Salty's Metroid Conventional

I've got a little something for ya

2010-06-27T18:05:00.001-07:00

It's an editor update. Holy f@#%, Batman!

Now I know it has been a while, and I can't even remember how much has changed since the last official "update", but I can tell you that you no longer need that annoying XNA Redistributable package (/spit). I've rewritten the whole graphics part of the application in OpenGL using the Open Toolkit Package for C# bindings. You don't need to know exactly what that is unless you're going to build the code (which I know you aren't!), so all YOU need to know is you can just download and run the program now. That is, unless you haven't updated Windows for years, then you still need a .NET update, but that's your problem, pal.

Anyways, try it out, try and break it, and do tell me if you do. I like it when people try to break it, so fill yourself with rage and have at the editor! And once you've calmed down and returned from anger management, post a comment or a bug report on the issues list.

SMTC Level Editor (Changeset: cb2d164dd0, Build date: 100628)

EDIT: Updated project once more to fix a miscalculation.

Super Metroid Classic Engine Video

2010-06-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Youtube did something ghastly to the audio, otherwise this is a pretty accurate depiction of the engine. A download link will be posted when I have finished cleaning up the bugs.

ROCKET KNIGHT

2010-05-19T16:05:00.001-07:00

I've created and posted a full Rocket Knight playthrough, as well as the game's soundtrack.
So if you were wondering what I was up to (you weren't), wonder no more!

May Update

2010-05-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

I figured it's been a long time since I posted anything, so here it is.
Latest Download.

This version contains a bunch of smaller bug fixes (including some crash-related ones) and also adds water physics. Samus will now slide around in water unless you get the Gravity Suit. In order to allow for backwards compatibility, this feature has been disabled in acid until I go back through all the levels and make sure the player can escape from the acid if he/she falls in.

The Zebes Depths area has been completed but has not been appended to the map quite yet. If you want to test it out, you'll have to set your SMTC.cfg to start you in Rooms/Dept00.mcl. I worked hard on those levels so at least pretend to appreciate them.

Scripting is in the works at the moment but is only partially functional. To see some examples of what it can do, go to your SMTC.cfg. The cvars on the bottom can be used to edit the properties of water physics in-game. More options will come once I work out the bugs in the parser.

As for the more global picture, Toasty and I have been talking about starting a new project. It won't be a remake, instead it will be a completely original game mixing RPG and Strategy elements. Very few details have been even discussed but you can expect to hear about any betas on this blog at some point.

What's this? A review? Oh my!

2010-04-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

After noticing Sudtrap's comment about a month ago in Salty's Useless Update Post:

Sudtrap said...: I've gotten the Gamersnark interested in reviewing the game and game engine, and he'd like to do a interview as well, when you release it!
(A link to one of his better videos)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO9q9M5Irl0

Otherwise, I look forward to the release! ^_^

I should probably note that Gamersnark has completed his review and it's up on his website and in his YouTube channel. Take a look, let him and us know what you think! It also features a Q&A interview with Mr. SaltyJustice himself. Perhaps we'll contact him for another review in the future if you guys like it.

http://www.gamerzsnark.com/Salty%27s%20Metroid%20Review.htm

Ubuntu Build

2010-04-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

I toyed around with SMTC in Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) today. Altered the build settings, changed some paths to be compatible, etc. Here's the end result:

SMTC in Ubuntu

Although it's still got some issues to track down (such as not accepting input..), it is compile-able! The libraries are also usable in Mac OSX and other distros, so you may see those as a possibility.

More on this when I decide to work on it further.

Source Release

2010-03-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is the download link for the existing SMTC Source. I used Codeblocks for this, and Allegro ~~4.9.x~~ 4.0.3. The Audio library I used was BASS 2.4.

This release is for you amateurs out there, as well as anyone presently interested in helping port the game to other operating systems. I will upgrade the source releases as the RCs come out.

Final RC version

2010-03-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

This is the final version of the SMTC RC1 version. It contains fixes for the Mother Brain encounter, as well as all the previous patch versions rolled into one.

The next RC will probably be released next month, or SMTC 1.0 if I think it's polished enough. While I won't be immediately patching any minor bugs until then, feel free to post whatever bugs you do find.

Update: A few fatal errors have been patched, as of April 4.
Elevators should no longer crash the program
Helix beam hitting a corner should no longer crash the program
Transitioning in rooms should no longer crash the program sometimes
Non-standard door positions should no longer cause scrolling

SMTC Release Candidate Mark I Released!

