In Progress Streets of Rage 2X By Kratus 2.3.1

[pepodmc]

...

pepodmc
Yes man, I remember that. Don't worry, this feature is pending in my list, but I need to finish other features first.
And I agree with DC, there are no engine limitations preventing me from doing it. In fact, compared to other things I already added, this feature is not too hard.

But I have to ask a question. Do you want me to replace the "green healing" bar with the "OK" bar, or you want to replace the stars only? Because there's a big difference between them.
The stars are an illustrative feature to show the MP, and will don't change anything in the fighting mechanic. On the other hand, replacing the "green healing" bar by a "OK" bar will change the entire structure of the special moves usage. I'm not saying that it's impossible, but it will take more time to develop and can cause some new bugs.

Sorry if i insist to much with the special metter.
I only want you to add the special metter from Bare Knuckle 3 (to make offensive and defensive specials without losing life when the metter is full), the stars can stay the same.

About the green healing bar, you can make an hybrid
If you make an offensive or defensive special when the metter is not full you will lose life (like in sor 3) but you will be able to re-gain life with hits.
So we can do and offensive or a defensive special from time to time without having to lose energy always (the thing i dislike the most of Sor 2)

If you think about it , having to lose life for using the character special is dumb.
I know that a lot of beat em ups work that way to balance the gameplay, but its  stupid.

Imagine that you are a boxer, and your best punch is the right uppercut, but everytime you use it you get hurt like if you were hit by your opponent XD.

I know that this is a videogame, but the bare knuckle 3 special metter fix that silly way of balance the gameplay adopted by nearly every beat em up of the era.
But bare knuckle 3 is underrated by a lot of people, so im used to this

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About the new video:

The otg is great, but i think that you have to put some kind of limit to it (like be able to do it only once, then wait the enemy to get up once to be able to otg him/her again the next time him/her get knocked to the floor).

"screen edge jumping" is great too, you dont have to reach a wall to do wall jumping but break the balance of the game a little.

The new high score is a miscelaneous addition but a good one.

 

[Kratus]

pepodmc

Sorry if i insist to much with the special metter

No problem buddy, I'm always hearing all suggestions. Before I start to make some tests, let's think about all options we currently have in the "special cost" section:

- life+heal (time): save the mp spend after you perform a special move, and will recover it along the time, if you not take any damage
- life+heal (hits): save the mp spend after you perform a special move, and will recover it by hitting enemies (same as SOR4), if you not take any damage
- life only: spend life after you perform a special move, no recovery in this option same as the original SOR2
- energy+life: you can spend energy stars first if had it, and then will spend life, similar to SOR3 "OK" bar but the energy will not be recharged by time, is by hitting enemies
- energy only: you will only spend energy stars to perform special moves, no life is lost in this method, but you need to manage well all special/super/counter/rage moves

So, If I understand correctly, you want the following new option:

- "ok" bar: you will spend the "ok" bar to perform special moves, will not lose life or energy and this bar will refill along the time

It's possible to mix the "ok" bar with all others, but I prefer to let it work alone to avoid conflicts with the other scripts. In addition, if I create a new option to not interrupt the "green healing" bar recovery (by time, of course), it will have the same effect as the "ok" bar.

I will do some tests and post here the results.

About the video:

The otg is great, but i think that you have to put some kind of limit to it (like be able to do it only once, then wait the enemy to get up once to be able to otg him/her again the next time him/her get knocked to the floor).

"OTG" already has a limit, which is the same as the juggle limit using juggle points. There's no reason to have the OTG with a very low limit., but I can reduce a little.
In addition, both OTG and the JUGGLES are using the same "juggle points" limit, so if you perform a lot of aerial combos, you will don't have enough juggle points to perform the OTG and vice versa.

So, the player will choose what feature he likes most and use it.

"screen edge jumping" is great too, you dont have to reach a wall to do wall jumping but break the balance of the game a little.

"Screen edge jumping" is a feature that doesn't have too much impact in the gameplay, it's just a simple jump, doesn't increase damage and doesn't affect the game balance. Also, you can disable it in the extra menu.

The new high score is a miscelaneous addition but a good one.

The "hi-score" is a basic feature for every fighting game, and my goal was to make at least the same system as the original SOR, nothing less and nothing more. I always like to see my records after finishing a game

Psykai
Thanks buddy!

 

[Miru]

This is just... incredible. And to think this is before the SoR 1 stages and SoR 1 and 2 characters are added. When this project is complete it will seriously be the definitive retro SoR experience, even better than Remake. And with the SoR 4 features thrown in it's even better. All that'll be missing is Cherry and Floyd, lol.

Seriously though, amazing work.

Cherry and Floyd... it could even be possible to recreate SOR4 levels and enemies with enough effort, along with more scrapped content, but those, along with remake exclusives (if he gets permission) aren't a priority.

 

[pepodmc]

It's possible to mix the "ok" bar with all others, but I prefer to let it work alone to avoid conflicts with the other scripts.

I will do some tests and post here the results.

