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Rockman & Community => Fan Creations => Fan Games => Topic started by: Eclipse on July 13, 2011, 05:25:59 AM

Title: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on July 13, 2011, 05:25:59 AM
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nfgdyva94B8/UFKfH-LMKlI/AAAAAAAAAF0/RjkxJpd7rHY/s1600/MMXE+Logo.png)

Megaman X: Eclipse is a response to the decline in gaming, particularly to the decline in the Megaman X series. It is meant to be the 4th installment for the SNES that many of us wanted after Megaman X3. Its going to have 8 bosses, its going to be 16-bit. Its going to be everything you would expect from a 4th Megaman X game on the SNES. We plan for Megaman X: Eclipse to be released for Windows, Android and the OUYA. In the future, Ubuntu and HTML5 are possibilities.

We spend a lot of time testing our game to make sure it stays true to the SNES series. We need every smallest detail to be perfect so that we keep it from feeling like some glitchy fan game. Of course we're doing our best to be as innovative as we can so that we can bring a whole new experience to Megaman X.

For now, only 1 of our 8 bosses has been revealed. His name is Scorch Raptor, and if you click the spoiler below you can see our art design of him. Credit goes to justicefrog (http://justicefrog.deviantart.com) of deviantart.com

[spoiler](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U3LUtLt2pS0/T3NPqL7y-cI/AAAAAAAAACI/7LZBKqkgO90/s1600/SCORCHRAPTOR.png)[/spoiler]

Video of his boss battle - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuLou0Bo86s

You can download the demo from our blog, http://mmxeclipse.blogspot.com , as well as read up on our recent updates. Be sure to follow us!

If you guys have any enemies, tilsets, minibosses or anything that you are willing to contribue, please email us at megamanprojecteclipse@gmail.com and we will get in touch with you! Our biggest need is a spriter for our bosses.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: carlos-182 on July 13, 2011, 05:52:18 AM
This is looking good. I'd tell you all the bugs I found, but I suppouse you know what to fix.

Please, don't let the project die, it is going in a very good way  8)

Congratulations and keep this project alive  :D
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Eclipse on July 13, 2011, 06:45:12 AM
This is looking good. I'd tell you all the bugs I found, but I suppouse you know what to fix.

Thanks! Yeah, that video is actually quite outdated now, even though its been just over a week, I believe, since it was made. We've been working on it constantly.

Please, don't let the project die, it is going in a very good way  8)

Congratulations and keep this project alive  :D

Don't worry, that's one of the things I wanted to stress. This game will be completed. It wasn't really going anywhere the first 4 or 5 months this year because of schooling and whatnot, but we have made alot of progress since picking it back up and I'm very excited to get this game released.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: OBJECTION MAN on July 13, 2011, 10:15:09 PM
So far looks like you're off to a great start. I don't see why you won't be including X and Zero at once though. It looked cool there in your video, and I always liked that about the newer titles.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: N-Mario on July 14, 2011, 06:46:09 AM
Is this being done with Game Maker, MMF2, or C++? It looks really good, despite the color errors of the x-buster charging. :)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Eclipse on July 30, 2011, 08:46:17 PM
So far looks like you're off to a great start. I don't see why you won't be including X and Zero at once though. It looked cool there in your video, and I always liked that about the newer titles.

We're still figuring out story-wise how X and Zero will be played, but both will be playable.

Is this being done with Game Maker, MMF2, or C++? It looks really good, despite the color errors of the x-buster charging. :)

We're making this one with Game Maker. And yeah, the colour charging looks terrible because of how Game Maker is, but we'll make it look better soon.

Thanks for the feedback guys! Sorry for no "big" updates recently, been working on the little things the last little while. (Saving, pause screen, some gameplay tweaks, etc.)
And for those wondering, we'll be using save files, no password system.

Posted on: July 19, 2011, 07:12:31
Added a link to the blog! All updates will be on there from now on.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Eclipse on August 26, 2011, 03:56:38 AM
The past little while we've been experimenting with the gameplay, fixing bugs, adding new features, etc. and we never really had the time to get tilesets and make new levels and enemies. We finally got around to getting a tileset and came up with a few new enemies, the pictures are attached to this post since they were rather huge if I used the "IMG" tag.

The project is not dead, and never was. We're still looking for any pixel artists that wish to help. I'm doing all the enemies mostly by myself at the moment.

Oh, and we're more likely to update our blog than we are here.


http://mmxeclipse.blogspot.com/
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Gotham Ranger on August 26, 2011, 06:50:23 AM
Green legs? What's up with those? Return X armor? I love me some Return X, bro!

(Sorry, am I just mindlessly speculating?)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Eclipse on August 26, 2011, 10:53:28 AM
Green legs? What's up with those? Return X armor? I love me some Return X, bro!

(Sorry, am I just mindlessly speculating?)

It's just a placeholder for the armor. We have armor designs, but they will not be revealed until the game is out.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Gotham Ranger on August 26, 2011, 12:01:55 PM
It's just a placeholder for the armor. We have armor designs, but they will not be revealed until the game is out.
Yeah, I figured it'd be something like that :P Still, the little bit I've seen looks interesting, but that first video with the square enemy by the door? Total X6 level design, man.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Eclipse on January 09, 2012, 07:34:49 PM
Yeah, I figured it'd be something like that :P Still, the little bit I've seen looks interesting, but that first video with the square enemy by the door? Total X6 level design, man.