2010-03-12T16:40:00.001-08:00

At long last, here it is. SMTC 1.0 (Mark I), a fully playable Metroid Classic game experience.

There are FAR fewer parade floats and flying streamers than I had come to expect.

Anyway, you can download it here.

As always you can get the latest release at www.g0dsoft.com/smtc/Downloads/SMTC_Release_Latest.rar.

For the love of god, read the readme I included. All of it. I'm serious.
And start pimping this to your friends/neighbors/victims/people you don't like. Get the word out people!

Update: Just encountered a crash. Using the elevator from Ridley's Lair to Norfair. Haven't been able to reproduce it yet. SAVE OFTEN. As in, every time you pass a save room.

Also, the list of known bugs is nowhere near up to date. I'll post a new one soon.

Update 2: Patched a crash issue in Tourian. Please download the zip/rar again if you got it earlier this afternoon.

Update 3: If you are experiencing a crash in the Mother Brain's room, please try this patch and leave a comment if it works. If not, back to the drawing board.

Update 4: This patch should solve some minor problems in the Ridley's Lair section (and one major one, yeesh). Replace your old Rooms folder with the new one included. Also contains some other minor bug fixes.

FYI: If you're downloading this for the first time, the package is being updated with the patches, so you won't need them.

Updateless Update

2010-03-01T14:25:00.000-08:00

Okay so we're going with the monthly format here.
February doesn't get an update because February was midterms/swine flu month.

The Editor is nearing its final version, barring some unforseen bugs.
Kraid is done (it only took a few hours to build and test him, but you try fucking doing that with swine flu).
Ridley is done as far as I know.
I'm going to work on the Mother Brain now. The Zebetites and Rinkas are already done but they're "harmless" to allow testing unmolested, which you may have seen in the case of Ridley and Kraid. Those two are now fully armed.
Screw Attack has been added and seems to work.
Fixed a massive crash that had to do with doors opening and target lists.

I probably did some other stuff but forgot what I did (I'm like that).

Expect an actual release next week. More importantly, next week's release will be an RC, meaning it might be the finished version (or 1.0. Metroid 2 will be 2.0, but that's getting ahead of myself).

Finally, I'd like to see you people (okay, you two) make a video or somesuch that I can post on youtube to pimp the RC. So if you're interested in doing that you can mail me or post a comment.
I'd do it myself but my system refuses to record sound internally. Also I suck hard at video editing.

The Full Map

2010-01-21T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a preview of the full map. No, it's not even close to complete, as Maridia and Brinstar Green need to be added.

You will note that Brinstar Red (in the bottom) is way below the rest. That's because I there's not much space between Kraid's Lair and Ridley's Lair.

I find backtracking across Brinstar to be tedious, especially with the plethora of vertical shafts. Brinstar Red connects two fairly disparate sections of Brinstar, allowing an alternate route back once you've collected Bombs and the Ice Beam. Going further into Brinstar Red will require the Wave Beam and Screw Attack, and allow access to Maridia (which shortcuts to Ridley's Lair) and Brinstar Green (which shortcuts to Kraid's lair).

The Space Jump will be found in Brinstar Red, as will the Spazer Beam and Gravity Suit.
The Helix Beam will be found in Brinstar Green.
The Shock Beam and Burn Beam will be found in Maridia.

Obviously this is still a work in progress. I'll append more sections to this map as I go.

I am not happy about this

2010-01-16T22:02:00.001-08:00

I don't know why but I'm just not happy with this release, and I'm doing it anyway. Please post bugs that you have found, if any.

Known Bugs:
Unmorphing in midair causes Samus to land and stop for 1 frame before continuing to run.
Collecting an item during a certain run frame causes the sound of footstep to repeat for a while.
Several rooms still have bad positions on the minimap.
That's all I can think of.

New Features:
Wow where to begin.

==== Sound ====
Pretty sure I got all the sounds and music from the original Metroid. Made some progress in other Metroid games as well. Have to fix a sound bug or two.
All the Music entities in the Editor work and are correctly integrated.

==== Editor ====
Added a bunch of new entities to the Editor's list. All current entities except Metroids and Rinkas work.
Note: The Save entity should be obvious. The stuff next to that is the Minigun entities that exist in Mother Brain's room.
About 1/4 of the tiles from Metroid 2 have been added, in color!

==== Enemies ====
Enemies work. Period. Send any bugs you find in. Apart from the Rinkas and Metroids, all the enemies on the Editor's list should work fully.
Ridley is fully functional. You will find him in Ridley's Lair. He has around 200 hp and splatters into gibs when he dies. If you want to fight him without traveling down there, press 6 at any time to spawn him on the top left side of your room. Killing him nets you 75 missiles.

