Bippo Bop

[Joat]

The HUD has been modified. I’m not sure if it looks better or worse, but if nothing else, it makes more room for the dialogue. With the old HUD, the text used to overlap the HUD at times, making it nigh-impossible to read.

I think I have an updated todo list compiled:

Dev Step
- Finish the third chapter, trying to eliminate the slime trails. Hopefully, those will go away as I add detail. (EDIT: Nope, forgot that only works with HoM.)
- Set up level select pictures.
- Modify Potpourri, one of the unlockables.
- And, of course, touch-up as needed.

Compilation Step
- Create a compiled version of the mod. One with music, one modified to have no custom music. The current size, with music, of the mod itself is roughly 28MB, so people might want to save space with the lower download size.
- Place the compiled wads in ZIP files, along with the old Bippo, the cutscene SOC, and the readme. Release on the thread, making minor edits to the first post as needed.

Revision Step
- Fix glitches found.
- Modify Bippo with any good sprite modifications people offer up. After all, he does need much improvement.
- I’m not allowed to open up ports, so I cannot host a netgame myself. However, if someone else is willing to, my game definitely needs multiplayer testing.

This is not a finalized list at all, but it will give you some idea of what I’m doing and why it’s taking so long.

 

[Eggmanfan]

It's orignal I loved it

 

[Joat]

I edited the first post. The next version is now released. I hope I didn’t miss anything.

EDIT: Gah. I just realized I’m using the old character select portrait for Bippo. I forgot to switch that out. Oh well, nothing major…

 

[Morph]

I like the concept of your mod but I dislike your level design. You had a few good ideas here and there to keep the playthrough interesting. However, you need to stretch up a few parts a little bit and/or rework some parts entirely.

- Moving through a maze of narrow paths is no fun. The camera goes nuts and you have to slow down to a minimum to ensure not bouncing of in random directions.
- Even though I understand this new kind of gameplay concept needs many hazards to provide challenges I still think you were overdoing it in some parts. Especially in that lighting level where you keep switching the sector brightness it sometimes feels like the theme of the level were the crawlas and not so much the lightings.
- In one of the levels (I forgot the name) you are making use of that black-gray grid texture a lot. The ground uses it, the ceiling uses it and the sidedeffs are using it. I couldn't see anything and did not know where to go. I just jumped and spinned around and ran into a gargoyle by random. Maybe some alternation there might be nice.
- The difficulty curve seems a little inconsistent. Especially in a game where the controlls are "messed up" like this you need to start easy and slowly make it more difficult. There is one room in the tutorial, for example, where you have to cross a pit with multiple very tiny and asymmetric platforms. It is quite difficult to accomplish this and it's even more difficult to find your way back after you fell down. The platforms are so close to each other that it is a pain to maneuver your way back inbetween.
- You should merge all files into one wad... really. x__x

Other than these issues I enjoyed playing your levels. Keep up the good work.

 

[Joat]

- The general size of the corridors in the game are variable between levels. The first three levels are meant to have thin corridors, but I guarantee that there will be wide-open levels too. EDIT: Some work has been done on the narrower corridors, notably at the beginning of chapter 3.
- I had a feeling there were too many crawlas in level two. I just forgot to type that into the questions section.
- Noted. I had no problem with it, but then again, I’m the creator and already know the design and where I’m supposed to go. This is why some peoblems simply cannot be fixed without outside testing.
- I was going to make the platforms bigger, but then it slipped my mind completely (my memory isn’t the best in the world). Thanks for reminding me. And as for the difficulty curve, part of the reason for that being messed up is because there are only three levels in this mod. I needed to make the later levels harder so you guys wouldn’t just blaze right through and have nothing to do for a long time until my next release. Not that my mod is the only one out there, mind. As stated in the edit of the first post, I am considering lowering the difficult of the final level. It seems that such shall be done, and likely with level two, too.
- I was having a bit of trouble with that and figured you gjuys would rather have it early than wait for me to figure out how to compile it, which could have taken days. I now have the files compiled, however, so the next demo should be all one file.

On another work, I have already built the starter room for the next level (or at least the framework of it) and I have edited the ECHO scripts a bit. I figure that if the gargoyles are going to talk, I’ll give them unique personalities and identifying numbers.

 

[Joat]

I just found and fixed a bug. I had huddling set to the wrong number. Now, huddling should be more effective.

