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First of all, most of those platformers scroll vertically, even the shittiest ones. And those that get played often always included completely new stuff that made them unique. Not to mention, their level design overall is much better than anything in Project MD.Quote:
Originally Posted by Christuserloeser
Only if they also distribute the soruce code technically =PQuote:
Originally Posted by Kamahl
Really, the only way this would be worth making into a cart is if there were a super-cheap cart available. That's one thing they do on the Atari 8-bit scene - there's a super-cheap cart available for homebrewers to make cheap carts to sell. If the game isn't considered worth paying $50 for, that's okay - maybe $20 is better. :)
You realize that even $20 is an insult, right? For half that or less you can get much better games. There is no reason to pay so much for this.
And I repeat, I demand this thread to be unpinned. If Sega-16 really cares about it then the thread will be kept afloat. There is no reason to artifically give it any attention by having it at the top of the forum.
The MD homebrew scene needs to reach a point where those carts are available too. $20 games even a hobo like me would buy.
Perhaps the same could be said of all sticky threads.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sik
You steal member's posts, and make them your fans.
We'd need more homebrew though for that to work. And I mean something that isn't just tech demos or extremely simple games.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamahl
I understand what your saying, but I think your being a little too negative on your work also (pretty typical of artists actually ;) ) Project MD may not do much, but what it does do, it does pretty well. That's more than can be said for a lot of professional games released BITD.
I don't know what you were thinking when you started to make this game, maybe you set your expectations to high or created a wishlist instead of a game project. That's the only reason I can think for your dislike of your game that IMO, is far from being crap.
To me it was a really nice surprise, the youtube videos make it look much easier than it really is. You really should be proud of the sound engine and Stephanie's controls really well, walking speed and jumping, the most important gameplay aspects in a platformer, are flawless.
Now to some nitpicking...
*The side view of Stephanie makes her hair looks like a Mohawk and when jumping, her arms should be raised when descending and neutral/lowered when jumping (right now it's the opposite).
*The "rebound" seems a bit off, I can't explain exactly what's the problem, I can't really feel or think that I control it. (Sonic and Castle of Illusion are nice examples of this mechanic)
*The "Power of Love" should be separated from the life refill, it sucks to lose a power-up whenever you try to recover your health. Maybe make it works like Zelda's long range sword attack (Full health = Power of Love).
*Related to the above problem, maybe make Stephanie stock the power ups she gets and only lose the currently equipped when she gets hurt.
*Audio cue to know when the invincibility power up is going to end.
*The ground effect of the first stage is really nice, is it too intensive? some of the stages would benefit from a better sense of depth even if this meant taking away the reflection.
*Frozen Memories was harder to me than any of the 3 stages after it (Pixelated World, Bright Darkness, Crazy Shapes).
*I don't think the name Pixelated World fits it. Some suggestions: RF World, Bad Connection, White Noise or Composite Output.
*The Boss fight will be a good one, it took me some time until I got the timing of the jump right (and notice I couldn't hurt her...).
*Ether Network and Waterlava are awesome but those "energy platforms" in Ether Network are too unforgiving, I simply can't reliably time my jump...
I was going to do a rundown of each stage but I will stop here before my grammar damage your brains.
Keep working on it and don't judge it too hard, it's already ages better than most homebrews for dead systems and can compete with some commercially available games of the time.
This is actually more complex than it seems. The variable "jump" mechanics actually don't apply just when jumping, but whenever Stephany is going up, so holding up the jump button (and for how long you do it) actually affects the rebound. This is extremely important in Crazy Shapes since it also affects the bumpers and not being able to control it can render the level unbeatable.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReBirFh
Actually... it's a damn weird trade-off. If you have no power-up, it's a reward. If you had a power-up and you don't have full energy, you recover health at the expense of your power-up (like a punishment for not being more careful). If you get it with a power-up and full health... you're an idiot =P Unless you're trying to racket up points (since you always get 500 points).Quote:
Originally Posted by ReBirFh
So it's all a matter of what situation you're in. The heart power-up is actually useful in some levels (mainly those where there are several enemies lined up horizontally or near horizontally), since the heart attack can go through multiple enemies.
Actually the invincibility is meant to have its own music playing in the background. It's just that Oerg didn't make it yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReBirFh
The reflection abuses the specific set up of that level. Actually it's all pretty much set up for it - the 3D ground, the sprite and tilemap priorities, etc. It wasn't an intensive effect, but it really can't be done in other levels, not in the way it's done there.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReBirFh
Unless you talk about the 3D ground instead of the reflection. It isn't really very intensive... but it eats up lots of VRAM (it takes up about 8KB, and it's for something simple like that grid, if it was a more complex pattern it could end up requiring more).