==== Rooms ====
There are about 3 rooms in Norfair that I have not completed yet, and most of the rooms in Norfair have no enemies yet.
Kraid's Lair is done (though lacking a Kraid)
Ridley's Lair is done
Tourian is done
Brinstar is done
Save Rooms have been added to the game. Check the maps in your Images\Maps folder to find out where they are. Press F3 while on top of the save pillar to save your game. It will use the name of the game you loaded with, or entered at the start of the game.

==== Items ====
Most of the original game's equipment, and then some, is included. Still have yet to do the Screw Attack.
The Beam weapons have been overhauled. I added 3 extra beams though support for some is still lacking:
Burn Beam: Sets enemies on fire for a few seconds, dealing out damage each second. Presently not supported to actually deal out damage. Needs more graphical support. The Burn Beam is incompatible with the Ice Beam and Plasma Beam.
Shock Beam: Stuns enemies 3-4x longer than a normal beam impact. Increases damage by 1. The stun is not supported yet, but the damage upgrade is. Not compatible with the Wave Beam.
Helix Beam: The Beam becomes a Helix form, creating two seperate beams that criss-cross through the air. Increases damage comparable to the Spazer Beam. Allows the mixing of Burn and Ice beams (one on each carrier).

You no longer start the game with a default loadout. You now start with just 99 energy. If you need to test equipment, press 5 to enable the gear.

==== Misc ====
Press T during the starting music to skip it.
Don't use campaigns yet, they have not been improved to the latest formats.
The Cvar for fireworks mode causes Missiles to spray fireworks all over the place. Use it!
Old Savefiles are no longer anywhere near compatible. Delete them please.
Random games should still not work. I'm not sure if I'll include them in the final game at all.

As always, you can get the latest release at
www.g0dsoft.com/smtc/Downloads/SMTC_Release_Latest.rar
or, by clicking here.

Please report bugs!
Also, the game is very close to completed. Here's a todo list to make the game playable from the start to finish:
Finish up Norfair (not looking forward to this shit...)
Add Acid to all rooms that don't have it.
Put in Kraid.
Put in the Mother Brain.
Put in Metroids and Rinkas.
Put in the Screw Attack.

Twitter finally does something useful

2009-12-09T14:55:00.000-08:00

After I found out Toasty was on Twitter, I decided to berate him about it.
However, I did find 1 (one, exactly one, no more) thing that Twitter has done properly.

http://twitter.com/awesometf2names

My name is on that list, about halfway down. Suck it Toasty.

Open Source SMTC Level Editor? It cannot be!

2009-12-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

Following some experimenting with Mercurial at my workplace, I've done some toying around and am now using it for the Level Editor. What does this mean for you? Well Google Code hosts Open Source projects and has support for Mercurial, so where better for me to try it out?

You don't know what Mercurial is? Find out!

And, then, if you wanna give it a try, feel free to check out the editor source code! The Google Code project is located at http://smtcleveleditor.googlecode.com/. For those who want a direct link to see the source, here you go. For checkout instructions, please click on 'Checkout' just below the Source tab.

I have tested the project file with Visual C# Express Edition with the XNA Game Studio 3.1 package installed. However I have not compiled it, but as far as I know it should be good-to-go.

This post, like my previous, is likely to fall on deaf ears.
Maybe if it doesn't we can convince Salty to make his Open Source =P

Edit: Oh. And I signed up for Twitter. Follow me if you want.

Ohh no another damned readme!

2009-11-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

I've updated the readme to reflect the changes made in the latest version.

As always you can find it at http://www.g0dsoft.com/smtc/EditingReadme.htm

The One That Sounded Good

2009-11-22T16:33:00.001-08:00

Today's release has been coming for two freakin weeks but I'm sure you guys will like it.

This one includes music!

Yes yes, hold your applause.

Here's a quick changelog. And by quick I mean not quick at all.

Music and Sound has been added. I've gotten all the sound effects I can think of, and they're in ogg format in the Sound folder. Might be missing a few.

The Room file format has been updated to version 1.2. As before, the Editor is backwards compatible but SMTC is not. Please load your custom rooms in the editor and save them back out to update their format.

The Editor now supports Objects. Objects consist of Enemies, No-Clip, Explosions, Items, and the Samstart object. It also has the objects that change the level's music but those don't work yet, as I only have the Brinstar music anyway.
Note: You must place a Samstart entity in your level to cause the Brinstar music to play. If you load into a room with no Samstart, Samus will begin at position 64x64 (top left corner) with no music and no intro music.

