Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update* 25/11/2016

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tepples
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by tepples »

Krill wrote:Bah, halfway through writing my reply, my internet disconnects and I lose it.
I tend to compose my long posts in a text editor. But then I tend to compose my long posts while offline (riding the city bus).
I had it this way for a little while but it felt as if they weren't part of the game, or were unfinished. I does feel weird being knocked back by them so I'll fiddle around with this again and see if there is something I can do.
One thing you could try is having the player knock the flies instead. This way they react to contact but not in the same manner as a threat.
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Krill
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by Krill »

tepples wrote:
Krill wrote:Bah, halfway through writing my reply, my internet disconnects and I lose it.
I tend to compose my long posts in a text editor. But then I tend to compose my long posts while offline (riding the city bus).
I had used a text editor to start with but I found myself spending a lot more time mulling over what I had wrote.
I had it this way for a little while but it felt as if they weren't part of the game, or were unfinished. I does feel weird being knocked back by them so I'll fiddle around with this again and see if there is something I can do.
One thing you could try is having the player knock the flies instead. This way they react to contact but not in the same manner as a threat.
I thought about making them move away when the player had gotten close to them but this sounds much better. Being able to knock them will make them feel less significant then other enemies, which is the point of them. They are an easy target with little reward.
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rainwarrior
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by rainwarrior »

The revised version does feel unilaterally improved to me. All the little tweaks have helped, I think.
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Krill
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by Krill »

rainwarrior wrote:The revised version does feel unilaterally improved to me. All the little tweaks have helped, I think.
So you had no problems with the lack of control after lunging or falling into water? Perhaps it's not as noticeable as I thought.
Regardless, this is good to hear, and before the next update I'll make sure to remake some of the levels so it'll be more interesting for anyone trying the game again.
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rainwarrior
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by rainwarrior »

I wouldn't say I had no problems, I was just saying that it's definitely getting better.
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DragonDePlatino
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by DragonDePlatino »

Hey, this is pretty fantastic! It's rare that I see an incomplete game that still feels like a game as much as this. The character designs make adorable use of the NES's restrictions, the controls are smooth and the gameplay easy to pick up and play. The only piece of criticism I could offer at this point would be to change the palette of the snow stage...it might look a little better if you used cyan for the snow instead of the washed-out gray you have right now.
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Krill
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by Krill »

rainwarrior wrote:I wouldn't say I had no problems, I was just saying that it's definitely getting better.
What parts did you have problems with, if you don't mind me asking?
DragonDePlatino wrote:Hey, this is pretty fantastic! It's rare that I see an incomplete game that still feels like a game as much as this. The character designs make adorable use of the NES's restrictions, the controls are smooth and the gameplay easy to pick up and play. The only piece of criticism I could offer at this point would be to change the palette of the snow stage...it might look a little better if you used cyan for the snow instead of the washed-out gray you have right now.
Thanks you, though I must say, I find it weird hearing that it feels like a game, it doesn't feel that way at all to me. Though that's probably because of how much time I spend testing everything I do.
I went and changed the colour as you suggested, but it didn't really look that good. The cyan colours didn't contrast well with the dark brown/red dirt.
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DragonDePlatino
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by DragonDePlatino »

rainwarrior wrote:Thanks you, though I must say, I find it weird hearing that it feels like a game, it doesn't feel that way at all to me. Though that's probably because of how much time I spend testing everything I do.
I went and changed the colour as you suggested, but it didn't really look that good. The cyan colours didn't contrast well with the dark brown/red dirt.
Heh, the reason your demo made me think that is because when I was playing it, I was thinking "Oh, so the final game will be like this but longer" not to mention, the controls feel like those of a finished game.

