What do you think? - An online 2D Megaman X style multiplayer battling game!

[Amos]

What would you think of an online multiplayer game that played like Megaman X on the SNES, but with many players (or one-on-one) that had ultra-tight and responsive controls with graphics that were flashy like marvel vs. capcom 2, but allowed one to customize their entire player and its projectiles or attacks, and also one's domain.

A domain would consist of a stage that would be customized and/or programmed by the user that would be the stage where your opponent(s) would fight against you if you were to host a game. One could program traps and other things that would harm and delay your opponent in order for you to exact victory. In addition, the stage is yours. It would probably look something like a street fighter / megaman level hybrid of a sort.

Therefore, the possibility of stages and levels to fight on would, in effect, be endless.

Also, the player itself could be customized with a small set of rules determining just what damage a customized attack could cause overall. The player would be able to create effects that would be easily performed on command with no real learning curve. The attacks would be simple to perform (aka Super Smash Bros) but would allow for a large vareity of those attacks, creating a lot of vareity - period. The player would have about three really large special attacks that could fill the whole screen that would be easily programmable by the user, and thus it would allow one to customize their own attacks.

The graphics would allow the use of alpha-channels to make crisp and precise sprites for use in chars or projectiles and would also be possible to colorize them on the fly.

The music could also be customized on a per-character/per-stage basis if you host.

Also, the game would feature joystick support, and customizable controls.

I was even toying with the idea of allowing voice transmission during fights so players would be able to talk with one another and insult one another while battling. If that is not feasable data-wise, I would at least introduce a sort of chat feature where players would go when a battle has been lost or where each would wait for a battle to begin.

Although that feature is still preliminary, I just thought I would throw it out there.

On the whole, the game would feature tight-responsive controls and graphical effects that would resemble that of some flash movies, but could also be customized on the level of a user. A game would consist of dashing, shooting, flying, blocking, stunning, and attacking the hell out of your opponents in a struggle to become the winner. It will feature modes such as a one-on-one that others could even connect to and watch, or a battle royal mode where many people would join, and a player would fight until they came out on top, or finally a team mode in which players could gang up on others.

This is a game I've been wanting to see for my entire life, so it's a real passion of mine but I've always wondered if it was worth it to make and if others would enjoy it like me.

So, what would you think if this was actually programmed? Would you play it?

Please, I respect brutal honesty, so let me know any opinion you have on making this. Is there a feature you don't like? Is there a feature that you would like to see? I would appreciate any feedback you give me. I want to make an online game like this, but all I need now is the support to do so from a community of fellow veteran game players.

I grew up playing games like Zelda, Mario, Streetfighter, Chrono Trigger, and MMX. Out of all of them, games that offer a combination of these genres (Star Ocean, etc.) like MMX which offers a story along with the action and flashy anime style fighting, but never offered a two-player mode that really just allowed two people to test thier skills.

Smash Brothers or MUGEN was as close to this kind of character-inclusion and battle style that I had ever known, but in the end, my favorite chars were either never created or played how I thought they should. So there was a hole that was almost, but just not, fulfilled by the game industry. Therefore, I wanted to create a game that could.

This would require a LOT of work, but I would have no qualms in creating it if there was a real following. I would want it to gain maximum exposure so I could play it as I hope it to be. It wouldn't be free, as it would cost me time and money to create, so I would like to know if you would play it, and if you would even be willing to pay money for it.

It would be a labor of love, but it also would be something that I'd like to constantly develop things for, such as updates, additional characters/stages, and things like that. FYI - I will also put up a mockup of what it would probably look like.

So, what's your honest opinion of the idea? Would it be worth it? :confused:

[Arek the Absolute]

So, what's your honest opinion of the idea? Would it be worth it? :confused:

I will be honest and say no, it isn't. I personally think the idea is kind of stupid...

You are entitled to your dreams and ideas though, so as long as YOU like it, then all is good.

[Amos]

I will be honest and say no, it isn't. I personally think the idea is kind of stupid...

You are entitled to your dreams and ideas though, so as long as YOU like it, then all is good.

Wow, that was fast. I hadn't even had the chance to edit this.

I'd like to hear the opinions of others first before I abandon this topic, however. I'd like to ask though, why exactly would it not be worth it? Could you give a reason for your short but negative reply? It's kind of thoughtless otherwise.

Brutal honesty is only useful when it's constructive.