The entities are pretty obvious. No-clip makes the tile unclipped and can be moved through, the explosion makes the block a breakable, and the items/enemies are, uh, items/enemies. Note that placing an item inside a block will turn that block into a breakable and place the item inside of it.

SMTC itself has received several upgrades.
Gerutas and Sidehoppers now work. The existing maps do not have any in them but you can place them in the editor.
A new program called Detector.exe is bundled. Running it will cause Allegro to see which screen modes your graphics card is capable of. It sometimes hangs until you press Esc a few times, not sure why. Be careful when using it.
Several rooms have been fixed with their minimap problems. Several remain unfixed.
You should no longer get jumped by a Geemer when opening some doors.
Some of the items have been placed in their respective spots in Brinstar. Since Norfair is not done yet that's as far as you can go.
Palettes have been improved. There are now 4 palettes, activated by 1 2 3 and 4.
Press 5 to give/remove the equipment. Some rooms in BrinRed were designed for the High Jump Boots so you might need those to get around. Alternately, look around for breakables!
Hidden items have been implemented but only in BrinRed (since Metroid didn't have a lot to begin with). Find them all!

Toasty said he'd post a readme for the editor later on, so be on the lookout for that. Comments or complaints go in the comments section. Please also tell me about bugs you find.

Download it here.

As always, the latest SMTC Release can be found at
http://www.g0dsoft.com/smtc/Downloads/SMTC_Release_Latest.rar

Patch'd

2009-11-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

This is a patch for the latest SMTC version. It's a new .exe, so overwrite your old one.

I've applied this patch to the SMTC_Release_Latest as well as the 04112009 release.

This patch should fix the camera scrolling error that some have been reporting.
To find out which screen modes you can run the game in, download this utility.
The utility may need to be run more than once as it sometimes hangs for reasons uncertain, but it will attempt to set all the screen modes and report which ones work and which don't.

The Post that Seems Impressive but Really Isn't

2009-11-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

Today we have a version of SMTC that seems to be leaps and bounds ahead of the old version but, in fact, is not. Okay so it is, and I'm being humble.

The latest version can always be found here.

What's new? What isn't!

Minimap support has been implemented, and if you press ENTER you will be taken to the subscreen (since Metroid had none, I've used the Super Metroid template) you can view the full map. Sadly, there's no support for scrolling on this map, but there will be, I swears!

Press W on the map screen to switch to the inventory subscreen. Press X to enable/disable the item your cursor is on, and use the arrow keys to select items. Press Q to return to the map screen. Remember to press 4 to enable the improved loadout.

Full maps have been made for Brinstar Red and Brinstar (The one from Metroid) and work in conjunction with the subscreen. They can be found in the Images\\Maps folder if you're curious.

Full support for Enemies has been added. And by "full support" I, of course, mean the bare bones minimum. Rather than design a seperate mode, I told Toasty to turn them into tiles. So simply select the Zoomer tile in tiles mode and, uh, place the Zoomer! Note that Gerutas (the purple one on the right) don't work.

The Editor now supports DOORS! As a result, the Parser, Deconstructor, and Shell programs have been removed as the main editor now does all their jobs (more or less).
Rather, I have included a program called Updated.exe. This will update all your custom made .mcl rooms into the new 1.1 format (which supports the minimap). According to Toasty, his editor is backwards compatible but SMTC ISN'T.

Brinstar is finished, including enemies. A few things still need to be fixed (like making the pipes in some cases unclipped) and the minimap isn't perfectly aligned yet, I'll fix that at some point. Also the room to the Ice Beam isn't there for reasons I cannot recall.

More rooms have been added to the Brinstar Red series. The blocked off door in Brin0 is blocked off for a reason.

Water has been improved and looks better in pretty much every way. It should also no longer slow the system down by drawing it.

You can now select screen modes and color depths in the CFG file. Change the line
Cvar.screen_size 0 to change it.
0 is 256x256, the bare minimum.
1 is 512x512
2 is Fullscreen.

Also, you can change the color depths with cvar.color_depth to 0 and 1
0 is 24 bit
1 is 32 bit
As near as I can tell they're compatible, but I'd recommend leaving it at 1.

If you find the program cannot run a particular screen size, try changing the color depth.

Lastly, improved a few things concerning camera bounding.

Known Bugs:
Running the game, then quitting back to the main title, then running it again, causes the room to scroll back to the start. It looks cool, but it's not supposed to do that.