Also, honestly the 3D ground per-se doesn't look 3D. Sure, nice parallax, but it doesn't feel 3D. This feeling also happens in other games that do the same FX. What really makes it feel 3D in Project MD is the reflection, since suddenly you get a feeling of the depth of the objects. It plays the same role as shadows in 3D games, actually. In fact, I'm even considering doing something like this on a real 3D game because of how well it works at conveying a 3D feeling.
No, it isn't (Crazy Shapes and Pixelated World require very good reflexes and very well timed jumps, moreso than Frozen Memories), though the difficulty curve isn't linear (this is done on purpose). After every three levels the difficulty steps down a bit. This is because that's where the bosses are meant to be.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReBirFh
Yeah, it's incomplete. But yeah... Don't expect it to be easy. Every time she hits the floor there will be a shock wave, and in the move where she flies at the top she will drop lots of bombs... Dark Stephany is merciless.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReBirFh
It's easier than you think, you just need to learn the timing. In fact, those situations with two pulses in a row are actually timed so you fall perfectly when you switch between them. And no, I won't make them slower - that actually makes it harder to land on them. I'm not kidding, I have tried it before.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReBirFh
And Ether Network is one of the latest levels, so honestly, do you expect it to be easy?
EDIT: also wait, are you jumping on them? Yeah no, bad move, you're meant to directly fall on them.
EDIT 2: also any ideas for the background for Pixelated World? I removed the spinning lights because they were too annoying, but just the static looks too plain.
Sik someone really needs to say this to you: please shut up! You are like a crying baby all the time. All you seem to do is down cry your work and get pissed of at people who say its good. Yet when you receive enough praise and people telling you that you are wrong you perk up abit and start work on it some more. Then the cycle continues all over again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sik
I have followed your game for a while and really like it. I have even shown it to my friends over seas when i visit them. But I am really starting to get tired of all this and it has actually put me off your work. I know this sounds harsh but its about time someone told you.
I will probably get flamed for this but it needed to be said. Needless to say I still regard you as one of top homebrew coders for the Mega Drive.
Probably because the game is a complete piece of shit. I have done much better stuff before - both on the Mega Drive and on other platforms - and I can tell you, there is absolutely no excuse for the complete piece of crap this game is. I seriously can't believe people seem to like what's essentially SMB1 without all the good stuff, especially when there are much better games on the platform, and especially when other homebrew releases have raised the bar very high.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymouse
You're all happy just because it's completely new homebrew and it isn't a RPG. Honestly that isn't a good reason to be happy. You all should look at it like a generic game and completely ignore the situation surrounding it. That's the only way you'll appreciate the game for what it is: an extremely boring generic platformer. Its only redeeming point is that the physics don't feel like a Chinese pirate game.
I'm only working on it again because I lost a bet against Oerg, nothing else. Otherwise the game would have been as stalled as usual. Oh, and by the way, me uploading the videos and starting the site? It wasn't for you, actually. It's me testing something else. You all know enough about Project MD already.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymouse
Stop viewing it through homebrew-tinted glasses.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymouse
Then stop being an idiot. Recommend people against playing the game. That's what I have been trying to do and nobody gets it. But I guess I'm just being a massive troll and should be banned from Sega-16. I was banned from SpritesMind for being a complete asshole against Shiru after all, and here the only thing I do is argue against all other users as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymouse
That's the biggest lie I have ever heard. I can't do shit properly, I have never finished anything in my life, and every single thing I make turns out to be a giant turd. Also how the fuck am I meant to be one of the top homebrew coders when all other homebrew coders seem to have all done at least one thing that's much more awesome than anything in Project MD?Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymouse
I wouldn't really use Pier Solar as a means to measure your work Sik. That was a game that was in the works for years and had a team of people working on. Your project is something that just you have been working on. So it's a bit expected that it's not quite up to par with homebrew releases like Pier Solar. One person can't be expected to be perfect in everything.
However I will say this about what I've seen of your game. It has promise and could be something great if you let it become that. Right now it does have some issues and limitations like you have mentioned, but at the same time it has interesting level design, rather impressive graphical effects, and great animation.