[OverCoat]

What would you think of an online multiplayer game that played like Megaman X on the SNES, but with many players (or one-on-one) that had ultra-tight and responsive controls with graphics that were flashy like marvel vs. capcom 2, but allowed one to customize their entire player and its projectiles or attacks, and also one's domain.

What you're suggesting is like a co-op Megaman game with a character and level editor?

You're still delving too deep I think. The idea is already much more complicated than the game we were working on before. But hey, by all means, see if you can get something done with MUGEN or something [i dunno how deep that engine goes].

[Arek the Absolute]

-A domain would consist of a stage that would be customized and/or programmed by the user that would be the stage where your opponent(s) would fight against you if you were to host a game. One could program traps and other things that would harm and delay your opponent in order for you to exact victory. In addition, the stage is yours. It would probably look something like a street fighter / megaman level hybrid of a sort.

Therefore, the possibility of stages and levels to fight on would, in effect, be endless.

Horrible idea. Stock stages or bust. If the host was able to customize, then what is the point of playing. They would make infinite traps that would make the guest player pretty much screwed. Even if there was a trap limit, the fun part only goes to the host, with them knowing where the traps and such are.

-Also, the player itself could be customized with a small set of rules determining just what damage a customized attack could cause overall. The player would be able to create effects that would be easily performed on command with no real learning curve. The attacks would be simple to perform (aka Super Smash Bros) but would allow for a large vareity of those attacks, creating a lot of vareity - period. The player would have about three really large special attacks that could fill the whole screen that would be easily programmable by the user, and thus it would allow one to customize their own attacks.

People would just make max damaging simple input attacks that take up as much of the screen as possible.

-I was even toying with the idea of allowing voice transmission during fights so players would be able to talk with one another and insult one another while battling. If that is not feasable data-wise, I would at least introduce a sort of chat feature where players would go when a battle has been lost or where each would wait for a battle to begin.

Oh god, halo D: . Those who played Halo online should know what I mean.

On the whole, the game would feature tight-responsive controls and graphical effects that would resemble that of some flash movies, but could also be customized on the level of a user. A game would consist of dashing, shooting, flying, blocking, stunning, and attacking the hell out of your opponents in a struggle to become the winner.

Did you factor lag issues into this? Lag could definitely screw over timing issues, though this isn't that much of a problem if worked on.

This game may be fun for you and your friends a few others to play, but as an mmo as a whole, thats a negative big time. Take out the whole "super customizability", and it doesn't sound too bad.

Also, this reminds me of Soldat. You should look it up, since it rolls on the same idea.

[Amos]

Not exactly a co-op w/ a level editor. It is more like a fighting game with a shooter influence. It's not really all that complex either. Mainly, it is just a matter of making an online engine mixed with a little bit of a platformer/action engine. The final part would include making the character and stage editors. It doesn't require a lot of the graphic work which is the issue with what I was working on before. I've been without a computer for a long time, but I've been working on this idea for a lot longer before that.

It might be complex in the programming terms, but as far as art development goes, it shouldn't require much in that aspect. Art is more of a hobby for me, so this works as a good mediator for it. I wouldn't look at doing this as a job, but as a personal hobby.

Honestly, I've already got the engines developed and working separately, I just need to tie them together and make the editors. Maybe I'll make a prototype soon, and see if it looks like something people would actually enjoy. I'm sure it's hard to conceptualize without one. Basically, I'm bringing together all of the things I've enjoyed from the old school games into a single fighting game. It might be a niche market, but I thought it would be interesting if many people would like to play it.

It's not MMX, though - it will just play like it, kinda like a 2D shooter and hybrid fighter.

It's just not fleshed out with specifics yet.

[Drack]

The basic idea sounds cool.

Some parts strike me as odd (level editor with traps and such - I think maps should be fair, though artistically a suitable environment for its host).

Also, there are not many 1v1 fighters that are range-weapon oriented, and for good reason. If you want your fighter to be megaman-like, look more at Zero than X for ideas.

[KatanaEagle]

I like the concept of the game and i can see where you're coming from (i too grew up in the 2d Snes/Sega era) but I agree with Arek in the terms that it could be a little flawed. The levels should be preset due to possible modding and/or god modeing, yeah, players making a level un......beatable to an extent, but the idea of a level editor could be possible if you use something like the Megaman Powered up creation mode (psp, the level editor is awesome).

