There's a few things that I'd like to explain, and make official.
Thanks to the hands and brain of the kindest person alive, RedGuy (you can find his work in the RHDN boards), I now have a highly upgraded and updated editor for Mega Man X, Mega Man X2, and Mega Man X3. This needs a more techincal explanation so you guys can see things from my end, it's that important.
Mega Man X: Hard Type v.2.2.2 was all made by changing platforms, respecting the original layout, position of enemies, number of enemies (now called events), sets of enemies loaded per section of the stage, and locations of upgrades. All that you can see in that mod, was designed with all of those restrains. I wanted an early enemy in the stage in the last section? Too bad. Wanted the camera to behave differently? Nuh-huh. Wanted the stage to be in a different shape? Nope. Wanted more enemies? Not possible. Wanted the enemies to be anywhere else? No way. Wanted the stage to be longer? Not a chance. Wanted to even see with my eyes where the enemies where? I had to guess by playtesting. I couldn't even see them in the editor, because it didn't include an enemy / event editor.
The latest update in the MegaED X editor includes all of the features that I wasn't able to do before. I can make stages longer. With more enemies. With any positioning I'd like. The camera behaving just like I want it to. Loading the enemies where I want to. Moving around checkpoints and upgrades within a stage. Seeing with my eyes where the enemies and events are. And the stages can be as long as I want them to be - unlimited scenes, respecting the original's grid (which is underused in most cases).
All of this is accomplished via ROM expansion. It's nuts. RedGuy has my eternal gratitude, and he knows it well. He's well included in the credits, because none of this would be happening if it wasn't for him. Now, I need to do what I do best - Design levels. I still have to use a lot of ASM, but none of it (except particular exceptions) is related to stage designing, but rather about enhancing the AI.
So, after I hope you get how restrained I was working before, and how free I'll be to work now, I have to announce the official development of three separate projects (but tied like brothers).
I'll be working from now on:
- Mega Man X: New Hard Type
- Mega Man X2: Hard Type
- Mega Man X3: Hard Type
Mega Man X: New Hard Type will be a full game mod. Let's compare it to Mega Man X: Old Type (Yes, after I release NHT, I'm renaming the current one to Mega Man X: Old Type, because that's how it will feel).
- MMX: Old Type feels like a romhack. MMX: New Hard Type will feel like a new experience.
- MMX: New Hard Type's stage layout will vary a lot from the original stages. MMX: Old Type felt like it was the same stage but done difficult. MMX: Hew Hard Type will feel like someone actually reimagined the game in some other way.
- MMX: Old Type's design is flawed in many ways, because I had to design stages around a fixed positioning of enemies. MMX: New Hard Type's design will be integral, with me designing everything, from the layout of the stage, to the platforms, to where the enemies are, allowing me to control exactly the difficulty curve as I'd like it.
- MMX: New Hard Type's will still keep many of the things that mark original. Bosses will still be the same, enemies will be the same, upgrades will be mostly in the same stages (Although their location will vary). This is all by design, to enhance the feeling of this being a reimagination of the game, but with a higher difficulty, while keeping its original spirit and a good design. Want a good example of what I'm talking about? Does Mega Man Zero ring a bell?
- Misc changes and ideas that I'm keeping to myself. One of them is starting in the intro stage with dash. Come on, tell me who liked walking in the intro stage in MMX: Old Type. <.<
Mega Man X2: Hard Type and Mega Man X3: Hard Type will follow the same guidelines. The stage's layout will be a lot different. They will feature more enemies, better placed. Lots of surprises around.
The last thing I want to announce, is something that you'll be able to notice in my Mega Man X2: Hard Type releases so far. I've been learning a lot in terms of design since I've started my very first drafts in Old Type. But not only in how to do things, but what to do. I'm slowly drafting towards a difficulty that's based more on enemies, and not so much on platforms. I've learned from X1 that spikes should be a resource, and not a theme. I've also learned that there should be breathing rooms, chances to recover; there should be room for experimentation, movement, a lot of things that Old Type lacked. So, for the people who played MMX: Old Type, I must ask you to see what I'm gonna develop with new eyes. Because my mindset has changed a lot, and I think you're gonna like the new approach, towards the "fun" side, I'm looking with my mods now.
That's all, thank you for reading.
