Hello, first post here. I had yet to register because I seldom play videogames nowadays, but I’ve been drawn by some of the articles and forum topics on Select Button (the previous version, that is; I have just registered in this one). The fantastic discussions on Castlevania were mostly what drew me (t)here (after reading them, I stopped writing my own posts on it; I feel like all has been said, and better) and I was wondering if maybe I could ask about an SB consensus on CV1 modifications or revisits. I’ve yet to play any good mod or hack for it, but have recently downloaded Stake (an editor for the first NES title), and decided to explore it.
I know it’s possible to edit the sprites and TSA blocks of the game, and I don’t think I would do a bad job at it but, immediately drawn to the editor, I tried constructing something out of what was already there. I could say I have a sprawling vision for a CV hack but in honesty, all I have are some doodles and ideas - some already shot down by the way the game handles its tilesets. I had made a few mockups of a small, lived in but derelict series of small towers for the Crumbling Tower, for instance, but there’s not much space for that now.
I thought back at some of the games in the series I enjoy the most and Harmony of Dissonance’s strangeness is one that attracts me a lot. I’d like to capture that “weirdness” but that’s a tall order; as much as it harkens to the NES era, I think it does so in a very concise way, not always tangible and immediate. All I’m doing so far is playing with an editor. And right now, for level 3, I’m down to around 10 or so combinations left (2x 8 by 8 tiles). On a related note, handling palettes is a small nightmare but I need to plan accordingly if I want to coax… Something out of this.
I… Guess it’s not the most typical first post and I’m not quite sure where I’ll be taking this. Would there be interest in, if not yet another CV modification, some pictures of this kind of thing? If it’s any good to pursue, that is. Also I hope this is the right forum, the categories are killing me.
Also, I had more edits in terms of palettes but cannot post more than 4 pictures.
Level 3 only has 9 patterns left so far and I still have to account for stairs and platforms. I can gain 3 additional patterns if I disregard the castle top floor and Clock Tower tiles in the distance, but I’ll have to ponder on that; these always felt like great background vistas ascending the castle. I could instead revise the larger window in the screenshots immediately below (with a different palette as well), cutting off the extra length below the first one (though that would only boost the patterns to 10).
Right now I’m trying to establish a reasonable idea of level design (something I never did before in any serious way). I’m making small notes and drawings, trying to think of tile patterns primarily because I suspect I’ll run out of space sooner than later, and because I also think some tiles will have to be rearranged. Well, that and I have to come to terms with Stake’s enemy handler - even after reading the manual, it still seems completely alien to me. Meanwhile, here’s another test in a different level, the Main Hall, but only for the Medusa chamber (highly unfinished so far).
I wanted to reply earlier but my internet connection is notoriously bad and I’ve been without online access for the most of the day. Meanwhile I thought about redesigning or replacing some bosses, at least visually, but I don’t think I’ll go that far, as I’m more concerned with the presence of the levels themselves than their end points. Now I just need to concentrate a bit more on the flow of things instead of trying to recreate all sorts of things, only to see if some idea was possible or not…
@diplo: Thank you. You were the CV historian/explorer, weren’t you? Really loved your articles. You simultaneously make me feel like writing again and then not at all - I’d just pale in comparison. Re: Overflow Darkness, it was good but for some reason when I played it, I had a lot of problems in later stages. I might try it again - maybe the problem was on my side. Chorus’ themes were cool indeed.