The minimap doesn't sync with some of the rooms in Brinstar. Cause is known, but it's a pain to fix.

If you have a bug concerning the editor, please check here. This is a google thingy Toasty uses to track bugs.
Also note that the current dependencies of the Editor are
.NET Framework 3.5
Microsoft XNA Redistributable 3.0

Post stuff in the comments. I tell you to do that but whether or not you do is unaffected. One might wonder why I do that at all.

New items and improvements update

2009-10-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

Today we add a bunch of useful items to the game as well as fixing the older physics bugs that were giving me a headache. Here's a changelog:

Most of the game's items have been implemented, including extra items like the Gravity Suit. So far, Space Jump, High Jump, Long Beam, Wave Beam, Ice Beam, Varia Suit, and the Gravity Suit are ready. To activate them in game, press 4, and press it again to deactivate.

Samus now runs at a speed closer to the original game's speed.
Samus now jumps the same height whether she is moving or not.
Samus's jump is now about the same as the original, and higher with the High Jump Boots on.
Water has been added but has no impact, it just looks kinda cool.
Backgrounds have been added, or at least support for them has. Since the original had no backgrounds, this feature may or may not stick depending on how much I care about it.
IPF and ISF files have been upgraded to a new version. Please don't use the old version or the game will crash on startup.
Several new sprites added, some not implemented yet.
Projectiles have been updated and no longer fire past the screen's edge.

As always, the latest version of SMTC can be found at
www.g0dsoft.com/smtc/Downloads/SMTC_Release_Latest.rar
or by clicking here.

Leave comments if you have questions.

Also: I need suggestions on what exactly to do next. Should I concentrate on adding the remaining (handful) of enemies, or work on the newer content, or what?

Update from the 08102009 Release

2009-10-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

This is an update from the previous version, SMTC_Release_E_08102009.rar .
Thanks to Sudtrap and AlexR for noticing a problem with the IPF/ISF files.
The patched version should run correctly on all systems.

Metroid: A Primer

2009-10-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

Metroid

Executive 1: Hey I got an idea. Let's make a game about exploration with an excuse for a plot and lots of frustration!
Executive 2: Your plans impress me, as does the size of your penis.
Executive 1: I am impressive.

Metroid 2: Return of Samus
Executive 1: That first game was a big success, let's do it again but for the gameboy. Grainier, with less color, but somehow more gameplay.
Executive 2: You could satisfy an elephant, or a whale, or both at once.

Super Metroid
Executive 1: It's been a while since we made an actually good game, how about we follow up on that last Metroid game we made.
Executive 2: Penis size joke!
Executive 1: This wears thin quickly.

Metroid Prime
Executive 1: Prequels are "in" this year (and every year following and preceeding it) so let's make one.
Clown in a Suit: I can juggle 5 balls at once!

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Executive 1: I fired the clown, so let's make one of those trendy Dual World type games. Like most sequels to prequels, it'll be harder and weirder, but still somehow fun.
Talking Horse: A Mr. Ed reference? That's low.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Executive 2: Hey, what happened to that well endowed go-getter Executive 1?
Executive 3: He was fired for possessing a dangerously large penis. It was a threat to national security. Let's make a crappy sequel to our two prequels that will enthrall most gamers but enrage one VERY SPECIFIC one with the poor quality and emphasis on shooting instead of exploring.
Clown in a Suit: Even I can tell that's a bad idea.

And so, the story of Metroid comes to a close.
Until the new one comes out and fails to impress a blogger with too much time on his hands.

Karp Karp

2009-10-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

The image here will only make sense to one person (if I'm lucky).
Don't get it?
You're not him.

New version of SMTC today, comes bundled with the cool, useful, and downright COMMENTABLE editor. Now with fewer bugs!

Also, we have some new levels for you to play with, though nothing within those levels can kill you. The levels are called BrinRedXX.mcl and are the default levels in the cfg file. If you want to play the old levels, open up the cfg in the Metroid Classic folder change it to Brin00.mcl or somesuch.

The new levels are 100% original, and made by me. I'll connect them to the main game at some point, and that's not the end of the new levels either.

Also, you can expect to bump into the new Reo and Waver enemies if you start in Brin00.

The CFG has been updated with some new cvars to customize your experience. You may notice that pressing ESC now brings up the pause menu, allowing you to resume or go back to the title screen. If you want to quit, press F12. You can turn this behavior off by opening up Smtc.cfg in notepad and changing:
cvar.esc_quits 0 to cvar.esc_quits 1
You can also use a similar technique to turn all the doors into missile doors. I gave you 100 missiles to compensate.

