Topic: Mega Man Unlimited

[Joseph Collins]

This thing got its own news article on Destructoid, but just how far from completion is it, exactly?  And seriously, why is this thing taking so long to come together?  That's all I want to know.  Even Capcom didn't take years to develop a new Rockman game.

Then again, Capcom generally had no less than 15 people working on any given game, rather than a two-man team (Phil on graphics, Jansim on programming, in this case).

Then again-again, some of the best fan games from the last few years have been one or two-person projects and they didn't take years to finish...  >_>;

[Yoku Man]

This thing got its own news article on Destructoid, but just how far from completion is it, exactly?  And seriously, why is this thing taking so long to come together?  That's all I want to know.  Even Capcom didn't take years to develop a new Rockman game.

Then again, Capcom generally had no less than 15 people working on any given game, rather than a two-man team (Phil on graphics, Jansim on programming, in this case).

Then again-again, some of the best fan games from the last few years have been one or two-person projects and they didn't take years to finish...  >_>;

I blame the fact that we changed engines during development. It may have prevented me and NMario from doing any more contributing, but I think it was all for the better. C++ was a much more professional way to go, plus he's got trusted friends he knows in real life, helping him with it. He basically started again from scratch after so much work had been done on the previous MMF2 engine. So technically development began again only recently in the end of 2010, early 2011.

Its practically finished now. The bulk of the engine is complete and all he has to do is fill in some holes, so to speak. So close to the bug fixing phase now. I think he's made the personal choice not to release a demo. I think its a cool decision, it'll make playing it on the release date so much more satisfying. I can imagine the many LPs and streams of people playing for the first time. Discovering everything for the first time. Knowing so little about the game only helps to give the fans something new to experience with no spoilers.

A perfect treat for the 25th Anniversary.  I wouldn't be suprised if Phil fuels the hype even more by releasing it on Mega Man's Anniversary! But I feel like it might be ready before then.

PS. if anyone wants to check it out, here is the actual Instruction Booklet that Phil showed off in his Mini-Trailer.

http://www.megaphilx.com/MM10/MMUInstructionBooklet.pdf

[OBJECTION MAN]

Just as an sample:
Megaman 1 had 7 staff members.
Megaman 2 had 10 staff members.
Megaman 3 still only had 12 staff members.

Each classic Megaman project, up to and including Megaman 7, lasted about 2-3 months total. Megaman 2 was even done primarily in their spare time off the books.

Megaman Unliminted has 5, according to the instruction manual PDF.

[Gaia]

Then again-again, some of the best fan games from the last few years have been one or two-person projects and they didn't take years to finish...  >_>;

Can't blame the Unlimited team for the trouble, that and Mr. Philly is also probably juggling this project with Mega Man X: Corrupted (probably with cooperation with JKB Games), which I think Corrupted should be put on hold for the final stretch of this fan game.

They also could've had an extra set of hands too if they weren't so secretive.

[Joseph Collins]

Wait, what?  Phil is working on Mega Man X: Corrupted alongside that one guy?  I thought it was a solo project.  Then again, there's no credits list for Corrupted anywhere I can find.  All JKB says is he "currently has five people helping him."  A Google search also turns up nothing about Phil being part of that project.  I could easily be wrong, though.  I kind of stopped paying attention to Phil.

[Gaia]

It could just be a blurb, since JKB HAS gotten hush-hush lately. That and I'm not to think that doing an entire fangame with huge effort and doing it alone would be done quickly, think the whole situation with Lucas' Empire that was under lock and key during the entire production, not a single peep was made about that during that time, and it's a possible guess as to why Unlimited is taking so long alongside the obligatory life and engine switch.

And even though he's doing it alone and it looks amazing so far in the case of Corrupted, that should raise a red flag as it too had a similar situation involving lost data. One-man bands without a pre-made engine when it comes to making independent titles will take awhile AND also to be kept secret at the same time, so we don't know when both games are coming out, although many are guessing by the time of Mega Man's 25th Anniversary.

[Joseph Collins]

Nonsense!  That would make too much sense!

But seriously, that would be pretty nice.  I'm not too keen on the songs Phil's done for Unlimited, but the game itself looks rather promising.  With any luck, it'll even play so accurately to the NES games that I'll keep going for the Save State button here and there.  But if even one thing is out of place... I will know! 

[KoiDrake]

Can't blame the Unlimited team for the trouble, that and Mr. Philly is also probably juggling this project with Mega Man X: Corrupted (probably with cooperation with JKB Games), which I think Corrupted should be put on hold for the final stretch of this fan game.

They also could've had an extra set of hands too if they weren't so secretive.

Uh? What are you talking about? Those games are completely different projects, jkb and Phil aren't working together. They aren't even using the same engine to make the games...