It was just an idea we had so we quickly made an enemy and tried it out. We definitely aren't aiming for an X6 level design at all but I can see what you mean. The enemy will probably look different later, and it'll do more than just circle around. Thanks for the feedback though!

Posted on: August 26, 2011, 20:23:28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuLSTJ3WMLs

A video of a demo level will be up soon.

Posted on: November 30, 2011, 05:15:42
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEh2Xm0ysNg

New song
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: SonicZH on January 10, 2012, 08:29:39 PM
We're still figuring out story-wise how X and Zero will be played, but both will be playable.

We're making this one with Game Maker. And yeah, the colour charging looks terrible because of how Game Maker is, but we'll make it look better soon.

Thanks for the feedback guys! Sorry for no "big" updates recently, been working on the little things the last little while. (Saving, pause screen, some gameplay tweaks, etc.)
And for those wondering, we'll be using save files, no password system.

Posted on: July 19, 2011, 07:12:31
Added a link to the blog! All updates will be on there from now on.

What about game maker color?
i am making a simpler game tho, classic megaman.

I separate each color into a different sprite, and recolor it as white so that the color blend can be any color, and draw each of them in the draw_sprite_ex
, then I change each of the color in the step function or draw function.
image_blend will only work for one particular sprite assign to the object, so I have to use draw_sprite_ext in the draw event instead.
etc
draw_sprite_ext(spr_scroll,0,x,y,1,1,0,$FFFFFF,1)
draw_sprite_ext(spr_scroll,1,x,y,1,1,0,lb,1)
draw_sprite_ext(spr_scroll,2,x,y,1,1,0,db,1)

colors that do not change can be combine into one layer.
u will probably need about 5 layer if there is 4 changing colors.

It is easy to seperate the sheet into sheet for each color using character maker 1999.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Eclipse on January 11, 2012, 06:55:07 AM
What about game maker color?
i am making a simpler game tho, classic megaman.

I separate each color into a different sprite, and recolor it as white so that the color blend can be any color, and draw each of them in the draw_sprite_ex
, then I change each of the color in the step function or draw function.
image_blend will only work for one particular sprite assign to the object, so I have to use draw_sprite_ext in the draw event instead.
etc
draw_sprite_ext(spr_scroll,0,x,y,1,1,0,$FFFFFF,1)
draw_sprite_ext(spr_scroll,1,x,y,1,1,0,lb,1)
draw_sprite_ext(spr_scroll,2,x,y,1,1,0,db,1)

colors that do not change can be combine into one layer.
u will probably need about 5 layer if there is 4 changing colors.

It is easy to seperate the sheet into sheet for each color using character maker 1999.

That method works for classic megaman because it is 8 bit. It's a bit different when dealing with MMX sprites, we would not get the right colors.

However I posted that a long time go and have already developed a colouring system for it.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: SonicZH on January 11, 2012, 05:18:06 PM
why will the method not work? is there some performace issue? Each color is link to a variable that can be change freely. and i have tried using multiple changing colors. using some boolean logic it is also possible to obtain certain random color if desire. like a range of blue.
I am not saything this way is better but i am quite certain it will work.
blue=make_color_rgb(100,100,200+count);
etc...
Anyway care to share how u implement ure, changing of colors?  I like to study other people methods as well.
I only know about different sprite_sheet and layers.

Not familiar with set_blend_mode option... but it probably work too.
Anyway programming aside, i like the big moving square robot idea.
Great work and keep it up =)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Eclipse on January 12, 2012, 05:16:30 PM
why will the method not work? is there some performace issue? Each color is link to a variable that can be change freely. and i have tried using multiple changing colors. using some boolean logic it is also possible to obtain certain random color if desire. like a range of blue.
I am not saything this way is better but i am quite certain it will work.
blue=make_color_rgb(100,100,200+count);
etc...
Anyway care to share how u implement ure, changing of colors?  I like to study other people methods as well.
I only know about different sprite_sheet and layers.

Not familiar with set_blend_mode option... but it probably work too.
Anyway programming aside, i like the big moving square robot idea.
Great work and keep it up =)

It would not create the correct shading of blue that X has. Plus it's to much of a hassle compared to my method, but I will not be releasing any game code.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: SonicZH on January 12, 2012, 05:46:26 PM
was just giving some input because someone commented on the color u implemented having errors.
And was trying to suggest some other ways in case it could do some help.
Quote
We're making this one with Game Maker. And yeah, the colour charging looks terrible because of how Game Maker is, but we'll make it look better soon.
You seems to be blaming the IDE. Hence i suggested some way to solve it, as gamemaker definitely can do it.
I am not interested ure code at all. was just trying to help and interested why do u think its not possible in the first place.
Sorry if I am rude in anyway. I will avoid talking about code if you do not like it. :)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Eclipse on March 28, 2012, 07:24:08 PM
We have decided to show one of the eight Mavericks that will be in Mega Man X Eclipse. Scorch Raptor.

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U3LUtLt2pS0/T3NPqL7y-cI/AAAAAAAAACI/7LZBKqkgO90/s1600/SCORCHRAPTOR.png)

Credit goes to our maverick designer justicefrog (http://"http://justicefrog.deviantart.com/") on deviantArt, he did a tremendous job.

