[quote]Did you try to use it in some test program to make sure it's installed properly?[/quote] I did now! And... the "bloom example" (that's what I tried) didn't work. So I guess it didn't get installed correctly... odd. I guess I'm on my own for this one. xD I'll report back if/when I solve this. [quote]Um, I didn't even know it existed ;_;[/quote] Well, now you do. ;) Booth registration opened today: http://nintendocfc.com [quote]WRT the license, I think I'll put a line into readme (not updating it right now).[/quote] Sounds good. Thanks! :)

Well, I figured it out. It was gem install's fault. Ashton was being installed without giving any non-owning user (i.e. any user other than root) permission to [i]read[/i] the file. So the easiest solution is to not do "sudo gem install", but "gem install --user-install". (EDIT: On a side note, the gems needed are "opengl", "gosu", and "ashton". So the full command is "gem install --user-install opengl gosu ashton".) Then it gets installed locally in your user directory and the nonsensical permissions don't affect you. So now I'm able to get the game to run, and it runs perfectly... with one workaround. Your code is depending on the assumption that the filesystem is case-insensitive. For example, it searches for a file called "system/font.png" (couldn't find the exact source file), but the actual file is called "System/FONT.png". These names are treated the same on NTFS and FAT filesystems (the ones Windows typically uses), but different on many Unix-like filesystems, like the ones typically used on GNU/Linux systems. So to run the game, I had to put it on a FAT-formatted USB flash drive; not ideal. :) You might want to address this in a later release. It'll involve some code changes since for example, some code looks in a directory called "system" while some looks in a directory called "System".

[quote="onpon4"]So now I'm able to get the game to run, and it runs perfectly... with one workaround. Your code is depending on the assumption that the filesystem is case-insensitive.[/quote]That's because I'm using Windows, which is case-insensitive, so it works perfectly for me if I use wrong casing. The solution would be loading all files in downcase (matter of few lines, since I'm using a method) and also renaming all of them to downcase. I'll think of it later. Or you can try to rename the wrong files yourself, as I generally tried to keep the casing, so there's not many of them. Finding them would be much easier if I didn't forget to enable pre-loading resources :whoops:

I could certainly help you with fixing the case-insensitivity problem. My main thing is I'm not familiar with your code and don't know where you have all these names specified there. If you fixed those, I would gladly volunteer to fix the file names. Actually, I could probably make a Python script that does it automatically. EDIT: Actually, I already [url=https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/uppercase-to-lowercase-resolved.67006/#post-1128293]wrote such a script[/url] years ago, come to think of it (though it's really basic): [syntax=python] #!/usr/bin/python3 # Written in 2012 by onpon4 <onpon4@riseup.net> # # To the extent possible under law, the author(s) have dedicated all # copyright and related and neighboring rights to this software to the # public domain worldwide. This software is distributed without any # warranty. # # You should have received a copy of the CC0 Public Domain Dedication # along with this software. If not, see # <http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/>. import os import sys def main(*args): dirs = list(args[1:]) if len(dirs) == 0: print("Enter the directory you wish to recase:", end=" ") dirs.append(input()) print() print("0 - all lowercase") print("1 - all uppercase") print("2 - first letter capitalized") print("3 - swap case") print("What type of casing do you wish to apply (default 0)?", end=" ") kind = input().strip() for d in dirs: try: files = os.listdir(d) except OSError: print('Error: files in "{0}" could not be listed.'.format(d)) return 1 for file in files: if kind == '1': newname = file.upper() elif kind == '2': newname = file.capitalize() elif kind == '3': newname = file.swapcase() else: newname = file.lower() try: os.rename(os.path.join(d, file), os.path.join(d, newname)) except OSError: print('"{0}" could not be renamed to "{1}".'.format(file, newname)) if __name__ == '__main__': main(*sys.argv) [/syntax] Side note: this is a bit nitpicky, but it's not Windows that's case-insensitive, but NTFS (your filesystem). If a Windows installation used ext4, the problem would happen there as well. It's just that Windows doesn't support these filesystems. This is also why I can easily work around the problem just by putting the game on a USB flash drive.

