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Maps Of The Month / 2024/05: Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty (PC) - mechaskrom
« Last post by JonLeung on April 30, 2024, 09:33:18 pm »

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to mechaskrom's Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty (PC) maps.

Arrakis, a harsh desert planet, is the source of the valuable commodity known as "spice".  Spice has health benefits, including the extension of life expectancy, and can alter the mind, like expanding sensory perceptions and even foresight.  Guild Navigators depend on spice for the prescience required for safe interstellar travel.  Spice isn't so easy to harvest and refine, as there are massive sandworms under the surface, and the native Fremen oppose off-worlders.  Even with these obstacles, the Houses of Atreides, Ordos, and Harkonnen seek to command and conquer Arrakis, as Baron Harkonnen says, "he who controls the spice, controls the universe."

A few years before the first game in their Command & Conquer series, Westwood Studios released Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty, an earlier RTS (real-time strategy) game.  It even predates WarCraft (by Blizzard).  So besides building a dynasty, it was also pioneering a genre.  Herzog Zwei (by Technosoft) on the Sega Genesis may have come before, but Dune II is certainly meaningful in the history of the genre on PCs, where many RTSes make their home.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this genre trailblazer, mechaskrom's Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty (PC) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for May 2024.
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As of a few days ago, with the update to v1.92, it now has .GIF support and a thumbnail grid.  Upon opening, it can also auto-load the text file folder if an alternate folder had been specified.

Thanks again to ImJohnJohn for implementing those changes that I suggested!

Maybe no one cares but me, but as I previously said, it's nice to feel heard, and to contribute ideas that actually go into something.  If anyone else needs this image/text association program, maybe a Google search will bring them to this topic and point them in the right direction.  So, anyone in the future reading this... you're welcome.  :D
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Maps In Progress / Re: John Brain's Sega Genesis maps (24/25)
« Last post by Cyartog959 on April 29, 2024, 05:51:38 pm »
I think you're doing a very good job with your maps! Keep on doing it! There's plenty more to cover out there, even beyond the system you're currently choosing the games from.
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Map Gab / Re: Sonic Advance - Sonic Colors Maps' sizes
« Last post by Cyartog959 on April 27, 2024, 11:49:10 am »
Cyberstation in Sonic Superstars has an original size 257993x19962 pixels, it's 4 times more max jpg size.
It was necessary to remove half map to bottom area of the map image.
OK...

I'm not quite fluent on this, but, what I can't grasp is the tantamount of 3D made into 2.5D for such maps to regular 2D maps in actual size, that is to say tileset & layout size wise.

I'm kinda shocked about that level's actual size, but I kinda know whatever 3D levels made kinda don't count to 2D game maps' actual length when playing them.

When viewed on any television, real handheld, or computer screen, regardless of screen ratio, the environments' 3D models closely look like how a 2D side-scrolling platform level is, but how they're viewed on the engine they're made from, you kinda spoke as if, well, they're far bigger than what we saw in-game... I think.

I just don't actually know how comparable to any actual length in their completion times, regardless of speed, when playing them. If only I could connect such comparisons between them.

I... kinda need some clarity on that matter. I'm a bit baffled.
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VGMaps Social Board / Re: YouTube channel! (JonLeung1)
« Last post by JonLeung on April 27, 2024, 10:25:40 am »

I was about to share that I just made a YouTube Short for "Every #SNES Game EVER!" but realized that on these forums I didn't even share "Every #NES Game EVER!" which I made over a month ago.  So, here are both of them!  HIGH-SPEED IMAGERY, so be warned if you are sensitive about that.  Every box and title shot, too.
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Map Gab / Re: Sonic Advance - Sonic Colors Maps' sizes
« Last post by G.E.R. on April 27, 2024, 09:16:13 am »
Cyberstation in Sonic Superstars has an original size 257993x19962 pixels, it's 4 times more max jpg size.
It was necessary to remove half map to bottom area of the map image.
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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests
« Last post by JonLeung on April 26, 2024, 02:28:44 pm »
zagato blackfist comes through with yet another of my NES requests, this time for Culture Brain's Flying Warriors!