[Yoku Man]

Nonsense!  That would make too much sense!

But seriously, that would be pretty nice.  I'm not too keen on the songs Phil's done for Unlimited, but the game itself looks rather promising.  With any luck, it'll even play so accurately to the NES games that I'll keep going for the Save State button here and there.  But if even one thing is out of place... I will know! 

You sure are a stickler for accuracy, Joseph! Actually I find it useful. You helped alot when I was trying to get the jumping physics right for the Mega Man World engine. Infact, I might suggest you for the bug fixing phase of MMU when it starts. But I'm sure Phil will be quite picky with whom he choses to test the game. He would want absolute non-disclosure from all who test it.

[Joseph Collins]

Welp, I think I mentioned to Starsim you that I actually noticed a four-pixel difference in jumping height between Mega Man and SuperDanny, which kept screwing me up in the levels of SuperDanny 2.  Though, when I started playing that game, I'd just come off of playing the Game Boy games where Megaman jumps 32 pixels high instead of 48, so I was all bass-ackwards for a little while.  @_@;

As for non-disclosure?  The simplest solution I've found to avoid temptation is to simply not even tell people you're part of something with a non-disclosure agreement.  Then, people won't ask and you won't be as tempted to say anything.  Of course, any feedback I'd want to give would probably go to you guys anyway.  After all, you guys are more likely to do something about it if I contact you directly rather than post something somewhere else. (I should probably shoot RUD a PM about his game, on that note.)
On a related sidenote, I think Phil's mad at me because I said his music either "needed work" or "was terrible" some time ago...  I'm... kind of blunt sometimes.

[Gaia]

Uh? What are you talking about? Those games are completely different projects, jkb and Phil aren't working together. They aren't even using the same engine to make the games...

Well, due to the similar development hell situations both projects had, plus how they're done by a small team of dedicated fans. welp, I guess this year we'll be getting fan projects at the 25th anniversary.. But I don't know about what Phil wants to do after Unlimited..

[Yoku Man]

Well, due to the similar development hell situations both projects had, plus how they're done by a small team of dedicated fans. welp, I guess this year we'll be getting fan projects at the 25th anniversary.. But I don't know about what Phil wants to do after Unlimited..

I'm personally hoping he could contribute some sprites (if only a little) for my Mega Man Starbound fangame. One thing he has proven to be excellent at is his tilesets and sprite skills. I suspect he would be willing, as he's already given me and NMario his praise for the Mega Man World project, to which I'm deeply thankful.

[KoiDrake]

Well, due to the similar development hell situations both projects had, plus how they're done by a small team of dedicated fans.

So if any game gets in development hell it means that Phill is working on it, k I got it now!

[Yoku Man]

I don't know if any of you folks knew but I created a Yoku Man page on Facebook about a month ago. I just recently added some photo folders there showing off all the concept art and screenies for "Mega Man Unlimited", "Mega Man World" and "Mega Man Starbound - Galaxy's Champion". I made sure to pay homage to my many contributors, including MegaPhilX, Yllisos, Koidrake and Cherrykorock.

If any of you folks have Facebook accounts, be sure to like and subscribe to the Yoku Man page, as I'll be updating things on there as well as here.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yoku-Man/373187912752365

Its been a busy few months for Phil and Jansim and his new co-workers. They're certainly delivering the goods. I think it was a wise move to change the team and change the engine to C++ because I think it made Phil step back and take a look at the project as a whole and think carefully about how to properly code stuff and how to make things more accurate than any previous fangame has ever dared to try.

Be patient a while longer my friends, as his latest posts on Facebook (and his notes) seem to signify that alot of the difficult stuff is out of the way now. Just minor coding fixes and simple additions need be added to finish up the game: Such as Menus, effects and slight bug fixes.

I think the timing of Street Fighter X Mega Man has been beneficial too. As Phil has been able to play that and use it as a comparison on how to improve MMU. I know one thing that will definately be included in MMU that SFXMM fans have been complaining about: A Save Feature.

I would hazard a guess that it's only a month or two away from completion now!

[Yoku Man]

Continually, the Todo list shrinks as the days go by. I'll constantly update this list for you folks and add this to the first post too. Its the best way to ever know when we may see a release date, as Phil is keeping tight lipped and doesn't want to dissapoint anyone. Looks like just menu stuff needs doing now and a few tweaks here and there.