I did a small patch just now: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s24dgq9ejychp36/Mariovania%20Patch.zip?dl=1 (unzip into game's dir and replace all files) Changelog: -files are loaded consistently with downcase, which makes it easier to run the game on Linux (follow onpon's instructions) -lava makes red splashes now -enemies falling into water don't create splashes in air anymore -added one sound effect for cutscene -I was offered a spriting help, which means that game's graphics will likely get updated to be more consistent. This small release includes a new Swooper sprite Also, onpon, here's a Ruby script for you that will rename everything to downcase: [code]def recursive_downcase(dir) (Dir.entries(dir)-[".",".."]).each do |file| if File.directory?(dir + "/" + file) recursive_downcase(dir + "/" + file) end File.rename(dir + "/" + file, dir + "/" + file.downcase) end end recursive_downcase(".")[/code]

Thanks for the script! It seems to have worked. Strangely enough, though, it still isn't working outside of my trusty FAT-formatted USB flash drive: [code] Cannot open file data/system/title screen.png /home/julie/.gem/ruby/2.3.0/gems/gosu-0.10.8/lib/gosu/patches.rb:37:in `initialize' /home/julie/.gem/ruby/2.3.0/gems/gosu-0.10.8/lib/gosu/patches.rb:37:in `initialize' /home/julie/games/Mariovania/data/scripts/specjal.rb:21:in `new' /home/julie/games/Mariovania/data/scripts/specjal.rb:21:in `[]' /home/julie/games/Mariovania/data/scripts/game.rb:1952:in `draw' mariovania.rb:47:in `draw' /home/julie/.gem/ruby/2.3.0/gems/gosu-0.10.8/lib/gosu/patches.rb:140:in `tick' /home/julie/.gem/ruby/2.3.0/gems/gosu-0.10.8/lib/gosu/patches.rb:140:in `tick' mariovania.rb:70:in `<main>' AL lib: (WW) FreeDevice: (0x379f960) Deleting 98 Buffer(s) [/code] I checked, though, and "data/gfx/system/title screen.png" is all lowercase. Maybe the error message isn't reporting what's being looked for correctly?

Have you thought about submitting this to the MFGG mainsite?

I will submit the game to mainsite after the "definitive" release. Right now it's in beta state. Some bugs needs to be fixed (probably, anybody found something?), also I'm getting help from bigpotato, who was kind enough to offer me redrawing the sprites (they clash a lot right now). Though if I were to submit it, I'd have to e.g. reduce music quality and provide additional download, because the game takes 60MB currently. oh, and btw, after some tinkering with code, I'm able to enable fullscreen for next release. [size=50](onpon, if you still need help, send me a PM to not flood the topic)[/size]

That makes sense. I haven't finished playing the game yet, but I've poured eight hours into it and I haven't encountered any serious bugs. Please send me a PM when you're ready to submit the game to the mainsite. It's possible for admins to override the 50-MB upload limit.

This has been a busy period for me, but I'm still playing this game. This is one of the longest fangames I've ever seen - I'm 10+ hours in, and I still haven't explored the whole map. The wide variety of weapons really enhances the gameplay, since it forces you to be strategic in the equipment you select. A weapon that's "lights out" against certain enemies may be ineffective in another situation. I've yet to find a weapon that's truly overpowered, but there aren't any useless weapons either - I've found a situation well-suited to pretty much every weapon I've acquired. I haven't seen too many fangames that have such a good balance of power-ups. I've noticed that the Holy Goomba enemy often jumps around, seemingly randomly. I don't know if this is intentional or not, but I'm inclined to believe it's a bug.

