Metroid - Rogue Dawn

[Grimlock]

There has been more activity on the RD thread over at RHDN (romhacking.net) so I figured it might be a good idea to bring this one up to date.

Optomon has posted 3 potential tracks for the in game music:

Track A

Track B

Track C


The slope detection setup is about 75% done.  The areas that have the slope detection integrated are pretty much final with the exception being some sprite and palette work in a few locations.

A screenshot I posted at RHDN:


[/quote]

[Quietus]

This looks so good for Nestroid - it's almost unrecognisable. :^_^:

[Mayo-chan]

I am so hyped for the hack to come out, could you show us gameplay when you get slope detection finalized?

[Grimlock]

I am so hyped for the hack to come out, could you show us gameplay when you get slope detection finalized?

I'm going to put together some gameplay footage to demonstrate the slope detection and post it once I get the last couple areas wrapped up.  I'm about 2 weeks out right now but that depends on how much free time I have (could be a little sooner).

[A Dummy]

Awesome to see this is still making progress, definitely looking forward to when you're able to finish this.

[Grimlock]

We are 5 days shy of our 1 year mark.  Back when I started working on RD I had the goal in mind to be wrapped up in less than one year, I suppose to prove that a quality hack could be produced and released in that timeframe.  In that time the project has grown in so many ways and has developed further than I had imagined.  We obviously won't make the original 1 year goal but we aren't too far out at this point even with the various additions we've made to the original design.  We'll see beta play testing in August and hopefully a release (realistically) in September depending on available time.  I've had a few set backs on the personal front with a major theft that occurred last month.  Working on RD has been my therapy.  2015 completion is certain.  :nod:

[advancedpillow]

Hyped.:bounce:
You have no idea! ...Maybe you do.

[Grimlock]

Something I drafted up today in Tile Layer Pro:

[spoiler]

Dawn Aran's coworkers and occupants of her ship...

(There is four of them because there is 4 animation frames.  Animating the graphic will be the next step)

It's hand drawn, I just had an image of the Super Metroid graphic open for reference.

[/spoiler]

[SpoOkyMagician]

@Grimlock: Neat. :D

~ SpoOkyMagician

[PKstarship]

In the second screenshot for Ridley, I see a gray door. is this a one-way door like in super metroid?

[RealRed]

[spoiler]
Dawn Aran[/spoiler]

Hmmm

[MetroidMst]

Looks like it's starting to dawn on people.

[Grimlock]

In the second screenshot for Ridley, I see a gray door. is this a one-way door like in super metroid?

It's a super secret, you'll have to play through the game to find out.  :wink:  :grin:

Actually this area represents a federation research ship that was blasted out of orbit (by your ship) just before the game starts.  Some of the doors may be experiencing technical difficulties, as well as other sections of the ship.  I'm actually going to be changing the area up some to make it look more like a science vessel.  I was considering changing the warm color palette (orange) to a more cool color set (blueish).  The only problem is the area you come from is very blue.  In the end I may stick with the orange if I can't come up with a better color palette.


RealRed, this might clear up the name a bit:

I posted some more info on the background and storyline of "Rogue Dawn" on the Board 2 and RHDN:

Board 2 post:

Regarding the timeline of the hack, it takes place just before Metroid 1.  The hack is designed around the background given in the Metroid 1 instruction manual.  Basically it illustrates how the metroid species was discovered by a research team on planet SR388.  When their ship was preparing to take a specimen from the planet to a distant research station it was attacked and ultimately the specimen fell into the hands of a pirate group who later took the specimen to planet ZEBES.

The game begins just after the research vessel is attacked high above SR388 and forced to crash land on the planet's surface.  You play as Ridleys shadow agent/assassin, awaken from your hibernation sleep ordered to seek out and recover a sample of the specimen.  You have no knowledge of your origins, the only human in a pirate group led by a ruthless over lord by the name of "Ridley".  The only part of your past life that remains is a name "Dawn Aran".  Your entire existence spanning from early childhood has been catered to mold you into the ultimate dark operative, manipulated and distorted to carry out the will of the pirate leadership.