Also, there should be limitations on weapons and powers, etc. and i'd say the best thing for a limit, would i guess be a persons level, kinda like an rpg. I'm not saying make it an rpg, just have the level up feature, being getting experience from battle (Higher place at end=more exp.) If you do have that, if possible make different waiting rooms for different level ranges to keep things fair

Otherwise, i like the idea, kinda like maplestory i guess, but with easier customizations

[uthlu]

It sounds like a good idea, though it may be tricky with the customizability. You'll have to make sure players don't make lopsided/unfair characters and levels. For example, making a character that has quick, powerful moves would be fairly unfair, unless move assignments affected the character's overall stats (speed, defensive ability, stamina, etc.). In that way, you COULD make a quick, powerful character, but that would be offset by a poor defense and stamina/hp.

[Amos]

-A domain would consist of a stage that would be customized and/or programmed by the user that would be the stage where your opponent(s) would fight against you if you were to host a game. One could program traps and other things that would harm and delay your opponent in order for you to exact victory. In addition, the stage is yours. It would probably look something like a street fighter / megaman level hybrid of a sort.

Therefore, the possibility of stages and levels to fight on would, in effect, be endless.

Horrible idea. Stock stages or bust. If the host was able to customize, then what is the point of playing. They would make infinite traps that would make the guest player pretty much screwed. Even if there was a trap limit, the fun part only goes to the host, with them knowing where the traps and such are.

I thought about stocking stages, and maybe adding addons in that form. I guess the wrong word was used, though. By traps, I meant obsticals. Either way, it might not be a good idea. The stages would be better if I were to make them I guess. I might set a few paremeters that the host could modify, such as the graphics or placement of the items, but I'm not sure about that. I'll have to give this feature a lot more thought. Thanks for your input on this, though. I appreciate it.

-

-Also, the player itself could be customized with a small set of rules determining just what damage a customized attack could cause overall. The player would be able to create effects that would be easily performed on command with no real learning curve. The attacks would be simple to perform (aka Super Smash Bros) but would allow for a large vareity of those attacks, creating a lot of vareity - period. The player would have about three really large special attacks that could fill the whole screen that would be easily programmable by the user, and thus it would allow one to customize their own attacks.

People would just make max damaging simple input attacks that take up as much of the screen as possible.

I should have clarified on this. It is indeed a problem with people trying to take use it to unbalance the game, however I look to make it a specific point to keep that from being an issue.

I mentioned that the attacks would be easy to perform. However, I should have told you that there would be a limited number of attacks that the player could customize and in each type of attack, there would be only a limited number of points that would go into the attack for damage. So, the number of projectiles or the strength of each will not be determined by the user in order for me to keep the game balanced enough.

The three large attacks would allow the flexibility to visualize your own attack, but it also would only allow a specific number of times to use it, and a limited amount of damage that it could cause. This was the problem with MUGEN and its flexibility.

If a person only used one of the three special attacks, the attack would most likely only take up 3/4 of an entire energy bar, but it would not allow the player to use it again during that battle. That means that the attack would be the only one the char could use. So, it would have a good amount of damage that it could be allocated to.

A player would have a set type and amount of attack types that they could perform.

Therefore, if a player only had one powerful special attack, the player could use the points remaining from the final two to create more small special attacks with lesser damage per attack. Overall, however, the amount of damage per attack, and the amount of attacks on the screen at once cannot exceed a certain percentage.

Also, a player will be invincible after being attacked once by a high-damaging attack, or by a percentage of attacks that recently hit. So, even if a player shoots thirty small fireballs at once (which wouldn't happen due to limits) only the first five might hit, and the player would be invincible long enough to move out of the way of them, or to fire an attack right back to anniahlate them, or to knock the opponent off of their feet.

So, there would be serious limits to the customization, but the graphics wouldn't be that limited when an attack type permits. For example, a small projectile sprite must be less than 64x64 in size, otherwise it cannot be used as a small projectile, but must become a medium projectile, etc., etc. The damage of a small projectile would not be greater than 1/16 of the total energy bar, and could not be in excess of three onscreen at any one time from that player. A medium may only allow two projectiles at once.

Hopefully this clarifies a bit that I intend for limits to be placed upon the customization.

-

-I was even toying with the idea of allowing voice transmission during fights so players would be able to talk with one another and insult one another while battling. If that is not feasable data-wise, I would at least introduce a sort of chat feature where players would go when a battle has been lost or where each would wait for a battle to begin.

Oh god, halo D: . Those who played Halo online should know what I mean.