The Holy Goomba has teleporting power, as said in his bestiary description. He will teleport behind you when attacked, or randomly once per second on average. How much map % did you explore? I got 100% in less than 8 hours. However, I knew where to go :D When you reach the Corridor, the linearity is starting to break to the point where you can eventually go in few different places. You can reach the final boss when you visit 4 switch chambers and you don't even need all relics. They are only required to get the good ending. There are also two "ultimate" magics that require quite complex series of things to do. I'm myself surprised how complicated the exploration became XD If you find yourself lost, just tell me what items did you get already and I can give you a hint where to go.

Currently I've played the game for about 11 hours. I'm currently Level 47. I don't know how to find out the percentage of the map I've visited, but I have four of the castle maps, and I only see a handful of gray squares on the map (mostly those that require a certain Relic to access). I have 10 of the 12 Relics. I've defeated the first five [ispoiler]cores[/ispoiler]. The first five were pretty easy since they stay still and I could just bash away at them with the [ispoiler]Bolt o' Lakitu[/ispoiler]. The sixth one is a lot harder since it moves rapidly and unpredictably. The [ispoiler]Kamek[/ispoiler] boss has also proven difficult. I haven't had to grind levels to beat most of the bosses, but I get the feeling I need to level up some more before I can beat them. I've tried to figure stuff out on my own because I've been enjoying this game a lot and didn't want to encounter spoilers. But at this point, I'd imagine that I'm getting close to the end. Part of the reason it's taken me longer is I've been playing cautiously - usually I'd trek back to a save point or warp pipe every time I collect a rare drop.

[quote="VinnyVideo"]I don't know how to find out the percentage of the map I've visited[/quote]It's... in the top-left corner of the map screen... ;_; Anyways, from what you say, you are much further than I thought. The two relics you miss are probably the [ispoiler]P-Wing[/ispoiler] (which you seem to found, but can't beat the boss) and the other one is a secret relic hidden in one of the very bottom rooms of [ispoiler]distorted castle[/ispoiler]. That secret one doesn't let you access new areas, but is very helpful ;) The bosses might be sometimes too difficult, but they are still much easier after I nerfed everything for last update. Sometimes I wasn't sure how to make the boss easier to not make it pathetic, and they are left too hard. However, there's one strategy that makes most of the fights much easier - building up the defense. Some bosses are more focused on physical attacks or their physical attacks are harder to avoid, so you should stack up normal defense. If they use lots of magic, stack up magic defense (MND). You should look for good equipment, grinding levels isn't required (it helps of course, but I didn't grind on my last playthrough, only for drops). [ispoiler]Kamek[/ispoiler] is much less difficult if you have lots of MND, for example use [ispoiler]Magic Armor[/ispoiler], found in [ispoiler]dark pipeline[/ispoiler]. Also, [ispoiler]Enchanted Mirror[/ispoiler] helps too. I'm not sure if that's a good design to 'require' this, but it's like... using strategy. There are also areas that require certain items, not relics, to access. One of these useful items is sealed in Pipeline (you might have forgotten about it). Another, required actually only for one room, drops from enemy #85. Also, there's an enemy that requires Clock to be killed, and while it doesn't drop anything, killing it is one of steps in "sidequest" for ultimate magics. Some of the items might be hidden too much, but the fact that you discovered the "biggest secret" shows that this one is done well.

