∑++ Non-update

[Silver Skree]

I'm back, and so is this hack.
Again.

Within a week of coming back to it I've knocked out the Big Metroid ASM, Ridley's pissymode AI subroutine, gotten Sadi to start on writing the custom escape music (holyshit thank you), and have set Hiroshi back to work redrawing the ridley sprite to work with the new palette and glow it'll be using.

This is probably the fastest progress has ever been on this project since the beginning. Good news, but it's still a long ways from done. Sucking it up and tackling learning curbs on stuff like ASM and the such is an invaluable method of approach. I'm talking to you, people that still haven't grasped ASM. You know who you are.

Will post a proof-of-progress room once I've finished it. Currently I only have half a quarter of a screen out of 6 screens to fill and it's already taking up 300 bytes.

EDIT:

[VideoGeemer]

Shit.

For some reason, I've been playing through this when I have time, thinking that it was a completed hack. I had found a few permastucks (one before you get morph ball, so you can get stuck between a couple blocks) but I hadn't thought to keep track of them because I didn't know this was still a WIP. If I can find them again, I'll let you know.

Aside from a couple places where you simply can't escape once you get in (quicksand areas and the like), this is becoming one of my favorite hacks, up there with the best. At first I thought Spore Spawn was too hard, then I learned how to play him properly and realized that his difficulty was just right. :) Right now I can take on either Draygon or Phantoon, but both are kicking my ass a bit, LOL. It's possible I need to find more things, or that I'm supposed to use a different strategy on Draygon.


VG

EDIT: to say that this is indeed a graphical (is that a word?) treat. There are a few things done here that I didn't know the SM engine could do. Nicely done indeed, man.

[Silver Skree]

The Sigma Shot makes your beam stronger than any other munitions you possess.

Also, thanks. Be sure to get back to me on those permastucks. I don't know of any sand areas that I didn't let the player get out of. There's one in Firidia where the escape is a little hard to figure out. I may make that one more obvious.

Also, hopefully screenshots coming soon. I've shelved my ASM duties for now and been building rooms.

[VideoGeemer]

The Sigma Shot makes your beam stronger than any other munitions you possess.

Also, thanks. Be sure to get back to me on those permastucks. I don't know of any sand areas that I didn't let the player get out of. There's one in Firidia where the escape is a little hard to figure out. I may make that one more obvious.

Also, hopefully screenshots coming soon. I've shelved my ASM duties for now and been building rooms.

That was a quick reply, hehe. I was gong to edit the post to say that I'm sure I had known this one was a WIP when I first downloaded it, but that was a while ago.

So okay, I'll find the Firidia stuck areas. The one that comes to mind immediately is one where you're supposed to speed boost over it. I tried jumping as fast as I could, and I couldn't get enough height to get out. Right in the middle of the pit, it rises up a bit, but I can't seem to figure out how to get out the right side without slipping into the sand again.

I'm sure you know about the map stuff already, so I'll just let you know if I find those other spots. :)


Also, thanks for that tip about the Sigma Shot. I knew it was strong, but not as strong as, say, a super missile.



VG

[Silver Skree]

It's super fucking strong.

Also, map? I did intend for there to be no full map; you can only use the minimap.

And to get out of that sand pit, go into morphball and just go right.

[VideoGeemer]

It's super fucking strong.

Also, map? I did intend for there to be no full map; you can only use the minimap.

And to get out of that sand pit, go into morphball and just go right.

I could have sworn I tried that, and even bombing on that side to see if I'd get a boost. Will try again.

And about the map, what I meant was how the game very, very quickly shows the name of the area before switching to the SAMUS view. I wasn't sure if this was intentional or what, or if you had intended for there to be no large map (like RevolutionEX). I didn't see the point in explaining the details when I figured you either were working on it or had done it intentionally. =)


VG

EDIT: Oh yes, also, the intro map still shows Zebes, Crateria, Brinstar, etcetera, not the new names, then just shows a black screen when you hit A. The only way I was able to see your new area names was during that instant when going to the pause screen ... and I see now that it doesn't always show that. I remember seeing Frigidia or something, an Oxine, and in one instant, No Fair, but that was about it.

[Silver Skree]

Oh. Yeah, gonna fix that. I was gonna give the areas names and then just decided against it since there's no map screen anyway.

[VideoGeemer]

Oh. Yeah, gonna fix that. I was gonna give the areas names and then just decided against it since there's no map screen anyway.

