[M1] Metroid - Rogue Dawn - Version 1.21

[SacredHooves]

@Grimlock I rarely use wave so maybe Spring Ball and Wall Jump because they are the newest items

[RealRed]

Wall jump and Bomb.

[ElusivSanity]

Def wave beam.  Always feel like i don't get enough time with it (especially in original game) and it just makes shooting things so much more fun.

Don't know what to say about suit.  I like the refined suit look, but i like Dawn's look even more.  I would hate to see half the game go to the suit, especially with a 2nd playthrough as Samus. I think the fewer places you keep the suit to, the more of a unique feel it carries while still keeping the game very 'Dawn Aran'....if that makes any sense.  So i would vote very little or no suit areas.

Or if u want to change her look you can just go classic and put her in a bikini for the water areas ;)

[Grimlock]

Update 1.20 is now moving into the initial testing phase, if all goes well with the new ASM modifications and various other updates we'll be moving into music integration followed by our final release.  Version 1.20 will be the final version of the game.  Future updates (if any) will be limited to major bug fixes (though we don't anticipate any).  Usually once we reach this stage we're a day or two from passing the ROM for music integration and about a week from completion (additional testing required after music integration).

[Steel Sparkle]

Cool. looking forward to it's release.

[vivify93]

Excellent news! Thank you for keeping us posted, Grimlock. I hope you'll have a smooth testing phase. So excited for the new version.

[Daltone]

[spoiler][/spoiler]

pumped for 1.2

[SacredHooves]

I am counting down the mere moments until 1.2 comes out. I can't wait to tare into it :D

[Grimlock]

1.20 Update:

We worked out the final issue holding us back from handing the update off to Optomon for music integration.  One final play through is all that is required.    :cool:

[Steel Sparkle]

Cool. Can't wait :3

[OneOf99]

Awesome, this update is something I've been waiting for!

[vivify93]

When it comes out, it'll prove to all of us that it was definitely worth the wait! :D

[squishy_ichigo]

Generic message about this topic! While also praising how great it is! Can't wait to do the thing! Can I help!?
imaplaydatshitthowhenitcomesoutjustsayingallshitpostingasideroguedawnispgudyoyoushouldplayitifyouhaventitslikethebestnestroidis

[SacredHooves]

@vivify93 You'll prove it to us all eh? Sounds like some kind of thing we could turn into a race :D Which of course when 1.2 drops I have a lot of prep work to do for that.

@Grimlock WOOT! My need to speed run RD will be sustained! :p

[chris2balls]

[spoiler]hope i can post links now...

been playing this on my nes classic and just finished it last night. amazing. love everything about it. best metroid game since metroid prime. don't understand any of the complaints. maybe they were only from a couple people, but still, dead wrong.

the art design in this game is phenomenal. one of the most beautiful 8-bit games i've ever seen. the alien vegetation. the rain. the waterfalls. nice.

the warping was an inspired choice. when it first occurred (after the jump boots) it threw me, but i quickly realized what was happening. brilliant way to streamline backtracking.

loved all the easter eggs. it really rewarded exploration. i totally ignored the map throughout my playthrough, relying on the old metroid "bomb everything" tactic to get around, so i found quite a few. including (spoilers):

-3 large metroid sprite sculptures
-the "grim picker"
-mario land - blew me away
-shy guy's playroom. felt bad for killing shy guy's pet though

i found some bugs too:

in the long vertical shaft that leads to the energy tank below the varia suit, i found two spots where you can get stuck, both while in morph ball form and scrolling from one side of screen to the other:

http://imgur.com/a/dyvqv

at the start of the hallway with the regeneration station with the dead body, when in ball form if you hug the top of the rocks when transitioning screens, you will get stuck in the wall:

http://imgur.com/a/9kvpv

near the top of the metroid hive, if you bomb jump here, you can get stuck in a wall:

http://imgur.com/a/S2AXj

this one isn't a gamebreaking bug, but i thought it was interesting. somewhat hard to describe, but in the aforementioned hallway where the first regeneration station is located, if you bomb the explodable ground directly to the right edge of the screen, and immediately move through the screen transition, in the next room gravity will be reduced outside of the water, just as it would be while in the water. this room doesn't scroll as it normally would, so these effects are confined to this one small area. if you head to the room from which you came, the physics will reset and the game will play normally again.

http://imgur.com/a/olOFD

i did find another "bug", one that allows for some major sequence breaking and other exploits, but i hesitate to mention it because it serves as more of a cool feature, rather than a detriment to gameplay. it would be a shame if it were somehow removed. it's probably something you're aware of already anyway, considering it allowed me to find this:




overall, i am stunned by the quality of this game. i'm a gigantic fan of the original metroid and have played multiple hacks of it previously. this one crushes them all. new items, new mechanics, new environments, new music; this ain't even a hack, this is whole new goddamn game. nintendo couldn't have done it better themselves. unfortunately you guys aren't nintendo so obviously you can't get paid for this, but you really should. hopefully the rogue dawn team sticks together and you guys can create a project for which you can receive funding. kickstart something and i would gladly support it. you guys are too talented to not continue working.