I know this sounds dumb, but I totally forgot that there was a way to display the castle map. I had gotten used to using the yellow warp pipes whenever I wanted to view the map (which obviously wasn't ideal, especially for the [ispoiler]distorted castle[/ispoiler] - I need to go back and visit a few places I missed on there). I've covered about 90% of the map - it was probably about 85% when I made my last post. The bosses are basically a fair difficulty. The only time I did any level grinding was before the first boss; most of the grinding I've done has been for drops. While the bosses are hard, they're all beatable once you figure out their weak point. I found that the [ispoiler]Magic Armor[/ispoiler] made some of the [ispoiler]cores[/ispoiler] easy to beat, since several of them only deliver magic damage. Several bosses are easier to beat if you [ispoiler]spend most of your time hiding next to the doorway and hitting them with ranged attacks. I found this effective against several bosses, especially Tox Box Max[/ispoiler]. I tried fighting [ispoiler]Kamek[/ispoiler] using the [ispoiler]Magic Armor[/ispoiler], but that didn't work too well at my level because he'll deal massive damage if he flies into you. I got the best results by using a setup that maintained a balance between physical and magic defense. If I got low on health, sometimes I'd [ispoiler]hide along the edge of the arena and wait for my Life Suit to recover some HP[/ispoiler]. It's interesting how different players find different strategies to be more effective against different bosses - it shows that you've built a fair amount of depth into the game's equipment system. I've now beaten [ispoiler]Kamek[/ispoiler] and eight of the [ispoiler]cores[/ispoiler], and I've explored over 90% of the map. I got the item that drops from enemy #85. It's actually kind of funny that accessing this Easter egg requires a rare drop from a rare enemy. Speaking of rare drops, the weapon dropped by enemy #86 was amusing. Also, I found two glitches. If you try to use the Clock item while time is frozen, your Stars will actually increase. Also, the [ispoiler]Chaos Shields[/ispoiler] from the [ispoiler]eighth core[/ispoiler] don't disappear when the main boss is defeated - although maybe that's intentional.

Man, and here I was making my own Mario metroidvania thinking "man this is some untapped potential" and then I see someone else beat me to the punch! Tho mine's more metroid than castlevania and is more platforming oriented, so I guess they're different enough to exist on the same plane of reality. :laugh: This looks really neat tho: if vinny's >12 hours in and still hasn't seen everything, you must have put a lot of work into it! I'll have to give it a try.

[quote="VinnyVideo"]I had gotten used to using the yellow warp pipes whenever I wanted to view the map (which obviously wasn't ideal, especially for the [ispoiler]distorted castle[/ispoiler])[/quote]The pipes actually used to show the [ispoiler]"merged"[/ispoiler] map, but I realized it makes no sense and it's illegible. [quote="VinnyVideo"][ispoiler]especially Tox Box Max[/ispoiler].[/quote]I think I should just move the door in this room to fit the wall, so it can't be cheesed ¬_¬ [quote="VinnyVideo"]It's interesting how different players find different strategies to be more effective against different bosses - it shows that you've built a fair amount of depth into the game's equipment system.[/quote]That moment, when you just use any idea that comes into your mind and throw it into the game. And it actually makes sense. (though Pants of 60 and Random Mask might be too ridiculous) Although, looking at Castlevania games, enemy drops in my game are a bit of lacking. Less than half of enemies drop anything. I could add more equipment and maybe some food. But so far no one complained about the "drop ghost town" in bestiary, so... [quote="VinnyVideo"]If you try to use the Clock item while time is frozen, your Stars will actually increase.[/quote]Haha, that one is interesting. Using Clock with time frozen makes no effect, and since it spends your stars anyways, I thought that it should return them. But if you wear the Star Talizman, you use only half of the stars and return the whole amount XD [quote="VinnyVideo"]Also, the [ispoiler]Chaos Shields[/ispoiler] from the [ispoiler]eighth core[/ispoiler] don't disappear when the main boss is defeated - although maybe that's intentional.[/quote]Yeah, I know this happens, but I left it like this currently. Maybe they should disappear. And I should make a proper effect for their destruction. Glad you are enjoying the game and thanks for your feedback :>

I've done some investigation and solved the casing problems... I think. At least, I've solved the ones I was able to find. Here's all of the fixed files (all in data/scripts): specjal.rb: http://pastebin.com/1RVW8jjG map.rb: http://pastebin.com/wggXts5s game.rb: http://pastebin.com/KTJWcN6v player.rb: http://pastebin.com/5FbVErjG system.rb: http://pastebin.com/LJg44CF8 [s]objects.rb: http://pastebin.com/AHfDxAmj[/s] (It would be much more convenient to make these contributions with Git or something. Would you ever consider doing your development on e.g. GitLab or GitHub?) EDIT: Whoops, from another test, it looks like my version of line 595 of objects.rb doesn't work. Probably because I'm not familiar with Ruby and honestly don't really know what I'm doing... :whoops: Here's a re-corrected (un-corrected?) version of objects.rb: http://pastebin.com/y8Gm26wJ

