M. Planets - NES Style Game

[VacantShade]

The latest version only supports Enigma, which is a randomly generated world from user designed rooms. You can make your own, but you'll need a lot, so instead I'd recommend visiting the Discord that the community runs and getting some rooms from there.

Since it is randomly generated, it can vary in play time.

If you'd prefer a more consistent experience, check out Novus in the older version. Takes 3-4 hours on average.

[Infinitys_End]

This is amazing but I can't play it... I am trying to generate a world but it says failed each time. Why wouldn't you embed example worlds within your dropbox downloads folder?
There is no instruction manual currently so you have to assume people won't be able to figure it out on their own, or they're not going to make an attempt.
I shouldn't have to go to this forum to figure out what to do.
Your ReadMe file is extremely lacking in instructions. I would love to help you improve this.

[Paragon]

Are you in their Discord? You have to download rooms in order to generate worlds, and that's where you'll find them. There's also a lot of people who could help you troubleshoot. Enigma is hard to work solo - you'd have to build enough rooms by yourself to make a world based on the generator's requirements.

[VacantShade]

I'm sorry you had issues getting things setup to play! As you mention, there isn't a lot of documentation currently. The project is kind of in a transitional period so a lot of things aren't as straight forward as they could be. Hopefully this can be improved in the future.

In the meantime, if you or others need some help on how to setup Enigma, this brief tutorial might help:
https://youtu.be/ZDFW36vfd9Q

[Steel Sparkle]

I'm sorry you had issues getting things setup to play! As you mention, there isn't a lot of documentation currently. The project is kind of in a transitional period so a lot of things aren't as straight forward as they could be. Hopefully this can be improved in the future.

In the meantime, if you or others need some help on how to setup Enigma, this brief tutorial might help: https://youtu.be/ZDFW36vfd9Q

Finally got around to playing the other Orignal Planet and i gotta say that was an absolute blast, bravo!
That was a lot of fun and those extra bosses were a fun surprise.

[VacantShade]

Glad you enjoyed it!  :^_^:

[VacantShade]

VERSION 1.30 - New Stable Build

This update restores Zebeth to the game with a new game mode "Randomized+", and adds a few new things to Enigma!



+ ZEBETH: Restored with all previous modes. Randomized+ allows you to play with additional items previously exclusive to Enigma, like Space Jump!
+ SELECT TOOL: A new Room Studio tool with a variety of capabilities.
+ CUSTOM AREAS: Custom Areas are now supported by Enigma. Custom Areas can be "substituted" for the default areas. The Custom Area retains the original area's usual connections, bosses, map scanners, music, ect.
+ HAZARD RUNS: Hazard Runs are now supported by Enigma, and can be either Off, Allowed, or Forced during generation.
+ ITEM PROGRESSION: Item progression can be either Normal or Chaotic when generating Enigma worlds.
+ CORES: A new subset of 5 items that can be turned On/Off for Enigma generation. Cores grant small buffs or tradeoffs. Only one Core can be manually equipped at a time, and doing so locks it into play for 5 minutes in game time. Afterwards it can be unequipped and swapped out for a different one. Collecting a new Core resets the cooldown period for immediate swapping if desired.
+ Plus several other small additions and adjustments, including multiple new music tracks by Loeder!

Have fun! :bounce:

[Terrence7522]

This is great stuff!

I started playing Norvus and I love it.  The music.  The movement.  The entire aesthetic.  Great work!

[VacantShade]

Awesome to hear! :^_^:

The SM music 8-bit remixes are done by Loeder. You can find all the tracks here, as well as all of his other work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59fGGW7iSa0&ab_channel=Loeder

[xorxif]

Is there no option to create rooms and hand-assemble them into a map? If not, will there be in a future version?
Also, is there any bulletin board to discuss this game, instead of it ALL being on discord?

[RT-55J]

Hand-assembled worlds are not in the plans, last time I checked.

As far as a forum to discuss the game, there's one right here. :)

[VacantShade]

Custom designed worlds would be cool! But the engine still needs a lot of work for something like that to be as robust and functional as I would like. So its a long ways off if it ever happens.

