[Reusable] - =Metroid Vanguard= Samus Aran in SRB2 2.2

Eis-Kold
5.00 star(s)
Friday at 2:50 AM
Version: v1

A banger as always, Shine -- the quality of your work here is absolutely aweing. Samus seems to perfectly blend her home game's mechanics with those of SRB2, and it's an added bonus that there's a mode for better compatibility with vanilla characters. Haven't gotten my hands on an official Metroid title yet (Metroid Prime 4 will happen eventually) but I'm convinced this is pretty darn close to what it feels like.

Golden Shine

Best kinda compliment I could get! Here's to Metroid Prime 4 becoming awesome!

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postal_speed_weed
5.00 star(s)
Wednesday at 9:11 AM
Version: v1

I've always been a fan of Metroid Dreadnought when it came out in the DOOM WAD section of the mods. Man, being able to shoot demons as Samus was truly something. Of course, like most metroid mods or fangames though, it was eventually abandon/little word was being heard on its development.
And then came along Metroid: Vanguard
And I gotta say, Metroid: Vanguard definitely carries the spirit of Dreadnought with it, despite the engine differences with SRB2.
For one, if you're like any metroid speedrunner, the mechanics to execute complex speedrunner techniques are built right into SRB2, but combined with the mechanics thrown into this mod - Ball boosting, Shinesparking, even ball-spiking off of enemies - adds to that experience a whole lot. Now unfortunately with SRB2 does come the caviate of semi-imprecise movement - IE, Samus kinda moves with a bit of a delay, as with any other character in SRB2, and when it comes down to strafing or shooting at a target, ESPECIALLY with the custom ones the mod adds, you're gonna find yourself at the edge of a game over quite a bit. If you can get over Vanguard's movement in comparison to Dreadnought's, however, it's still a very rewarding mod with a good depth on how metroid operates in something like SRB2. Pardon my french, but this fucking guy knows how to nail the feeling of a metroid game in the custom maps he made - the isolated, lonely, and downright haunting ambience combined with those tense build-ups before the custom bosses adds a whole ton to this mod than any other mod, and this is what sets it apart from its Dreadnought inspiration. If anything, I hope Golden Shine goes on to add onto Dreadnought even with the amount of detail he puts into his maps and the enemies as well, he's got talent, and it's very apparent he's a hard-core Metroid fan.
Beyond the movement criticsm, my only other critisms would be the lack of new, custom maps and other custom enemies. Don't get me wrong, what's in there is great, but otherwise it IS just a character mod throughout. Maybe in future versions we'll see more added to it, but otherwise it does leave one wishing for a little more.

Overall, great mod, dare I say it even goes above and beyond Metroid Dreadnought in both its presentation and amount of detail. As someone that's been playing metroid since Prime 1, hell, since even Super, Golden's definitely outdone himself here with everything thrown in, and I highly recommend keeping an eye out on the other stuff he makes with this amount of quality put into this one mod.

Golden Shine

Welcome! You're right, this whole project was born from trying out Dreadnought!

I adore Prime and the 2D games for different reasons, so I tried to combine the gameplay. Hence all the speedrunning tricks despite this looking Prime-styled.

I did have the idea to give Samus quicker acceleration or the sideways dash-jumps when locked on(like Prime), I just didn't want to disadvantage players not using Lock-On. What could help is that the Space Jump gives extra horizontal thrust. The walljump redirection can help too, and midair Boost Ball-ing is ridiculously powerful compared to Prime.

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Crimer 0.0
5.00 star(s)
Monday at 3:56 AM
Version: v1

Dude, I was trying to write this and didn't know how to even start.

This mod is just amazing, all the new mechanics and abilities, I'm impressed with all the new movement and fighting options that this mod gives, is like playing a totally diferent game.