I have also determined that the next demo will probably have two more levels.

As well, when I fix the tutorial platforming thing, I will likely add a teleportation FOF that will teleport you back to the starting ledge if you fall.

And I kinda feel lonely, having only one review. Remember, guys, I need to hear what I’m doing right or wrong, so I know what to fix or what to emphasize.

 

[Cirom]

I played it, i loved it.

Things I loved:
+ Huddle ability. Original. Useful. Hard to use with enemies in sight, especially Crawla Commanders.
+ Echo storyline, which can be ignored if you don't want to listen to it.
+ Pretty original. The only unoriginal thing i found was the 'Spindash'. (Maybe you could rename it to the 'Boost', and make it unable to charge?)
+ All the small things added mixed in to create something great.

Things I didn't like:
- The text appears a bit too fast, i usually have to pause and read the console to catch up.
- Bop's too fast, and Bippo's too slow...
- Crawla Commanders are a tad overpowered.
- Rings don't do much.
- Huddle is a bit too slow...
- Music. I CANNOT HEAR IT. I can hear SFX, i can't hear music.

Glitches I found:
~ If you play the game too fast, lots of cutscenes happen at once.
~ Sometimes, randomly, in the last level, you sometimes see random red things appear. They seem to be zooming enemies which don't harm you and go lightspeed.
~ I collected an emblem but didn't get the reward.

EDIT: Please note, it may sound like i sort of hate the WAD here, but that's because i can't find BIG things that are good, just lots of little things! That's awesome, by the way. This wad owns.

EDIT2: Question answering time!
Q. How is the balance of power between characters? If they are not balanced, why so?
A. Bop is too fast and very hard to control, Bippo is too small and also very hard to control. I can't get past the Tutorial with Bippo!
!. Currently, the last level is very difficult because it is the last level. I am planning on easing the level up once more levels are added. Should I instead just make the mod super-hard? Or should I go with my plan of lowering the difficulty of the last level?
A. The last level's difficult?
Q. Think I should add more characters to the mod? It would add to the story. Of course, I would need volunteers for characters, since I shall make no more.
A. No idea, ask someone else, please.
Q. Should I add (rare) things in that function how rings do?
A. Yes.
Q. Can someone please play this in a netgame? I’m nto allowed to open ports, so I can’t host it myself, but this is meant to be playable in multiplayer, so it needs testing.
A. Tried. Nobody joined.
Q. And of course, are there any bugs I might have missed?
A. See above.

 

[Joat]

+ Huddle ability. Original. Useful. Hard to use with enemies in sight, especially Crawla Commanders.

The huddle ability is definitely MEANT to be difficult to use with enemies in sight. That’s part of the challenge, finding a safe place to huddle. This is why, in the readme, it says “- In harsh weather, stop to rest often. By the time you see the countdown warning you that you are dying from the intense conditions, it might already be too late, especially if you are in the middle of combat.”

+ Echo storyline, which can be ignored if you don't want to listen to it.

It’s generally not a good idea to ENTIRELY ignore the story text. You can sometimes gain useful information from it. It’s possible to complete the game without the text, of course.

+ Pretty original. The only unoriginal thing i found was the 'Spindash'. (Maybe you could rename it to the 'Boost', and make it unable to charge?)

I might consider something spindash-related. It seems a sound idea to do something like that.

- The text appears a bit too fast, i usually have to pause and read the console to catch up.

When it comes to the text appearing too fast, there’s nothing I can do about that until they add ‘ECHODURATION’.

- Bop's too fast, and Bippo's too slow...

But the third bowl of porridge was just right? Sorry, couldn’t resist.

I had no problems with Bippo. In fact, he’s my best character (mainly because of his drip-drop). I was afraid he would be regarded as overpowered, since he’s the easiest to stop for a platform landing or a huddle. I will go ahead and slightly boost Bippo’s acceleration, but not very much. I’m not trying to disregard your suggestion entirely, it’s just that Bippo already has a lot going for him with drip-drop.

In fact, Bippo’s top speed is significantly higher than Galto’s. It’s just that Bippo has trouble with acceleration.

I do agree that Bop is quite difficult to control, though, and I will slow him a bit.

- Rings don't do much.

It is agreed that the rings don’t do much. They can add up if collected in rapid succession, though. I might give them an extra boost of points, though. Like, maybe 10 (multiplied by the level number) extra per. And believe me, I know exactly how I could do that without EXE modification.

