Those screenshots look just damn beautiful,Im liking this romhack so far,also a suggestion,maybe you can change Samus's sprite overtime?Thanks. Regarding Samus' Sprite i experimented with some designs but am not really satisfied yet. Turns out shaping landscapes is far more easy for me than drawing good figurative designs. That being said, it's on top of my to do. Whenever I've got something finished worth mentioning I'll let you know and work it into the Hack.
Graphics look interesting, I'm not really into Metroid but I might try this once it's released.Nice to see your interest.
About image hosting sites, I use Photobucket, which works ok, but it usualy takes me more than 10 minutes to upload a single picture(this could actually be due to my internet speed but I'm unsure).
Ironicaly, Imgur is a little faster for me and rarely screws up, but a few people told me that Photobucket is better, so i switched.
There is also Imageshack, though I haven't really used it.
My first playground with Character Sprites. I'm on a learning exercise, on the way but not quite there i think. What do you think?
(http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l603/mindflowersparty/Mobile%20Uploads/samus%20draft_zpsxlrb3alv.png)
My first playground with Character Sprites. I'm on a learning exercise, on the way but not quite there i think. What do you think?Honestly they are a bit underwellming at the moment.
(http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l603/mindflowersparty/Mobile%20Uploads/samus%20draft_zpsxlrb3alv.png)
As I have some R&R tonight I made a concept reference if you want to use it. It should fit as there is some space in front of Samus's feet. Do what you want with it. Tried to make it look like the Zero Mission stance :)
(https://i.imgur.com/MHU5k0p.gif)
Not a problem :)
Oh, was it too big? I judged it from what I saw via a screenshot I took and looking at the YYCHR info it had so made it a tad bigger from the original to fit into the allotted area given. No matter man, glad to help :)
Mindflower amazing sprite :thumbsup: samus armorThanks.
is finished .... the will have different models of armor
this cool, one of the best armor sprites :thumbsup:
thanks for your work, I hope to see the Metroid Space Complex project completed
will have original story or cinematic argument as Rogue Dawn ;)
Another incomplete tilesheet,
underwater underground!
(http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l603/mindflowersparty/Mobile%20Uploads/underwater%20underground_zpsgoh7dy4h.png)
Well this i a lot of work to be honest! I wanted to show the work during formation.
Something about the color scheme of your tilesets reminds me of Batman: The Animated Series. I think it's the dark backgrounds.The Metroid Engine is set this way, that you ONLY have a foreground layer, means 'air'/passable tiles are always in front of the sprites. That's one real knockback one has to deal with when hacking this game.
That looks damn beautiful,Im surprised that Sinis helped you out with this one,maybe he can help you out more?
That looks damn beautiful,Im surprised that Sinis helped you out with this one,maybe he can help you out more?Well, i initially had the idea of having different suits for Samus for each area. This is exactly what Sinis is doing for me, which i appreciate a lot!
Oh,lol my mistake then,but still it looks great! :)Thank you Sir
great work is great, here an intro of 8 bits of cinematic cut
an idea for a new intro for Metroid space complex, in the end, the ship appears
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEauWK9SE3k (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEauWK9SE3k)
(http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l603/mindflowersparty/Mobile%20Uploads/test%20rom-5_zpslpzg4gmx.png)
It looks great!Well that was one synergy effect for sure. I composed the cave theme for my hack first. I presented the track to one of my bands, they wanted to make a song of it. We arranged and played the song in the rehearsal, composed more parts for the song. And from those new parts in turn i composed one more cave theme, the boss part!
Heh heh nice,glad to see another track is done and Im surprise that you got help this time? :)
Ahhh,okay then :)
Also I hope you manage to do the wall jump part?
Excellent Mind,I think you should change the sprites to the title if you can get any help with it? :)Let's see, i guess I can work that out, too. But i concentrate on several other things first.
You know - if the ship had been a sprite instead, you could have cut the used tiles in half.
The ship is pretty much symetrical and tiles used in sprites can be mirrored or flipped when drawn to the screen.
Just a thought.
/dACE
Would require serious asm coding, and further expansion (cause the sprite pages are also limited and already nearly used up), but it would be nice and allow for lotsa more varied landscape. Would you know how to accomplish such a thing?