Get it by clicking this.

Update: 10-10-2009
If the editor isn't working 100%, try downloading this and see where that gets you.

The SHUT UP GET OFF MY BACK post

2009-09-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ahem, read the title. I'm not done and I'm not updating right now until I have something more substantial. If I made an update now, all the changes would be invisible to you guys until the editor supports the changes.

Here's what's done:
Saving and Loading (Press F3 to save when you do get your hands on the game)
Intro spruced up with a Load menu
Missile doors

With these done I'm going to start work on finishing all the enemy archetypes, then maybe add some sound.

I hate Readme's

2009-09-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

For anyone who needs help with the editor, I put together a short readme for you. It's not long, it's not complicated, but right now neither is the editor.

Take a look at it here

Look Ma, No Hands!

2009-09-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

This week (or whatever time scheme I'm using now) we have an editor release. No, not some crappy editor made by me, a crappy editor made by Toasty in visual. It works like a windows program!

It makes Metroid Classic look like Pac-Man!

Also, I built an intro and made the Samstart entity work, but who cares what I did?

Download it here.

Still working on the mystery jump/shoot bug...

Palettes and not much else

2009-08-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

This week I have practically killed myself to bring you palette swapping.
No it's not as simple as it looks. To perform palette swapping quickly without using much RAM I rebuilt the Tiles file into custom forms. For your benefit I have included the tools I used to build them.

Download it here.

Rar file, 800 or so kB.

Notes: Sudtrap, I can't seem to reproduce your doors bug. If you can, try pressing D a few times until you see the doors values and take a screenshot for me to see.

Also: If you want to see the other palettes then just press 1 2 or 3 on the keyboard in game to switch between them. I've added breakables to Brin01.mcl as well to make getting across the room easier.

Oh no, Monthly?

2009-08-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

Crap, it took a month just to slam this one out what with all that's been going on. Let's hope this doesn't become habit.

Here's what's done:
-About half of Brinstar has been added, and the first room of Tourian.
-A makeshift bridge is in the room where the Kraid and Ridley statues are.
-Elevators have been added, used to get from Tourian to Brinstar.
-The Parser has been patched and should accept more than 9 rooms now.
-Room transitions have been patched and look pretty damn clean I'd say.
-Door code has been cleaned up. You'll notice doors no longer randomly stay open or become untargetable.
-All the tiles have been ripped and integrated, with a few "special" exceptions. It should be possible to build all the rooms in Metroid now.
-Palettes are on the way so the tiles won't look so damned ugly.

Known bugs:
-With the present set of tools it is not possible to "unclip" tiles. So, those bushes in Brin07? Yeah, jump over them, lazy.

Get the update here

As per usual, leave comments or send emails if you find something almost dangerously amiss.

Also, if any of you know a good program for capturing video from programs, let me know so I can start making youtube teasers and demonstrations.

To come

2009-08-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

Been a very busy month, as I'm going to Orlando on the 4th and moving to a new city later on. All I've managed to scrape together is:

A minor patch (cures one bug I haven't seen reported)
Finished ripping all the tiles
About 8 new levels made

I'll put together a release tomorrow.

Edit: Too busy, back on the 11th!

SMTC Shell Edit and Door functions

2009-07-16T15:31:00.001-07:00

A triumph of UI engineering is upon us.
For I have created a functioning suite of (two) programs to edit SMTC levels with.
Really, they just allow the addition of doors to your levels, but the core is there so more stuff can be added quickly.

Also, a new version of SMTC and the old BMP Editor is bundled here, with some bugs fixed up. Big thanks to Sudtrap for finding several of these bugs.

Note: To quit the programs, just press ESC or F12. I don't recall mentioning that anywhere.

Download

RAR file, 715KB.

Please read the Readme file before messing with the editors. Happy editing.

The Triumphant Return of SMTCLevEdit

2009-07-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Well not quite. This time I've built a .bmp parsing engine that can convert your levels into usable level files in Metroid Classic.

Download

Once again, this is a .rar file and is 707KB.

Some basic instructions on using the editor:
Copy tiles directly out of the provided Tile Table.bmp file.
Save your bmp files as 24 bit or they will not be compatible with the editor.
Some samples of Brin00 and Brin01 have been included as a reference.
If you get in trouble, leave a comment and I'll see about fixing it.

Note that this new version has reintroduced some old bugs into the engine, since I radically altered the level structure to fit the new editor. More to come soon.

