42 replies to this topic

[Core]

EDIT 2:
Christmas version direct download link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/8pn9lh
Video:


EDIT:
Original game (full version) direct download link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/1xu6ve
Video:

Original post below

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Hello everyone.

I hope there's nothing wrong with making a topic about a fangame that is not a Sonic fangame. If there is, you can just lock this.

So, I'm making a NiGHTS fangame. I'm trying to make it mostly similar to NiGHTS into dreams, except there's no on-foot gameplay, no enemies and no bosses (though I may add enemies later). The game will be rather short, I'm planning to do 3 levels.

Here's a screenshot (click for a larger picture):


You can download the demo here:
[EDIT: link expired] (win32 application, 8.4 MB. Tested under Windows XP.)
It's a tech demo to show the gameplay, so I didn't put too much effort in the level design. The level design is temporary and the musics and graphics may be replaced as well.

On the title screen, press enter to start the game, or use the left arrow key to go to the help screen. In the game, use the arrow keys to move, press shift to do a Drill Dash and press enter to pause.

Please test it and tell me your opinions about the gameplay, for example, do you think the character is too slow or too fast, or is the camera too close or too far from the character, etc. Also, I'm open to suggestions for the title of the game. Thanks in advance.

Edited by Core, 01 December 2010 - 05:44 AM.

[Jof]

Wow! This is actually a really well done fangame. Certainly one of the better NiGHTS fangames I've played over the years. I really love the style and how well you've brought together lots of different models from the games. I hope you keep at it, as this has real potential!

My only complaint would be that the camera doesn't constantly follow NiGHTS, rather it kinda waits for NiGHTS to hit the side of the screen. I think it would flow alot better if NiGHTS was always on centre.

As an Admin over at www.nightsintodreams.com/forum , it'd be wrong of me not yo ask you to post a topic over at our forums, as I'm sure our members would love to play this and help you in any way they can!

[Core]

Hi. Thanks for your comment; I really appreciate it. Though I'm not sure what you mean by "style", since graphically I didn't really try to do something in particular.
Also thanks for your suggestion about the camera; I had doubts about how to do it. I will make the camera always focused on NiGHTS.
As for the NiGHTS community forums, I'm sorry but I don't want to go back there. Besides, I'm not sure the members there will like it if I come back only to advertise my game.

[xyv]

Oh wow this just simple amazing i've never played (or seen) a NiGHTS fangame until I downloaded your fangame, fantastic work I really hope you finish this game it's awesome =D how long did it take you to make it ?

[Core]

Thanks
I started the game at the beginning of May, and until the demo's release I've spent most of my free time working on it. But some parts of the code have been copied from a previous 2D fangame, so I didn't start from scratch.

[Core]

Hey all,

Here's a quick progress report:
- I've coded a bunch of new items. All items for the first level are done;
- also added enemies (well, one anyway), which can hurt you and such;

(I would have preferred a Shleep for the first level, but with the way it is rendered, that won't be possible)
Note that Touch Dash has not been implemented (and probably won't), so to kill the enemy you'll have to use either the Drill Dash or the Paraloop.
- camera is now always centered on NiGHTS;
- added controller support (either D-pad or analog stick), though for the moment you can't configure the buttons, so I have to write some kind of setup program.

Also, I think I'll do 4 levels rather than 3, with the last level being unlocked under some rank requirements.

By the way, I'm still open to suggestion for the title of the game. Maybe I should just call it "Core's NiGHTS fangame".

Now programming-wise the first level is pretty much done, so now I have to do the design (which may take the most time). I hope I can make a new demo with the first level completed soon.

[xyv]

NiGHTS:Enter the Nightmaren how that for a title name ? also I am looking forward to your next demo

[Rally the Cheetah]

Well I just finished playing it and I have to say you have some great things going here . There are a few things I think could be improved though.

1. Perhaps it's just my computer but when I start the game Nights automatically wants to fly to the left of the screen. I suppose this wouldn't be too much of a problem only I want to go the other way. I can move right by holding the right arrow key but the instant I let go Nights goes left. So I feel there should be a sort a zero pose where Nights just floats upright if you're not holding any direction. Also if such a thing is added have some fun and put in some idle animations. Maybe if you hold still for too long Nights will get bored and play the invisible flute or just float in a reclined position.