We are looking for the right person (or people) to sprite the 8 Mavericks of Mega Man X Eclipse. If you feel that you may be the right person, show us an example of your work by spriting one frame of Scorch Raptor. Email it to us at megamanprojecteclipse@gmail.com. We will be in touch with anyone expresses interest.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse (Code name)
Post by: Eclipse on September 14, 2012, 05:39:20 AM
We have quite a few major updates that we're very excited to share.

Check out the updates in detail here (http://mmxeclipse.blogspot.ca/2012/09/updates-on-mmx-eclipse.html). To summarize, we're now able to publish this game on Windows, Mac, Android, HTML5 and hopefully the OUYA. Our soundtrack of 47 songs is being finalized as well.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: RetroRespecter on September 18, 2012, 12:00:14 AM
That si amazing!
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on October 13, 2012, 06:22:07 AM
That si amazing!

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback.

Just wanted to post some details about the playable demo:


There are some other details being worked out, but those are the main ones I wanted to announce.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on December 05, 2012, 07:45:14 PM
We've decided to release the stance sprites for our boss Scorch Raptor. We need him to be animated so if anyone has interest, email us! (I've posted our email a few times, just scroll up)

There are 2 slightly different variations that we ended up with. The main difference being his left arm and his tail is positioned a bit differently. It seems like everyone we've showed it to has mostly chosen the right one but we'd like to see everyone's opinions.

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LW8cZxsMBSk/UL5gO2Xs6XI/AAAAAAAAAMg/Ksi2U4RVhLc/s1600/Scorch+Raptor+Sprite.png)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: RetroRespecter on December 07, 2012, 07:27:46 PM
The one on the left.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Night on December 08, 2012, 05:54:24 AM
I like how the right one has a bit more visible details.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on December 24, 2012, 07:59:04 AM
The right one has been in favour of mostly everybody. Someone offered to touch it up some more so we are waiting for him to show us the result.

Since we aren't quite finished with the demo yet, I decided to re-create Neon Tiger's level with our engine to show it's realism compared to MMX3. The video will be uploaded hopefully by the week of the New Year, given how my work schedule plans out. I've just found some minor bugs that I want to work out first. This hasn't slowed down overall progress, it was something I decided to do while the others worked on Scorch Raptor's level.

A few plans have changed with the demo as well. We originally decided to just release it for Windows, however it'd be really nice to get feedback on how it runs on separate Android OS's as well. So we're going to work on releasing the Windows version as planned and then we will work on optimizing and porting it to Android afterwards. It'll probably also have the Neon Tiger remake in it as well.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on January 02, 2013, 07:30:25 AM
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o1eUenlzuU[/youtube]

The video of the Neon Tiger level has been uploaded!

As stated before; this is to show you guys our engine and its realism to the SNES series. We took the map from VG maps, put in some enemies and that's how it ended up. Unfortunately, YouTube cut the video from 60 FPS to 30 FPS so it's only half as smooth as it should be. Scorch Raptor's level is next on the list for videos, and then the demo! Happy New Years!
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Yllisos Zanon on January 14, 2013, 08:17:07 AM
(http://s7.postimage.org/51kg29ijb/morematerials.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/51kg29ijb/)

This is what I have, I am sorry, but my mind is more focused on a few other projects currently, but I am honestly duckking down from this for sanity sake.

NMario and Yoku Man have me my secondary brain occupied, along with my own.  Good luck to you.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on January 28, 2013, 07:00:59 AM
(http://s7.postimage.org/51kg29ijb/morematerials.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/51kg29ijb/)

This is what I have, I am sorry, but my mind is more focused on a few other projects currently, but I am honestly duckking down from this for sanity sake.

NMario and Yoku Man have me my secondary brain occupied, along with my own.  Good luck to you.

Sorry, I didn't see this post till today, but it's completely understandable. Thanks for working on what you could! The shading has been significantly improved.


I wrote up a new blog post to clear up some confusion on how we're distributing Eclipse. It also includes some new screen shots of the game.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Treleus on January 28, 2013, 07:20:08 AM
Mmmph!

Love the punch behind those double shots, man. Rocks my socks.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on March 14, 2013, 12:25:46 AM
Here are some pictures -

[spoiler]
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5UtsHq-UteY/UUEJVqYeynI/AAAAAAAAAVc/B3RFFJCNwdQ/s1600/1.png)

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J010dpxw7Z8/UUEJV31sc1I/AAAAAAAAAVg/E8_0XN08Q2I/s1600/2.png)

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iD0CtDhKnEg/UUEJiVceABI/AAAAAAAAAV0/yL5JgrJB6Vc/s1600/3.png)
[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: RetroRespecter on March 14, 2013, 02:31:29 AM
Why does the second shot look like the mechaniloid is not properly animated when it is shooting downward.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on March 24, 2013, 12:48:58 AM
Not quite sure what you mean by that. Looks good to me when fighting him. How do you think he should look?
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Night on March 24, 2013, 02:16:23 AM
Probably have the arm extend when firing for a more dynamic pose?
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on March 24, 2013, 04:58:36 PM
He does that in the 3rd pic. I'll see what I can do for the diagonal one, although we're still working on how he'll look, too. Consider this his "beta" sprite, I suppose.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: N-Mario on March 24, 2013, 09:24:52 PM
Reminds me of the unused miniboss sprite from MM7. Is that what this is?