RPGs also require much more resources than a platformer, not to mention Project MD also has been in development since 2010 (actually late since the last days of 2009). And even then, that isn't a good excuse. There's nothing preventing me from teaming up with other people to work on the game if I want and render that point moot. Heck, it isn't the first time I'm asked to get more people on board to redo stuff they don't like.Quote:
Originally Posted by TrekkiesUnite118
Also, if we don't aim at the top, then we'll always get stuck with mediocre games. I'd always prefer to measure games against everything out there and completely forget its target platform, because that's something that shouldn't matter.
So you've been working on this by yourself for 2 years where as Pier Solar was a group effort that took about 6 years to complete. That's a pretty big contrast. No one is perfect you know.
I'll just state my personal opinion: I sort of thought this would have happened at one point. Judging from all the rage posts and comments I got through YIM and stuff like that I think Sik just had a nervous breakdown. I'm not sure if anyone will excatly care about working on the game in open source state either (other than Sik).
BTW: thanks for the nice comments about the music.
Me? I feel a bit screwed but i can't really blame him either because i've been observing his psychical condition for a while now... :/
Sik are you not reading the words I write? The problem isn't the game, the problem is you. You have ruined it for yourself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sik
Anyways im done with this, I cant handle someone moaning all the time. no wonder you were banned, you drag everyone else down with you.
OK, can admins please ban me from here too now? =D
Request Granted.
Gonna unsticky this now too. I'm not really sure what that guy's problem is/was.
Was it really necessary to ban him? He gave some pretty good info regarding programming on the Genesis.
Yes i think it was. He belittled anyone who complimented his game, basically saying that they no nothing about gaming and homebrew. he ruined the whole atmosphere of this place.Quote:
Originally Posted by TrekkiesUnite118
I'm hoping this is temporary but if not at least he demanded it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Baloo
I don't see any problem in his behaviour other than freely releasing that other chap's music along with his own contributions. Many games are garbage, homebrew or commercial, and the majority of everything else created on the planet besides; it's agreeable to actually find someone not publishing his own inventions when he thinks them failures or even mediocre. What precisely his standards are doesn't matter. And it's very hard to discover a reason so many here would be praising his game outside its nature as a new game for the Genesis developed by somebody on a site they frequent--unless one were willing to chalk it up to all the crappy commercial Genesis games they like, which games he also presumably wanted to best, and which attitude he never struck me as enough of a jerk to pronounce. So he put the blame on himself where it ought to be. Perhaps he demanded the banning as an ironclad way of preventing himself from logging in and subjecting himself to more flattery.
I think banning him was a little harsh - we've seen much worse folks who don't get banned. Devs can be a bit "tempermental" - even I have tossed a fit here once or twice, but I do try to apologize to the folks. Sik is a good dev, no matter his own feelings on the matter, but he can be a bit touchy on the whole matter. I guess I'm just more used to dealing with folks like that. :)
You were also crying like a baby for being roughly treated by him. IMO you could just leaved the thread as it was or included him in your ignore list.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymouse
The game is his work, I think he had the right to praise or blame himself for that as much as he wanted to. If he was faking that harsh attitude, I really don't mind since it's just the Internet.
IMO he was just going against the "goody-goody" hype, I also agree with some of his words like:
"You're all happy just because it's completely new homebrew and it isn't a RPG. Honestly that isn't a good reason to be happy. You all should look at it like a generic game and completely ignore the situation surrounding it. That's the only way you'll appreciate the game for what it is: an extremely boring generic platformer. Its only redeeming point is that the physics don't feel like a Chinese pirate game."
It's a harsh way to see the things but he could do it.
By the way, you ruined this thread until he comes back (I hope the ban is just temporary).
It was very cool to have the opportunity to talk with the guy who was doing something like that. OTOH, it's very boring to talk with childish guys that can't take a couple of harsh words.
Just my 2 cents for you.
That's too bad. I genuinely enjoyed Project MD and thought that Sik was a valuable and knowledeable member here. :(
Oerg866: I'm listening to your music of Project MD right now. I love it! Fantastic arpeggios and melodies :). I hope you manage to bring some light into Sik's dark tunnel, I think you are the only one who would be able to do so here.
I.... er.... Whaaaa.
Please don't take what he said to you serious, I'm begging you all.
I haven't lost all hope about him, but it seems he has suffered from a mental breakdown.
Quote:
Originally Posted by djshok
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zebbe
He seemed worked up and depressed. The ban will not help...Quote:
Originally Posted by Oerg866
http://www.just-pooh.com/assets/pict...ctures/338.gif
To be honest guys, I'm not sure what to make of someone who asks to be banned as well as reporting his own posts. If he wants to be unbanned and behave, he can just e-mail me.