Yeah, i wanted the same as first. But now that we can do aerial specials, i tend to use more offensive specials, so if you can combine it with the "time" or the "hits" life recovery, would be good.

But if the condition to add the sor 3 special metter is making it work alone, separated of the others  its ok.

 

[Psykai]

This is just... incredible. And to think this is before the SoR 1 stages and SoR 1 and 2 characters are added. When this project is complete it will seriously be the definitive retro SoR experience, even better than Remake. And with the SoR 4 features thrown in it's even better. All that'll be missing is Cherry and Floyd, lol.

Seriously though, amazing work.

Cherry and Floyd... it could even be possible to recreate SOR4 levels and enemies with enough effort, along with more scrapped content, but those, along with remake exclusives (if he gets permission) aren't a priority.

Yeah having a sprited Cherry and Floyd and fully recreated SoR4 route with enemies/bosses etc. would be absolutely mindblowing but something I can't even imagine actually ever being able to happen due to the work required. I'm in no rush for it but if this happens someday in the future I'll fangirl like crazy.

 

[Kratus]

It's possible to mix the "ok" bar with all others, but I prefer to let it work alone to avoid conflicts with the other scripts.

I will do some tests and post here the results.

Yeah, i wanted the same as first. But now that we can do aerial specials, i tend to use more offensive specials, so if you can combine it with the "time" or the "hits" life recovery, would be good.

But if the condition to add the sor 3 special metter is making it work alone, separated of the others  its ok.

pepodmc

Is something like that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irbyDquJkUs

Well, I confess that I had a few problems developing this feature, but fortunately I found a way to avoid them. The main problem is an old one that I found a few months ago, and happens when I try to change some entity properties of a defined character but it changes the same property for all other players if are using the same character (4 Axels for example), I don't know if it's a engine bug or not.
It does not happen when each player is using different characters, I don't know why...

At the first try, I made a simple script to force changing the "energycost" of both special/special2 when the "ok" bar is full or empty using this function:

//WHEN "OK" IS FULL
changeentityproperty(self, "energycost", "cost", openborconstant("ANI_SPECIAL"), 0);

//WHEN "OK" IS EMPTY
changeentityproperty(self, "energycost", "cost", openborconstant("ANI_SPECIAL"), 40);

Due to the problem mentioned above, I tried another code. Now the script is split in two steps:

1 - when the health is bigger than the cost and the "ok" bar is full, the life lost will be restored instantly and is not possible to see the health bar moving
2 - when the health is lower than the cost and the "ok" bar is full, the engine will not allow to perform special moves by default, So, I made a keyscript to force the animation to be performed and no life will be lost

In addition, this method is better the the first one because the "ok" bar now will restore the life according to how much blue bars you have at the moment. Considering that the global "energycost" for SOR2X is 40 points, it means 10% of the maximum health for all players (400 by default).

- 1 blue bar = around 10 points
- 2 blue bar = around 20 points
- 3 blue bar = around 30 points
- 4 blue bar = around 40 points

I said "around" because the "ok" bar is restored by the updated.c script and will be increased using float numbers. The bar increases 0.01 point at a defined number of cycles.

Another thing is that this bar needs to work alone at this moment due to the code complexity. Is better to not mix with the others for now, and I think this gradual recovery gives a good advantage for the player because he can also perform specials and lose less health if the "ok" bar is not full.

It's early to say that the bar has no more problems and needs more tests, but things are going well at the moment. If I have some news, I will post here 

 

[pepodmc]

It's possible to mix the "ok" bar with all others, but I prefer to let it work alone to avoid conflicts with the other scripts.

I will do some tests and post here the results.

Yeah, i wanted the same as first. But now that we can do aerial specials, i tend to use more offensive specials, so if you can combine it with the "time" or the "hits" life recovery, would be good.

But if the condition to add the sor 3 special metter is making it work alone, separated of the others  its ok.

pepodmc

Is something like that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irbyDquJkUs

What you show in the video is PERFECT. Theres is no need of making it work along the other life recovery options.
"sor 3 OK bar" can work alone, separated of the others modes.

Im so happy man, thanks!

 

[kimono]

Hi Ayano Koshiro and welcome here. That's very kind to you to offer your help. As I remember, you are the designer of SOR2?
I will be glad to share some thoughts about Street of Rage, we are all great fans here.
Can you tell us what was exactly your role in Bare Knuckle 2?

 

[Kratus]

Hi there!

I am one of the original developers for SOR2. I was asked by fans to give you creative input and suggestions if you wanted the help.

I offered advice to both Bomberlink and modders of the Streets of Rage 2 Ultra hack.

There is an original vision of this game that was never able to be fully fulfilled because of limits from technology, deadlines and budget. If you would like to make the definitive SOR2 experience, then I can offer you that  information and insight.

My English is poor and I rely on google translate quite often. Excuse any misunderstanding on my end.

Since I’ve helped others with their fan projects then I do not mind helping you with your project if you want or needed advice.

Thank you and good lucks with your fan game!

Hi Ayano_Koshiro!

Are you the real Ayano Koshiro, Yuzo Koshiro's sister? Wow, it's an honor to have you here. Thanks for the hard work in all original games.

I'm Kratus, the developer of the SOR2X. I'm glad to have your help, please let us know your vision about the game and we can talk about all ideas that were not implemented in the original game.

I'm always open to hear any suggestion and to add any content related to the original franchise.

 

[kimono]

I'm just curious of what there was planned to be added to Street of Rage 2 because now we have the opportunity to make it real .

 

[John_Couey]

I can't believe I missed that you could actually hit Robot Y's missile before it reaches the reactor core. I thought it was just an unavoidable sequence intended to be a subtle jab at fans of SOR3 like bombergames did with their "SOR3" route.

 

[Miru]

Does any concept art exist for the “Guile-like boss” that was proposed for Stage 6? I wonder what kinds of attacks this boss would have had? He would be a good choice for an alternate route. What about the football player and fencer enemies from the SEGA Mega Drive Official Complete Works? Where would they have gone?

 

[kimono]

Some SOR3 Yamato like for Harakiri:

Miru: A Guile like boss? Do you mean Harakiri? I'm interessed in the characters that you are speaking about.
Some prototype characters will come too this year, no worry

 

[Miru]

Some SOR3 Yamato like for Harakiri:

Miru: A Guile like boss? Do you mean Harakiri? I'm interessed in the characters that you are speaking about.
Some prototype characters will come too this year, no worry

Cool work with Harakiri sitting there. But I was talking about the prototype character that Ayano_Koshiro brought up, who was initially replaced by Souther before Harakiri. This is a character I'd never heard of before this was brought up.

 

[kimono]

Thank you very much Miru and Ayano_Koshiro, I'm glad that you like these new sprites. You know what? The positive point is that we've got all the talents here to make a complete version of SOR2 like it would be in its ultimate version. I'll work on this jeep idea and I've got already one character that can makes the job.

It would be awesome if you have a sketchbook with some ideas like the jeep that you are talking about.

 

[Kratus]

Ayano_Koshiro

Good instinct.

He appears again at end. Seppuku! Pleasing design choice. Reminds me of Golden Axe using Red Bad Brother Gen. Heartland to protect Death Adder. Borrowed from Double Dragon. Golden Axe borrows much from Double Dragon and inspired by. White Abobo appears at end in final level similar. You do similar choice with Seppuku! Very good level design choice!

Original plan was for level 6 Jungle boss was to be unique character in jungle like Guile from Street Fighter. Then we decide to use Souther with same design from SOR1. But did not have enough memory or time for unique character. So we included red Zamza and call him Souther and Stealth! But I like this boss you chose much better.

Thank you! I need to share the credits with my friend kimono because he suggested that I add this character some years ago. Then I managed the game to accommodate this character in the right place. About your suggestions for Harakiri, I will start immediately to make a demo using kimono's new sprites.

About your terms mentioned before, I totally agree with it. While I develop the Harakiri stage changes, please can I ask some things? Don't worry, these are not personal questions, only SOR franchise related content.

This is very important for me because I receive a lot of requests to add a ton of new things in the game, but only a few ideas are really synced to my plans. I'm a systematic guy ;D and everything I do needs to be close to the original SOR rules (and some of them are based on great games like Street Fighter or KOF), so a suggestion that came from Ayano Koshiro itself has a big impact on SOR2X.
Of course, I added some new things that are not present in the original games but I'm always trying to sync all new features with the SOR world. My goal is to make the players feel that they are playing a SOR game, even if they are playing with new rules or features.

Another thing is about what happened to the Bombergames... SEGA took them down, and it's curious that one of the original creators of the original SOR2 is helping in a fan game. But if everything goes well, I promise that I will do my best to turn your ideas into reality.

In addition, it would be great if you have some sprites that aren't published in the original, beta or prototype versions (like the beta Zan) that it's possible to see only in old promo screenshots.

kimono
Thanks for the new Harakiri sprites, you did a very good job with it  

 

[pepodmc]

I can't believe I missed that you could actually hit Robot Y's missile before it reaches the reactor core. I thought it was just an unavoidable sequence intended to be a subtle jab at fans of SOR3 like bombergames did with their "SOR3" route.

It wasnt before.
I dont remember exactly in which version he added the option of hitting the missile to get the good ending.

But when i played version 1.7 i think, i was confused because i didnt knew how to get the good ending, so i asked kratus if to get the good ending, i had to hit the missile.
Then he added that in Sor 2x XD.

 

[kimono]

Another character that is on my list is this SOR1 beta Signal (see at 3:24):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sipnY19Ybl0

 

[kimono]

Thanks Ayano for being here and please, share yours and the original vision with us
I have just one question: all the moves and improvements done at Streets of Rage 2 - PLUS ULTRA romhack are planned in the original SOR2?
This SOR3 Blaze is awesome:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoeGWfDkHMs

 

[kimono]

Thanks for sharing this. I will try to realize this dark vision of SOR with pixel art .