As for the second pic, I suggest editing the sprite shown from the 3rd pic. Maybe try rotating his arm diagonally?
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on March 25, 2013, 04:00:25 AM
Reminds me of the unused miniboss sprite from MM7. Is that what this is?

As for the second pic, I suggest editing the sprite shown from the 3rd pic. Maybe try rotating his arm diagonally?

Yep, that's where he's from. As I said in my last post, we're going to modify him a bit.

I think I have an idea for a new diagonal attack sprite. I'll give it a try sometime this week if I can find the time.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on June 06, 2013, 06:16:41 AM
Scorch Raptor boss battle!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuLou0Bo86s[/youtube]
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: RetroRespecter on June 06, 2013, 06:27:04 PM
He doesn't looks like a Maverick you'd want to start with.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on June 06, 2013, 07:19:38 PM
Not particularly! Haha. He will be a lot easier with his weakness, but will prove a challenge for those who want to do minimalist runs.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: thefallenalchemist on June 09, 2013, 09:14:29 AM
Just wanted to say that the game looks freaking awesome from what I've seen. Being an SNES X Fanatic, I particularly like how you paid attention to detail. It looks and feels like it's right at home on the original console and even the explosion was correct - to the note!

I'm extremely hyped for this one.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on June 09, 2013, 11:42:17 PM
Just wanted to say that the game looks freaking awesome from what I've seen. Being an SNES X Fanatic, I particularly like how you paid attention to detail. It looks and feels like it's right at home on the original console and even the explosion was correct - to the note!

I'm extremely hyped for this one.

Ah, I'm glad it's noticed! I spend a lot of my time trying to recreate that unique experience from X games. Attention to detail was integral for a good SNES game, and so it's just as important for us.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on August 23, 2013, 11:48:18 PM
Demo has been released! http://mmxeclipse.blogspot.ca/2013/08/demo-release.html
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Fxeni on August 24, 2013, 06:14:47 AM
Right so I played the demo, and here are my thoughts.

The Good:

- The controls are very nicely tuned. You nailed this aspect.
- Sound is good, although I'm not personally a fan of the music that much.
- The enemies are well programmed for the most part.

The Bad:

- The Level Design. Oh man, the Level Design. The first section is far too empty and kind of dull, with not much in the way of obstacles or difficulty. Then the second part hits us with a ton of bricks in the face, requiring far more precision than any section of the first part. Furthermore, some of the (I assume are) bugs make this section even more tedious than it needs to be. And that last little jump at the end? I know that you were going for a flashy finish and all, but having to restart the whole second section when you're right next to the boss door due to not knowing about the jump is just not cool.

The Ugly:

- I was stuck in a jump animation while landing a few times. Really minor compared to some of the other stuff, but I figured you would want to know.
- The wall shooters can get frozen in place if you back off screen while it's turret turns.
- The damage barrier does nothing against damage surfaces. Seriously?
- I killed the boss as I was about to be hit, and died as he was exploding. This led to me being frozen in place with no sound when I respawned at the checkpoint. I was not particularly inclined to go through the level again (see Level Design), so I don't know what it's like after that.

In Conclusion:

I like the controls and enemies. The music is not for me, but I can appreciate the sound design. The Level Design was not that great as far as I'm concerned, some tuning to equalize the difficulty/enjoyment across the board is definitely needed.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on August 24, 2013, 06:38:06 AM
I appreciate the constructive criticism. I didn't think I would get one so in-depth this fast!

Right so I played the demo, and here are my thoughts.

The Good:

- The controls are very nicely tuned. You nailed this aspect.
- Sound is good, although I'm not personally a fan of the music that much.
- The enemies are well programmed for the most part.

Music is always subject to change, but I'm glad the controls feel good.

Quote
The Bad:

- The Level Design. Oh man, the Level Design. The first section is far too empty and kind of dull, with not much in the way of obstacles or difficulty. Then the second part hits us with a ton of bricks in the face, requiring far more precision than any section of the first part. Furthermore, some of the (I assume are) bugs make this section even more tedious than it needs to be. And that last little jump at the end? I know that you were going for a flashy finish and all, but having to restart the whole second section when you're right next to the boss door due to not knowing about the jump is just not cool.


Agreed the 1st half is simple compared to the 2nd half. Mainly due to the difficulty change after the half-boss; and after going through some X levels I realized not every area in a level is populated.

We've considered putting another checkpoint before the jump, but it just felt like too many checkpoints. It is a really eventful ending though, so we'll give that some thought.

Quote
The Ugly:

- I was stuck in a jump animation while landing a few times. Really minor compared to some of the other stuff, but I figured you would want to know.
- The wall shooters can get frozen in place if you back off screen while it's turret turns.
- The damage barrier does nothing against damage surfaces. Seriously?
- I killed the boss as I was about to be hit, and died as he was exploding. This led to me being frozen in place with no sound when I respawned at the checkpoint. I was not particularly inclined to go through the level again (see Level Design), so I don't know what it's like after that.