I hope you don't mind me doing a little hack job of your game, but this is what I had in mind for the snow:

Image

I can PM you the edited ROM, if you'd like.
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koitsu
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by koitsu »

Gave this a try tonight -- love it! Here are thoughts that went through my mind as I started it up and progressed:

* "What the hell, select button doesn't move cursor on title screen? Oh, D-pad, okay"
* "No select on options screen either, just D-pad again..."
* "Start does nothing on options screen? Oh I see, B is accept..."
...started game, jumped around...
* "The hell am I doing? OH! I can eat guys! Aww yeah"
...progressed to next stage easily, then...
* "Oh crap, I fell in the water. What's that metre in the upper left? Is that my air? Timer? Am I gonna die?"
...ate some more things, progressed...
* "Oh, NOW I get it, the number in the centre of the screen indicates how many of the things I need to eat. Eesh this is gonna be hard"
...failed repeatedly at the next level, for quite some time...
* "Ah ha, the metre is a timer of sorts, or maybe a health metre. I better eat everything!"
* <much cursing at the stage requiring you to eat 8 fish or whatever they are>
* "This rain stuff reminds me of Mega Man 2, and the fact that it adds flicker to the sprites is acceptable but is it really worth it?"
* <figured out cheap technique for finishing the stage generally easy, feeling very proud of self, albeit guilty at same time>
...then the level with the springs...
* "How do these springs work? Hrm, not like the trampoline thing in SMB, that's for sure. Oh okay, I think I got it."
* "Damn, now how do I eat these birds... Great, one at a time? Oh wait, maybe if I hold down the button longer I can do some huge open-mouthed leap that chomps up a whole ton in one shot... HAHA YES"

Overall impression and score so far: 6.5/10. Play control feels really good/smooth, guy moves almost a little "too" fast for my liking, but I think that's part of the challenge. Love the art/style, looks cute/cartoony, like two characters you could really fall in love with (I started fantasising about box art). Graphics remind me of sort of a mix of Mega Man 2, Snow Brothers, and Kickle Cubicle.

I'd absolutely donate money to this on Kickstarter + endorse it much like I did with Lizard, no questions asked.
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thefox
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by thefox »

Cool demo.
Download STREEMERZ for NES from fauxgame.com! — Some other stuff I've done: fo.aspekt.fi
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Krill
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by Krill »

DragonDePlatino wrote:Heh, the reason your demo made me think that is because when I was playing it, I was thinking "Oh, so the final game will be like this but longer" not to mention, the controls feel like those of a finished game.

I hope you don't mind me doing a little hack job of your game, but this is what I had in mind for the snow:

I can PM you the edited ROM, if you'd like.
There will be more variety once the game is complete as well. The the controls should feel a little better now there is an input buffer.
I don't mind, thank you for taking the time to edit it. I can see what you mean about the cyan but I'm not sure about having the ground colour being similar to the sky.
PM me the edited ROM when you get a chance and I'll take a closer look.

koitsu wrote:Gave this a try tonight -- love it! Here are thoughts that went through my mind as I started it up and progressed:

* "What the hell, select button doesn't move cursor on title screen? Oh, D-pad, okay"
* "No select on options screen either, just D-pad again..."
* "Start does nothing on options screen? Oh I see, B is accept..."
...started game, jumped around...
* "The hell am I doing? OH! I can eat guys! Aww yeah"
...progressed to next stage easily, then...
* "Oh crap, I fell in the water. What's that metre in the upper left? Is that my air? Timer? Am I gonna die?"
...ate some more things, progressed...
* "Oh, NOW I get it, the number in the centre of the screen indicates how many of the things I need to eat. Eesh this is gonna be hard"
...failed repeatedly at the next level, for quite some time...
* "Ah ha, the metre is a timer of sorts, or maybe a health metre. I better eat everything!"
* <much cursing at the stage requiring you to eat 8 fish or whatever they are>
* "This rain stuff reminds me of Mega Man 2, and the fact that it adds flicker to the sprites is acceptable but is it really worth it?"
* <figured out cheap technique for finishing the stage generally easy, feeling very proud of self, albeit guilty at same time>
...then the level with the springs...
* "How do these springs work? Hrm, not like the trampoline thing in SMB, that's for sure. Oh okay, I think I got it."
* "Damn, now how do I eat these birds... Great, one at a time? Oh wait, maybe if I hold down the button longer I can do some huge open-mouthed leap that chomps up a whole ton in one shot... HAHA YES"
Wow, that was fun to read and has given me a lot to think about.