Though it seemed to me like he was just seeking for attention and pity for non-existent problems "I was banned elsewhere blah blah blah, this game sucks you're not supposed to be complimenting it."
Well, that was odd. All I can say as a another person who likes to be creative is that sometimes stress does get the better of you, especially when you're doing the lion's share of the work. As for the game itself, it is kind of fun to play. I don't think it would sell hundreds if it were on a real cartridge, but it is a fun romp to see some of the things the system can do. I think Sik would make a good member of a development team instead of a one-man army. Get some other good members in there and he'd help bust out a great game with incredible effects, I feel. Unfortunately these days that's easier said than done.
I hope he's ok. Psychological troubles are nothing to take lightly.
I think you did what you should have done.Quote:
Originally Posted by Baloo
He asked for, he took it.
That's why I dislike Anonymouse's attitude. The guy looked pretty worked up, pushing him was not a good thing to do.
If his attitude was just a self-pity's number, OK, he acted like an idiot and it just hurt himself.
But if he has serious problems in his real life, well, that's a bit different IMO. Everybody has problems, I know that, but also everybody is susceptible to make mistakes and have very bad days.
As I don't see he acting like that frequently, I suppose that something more serious than a self-pity attitude is going on.
Anyway, for me it's like: What was his crime? To share his awesome looking and sounding homebrew with us and blaming it? A couple of harsh answers to common posts (maybe too common for his taste) about a game?
This.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Redifer
Same here.Quote:
Originally Posted by djshok
Project MD reminds me more of Pulseman or Socket (Time Dominator 1st) rather than Super Mario Bros. 1.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sik
A lot of games were nowhere near as complex as Project MD but were still excellent full price MD games:Quote:
Originally Posted by Sik
Ms. Pac-Man
Flicky
Space Invaders 90
Columns
Zoop
Zoom
Sokoban / Shove-It
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine / Puyo Puyo
Klax
Volfied / Ultimate Qix
Aquatic Games
etc. pp.
Btw: I think games like Alex Kidd or Altered Beast don't allow vertical scrolling either. Probably a few more that I cant remember.
Either way, personally I thought that Project MD already played better than a vaaast portion of the MD library.
Not to mention its visual and aural qualities. :love:
I don't know what was bothering him, but he really didn't have to project it all onto the forum. Everyone was really enthusiastic about his work, and even if PMD was going nowhere, he could have used that momentum and positive energy for his next project. This could have been a learning experience, and he instead turned it into a shitfest of bitterness.
He's welcome to come back whenever he wants, since he requested to be banned, but I really hope he sorts his shit out before he decides to come back (if he does).
I was just reading the last few pages and just can not understand how anyone could say that this is a bad game especially if you are the creator.
It may just be me because I seem to be proud of anything "good" that I do as in get done anyone remember robotnik? http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...e-sega-genesis Well When I released that alpha release of robotnik I was in the exact opposite position of sik I was proud of myself but some (not all) people were not happy with the alpha release of robotnik. I seem to be a person that has a few genesis related projects started but not finished so I was proud of myself for at least releasing something.Also I am more of a person that is proud of anything that I do.
tl;dr alert:
Through the years, I've had a few friends and colleagues in the creative arts who have had very public meltdowns. Usually it happens at a critical point in a particular project, or even in their careers, when they have to choose between facing the thing that causes them anxiety (whatever it is) and blowing the whole thing up instead. So they deliberately alienate their supporters, burn their bridges, and alternate between aggro and self-pity/self-loathing -- because all of these things are easier, and safer, than facing whatever's scaring the shit out of them.
There are so many writers out there who burn their novels, composers who leave their pieces unfinished, programmers who get 80% of a fantastic project done and abandon it. Partly it's because the hardest part of creative work is often finishing what you start (and perhaps that's especially true of programming, on a technical level). But it's also because as long as something is unfinished, it still is filled with all the potentialities of what-it-might-become -- it still could be perfected, could expand limitlessly, because that potential dwells in the realm of imagination. As soon as you finish something, it's fixed, determinate, mortal, imperfect.
But of course that's the only way to do anything worthwhile in life: accepting that whatever you do, it will "fall short of the glory of God", and reside in the realm of mortal imperfection. What's more, it'll be subject to criticism, contempt, attacks, and belittlement, and you can no longer say "Well, I was going to do this" or "Well, I hadn't really finished that part yet". There's nothing to hide behind: you made it, and it's yours, and you're accountable for its triumphs and shortcomings.