It is a demo, so there will be bugs but I'm glad so far it's just minor. Confused about the damage barrier point though, what are you referring to?

After you kill Scorch Raptor the victory scene plays and go back to the stage select. I'll look into that bug.


Scorch Raptor's stage is by far going to be the longest and the hardest, so there won't be that kind of difficulty swing in any other level. But again, I do appreciate the criticism.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Fxeni on August 24, 2013, 07:21:36 AM
Don't worry about the music, that's more a personal thing.

I like the idea of the jump, just maybe widen the area a bit to give a little more leeway.

The damage barrier point comes into play in the lava draining section for the most part. So let's say I'm sliding down a wall, for example, and I hit an enemy that was just revealed. Instead of having a second or less to get my bearings and jump back onto the wall, I essentially die right away once I touch the lava.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on August 24, 2013, 07:46:56 AM
Don't worry about the music, that's more a personal thing.

I like the idea of the jump, just maybe widen the area a bit to give a little more leeway.

The damage barrier point comes into play in the lava draining section for the most part. So let's say I'm sliding down a wall, for example, and I hit an enemy that was just revealed. Instead of having a second or less to get my bearings and jump back onto the wall, I essentially die right away once I touch the lava.

Ah, I getcha. It actually only does that with that specific lava. You can interact with spikes while blinking. I was thinking of changing the lava to just doing a big chunk of damage instead of instant kill, but I thought that might make it too easy. There's a few things I'll take a look at.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 24, 2013, 08:27:01 AM
I pretty much have the same proints like Fxeni but i have one more additional problem. I dont know why but i keep getting slowdowns for some reason.

My PC is overkill so i doubt it is that. Anyway there are some problems with the games but i am sure they will be fixed and improved upon when the game comes out. I am glad that you showed us a demo and asked for feedback which is really nice so thanks a lot for that, i think any game developer, fan or official should do this all the time. So thanks a lot for that  8) Its better than not nothing to show a demo and get feedback ( Unlike corrupted ).

Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on August 24, 2013, 08:50:51 AM
Where are you getting the slowdowns? Is it all over the level or in a specific area? GM:S just released a new compiler that fixes a lot of speed issues (at least on slower devices), however it's bugged at the moment so I have no choice but to wait and use the old compiler. That might solve your problem once I'm able to use it.

Every developer has their own way of going about their game. Personally, I like having a demo out to get feedback and find bugs easier.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 24, 2013, 09:08:17 AM
I am getting slowdowns all over. And i agree but its also the people that play it that count. What you see is not what you may play. But if he is doing it that way then i have problems with it but its his game so he can do what he wants.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Fxeni on August 24, 2013, 08:06:34 PM
I'm not getting the slowdown problem on my end.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 25, 2013, 12:43:12 AM
That is strange since i can run TERA 60fps while running : Firefox,Youtube,MMF2,PSCX2,Dolphin at full speed. I closed all my applications and it still slows down.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: thefallenalchemist on August 25, 2013, 05:38:47 AM
Music in Scorch Raptor is really rubbing me wrong. The tunes in the X series had more [acid burst] n vinegar, and I'm not hearing that. It's a volcano, so I'd think blazing guitars and an overall feeling of "heat" is in order. I love how the tune starts, but it doesn't seem right for the stage.
I'm also seeing quite a bit of emptiness in the level before the mid-boss, as has been discussed. I am having the worst trouble with the downward lava portion. That last wall jump is damn near impossible to make, even for an X Vet like me. I'll keep trying, but less inclined players will be pitching a fit.

I also found a bug or two: When X jums over spikes, sometimes the sprite will freeze on the edge of them. Also, if you cause the wall to close and don't jump down all the way, it will trap you in the closed wall, as you watch the spiked wall continue it's descent to the bottom. I won't lie. It was kind of funny.

Lava is not as powerful as it should be, mid-boss explosion is weak, enemies have odd explosion patterns in some instances, and Joes aren't as easy as you've made them.

Drops are odd too. Three extra lives in one stage? Why, thank you. Though I recognized the tiles from Tunnel Rhino and Volt Catfish, I'll let it slide being that this is the first taste of handmade X that I've ever played, sans flash based wannabe games and MM21xx.

I've been asking for a 16 bit X series game for longer than some on this forum have probably been alive, and am strongly critical about these games. But, I shrug my shoulders and exclaim "It could be worse" as I prepare to dust off my buster and take down that raptor.

It made my day, nonetheless. Can't wait to play the final.



Posted on: August 25, 2013, 08:49:47
Sorry to double post, but the mobile version of the forum won't let me edit. Basically, I've been playing the game for about three hours now, still trying to get past the the lava portions of the stage. Come on guys, this is ridiculous. For a guy who's played and beaten all the X games and several times over, there's a big difference between challenge and artificial difficulty.

The first portion of the flowing lava takes practice and isn't that tough, until you get to the opening at the end. That gap is about a split second before the wall comes down, which is just frustrating, something I would have expected from MMU.

