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[Yal]

Kirbyvania

Spoiler

"Year is the 1691
and the land is at pain.
Demented nightmare,
some call him "Dracula",
is return from his dead.

According to ancient legend,
"Every hundreds year,
"Dracula" will return to spread some suffering".
Nobody remembers,
but everyone is fear.

Bustling of town
has ceased,
the people are afraid of night,
and nobody will dream anything but nightmare.

Everyone is fear...
...really, everyone? No,
not a somebody
with name of "Kirby Belmont",
going
to stop this issue."

Dracula, the demented nightmare, is back again! The people will dream nothing by nightmares and the monsters gets nastier than ever... Who's going to fix this issue, if not Kirby?



A game emulating the feeling of the first three Castlevania games for the NES, Kirbyvania features unique gameplay: you can do everything Simon Belmont can, but also everything Kirby can. Flying? Inhaling enemies through walls? Spitting them out at other enemies? Gotcha. With whip in hand and a great supply of sub-weapons to collect and master, you have millions of different playstyles to choose from in your path to Dracula's table.

Kirbyvania has also been featured in the big German magazine, Der Spiegel: http://www.spiegel.d...25825-3,00.html


And did I mention the delicious particle and darkness effects?



===============================================================
Downloads:

Page on the YYG (V 1.3)
Download from BOX.Net (V 1.3)

===============================================================
Controls:

Z - Jump
X - Use whip
C - Inhale enemy (down to swallow), use absorbed ability
Space - Discard current ability
Arrow - Move (up to fly)
Shift - Inhale enemy (can be used even when you have an ability)

Enter - Pause
F4 - Toggle fullscreen
Esc - System Pause (use this to quit or go to the title screen)

===============================================================
Game Version: 1.3
Game Maker: 6.1 Pro (converted so that it will run on Vista)
Screen size: 480x272 (does not change screen resolution)
Filesize: 3 205 Kilobyte, plus 10 KB's worth of readme files.
Genre \ Subgenres: Platform \ Platform Action \ Gauntlet Action
Framerate: 60
Fangame: Yes
Internal Gamepad system: No
Creates files to save data: Yes, highscore and settings
Number of levels: 18 (6x3)
Number of bosses: 7
Number of difficulty settings: 3

===============================================================


===============================================================

Play and tell me what you think, I appreciate that.


Content:

Block 1 - Entrance
Music: Vampire Killer
Boss: Gigant Bat
Block 2 - Graveyard
Music: Shatterhand - Refinery stage
Boss: Whispy Woods
Block 3 - Waterway
Music: Ristar - Lost Palace (round 2-2)
Boss: White Dragon
Block 4 - Castle Walls
Music: F-Zero (SNES): Fire Field theme
Boss: Kracko
Block 5 - Great Hall
Music: Shatterhand - Silo Stage
Boss: MetaKnight
Block 6 - Clock Tower
Music: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest: Normal Battle
Boss: Dededeath
Boss: Dracula

===============================================================
Youtube footage:

Boss 3 - Orphic Viper

Speedrun trough Block 2 (stage 4, 5 and 6)

PixelProspector promotional video (outdated!)
===============================================================
Changelog:

Full Version 1.2================
-Added a new subweapon.
-Darkness effect is polished, using real gradients instead of the current junk.
-Particle effects added for more or less everything, I've taken care to not make them stand out too much yet still increase the appeal of the game.
-ESC won't immediately quit the game; rather it now also gives you the options to resume and restart the game.
-An options screen have been added, enabling you to e.g. turn off default fullscreen and the darkness Night Effect and set desired game volume.
-An intro sequence has been added right after the Disclaimer/Presented By Yal screen. This can be skipped by pressing Enter or Space.
-The game now comes zipped with Credits and Readme files accompanying it rather than being a raw EXE.
-A new cheat has been added.

