[Mr. Apol]

Okay, since I can never find my journal for MS when I log on, and since I think it's time for a fresh journal to reflect the drastic changes that have been made to this game since it's conception, I decided to make a new journal.

Here's the deal. Stephi and I have been moving around constantly for the past 2 months, and without a steady place to live, working on mzx games is the least of my worries. But, we WILL be staying at the place we're at now for at LEAST another month, so that gives me time to kill.

Marionette Sunrise has changed so much from the Gradius clone it originally was, to something much more original and something I can truly be proud of.

The game system nows works like this. You have a single weapon, a bullet laser that travels forward very quickly, almost instantaneously. Everytime you destroy an enemy, you gain energy added to a meter at the bottom of the screen. You can use three bars of this meter to shoot a super weapon that destroys onscreen enemies. Save it up till it gets full and you can do a hyper blast that destroys everything on screen and can damage bosses greatly, if not destroy them outrightly.

The scoring works like this, everytime you destroy an enemy, your hit counter goes up 1. The game rewards accuracy, so if you destroy another enemy without missing, it goes up to 2. It keeps going up till a shot misses. All the points accrued from destroying enemies is keep floating until you miss, then, the points are totalled and multiplied by your hit counter. Thus, keep a chain going, and you can get insane amounts of points. The more points you get, the higher your end level ranking is, and through that you can unlock special features in the game like cheats, level selects, artwork, and bonus levels.

Levels... There are 4 Orchestrations (levels) in the game. Each one of these levels is made up of 2 areas, the first ending in a midboss, the second ending with a level boss. The first level's graphics are DONE, save for a few enviromental effects, the level boss introduction, and text. The 2nd level has been started, with midboss graphics made, and backgrounds being constructed. The 3rd and 4th levels have been conceptualized, but no actual work has been done on them yet.

There are a few things I lack as of now. Right now I have not programmed in enemy patterns for level 1. Each level's enemies are orchestrated, and they are not random in the slightest. This takes a certain amount of work on my part to get the formations programmed so Lancer can put them in, but the end effect feels much more cohesive. I lack the up and down moving animation of the Marionette, something that would take just a few minutes. I lack an opening cinematic, which is Stephi's job to complete. It's going to be fully animated in black and white using artwork by Stephi. I have the title screen, but have not completed coding on the menus. I may have to get Lancer to help me out with a few bugs in these because I'm a shit-case of a programmer. (He'll probably cry at my code. T_T) I lack the transformation of the Marionette from ship form to angel form (seen during the hyper blast transformation), but I have started work on it. I also lack facial art that's seen during the dialouge.

So, if I was to gauge the amount I've completed, it would have to be around 25% of the game.

I won't update this journal often, but expect me to at least post some screens and the like every now and then. Don't expect any demos either.

Anyways, that was my rant for right now.

Stay tuned for further instructions.

[Stephi-chan]

And of course he doesn't want to use the facial animations I worked SO hard on for the pilot, right? >

This post has been edited by Stephi-chan: 20 September 2004 - 05:52 PM

[asgromo]

Brilliant- just brilliant. I have some high hopes for this game... One thing, though, you can unlock "artwork"? How are you planning on making that very interesting, with MZX's resolution?

[Mr. Apol]

Well, that IS a problem. I'm thinking if I can implement SMZX mode 3 artwork conversions, this may be feasible. If not, I could always make a site that hosts the artwork, or put zips up that have different sets of artwork, and have the game give you a password to unlock the zips if you get a good ranking.

[djtiesto]

Some questions for you:

Have you managed to make the game bullet-hell?? I was wondering how you'd do really precise hit detection and movement in MZX, where you move one "tile" at a time. Also, woudl you have complex patterns as seen in a game like a Cave shooter or rRootage?

Will the boss intros have big "WARNING! AN ENORMOUS SHIP "TIGA" IS APPROACHING!" and then list a bunch of nonsense Engrish for the attacks? That makes Radiant Silvergun worth the $150 it goes for on eBay

[Dr Lancer-X]

djtiesto:

Quote

Have you managed to make the game bullet-hell?? I was wondering how you'd do really precise hit detection and movement in MZX, where you move one "tile" at a time.

Currently, movement and hit detection works with a tilemap several times the size of the MZX screen. Unfortunately making that look good onscreen is going to be difficult. I'm thinking of making the bullet collision use the onscreen sprite-collision stuff, but I dunno. Considering that Apollyon is basically directing what goes on here, it will probably be bullet-hell, considering how much of a Gradius fan he is.

Quote

Also, woudl you have complex patterns as seen in a game like a Cave shooter or rRootage?

Apol's deciding on how he wants the enemies to move, and I'm just going to code whatever he gives me. However, I wouldn't be surprised if enemies take complicated, spiralling and circling attack patterns. I've never played any Cave shooters or rRootage.

Quote

Will the boss intros have big "WARNING! AN ENORMOUS SHIP "TIGA" IS APPROACHING!" and then list a bunch of nonsense Engrish for the attacks? That makes Radiant Silvergun worth the $150 it goes for on eBay

Heh; I dunno how much info Apollyon's gonna put into it but you get a box with some flashing red text when you're close to the enemy. Whether the information it gives you about the ship is actually helpful in working out how to defeat it, or if you have to do that yourself is up to Apollyon.

~ Lancer-X

[Galladin]

Man...I really hope that you guys finish this (assuming that Lancer is still working on it)...the 'old' screenshots sure looked beautiful, not to mention the illustrations Apollyon drew a while ago.