Well - you have to make up your mind of what’s more important: a impressive ship OR a varied background/enemy-fauna.
You are working with limitations when it comes to hacking old games - the challenge is to find a good balance between what you want to do and what you actually can do.
/dACE
Awesome to hear Mindflower,enjoy your break!
incredible sprite work overall. I really want to play this game.
I'm loving this hack's aesthetic greatly.
That looks freakin awesome!!!
great, the idea of ​​different types of armor for the phases areas are still active
also the zero suit, the sprites are great for the NES
great job :thumbsup:
at the end of the project it may be better to Rogue Dawn :D
pd: wanting to see the map of the area in HUD and the selection menu of type of armor and weapons :o
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1916/31246130878_a06e0fc7d2.jpg)
Glad that the sprite turned out nicely. Wasn't sure on what palette you were going to use :)
By the way, it will be in a few weeks where I can start working on enemy sprites for you if ya still want me to. Was waiting around for details last time but got nothing back so wasn't sure on what was up lol :)
This project is kicking so much ass right now, I'm loving the progress and can't wait to play this bad boy when it's done. :thumbsup:Thanks!
Glad to see this chugging along. I can't wait to see the finished project.Glad you like it. This would be a great addition, as well as downward shooting.
If I had a suggestion, i'd maybe include a crouch. Crouch would have been difficult with the old sprites being so chunky but I feel with Silis' sprites, crouching could be added so you can fire low and high and double tap down to enter morphing ball similar to Super Metroid.
Just an idea, in the end the direction is up to you and it's looking great!
I honestly can't wait to see the whole game finished. This looks damn great.
I can't wait to play this! What a fantastic job! I love the screenshots I've seen so far. I thought what was done with Rogue Dawn was the height of what could be done with the original Metroid, but never imagined what you are doing by creating creative alien environments that are so detailed! Good luck with the project!
-SkyeWelse
Man, I can't wait to play this one <3Have to agree with these statements, this is looking top shelf quality!
the whole game will be ported to MMC3? cool :thumbsup:Yes, I took a new ROM of Metroid that was already ported to MMC3 and had all the asm changes from Rogue Dawn plus several new ones, and begun my Space Complex Edit from Scratch. What you see here actually is my first actual Screen. All the graphic and level edits i wanna keep i'll bring over from my old Space Complex-ROM.
Sinis help in the project with customized sprite yet?Sinis does all the Samus Sprites and most of the enemy sprites too.
Optomon .... or others ....
thanks for the project, awaiting its launch :woot!:
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/497777257712975884/597577302892609580/First_Two_Screens_Quantize.gif)Nice!
The first two Screens in the game.
I love the red suit. samus is ultra fast XDI am new to Gifcam and with this I set the fps maybe a bit too high, thus the fast speed.
Samus looks good, but the gunship feels too big.It was loooong work to bring it over from Super Metroid (means pixel by pixel, making it function with NES's limited palette, assigning enough tiles to it (almost an entire CHR page,...). Samus is quite a lot bigger in Super Metroid, so it makes for another proportion.
Could it be scaled down?
I actually really liked the purple/blue palette. Is a color change in the cards for later acquired suits?Sure. Depends a bit on the color scheme of the surroundings, and what suits and contrasts these well. Suit and palette are a set for each area. Also, the transition between suits will be during the area transition (= while you ride the elevator), keep that in mind.
The later things i progressed with were mainly in Brinstar.These look good. I do have a question is her running animation missing a frame or is her stride not very long?
Sinis created great enemy sprites, and i got it all right coloured now. :)
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/605187336682209311/Palette_4.gif)
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/605187338330439700/Palette_5.gif)
and at the moment i'm recreating my old Brinstar tiles.
OLD example:
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/605403114916413453/Brinstar_hill.png)
and NEW:
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/605502757897633820/Latest_Brinstar_tiles_2019-07-29.gif)
|=> here you see i redid the HUD (numbers, energy meter, health pickups, e-tanks).
These look good. I do have a question is her running animation missing a frame or is her stride not very long?Hmm I guess that correlates with the animated choppiness of the Gifs for itself. You had to see it in action to really see it.
