XBUSTER'S PROFILE

Hello RMN, I have a question to ask. A friend of mine said something to me that I believe should be considered, but there are some things blocking me from doing them. I also watched a video on Yandere Dev saying something similar.

Well, he says that it is best to release content on a regular basis to keep people interested in your project. When you go big gaps with no content revealed in between, the game is dead and people lose interest. Basically, he's saying to keep adding coal to your fire or it will burn out.

Lately, I've been going big gaps without any content in order not to spoil too much about the experience. However, I don't want my project to go from a raging fire to a dying ember
-Quote from Yoshimitsu II.

So the question is, exactly how much is good for update frequency? When is it too much, and when is it too little? Nobody wants food shoved down their throats, but they also want to be fed as well. Can someone give me some pointers?

PS-
I plan on releasing a demo of the project this week just for a proof of concept update.

author=NeverSilent
If that's how you feel, then by all means cut out the parts you believe to not be up to your standards any more. However, I strongly recommend keeping a backup copy of the old content regardless - not because you still want to use all of it in your project, but for future reference. It's always better to keep outdated creative work and not need it than to delete it forever and regret it afterwards.

Very good idea. The process of that has just begun. I'm sending backups to several areas as we speak. This is honestly THE hardest decision I've had to make in this game since it began back in 2012. Thank you all for your responses so far! This helps me escape my thoughts.

@LockeZ
This is also good advice. Now that I think about it, the reason why the older demo had so many levels in it is because I felt the next demo would far outclass it. Most people who have downloaded it probably have seen most of the levels so far. Perhaps, its best to surprise them with a new set, but not as many. I'll have to think about all of this and come to a decision by the end of the day.

author=InfectionFiles
What's the size of the game pre-deletion? And how much space would you save after deleting?

Are you losing content overall? Because I feel if a game is larger in file size but has a lot of content to offer, people are more willing to download. And from what I've seen from you, I'd say it would be worth it to have more.
But, if you feel that the game would be smoother and overall better with the newest, best content possible then I say go for it.

Well..don't laugh, but the game itself is 8.5MB right now.However, the game increases in size when its transformed into an executable(exe). But there are thousands of resources within the game itself. Its a tiny package with lots of content. The game got so big before, I had to make all the sounds and music external in order for it to run properly. If I were to delete those old, space consuming tiles, the game would be bound to be at least 7MB or less by itself and run perfectly. The external files themselves have 135MB as music and 18MB for sound effects.

I do kind of feel it would be better because, ever since the evolution of the game in 2016, lots of levels aren't enjoyable anymore or are very unplayable, dry, and outdated. Instead of just changing some tiles here and there, I was thinking deleting the tiles would force me to remake them so I can stop thinking about it.

@NeverSilent
That's exactly what has been bothering me. I feel lots of the levels don't fit the criteria any longer. Most levels were done in 2013-2015 so their old designs feel inferior to what I have in store. Yet, it would be sad to see all that stuff go.

author=sonic8bit
Sorry for double posting, but I just saw that this blog is more recent.

I'm a fan for Sonic 1, 2 and 4 for the Game Gear and this is just amazing! Thank you so much!
- I love Sonic's movement/physics!
- The graphics are excellent
- The level design is fantastic
- The difficulty is excellent
- The possibility for replacing sounds (especially mus_test.mp3) is a very good design choice.

Things to further improve:
- Spining physics. Sonic loses too much speed when spining. In Sonic 2 (and even Sonic 1) on the the Game Gear the momentum when spinig was more persistent, especially when spining uphill.
- Sonic should be able to run a looping with his own force/speed, without requireing these acceleration wheels. Come on, it's Sonic!
- In Greenhill it seems that the movement of the two backgroud layers is confused.
- If you introduce bosses, please make them challenging.

You are VERY welcome. The whole reason why this game exists is because every inch of the Sonic fan base was touched last year except the 8bit corner. Its almost like they are completely irrelevant.

Hey, no problem:) I'm just glad I'm getting some feedback on the pros and cons of the game. That being said, I have been trying to tweak the physics to match the game gear games, but make them smoother. The loop is a place holder until I can figure out how to do loops officially. Once I do that, I will be so happy! Yes, I wanted to give players the ability to create their own soundtrack as this feature is available in console versions of Generations by playing music from your console.

I'll take a look at the other cons mentioned as well. I believe the next update will outshine this first demo. This is essentially going to be the "Sonic Mania" of the 8bit games. Some new zones are planned as well. Though, I won't spoil anything here. Bosses are on the way, and they are planned to be challenging due to the amount of moves you can do.

I have yet to see anyone actually read the information to learn how to play. There is a move where Sonic can go into ball form in mid air. This move was introduced in Sonic Triple Trouble and was also seen in the ending animation of Sonic CD. Believe me bud, there is going to be lots of content stuffed in this game. Replica Levels, Missions, Bosses, Remixed Levels, its all planned.

author=RyaReisender
Well, usually I'd say yes to active meters, but you seem to be going for a Wonder Boy style game (I really liked that series) and I think such a game would strongly suffer from the concept of a meter.

Wonder Boy solves the issue of multi-hitting by making the enemies getting pushed out of range when hit.

If your game just looks like Wonder Boy but doesn't play like it at all, I guess it could work. A good example of uncommon usage of ATB which worked out real well would be Parasite Eve 1. You wouldn't expect an ATB system in a horror game but in PE it really worked out well, but it made you concentrate on dodging attacks most of the time.

Really good observation! You are indeed correct, when a monster was hit in those games(Specifically Wonder Boy in Monster World)they, would slide in the opposite direction when they were grounded. This is very much a wonderboy game as it is a 30th anniversary tribute to the franchise as a whole.

From the yellow-haired boy with his girlfriend; Tanya, to Rapadagna in Monster World 4. As for the bar, it only works with certain abilities that have too high of an attack rate or power. Think of reloading a gun or shooting a charge shot. Some attacks that require a certain amount of cool down to prevent a challenge-deprived game. Don't worry, only certain characters use it due to every character having their own abilities and play styles.

I heavily encourage hitting an enemy multiple times, because the combo system will reward you on that. Though, I specifically made the bar because each boss has a stun meter. When you hit a boss a certain amount of times, they will be stunned for a brief period. This is your chance to do some real damage. However, for some characters, their attack rates were so high, you could stun the boss a few seconds more after they recovered from it. I plan on doing an in-depth blog on the battle system soon.

For example, normal attacks will not use the action meter, but a charged magic spell will. I am truly glad to hear you like the series. If you are unaware, 3 New Wonderboy games are being released for the 30th anniversary. I spoke to the creator of the franchise and he told me, "if you enjoy wonderboy, then I am happy". I feel the same:)