In principle I think it's a great thing to strive for excellence, but if you fixate on that ideal, you'll make yourself crazy and never get anything done. Great creative artists don't sit down and say "I'm going to make something excellent today", unless they're pompous asses who are more interested in personal glory and ego gratification than hard work (and who invariably pump out mediocrity when they do finish things). The genesis of really great work often comes from the desire to solve a specific technical problem, or to realize some sort of creative vision -- and really great work probably needs to have both of those things. Aspirations to glory are strictly secondary -- most of us have them, but while they may help to motivate us, they don't solve problems in the work, and frankly they tend to get in the way.
Excellence, IMHO, comes from mastery of the process, from trust in one's own intuition, from the willingness to work your ass off and to do so without any form of ego involvement (and that includes self-pity and self-loathing just as much as it includes delusional arrogance and misplaced self-confidence), and most of all from the willingness to fail, repeatedly and publicly if necessary, until you get it right. A lot of potentially great artists can do almost all of this, but stumble over the failure thing: they want their work to be beyond reproach, and thereby fuck it up completely, or never finish it to begin with.
Anyway, blah blah blah. tl;dr: Perfection sucks, self-torture sucks, a good vacuum sucks.
That is a nice explanation goldenband. I was a little shocked to come across this thread. Sik is quite a talented individual. It was really interesting to see him tweak the game and feature it on his Youtube channel. Since I do not know Sik on a personal level and therefore will not comment his state of mind.
I will instead expand on what goldenband said about the personality traits of a perfectionist. Perfectionists tend not to ask for help but prefer to deal with things on their own. The reason why they behave the way they do is because if gives them a sense of control over certain dynamics in a given situation. When you have a complex such as this, you are the source of your own anxiety. If your efforts fall below your capabilities you tend to become very self-deprecating. If there is anyone who does suffer from this personality trait, there is a book that I would highly recommend titled "Feel the Fear". It's a relatively short book that actually forces you to look into your own behavior and confront anxiety head on. It's a nice guide for anyone that is looking to overcome fear or anxiety and change their personality for the better. through trial and error, you eventually learn to confront the feeling of anxiety and gradually tackle it head on rather than running away from it. Most people, when confronted with a sense of fear or anxiety will run away from it. Over time this becomes a habitual reaction that becomes harder and harder to overcome the longer it persists.
Just finished reading this thread from page 10.
You know, Sik was a cool dude and his game was awesome, until the last 4 pages of this thread. With that said, fuck that guy. Seriously. He needed to get the hell off his high perfectionist horse and appreciate what he had. Barely any of the comments in this thread were bad, yet he interpreted them as offensive and went off on a temper tantrum. That's the sort of thing a 10 year old does, not a 20-something homebrew programmer. Yeah it's a shame a good programmer has given up and left his kick ass game to rot, but after his actions here, he'll get no sympathy from me. Somebody really should have shocked him back into reality, too bad I popped in here too late.
I can think of some worse cases of homebrew devs like that too . . . especially in the Jaguar scene. (including at least one who ended up being banned from Atariage per his own request iirc)Quote:
Originally Posted by Chilly Willy
I hope he sorts out whatever he's dealing with and eventually comes back.
And a comment on the game itself:
I can see the self-criticism on the simplistic/generic level design and gameplay, but it's still a neat little game with very cool technical aspects/effects and some nice art/character/enemy design. (certainly not a high-end look, but nicely animated and cute/quirky . . . a sort of odd fusion of classic Japanese US and European art styling from the early 90s) . . . And for that matter, the 1-man design team (or similarly small teams) aspect is more like some of the old European computer game developers too. (albeit those obviously tended to be in a more commercial timescale -in terms of aggressive development and release times)
And honestly, things like Crownland on the A8 are probably most impressive for their technical aspects than anything else (the gameplay certainly isn't amazing compared to a wealth of other platformers -albeit on the A8 alone it obviously fares better), and on top of that, there's a ton of other relatively simple homebrew games (let alone hacks) that are out there too. (especially the freeware stuff)
This is so true.Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenband
Mental instability in those with a high IQ is not uncommon, I hope he feels better soon!
what a shame, seemed a decent lil project. I hope they guy doesn't go chop his bell end off like van gogh did though
sik is obviously suffering from mental issues, lets hope he gets over them and gets back on track,