In Progress:

- Final Bosses and final sequence of events.  (Only final boss + cutscenes to finish)
- Targeting spot for Yoku Attack and Jet Missile. (Only x flipping of offset to fix)

Todo:

- Enemy projectiles reactions to Megaman's weapons. (Being able to destroy projectiles etc...)
- Pause Menu Energy and Weapon Tanks Functionality.
- Gameflow.  (Running out of lives takes you to game over, stages don't have a boss after beating him, etc...)
- Serialization.   (80% done (Gab))
- Boss Door colors. (per level)   (Shouldn't take long)
- Title Screen.
- Menus. (Main Menu, Options, Game Over, Save, Load, etc...)
- Shop Menu.
- Shop Exclusive Items. (Eddie Call, Spike Shield, Beat Rescue...)
- Weapon Absorb sequence. (Can't really do it in cutscene engine because of the various terrain layouts)
- CometWoman song final polish.   (Kevvviiinnn - Phil)
- (Ending) Cast Medley Song.  (Kevvviiinnn)
- (Ending) Cast Cutscene. (Need Medley Song)
- Fix bugs.

Done:

- All robot master stages and bosses are completed except minor details.
- Stage Select screen completed.
- Wily stages. 90%
- Level enemies: 100%
- MM Weapons. ( 95% ):
- Rush Coil. (Some bugs left to fix)
- Rush Jet. (Some bugs left to fix)
- Comet Dash.
- Glue Shot.
- Rainbow Beam.
- Yo-yo Cutter.
- Tank Arsenal.
- Yoku Attack. (Only Targeting Spot x flipping of offset to fix)
- Jet Missile. (Only Targeting Spot x flipping of offset to fix)
- Nitro Blast.
- Nail Shield.
- Cutscene engine.
- Cutscenes. (95% Done)
- Wily Boss #1.
- Wily Boss #2.
- Wily Boss #3.
- Wily's Robot Master Teleporters.
- Load game.
- Pause Menu.
- Robot Master Hurt VFX.
- Yoku Man Stage Maze Gameplay.
- Nail Shield Spread trajectories.
- Water Particle Effects. (Splash, Air Bubbles)
- Boss Health Meter Colors.
- Show Icons of Special Weapons above Megaman's head when switching weapons.

[RetroRespecter]

All that done and its just you two?!

[Yoku Man]

All that done and its just you two?!

Actually the full team of developers on MMU are:

- MegaPhilX (Philippe Poulin) - Art, Game Design, Programming, Sound Effects and Music.
- Jansim (Jean-Simon Brochu) - Main Gameplay Programmer.
- Gabriel LeBlanc and Jocelyn Perreault - Engine Developers, Programmers and Bug Fixers.
- Kevvviiinnn (Kevin Phetsomphou) - Main Music developer.
- ThunderThouin (Yan Thouin) - Music developer.

[RetroRespecter]

  <---*RetroRespecter's stupidity catches up to him*

[Riffman81]

Just want to say I'm really looking forward to this game. Can't wait to throw it on my arcade cabinet down in the game room! I've used MegaPhil's NES style box art to make a custom "Games For Windows" cover. All artwork credit goes to MegaPhilX.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

[Yoku Man]

Just want to say I'm really looking forward to this game. Can't wait to throw it on my arcade cabinet down in the game room! I've used MegaPhil's NES style box art to make a custom "Games For Windows" cover. All artwork credit goes to MegaPhilX.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Grrr you have an arcade cabinet!?  I'm envious!
Thats an awesome box! Just as cool as the official NES one Phil did. If you have Facebook you should post that on Phil's Mega Man Unlimited page. That way he's garunteed to see it and give you the praise you deserve!

[RetroRespecter]

Man, if Capcom gives this a green light....if only maybe...

[Riffman81]

Grrr you have an arcade cabinet!?  I'm envious!
Thats an awesome box! Just as cool as the official NES one Phil did. If you have Facebook you should post that on Phil's Mega Man Unlimited page. That way he's garunteed to see it and give you the praise you deserve!

Yeah, I've been working on that arcade cabinet for quite awhile, always adding new games to it. it's nice to be able to enjoy all the classic NES and Super NES games during my down time. I tried posting the cover I did on the Mega Man Unlimited Facebook page, but it would seem Phil's page doesn't allow photos to be posted on his wall?? I'm sure he'll see it at some point in time  Really looking forward to this game as I said before. If I can be of any help getting the word out about this game, I'll be glad to... but it pretty much looks like you guys have that covered. Thanks again for the kind words on my cover. I may do some artwork of my own at some point and make alternate versions of it.

[RetroRespecter]

Did you build that all by yourself or did you have help?

[Riffman81]

Did you build that all by yourself or did you have help?