The last week has been quite busy for me, and I haven't been home much. However, I'm very close to the end now. I've accessed 96.48% of the map, and I'm almost ready to tackle the final bosses. There were three places I was wondering about, however. [list][*]How do you get past the red spikes in the [ispoiler]distorted clock tower[/ispoiler]? I tried the [ispoiler]Clock, the Enchanted Mirror[/ispoiler], and other items, but none of them seemed to work against this obstacle. [*]What's the significance of the [ispoiler]wave of darkness in the Tangled Garden[/ispoiler]? How do you get to the room under it? [*]How do you get past the [ispoiler]red door in the distorted cave[/ispoiler]? I couldn't find a switch to open it.[/list]

[quote="VinnyVideo"]What's the significance of the [ispoiler]wave of darkness in the Tangled Garden[/ispoiler]? How do you get to the room under it?[/quote]It disappears when you defeat all [ispoiler]Chaos Cores[/ispoiler]. This [ispoiler]wave of darkness[/ispoiler] is a reference to the "mysterious" black barrier from Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. [quote="VinnyVideo"]How do you get past the red spikes in the [ispoiler]distorted clock tower[/ispoiler]? I tried the [ispoiler]Clock, the Enchanted Mirror[/ispoiler], and other items, but none of them seemed to work against this obstacle. How do you get past the [ispoiler]red door in the distorted cave[/ispoiler]? I couldn't find a switch to open it.[/quote]These two are part of the "sidequest" for ultimate magics. If you played Castlevania: SotN, you should know how to get past spikes ;) Here's a lenghty spoiler about all the steps: [spoiler]I mentioned enemy that requires Clock to be killed. It's Sky Cheep-Cheep. You might have noticed it in some rooms, it just appears for one second and flies through the screen. Probably the easiest one to kill is in distorted Entrance, in the long corridor leading to boss. When you stop the time, you can for example use P-Wing to stick to ceiling and use Rainbow. Once it's killed, a Golden Goomba will start to appear at Goomba Sage room. You also get an information about this if you visit shop. This Goomba gives Lucky Hammer weapon. With Lucky Hammer, you can easily kill Titans. They have 1000 HP and always take 1 damage, but with this hammer, they take 77. They drop Iron Wear, that lets you destroy spikes. Now, Iron Wear unlocks two things. First is The Key, past spikes in distorted Clock Tower. Second one is Mana Mushroom in Catacombs. Iron Wear can also be used instead of Athletic Suit to reach shrine's Chaos Core. With The Key, you can open The Door in cave. Behind them, there's a big red item block containing one of ultimate magics. You need to have killed 5000 enemies to open it. BUT! I mentioned two magics. Second one is in Skyfall Shrine. You probably noticed a room you can't access. Well, you need to go there from the other side. (hint - try looking around distorted version of this area) In case you couldn't find it: [ispoiler]in the room of distorted shrine, directly below Core room, there's an item box that contains Roasted Goomba. It's meant to make you suspicious why is it here. Well, the wall next to box can be destroyed.[/ispoiler][/spoiler]

UPDATE! -Castle got a brand new graphic, which isn't a random image from Google (literally). It will be improved later, but I needed to update it before NCFC -Goombas and Peeps got new graphics, also Goombas now get flattened when stomped -More improved graphics coming for upcoming releases -There's now an impressive cut-scene of castle destruction, when you get the good ending -Fullscreen mode is now supported No patch file this time, download the whole game here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/i6est8316aoj8in/Mariovania.zip?dl=1 Also, here's my booth for NCFC (finally): http://nintendocfc.com/booth.html?id=97