2. I feel you could use more variation in your background models and some of the textures. I realize more textures and objects equal larger file size but the background looks a tad barren for a dream world. Have some fun, throw in some strange flowers, plants, or structures to add some variation. I especially would like to see some more color on the rocky ceiling. Dark colors are visually heavy and give the sensation of falling or coming down. Because the ceiling is all the same dark brown shade with no grassy patches in it it feels visually heavy and constricting. Try sprucing it up a bit, maybe put some green patches here and there on it or maybe even some colorful crystals coming out from the rock.

3. Don't be afraid to experiment. Right now this looks almost exactly like Claris's first dream world. This is your fan game, don't be afraid to personalize it a bit. It's great that you are staying true to the style and look but try and throw in some twists here and there. Create new worlds for Nights to explore, or new enemies to defeat. Show us something that we haven't seen yet, surprise us .

Anyhow hope this is of some help. I look forward to seeing more of this game and am even more excited to play the finished version.

[Core]

NiGHTS:Enter the Nightmaren how that for a title name ? also I am looking forward to your next demo

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't know, it seems a bit weird to me (but maybe that's just because of my English skills lacking).

1. Perhaps it's just my computer but when I start the game Nights automatically wants to fly to the left of the screen. I suppose this wouldn't be too much of a problem only I want to go the other way. I can move right by holding the right arrow key but the instant I let go Nights goes left. So I feel there should be a sort a zero pose where Nights just floats upright if you're not holding any direction. Also if such a thing is added have some fun and put in some idle animations. Maybe if you hold still for too long Nights will get bored and play the invisible flute or just float in a reclined position.

Well this is troubling, NiGHTS is supposed to stop if you don't hit any key.
This is what you should see:

I'd really like to correct that, but it works fine on my computer so I don't know if I'll be able to find the source of the problem.
Is anyone else having this problem?

There's no idle animations yet, but that's a good idea.

2. I feel you could use more variation in your background models and some of the textures. I realize more textures and objects equal larger file size but the background looks a tad barren for a dream world. Have some fun, throw in some strange flowers, plants, or structures to add some variation. I especially would like to see some more color on the rocky ceiling. Dark colors are visually heavy and give the sensation of falling or coming down. Because the ceiling is all the same dark brown shade with no grassy patches in it it feels visually heavy and constricting. Try sprucing it up a bit, maybe put some green patches here and there on it or maybe even some colorful crystals coming out from the rock.

You're right. Although I was planning to add more models in the full version, I hadn't realized how empty it looked, especially the ceiling. I'll try to make the levels more lively.

3. Don't be afraid to experiment. Right now this looks almost exactly like Claris's first dream world. This is your fan game, don't be afraid to personalize it a bit. It's great that you are staying true to the style and look but try and throw in some twists here and there. Create new worlds for Nights to explore, or new enemies to defeat. Show us something that we haven't seen yet, surprise us .

I understand what you're saying, however I am a bit limited in what I can do. Basically all the models, textures and animations are ripped from the games - I don't have the talent to make them myself. But I'll try to see what I can do to make the levels more original.

Thanks for your suggestions anyway, they're really insightful

[Professor J]

If you're stuck for textures then you could always use some of the Sonic Adventure 1 or 2 textures. Alot of them are quite ambiguos and wouldn't look out of place in a NiGHTS fangame.

You can find them all at the Spriters Resource, as well as textures from many other games.

These or these would fit in with a NiGHTS game perfectly, for example.

[xyv]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't know, it seems a bit weird to me (but maybe that's just because of my English skills lacking).

Heh no probs but you will have to thank Bruce lee for the name suggestion since I was watching Enter the Dragon at the time and Enter the Nightmaren jumped into my head while watching that film and looking that this topic at the same time

[JamieDawg]

This is the first time I've ever played a NiGHTS fan game, and I've gotta say, it's pretty damn awesome.
As far as the feel of the goes, it feels like a NiGHTS game, you could however, try adding in more textures and make it more colorful and vibrant. I'm also glad that you centered the on NiGHTS the camera on the demo felt... awkward.

And how about NiGHTS: Final Reverie as a name for example?

Good job on your game, I hope you get to finish it!

[Unionhack]

Holy crap, man, this game is absolutely amazing. I really encourage you to finish it; you've got some real talent.