I don't, sorry... I've never played Halo online.

-

On the whole, the game would feature tight-responsive controls and graphical effects that would resemble that of some flash movies, but could also be customized on the level of a user. A game would consist of dashing, shooting, flying, blocking, stunning, and attacking the hell out of your opponents in a struggle to become the winner.

Did you factor lag issues into this? Lag could definitely screw over timing issues, though this isn't that much of a problem if worked on.

This game may be fun for you and your friends a few others to play, but as an mmo as a whole, thats a negative big time. Take out the whole "super customizability", and it doesn't sound too bad.

Also, this reminds me of Soldat. You should look it up, since it rolls on the same idea.

Lag was definetly factored into this. I would simply put a cap upon the number of the players that was allowed on any one connection, enough to prevent unnecessary any unnecessary burden on the flow of the gameplay. This means that it wouldn't have a real issue, as it would be primarily broadband system specs, considering I'm targeting people who are veterans in old-school action style games, as well as new online-savy players that are tired of the same old same old. It's a niche, but it should be alright.

I'll check out Soldat. As far as the super-customize stuff, I might have to tone it down a bit, but if it works through playtesting, I might be able to keep some of it at least. It might be more profitable if I didn't allow that much freedom, and instead made those addons myself. The Sims uses that method, so I can't knock a good idea.

Thanks for your feedback, though. It really helped me to clarify some stuff.

[Arek the Absolute]

Still iffy about the customization of attacks, but glad you agree on the stock.

Sounds pretty interesting, but I still have to see it in reality before giving it a yay.

Interesting though.

[Amos]

My main goal here is game balance. If the characters are imbalanced, then the entire game will be unbalanced, as the game relies on players to have fun with one another.

A system I am trying to looking to attempt is having a very similar global personality point system similar to that of the Sims 2. However, it would be a tad more complex taking into consideration the sprite sizes used to determine the amount of damage an attack would deal to an opponent, as well as the overall speed/defense/offense, and whether or not the character would be a long-range focused fighter, or a close-ranged.

A question I have that I mainly would like some feedback on would be what style of graphics would most people prefer in a game of this type? Would you prefer to have alpha-blended sprites (think Flash games with antialiasing around the edges, but not as crappily made) or pixel-perfect sprites (old-school style graphics akin to a MMX style sprite from the SNES)?

Whatever the choice, it will have a great effect upon the sprite sizes I deem to be large or small. I'll show a mockup using both and let people decide from those as to what types of sprites would be good to use. I'd appreciate some feedback on this, too. If a street-fighter sized sprite went up against a megaman sized sprite, things would get complicated. So some standard on sprite size would be necessary in order to develop the original graphics for the level packs and whatnot.

Also, how many people would you consider to be overkill as for the number of opponents within a given stage? (A stage would need to be pretty large, as I look to at least have eight players at a time to keep things interesting. So larger chars may need a larger stage as the amount of characters increase.)

[AMT]

One thing I would advise is to be careful how you handle the online play. It is much more difficult than it seems to keep a game running at a playable latency, even with only two players. The less you have to synchronize, the better. I thought it'd be a piece of cake to do, but it wound up taking me a good 2 months to get networking functioning at a playable level in my game, and it still isn't perfect (yet). As far as gameplay, four players would be a good amount for the size you're describing. Anything more in a level that small could get really congested. Visual style, as long as it's at least 640x480 unscaled, it could really be however you like, although MMX style could be cool. Just don't trace over MM sprites; do the flash style if you'd do that. The attack system sounds like it could work great, I'd keep that how you're describing. So yeah, that's my 2 cents.

[Amos]

I agree with you, KatanaEagle. The level creator in Powered-Up is supposed to be pretty awesome, unfortunately I'm not familiar with the mechanics of it. Although I have looked into it, I haven't found much on its interface and limitations. It should definetly be somehow limited in terms of balance. I would potentially make out a pretty strict limit upon how many obsticals and enemies one could lay out, in a similar way as I'm looking to do with the customizable attacks (only so many of a certain class of size / damage level can be created in any given level, etc.) and also those enemies / obsticals would be secondary, mainly to inflict status ailments upon some of the players and minimal damage. Of course that would still require more planning.

DeathBySpoon:

I definetly understand about latency issues. Frankly though, I doubt I would have too much trouble keeping it pretty lag-free, although I will definetly be careful with this as it is a highly action-intensive game. Therefore, I'll need to figure out ways to only need to synchronize when it's absolutely necessary. I'll use a lot of dead-reckoning with the projectiles and whatnot. That shouldn't be much of a problem, though.