I love how the different weapons work and all the stuff you can do with them, freezing enemies with the ice beam and then finishing them with another cool weapon, do some funny trick shots with the wave beam, beat easily (almost) every enemy with the charge shot or destroy absolutely everything with the suprise of the 7 Chaos Emeralds

(Spoiler Alert:)
Something funny that happened while I was playing is that I was expecting just another good mod character and then I got yeeted into Deep Sea Zone Act 4 and my mind explode when I saw the Metroid breakin' through the wall, same thing happened when I saw the Omega Metroid & Dark Samus (and I'm expecting something big for the last areas)

Also, the music selection 10/10

Last thing I wanna say is that I love this mod and I really wanna see what are you gonna do next

(PD: Please can some one tell me what are the map number for the extra acts? Thank you)

Golden Shine

You were totally left in the dark about what's to come? Ha, I love seeing people's reactions to the DSZ4 boss.

For the map numbers:
MAP MAPTL = Transfer Lock (The Metroid Prime Hunters combat map)
MAP MAPTM = Deep Sea Zone 4
MAP MAPTN = Arid Canyon Zone 4

Please don't try to take these on without powering up first unless you consider yourself a master or masochist.

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SubsonicBeatz154
5.00 star(s)
Apr 4, 2021
Version: v1

Oh boy, where do I even begin with this mod? This is simply one of THE best SRB2 mods I've ever played, period.

I'm a sucker for anything Metroid, especially Metroid Prime, and this mod is a beautiful hybrid of both the 2D Metroid and Metroid Prime gameplay formulas.

The core gameplay is just as amazing as the 2.1 version, made even better by 2.2's better level design and new engine features, the revamped bosses are amazing, the new art is amazing, the new levels and bosses are amazing, simply put, everything about this mod is amazing.

I've played the campaign on both the normal and Hypermode difficulty's, Hypermode definitely spiced things up, though it shared the same flaw as hard mode in the Metroid Prime games, the bosses are bullet sponges, especially the final boss, it took me nearly 15 minutes to beat it.

I also experienced some performance issues with a few of the Beam Combo's, and the secret weapon, they would drop the game to single-digit framerates until the effects were off-screen.

But other than those two issues, you have exceeded my expectations with this update Shine.

Golden Shine

Glad you had fun, I'm sure you in particular were ecstatic for the ACZ4 boss!

Sorry about the lag, though! Software mode in particular can be a big offender. Right now enemy rolling is also enabled, which lags like crazy on 2.2.8 but not 2.2.9 and beyond. Making different code to be cross-compatible with SRB2's different versions and renders is a pain. I've made a temporary fix for it in v1.1.

Though you kinda NEED the beam combos and fancy powerbomb explosions to take down the final boss. It's designed to only take 2~3 minutes, but that can easily become 10+ if you mainly use the basic beams.

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SilverVortex
5.00 star(s)
Apr 4, 2021
Version: v1

i really really want to type out a huge, overdetailed review as to why this mod is as good as it is...but i can't do it justice like that, so i'll keep it brief. this mod completely reinvents the way you play sonic robo blast 2 and is, in my opinion, an immersive masterpiece of a mod.
if you enjoy metroid as a series, play it. if you enjoy first person shooters, play it. if you enjoy metroid prime, play it. actually, you know what, just play it, regardless of your interests. you'll immediately see how much time, effort, love and care for the metroid series was included in this mod.

Golden Shine

Thank you so much! I'd be more than honored if this got some people to give the Metroid series a shot!

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Maximus Universal
5.00 star(s)
Apr 4, 2021
Version: v1

I seriously love the concept of giving modded characters their own story and events. This mod is one of my favorite ones so far actually.

The events in the bonus levels definitely caught me off guard, really made me feel like I was playing something truly special.

Golden Shine

Samus in a Sonic fangame is a weird concept in retrospect, so I'm glad the added story wasn't total cringe. Its seemed more fun to do than the usual "Spongebob is here to kill Eggman for stealing the crabby patties"

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Mystic Akito
5.00 star(s)
Apr 4, 2021
Version: v1

Samus has a variety of moves at her arsenal, and the new 2 stages for her makes it feel like SRB2 is a different game for her!