Your work is amazing Mindflower. I look forward to playing to final project. I will patiently wait for this.Cool, thanks!
Hmm I guess that correlates with the animated choppiness of the Gifs for itself. You had to see it in action to really see it.No worries, gif's can be troublesome. Given how great everything else looks it seems reasonable it looks right. I was only curious.
There was a change though in the running animation from the old 1 2 3 1 2 3 to a 1 2 3 2 1 2 3 2 pattern. I don't know how much the frame values have changed too. I could send you a tiny test screen (so no spoiler alert) for you to see. I would be curious how you appraise the animation live and in action.
Love the woods and those flames are so smooth! Really looking forward to this one MF. It's gonna be one of the big ones! <3Agreed! This looks like it's really coming along nicely!
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/623563326605230099/more_objects.gif)
Please help me with a vote, need color help:
http://forum.metroidconstruction.com/index.php/topic,4094.0.html (http://forum.metroidconstruction.com/index.php/topic,4094.0.html)
I'd go the first one (darkest one) as it is a background and it emphasizes the foreground better
My vote here (2nd color sample) :thumbsup:
of the 3 color sample models of Metroid Complex
- My vote is for the 2nd image, which is central
- has better colors and more intense
- sprites are seen with better definition and color
the project is getting better every time, good job :beer:
are you programming in MMC 5?
Love the woods and those flames are so smooth! Really looking forward to this one MF. It's gonna be one of the big ones! <3
Agreed! This looks like it's really coming along nicely!
... Holy shit.
This looks like a TurboGrafx-16 game. If not for the lower color depth, it would almost look like a Mega Drive game. You're clearly a time traveling Space Wizard.
Nice work, Mindflower! I am quite impressed.
Incredible!!!
My argument for the 1st image is because the colors are bright in the 2nd and 3rd examples, they draw attention more whereas in the 1st, a background image being slightly duller doesn't distract from what is in the foreground. That way you can have brighter colors in the plain you're actually traversing, for power-ups, enemies, etc without worrying about it being confused with the background. The foreground should be highlighted and the background should frame it. This is the way things work in the majority of games for exactly this reason but nevertheless, this is just my subjective opinion. I just thought i'd expand on why ^_^
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/370769094414434304/628900623487729664/frame_time_8.gif)I this the slower animation looks good. It might look a better if you slowed it down 20% - 25% more. Only my opinion though. As is it looks good!
added some tiles and made the animation a tad slower.
I this the slower animation looks good. It might look a better if you slowed it down 20% - 25% more. Only my opinion though. As is it looks good!
While I agree with Shade Aurion on the matter of making things easier to dissociate for the eye.
I far prefer the 3rd and don't like the first much.
I think you have excellent graphics and you spent some good time making the pillar look round.
On the first picture, the problem - imho - is that while things stand out, they stand out too much, and the pillar, along with the whole background lost all its volume which is pretty sad.
The 2nd looks too unified because everything is greenish and it makes it harder to dissociate things.
And while the 3rd is as bright as the 2nd, planes are easier to read as you have a much different color for the ground than the grass(and you keep the volume).
So the eye can easily break out parts in the image.
I guess it's just a matter of opinions, and while Shade Aurion really made a valid point, I don't think it is worth "killing" your impressive artwork.
Your combined efforts look incredible.
Technically, it barely resembles a NES game !
My argument for the 1st image is because the colors are bright in the 2nd and 3rd examples, they draw attention more whereas in the 1st, a background image being slightly duller doesn't distract from what is in the foreground. That way you can have brighter colors in the plain you're actually traversing, for power-ups, enemies, etc without worrying about it being confused with the background. The foreground should be highlighted and the background should frame it. This is the way things work in the majority of games for exactly this reason but nevertheless, this is just my subjective opinion. I just thought i'd expand on why ^_^
Well, see for yourself how that turns out. I changed it from 8 frames per animation frame to 10.I was thinking the other way around, 6 frames per instead of 8.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/637400267519819816/heat_10_fpf_animation.gif)
I was thinking the other way around, 6 frames per instead of 8.
