Thursday, October 3, 2019

Q and A and some more small updates

Hello everyone, happy spooky season!

For some questions that may not have been answered before, here are some answers to those questions!

Q: "Will Power Grip be coming to FSMR? Will Grapple Beam still be in the game?"

A: Yes, Power grip will be making a return and will act as it did in previous games. It will already come equipped at the very beginning of the game, making it and the Long Beam both like permanent additions to Samus's power suit. Unlike the Long Beam however, we plan to let the player be able to toggle Power Grip on or off.
Grapple Beam is also making a return of course as well. Everything that was in the original Super Metroid is returning, this includes X-Ray Scope, beam combos and Crystal Flash.

Q: Are there any new additions coming to the game?
A: Yes. Not only are some items being moved around and some rooms undergoing a few changes (as will be shown later in this post), but there will be new things coming to the game. In just the last post alone we shared the Zuru returning from Metroid: Other M. If there is anything else that is new like new areas or items they will be shared later down the line or when the game is released.

Q: When is FSMR going to be released?
A: There is no set date as of now. It will unfortunately be quite a while until that question can be answered. Not this year I'm afraid to say.

Q: Will FSMR be available for [insert system here]?
A: We are going to try to make it availabe for whatever system we can, at the moment PC/ Windows is definitely going to have it. More info will come at a later date for other systems. We hope to have it available for Mac and Android also at the very least.


And now here are some updates to FSMR. Please note that these updates do not exactly reflect the most up to date progress of FSMR, there is much more under the hood than just what is shared here!

For a while now Samus's left facing sprites have also undergone some rework after deciding that having her back to the player may not be the most ideal presentation. An example is featured in this gif here of the updated turning animations:







Samus is not the only thing that has been getting worked on. Many enemies have custom sprite work as well, you can expect to see Zeelas, Skrees, Reos, Wavers, and many others in future updates! We are trying to minimize the amount of reused content from the previous games as we can. With that said, there will no doubt be reused assets still however. The Eticoons and Dachora's fusion sprites will be coming back, with new animations as well as Metroid: Zero Mission style Rippers, but slightly edited of course. Here is a small example of some more dymanic lighting tests on a Ripper:





As mentioned before as well, some rooms will be getting a few changes and items will be moved as well. Here is an example of a Power Bomb that you find in the upper section of Crateria:



In the original Super Metroid, the Power Bomb in question was behind a yellow door that led to a cave full of spikes and lava. When Metroid Zero Mission was released however, this room was still there but now it was a simple connector room that connected to the place where Samus finds the Power Grip and was no longer a cave. These two rooms from Metroid Zero Mission will be returning, the Power Bomb will be moved to a new room underneath the Power Grip area (Samus will already come equipped with it in the beginning). They may be small but the new morphball bomb sprite and power bomb tank can also be seen in this image. With this change also comes a new door in the area that connects Crateria and Wrecked ship on the upper right of the map. You can also drop down to the room below to leave instead of having to find your way back up.

As a final teaser for this post, this is an early preview of the subscreen:



The subscreen/ pause menu is going to be based on Metroid Prime and to an extent Other M. A lot of redesigns or new things coming to FSMR are going to be referencing past games, especially the 3D ones. The HUD is also based off the Prime series to keep in line with the subscreen design and things like the item expansions and certain creatures such as the Zuru are based off of/ from Metroid Other M.



Stay tuned for more updates to come later this year!

34 comments:

  1. Every update gets me even more excited for this! I hadn't really been bothered by Samus' left-facing sprite, but you're totally right that this version looks a lot better. And I'm super happy you're fusing both Super and Zero Mission's versions of Zebes together! More and more this is seeming like it's gonna be very nearly the definitive Metroid game; of course, as always, take as much time as you need, and make whatever practical cuts you have to.

    The subscreen looks great too! And that little "Log" option to the right has me *really* excited. Can't wait to see the next update, or to see what's gonna be added to the game (Power Grip is a dearly appreciated addition).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for keeping up with the project Vanillogical!
      It'll be some time until release of course but we will try to keep some sense of consistent updates. The log option is still in its very early stages but it's something we definitely want to put in. Working on FSMR has opened up a lot of lore for Super Metroid that may not be well known so we're hoping to bring some of that lore to light ^^

      Delete
  2. I think it would be better to have the connector room look like it collapsed into itself, forming the SM Power Bomb room. I'd say the same about all of the places where the ZM and SM maps line up, keep the SM layout, with a hint of what ZM used to have there. Obvious exception for Crateria's Old Tourian door/elevator, Old Tourian's Mother Brain room and Old Brinstar, they should use the ZM layouts. Just my personal preference. A while back I actually made a map lining up ZM and SM's maps, modifying ZM's to match SM's proportions... Brinstar's shafts got stretched so bad...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey that's actually not a bad idea. At the moment the rooms are going to be redesigned so it isn't a carbon copy of MZM's and keeping in mind what the mother ship explosion did to that part of Crateria.

      Delete
  3. The news sounds steady. It looks like an ambitious bit of progress is being made, and I can't wait to see what your intentions are for the project going forward.

    It looks amazing, and it aspires to be worth the time and devotion invested. Just hope it doesn't choke somewhere down the line, where you feel pressured to make things a certain way.
    The best story is a story nobody wrote but the writer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Anjnite! FSMR has gone through many changes over the years and has died and come back many times. The last time FSMR died is for sure the final time, nothing but moving forward from here on out ^^

      Delete
  4. I know that the subscreen is in early development but I believe that it has too many shapes taking up space for no reason. There are also some misaligned elements. I made an edit to the image, I hope you see this and possibly redesign it.

    https://i.postimg.cc/rFs9w3sj/fsmrhud.png

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there Ckozmac!
      As you said, the subscreen is still in early development. With that said, there is a reason for why it is shaped the way it is and it has to do with the rest of the pause menu has and what the menu draws inspiration from. Changes have been made since the post of course, here is an example of the most recent iteration:

      https://i.postimg.cc/BnxYCPC4/FSMR-blog.png

      It is still a work in progress of course and will undergo any necessary changes as we continue to work on FSMR ^^

      Delete
  5. I do not know if they are going to put areas like the wrecked ship and the ridley ship that ended up destroyed at the end of metroid zero mission and that would be a very good wink from the previous game hehehe ... little things that I would like to see in this great project what is being done; D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Miiiiight be something related to both of those things, going to have to wait and see :D

      Delete
  6. I didn't even remember this existed until just now. Everything is looking quite promising.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Definitely looking forward to this even though I discovered it only barely a month ago :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. This project looks amazing! I already want to play it. I would like to help somehow, but the only thing I think I could be of use is translating to spanish. In any case, you can contact me! idcassalett@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello CassalettIV!
      At the moment it is too early for translations, but we would certainly love to have some help with translations! As we get closer towards finishing this project I will message you about it ^^

      Delete
  10. Hi! This project looks fantastic, and I have a question.
    Will you release the gamemaker project files for the game so people can mod it?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Will you release demos? Just asking, no rushing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's been a while since the last update. Just making sure that the project is still alive.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Check-in. It's a worthwhile wait for the dedicated fans, here.
    And I'll be back to show there's still interest.

    Same day next month. As it is written.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Sarkuvaria, I LOVE how this Remake is going so far, and it looks fantastic! I have some questions about FSMR
    1. will the music composition be like in AM2R?
    2. will the beam combos be used for any optional item pickups

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel the same exact way as Ethan here about this whole project so far, like him, I also have some questions about this remake like...
      3. Will the mini and big boss battle designs be altered or updated like how it was for them in AM2R?
      4. Will there be lore and log book scans about the Zebesian environments, dead federation soldiers, and bosses as it was shown for SR388 in AM2R?

      Delete
    2. Those are amazing questions I also had more questions like...
      5. Will there be shinspark puzzles?

      6. Will there be brief cutscenes like in Zero Mission?
      but I would like to see beam combos have more utility like getting item pickups but could also defeat a bosses weakness and could also work with the standard power beam, I would love that and it would be amazing to see that happen.

      Delete
    3. All great ideas that I believe in.

      Delete
  15. Just now hearing about this project. Absolutely love the art direction you're going with for Samus' look!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello everyone, I just wanted to post an update here letting everyone know this project is still alive ^^ There will be a blog update coming up very soon!
    Progress has been a bit slow for the team, especially myself due to work, school, etcetra. As for some questions I am seeing, we will have to see about a demo; though there is an idea how one could come about. Some enemies and bosses will have a few updates.
    Beam combos will not be an optional pickup and will be there as soon as you aquire the beam and power bombs as in the original and more than likely won't assist in helping to gain optional items.
    Music will of course be recomposed, we won't have any news in regards to music until a later time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice. I always believe in demos being less about telling a short story with a cliffhanger, but a limited-world story to goof around in.

      Well, to test out the mechanics, exploration and general feel. Like the demo of SM, on Ceres, though obviously bigger and more of a gym for players to learn the feel.

      That's my opinion. Nothing fancy like an entire dungeon, but an aimless adventure that accomplishes what matters:
      How does the demo play? Could it use a tweak here and there, or despite any minor peeves, it's generally fun to play around with, including the issues?

      If a demo were created with a boss... well... too hard? Too easy? Could a good player intentionally sabotage themselves and still enjoy the concept-- could a new player lose a few times, but understand the learning curve?

      Jungle gym. A demo shouldn't be fancy, but act as a playground that reveals little of the actual map(probably via locked doors that go nowhere) in favor of testing. Plus, it's fun.

      Even a large playground of platforms going skyward is fun when a player can try shinesparking for miles in every direction.

      Delete
    2. Hurray! Glad to know it's still kicking

      Delete
    3. Espero que hagan con paciencia y calidad.

      Delete
    4. Hey. Just wanted to let you know that it's okay if you have to pause development during these trying times

      Delete
  17. Bruh
    Are you okay man?
    Didnt saw an update since october.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL thinking the same thing...

      Delete
    2. He's replied a while ago. He's just taking it easy, which is to say, he's not rushing development. It's going. Next update is soon, be that a week or a few months from now.

      Delete