Apologiesng

2009-07-02T22:49:00.000-07:00

My apologies on the late updates. Dev-CPP has decided to crap out on me so I'm changing to Code::Blocks.

Here's what my plan was:
A level editor that uses a bmp image created by the user to parse the level. Another hacked together program will come afterwards to add doors and enemies to the levels.

For now you have to settle for a busted IDE.

Vertical Rooms and New Tiles, plus more invisible stuff

2009-06-23T14:04:00.001-07:00

This week's update comes to you courtesy of the frustration of designing large rooms using the current editor.

So, here's what's new:

The new Cambound feature, which prevents the screen from scrolling until the cambound is crossed. This can be seen in Brin01.mcl on the left half of the room, and it looks pretty smooth.

Vertical rooms and scrolling have been added. They were already there but there weren't any vertical rooms so you couldn't tell. A new one has been added called Brin03.mcl and is the default level in the SMTC Release folder.

About 6 new tiles have been added.

Minor bomb physics changes. Bomb jumping should be possible.

Keep in mind there are door holes in Brin03 but no doors. The zoomers seem to be able to wander outside the room and come back, but you'll crash the game if you try.

Download

Note: It's a .rar and not a .zip file now.

Breakables Update

2009-06-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

Minor bugs fixed and breakables are now in Brin02.mcl for you to blow up with your bombs. Another minor update.

Download

Saturday KABLOOIE Update

2009-05-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

Bombs and missiles in this update, as well as a few other things like palette swaps.

Press A to switch to and from missiles mode. It doesn't take missiles to fire yet.

Download

Update and Help Request

2009-05-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

I'm back with another dumb update. Here's what's new:

Some bug fixes, but not all of the previously found bugs were fixed
Rippers are in, and found in Brin02
Shriekbats are in, and found in Brin01
Note: The shriekbat projectiles will not hurt you yet. Also rippers can be killed by anything at the moment.

It may not seem like much, and that's because it isn't. Slow and steady.

What I need help with is a listing of all the enemy HPs, immunities, damage done to Samus, etc. I could compile it myself but that'd take time I could be using to make more enemies and features, so if someone can either mail such a list to me or leave it in the comments it'd be much appreciated.

The update? Get it here.

Lucky Post 13

2009-05-06T15:02:00.001-07:00

New Alpha out today. I'm out of town starting tomorrow so I figured I'd give a bigger update than usual, though it certainly didn't turn out like that.

Items now drop from enemies
There are usable energy tanks, missile tanks, and the long beam
(Only one energy tank is actually in the game, in Brin02)
You can use morph ball

Known bugs:
The left door in Brin01 doesn't close correctly
Kinda hard to dodge those geemers in Brin00
Some of the tiles don't fade properly in Brin01

I just threw the morph ball in there and didn't do much bug testing, so please post any bugs you find in the comments and I'll get to them sometime next week.

Download

Scrolling and Injury Alpha

2009-04-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

This week's alpha consists of the incredible scrolling room. The example now contains three rooms, the middle of which is 32x16. Also, geemers/zoomers can hit you and will reduce your energy when they do so. You can't die (yet) so don't bother.

As you can see, the game is now alarmingly close to being finished from a cosmetic standpoint, but there is still much to do.

Download

Transitions Alpha Update

2009-04-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

The flashy-pants new alpha for this week features.... door transitions.

Yes those are the big things I told you about. They look really nice.

Download here

Big Things Week

2009-04-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

Expect a major update this week. Finals are all but completed and that leaves lots of time for updates.

The more important set of news is that Toasty has agreed to restart the editor. Since he's a CS major, the editor will take no time at all and leave the actual game looking like a cut-rate 1st year project. My ego will take a similar dive.

As for this week, shot code has been tweaked, doors have been added, and some polish put in. Update on Friday as usual.

Friday Slow Going Kinda of a Let Down Alpha

2009-04-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Slow going this week due to exams, but promising developments nonetheless.

Here's what's new:
The geemer, when shot, will explode. This means that targeting data and sprite data are more or less complete.

Also, a drop of water will periodically fall from the ceiling in a semi-realistic fashion. Nothing fancy, but this demonstrates the power of the scripting that is to come.

Download

419kb, Windows

Friday Borderline Sociopath Alpha

2009-04-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

This week's alpha contains only minor improvements.

Shot code works. Feel free to test it out by mashing z and x to jump and shoot.
Geemers work. He'll walk around the room once he spawns.

No, you can't shoot the geemer. Do you know how long that fucker took to debug?