Previous versions:

Spoiler

Demo 6==========================
- Fixed graphical glitches from version 5 (I managed to do it within 48 hours )
- Subweapon tinkering: Fireball now splits when it is destroyed, making its hitbox slightly bigger. Beam is fired faster (so that it gets to the relevant part of the screen faster) and deals more damage per hit.
- Fixed exploit: Now it's impossible to push Kracko off-screen and having him stop there.
- Now points earned for the boss-defeat orb is increased the more HP you have left.
- Minor level design improvements: in particular the Bone Pillar at the end of 3-1 now has candles around it to avoid the cheap fireballs in your face as you approach them.

Demo 5==========================
- The entire Great Hall block (Block 5) is complete, featuring classical Castlevania White Dragons (don't confuse them with the improperly named boss in block 3) and... Scarfy. Ends with a pure epic battle against Meta Knight.
- Rewrote the darkness effect from scratch, making it more efficient. Now the game shan't lag on modern desktop computers anymore. Plus the effects look way cooler than before too. This has also forced me to change the title screen layout a bit - the EFFECTS:OFF/LOW/HIGH/VERY HIGH menu has been replaced with a NIGHT: ON/OFF menu.
- Remade Kirby's inhale system. Now you will always inhale the closest enemy, and your inhale range is also increased a bit, most notably vertically. You cannot inhale hearts anymore.
- Kirby won't lose all horizontal momentum when flying and scraping against the ceiling.
- Whip animation has been made faster, but some frames has been repeated to make the animation have the same actual duration. This lead to a little graphical glitch with Kirby's stage win pose (who stops on the wrong subimage), but hopefully I'll be able to fix that within 48 hours.
- Kracko will now flash when he's charging up his attack. This makes the battle a bit less cheap.

Demo 4==========================
- The entire Castle Walls block (Block 4) is complete, having you facing Kabu, Masher and eventually the stage boss Kracko.
- It's now possible to pause the game.
- There's now an option to change sound volume.
- Subweapon balance tinkering: Holy Water and Beam deals more damage (1 more point per hit). Blade hits twice as often (gives enemy shorter mercy invincibility). Hopefully these sub-weapons are a bit better balanced now.
- Added the new ability Fork. Can be stolen from Mashers.


Demo 3==========================
- Block 3, the Waterway is now complete! Including the boss.
- Holy Water will now spout three fireballs instead of one - mainly because the knockback that previously pushed enemies out of the fire before they took significant damage.
- Revised soundtrack. Now the Graveyard has a new theme (from Shatterhand) as well as the boss battles. I've also stopped limiting the soundtrack to Castlevania music.
- A certain cheat code has been added.
- There's now a Very Low effect setting that turn off the darkness effect entirely.
- Tinkered a bit with the stage clear bonus points (time x80, hearts x1500). Still not satisfied.

===============================================================
Kirby series are copyrighted by HAL Laboratiories and Castlevania are copyrighted by Konami. This game is a fangame, not sold for money or any other profit, and neither HAL nor Konami is affiliated with it.

[Nocturne]

Wonderful, Yal! Truly wonderful! You have captured the best of both games and made something new and interesting, while maintaining that retro feel. Love the widescreen, love the graphics, love the soound... I´ve only just started to play but I can tell you now that it wont be deleted from my hard drive until I´vecompleted it on (at least) difficult! Good work!

PS: Loved the "engrish" too!!!

[Zeddy]

Accidentally started on 'Difficult' this time. Decided to roll with it. The game is hilariously, ridiculously easy like this. I didn't die at all until Block 4, but things did pick up there. I'm currently at Block 6 with ten lives. The difficulty seems just about right, I suppose. Whiny me from a year ago who has no idea what he's talking about would probably have trouble with it.

-The new light range is good. There were spots on the fifth stage where I hesitated to move forward before I'd thrown a good dozen forks because I wasn't quite sure what was ahead, so it's not too large, and definitely not too small.
-Forks don't emit light. Seeing as they're the fastest enemy projectile in the game, I think they should.
-Metaknight is kind of a letdown after fighting Kracko. To be fair, Kracko was kind of cheap but Meta is still easier than than even Whispy Woods. I might revise this statement after reaching him on Very Difficult. We'll see.
-Impression of the last eight or so lives I've lost on block 6 on what used to be a pretty mild difficulty level: It's the game going "Hey, remember how the game is widescreen and all your attacks are meant to be used horizontally so you're at an enormous advantage all the time? Yeah, let's stop doing that."