[Core]

If you're stuck for textures then you could always use some of the Sonic Adventure 1 or 2 textures. Alot of them are quite ambiguos and wouldn't look out of place in a NiGHTS fangame.

You can find them all at the Spriters Resource, as well as textures from many other games.

These or these would fit in with a NiGHTS game perfectly, for example.

Thanks, it may be useful, though I don't know if I'll need them since JoD also contains a lot of textures.

This is the first time I've ever played a NiGHTS fan game, and I've gotta say, it's pretty damn awesome.
As far as the feel of the goes, it feels like a NiGHTS game, you could however, try adding in more textures and make it more colorful and vibrant. I'm also glad that you centered the on NiGHTS the camera on the demo felt... awkward.

And how about NiGHTS: Final Reverie as a name for example?

Good job on your game, I hope you get to finish it!

Thank you That's a nice name.
I'll try to make the levels feel more lively, though I'm not an artist so I hope I can make it right.

Holy crap, man, this game is absolutely amazing. I really encourage you to finish it; you've got some real talent.

Thanks And don't worry, I'll finish it

[Core]

Hey all. Sorry it took longer than expected to have something to show. I had to spent a lot of time gathering and converting models for all the levels. But now I've remade the first level; here are 3 screenshots:



Does it look any better? I know the textures aren't varied enough. Right now I can't use too many textures for technical reasons, but I'll find a way around that. Also I feel that it still looks empty sometimes. Designing levels is much harder than I thought
Anyway, the game now uses mipmaps. If you compare to the previous screenshots, the textures now look a lot smoother... although I'm not sure it's really a good thing.
Also I know this level doesn't really look original, but I hope the next levels will be better in that regard.
I'm hoping I can make a demo relatively soon. I still need to test the level better, put more textures and code a few more things. And that controller configuration program.

And for the title of the game, I think I'll choose "NiGHTS: Lost Reverie".

Any feedback or opinions are welcome. Especially about whether I should keep the mipmaps or not.
Also, I'd like to know if anyone experienced slowdown problems with the first demo? You can display the framerate by holding the F12 key; it should be 40. I'd like to know if I need to plan something to make the game run faster if some people have troubles...

[Core]

Hello everyone, I've completed the demo (first level completed); here's the download link:
[EDIT: link expired]

It now includes a setup program (subject to change) so you can configure the keys or controller buttons. Also, since nobody replied to my last post, I've just put the mipmap as an option so you can enable or disable it yourself if you want.
I'm also going to assume nobody has slowdown problems if nobody says otherwise.

About the controller support: I have 2 controllers, and one of them is never detected by my programs (yet it works with other programs), so I don't know if it will work for everyone. Sorry if it doesn't.

I hope everything will work properly and that the game isn't too hard (it took me a few tries to complete the level; unlike in NiD, here you don't have a second chance if you run out of time).

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Edited by Core, 27 August 2010 - 05:42 PM.

[Gerk Marenghis Darkplace]

Ok, I'm reserving this post here to give my review of the demo. I'm downloading it now, should finish playing it by the end of my lunch break. It already looks pretty epic, but without knowing how it controls, I'll have to reserve my judgement until I get a hands-on try.

Edit:
Well, it plays like it should do, and it looks nice. So well done on that.The level design's also very well made, which means it's fun to play. That's the most important thing of all, so yeah. It could do with a tutorial though, as there's probably many people out there that either haven't played NiGHTS before, or like me haven't played for a long time. The bottom line is that you really need to keep this up. I'm looking forward to the next beta.

Edited by Professor Gerk Farnsworth, 01 July 2010 - 11:49 AM.

[Core]

Thanks for your comment. Do you think it would be ok if instead of a making a tutorial, I detailed the "How to play" screen a lot more?

[Core]

I've been working on the second level, here are a few screenshots:



The level design is still temporary (because right now it sucks), but you can have an idea of what the level will look like artistically.

[Core]

Hi, here's a new progress report:

- second level is almost completed

- I've added resolution selection to the setup program. Here are some hi-res screenshots (1280x1024):


Currently you can choose between 640x480, 800x600 and 1280x1024. If you want me to add any other resolution just ask.

- I've also added a "fullscreen" option.


I'm hoping I can complete and release the full game before Summer of Sonic. Stay tuned.