I didn't think about using select to move through the menus, It's been a while since I've played a game that works that way. That will be easy to add though. Not sure about using start in the options though, I'll do some fiddling with the menu later and see how it feels.
I did not expect people to be having as much trouble as they are with the fish level. I thought the level with the birds would of been more frustrating. I'd also like to hear about this cheap technique you used to finish the stage, you have me quite curious.
I know the flickering with the rain doesn't look the best but I'm going to try and use a different method for OAM cycling so the rain wont cause the other sprites to flicker. If I can't manage that, I should be able to at least reduce the amount of rain to lessen the flickering.
The springs are currently undergoing some changes so they will be easier to use.
There's no difference from holding the button, or pressing it, to lunge. Though now that you mention it, I'm getting some ideas, hehe.
Overall impression and score so far: 6.5/10. Play control feels really good/smooth, guy moves almost a little "too" fast for my liking, but I think that's part of the challenge. Love the art/style, looks cute/cartoony, like two characters you could really fall in love with (I started fantasising about box art). Graphics remind me of sort of a mix of Mega Man 2, Snow Brothers, and Kickle Cubicle.

I'd absolutely donate money to this on Kickstarter + endorse it much like I did with Lizard, no questions asked.
Hmm, I'll fiddle around with the moving speed and see what's best. The only problem being that, if the player moves much slower, the gravity might need to be changed which would be a lot of work but I'll see how things go.
I'm really happy with the score you've given it. I'm glad you like the characters, I've been trying to find as many ways to give them as much personality as I can. I, too, have been fantasising about the box art but I'm trying to not get ahead of myself and focus on the game itself.
Once the game is finished, I going to release it for free, so everyone that wants to play it, can.

Thank you for the entertainment and your critique.

thefox wrote:Cool demo.
Thanks!
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Krill
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update*

Post by Krill »

Well that went by fast, time for another update.
I hope nobody minds but I've removed the old update information and replaced it with the information for the newer version.
M_Tee
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update* 14/2/15

Post by M_Tee »

Just want to chime in and say that I thoroughly love this demo and am looking forward to this more so than any other NES project in the works now.

Here's hoping for both competitive and cooperative 2-player modes. ;)
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Krill
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update* 14/2/15

Post by Krill »

Hey, it's been longer than I thought since I last posted.

I want to apologise for the lack of updates but progress has been slow these last couple of months. There hasn't been much progress that can be shown, most of it has been small changes and additions to the engine. There we're also a few things about the gameplay that bothered me so I spent time thinking of ways to fix them. Anyway, I just wanted to let people know this is still being worked on.
M_Tee wrote:Just want to chime in and say that I thoroughly love this demo and am looking forward to this more so than any other NES project in the works now.

Here's hoping for both competitive and cooperative 2-player modes. ;)
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the demo, and there are plans for both a competitive and cooperative mode.
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Krill
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Re: Nim & Nom - Early demo *Update* 14/2/15

Post by Krill »

Time for a belated update!

I didn't realise how long it had been since I last posted an update for Nim & Nom, I really need to learn to post more often. I am still working on the game, albeit slowly, even though I've been silent for so long. There is still a lot of work to be done before it is finished. Most of the levels are complete as well as the art assets but I'm still lacking any music for the game and the sound effects need more work. I'll need to polish it all after all that as well.

Until then, here is an updated version of the demo. I wont list all there changes that have been made as there are too many.

Enjoy!
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