Also, yes! Feel free to chat about the game here. It's a slower pace than the community-run discord server, but people come around from time to time as you can see.  :^_^:

[caldw3ll]

Is there any particular reason why the spazer isn't included in the pathing menu? It's possible to create puzzles that require the spazer beam.

[VacantShade]

Good question! :^_^:

I'd like to add Spazer to the pathing system eventually. However, I'd prefer if the engine had some official means for making "Spazer locks" before making it a potentially required progression item. Perhaps something similar to what we see in Samus Returns or Dread.
It's always cool to see unique level designs that require items in unusual ways! But if that's the only means of creating a lock for that item, it might be a bit challenging for new players and room designers, since they are more familiar with the official games and how the items are used there. I feel like I saw that happen a few times with wave beam before gates were added.

[TobiMikami]

I feel like a "spazer specific door/gate" like Prime would be the only real way that would really be effective, and I don't know if I'd constitute that as a puzzle, I'd call that more of a "lock" straight up and from a players perspective anything anti sequence breaking in Metroid usually equals "unfavorable"

Now grated I would be rather impressed if someone actually could fabricate a "puzzle" scenario by which I mean more like Legend of Zelda where there's some element of strategy or prerequisites you'd have to align with use of the Spazer, but I fund a situation along those lines hard to fathom.

[VacantShade]

VERSION 1.31 - New Stable Build

This update brings improvements and additions to several existing features!



CORES+: 5 New items added to the "Cores" subset of items.
IMPROVED MAP: Many new map features such as scrolling, stats, markers with icons, and easy export as an image file.
GUNSHIP+: Recharge at your ship, and also scan for Major items.
CUSTOM AREA ROOM EXCLUSIVITY: A generator option that allows finer control on how rooms with Custom Areas are used.
MISSILE BUTTONS: Toggle Buttons to be triggered by anything (Blue) or Missiles only (Red).
BLOCK ATTRIBUTE "BREAK FOREVER": Blocks with this attribute save their broken state so that they no longer appear when returning to the room.

There are many other small improvements, such as:
+ Export a spoiler map when generating a world.
+ Larger Enigma maps
+ Large missile pick ups from certain enemies.

Have fun! :bounce:

[caldw3ll]

I think I've come up with a (relatively) simple to implement mechanic for locking progression behind spazer without just straight-up adding beam-doors.

It would require adding two new options to the gate+button objects:
1) An option to assign multiple buttons to a single gate.
2) An option to toggle between whether the buttons must be shot one at a time in order to open the gate, or simultaneously.

This would both allow people to create simple, clear progression locks for the spazer beam, but would also allow for the creation of more complex puzzles involving the spazer beam, and would increase the versatility of the button and gate objects greatly.

For example, you could create a simple gate where all you must do in order to open it is to shoot three buttons placed side-by-side at the same time, or you could get tricky and craft a room where you must clear blocks or find the right position to shoot from in order to activate all three buttons simultaneously.

[TobiMikami]

I think you're onto the right idea as far as the concept and programming logic. Whether or not VSG has the time/will to do it is up to him, but I'm gonna send you a direct message in regards to the thought, I've already started programming some of your idea for my own purposes and I would like to give you proper credit for the idea.

[VacantShade]

That sounds like it could lead to some interesting room design! I could see something like that being fun to play around with.  :^_^:

I think having a dedicated object of some sort with a clear connection to its use with Spazer would be my goal before making that item be required in worlds.

[VacantShade]

VERSION 1.32 - New Stable Build

This update restores Connect to the game with several new features and improvements!
It also brings substantial improvements to RAM usage and startup loading for large room libraries.