- Huddle is a bit too slow...

Huddle is meant to be slow. It used to be even slower. I’m rather hesitant to mess with the timing on that one…

- Music. I CANNOT HEAR IT. I can hear SFX, i can't hear music.

Not able to hear the music? I have no idea. It works fine for me, and Morph mentioned nothing of it. It might be a problem on your end. If the digital soundtrack doesn’t work for you, maybe the MIDI soundtrack will. The two are different, but both good.

~ If you play the game too fast, lots of cutscenes happen at once.

This is a bit unavoidable in Tutorial. The rest of the time, such conflicts should be extremely rare, if not non-existant.

~ Sometimes, randomly, in the last level, you sometimes see random red things appear. They seem to be zooming enemies which don't harm you and go lightspeed.

Actually, those are snowflakes. Apparently, snowflakes don’t play well with FOFs.

Come to think of it, why am I still using FOFs for the ceiling? Those were part of an outdated level plan. Now I can use an actual ceiling.

~ I collected an emblem but didn't get the reward.

Odd. Maybe I forgot to fix the glitch related to that unlockable. If that’s the case, collecting a second emblem should fix it.

Or did it say something like ‘SONIC INTO DREAMS UNLOCKED’? For some reason, SRB2 doesn’t recognize the proper names of custom unlockables in unlockables messages. If it gave such a message, the unlockable was actually unlocked, it just gave the wrong name for it.



By the way, here is the updated to-do list. Note that none of these are definite, and there may be some things I have forgotten.

- Finish the fifth chapters
- Modify spindash in one way or another
- Speed up Bippo slightly
- Slow down Bop not-so-slightly
- Add modification to rings in some way
- Add hearts, or some other object that behaves as rings once did
- Fix the red snowflakes in chapter three

Things the users can do:

- Offer up more characters for the storyline
- Help with the sprites for Bippo
- Test the game online. That is, if you can get people to join. Or even offline with just two players would be better than nothing.
- And of course, comment. Already, the comments have been quite helpful. Keep them coming.

 

[Cirom]

The huddle ability is definitely MEANT to be difficult to use with enemies in sight. That’s part of the challenge, finding a safe place to huddle. This is why, in the readme, it says “- In harsh weather, stop to rest often. By the time you see the countdown warning you that you are dying from the intense conditions, it might already be too late, especially if you are in the middle of combat.”

I didn't say i didn't like that part, i said i LIKED that part, hence it's in the +, not the -.

It’s generally not a good idea to ENTIRELY ignore the story text. You can sometimes gain useful information from it. It’s possible to complete the game without the text, of course.

I mean if you wanna play a second playthrough or something.

When it comes to the text appearing too fast, there’s nothing I can do about that until they add ‘ECHODURATION’.

No, i mean i can't read it as it appears. Your 'wait' time it a bit too fast.

But the third bowl of porridge was just right? Sorry, couldn’t resist.

I had no problems with Bippo. In fact, he’s my best character (mainly because of his drip-drop). I was afraid he would be regarded as overpowered, since he’s the easiest to stop for a platform landing or a huddle. I will go ahead and slightly boost Bippo’s acceleration, but not very much. I’m not trying to disregard your suggestion entirely, it’s just that Bippo already has a lot going for him with drip-drop.

Nice joke. :P
And it's hard to control Bippo because he acellerates too slow. He's just a pain to control like that.

It is agreed that the rings don’t do much. They can add up if collected in rapid succession, though. I might give them an extra boost of points, though. Like, maybe 10 (multiplied by the level number) extra per. And believe me, I know exactly how I could do that without EXE modification.

Can't you just make the amnt of score needed for a 1up lower, or the score for rings generally higher? It's pretty impossible to get 1UPs when relying on rings, especially with this game's sense of difficulty.

Odd. Maybe I forgot to fix the glitch related to that unlockable. If that’s the case, collecting a second emblem should fix it.

Or did it say something like ‘SONIC INTO DREAMS UNLOCKED’? For some reason, SRB2 doesn’t recognize the proper names of custom unlockables in unlockables messages. If it gave such a message, the unlockable was actually unlocked, it just gave the wrong name for it.

Nothing happened. I got the emblem - nothing.

EDIT: Disregard this, i forgot you had to complete the game to unlock things. But with that, i found this glitch..

