Vista's Afterlife: The Game (Page 1 of 2)

Hey SGWaS,

You've come with a really creative story. I never thought I would see Vista as the hero in a game that is played in the Afterlife I'm nowadays a Linux user, but when I first started using computers, I used Windows a lot. In fact, I started programming using Windows.

Regarding the game play: there's not much differentiation in the sprite. When I'm moving, I'm not sure whether I'm spinning, jumping or just moving. So when I touch an enemy, I don't know for sure whether the enemy will kill the hero or the hero will kill the enemy. I'd suggest adding some indication that the player is strong or not strong; perhaps the sprite could get colored?

Also, since it's not complete yet, the level design could get some work. There are parts in Heavenly Havoc (lol about the name ) that an abyss appears out of nowhere and the player is not prepared to anticipate it. Also, it's aesthetically better if you avoid too thin platforms in my opinion

Is this your first mod? You've learned a lot so far.

Your game even features an instruction manual. Nice add on.

My homepage | Rapid brickset editor 2

I computer science.

hahahahaha

My homepage | Rapid brickset editor 2

I computer science.

Here's some screenshots of the next zone: Magma Mines! It's a lava-themed zone, obviously.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tfsxwg54rwuz … J_41a?dl=0

If you'd like some backstory on this whole Vista's Afterlife thing, well here it is:

I used to be one of those people that hated Vista because everyone else hated it. But one day, I was thinking about upgrading my old Mac from XP to a newer version. I looked on the Internet for things about Vista, and after that I began to see Vista in a much more positive light. "Hey, maybe this is good," I thought. So I installed x86 Vista on the Mac and, while it took a bit to get it going, I eventually grew to like it more than any other OS. I didn't know what I liked about Vista--it just seemed right.

Unfortunately, this was around the time that Microsoft was going to discontinue Vista. To pay respect, I made a little minute-and-a-half long animation with Vista going into heaven. It was somewhat of a hit on YouTube, which had single-handedly propelled my channel from 30 to 500 subscribers in about a month, spawned three other parts (2, 2.25 and 3), a game (this one), and even a follow-up called "7's Afterlife", which I plan to get working on once this is out of the way.

That's pretty much the whole history. I know, a person that loves Vista--such a crazy story!

Yeah, the stages after Magma Mines use different bricksets.

hey, cool. I see that you are using different bricksets now. Keep it up!

Try to polish your level design more if you can.

My homepage | Rapid brickset editor 2

I computer science.

No problem. Keep it up!

My homepage | Rapid brickset editor 2

I computer science.

The set_zindex command may be of use.
http://opensnc.sourceforge.net/wiki/ind … set_zindex

Hope this helps,

Some more things I forgot to mention:

Lush Shores Act 2 has been replaced completely. The original version was too long in contrast with the other acts, and some sections are a bit too difficult for a first-time player. It was also WAY too generous with rings.

The instruction manual will be replaced with the Creator's Guide, a complete guide for the game in case players get stuck (which will happen). It also will include basic information about the player's moveset.

EDIT: I have yet another question about the engine; I'm quite concerned about the difficulty players will have when going through the later levels, so is there a way I could edit the Game Over scene to link to a continue screen which would take the player to the act that they were in? And if so, how would I make such screen? (I'm guessing that it's just writing out "Continue?" with textout_centre, then using on_button_pressed to take the player to the act.)

Last edited by SGWaS (2017-10-07 04:10:54)

Hey SGWaS, good work.

This game can get fun, but it has to improve in terms of level design.

The opening scene repeated (character hits the spikes and dies). Next time it played, it finished properly. Remember that the framerate may vary a bit, so keep in mind that those spikes may harm the scene.

Suggestions

I'm still playing, and I explored a few different levels. Here are my suggestions:

1) Please consider using different bricksets throughout the game. Really. It's super important and gives a whole different look & feel to the game. The current Sunshine brickset is repeated everywhere. For example, in Magma Mines, it doesn't make much sense to have grass - in my opinion. Consider creating a different brickset, or at the very least, change the colors and the texture of the current brickset according to the context of the level.

2) Consider improving the level design. For example, I can see you put more effort in Lush Shores 1 than in some other levels (in terms of design).

3) There's a part in Flooded Mines that spikes appear out of nowhere. Consider giving the player a hint of where they are going to appear. In Techno Traverse, consider giving the player hints of where the platforms are. It gets too hard when there is an abyss in front of you (sometimes there is a moving platform, sometimes there is not).

4) I prefer having the user manual as pdf rather than rtf, but that's up to you (I use linux )

5) I see that you're experimenting with bosses and other very interesting things with scripting. Congratulations!

My homepage | Rapid brickset editor 2

I computer science.

Update time!

It's almost Halloween, and in time for it, I made a new build showing off the new improvements I made to the zones. Needless to say, they're big.

