another Metroid Speedrun Marathon. The awesome Dragondarch will be doing a Normal 100% run of the 1.4 demo this Saturday at 13:45 EDT. I'll do my best to attend, at least on the chat room. EVENT SCHEDULE - Will be broadcast at twitch....