Download

Notes: I have my lab finals next week so don't expect much then either, since this shit is pass/fail and it's extremely important that I pass. I'll at least try to get a functioning door in, but don't count on it.

Interesting RAM findings

2009-04-01T09:18:00.001-07:00

So I was poking through the RAM the other day and I found when I locked certain addresses I got some... unusual behavior.

Most of the addresses do things like jam Samus in place or outright kill her. This one address seems to control the X scroll value in a room, so when it gets locked you actually walk across the room and come out the other side.

Here's a youtube video, take a look.

Toasty's Post

2009-03-31T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, this is Toasty (you may know me as Crimson from my previous work with Salty on the old SMTC project). I've been talking with Salty about the new SMTC project, as well as helping with some debugging, and I shall get involved with it as well.

As you may or may not know, part of the reason we abandoned the old SMTC was a lack of time due to our studies at university. However, my degree is almost complete, and Salty's has been stretched to allow for more free time, and hence the prospects of piking this up again.

I'll be getting in on the action with making an editor again. This time it won't be buggy or as complex...well hopefully. I will soon have my BSc in CS, so through the years I've picked up some things to make this much better. Following the completion of my many academic projects (which should conclude in the next two weeks), I will begin work on the editor. If you have any input as to what you think I should do it in, feel free to comment, and I shall take them into consideration. I was thinking about doing it in a non-allegro program, likely using C# and .NET (Personally, I like how clean it is and how easy the classes are to work with), but this also brings up portability concerns.

Sunday Alpha Madness

2009-03-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

Oops, I meant to get the alpha up on Friday but was busy running down a memory leak, and I work all weekend.

Here is the link.

Send comments, but not bug reports. However, mysterious crashing should be noted but not reported, as there is very little crash or compatibility protection as of right now.

Size is 413Kb, windows executable.

Friday is release day

2009-03-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to release an alpha update every Friday. Expect this post to be updated once I actually upload something in a few hours. Until then, salivate over these fantastic features:

Clipping: Pretty much done, but no morph ball
Editable rooms: You have to use notepad and run it through a translator, but you CAN build rooms.
Precursor to doors: They're in, but they don't do anything.
Simple phyiscs: Jumping, spin jumping, blah blah.

For two weeks work, I'd say it's coming along well. More later.

The Obligatory Mission Statement

2009-03-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is my mission statement for the Metroid Classic project.

First up, I recognize that Metroid has been ported to death, and that includes GBA/DS/Wii/Gamecube/PC ports (Yes, PC has been done. It's called Metroid Cubed). My goal is not to construct a simple port and recreation. That's just the first step...

The first goal is to get a functioning Metroid game working, playable from beginning to end. This will also come with a level editor which is pretty much 100% necessary to make the original game without my head exploding.

The second goal is provide modability, and that goes beyond the level editor. When making Super Metroid Classic (notice how Salty's MeTroid Conventional can still be SMTC :D ) I developed a 90% complete scripting engine complete with custom variables, functions, and the like. It never hit total functionality and I doubt many people did much with it, but it will make a return this time.

Expect this modability to also feature cool stuff like new items, enemies, and bosses too. And probably even scripted cutscene features like Super Metroid had. Those of you who saw Super Metroid Classic knew that this was mostly done as well.

The third goal is to upgrade to Metroid II: Return of Samus. Despite what you may think, Metroid II is not a major change from Metroid I, and both could easily work within the same engine. They're both 8 bit after all. I would, however, need someone to grab the graphics from Metroid II and color them so they don't look ugly.

The fourth and final objective would be upgrading this engine to Super Metroid levels. Once again, this is not that large an upgrade from Metroid I and II. The problem with Super Metroid Classic was that it was a major programming feat and I was an amateur programmer, but this time I'm not and I'm taking it in small chunks.

Intermediate objectives include interesting things like netplay (more on that later) and complete custom scenarios. I recall a lot of people making hacks for Metroid to make it harder or more baffling. I figure such scenarios would be more enjoyable in the SMTC built-for-PC engine.

So that's it. A list of my plans and what you can expect in the near future. Keep in mind that right now we're in an alpha phase. Expect some screenshots and possibly videos uploaded to youtube demonstrating my progress sometime next week.

Blog Creation

2009-03-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

So I put together a blog for SMTC (new and slightly debilitated). Yep. Check here for updates.

Speaking of which, here's what's done as of this writing:

Samus movement
Clipping
Basic room construction
Some of the door code

Toasty (aka Crimson for those of you "old hands") said he'd try to start on an editor but, as usual, is swamped with school work.

I'll try to post a very simple alpha download by Friday.