Then, you follow up with the spiked walls which require the upward dash jump, except the lava flows much faster than it should. In X3, the lava that flows after beating Sigma is somewhat tricky, but it never moved that damn fast. A friend of mine who programs games in VB, watched me play the demo and immediately noticed the bad design choice. Do we really need the quick moving lava and the spike wall spam? It turns fun into frustrating, which made me want to throw my controller down a few times. I ask that you would tone it down a bit, or at least throw that portion into a Sigma stage where we'd expect it. Spikes all over the place do not equal fun. Remember the old games and how they utilized difficulty without resorting to death traps. I think only X6 Gate stage 1 did that, and you had to use a special ability to scale the wall. Other than that, I remember Agile's stage. But even that was bearable. But demos are released for feedback, and all I'm asking is that you keep the player in mind.

Phil and crew were good at MMU. But another player might not be as good as they are and find it so tough, that they no longer care about it.

I have been through the stage 40-60 times (keep grabbing the extra life) and still have not made it. And I've spent many years playing the games for 100% completion. So just think how a newcomer will do.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Servadac on August 25, 2013, 10:32:04 AM
Played the demo and I have some comments, at least up to the point where I stopped playing. I like the music, I have no problems with it. It's hard for me to tell if the stage sprites are ripped or just very similar to the ones in an existing X-game. And I'm not sure that's a good thing. The SNES X-games reuse a lot of enemies but perhaps it would be fun with a new enemy or a few of them. The first part of the stage up to the mid boss does seem a bit bland, but I have no idea how to change it. Making platforming challenging is much harder when you can cling to walls and airdash.

The miniboss you can quite easily avoid if you just stay under him, maybe that's intended? Also X getting knocked down when he crashes into the wall seems very random. And a very small nitpick: the light part on the shoulder pad thingies should be round if you want to convey with the shading that they are round.

And now we get to the part with the sinking lava and spike ceiling. I'm sorry but that was the uninstall.exe moment for me. Instakill things just are NOT fun for the player. MMU and Mega Man games made by Inticreates might make it seem otherwise but yeah. At the very least make the damage invincibility so that you survive touching lava.

On my end I had no slowdowns whatsoever, but GM games are notorious for causing slowdowns depending on a host of different aspects, programming etc.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: OBJECTION MAN on August 25, 2013, 10:37:47 AM
Take this feedback with some consideration that I am a professional game designer, who owns a video game company.


First off I would like to congratulate you on completing a solid demo. A great milestone, especially for a side project. There are of course things that could use improvement, but you did a lot of things right, mostly in the programming sector. I'll start off with some minor things, then dig deeper as I go along.

This may just be me, but I think X slides down walls faster than the SNES games. This threw me off at first, as my 'muscle memory' for playing SNES X games was causing me to miss a few timed air dashes off of wall drops for a while until I adjusted.

When triangle kicking (wall kicking) there seems to be some issue with how long you hold the button down. If you just tap the button, x goes for a longer jump up than if you held the button for a split second and then released, which causes X to immediately stop ascending. If tapping the button acted this way, the lava & spike ceiling segment would be much more manageable.

Now on to the rest.

Flat out, without absolute certainty, I must say the game is way over the line on difficulty. I STRONGLY urge you to completely reconsider on this. We do NOT need another MM Unlimited disaster.

This stage is very much like a prototype stage, and does not feel like final material. I would suggest you redesign this Maverick's stage from the ground up, using what you've learned so far. The difficulty needs to tone down severely. There are a few simple things you can do to adjust the difficulty without losing the concepts you have. As it stands now, this is very literally on par with what I would expect from the final stage, not fit for a normal Maverick stage.

Remember that you can always apply these stage ideas into the fortress stages with added difficulty if you feel their application in the 8 selectable stages were not enough.

First off, the lava and spikes section has to be toned down. I would introduce the element into a smaller area. Use blocks to narrow the shaft's width at the top. Then make it bigger, and introduce enemies after a short time. Right off the bat it is too wide, and the difficulty actually tones down once you get to the part with blocks in your way.

I realize why you made the lava instant kill, even when you're in the invincibility period. It is so you don't fall ahead of the lava, potentially to the point of never being able to come back in time and it looking a bit silly in the process. There are a couple of ways you can potentially mitigate this if you want to turn the immunity during invincibility back on (and I suggest you do).

My best suggestion is to have a floor, that moves with the lava, about 32 pixels under the lava surface I'd guess. If X were to fall down into the lava, and not die instantly because he is within his invincibility period, then he will be visibly covered in it, but still able to hop out in time.

This hard to pull off 'second chance' negates the need for the lava to do high damage, as the chances of escape are narrow as is.

To make this segment more manageable, perhaps provide a 16 or 32 pixel increase to the gap between the ceiling and lava surface. The current size isn't impossible, but i'd expect this stage gimmick to appear within the final stages as well, which would be much more suited with the current gap size to add to the challenge.

Remember that you always want to teach the player of a mechanic or gimmick before throwing them right into the challenging segment. Teach them with the maverick stage, and make them apply it to a higher degree in the fortress stages. It would make for a good HOLY [parasitic bomb] ITS BACK moment later on in the game.

The jump at the end I know people had some issues with. It was a neat touch and a nice OH [parasitic bomb] OH [parasitic bomb] OH [parasitic bomb] moment. It needs only one thing though. A warning of some sort. There are a couple of ways to minimize the issue. My best advice here is to have a tiny segment before the big jump, that demonstartes what will happen. The ground you land on should be clearly visible on the other side of the spike section for this tiny pre-application of the stage gimmick. Doing a standard dash jump should easily clear it. You just want the player to see and understand the mechanic. Then you give them the large jump.