6! ;)Oh, I think I misunderstood how the mechanics of the frame display works. I was thinking the lower the number the slower the frame animation. Seems to be the other way around. In that case, yes, 10 looks better. But that's just me. It's the whole atmosphere thing for that area of the game. Convection currents add to the feel of the area, just not too fast. Of course there is the possibility of using a gradient. For upper areas of Norfiar use less bright graphics and slower animation because those areas are naturally cooler, but for lower Norfair use more bright gradients and faster animations because it's hotter down there. Only ideas. I have no idea what the code can do or what limitations are at play..
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/637696865743142922/heat__6_frames_per_anima_frame.gif)
... you called it "slowing down", so i was misled.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Well, why not have them side by side for comparison?
again 6:
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/637696865743142922/heat__6_frames_per_anima_frame.gif)
8:
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/370769094414434304/628900623487729664/frame_time_8.gif)
10:
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/637400267519819816/heat_10_fpf_animation.gif)
What do you like best?
If framerate (of an animation) is too low, your brain will see it as a series of separate images instead of as continuous motion (and conversely, rapid enough is how apparent animation via still images works). The 10 frame delay for the heat distortion shows this problem especially: it doesn't look like heat distortion, it looks like the background is snapping between images. While the 6 frame delay may look like it's wiggling a little fast, it also looks the most continuous. 8 is right at the threshold; to me it looks a little choppy, but I expect some people see it as fluid and I expect that's why it was the initial version shown off (it seems to be an acceptable trade-off between animation speed and apparent continuity).Very good points. To be fair, the above examples are GIFs, the look in actual gameplay is likely to be a bit different.
Complicating matters is that different people have a different tolerance for how low a framerate can get before they stop seeing a series of images appearing as a continuous animation. So, good luck. Personally my vote is for 6, but it's just nit-picking, they all actually look pretty great.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/631240823845158953/desert_today.png)
This is my latest Desert WIP test screen. It's not finished, but i want to go in a different direction here, with the absence of black, different palettes and style.
Oh, I think I misunderstood how the mechanics of the frame display works. I was thinking the lower the number the slower the frame animation. Seems to be the other way around. In that case, yes, 10 looks better. But that's just me. It's the whole atmosphere thing for that area of the game. Convection currents add to the feel of the area, just not too fast. Of course there is the possibility of using a gradient. For upper areas of Norfiar use less bright graphics and slower animation because those areas are naturally cooler, but for lower Norfair use more bright gradients and faster animations because it's hotter down there. Only ideas. I have no idea what the code can do or what limitations are at play..
If framerate (of an animation) is too low, your brain will see it as a series of separate images instead of as continuous motion (and conversely, rapid enough is how apparent animation via still images works). The 10 frame delay for the heat distortion shows this problem especially: it doesn't look like heat distortion, it looks like the background is snapping between images. While the 6 frame delay may look like it's wiggling a little fast, it also looks the most continuous. 8 is right at the threshold; to me it looks a little choppy, but I expect some people see it as fluid and I expect that's why it was the initial version shown off (it seems to be an acceptable trade-off between animation speed and apparent continuity).
Complicating matters is that different people have a different tolerance for how low a framerate can get before they stop seeing a series of images appearing as a continuous animation. So, good luck. Personally my vote is for 6, but it's just nit-picking, they all actually look pretty great.
Very good points. To be fair, the above examples are GIFs, the look in actual gameplay is likely to be a bit different.Well yes, good points.
The sudden shift from mostly dark and moody atmospheres, to a bright blue sky and bright desert, may be a bit harsh and not very cohesive.I haven't yet tried out, what impression the transition to the desert looks and feels like, but you made a valid point.
You could try having the desert at night. Or making the sky more grey.
(https://wallpaperstream.com/wallpapers/full/landscape-hd/Desert-During-Night.jpg)
Looks great. Also, I might check out PyxelEdit myself. Photoshop is kinda tedious for pixel art. I use Aseprite too.Aseprite i want to include too in my app collection very soon. It also is about to get a tileset feature.