I mostly die to Thwomps spawning directly above me. It's great!

Edited by zeddidragon, 12 April 2011 - 11:19 AM.

[Yal]

Wonderful, Yal! Truly wonderful! You have captured the best of both games and made something new and interesting, while maintaining that retro feel. Love the widescreen, love the graphics, love the soound... I´ve only just started to play but I can tell you now that it wont be deleted from my hard drive until I´vecompleted it on (at least) difficult! Good work!

PS: Loved the "engrish" too!!!

Thank you very much! It really warms my heart to read this (especially since I've just had two bad days in a row). But you've put a proud smile on my face with those words.

-Forks don't emit light. Seeing as they're the fastest enemy projectile in the game, I think they should.
-Metaknight is kind of a letdown after fighting Kracko. To be fair, Kracko was kind of cheap but Meta is still easier than than even Whispy Woods. I might revise this statement after reaching him on Very Difficult. We'll see.

Hmm... I'll have to look into those two (minor, balance) problems. When playing the game to get screenshots, I noticed that Kracko's bolt attack dealt 3 damage (which is a lot more if you haven't spent a good hour debugging him and learning his pattern) and was pretty ridiculously difficult to dodge without Blade if you let Kracko come too close. I'll try to uncheap Kracko a bit by lowering that ATK to 2, perhaps he should spawn Jumping Joes or something as well just as the first boss does with the bats. Or remain stationary when shooting it. Or something.
And the forks doesn't glow since they're not fireballs. But perhaps they should glow too (after all, they flash). It wouldn't be that hard to enable that.

-The new light range is good. There were spots on the fifth stage where I hesitated to move forward before I'd thrown a good dozen forks because I wasn't quite sure what was ahead, so it's not too large, and definitely not too small.

...

I mostly die to Thwomps spawning directly above me. It's great!

First point: Glad to hear. Second one: ^_^
I think the first Thwomp on each stage is a bit cheap (advice: move left/right slowly in areas horizontal corridors with few enemies), but if you just get suspicious when long empty corridors arrive, they aren't that difficult. Oh, and their big debris chunks deal damage, too.
Making the level more difficult by making it vertical wasn't intentional, by the way. It was an awesome side-effect I didn't predict.

Side note: You have exactly 1 111 posts right now.

[Yal]

Minor update bump.

- Tinkered with Meta Knight's AI - now he will use the stab attack approx 8 times more often than previously (meaning that you may finally get to see it!). Since that attack emits 6 shockwaves in a fun pattern, it should make him harder than Kracko.
- Tinkered with Kracko. Lowered max speed a bit, lowered acceleration a bit, and most importantly, lowered the attack power and range of the unfair bolts. This battle should now be a lot less unfair than previously.
- Speaking of Kracko, his 8-directional spread now has a new sprite.
- Enemy forks will now emit light, making them easier to spot and avoid.
- Made a new gradient sprite for the light, which hopefully will fix the ugly square edges that sometimes would appear.

[Conker]

Games never work right when I try to play them

[Zeddy]

-Mashers don't die when they fall off stage 4. This leads to me getting a fork in my arse.
-Did you know you're getting free PR from other game topics?

Edited by zeddidragon, 13 April 2011 - 12:24 PM.

[makerofthegames]

-Did you know you're getting free PR from other game topics?

Did you know you just gave that topic free PR?

[Yal]

-Mashers don't die when they fall off stage 4. This leads to me getting a fork in my arse.
-Did you know you're getting free PR from other game topics?

Do they never die (and stop under-screen and spam forks) or do they just non-die and fork once? I suspect the problem might have to be with my code that's supposed to make them work properly in the vertical area of the Clock Tower. Might be able to fix it by removing their hitstun recoil altogether, since there's some ugly glitches that can be triggered by pushing them off a pillar onto the ground with a Lv-1 whip. I mean, I did that with the Bone Pillars and now they work fine twice as often as previously.

...

Jay, free PR!

...

You know...