Obviously the main character is blood related to Samus Aran.  Dawn Aran was abducted from a colony by the pirate faction in the event that killed Samus's family and the rest of the colony.  Dawn is thought to have perished long ago.  There was never a mention of a sister in any comic series that I am aware of but it could easily be that Samus had cousins and other family members in the colony she lived in as a child.

Ultimately "Metroid - Rogue Dawn" reveals why Samus is so obsessed with eradicating the Metroid threat.... Samus's own family is directly responsible.

[PKstarship]

I have to say, pretty much all of the metroid hacks out there just change the layouts and maybe the graphics, but I can see a lot of time has been put into this hack to make it stand out from all the rest. I mean, a new story, slope detection, and new power-ups? this might be the first Metroid NES hack to feature new power-ups! I really look foward to playing this when it's released  :^_^:

[DonnyDonovan]

Visually this looks simply amazing. 

[PKstarship]

A while ago, I was messing around adding game genie codes to Metroid+saving 4.0, and I ran across a code that made the save screen appear when I pressed start. This made me want to ask: could a save and quit feature be added on the pause screen along with the map? I ask this because it can be very difficult at end-game to die, but if you want to stop playing, you have to TRY to get samus killed, and that can be suprisingly difficult. This is the ONLY problem I have with Metroid, so if a save and quit option was added to this, Rogue Dawn will be the perfect Metroid hack  :^_^:

[snarfblam]

Metroid has an often overlooked feature where you can pause and then press Up + A on the second controller. In the original game this takes you to the password screen. In Metroid + Saving, it takes you to the Save/Continue/Quit screen.

[PKstarship]

I know you can input that with the second controller to save Metroid and Legend of Zelda, but it feels more like a cheat code more than a game feature. I also play my games on a Kindle Fire, and it would be difficult and absurd to sync two conrollers to my emulator just to save my game more easily. I also used to play Metroid on the GBA where there was no easy save like that. I just think it would be a simple thing to add for people who don't know this secret, or can't easily use it.

[Grimlock]

I need some opinions on this newly modified graphics set & palette change for the crashed ship (Ridley) area, which one do you guys prefer and why?



Crashed Research Vessel:



Old Version:




Old Version:

[Grimlock]

Here's the same graphics set with the light fully on (I was going to make the first half of the ship in darkness and the second half fully lit).

[PKstarship]

Personally, to me the blue palette makes the ship feel like Ceres Station in Super Metroid, which I like, except for the fact that the orange really clashes with it. the old palette feels better lit, and less abandoned. I can't tell if that Mother Brain glass case in the fifth photo is part of the background or not. I like the blue palette better, but could you use a different, perhaps darker, shade of blue for background elements to make them look more like part of the background, and possibly change that shade of orange? Also, I just can't see the healing thing having any color other than blue, but this is just my opinion :^_^:

Was gonna post but saw your brand new post with the lights on palette. this maintains the abandoned feel, while still feeling lit-up. I like it!

[Grimlock]

The theme of the area has been changed from an abandoned ship to a crashed Federation research ship (Was blasted out of orbit just before the game starts).  It's a science vessel so I'm trying to make it fit the theme better.

[QwaserTresa]

The new graphic set looks amazing and its clearly an improvement over the old one with that said the old tile set looks difrent enough to be used somewhere else.
In regards to the pallets the dark blue with red lighting one has more impact than the fully lit up one because the lighting effect is not as pronounced on the fully lit one as it is on the darker pallete.

EDIT: I take it back making the lit up rooms yellowish wouldnt look dat good now that I think about it.

Am in favor of the newer graphic and pallets but the old stuff doesn't look bad.

[biospark]

I like the old palette much better. The old palette seems quite natural to me while the blue is strikingly unnatural. Both graphics sets look fine though.

[PKstarship]

On second thought, I think that the old palette should be the lights-on palette...