Update:

That morph ball thing worked; I hadn't tried going through the floor, hehe.

I found the stuck area again. It's in the landing site, in the block on the right wall that will eventually be shootable. Turns out that I can get out if I face right into the wall and then jump so that I'm in the lower part of the opening, and then turn left again and jump a couple times. So it's not actually a permastuck if you jump around in there a bit.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

There's a Ridley error I saw when restarting the game to look for the other place. BTW, I love how it actually took me a couple times before I got out of Ceres, hehe.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

When the room goes back to normal, your sprite wil be covered by a black rectangle. This is a very minor bug, but I figured I'd post it anyway, just in case you'd want to know. :)

This room:

[spoiler][/spoiler]

...can be a bitch to escape from if you're knocked in, and you will often times die before you can get out, but that may be intentional. Sometimes, though, when you go through the door on the left side and then come back into this room, the little transport dude isn't waiting for you, and you're then stuck having to jump in there in order to get out. In case that wasn't deliberate, I figured I'd let you know. The transport was waiting when I fought the Torizo dude beyond this point, but when I went through there again aftwerward, it wasn't.


And though those are all small issues, here is a legitimate bug that actually causes problems where you need to restart the game.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Power bomb through that floor and see what happens, hehe. You'll fall into an abyss 2 screens deep, with the lower looking the same as the upper, and you'll walk through the walls on either side of the room. On the left side, it just seems to be wall, and on the right ... well, if you keep running and jumping randomly... one time I was able to jump into the corridor in the next room to the right of the one in the screen (that connects to the room with the save station), and the other time, I was stuck on the pipes BELOW that corridor, trying to find places to break into it, to no avail. I just tried it again, to give you a screenshot of me in the pipes, but this time I couldn't get through on the right side, but running to the LEFT brought the focus back to the same corridor, only I was off to the left side of the screen (I could tell by the blast from a power bomb) unable to figure out how to move.

The floor looks to be deliberately bombable, but if something is supposed to be below there, it either just hasn't been added in yet (very likely), or else I haven't beaten a boss that would trigger it.


VG

[Katelyn]

TELL ME THE SECRET TO SUCH HIGH-RES SUPER METROID

Unless I'm being dumb and it's just the image...

...or photoshop...

[Silver Skree]

He's using filters on his emulator.

Also,
Lets Finally Play - Sigma++ - Part 3

[zephyrtronium]

TELL ME THE SECRET TO SUCH HIGH-RES SUPER METROID

Looks like HQ4x to me.

[VideoGeemer]

TELL ME THE SECRET TO SUCH HIGH-RES SUPER METROID

Looks like HQ4x to me.

Nope, just Super 2x, hehe.


In detail:

[spoiler]ZSNES 1.51

In Options: Use new graphics engine (disables 2x in the title screen and at certain other times, but does a better job overall)


video options are:

Custom 1280x800 (that's my screen resolution) DS Full

Filters:

Super 2xSAI
High-res Mode7
VSync
Use 4:3[/spoiler]


... I really thought more people knew about the awesomeness that is Super 2xSAI. In some rare cases it messes the look of things up a little, but overall it's like simply having a much higher resolution. Super 2xSAI uses the Super Eagle and also the 2xSAI engine together. The HQ filter looks better in some ways, but can mess up other things that Super 2x does not (like Samus's sprite; it's more jagged), so I don't use that one.




**EDIT**


Woohoo! Draygon was obviously the way to go, and I figured out a good strategy in getting all 3 of the ... items there during the fight.

Also, [spoiler]Phalanx (suit)[/spoiler] is about the most awesome thing I've ever seen. Fucking cool as shit in like 4 different ways, man. :D


I see I messed up that first screenshot up there slightly; hit ctrl-v when I wasn't at the top, I guess, hehe.


VG

[VideoGeemer]

A few more things I've found:


- Sometimes, the mini-map forgets where you've already been.

- The wall boost boots still say "Hi-Jump Boots" when you get them, and after I got them, I went back and they were there to get again, so apparently the game isn't recognizing something.

- There's a door that's close to Kraid's room (in the room with the 3 cacatacs), that I think I've entered right after dispatching him because I see a square there in the mini-map, but I'm not sure, and now the door is grey again. So either it forgot I should be able to get in, or the minimap might be lying to me.

- Is Crocomire's voice supposed to sound like that (like a loud electric buzz)? I'm not sure if it's a bug, but sounded strange, so there ya go.