First, I've taken into account the complaints and constructive criticism made by Alexandre 2 weeks ago, and have given select levels more pathways and secrets. The biggest change in terms of level design is Heavenly Havoc Act 1; there is now a path below and above the normal one. Other improvements include making things easier to see at times (TT Act 1), reworking crappy gimmicks (also TT Act 1, making it so you don't have to lose rings when entering the last section), fixing more loops, and adding hint objects to give the player advice when needed.

Second, the aesthetics. Midnight City has been completely reworked into an industrial zone at dusk with nature fighting for prominence. The first act is blue, quiet and groovy, and the 2nd act is bustling with exciting music and brighter colours. Credit to Skylights for making some of the sprites used in this zone.

Some of the other zones have been given new coats of paint as well, like Heavenly Havoc (grey), Magma Mines (orange, red), the Hub World (red) and the intro sequence (orange to match the background).

Third, a totally new act has been added to Techno Traverse as a continuation of the boss act. You must escape from the arena and make your way up to RT's retreat, with lava chasing you all the while. I added this to make the TT boss more interesting, and keep the "tradition" of the hard part of RT's bosses not being the fight itself, but what comes afterwards (though the real boss could be harder if your don't jump in right away).

Here's some screenshots of the new Midnight City that are also included in the game's files:

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Feel free to tell me what you think!

DOWNLOAD HALLOWEEN BUILD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tu54mh118y99n … d.zip?dl=0

Thanks! Another detail I forgot to add was that the Quests menu now contains quests for each zone for testing purposes. Also, LSZ & MMZ have been given additional graphical enhancements. For example, in Lush Shores, the sky is darker and redder during the boss fight; and in Magma Mines, the background and brickset gets redder and darker with each passing act.

Also in Act 2 of MM, the always-flowing lava that can only be passed through by hurting yourself has, as promised, been replaced by periodically flowing lava. I've also added the fire shield in the stages to allow the player to pass through lava and find hidden secrets.

In Techno Traverse, the spike-hopping gimmick has been refined, more so in how you enter the section. You're given a hint telling you about spike-hopping, then given the invincibility before entering so players can keep their built-up RAM sticks. The bottomless pit has been replaced with a bed of spikes, as this mechanic is a bit haphazard and caused cheap deaths in previous builds.

And in ME's Warehouse and Final Fright, hints are given around the level as to teach the player to use level-specific gimmicks and mechanics, like MW's bumper trick and character switching in Final Fright. This hint system makes the Creator's Guide seem redundant in a way, so I might get rid of that (it's not in this build).

Hey,

Sorry for the late reply. I haven't checked in a while, since I wasn't getting a response in weeks. That's alright, though. Good to know you're still playing!

Anyways, here's a lightning round of responses to your thoughts:

• I do use groups in quite a few levels, but thanks for the tip anyways.

• The one with Vista entering Hell? Yes, it is. It was an attempt at recreating the scene in the VA movie where Vista meets ME (again, go watch it if you have the time. It'll provide same good backstory for this game).

  Also, I think this isn't in the Halloween Build (haven't played it in a while), but ME's Warehouse Act 2 is going to receive a new track -- "Metallic Mashup", a mashup of the various versions of the Metallic Madness theme from Sonic CD -- Past, Bad Future, Present, and Act 2 from Sonic Mania. It's up on my channel if you want to take a listen: https://vid.me/UT6Mf

• Haha. Yeah, there's way too much of those. Normally, when one is placed, it would gradually eat away at your memory, but with many, it just drops instantly.

• Thanks.

• Yes, the game gets pretty hard. Not Nintendo Hard, but still pretty tough. On the topic of ME's Warehouse, I've made a couple changes to make the level seem less repetitive, like making the bumper section shorter with springs. The boss is very hard as well, but landing in a ball on the left side of the arena will let you get 10 hits on him before touching the ground.

• Yes, some levels still need more polish. I'll work on that.

• This part just requires practice and platforming skills. Spin dashing across the top platforms also helps, and grabbing the fire shield at the top near the beginning will help a bit too.

• I also made some fixes here, like adding hints telling you about the spike part in Act 1, and giving you the invincibility before entering the spike place so you don't have to lose all your memory at the end of the stage. Still, it does need some extra routes and such. Act 2 could use that as well.

• Ah yes, Fresh Firth...first of all, this level won't be in the final game. I planned for it to be in a sequel or another project. Act 2 is in some water palace, whilst Act 1 (not made yet) would take place outside in an Aquatic Ruin-style area. But yeah, this was just an extra for players snooping in the level select. It won't be part of the final game--maybe an extra or sneak peek of a future project, but nothing more than that as of now.

  Since you asked about my experience building it, I basically built upon the existing super-short Grassland level found in the default Open Surge. I gave it the Hydrocity Act 1 background and began work on my first pseudo land-water stage. I'd say it went pretty well, don't you?