Level Select allows you to select levels like "Deep Sea Zone".

 

[Joat]

What do you mean? The wait time is too fast?

Well, if I made the wait time slower, it wouldn’t make the text stay up any longer, it would just add a gap between the lines and make it harder to figure out of the speaker is done speaking or not. No matter what, the lines in the console only stay on-screen for about 180 tics or so (or faster, if pushed off screen by other lines, since there is a four line limit). I cannot change that.

I cannot change the point amount needed for a 1UP without code modification, and though I know many programming languages, C++ is not among them. I can indirectly make the amount of points given by the rings higher through SOCcing.

And I don’t know why you wouldn’t get the Practice unlocked when you should. It worked fine in my testing. No music, faulty unlockable… are you sure you’re using the right EXE?

Oh, and that is sort of a disregarded glitch, the level select thing. As I add more levels, more levels will become unselectable. I fully expect the mod to exceed the number of base SRB2 levels when complete.

 

[Cirom]

I forgot that you had to complete the game to unlock things. I completed it, and i unlocked what was needed.

And quite often when i play Bippo Bop there's usually 4 lines of text at a time in the Tutorial, even when i'm going slow.

 

[Joat]

I shall re-test the unlockables once done with everything else.

The levels for that release are already done. Now, only cut.soc and various polish remain.

EDIT: Oh, and emblem management.

 

[Paulinho AKA Shails]

Im sorry if this is noobish but how do I play this? I clicked the batch file and nothing.

 

[Joat]

If double-clicking does nothing, I guess go manual for it. Open SRB2 and add the files one by one (the SOC should be last).

 

[Snowyfox]

I'm sorry,This sucks here are the reasons

-I'm not used to sliding If i'm sliding all the time then I hate this wad
-Too much crowded and boring
-the texts make the game even more boring
-all I see is crawlas,crawlas,crawlas and crawlas I'd like to see a Jettysyns

So I rate this mod a -99999/10

 

[Joat]

-I'm not used to sliding If i'm sliding all the time then I hate this wad

Well, no game can please everyone. But at least I’m meeting my goal in that most people like it.

-Too much crowded and boring

It would have helped to elaborate as to where.

-the texts make the game even more boring

You are not required to read the text. Advised, yes, but not required. The game can be completed without doing so.

-all I see is crawlas,crawlas,crawlas and crawlas I'd like to see a Jettysyns

This is not the entire mod, just the very beginning of it. My mod contains crawlas and buzzes. These were the only enemies present in the first four non-boss stages of the official game. So if even the official SRB2 doesn’t have jettysyns at first, why should you expect different of mine? Trust me, I expect to use every single type of enemy by the mod’s completion (with possible exception of a boss or two).

So I rate this mod a -99999/10

No offense, but that pretty much wrecked any hope of me taking your review seriously. That’s the kind of thing I would have expected from the YouTube community.

 

[Kyasarin]

If the talking is shown in the console, CON_HUDTIME can determine how long the text stays up there.

 

[Cirom]

-I'm not used to sliding If i'm sliding all the time then I hate this wad

Okay, what. This WAD is supposed to differnate from SRB2 entirely and add new innovative gameplay, and you just blam it for being different? Nice going.

-Too much crowded and boring
-the texts make the game even more boring
-all I see is crawlas,crawlas,crawlas and crawlas I'd like to see a Jettysyns

Geeze, it's a BETA. It won't be just Crawlas in the real version. You also used the word 'boring' way too much making the world less effective. You're still blamming everything that's different. You also didn't explain where the boredom-inducing parts are.

So yes, anyway...

How's the work? This is my favourite mod, and i hate to see it reach the bottom of the page. :P

 

[Kyasarin]

• The controls are ridiculously slippery.
• The level design in the tutorial is boring and bland, especially with the maze-like area.
• Attacking enemies is annoying because of the broken controls and bouncy walls.
• There's no detail.

 

[Puppyfaic]

• The controls are ridiculously slippery.
• The level design in the tutorial is boring and bland, especially with the maze-like area.
• Attacking enemies is annoying because of the broken controls and bouncy walls.
• There's no detail.

so in other words your just saying its too hard for you, so you hate it?
yup, thought so.
ANYWAAAYYY.
i personally LOVE this. its very original and complex. it has a very interesting plot, but its a bit dark for characters so comical. keep up the amazing work ^^