if you guys do start another project, i would love to see it be another nes game. with the nes classic on the market and the hack of it allowing users to upload nes compatible games, the nes can be a living system once again. it's an open platform that anyone can develop for meaning the potential for many more nes inspired releases. hopefully.

just throwing this out there: how about a castlevania-like game for the nes that is more in line with the later "metroidvania" titles, than the more linear early titles? think circle of the moon/symphony of the night but on the nes. would be pretty awesome. just call it CastleMania or something and you could maybe sell it.

finally, what was the deal with the two survivors and the energy tank? is there any consequence to the decision to take it or not to take it? i didn't take it, btw. kind of wish i did now[/spoiler]

Thanks for the feedback and bug report!  :cool:

EDIT:  Since your character is evil you don't get a reward for leaving the energy tank.  The federation is your enemy.

Could we try 11 06 26? I bet that'd look pretty sick. Alternatively, 0F 06 26 may look even better.

Here they are:

I was also messing around with the concept of having an environmental suit on the surface area and probably hive as well.


A more refined environmental suit: (surface and water area).

Hey, I'm loving the romhack so far, impressive stuff!
I had a go at making a suit sprite, too:

I tried making the design reminiscent of Ridley and Space Pirates.
Hope it helps! Keep up the good work man :)

[Grimlock]

[spoiler]

[spoiler]hope i can post links now...

been playing this on my nes classic and just finished it last night. amazing. love everything about it. best metroid game since metroid prime. don't understand any of the complaints. maybe they were only from a couple people, but still, dead wrong.

the art design in this game is phenomenal. one of the most beautiful 8-bit games i've ever seen. the alien vegetation. the rain. the waterfalls. nice.

the warping was an inspired choice. when it first occurred (after the jump boots) it threw me, but i quickly realized what was happening. brilliant way to streamline backtracking.

loved all the easter eggs. it really rewarded exploration. i totally ignored the map throughout my playthrough, relying on the old metroid "bomb everything" tactic to get around, so i found quite a few. including (spoilers):

-3 large metroid sprite sculptures
-the "grim picker"
-mario land - blew me away
-shy guy's playroom. felt bad for killing shy guy's pet though

i found some bugs too:

in the long vertical shaft that leads to the energy tank below the varia suit, i found two spots where you can get stuck, both while in morph ball form and scrolling from one side of screen to the other:

http://imgur.com/a/dyvqv

at the start of the hallway with the regeneration station with the dead body, when in ball form if you hug the top of the rocks when transitioning screens, you will get stuck in the wall:

http://imgur.com/a/9kvpv

near the top of the metroid hive, if you bomb jump here, you can get stuck in a wall:

http://imgur.com/a/S2AXj

this one isn't a gamebreaking bug, but i thought it was interesting. somewhat hard to describe, but in the aforementioned hallway where the first regeneration station is located, if you bomb the explodable ground directly to the right edge of the screen, and immediately move through the screen transition, in the next room gravity will be reduced outside of the water, just as it would be while in the water. this room doesn't scroll as it normally would, so these effects are confined to this one small area. if you head to the room from which you came, the physics will reset and the game will play normally again.

http://imgur.com/a/olOFD

i did find another "bug", one that allows for some major sequence breaking and other exploits, but i hesitate to mention it because it serves as more of a cool feature, rather than a detriment to gameplay. it would be a shame if it were somehow removed. it's probably something you're aware of already anyway, considering it allowed me to find this:




overall, i am stunned by the quality of this game. i'm a gigantic fan of the original metroid and have played multiple hacks of it previously. this one crushes them all. new items, new mechanics, new environments, new music; this ain't even a hack, this is whole new goddamn game. nintendo couldn't have done it better themselves. unfortunately you guys aren't nintendo so obviously you can't get paid for this, but you really should. hopefully the rogue dawn team sticks together and you guys can create a project for which you can receive funding. kickstart something and i would gladly support it. you guys are too talented to not continue working.

if you guys do start another project, i would love to see it be another nes game. with the nes classic on the market and the hack of it allowing users to upload nes compatible games, the nes can be a living system once again. it's an open platform that anyone can develop for meaning the potential for many more nes inspired releases. hopefully.

just throwing this out there: how about a castlevania-like game for the nes that is more in line with the later "metroidvania" titles, than the more linear early titles? think circle of the moon/symphony of the night but on the nes. would be pretty awesome. just call it CastleMania or something and you could maybe sell it.

finally, what was the deal with the two survivors and the energy tank? is there any consequence to the decision to take it or not to take it? i didn't take it, btw. kind of wish i did now[/spoiler]

Thanks for the feedback and bug report!  :cool:

EDIT:  Since your character is evil you don't get a reward for leaving the energy tank.  The federation is your enemy.