Otherwise, make the initial jump of the gimmick shorter, so there is less margin of error and it is easier to time. Likewise it may be worth trying to keep the bottom from narrowing, just the top. This is a stage gimmick thats best used for looking threatening, which is a thrill, but not being actually harmful and easy to navigate. The impending threat of spikes and no ground is enough to give the sense of thrill, without actually being a danger to the player.

Again, this feels like something much more fit for the final stages. In fact, I would recommend moving it there exclusively, due to the epic feel of it.

Moving on to bosses.

The mini boss has some frustrating elements to it's pattern that should be addressed, and are thankfully easy to.

First off, the boss goes too high on the screen, to the point wher eyou cannot effectively hit him with a charge shot. When he camps up at the top where its not really possible to hit him effectively, it becomes frustrating, not necessarily difficult. I would suggest to lower his max allowed height, so that it is still possible to hit him with a charge shot. Failing that, you could code it so that after he does one action at the top, he automatically returns to the middle position. In fact, it may be worth trying to see if it works better if the AI is forced to move to a new height after every one or two attacks regardless of where he is. Or a combination of the two.

I would also change the falling rocks. Have them actually just cover the whole middle, instead of randomly falling in positions. Space them so they fall evenly enough to cover the entire middle. For visual variance, change their Y position a little when they're created, so they fall at different 'heights' but no more than 16 pizxels of variance. It could be as simple as a random chance 1/3 to get a set +0, +8, +16 variance. This would look more SNES X series retro anyway.

On to the Maverick boss himself.

For the most part this is pretty good, but as with the other there are a few things to change.

Firstly, the lava pillars. I like the idea, but there are a few things that should be changed, which don't impact gameplay at all. It all boils down to player guidance and information. Have the 'burners', defined as the floor blocks that look like a cylinder where the lava spout erupts from, flash completely orange, not jsut a small segment of them. It will make the animation much easier to see. It doesn't decrease the difficulty as much as the annoyance and frustration the player feels when he does not see the warning sign.

Along those lines, I would suggest to put arrows pointing upward, on the floor blocks between 'burners'. As this is the spot you need to run to, to avoid the lava splash anyway. It may be a subtle hint the player picks up, perhaps not even conciously, but improves the flow and direction of the battle.

On a related note, since the boss' lava splash sprites do damage you, the ones viewed earlier in the stage during the ride armor segment, which use the same sprite (I realize these flash and the boss ones don't but it's still inconsistent for using the same sprite), should also damage you to be consistent. Or, use different imagery for one or the other. However, I do think the added damage would be better. It would make the pillars more threatening to the ride armor, and wouldn't be as easy to pass without damage. I also think the pillar's contact damage should be higher to the ride armor. The boss' damage ratios are fine as is. Also, the leeway on contact to the lava fillar for the boss battle could stand to be reduced very slightly. It's a tight fit between the pillar and the closest falling lava ball.

Again related to the lava pillars, the boss falls too fast after wards, when he ends that pattern. This wouldn't be an issue if his contact damage hit box was smaller, but he will fall right on X and damage him (while turning around if I recall correctly) with little room for escape as a result. This is jsut a cheap hit, not true difficulty.

The crecent shots the boss throws out may need a little adjustment. The top one always seems to block my charged shot, and its hard to get a clean hit in, unless you use the smaller green charge shot, or the uncharged shot. It doesn't need much, just enough to get a clean hit in. You're punishing for improper movement with this attack, but should allow in clean hits if you're in no danger of being hit yourself. Alternatively, the second shot appears a moment after the first, or vice versa, giving a small opening to attack. I think appearing a split second after would be better than appearing before to keep the challenge up.

The jumping arc of the boss can sometimes be too quick to actually get out of. Perhaps just reduce the X movement speed for the boss' jump a tiny bit.

This is all I have for now. Again, very good work getting a solid demo rolling, but please do take these suggestions into consideration. I don't want this project to end up like Megaman Unlimited did. What a disaster that was.


Just remember this saying, that I live by for level design and difficulty balance:
When you think your game is just right, then it is too hard. When you think your game is challenging, it is way too hard.

Remember, there is always the potential for a "Hard Mode" later, even in a post release update.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on August 25, 2013, 11:38:38 PM
After reading and thinking about various feedback, I agree that the level needs to be more balanced. After testing the level out numerous times ourselves, the level becomes easier and it's harder for us to judge whether something is too easy or too hard. Clearly, it's way too hard and we (as a team) are going to experiment different ways to keep it from frustrating the user to the point of quitting. Originally, we were thinking create this level and make an easy mode later. But perhaps making an easier level first and then hard mode later is a better option.

I am glad that so far the controls and X's physics are satisfying other than a few minor bugs. That was our main point of focus for a long time. Our next focus will be primarily on level design and enemies. I don't think we'll be redoing Scorch Raptor's level from the ground up any time soon, but it's always a possibility in the future if we decide it just doesn't fit.

We listened to many suggestions and are making the appropriate changes to accommodate them:


And that's just to name a few.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: thefallenalchemist on August 26, 2013, 01:52:14 AM
Glad to hear it. Despite all my raving about the level, I really did enjoy playing the game and to be honest; I'm thankful to see that this got made.