Drack:

I intend to allow lots of close-range fighting, and even encourage it, as damage would be greater if done by an attack that is close to the player, a la Zero's beam sabre, so I don't think that'd be a problem. I was actually inspired by Zero to do this in the first place - check out my avatar. Zero rocks! ;D

[RoadiePC]

i think there would be a simple way to keep the level editor even:

once you create a map, you have to beat it yourself, or you can't publish it(for online play). going on MMX as a reference, most of the traps and obstacles were obvious--putting in invisible bottomless pits(that look like floor tiles) would likely be a bad idea.

i remember playing MMX on the SNES with a new issue of nintendo power mapping out the levels. looking back, the only thing it really did for me was help me find secret capsules. i definitely like the idea, even if not for multiplayer per se. i would likely end up sharing maps with other players and time-attacking them for bragging rights. incidentally, that might be an interesting game mode to implement. i won't ask for royalties =Þ

between the idea of beating your own map before sharing it and limiting the abuse of certain traps(by limiting the number of each tile per map), i would personally love to have something like this. simple, open-ended, and community-minded. i look forward to it.

[Amos]

i think there would be a simple way to keep the level editor even:

once you create a map, you have to beat it yourself, or you can't publish it(for online play). going on MMX as a reference, most of the traps and obstacles were obvious--putting in invisible bottomless pits(that look like floor tiles) would likely be a bad idea.

It's a good idea. The only issues with it would be that I am looking to make this a sort of fighter-based kind of game, so there really wouldn't be an 'end' to the level, in terms of actual area, but the game would end depending upon the game mode's rules (beat all the opponents, or die the least amount of times before the time runs out, etc.)

As far as invisible floor tiles, I'm not certain as to what I can do to prevent this because there is only so much I can measure, and when it comes down to deciding what pixels must be inside a tileset, it would be a bit hard to measure in this case... Any ideas?

I'd either need to make preset levels, or just trust in people not to be idiots and ruin a fun game... I'd hate to have to limit what people can and can't put or not put in a tile.

As I said, I'm open for suggestions on that aspect.

i remember playing MMX on the SNES with a new issue of nintendo power mapping out the levels. looking back, the only thing it really did for me was help me find secret capsules. i definitely like the idea, even if not for multiplayer per se. i would likely end up sharing maps with other players and time-attacking them for bragging rights. incidentally, that might be an interesting game mode to implement. i won't ask for royalties =Þ

Haha. That's pretty nice. I didn't think anyone else played time-attack modes. ;D

Either way, I know that if I did make custom levels, I would have to decide as to how I would limit unfair obsticals (i.e. invisible bombs) and misleading tiles (fake floors) on a multiplayer side, but I get your point that it really wouldn't matter if the host knew the level or not, as long as it remained fair to play.

However, even if the person had to survive in the level in order to upload it to others, it would not prevent the misleading tiles or hidden bomb problem. Maybe a way to deal with that would be to have an approval rating for a level. If people don't like the level, it would be possible for others to lower the ratings for that level, if it is unfair or whatnot.

Although if this is the case, people might lower the rating of levels that they just don't like for aesthetic reasons and not for the playability of the level. This would be hard to ensure success. Maybe a high skill level must be required to host your level or smth.

Maybe the host-user himself would have to have a high approval rating in order to use a custom level when he hosts a game to more than two people. This might be a good way to ensure that if a user's approval rating is bad, the user can't host custom levels to many people. Thus, the default levels would have to be used.

I'm open for ideas here, too. So have at it! I want to make this game fun! ;D

between the idea of beating your own map before sharing it and limiting the abuse of certain traps(by limiting the number of each tile per map), i would personally love to have something like this. simple, open-ended, and community-minded. i look forward to it.

I would definetly limit the use of obsticals and many high damaging traps. Bottomless pits would be something that I would definetly limit in some way. Most likely have a tile that would be specially set for this, and only so many could be set side by side in order to allow a person to jump over them. Although this would also be hard to limit.

Either way, I think that some form of status prohibition would be in order for those who wish to play against many people at once in order to encourage people to make fair levels and even gain something, such as awarding more creation points for doing so.

This would allow the player to add more to their levels, and encourage them to keep em balanced, as they could lose these points as well if others don't like thier levels!

What do you think? Any ideas on this?

Once I get a few more replies like this one, I will know for sure that others might be interested in a game like this, and I'll begin building it. I'll need people to test it out as I am building it to ensure proper network functionality, but this won't happen until I've decided whether or not the time and effort are worth it to move forward. Once I do, it will be my full-time job (after work, of course) to stay on top of it. I want to see this thing through if it has a chance to actually work itself out, and there will be others that I can count on to battle with as well! What's the point if noone wants to play it with you? That's my biggest dilemma in this game's development.

So far, so good. I hope people continue to reply and let me know their brutally honest opinion (constructively, that is) so I can continue to check myself and my ideas. This game would be my passion, so I want it to play and look amazing.

Thank you to all who have helped out so far with your opinions and ideas. They're very important to me in order to keep my goals and ideas set straight.

[Gollgagh]

I think I would at least try this.

[ProjectSpam]

Well, I'll admit I have nothing constructive to add to this, but I will offer a word of praise.

I played Mega Man X a hell of a lot as a youngster, and always yearned to see how it would play out if there was a multi-player option. However, this sounds like quite a different experience from all the online games I've played (maybe I haven't played that many, who knows), and certainly sounds like it would be a ton of fun. I would definitely try it out if this idea comes into fruition, as long as the cost to play wasn't exorbitant.

[Amos]

Well, I'll admit I have nothing constructive to add to this, but I will offer a word of praise.

I played Mega Man X a hell of a lot as a youngster, and always yearned to see how it would play out if there was a multi-player option. However, this sounds like quite a different experience from all the online games I've played (maybe I haven't played that many, who knows), and certainly sounds like it would be a ton of fun. I would definitely try it out if this idea comes into fruition, as long as the cost to play wasn't exorbitant.

Praise is awesome! It encourages me to want to work on this more!

Ditto. This is why I am so passionate about making this game, to be honest. I don't have many friends that like megaman type games, so I was never very sure that it'd be a mutual thing for many others besides myself.

I don't play much multiplayer myself mainly because of the monthly fees on top of having to buy the games. I don't have much money to support my family right now, which is part of the reason in which I'm looking to make a game in the first place.

However, if I can make a game that is unique and as awesome as this that is online, and have people actually want to play it too, then that's what I'm looking to do. I would not want to charge much for it, but I would want to be able to make it possible to get some form of profit from it, although not corporate business kinda profit. More or less like trying to survive on a single household income kind of profit. I've got a daughter to feed, you know? ;D

So basically, I'm not quite sure of the price range yet. However, I do know that a free copy of the game will go to my playtesters for their time and patience when I decide to begin working on it hard. Right now, I'm just working out all of the variables that might play an important role in the game's success or failure. Once they're all ironed out, as well as establishing an interest in the type of game, and gathering up any features that one might request later on, all will be well, and I can begin playtesting it.

However, right now I've got little to no graphics for the game itself - luckily I'm an artist and animator (...just not a great background artist/designer) as well as a programmer - so it will most likely just use Megaman X sprites as the prototype's graphics in the mean time until I can start fleshing out a real solid look for the game. I want an anime look that is reminicent of the SNES games. However, I'm not certain of how much I'd want to rip-off of megaman. It's definetly inspired from it, but I guess it doesn't matter as people will be able to customize their graphics anyway. What do you think?

Also, I am curious as to how much people would be willing to pay for a game like this, and if a subscription service would be better than peer-to-peer or vice versa.

I've been looking around at multiplayer games and noticing that all of them are going toward the subscription thing, which I personally find annoying when you have little money in my case. I prefer the p2p approach as far as playing games with your friends, but some like the challenge of taking on others who they've never met to test their skills. I'd enjoy this aspect of a subscription-based game with a dedicated server of some sort. I might make a sort of hybrid to this, but this is not certain just yet. I'd just like to know whether you'd rather pay a low cost for the game and have a service, or pay a higher cost for the game and do what you like with it. Any opinions of this?

Whatever your choice, I'd like to know how much you'd be willing to pay for either the game itself or the game and a subscription service as a total. I was thinking of some range between $29.99 - $39.99 for the game itself with a hybrid mode, or with service the game might be $19.99 and the monthly service might be anywhere from $4.99 - $10.99 or something. I would like to think this is fair game, since it would be retail quality by the time I got done with it, and if it looks promising, I would most likely hire an artist or two to help out with the overall workload of concept and game art. So, I'd need back whatever I invested in the first place as I don't have anything to spare.

Would these be reasonable prices? If not, what would you pay for a retail quality game such as this? I'm doing it both as a hobby, but also as a way to earn some extra income as my current income is very very tight, and the only one we've got.

I'm open for any suggestions, thoughts, or ideas you've got so feel free to comment on anything, or just say what you think about the idea in general, good or bad. If it's bad, try to give me some sort of reason for your comment so I can improve on it somehow.

The main thing I'm looking for right now is your ideas on price, graphics, and praise or hate for any parts of the game. Also any features you'd like to see for me to consider.

PS:

I wanted to give you guys an update on some features I'm going to implement into the gameplay before one must request it. Here goes nothing:

Block, Deflect, Dash and Dodge.

These features are some of the things you see only very rarely in a MMX game, and if you do see them, they are very muted and don't work as one would expect them to.

However, the way it will work in this game is that it will give one the ability to block if they are being attacked fiercely, but this method of defense would allow one to take minimal damage, but still take some damage and nullify the attack. It would also be able to charge your special attack gauge if it blocks enough attacks as you absorb the energy from its nullification.

Deflect, would not allow you to take any damage, but it would be harder to perform at a moment's notice. The other drawback would be that the attack is not nullified, but is instead knocked away in a random direction. If it is an explosive attack, it might harm you if it hits the ground, or hit a teammate if you are on a team. However, it could be used to your advantage by hitting enemies alike. It also would refill your life gauge as a result, and it encourages you to try using it more often.

Dash and Dodge are just what they sound like. Dashing is a feature we veterans all know well in MMX, but dodging is a feature that would allow you to cancel a dash. It was a feature that would have been very useful in the original games as you'd need to stop and run the other direction manually if a projectile was heading your way, but not be able to shoot in the direction of your enemy and still move away simultaneously. However, with the dodge feature, you'd simply need to double-tap your dash button to hop backwards off the ground in the opposite direction of the dash while still facing the direction of the dash while allowing one to continue to shoot in the original direction.

If someone is advancing toward you, there is little time to shoot another shot and run the other direction, but with dodge, you can blast once more to anniahlate the nearest shot to you and still have time to turn the tables on your opponent and give chase to them instead!

Finally, speedy type characters will have the added ability to teleport in any direction (up,down,left or right) to maintain a moment of invincibility in order to dodge an attack or even move behind an opponent to attack from behind. For a slower type of character, teleport and dodge wouldn't be available, but instead block and deflect would be more potent and even allow one to have an overall higher defense and offense. When a heavier player blocks, it takes little to no damage, but deflect is minimalized as it is harder to pull off.

What do you think of this style of gameplay? Does it add anything to the classic MMX style of battling? Does it take something away from it? Let me know what you think!

[Amos]

I was curious as to what people thought of these type of gameplay mechanics. I figued I would bump before this topic fell off the page, as I'm still looking for people's opinions on pretty much everything such as price, or feature requests.

Also, if you would be interested in playtesting, feel free to shoot me a PM. I am going to begin a prototype version that will showcase some of the features I'm looking to do.

[Yamato2299]

I dont think this idea will work going on the assumption that it's going to be a battle game. Alot of the fun of Megaman was that it was a platformer, not a fighter. and considering combat was limited to hitting a single button to shoot, I dont think your going to be able to make an incredibly enjoyable fighting game.

I also can't see the "close range does more damage" working out very well if two or three close range hits way overpower most of the long range hits; What good is long range if short range fighters do way more damage when they hit than you do keeping them away? On the other hand, if the short range attacks arent strong enough to justify the risk of approaching a longrange attacker, than nobody will use them anyway.

[Cerrax]

I'm actually working on something like this right now...

[Amos]

I dont think this idea will work going on the assumption that it's going to be a battle game. Alot of the fun of Megaman was that it was a platformer, not a fighter. and considering combat was limited to hitting a single button to shoot, I dont think your going to be able to make an incredibly enjoyable fighting game.

I also can't see the "close range does more damage" working out very well if two or three close range hits way overpower most of the long range hits; What good is long range if short range fighters do way more damage when they hit than you do keeping them away? On the other hand, if the short range attacks arent strong enough to justify the risk of approaching a longrange attacker, than nobody will use them anyway.

Have you ever played Super Smash Bros Melee? It only used two buttons, but made one hell of a fun fighting game. It was also a platformer, similar to MMX, but without the crazy-long level to beat before you get to fight the enemy at the end of the level.

Its attacks were combined with directional inputs to create unique and interesting attacks. I agree with your notion that a one-button fighting game would suck hard.

NOTE: My battle engine will not copy MMX's on a 1:1 scale.

It will take some liberties on adjusting to the nuances of a fighting-based engine that works in a similar fashion to Super Smash Bros with some of the effects of Marvel vs Capcom, and has a fast pace like Zone of the Enders, but with a MMX feel to it, with online capabilities, with the ability to customize.

There will be two attack buttons, and a special move button. One will be an attack that should be a power move, aka Hard Attack, and the other a normal move, or the Medium Attack in street fighter terms. A typical move would rely on a simple combo of an arrow key and a direction to perform an intuitive move based on the direction of the keypress and the button. For example, pressing up and P (power) would shoot a heavy blast into the air, while pressing up and N (normal) would simply punch into the air and knock the enemy up and away from you via a sort of SFII Ryu uppercut style.

A down + N move might sweep an opponent, while a down + P would slam a fist into the ground performing a move similar to Zero's MMX5 special move, but probably not at the scale of damage that the projectiles do, while still allowing the amount of them.

When doing a special move, you'd need to have a filled-up special meter to do them. This means that you'd need to take enough attacks to be able to perform your move. Toward the end of your energy, you should have enough special meter to strike hard.

I'm actually working on something like this right now...

Really? What is it? I'd like to check it out, if possible.

[AMT]

It sounds like you've got a pretty solid design going so far, and I like the concept. My advice would be to just start programming it based on the idea you have now, and once you see how it actually starts to play, make changes to the design to accomodate what's more fun. Start working on combat before the level creation, since that seems to be the core of the design. I'm also working on something vaguely similar, although it's more like online Isolation (Read: Side scrolling WASD + mouse shooter, click this) than MMX. As far as pricing goes, it'd have to be pretty high quality to charge $39.99 for. Most people won't pay much for anything 2D nowadays, with the exception of handhelds. I'm aiming to get my game on Steam, and if I did, I'd ask $9.99 max for it, although I'd probably wind up just making it free. I'd probably pay a similar price for the game, and only if I played it first and it was refreshingly fun. I wouldn't play it at all if it had a monthly fee; avoid doing that at all costs, as you do not carry the same weight as Blizzard in the game making world.

[Yamato2299]

Have you ever played Super Smash Bros Melee? It only used two buttons, but made one hell of a fun fighting game. It was also a platformer, similar to MMX, but without the crazy-long level to beat before you get to fight the enemy at the end of the level.

Its attacks were combined with directional inputs to create unique and interesting attacks. I agree with your notion that a one-button fighting game would suck hard.

NOTE: My battle engine will not copy MMX's on a 1:1 scale.

It will take some liberties on adjusting to the nuances of a fighting-based engine that works in a similar fashion to Super Smash Bros with some of the effects of Marvel vs Capcom, and has a fast pace like Zone of the Enders, but with a MMX feel to it, with online capabilities, with the ability to customize.

There will be two attack buttons, and a special move button. One will be an attack that should be a power move, aka Hard Attack, and the other a normal move, or the Medium Attack in street fighter terms. A typical move would rely on a simple combo of an arrow key and a direction to perform an intuitive move based on the direction of the keypress and the button. For example, pressing up and P (power) would shoot a heavy blast into the air, while pressing up and N (normal) would simply punch into the air and knock the enemy up and away from you via a sort of SFII Ryu uppercut style.

A down + N move might sweep an opponent, while a down + P would slam a fist into the ground performing a move similar to Zero's MMX5 special move, but probably not at the scale of damage that the projectiles do, while still allowing the amount of them.

When doing a special move, you'd need to have a filled-up special meter to do them. This means that you'd need to take enough attacks to be able to perform your move. Toward the end of your energy, you should have enough special meter to strike hard.

Allright then. I guess I took your "MMX style game" in the title a bit to literally. Though I'd argue now that it sound more like a straight up fighting game.

And I'd have to agree with DeathBySpoon about price. Considering your offering a 2D product online, you probably can't get away with charging over $5.00 for it and the game will need to be high quality. I don't mean to suggest it won't be, just that it's going to take a lot to sell something vs. MUGEN, a 2D console fighter, or Smash Bros. Brawl once it's out.