SamVision wrote:I finally got the time to sit down and play this and I find the first boss to be basically impossible. It does a ridiculous amount of damage and moves too erratically for the me get some good hits in with the whip. But even if I manage to hit the bastard I only do pitiful amounts of damage. It seems like the boss was specifically designed to be beaten with the knife subweapon and without it the boss is basically impossible.
While the Knife sub-weapon does work wonders against the Giant Bat, the Stopwatch sub-weapon is also a viable alternative, if you're fine with the heart cost. It'll stop the Giant Bat, leaving him wide open for the Vampire Killer.
Outside of those options, yeah, he can be quite erratic in his movements.
Or, pick up the axe, throw it when the bat's near the corners of the room, the axe will hit him, bounce on the wall and hit him again. With this tactic you can kill him with 3-4 axe hits and it's possible to defeat him in less than 15 seconds.
I don't think the knife is the ideal choice here, yes it's fast and it's easier to hit him, but it doesn't deal enough damage (like in NES castlevania afterall).
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 7:59 am
by UnbornDecay25
Batandy wrote:
DarkWarrior1995 wrote:
SamVision wrote:I finally got the time to sit down and play this and I find the first boss to be basically impossible. It does a ridiculous amount of damage and moves too erratically for the me get some good hits in with the whip. But even if I manage to hit the bastard I only do pitiful amounts of damage. It seems like the boss was specifically designed to be beaten with the knife subweapon and without it the boss is basically impossible.
While the Knife sub-weapon does work wonders against the Giant Bat, the Stopwatch sub-weapon is also a viable alternative, if you're fine with the heart cost. It'll stop the Giant Bat, leaving him wide open for the Vampire Killer.
Outside of those options, yeah, he can be quite erratic in his movements.
Or, pick up the axe, throw it when the bat's near the corners of the room, the axe will hit him, bounce on the wall and hit him again. With this tactic you can kill him with 3-4 axe hits and it's possible to defeat him in less than 15 seconds.
I don't think the knife is the ideal choice here, yes it's fast and it's easier to hit him, but it doesn't deal enough damage (like in NES castlevania afterall).
Besides, if Castlevania was easy (Baring Symphony of the Night and maaaybe Harmony Of Dissonance, though I've never played), it isnt a Castlevania game. They're meant to kick you in the balls and make you focus, with some fantastic music to company you, and a dark atmosphere thats hard to replicate, and Batandy, you nailed it. Great job man
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:31 am
by SamVision
So the first boss cannot be beaten with the whip? What if I lack the timestop or the axe (or knife), does that mean the game stops there unless you cheat or have clairvoyance?
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 2:50 pm
by Batandy
SamVision wrote:So the first boss cannot be beaten with the whip? What if I lack the timestop or the axe (or knife), does that mean the game stops there unless you cheat or have clairvoyance?
You can beat any boss with the whip, but without any kind of item it's not gonna be easy.
I really don't see the issue because you can't lack the timestop, axe etc considering there are plenty of subweapon drops before the fight that do not despawn (including the axe which is in the very same room with the boss door), you have to purposely avoid picking up items basically.
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:02 pm
by SamVision
What happened is that I had the holy water, which is completely useless against the boss.
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:09 pm
by Batandy
SamVision wrote:What happened is that I had the holy water, which is completely useless against the boss.
A subweapon which only works on the ground isn't very effective with a flying boss, every boss in the game has weaknesses and strengths against specific subweapons.
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 4:20 pm
by DarkWarrior1995
SamVision wrote:What happened is that I had the holy water, which is completely useless against the boss.
Yeah, the Holy Water isn't that great against flying mobs here, let alone the Giant Bat. Later down the road, there might be a boss that can't stand Holy Water. Will not spoil that particular boss, for anyone who hasn't played this yet.
Right now, best I can say really is what Batandy has said already. Just be mindful of sub-weapon drops when you hit those candles.
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 6:30 pm
by RUNSABER
SamVision wrote:What happened is that I had the holy water, which is completely useless against the boss.
I think what SamVision is trying to say, is that if there ever was a player wanting to do a hardcore playthrough of this mod (take Shadowserg on Youtube for example) there would be significant difficulty doing so. Some of the aims of hardcore runs is to use no subweapons, take no damage or not picking up iteams. I've personally tried a whip-only run of this and it is a not satisfactory environment given you HAVE to rely on the subweapons a little even against minor mobs of enemies. This isnt to say you should change anything. We're dealing with GZDoom here and it's environment which doesnt necessarily allow for that kind of gameplay. If it were Hexen or Heretic, it would be different.
The player should be able to use the Holy Water like the rest of the subweapons. It is affected by gravity, and if the player throws the weapon based on their mouselook (in this case up) the holy water should be able to go in that direction. Combined with a jump, it can easily be as much utility as an axe would be. Otherwise, it simply sucks for the battle situation and you'll need a different subweapon. Holy Water doesnt tunnel in it's idle states like the Axe does.
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 3:03 am
by Batandy
RUNSABER wrote:
SamVision wrote:What happened is that I had the holy water, which is completely useless against the boss.
I think what SamVision is trying to say, is that if there ever was a player wanting to do a hardcore playthrough of this mod (take Shadowserg on Youtube for example) there would be significant difficulty doing so. Some of the aims of hardcore runs is to use no subweapons, take no damage or not picking up iteams. I've personally tried a whip-only run of this and it is a not satisfactory environment given you HAVE to rely on the subweapons a little even against minor mobs of enemies. This isnt to say you should change anything. We're dealing with GZDoom here and it's environment which doesnt necessarily allow for that kind of gameplay. If it were Hexen or Heretic, it would be different.
The player should be able to use the Holy Water like the rest of the subweapons. It is affected by gravity, and if the player throws the weapon based on their mouselook (in this case up) the holy water should be able to go in that direction. Combined with a jump, it can easily be as much utility as an axe would be. Otherwise, it simply sucks for the battle situation and you'll need a different subweapon. Holy Water doesnt tunnel in it's idle states like the Axe does.
Hm, alright. Since i'm working on a patch that addresses some issues, i might test a possible update for the holy water that gives the bottle damaging properties kinda like in the original game. Not that you'll be able to stunlock enemies to death like that, but it's gonna make things easier for people who'd like to use that subweapon.
The whip has already been updated in this upcoming 1.4 and it will make it easier to damage both smaller enemies and multiple enemies at once (The whip now spawns bigger hurtbox projectiles that also have splash damage with A_Explode. I've playtested it twice and it doesn't break the gameplay of the mod and at the same time feels much better compared to the old railattack tracer method)
Edit: I've just tried it and it works wonders! Will have to be tested further, but it's a keeper!
If anyone wants to have a sneak peek at the patch's changes:
-Completely reworked whip. It is now way easier to hit small targets, and anything in general.
-Holy Water's flask now stuns enemies and deals +ripper damage before touching the ground.
-Axe Armor's projectiles are now +RIPPER (They don't bounce back when they hit you).
-Axe Armor's melee attack is weaker.
-Reduced player bobbing.
-Candles will now ALWAYS spawn hearts on New Moon and Crescent Moon. (They still have a chance not to drop anything on Full Moon).
-Whip upgrades will not spawn anymore if you've already got a maxed out morning-star whip. (A big heart will drop instead).
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2018 12:47 pm
by doomjedi
Voted for you on moddb
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 10:46 am
by Hidden Hands
Can't get this to work. GL Accelerated Graphics means no sprites appear. Using DOOM renderer crashes the moment I step into the castle hallway.
Re: Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.3 OUT!]
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 11:14 am
by wildweasel
Hidden Hands wrote:Can't get this to work. GL Accelerated Graphics means no sprites appear. Using DOOM renderer crashes the moment I step into the castle hallway.
What is your graphics hardware?
Castlevania: Simon's Destiny [V1.4 OUT!]
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 5:04 am
by Batandy
Hidden Hands wrote:Can't get this to work. GL Accelerated Graphics means no sprites appear. Using DOOM renderer crashes the moment I step into the castle hallway.
Update Gzdoom and also if you've got an AMD card, make sure you got the latest drivers.
-Completely reworked whip. It is now way easier to hit small targets, and anything in general.
-Holy Water's flask now stuns enemies and deals +ripper damage before touching the ground.
-Axe Armor's projectiles are now +RIPPER (They don't bounce back when they hit you).
-Axe Armor's melee attack is weaker.
-Reduced player bobbing.
-Candles will now ALWAYS spawn hearts on New Moon and Crescent Moon. (They still have a chance not to drop anything on Full Moon).
-Whip upgrades will not spawn anymore if you've already got a maxed out morning-star whip. (A big heart will drop instead).
-Improved MAP01's courtyard.