Could we try 11 06 26? I bet that'd look pretty sick. Alternatively, 0F 06 26 may look even better.

Here they are:

I was also messing around with the concept of having an environmental suit on the surface area and probably hive as well.


A more refined environmental suit: (surface and water area).

Hey, I'm loving the romhack so far, impressive stuff!
I had a go at making a suit sprite, too:

I tried making the design reminiscent of Ridley and Space Pirates.
Hope it helps! Keep up the good work man :)

[/spoiler]

Nice sprite!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Update on version 1.20 progress:

The final release candidate is now in final testing.  So far so good.  If all is well expect a release this weekend (3/18/17 or 3/19/17).

Testing should be wrapped up this evening.  :cool:


Version 1.20 - Change Log: (Contains spoilers for first time players) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[spoiler]



Level Design/Graphics:

Modified bug hive puzzle to reduce/eliminate confusion (players were attempting to enter back in through the exit)
Modified Final area to eliminate drop shafts.
Eliminated several one way passageways
Eliminated several "perma-stuck" locations
Added back door route to all bosses (for speed runners)
Expanded pause and corner map to properly cover science ship
Added additional path to science ship boss (no warping required)
Modified secret area to allow "easy exit" and "hard exit"
Modified several jumping obstacles to allow greater maneuverability
Modified several tight areas to allow greater maneuverability
Added one unique purpose to all secret "Metroid art" rooms (each room now has an additional secret use worked into their design)
Added three new Easter egg rooms
Added secret "cheater" routes that require the use of game exploits (should be considered cheating but I accommodated them because it's an alternate approach to playing, adds replay value)
Added multiple shortcuts / alternate paths to all areas (By "multiple" I mean a lot)
Added the ability to sequence break the item acquisition
Reviewed and adjusted some enemy placements (Removed "cheap shots" where identified)
General cosmetic adjustments throughout areas
Modified game ending shuttle flame graphic
Added new "reverse Justin Bailey" Dawn pirate power suit sprite for 2nd play through
Added new enemy sprites by RealRed for second play through
Corrected 2 text grammatical errors
Eliminated "lava scroll" puzzle in bone yard area
Modified ending escape path, cleaned up walkways and slowed down Metroids
Corrected water area pause map
Added wall jump item marker to map
Modified boss rooms to extend walkable platform
Corrected one E-Tank placement that wasn't being tracked (you lost it after saving)
Redesigned some of the platforms on the planet surface
Added environmental suit sprite in multiple areas
Removed block in water area that was required to be shot to proceed (confused some since they didn't have bombs)
Removed slopes in a few locations where they interfered with jumping
Removed a looping section of the secret area (added a degree of frustration)
Changed 10 missile hit doors to 5 missile hit doors throughout game


Programming:

Starting health set to 99
Corrected several bugs related to the ending sequence
Fixed the incorrectly spawning boss in the bone yard area (spawned in other rooms).
Added missile recharge to all chargers
Modified the drop tables for the final area to allow greater health and missile pick ups
Added 2nd play through sprite cycling
Fixed starting equipment in newgame+ (2nd play)


Music/Sound:

4 consecutive beeps occur after the player reaches low health. They will repeat after about 20-30 seconds-ish
Music transitions added to all exits from the secret area.
Music transitions added for boss shortcuts
Music transition glitch following Forest Area boss defeat changed

[/spoiler]

[AuroraxPhilic]

Some of these changes make the game a bit too easy to run now. Anywho... I'll be running this version the moment it comes out; and finally giving it a proper speed run video. Thanks for the generous work once again Grimlock.

[RealRed]

Hype

[SacredHooves]

Ive been waiting for this update to drop. :D I'm going to love it savagely

[RealRed]

I had a go at making a suit sprite, too:

Yeah man good work! Ambitious yet subtle. Her arm is awfully short though.. and there's something masculine about the helmet. Very cool regardless, very threatening.

[Steel Sparkle]

yea that's pretty nice stuff

[Grimlock]

There's a slight delay, I'm attempting to recreate a bug that was encountered.  Somehow morphing and screw attack merged during one of my test runs, yea, sounds interesting but it was actually pretty buggy.  I've since received an updated ROM from Optomon that had a few code changes but nothing specific for the one I encountered.  It's possible that it was resolved indirectly with the recent changes. So far I haven't been able to recreate it with either the version I first encountered it our with the latest release candidate... I'm going to give it one more go and if it's clean I'm going to call it good.

[Grimlock]

Version 1.20 is now available for download!!!

As always please report any bugs, this was tested but not at the level of the initial release...

For a list of changes please see the introductory post or check out the included readme file.

[Steel Sparkle]

sweet beans it's out!

[thedopefish]

99 energy good.  Tweaked drop rates good.  More secrets good.

Nerfing the drop pits in the last area bad :sad: