Version: 0.6 [size=150]Download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6n6t1tari4l16u6/magikoopasecurityforce.zip[/size] You'd think that the task of being a member of Bowser's elite forces would be difficult. Stationed on Temperate Isle, in a tiny little fortress quite far from the Mushroom Kingdom, you would not find this to be the case. No nearby kidnappings have ever drawn heroes, like vindictive hurricanes, to ravage your home. Situated across the ocean, the machinations of evil forces have never affected your island. Why, a Magikoopa like yourself never saw any reason to practice spellcasting when no threat exists. Sure, you can cast the magical missile that every Magikoopa innately knows how to create, but alone, you're no real threat. Apart from a simple brick-making spell, the only real magic you can use is the ability to summon minions, and even that's a common ability among your kind. Guarding your unimposing fortress has been a simple chore. ...Until now. Seemingly overnight, another castle has popped up on your island, and hordes of Shy Guys have been pouring out of it. They do not appear to be under Lord Bowser's command, as they've been looting all the treasure the island holds. And they're nearing your fort. It is time to do your duty, Magikoopa. Using your summons, you must create a defensive force capable of guarding the island from its invaders-and while you're at it, see if you can protect the coin blocks, too. [youtube]EQu_5FPhRwM[/youtube] Magikoopa Security Force is a new take on the Tower Defense genre-instead of constructing towers to stop generic enemy units, one must strategically place Minions-Bowser's minions, that is-in a level to stop a decidedly nonuniform onslaught of Shy Guys. It is as much a game of Tower Defense as it is a game of action, as the Magikoopa you control is just as capable of defeating attackers as one's minions. Casting offensive spells and summoning aid requires time, and the determined Shy Guys don't give you any time between waves to relax. After clearing a stage, one is awarded coins (currently useless) and a rank, based on the amount of coins remaining from the mission. The current release has got three worlds to play through. Controls are now found in the readme included with the download. Magikoopa Security Force is designed to be played with a mouse and keyboard. There are currently 14 Minion types and 5 spells (not including the default). Each Minion has a unique role to play in the battlefield-similarly, each Shy Guy is best countered with different tactics. Experiment with different minion placements, and try to get the best rank you can in each stage. Have fun!

Aren't there grass tilesets for Yoshis Island?

There's a Flower Garden tileset on this site, but I'm not too sure as to if using them's a great idea. Seeing the ground's outline is very important for enemy placement in the game.

THis does sounds interesting. Let's try it out :) I'll make a little review afterwards ;) EDIT: Tested it. I reached and beat the first boss, and I must say: this DOES look interesting. I think you shoul use Mario and Luigi graphics though, you have both Magikoopa, Koopa Troopas and Goombas sheets, and the tileset might look better than SMB world and Yoshi island graphics. Personal opinion there! Well I really like your system, it gets harder everytime and NOT A SINGLE LEVEL is easy, except maybe the first one, but each level has its own challenge. It becomes easier when you come back on that specific challenge, but overall this tower defence sounds cool. I think however that there is a massive lack of upgrates for a Tower Defence. What I mean by that is that you control a [b][u]Magikoopa[/u][/b]. THose Koopas have lots of ressources, although you did said that at the beginning the poor magician doesn't have too much spells (basic spell and more enemies to summon), I expect being able to learn some trap/item placements spells, boost spells for my minions, and maybe having the ability to equip some of them with Power-ups, such as Mushrooms or Fire FLowers (maybe for future Hammer Bros. to summon). For now you're right: after 1 boss, it is indeed too soon to add such upgrates, but I'm sure you already thought of things like this for a Tower Defence ;) controlling a Magikoopa is a perfect choice, as he can learn many, MANY other things. I'm interested in that project, looking forward to the next demo. Keep it up! :D

It's an interesting idea. I'd work on making the first level less boring and repetitive - in that stage, all you do is hold down the right mouse button until the level ends, with no threat from the enemies. Also, I'd suggest sticking with Yoshi's Island tiles, since the YI style isn't as frightfully overused as SMB3 and M&L are. If you use masks for your solids and place tiles over them, you can use whatever tileset you want without running into collision problems.

Thanks for the review, Turtwag! I'm actually quite relieved to see that you find the levels hard. I was actually beginning to worry that they had no difficulty whatsoever! I've been spending far too much time balancing... As for the first level, I suppose I can decrease the amount of Shy Guys faced in the final wave and up their frequency a bit. It's supposed to work as a first level, where one familiarizes oneself with handling the Magikoopa and casting spells/building units, but it does run on a bit too long. And I have been using collision objects; when I refer to the outlines, I'm talking about the player, not the design. Yoshi's Island tiles tend to be...wavy on the top, what with grass and whatnot. It may not be as easy for players to tell exactly where the ground is when trying to hurried-ly place new units. [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img515/9529/screenshot101h.png[/img] ...I think I will switch over to the Yoshi's Island tileset, though, for the uniqueness, but I'll still end up keeping the tiles for this particular stage. Having temporarily driven back the Shy Guys from the island, our protagonist boards an airship found in the recaptured castle to get reinforcements. Unfortunately, this invasion may not have been as confined as previously indicated...

[quote]Also, I'd suggest sticking with Yoshi's Island tiles, since the YI style isn't as frightfully overused as SMB3 and M&L are.[/quote] Agreed. I forgot that point :/ [quote]Thanks for the review, Turtwag![/quote] .... [quote]Thanks for the review, T[u][b]o[/b][/u]rtwag![/quote] Feels better (sorry, it just sounded weird first time I read it. I'm aware that wasn't intentional though :laugh:). Anyhow, you're welcome! Yeah don't worry, those levels are certainly hard, especially due to the fact that there are no pause between waves (unique feature, usually the tower defence games I play have those). An Arship defence? OMG, with the incredible Variety of Shy Guys, I can't wait to find what other new units we'll find, items and minions to unlock, this really sounds great :D

I'm getting a bit worried about variety in future level design, as the danger posed by falling Shy Guys is causing Goomba deployment to be too risky, and the only way to make Goomba deployment reasonably safe is to start the level on low ground. So I've added a temporary poll. Also, there's a video now! Check the top post.

oooooooooooor create spike hat upgrate (unlockable of course) for the goombas. They are indeed underpowered, but the best place to introduce such an upgrate would in fact be during this ariship mission. Just a suggestion there. A video, nice^^

As much as I like referencing the Paper Mario series, giving Goombas spiked hats would completely destroy the Goomba's role in the army. They're supposed to be a very weak, very cheap first line of defense that can be flattened by nearly anything. However, I have decided to make them invulnerable to stomps while stunned, a trait Koopas already possess. I'll also be stopping Shy Guys from stomping after hitting a coin block, since that's a popular poll option, and if the option to stop ledge-stomping is also more popular, I'll see if I can do something about that, too. [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img24/3692/screenshot101xu.png[/img] With even larger airborne armies (which include, bizarrely enough, Shy Guys falling from the sky) en route with the Airship, no choice remains but to land at the nearest available landmass. Welcome to Arid Isle. Boasting a shape that may or may not be a hint to a character on the island, this dry, dry land is quite inhospitable to your current troop lineup. Perhaps you'll find some new Minions in the desert? [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img811/7949/screenshot102t.png[/img] Unfortunately, this island is far more dangerous than your temperate home. Perhaps the most lethal of these dangers would be the Pyro Guy: an incendiary Shy Guy that roasts all that would attack it. The good news? When one of your minions hits it, it dies. The bad news? It's not the only thing that dies in that collision. NEW MINIONS Monty Mole: Found crewing the airship you took off of Temperate Isle, these become your first ranged Minion. While they excel at taking out enemies that cannot be attacked by your close-ranged army, they're quite terrible for everything else. Their attack speed is on par with a Goomba, despite being three times the price, and they burrow underground when enemies approach, rendering them useless until the Shy Guys are gone. Still, they're the only ranged units you've got for now, and they're the best Anti-Air you can get for a long while. Pokey: The first minion acquired in the desert, these living cacti serve almost as direct upgrades to the Goomba. They wander helplessly off cliffs and damage enemies on contact, like the Goomba, but their spikes prevent them from taking stomp damage, and they cannot be destroyed by the simpler offensive enemies, like the Pyro Guy. Their attack is different to that of their melee peers; instead of taking damage and being stunned for a short period of time, they use up segments when attacking enemies. When they have lost all but their head segment, they cease to damage enemies, though the tougher offensive enemies can dispatch the head. After a certain amount of time with less than the maximum segments, they begin to regenerate their segments at a reasonably-fast pace. As a result, a single Pokey can do the job of three Goombas at once, without the risk of being stomped or burned. --- And in another note entirely, I've decided on a tileset! Instead of a Yoshi's Island tileset, which doesn't have particularly many biomes available and tends not to have that level of surface precision that makes on-the-spot troop deployments reliable, I've gone with DeeY's. So all credit to DrageezeeY for these tile graphics! They're pretty darn spiffy, even when recolored!

I decided to finally do a video-review about it. I just waited until possibly a new update is out. Could you please post a new demo soon, so I can review it? Or should I just go ahead with the latest version?

Ok. Review done. Here ya go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsyRm4vDDpA

This is great, I really like this. The idea is very simple, yet has no bounds to what can be done with it. It might sound generic or insincere, but with more content, I can totally see this becoming something fresh and exciting. I hope to see another screen shot or some more word on this, it seriously looks great! Some other things I want to say: - How will the spell system work? Will there only be one available spell at a time, that you can switch out in the overworld, or something else? I only ask because it doesn't seem fleshed out in the demo and you haven't given much word on it; I would like to give an idea of how it might be able to work. Maybe after you summon a soldier under a certain condition (for example, something like three goombas in succession), the next spell attack that is used will become different somehow? For example, you do summon three goombas in succession, and Kamek's next magic attack will be able to hit several enemies in a single blow. - Why is there a health bar for Kamek only during the boss fight? Why isn't it used throughout the whole demo? - I voted for goombas being underpowered, but playing the demo again I changed my mind, goombas need to be very weak, but cost little. You're on the right track I think, but their pros/cons could to be exaggerated a bit more. They should be stompable in every form of falling, however the cost of them should be lowered slightly to 15 or so. Then again... Even if you wanted to do something like that, if the development is too far down the line it's probably way too time consuming to go back and change something like that. :sick: However, the method you're using now seems to work, so I won't argue. ;) Keep up the good work!

The shooting/magic sound effect is very loud and annoying, can you please change it or reduce the volume?

Absolutely loved the review, LSF Games! Quite entertaining with the clips and images and the like, and I'm happy to see a 7/10! If the first demo could get such a score, I've got high hopes for the potential of the final release! Y'know what happens when you're trapped in the wilderness with only a source of electricity and a laptop to sustain you? Productivity [b]skyrockets[/b]. To start off, here's a minion that I forgot to post about on this particular forum! [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img4/6561/screenshot103dm.png[/img] As you proceed further into the desert, more of its inhabitants begin to assault your defenses. Bandits may not appear to be as menacing as the volatile Pyro Guys, but they are just dangerous, if not moreso, to your coin block than any enemy before it. Bandits have three hitpoints, the most in the game so far, and they move twice as fast upon losing one. If they make it to your coin block, these greedy little cheats will steal up to three coins if you don't defeat them rapidly! And now, minibosses! [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img836/7696/lr4s.png[/img] Hearing of a fellow Magikoopa in the desert, our protagonist sets off to enlist her aid. Unfortunately, Kamilda doesn't appreciate intruders. Kamilda also speaks during the battle. Now-don't behead me for this-but she currently uses Game Maker's standard message system for her speech. It's purely a placeholder; I intend to get a proper dialogue system working in the future (the game'll have a story with dialogue, y'see). And on the topic of unfinished things, spells! In the future, Kamilda opens up as a shopkeeper, selling you spells for use in battle! For now, though, she just gives you Burning Barrage upon defeat. Burning Barrage is a great spell for those situations where a modest pile of enemies slip past your defenses. It takes a bit more time to cast than a regular spell, but it shoots out a salvo of deadly fireballs! S-ranking minibosses will always give you a free spell, though, and Kamilda's is Ztar Ztorm, a move that...actually, she uses it in the fight against you. Go find out what it does for yourself. A bit more explanation on the health bar: it only shows up for boss and miniboss battles. I felt it would be a bit silly to have a health bar in the regular stages, where enemies 'ought not to be attacking you in the first place. Bosses always make an effort to target you, though, and the only way to fail a miniboss fight is by health depletion-miniboss battles don't even have a point to defend, only a boss to defeat. The ranking one gets for defeating a miniboss is determined entirely by one's remaining health at the end of the fight, earning an S-rank for a perfect run. Additionally, you now have five health pips instead of four. Gamble Guy's fight is now quite a bit easier in general, as his coin toss is a bit slower, and the extra hit point can help quite a bit. He's also incapable of getting combos towards the beginning of the fight, too. [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img829/2592/nxnb.png[/img] SpooOOooOOooky Ghost Guys don't act at all like they do in Yoshi's Island, instead slowly moving through the air while having two health points. [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img690/876/2b2r.png[/img] One can actually select/organize minions, now! This screen can be gotten to by pressing Enter on the World Map, or by clicking the Army tab on the world map, once it shows up. Left click a button or press its numerical hotkey, then click a minion, and you get that minion on that button! Easy as 3.141591337! New way to use your keyboard! In addition to the mouse, WASD can now move one's Magikoopa. Quite handy for dodging around attacks, particularly in miniboss fights. It's still quite possible to do all your actions with the mouse, though. Other small changes - It is now necessary to make at least one Goomba to S-rank the first level. - There are only six slots for minions, now. There was room for eight in the last demo, despite there only being three minions. - When starting a level with a new minion, the new minion temporarily joins your army and fills the first empty slot in your button setup. If all six slots are full, it replaces the sixth. If you beat the level, the minion stays in the slot it took and becomes available in your army...manager...thingymajiggy. - Levels have some new tags: Jump, Pipe, Air, and Fire. Ensure that you bring Minions capable of dealing with the Shy Guys corresponding to those tags! - Goombas are now slightly less likely to get stomped. - You can now sidegrade the Piranha Plant. How? It's a secret to everybody. NEW MINIONS Spike: This minion serves as a less gimmicky alternative to the Monty Mole. Unlike Monty Moles, Spikes do not hide when enemies get near, simply continuing to attack. Unfortunately, that does make them quite stompable, and a single Green or Pyro Guy can make short work of this medium-price unit. Their spiked projectiles are also quite different to the thrown rocks of a Monty Mole, as they do not target enemies; instead, they just roll down the terrain until they hit a wall or an enemy, falling off cliffs at a high speed. These Spikes are based off of their representation in the New Super Mario Bros. series; hence their projectile's vulnerability to gravity, their refusal to walk around, and their blue hairdo. Chain Chomp: While pricey, this minion can do massive damage to closely-packed enemies. After a short 'charging' period, he attacks the closest enemy to him and strikes in a line, turning any unfortunate Shy Guy in his path into Chain Chow. He's immune to fire and jumpers, too. Unlike most minions, he's placed inside walls and floors, rather than on top of them. - - - But for the part you might find the most interest in: it seems to be that a necromancer going by the name of "Ghoul Guy" might be the fellow responsible for the Shy Guy forces in the desert. It's about time you folks stormed his lair and put an end to his shenanigans, don'tcha think? I've gotta warn you, though, that undead are pretty tough to kill. Particularly in the Paper Mario series. Not sure how that's relevant, but I'm too lazy to backspace that away, so...YOLO, as the kids say. Incidentally, pressing "D" will automatically D-rank a level from the World Map. If you want to skip past levels you've already completed, that's your ticket through. However, DOWNLOAD WORLD 1-2 DEMO: [url]http://www.mediafire.com/?tnr9ks9xgtx77mk[/url]

maaaaaaaaaaaan. THis is getting more and more awesome, I really can't wait for the next update. need to test out the 0.3 one!

All this sprite Clashing really really bothers me, lots of clashing sprites in general can be a big turn off for people, I do hope you can find a way to get the graphics either custom made or have it so the other graphics match up with on style because it'd look much better if all the graphics were in the same style.

[quote="Shadow Kami"]All this sprite Clashing really really bothers me, lots of clashing sprites in general can be a big turn off for people, I do hope you can find a way to get the graphics either custom made or have it so the other graphics match up with on style because it'd look much better if all the graphics were in the same style.[/quote] Where's the worst of the sprite clashing? I'm a rather mediocre spriter (hence all the bosses being sprite edits) but I'd like to try improving/trying to learn how to do the Yoshi's Island style. Which sprites are particularly egregious to the Yoshi's Island style?

well honestly the only thing in YI GBA style are the goombas, koopas, piranha plants, kamek, the bandits. The backgrounds and tilesets are definatly not YI style, the monty moles, pokey, spike, the coin block, the smw pipe that the piranha plant uses sometimes. The map screen is smb3 so it's obviously not YI stylized, so most of the game is not even in YI style, adding onto what I said.

Well, I'll certainly admit that the graphical style isn't as cohesive as it really could be...as it would happen, though, I'm one of those stubborn "gameplay over all else" hipsters that tends to put graphics on a rather low priority. As it is, I think I'll be trying to go for a bit of a 'mixed' art style; using Yoshi's Island palettes and character art, but not the crayon aesthetic. So! Turns out that if one stays inside one's dorm all day in college, one magically loses all willpower to work on anything! Games and schoolwork both! It's remarkable! Turns out that I need to leave my room with my laptop and code in public to get any work done; hence this mild burst of activity. [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img707/9430/iv30.png[/img] also that's an old screenshot because the color palette for the player is a bit nicer now NEW MINIONS Bullet Bill: Rather like Piranha Plants, Bullet Bills are restricted to certain spots on the map; they can only be loaded directly into cannons. After being loaded into a cannon, they scan for enemies in front of 'em, and launch out to hit all enemies in a line. Unlike most minions, they're one-use; you pop 'em in a cannon and they pop out later. However, they are extremely cheap, to the point of the time cost of placing them in the cannons being as expensive as the point cost, and (unlike Piranha Plants) you can load as many Bullet Bills into a single cannon as you wish. Keep in mind, though: they're not at all economical for a long-term defense, and they'll be perfectly happy to fire off at a single enemy if it remains in their sights for long enough. They can also be stomped, though this should rarely be an issue. Apart from that, this isn't a very content-heavy update...With NCFC around the corner, the game's been polished up a bit. There's a proper save system now! It doesn't use Game Maker's default save system, so saves should be compatible with future versions of the game, and the filesize of these saves is pretty dang tiny-around 200 bytes! There's also a few sound effect additions and now you can sorta chain spells together now it's kinda hard to explain eh. There's just a few mild fixes everywhere. If you've played the previous demo, there's really not much reason to download this one. The download's in the first post or the main site. SUPER DUPER SNEAK PEAK [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img542/429/y95b.png[/img] "Oh gee Magnemania that [i]sure[/i] is creative. Grass world, then desert world, then water world? These world types have [i]never[/i] been explored in a Mario game before, no sirree!" First of all, it's "Temperate Isle", "Arid Isle" and "Submerged Isle", and...uh....well...We need naval warfare! We need Bloopers and Cheep-Cheeps! We need...whatever other Mario enemies that happen to be aquatic! Yeah! Maybe a Torpedo Ted or something! ...I'm not looking forward to coding everyone's interactions with water. Hurgh.