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Goldenhog
5.00 star(s)
Apr 4, 2021
Version: v1

Bruh, swap out the Sonic-themed objects and give it original levels and you have an all-out Metroid TC right here. A Metroid TC for a Sonic mod for Doom. I'd buy THAT for a dollar.

My biggest two complaints are the performance which gets REALLY BAD in DSZ and CEZ (probably not your fault but still, it was so bad I was able to charge the gun by tapping instead of holding) and the acceleration. Samus feels more like a ball than a person. I don't know much about Metroid but I figure that Samus isn't a ball *all* the time... probably...

The first original boss and the bonus boss also have an issue where they don't give off the right feedback to successful attacks, so they feel like damage sponges that take 10+ minutes to take down. At least, I'm *assuming* it's a feedback issue and they aren't as resilient as a planet.

But this was incredibly enjoyable overall. I've played it in Hyper Mode and it just transformed SRB2 entirely, and the potential for greatness really came through in certain sections and in the original stages. You could totally make a Metroid TC out of this - as it is, it blurs the line between a character mod and a custom gametype to absolute nil. Beautiful.

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C

Crazyboy88
5.00 star(s)
Apr 4, 2021
Version: v1

I would say that Samus is the best FPS Character of SRB2 yet since Tailsguy and Duke Nukem, but it would be better if there were cutscenes, more Metroid enemies and a boss battle against Ridley could be added in the game.

Upvote 0

Gambit
4.00 star(s)
Apr 4, 2021
Version: v1

I lack the ability to comprehend Shine's work ethic. As a Metroid fan myself since childhood, to say that this mod is more than I could have hoped for, let alone dreamed of, is a vast understatement. I just finished it last night at 100%, and I still can't get over how many little things you put into this. Though, I suppose I shouldn't surprised when this is coming from the maker of SMS Reborn. It's not perfect obviously, as nothing in life is, but it sure is close.

My two biggest critiques are:

1) The arm cannon fires lower than the cross-hair in 1stP mode. This is probably the most egregious issue, and one that I would STRONGLY urge you to fix whenever you can.

At first I wasn't sure if this was just a hold-over from Ringslinger modes and I just wasn't used to it, but as I watched some other people play, they too also commented on the targeting discrepancy, so I know i'm not the only one who finds this annoying. It also often makes it finnicky to fire at targets on the ground in front of you, as you shots will often just hit right into the ground. Obviously you can just say "lol just remember to aim above them its ez", but it'd be nice to not have to remember to do that all the time.

^^^ Fix this at your earliest convenience, cuz I have a feeling that doing so will greatly boost the QoL of this mod.

2) Egg Guard's hyper mode ability sometimes makes traversing CEZ 2 a literal kaizo-esque NIGHTMARE.

And I know why this is happening, too: It's a combination of A) the unique level design of CEZ 2, and B) the fact that enemy LoS calculations don't take the Z axis into account. What this all MEANS (as i'm sure you recognize, since I imagine you must have play tested all levels extensively during development) is that: If you hit a spring while high above in a certain room, and there are Egg Guards on the floor of that room, they will teleport to you, and due to your momentum, you more than likely wont have a chance to kill them before they kill all of your aerial momentum, condemning you to plummet back down to the bottom of the room.

As far as how to fix this WITHOUT nerfing the Egg Guard? Honestly, all I can think of is to literally just move Egg Guards away from rooms that have vertical or diagonal springs. Cuz the problem isn't necessarily the ability itself: It's the level design of CEZ 2 that causes this phenemona to happen, along with the lack of Z-axis checking in LoS calcs.

Golden Shine

You're using "Cross", I assume? Switch to the "Angle" Crosshair, that one's intended for Samus. I can't force players to use it without messing with their in-game settings, and I'd prefer not to do that.

I'll keep the Egg guard thing in mind, though! Shouldn't be too hard to make a little less infuriating for a future update.

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[Reusable] =Metroid Vanguard= Samus Aran in SRB2 2.2 v1

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