Spoiler

I'm seriously considering adding in a 4th difficulty setting, below easy: IQBrew. It would be unlocked just like the absolute opposite of Reallyjoel's Dad difficulty in Ultimortal's games: by highlighting the lowest difficulty setting and holding Left for a few seconds.

It would feature:

Spoiler

Each level is only part 1 and 3 of the block (so each X-2 would be skipped; goals would move you two rooms forward).
Bosses have 10 HP. And gives you lots of less points than normally.
There are (almost) no enemies. Max one of each kind per level.
It's impossible to whip candles.


All of these things more or less suggested by Ibby himself.

As you might figure, the game would be extremely easy and empty. And getting a high score or having fun? Good luck. But after all, IQBrew is the only player that should play this mode. Because he said he wants to.

Edited by Yal, 14 April 2011 - 06:49 AM.

[Zeddy]

Did you know you just gave that topic free PR?

It's a good demo, so it deserves it.

Do they never die?

Yes. They just throw forks forever from underneath the screen.

[Yal]

Yes. They just throw forks forever from underneath the screen.

Noted down. I'll likely have that fixed around this time tomorrow.

[Desert Dog]

Good game, nice work.

[Corkscrew]

Haven't played it yet. Looks absolutely amazing. I just know it's going to be awesome!

[Yal]

Haven't played it yet. Looks absolutely amazing. I just know it's going to be awesome!

You're right!

Oh, hey, I've updated the game again! Even more small roughs and bumps removed:

- Mashers now die when they fall offscreen, so they won't necrofork you anymore.
- Mashers are near impossible to push offscreen in general!
- Score bonuses now are bigger on Very Difficult and lower on Easy.
Full list of bonuses:

Spoiler

Easy
Hearts: 600 points each
Time: 50 points each
Difficult
Hearts: 1000 points each
Time: 80 points each
Very Difficult
Hearts: 1200 points each
Time: 100 points each

As well, I've added a secret game mode for IQBrew only.

Spoiler

The following spoiler describes how to enter IQBrew's personal Kirbyvania skill level. You really shouldn't read it unless you're him.

Spoiler

Hold "LEFT" after highlighting "EASY" skill level for five seconds to enable IQBrew's Mode. No more tedious boss battles that takes hours, no more "fighting the same enemy all the time". And no power-ups since IQBrew doesn't need no powerups! A truly thrilling experience all the way to the final boss.

Edited by Yal, 15 April 2011 - 07:48 AM.

[sournote103]

This is ridiculously difficult, but VERY fun. Keep up the good work!

[Yal]

This is ridiculously difficult, but VERY fun. Keep up the good work!

Did you know that you can play on Easy too?
It's not as easy as a nowadays commercial game's Easy mode, but it's about twice as easy as Difficult (since most attacks deals less damage in Easy than they do on the other modes). And it's certainly easier than the real NES Castlevania games.

Anyway, thanks! I'm glad you like it!

[Captain Cook]

Yes, it is easier than the NES Castlevania games. I've beaten this and for some reason I can't beat the third level in the first CV.

ALSO... is it me, or does the Fireball ability seem a little... overpowered? I can destroy a stack of 5 bone pillars in one shot if I aim just right. I suggest nerfing the area of effect, the power, or both.

[Zeddy]

I find the fireball pretty weak compared to the other abilities, actually.

[Yal]

I find the fireball pretty weak compared to the other abilities, actually.

Hmm... are you sure you have the most recent version? The old version of the fireball had poor explosion range and would just explode once, the new one explodes once each time it hits an enemy and once when it is destroyed.

Of course, it could just be a matter of taste. The fireball can't catch an enemy and drill it for heavy damage like the Blade, Pay Day or Holy Water, so it's not that good against high-hp enemies or bosses. It's slower than Fork and are actually harder to hit enemies with. And the biggest con is that hurling a Fireball when jumping is very unforgiving - the big hitbox of the fireball almost always make it hit the platform you tried to get it over.

The fireball's usefulness wears off quite soon after Block 2, in fact. But it surely kicks face in there.

[Captain Cook]

About "Fork"... isn't it technically a trident?

Also, the monster that uses the ability is named "Trident Knight". "Masher" was the Dream Land 2 equivalent of Mace Knight.