I did it all on my own. The cabinet itself is actually an old Mortal Kombat 2 cab that was not in working condition. The story I got upon buying the cab was that it had been destroyed during a lightning storm... basically all the circuit boards had been fried. Got it really cheap, and it was perfect for what I had planned to do with it. I stripped all the components out, including the CRT monitor/screen. Re-wired all the controls with USB interface, replaced the screen with a 22' HDTV for the display. The brain of the cab is a older Intel Core 2 Duo 3.4ghz CPU that I had got from a local business who were upgrading their on site computers. I spent about $150 in upgrades for that CPU, adding a more powerful GFX card, a 2TB HDD and a Blu-Ray disc drive, as I back more important files up on those just for the simple reason they have more durability then your standard DVD+R. I also use Hyperspin for my front-end. Most home built arcade cabs I've seen usually can be made for a lot less money then what I spent. Most people just use any old CPU that can run MAME. I wanted to emulate other systems, not just MAME. So far I have the following systems emulated on this cab:

Atari 5200, 7800, NES, SNES N64, Game Cube, Wii, Game Boy (ALL), Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, Sega Game Gear, Neo-Geo Pocket (Color), TurboGFX 16/PC Engine, PC Games, PSone, PS2, MAME.

There are a few more miscellaneous emualtors on there like NDS and PSP. I'm always adding to it but for the most part.. it's done.

The cabinet has changed dramatically since I first got it... it now sports a Multi-Cade marquee and has been stripped of all the MK 2 decals it original had. The skin on it now is one big cluster of classic and modern video game characters... including a lot from the Mega man series as it was always my favorite as a kid. That's pretty much it. You can PM me if you want to know more as to not clutter this topic. 

[Yoku Man]

The game is getting closer and closer to "Alpha" status... Just look at how small the Todo list is now. And those particular tasks look like they'll all be really easy to do in a few days. I can imagine the game may see a release very soon after a short bug fixing stage. Perhaps end of April release? I'm definately excited!

He's perfected the various menu screens over the last few weeks, including an almost fully functional shop. Gameflow is being perfected, so everything in the game is linked together. He's got the Energy Balancer mechanics working, pallete changes for pick ups when Mega Man switches weapons and Save and Load menu's are working!

All he has to do now are a few more shop exclusive items and have them work in the game, a few tweaks to targeting AI for heatseeking weapons like Jet Missile and Yoku Attack, make sure things like E-Tanks an W-Tanks work correctly on the pause menu screen, gameflow so all elements of the game are fully linked, perfect the weapon absorb sequence after you kill a boss and finally make sure the Title Screen works perfectly and goes back to the intro sequence after the music ends....

The end is so near, I can taste it.

In progress:

- Menus (Options Menu, Wily Game Over Menu,)
- Energy Tanks not being collectable by Yoku Attack
- Eddie Call

Todo:

- Targeting spot for Yoku Attack and Jet Missile (Only x flipping of offset to fix)
- Shop Exclusive Items (Spike Shield, Beat Rescue...)
- Pause Menu Weapon Tanks Functionality  (Selecting a W-Tank and refilling weapon energy)
- Gameflow: When MM has obtained a boss' special weapon, that boss shouldn't show up at the end of a stage
- Gameflow: Automatically go to next Wily stage after beating one & Play Wily Castle Map cutscenes
- Title Screen (95% Done. Only thing left is triggering the intro cutscene after the song is over and adding the logos before the intro)
- Weapon Absorb sequence (Can't really do it in cutscene engine because of the various terrain layouts)
- Serialization   (80% done (Gab))
- CometWoman song final polish   (Kevvviiinnn - Phil)
- (Ending) Cast Medley Song   (Kevvviiinnn)
- Fix bugs

Done:

- All robot master stages and bosses are completed except minor details.
- Enemy projectiles reactions to Megaman's weapons (Being able to destroy projectiles etc...)
- Energy Balancer
- Boss Door colors (per level)
- Shop Menu  (Only thing left is adding a confirm dialog when buying things.)
- Final Bosses and final sequence of events  Only the final sequence of cutscenes in the Cutscenes to finish)
- Save Menu (98% Still have to code the Play Time counter and confirmation dialog)
- Load Menu (98% Still have to code the Play Time counter and confirmation dialog)
- (Ending) Cast Cutscene (95% Done Will do the rest of timing job when I get the Medley Song)   (Phil)
- YokuMan Stage Maze Gameplay
- Stage Select screen completed.
- Robot Master Hurt
- Wily stages 90%
- Level enemies : 100%
- MM Weapons ( 95% ):
- Rush Coil (Some bugs left to fix)
- Rush Jet (Some bugs left to fix)
- Comet Dash
- Glue Shot
- Rainbow Beam
- Yo-yo Cutter
- Tank Arsenal
- Yoku Attack
- Jet Missile
- Nitro Blast
- Nail Shield
- Cutscene engine
- Cutscenes  (95% Done)
- Wily Boss #1
- Wily Boss #2
- Wily Boss #3
- Wily's Robot Master Teleporters
- Load game
- Pause Menu