-Markus

[Stephi-chan]

Note: Apollyon was so excited about having cable that he posted as his wife by accident.
Oops.

djtiesto: Well, I would love to make it like a Cave shooter, but again, the problem lies with mzx itself. Knowing this, I've designed bosses along the Gradius dogma of instead of having lots of bullets, include innovative ways for the boss to kill you, such as using it's body, or shooting huge lasers. But, no rRootage patterns, sorry. T_T

And yes, there is a boss intro thing. Actually, most of the bosses are piloted, so there's actually dialogue between bosses and the player before the battles. If you're a Radiant Silvergun fan, you should get a kick out of this game though, it's heavily inspired by Radiant Silvergun/ Ikaruga.

Hrm, I don't think you've seen any screens Luke, I'll have to post some up later so you can get a look at it.

This post has been edited by Stephi-chan: 22 September 2004 - 11:36 PM

[djtiesto]

Awesome, I can't wait!!

Gradius V is owning me right now.....

[Micah]

Gradius 3 has had me for a while.

I really like the concept that you're working with.

[djtiesto]

Micah, on Sep 27 2004, 08:22 PM, said:

Gradius 3 has had me for a while.

I really like the concept that you're working with.

V is like a million times better than any of the Gradius games... it more resembles Life Force than the traditional Gradius games.

[Zenith Nadir]

djtiesto, on Sep 20 2004, 06:59 PM, said:

Will the boss intros have big "WARNING! AN ENORMOUS SHIP "TIGA" IS APPROACHING!" and then list a bunch of nonsense Engrish for the attacks? That makes Radiant Silvergun worth the $150 it goes for on eBay

i adore darius force because it also has those

engrish kicks ass

[Mr. Apol]

explosion animation.

comments, critiques.

[Dr Lancer-X]

Looks good to me. Since it'll happen quickly, the jagged sides shouldn't bother people, and it preserves valuable characters, too!

[Bramble]

I concur.

[Micah]

I like it, except for a maybe a few things that look funky with the colors. It will probably be less noticable when it's going faster.

[Mr. Apol]

"Now that we've come so far, and seen so much, can we ever go back?"

"Now that our lives have come full circle, will we ever be the same?"

"I... I don't know..."

"Now that we have fulfilled our purpose, can the world ever be the same?"

"..."

"Only we can decide that Kei."

"ONLY WE, THE CHILDREN OF THE N.O. CAN DECIDE THE FUTURE OF THIS PLANET!"

can things ever return

to the way

they once were?

Ry?

[Koji]

Um... yes?

[Mr. Apol]

"Everything that has happened is our fault. We woke her up so many years ago..."

at 0400 hours configuration bio-forms entered the city, by 0545 there were no human bio signatures in all of New Babylon.

curiously enough, the bio-forms didn't leave the city and head for the outlying pockets of human resistance. they stayed inside the city, and the expansion of the N.O. field even halted for around 6 hours.

"it's because of him..."

"he's waiting on her..."

[Xeirxes]

this is what happens when apollyon gets drunk in the journals forum.

[Koji]

Nah he's not drunk... sounds like he's either reciting an opening sequence for the game... or he's definitely smoking something evil.

[Mr. Apol]

the story is unfolding once more kei. everything that has happened is happening once more? can you feel her? feel her calling to you?

***

"What... are they?"

"They're called the Nephilim, humans mutated into servants of Her glorious dominion."

"What are they doing?"

"They're gathering.... calling for Her. They're Her children, and they're calling for Her to come to them."

***

"Enjoying yourself Kei? I knew you would. You're just as bloodthirsty as I am, even more so I'd say. Are you enjoying my little orchestra, my grand performance?"

[Dr Lancer-X]

o/` and you sure had me fooled o/`
had me fooled
o/` you really sent me back to school o/`
back to school
o/` you really made me feel like a royal fool o/`


also I don't expect to understand this plot whatsoever but yeah

[Mr. Apol]

1100 hours -- Post War Administration HQ -- Traverse City, New Eurasia

"Sir, we're recieving a message from New Bablyon!"

"What? Last report I was given claimed that the city had fallen!"

"Well, sir, it's not from a human per se, but one of the last remaining recon-drones not controlled by the N.O. Decyphering now."



"Get Kei Anamai on the line. Tell her I want her suited up and ready to deploy by 1300 hours."

"Yes sir."

***

what's with the theatrics Yumie, aren't we supposed to be friends?

yeah... it's just... i don't know, nevermind

[Bramble]

From the bible the Nephilim were a people with huge size that "made the Israelites look like grasshoppers."

[commodorejohn]

Actually, that was the Anakim, though the Nephilim were supposed to be pretty big too. The Anakim were the race of giants that inhabited Palestine during the time of Israel's conquest under Joshua (which is where your quote comes from,) and the race of which Goliath was a member. The Nephilim were a pre-Flood race that were supposed to be the offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men," though it is unclear what exactly this means. The RSV says that "the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward" (Genesis 6,) but the KJV replaces "Nephilim" with "giants," so apparently the Nephilim were pretty big guys, whatever they were.

This post has been edited by commodorejohn: 17 December 2004 - 04:01 PM

[Bramble]

Oh yeah...of course. I knew that =D I remember some of those exact quotes

"daughters of men," "sons of God," "the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward."

[Xeirxes]

I think the Nephilim were most likely made from fallen angels having sex with human women...

[commodorejohn]

That's one theory that's out there, but if we're going by the Biblical account, there's really nothing to indicate that angels are biological creatures with gender, or are capable of reproduction by other means. So that doesn't really seem to fit. Other theories say that the "daughters of men" were descendants of Cain, and the "sons of God" were descendants of Adam's other children, but frankly I haven't a clue what the truth behind this passage is. Thankfully, it's not really a doctrinal point or anything, so there's no need to devote excessive thought to it.

[Bramble]

mm. I agree. Yes that passage has always baffled me a bit. Still, it comes to no significance in the end.