Heat suit for the game :thumbsup:
Updated from the old versions that I had going for MindFlower. I'm introducing my 'Sentinel' suit design that takes a new animation approach so that way everything doesn't feel the same within the game along with a slimmer look instead of the bulky battle suits you have been seeing :beer:
(https://i.imgur.com/0MBgRCY.jpg)
Is there much to release? The project is improving. :thumbsup:
Heat suit for the game :thumbsup:
Updated from the old versions that I had going for MindFlower. I'm introducing my 'Sentinel' suit design that takes a new animation approach so that way everything doesn't feel the same within the game along with a slimmer look instead of the bulky battle suits you have been seeing :beer:
(https://i.imgur.com/0MBgRCY.jpg)
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/697171449131302912/Hello.gif)Very cool! It looks refined.
Hello!
And this hot area (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/519241262029602826/697088015805317261/heat_wave_volcano.gif) is meant to be accompanied by this track i composed late summer.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/519241262029602826/697088037334548550/Leitton_2.0.mp3 (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/519241262029602826/697088037334548550/Leitton_2.0.mp3)
I did break the long time hacking hiatus. Trying to organize my works more to make more progress. This actual quarantine situation is quite well suited for hacking, so i took the opportunity. Hope you're all doing great and stay healthy! Cheers
Thanks y'all and Happy Easter.
Sum impressions from my later tinkerings in Surface Level Area (Brinstar).
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/370769094414434304/698884148018020463/Hello_Brinstar_2.gif)
Wondering if you have considered (or if it's even possible) to animate the colour palette as the transition from area to area happens.Hi mdtauk,
I noticed going from blue to grey at one point, and I remembered that Super Metroid fades the scene out and in when moving through doors.
Nice work Flower. I agree that the X doesn't match. the rest of the lettering.
[...]
Is the "X" intentionally stylized differently from the other letters? If so, I think it should be more dramatic.
Otherwise, I think it should be wider.
Looking good but the X from Complex looks kind of squished compared to the rest.I already gave the 'X' another shot.
Also looks like a misformed H in my opinion. :P
The rock on the metal supports looks like a head. Intentional?[/quote]
wow, your screenshots look fantastic !To be honest, yes, and i think i will change it to something else, it's a bit infantile and silly.
As for the Title screen I know it's not finished, but I don't understand what I'm looking at in the middle of the picture :(
What's under the "P" ?
looks like a glass globe in blue, ok, but what's under the rock just below it then ?
The ship is well placed in the sun.
That looks great so far! Love the logo and the brown asteroids on the right/middle!It's actually meant to be a dwarf star (so the redder colouring), and those shine less bright than usual stars, a bit in the redder range.
The orange planetoid on the left looks a little flat to me, though. I assume that part has yet to be finalized or something... hopefully in the final product it will be shaded as well as the others :yay:
That's really good man. I have some comments!So, first of all, gladly i still have 28 tiles left (8x8 px tiles), so i have yet some room to work with.
I'm not sure why, but the blue guy in the bubble was the last thing I noticed.
The scale of everything in the FG seemed enormous until I saw him... that the structure + tethered rock(?) was maybe the size of a 40 story building.
After spotting him, I'm having trouble gauging the size of everything. The scene seems too epic to be focused on something the size of a 2 story house.
I think the tether on the right might look better at a different angle - or, redrawing the thing securing it to be angled out further. It looks odd to me that these are not pointing in the exact same direction.
Those are asteroids, right? If possible I think they should have some variety rather than all looking exactly the same. The closest one looks identical to the medium sized ones, too, except for the tethers.
Looking forward to what's to come! Nice work!
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537308732737060864/697171449131302912/Hello.gif)That looks very cool! Just excellent!
Hello!
And this hot area (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/519241262029602826/697088015805317261/heat_wave_volcano.gif) is meant to be accompanied by this track i composed late summer.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/519241262029602826/697088037334548550/Leitton_2.0.mp3 (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/519241262029602826/697088037334548550/Leitton_2.0.mp3)
I did break the long time hacking hiatus. Trying to organize my works more to make more progress. This actual quarantine situation is quite well suited for hacking, so i took the opportunity. Hope you're all doing great and stay healthy! Cheers
That looks very cool! Just excellent!
The music sounds great! Great job.