Culture Brain had some interesting marketing back in the day, like some text-heavy magazine spreads, and I remember this game having a 16-page comic in the first video game magazine I ever had, the December 1990 issue of GamePro (a month before I started subscribing to Nintendo Power).

Despite my fondness for this, I don't think I've ever actually finished the game - perhaps zagato blackfist's maps will be of help if I try again.  Personal interest aside, Culture Brain's stuff is underappreciated, so it's nice to have another game of theirs mapped.

Thanks again, zagato!

EDIT: Some more "Flying Warriors" trivia of sorts.  When I made my "One Minute of Music from EVERY NES Game" video, it initially got four copyright claims at the start.  They were all eventually dropped, but then I got one more... for the Flying Warriors tune that is heard at 3:34:00.  Interesting that of all the NES tunes, that would be the only one that is an issue.  It has no dire consequences for my video - it's a copyright claim, not a copyright strike - but it's still interesting.
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Map Requests / Re: Pokemon Ranger 2 and 3 Maps
« Last post by Cyartog959 on April 26, 2024, 06:38:19 am »
The names for the 2nd & 3rd Pokemon Ranger games you're looking for are called "Shadows of Almia" and "Guardian Signs".

Hello! I've been trying to search across the lands for the Pokemon Ranger Maps. Luckily, I stumbled across this Website and Found said maps! Though, I would love to have the maps of all 3 games with me, so is there anyone who is smart enough to rip the maps of the 2nd and 3rd games for me? I've tried to rip them from the games directly, but the games use zip-like folders within their roms.
Rip the map? I'm still not confident enough.
Don't think that you can't. Just build up your confidence, and, providing the necessary tools to rip them, you'll have the motivation to do it. They're all due to be seen in full, anyway.

I'm sure you can do it. Have faith.
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Map Gab / Sonic Advance - Sonic Colors Maps' sizes
« Last post by Cyartog959 on April 25, 2024, 11:23:19 am »
Those Sonic games have been great to have their maps seen, but playing through them is more enjoyable!

I've seen Sonic Advance's maps' sizes, and I was rather a bit disappointed to see them not larger/longer than Sonic 3 & Knuckles' maps, for any skilled player could, and many have, easily conquer them in less than minutes. Sure, they're all neat, but not truly long.

Then came Sonic Advance 2, and corrected the maps' length complaints people sent by having them six times larger, and I've seen how larger and longer they all have gotten! I was completely unsure how longer or shorter they could be, because their sizes weren't documented yet, but the former turned out true, and I loved the greater, longer length!

Even Egg Utopia Zone's Maps stand at their horizontal length range in the 30,000s, which not many games did... yet.

Sonic Rush went in, later on, and gave us the more longer Dead Line Zone, beating Egg Utopia's sizes by a more couple thousand pixels longer, nearing the 40,000 range, horizontally, that is.

Ok, Night Carnival, Act 2's length reached its greater length at about 41,948 pixels wide, but Dead Line Act 2 came close as the second longest level in the game.

Later again, Sonic Colors' DS version seemed to reach its longest level status yet. That would be Asteroid Coaster Act 2, reaching it at a whopping 44,256 pixels wide, and I see how its been a long ride, so to speak. Even speedrunners tried to conquer it as fast as they could, even going under 2 minutes & 30 seconds. Very impressive.

I previously thought any 2D game(not counting Metroidvanias in the mix) could try to top what size I hadn't seen yet, because they weren't documented yet, even Freedom Planet could've been that, but given the game was run on Clickteam's MMF2 engine, I strongly doubt their maps are close to that long size, cause that engine's size limit was at about 32,767, both horizontal and vertical(which didn't seem possible for lesser computers at that time, I can understand that).

So, I ask you this, even though some aren't fond of long levels, what is it you liked best about conquering them with what strategies used to do it?
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