Also, I'm looking for Phantoon again. I know I found him, twice, actually. Now to find him again, hehe. Maybe I'm weird for not doing him last (in reference to the other sign that said "END."


I love so many things about this version of the game, man. The bombs are awesome, and open up another way to explore without Space Jump. This could actually become my favorite hack of all when it's done.



VG


EDIT:

- Okay, so I found Phantoon again. While fighting him, I was able to shoot open the door to the left and actually leave the fight. The look of the tiles changed, but firing on them made the door panel reappear. On the other side, I encountered a minor graphic glitch in the background tiles next to the door.

This fight is more manageable this time, hehe. Now I'ma go whoop his ass... :)


EDIT: Ass successfully whooped; in fact he was actually really easy now. O.o Weird that he kicked my ass so badly before; not sure if it's the suit or the fact that I used charged Sigma shots, but he fell fast and hard.

It's unfortunate that this is the end of the demo, because it's got me really falling in love with it, hehe.


VG

[VideoGeemer]

And to get out of that sand pit, go into morphball and just go right.

Was this the one you said you might make more obvious? If so, I agree, as I don't know if I ever would have thought of that on my own, hehe. You probably have ideas about the landing site one as well.

Okay, well I think that's about all I have, so I'll quit flooding your thread with all these long-winded posts now. Hopefully they've been helpful, though. Rock on 'n stuff. :)


VG

[Kasel]

I must say...The guy playing in that video really sucks. o.o  I beat Kraid a hell of a lot easier then that when I played it.

[VideoGeemer]

I must say...The guy playing in that video really sucks. o.o  I beat Kraid a hell of a lot easier then that when I played it.

He also didn't seem to understand what the Energy Accumulator did, hehe. It's a really cool addition IMO.


VG



EDIT:

A few days later, even, because I had forgotten to say anything about what I believe was a cameo appearance in this hack by Snake Man. If so, fucking awesome, LOL.

[BassZ1890]

I must say...The guy playing in that video really sucks. o.o  I beat Kraid a hell of a lot easier then that when I played it.

Well good for you >:| I'm mentally retarded so has I problems!

[Hiroshi Mishima]

I don't think Silver will mind me giving a small update notification kinda thingy. I finished working on the Ridley Tileset not too long ago, and have returned to working on the Crocomire redesign I'd come to a halt on some time back. I believe the majority of unfinished work now lies with the End Game/Escape Sequence, but I'm sure Silver'd known better than I would.

I gotta say, working on this hack has been very enjoyable despite the frustration. It's given me a reason to work on higher grade graphics again (when I usually stick to 8-bit), so it's also been a bit of a learning experience. Hopefully when people play the finished hack, they'll like the work I've done. :D

On a side note, I'm still not sure what people find appealing about those blurry-looking filters. I thought something was wrong with those pics until I'd realized it was a filter. :p

EDIT: I'd post a screenshot, but I think I'll let Silver do that. It's his hack, I don't wanna spoil anything without permission.

[Silver Skree]

been working on this a bunch lately. redid the title thingy just today:



Closed alpha will be out soon, which will include up until the boss statue room.

EDIT:

[advancedpillow]

That is really pretty slick! Looks fantastic.

I must say, I'm incredibly impressed with your/your helpers' work on this. I am really looking forward to jumping into and exploring the world you've painted here. Bravo.

[zephyrtronium]

The +s are out of perspective.

[Hiroshi Mishima]

I didn't even notice it was out of perspective until you mentioned it, and even then I had to look at it a few moments to really get where you were coming from. I do see it now, but I've no idea how to suggest he fix it. If he slants them, I get the feeling it'll look really weird. Especially if they're on different slants.

[herald83]

I think slanting the +'s might work out fine.  I was really bored at work today so I took the liberty of playing with it a bit in Paint.  Slanted the +'s and recolored them a bit to match the shading on the big sigma.  I considered flaring out the bases of the +'s but then I thought that might look too strange.  No offense to Silver or anything; just trying to be helpful.

[Silver Skree]

No offense taken. Glad for the input.

While those +s do look good, herald, it looks more like italic than a looking-from-below perspective. I ought to modify the vertical lines on the ∑ to go along with that, but I'll get around to that, as well as the +s, later. It's not done just yet, so save your final judgments. I do like the shading you did, though, even if it just matches the ∑. I thought shading them would look weird since they're so small so I didn't initially bother.

[herald83]

Yeah, I was on the fence about the slanting for exactly that reason.  Looking forward to the finished product!