I had such a nostalgia trip, that I installed all the old X games on my computer. (Still looking for cracks on the Korean RMX6 and RMX7 though. These games never got a US PC release like X1,3,4,5 and 8.)

Again, looking forward to the final.

Posted on: August 26, 2013, 07:25:32
side note: owns X Collection, Command Mission and X8. :) Also bought RKS and RKSF. (Added to stop thread derail.)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 26, 2013, 04:13:47 AM
I can Pm the cracks for X7 and X6 if you would like?
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: thefallenalchemist on August 26, 2013, 04:21:51 AM
sure. and thanks. the only reason i want to play them on PC is because they're the jap originals and I want to hear what x7 sounded like before we screwed it up in the  US.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 26, 2013, 01:29:41 PM
Glad were on the same page  8)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Zan on August 27, 2013, 04:28:39 PM
*sigh*

(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g295/ZanSidera/EclipseBug_zps285e4c19.png)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 28, 2013, 08:29:07 PM
I sometimes get stuck on the door when you have to go to the lava room.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on August 28, 2013, 10:52:38 PM
I'll need more specific information to fix this. I'm aware people are getting stuck, but I've never gotten stuck myself so I need to know what you guys did. Were you walking in normally? Dashing? Jumping? etc.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 28, 2013, 11:28:20 PM
when i go to the entrance of the downward level lava room, if i go forward and quickly go back the door closes and traps X inside the door and it stays like that forever until i reset the game.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on August 28, 2013, 11:47:44 PM
Oh the lava pit door has been fixed so that it'll kill you. That'll be in the next update. I misread your post and thought you also were getting stuck in the boss room door.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 28, 2013, 11:58:29 PM
No problem, version 1.01 fixed the slowdowns i had before and it is really close to the original and i must say you did a amazing good job 8).
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on August 29, 2013, 12:49:51 AM
Really? That is very interesting. I believe I downgraded to an older GameMaker:Studio version to compile 1.01. I suppose I'll have to do that again for 1.02.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Zan on August 29, 2013, 01:36:05 PM
I'll need more specific information to fix this. I'm aware people are getting stuck, but I've never gotten stuck myself so I need to know what you guys did. Were you walking in normally? Dashing? Jumping? etc.

Got killed by the boss, then walked through the door. The animations plays, but X's forward momentum is lacking, leaving him stranded midway.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Eclipse on August 29, 2013, 08:59:23 PM
Alright I'll see if I can figure out what's happening. The next update will feature a "I'm Stuck" button, which will kill X but not take away a life if you're stuck in a wall.

Edit: v1.02 released! http://mmxeclipse.blogspot.ca/2013/08/mmx-eclipse-demo-v102-released.html
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 31, 2013, 12:50:12 PM
Thanks a lot.  8)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Zan on August 31, 2013, 02:49:48 PM
The new update definitely is an improvement in several regards, good job. Personally, however, I would ditch the Mac edits and put the Fire Scrivers (http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Scriver) back in. Also, the spike ceiling could stand to shake a little before it drops, and you may want to follow Objection Man's advice to add a moving floor 32 pixels below the lava.
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: Irregular Ass-R-Us on August 31, 2013, 05:47:23 PM
Having fully played the demo, i will evaluate it and say what i think about it:

Gameplay: 10/10
The gameplay is fast paced, fluid and perfect. I have no complaints what so ever about this.

Music: 6/10
The music was okay. I did not quite like the stage song because it does not suit the level and feels kind of repetetive. The boss music on the other hand was really well done and i liked it 8). It felt Boss like so that was really done well. I think the stage music should be a combination of Blaze Heatnixs + Flame Stags themes because they are done really well for a lava type of stage.

Stage Design: 6.5/10
The first part of the stage kind of felt dull and empty, it did not seem like you were in a volcano. The second part however. Was done amazingly well. It definitely felt as if you were in a volcano kind of factory, it looked much better . I also liked the rising lava because it adds tension which is perfect for a fire type stage. The jump at the end with all the spikes was a really nice addition and i enjoyed that part a lot. I think that the first part of the stage should start at the top of the level and then keep going down, and the further you go the more the more harder it will get.

Boss: 9/10
The boss battle was really well made and it felt like a proper boss battle. The attack patterns and animations were done well and i also love the design of the boss, it looks really professional. The only problem i had with it which is really small, is that there is no indication through which lava pipe he is going to rise through. Thats the only problem i have because its hard to tell where he will go. Other than that its pretty much perfect.

Overall: 9/10
I enjoyed the demo. Even though it has small flaws, the game play really makes you forget that and makes you enjoy the game. This is just a demo so i know the full game will be perfect.

This what i think personally. Other may not agree with what i say but i have no problems with that because this is just what i think of it so far.

Good luck on the full game guys  8)
Title: Re: Megaman X : Eclipse
Post by: thefallenalchemist on September 06, 2013, 09:07:37 PM
You fixed it, it's fun - it's manageable (I wish there were some more enemies after the lava, maybe a bat or two which would have it's destiny fulfilled by being smashed against the wall - seen it happen in many of the old X games) and I had a blast. Raptor whooped my acid burst the first time, but then once I got his pattern, he got gravity crushed.