If you are familiar with the previous version of Connect and are wondering what has changed, here's a short summary:
+ MORE SERVER OPTIONS: Choose the host port, set a password, and easily switch to "Passive Mode" for long-term hosting!
+ HAMACHI SUPPORT: Hamachi and some similar VPN services are now supported, by allowing clients to join an ipv4 address directly!
+ ADDITIONAL PREFERENCES: You can choose how you want other players to be indicated in-game as well as your preferred display color.
+ MORE SYNCHRONIZATION: You can open Doors, break Blocks, and even trigger Gates+Buttons together in real-time!
+ SYNCHRONIZED ENEMIES: Two new layers of enemy synchronization are available. Share damage only to defeat enemies together, or, if you have a good/fast connection, synchronize the movement and behavior of each enemy in the room!
+ IMPROVED VERSUS MODE: While keeping the original "party style" design concept, new features have been added and a lot of balances have been made. Defeating Gold enemies can now grant you a random Bonus or send a random Penalty to an opponent! There are a variety of Bonuses and Penalties, such as a Speed Up and Beam Damage Up, or Reduced Vision and Map Disabled. Defeat enough Gold enemies and you temporarily get the powerful Gold Suit!
+ GIFT SEGURU: You can now send your hard earned Seguru to other players!
+ SHARE WORLDS: Easily send Enigma Worlds directly in-game via Connect to all other players!

A few other additions can be found in this update:
+ ADVANCED ROOM FILTER: Easily search and find specific rooms or groups of rooms.
+ MULTI-ROOM EDITING: Change the designer name, areas, and tags of multiple rooms at a time.
+ NEW MUSIC: 2 New 8-bit Remixes by Loeder!
+ GIANT DESSGEEGA: A new enemy that serves as an alternate skin to the Giant Hopper.
+ TILES: 2 New basic shape tiles.

Have fun! :bounce:

[ShadowGodzilla1954]

How do i see which of my rooms are invalid, i keep trying to make a world, but keeps saying variety is important, what does this mean?

[VacantShade]

It shows that message if it tries many times to generate a world but ultimately fails. Usually it can generate a world in 10 or less attempts. So you may need some more rooms for it to work.

Some important rooms to have:
> Hallways
> Hubs (3 or more doors)
> Dead Ends
> Elevators

You'll want a variety of each of these. For example, its good to have some hallways that are C or Z shaped. Also, its important to have some rooms with elevators going up, and some rooms with elevators going down. If most of your elevator rooms are going in the same direction it won't be able to complete the world.

Some designers have had success with creating a variety of very simple "template" rooms that belong to every area, and using them when trying to generate a world. Once you finally get a success with those templates, you can create different versions for each area, more variations, ect.

If that seems too daunting, you can always try to download some rooms that others have designed! I think the community has made collectively over 10,000 rooms, so there are a lot to choose from!

[ShadowGodzilla1954]

I tried adding more hubs, dead ends, and stuff. But my world keeps having trouble with crateria. if you have any other suggestions, im all for it.

[ShadowGodzilla1954]

I also have 131 usable rooms, but on the generator it only says 126. I also saw some pale yellow squares on the end of the generating map, what does that mean?

[VacantShade]

The generator will exclude some rooms if they:
> Are marked as "Unfinished" (indicated as a little wrench icon in the room list)
> Are only used in areas that are not going to be in the world (For example if you are generating with less than 7 Areas, sometimes Wrecked Ship or other areas might be dropped from generation)
> Have the "Impassable" indicator in their pathing (Used for one-way paths; This advanced pathing feature is not supported yet)

The pale yellow squares you mentioned in the debug view indicate open doors/elevators. The squares are red if the player has no logical way to reach the door/elevator yet. They turn green/yellow when the player can logically reach them, but the generator has yet to close them off with another room. So if the generator is failing even though it has viable doors/elevators like that it could mean a couple of things. For example, here is a quick screenshot I took of a failed generation:
[spoiler][/spoiler]

You can see the only 2 viable doors left ended up leading to the same map square, and I didn't happen to have a room in my library with doors in those positions that was also ok with item requirements, areas, ect.
If you notice this happening a lot, it might help you find out what common scenarios the generator is running into that it needs rooms for.

If the generator is failing often early in generation, another thing to make sure of is that you have a couple rooms with Major Item locations that are accessible without needing any upgrades, so that it can give players the items they need to open up more paths.

You can also mouse over various things in the debug view to try an get a little more info on the generator's process!
Feel free to let me know if need some more help!  :^_^: