Phocas Island 2: Re-Phocased. Is it back?

[chopkinsca]

I kind of had an issue with the story in Phocas Island 2. It didn't measure up to the rest of the wad.
I felt you had this wonderful mystic place. But you were brutally yanked out of it when you finished it.

I'm not sure what I can do with this. I wanted to do an ending different than "you won, you are the hero!" cliche ending. Now that I think of it, the ending is sort of like Legend of Zelda: Link's awakening. In the end the island he was on was just a dream, but the dream had ties to the real world.


Just got done adding lots of ambient sounds. Now you get wind howling through caves, birds chirping in the forest, and crackling fire.
I also added a new small area that will most likely be for a fifth "minor" boss. Not sure what the boss could be right now. Maybe I'll go back to my original idea of using the heresiarch. (the project started as a Hexen mod and was going to include the 6 major bosses.)

[chopkinsca]

Thanks for the comments on the music. I wanted to do something a little stranger than most music I hear in .wads (since Phocas Island's atmosphere is so different), and I wasn't sure what kind of reception it would get.

Ditto on the music. A few songs were odd but the more I listened, the more I realized that everything fit perfectly. Hehe, I'm tempted to nab a crazy-good soundfont just to hear how it sounds in "hi-def". ;P

I've thought about doing a "hi-def" version myself using samples and/or soft synths. Maybe now I'll actually get around to it!

Does that mean "hi-def" versions of them music used in the project? If you wan to do to, and if I can, I'll add them to my project. I especially love forest, cave, and temple.

[janiform]

Does that mean "hi-def" versions of them music used in the project? If you wan to do to, and if I can, I'll add them to my project. I especially love forest, cave, and temple.

Sure, I could work on some MP3 or OGG versions for inclusion in this new version. I'll start testing some things out.

[Xaser]

Ooh, I'm looking forward to this for sure! Though, I think this would be best with an "all or nothing" approach -- mixing standard midis with high-quality mp3s sometimes takes away from the level of immersion, it seems like. Either way I'm looking forward to it, ;P

[janiform]

Ooh, I'm looking forward to this for sure! Though, I think this would be best with an "all or nothing" approach -- mixing standard midis with high-quality mp3s sometimes takes away from the level of immersion, it seems like. Either way I'm looking forward to it, ;P

I agree; If all goes as planned I'll have a full replacement set. Though perhaps the extremely long and quiet track from the first map should remain a midi so it doesn't bloat the WAD...

[Xaser]

Wait, Beached had music? I didn't hear any at all -- wasn't it just ambience? o-O

[Cutmanmike]

Have you considered hi-res textures?

[Jimmy]

Wait, Beached had music? I didn't hear any at all -- wasn't it just ambience? o-O

It was a very low, repeated reversed cymbal. That's all it is. There's an identical sound at the beginning of the music for Scythe II MAP15 (which is from Duke 3D) if you want to compare 'em.

[janiform]

Yeah, it's just a reversed cymbal patch played at an extremely low pitch every so often at 10 bpm or so. It's an extremely subtle track that I think could remain a MIDI without harming immersion.

[Juan "JacKThERiPPeR]

Oops, by Phocas it reminded of "seals" in Spanish.

Anyway, could you post some screens of it? I'm just curious.

[chopkinsca]

Have you considered hi-res textures?

Not really. I want to keep as much of the graphics to be done by me and I can barely do low-res graphics (which is why I stole a few from Hexen).

It's an extremely subtle track that I think could remain a MIDI without harming immersion.

Now with the ambient sounds I added, I get the music mixed up with the cave wind sounds.

[Kristus]

I'm not sure what I can do with this. I wanted to do an ending different than "you won, you are the hero!" cliche ending. Now that I think of it, the ending is sort of like Legend of Zelda: Link's awakening. In the end the island he was on was just a dream, but the dream had ties to the real world.

IMO, The story up to that part leaves you the luxury of taking it in any number of different directions.

[chopkinsca]

I'm not sure what I can do with this. I wanted to do an ending different than "you won, you are the hero!" cliche ending. Now that I think of it, the ending is sort of like Legend of Zelda: Link's awakening. In the end the island he was on was just a dream, but the dream had ties to the real world.

IMO, The story up to that part leaves you the luxury of taking it in any number of different directions.

If you have different ideas, I'd be glad to hear/see them. The story I chose was sort of for personal reasons and the real story is abstract and I wonder if anyone figured it out at all.
(you keep dying on the island, the dead bodies you find and use the death artifact on are actually your past deaths. Each death leads to more degradation of your status in the real world.)

Just for you, I planned on putting a Phobia: The Age secret reference easter egg in somewhere, just not sure what would represent this. I'm doing so because playing Phobia really inspired me to do what I want to do even if older computers can't handle it.

[Kristus]

It was a while since I last played Phocas Island 2. I better take a new look at it to refresh my memories.
But I recall the end story to be a bit.. silly?

Glad to hear that. Also, would be honored to see a Phobia easter egg in there.

[chopkinsca]

Does that mean "hi-def" versions of them music used in the project? If you wan to do to, and if I can, I'll add them to my project. I especially love forest, cave, and temple.

Sure, I could work on some MP3 or OGG versions for inclusion in this new version. I'll start testing some things out.

Awesome, I can't wait to hear these, especially to hear them as you meant them to be. Since, MIDI's sound different on different computers.