Messages

1

VGMaps Social Board / Re: External site using VGMaps content?

« on: Yesterday at 10:19:59 pm »

Jon also pointed this out to me a few years ago and asked me if I knew anything about it. I told him I had no idea they were hosting my maps until he brought it up.

"Better VGMaps" has never contacted me by any means to ask permission to host my maps.

I would not have given them my permission to host my maps on their clone site if they had asked me.

Better VGMaps is hosting my maps without my consent.

It is unfortunate, but as FlyingArmor says, there is very little we can do about it. We can play a game of Whack-A-Mole with that site, and just watch it pop back up on different hosts each time it gets knocked down, but that seems like a waste of effort. I'm just going to do my part to tell people about the real VGMaps, and if they ask me about the plagiarized site i'll just tell them the truth about it...

Seemingly, for the present, but one day, that will be stopped... One day...

You got a great task ahead, alongside your usual mapping routine, and you have my support!    Give the good word of VGMaps, and wisen up those people.

Remember, we're with you all the way!

2

VGMaps Social Board / Re: External site using VGMaps content?

« on: Yesterday at 10:11:32 pm »

Oh yes, some of us are very familiar with that website. Yes, it's unauthorized and no one was asked beforehand to have any of our maps put up there.

I think Jon brought it to my attention about two years ago, since so many of my maps were present over there. I eventually e-mailed whoever owns that site to have my maps taken down, but I just got an AI response asking for all my real world details to determine whether I was the "legitimate copyright holder". Obviously I wasn't gonna give all that away to who knows who (especially someone hiding behind a clanker), so while unfortunate, we just have to live with that website existing.

But I have the hope that most people who happen to find their way there would see through the highly polished facade it puts up and recognize that the true source of the content comes from this place (which has been around FAR longer), complete with its human, hand coded jankiness.

You got the heart to stand your ground, bud. And it's very noble you did.

We can sure hope, but we should also pray for people to wise up to all that and for that facade to stop someday, too.

It's charm. Human, hand-coded charm that tethers our hearts so warmly. Never forget that. 

3

VGMaps Social Board / Dangerously a Rip-Off of VGMaps.com!

« on: Yesterday at 08:47:27 am »

Hello people!

I recently came across this website that claims to be a [url]"better VGMaps"[/https://vgmaps.de]

Despite the ".de" domain, the site is in Brazilian Portuguese (with some pages in English), and it looks like it was created with AI and populated by web-scraping maps from VGMaps. It seems to host the same maps found here, though it’s missing newer submissions. For example, my own maps, from May 2025 onward, aren’t present.

They even have a "Scoreboard" listing the top mappers (which, admittedly, is a fun idea 😄), and a News section with posts like [url]"Better VGMaps expands its online presence"[/https://vgmaps.de/news/better-vgmaps-expands-online-presence.php]

Has this come up before?
Does anyone here, or Jon, know about them? Did they contact VGMaps at any point?
Do you know if this is authorized or otherwise legitimate?

I just wanted to flag it and check with the community before jumping to any conclusions.

Thanks!

Sallin

Such a site that claims to be the so-called, self-proclaimed, "Better VGMaps" is obviously begging for, and obviously is, in my purview, plagiarism against the original creator behind the true VGMaps, the mappers, and its perpetual cause without proper authorization, let alone proper permission from said creator. I immediately consider it a fake site.

If they never contacted VGMaps nor its staff before, its definitely not a complete associate of VGMaps. Human made content is what truly matters to VGMaps. Web-scraping from the likes of plagiarists, especially non-human bots(which should not be counted as real mappers, to know), is definitely considered an offense. And, it definitely goes against preservation and can probably hold dangerous malware against unsuspecting people(an obvious probability, to be sure).

Nobody did bring it up... but such plagiarizing against VGMaps cannot go unnoticed. It should be halted at once.

Jon, hope you're here to read this, because this matter is urgent.

The scoreboard, however, does sound like a neat addition for VGMaps(can't even believe no one thought of it before). May even create some good competition. That may need to be taken up to Jon for actual consideration.

To everyone else out there, even Sallin, watch yourself for sketchy, unauthorized knock-offs. They can be very dangerous.

4

Gaming / Re: Mega Man: Dual Override announced at The Game Awards 2025

« on: December 12, 2025, 01:06:05 am »

OK...

I got very little idea about that installment and its story in Mega Man's classic series, but, I'm presuming it resumes what Mega Man 11 did, in terms of gameplay and style, but I don't know of what replacement serves to do away with the Double Gear System or otherwise.

Felt relieved that Capcom went on with a new installment after almost too long. Shouldn't have taken almost that long to make a new installment in any of their Mega Man series, anyway. I felt their constant indecision and stagnation in game development is harming their Mega Man brand. I mean, they did focus on other games, but still.

I felt the installment, while being no doubt the 13th in the long line(yes, I didn't forget "Mega Man & Bass"), isn't numbered as with every game, but with its subtitle, like how they were named in Japan for distinction.

I mean, I've been fine with numerical sequels, but I wonder how it stands out from the previous, even though its the 13th game. It is said to be equivalent to a possible "Mega Man 12", which is what a lot of us usually expect there, so I'm thinking it may be set before that but following on Mega Man 11's events.

If its stages are longer than 11's, which I think they may be, better prepare your endurances, people.

And, once again, Dr. Wily's set to be the main villain, still sporting his outfit from 11. His other outfit from 8 and Mega Man & Bass really made him look more villainous. Still liked it. Wonder what's he's up to again, this time?

I also felt more select past enemies are already set to return, with another model name slapped on it for distinction, that I also expected, such as the always returning Metalls, Wall Blasters, and the Tellys, but there's also bound to be more new enemies, too.

The 2.5D blueprint from 11 also comes back, too, under what I think is maybe a different game engine, likely RE Engine(Reach for the Moon Engine, to be precise), rather than MT Framework Mega Man 11 used.

I don't mind 2.5D as a blueprint in any game, but, honestly, it still never hurts for Capcom to try to return to doing 2D pixel art games and go Hi-Bit, rather than, well, adhere too close to the former restraints of past consoles. I can understand how Koji Oda, who was with Capcom at the time, felt staying too close to those limitations, after Mega Man 9 and 10 returned to those roots from past NES games, which were already fun, would be troublesome, but they need to be more open to returning to that medium, as other game dev teams that have been pursuing their needs for reliving that aesthetic. And, we do have chiptune trackers, like FamiTracker and Furnace, which breathes lots of life in chiptuning beyond restrictions of sound chip utilization, to close up that void.

That's what I still feel in my mind and heart, anyway.

What I'm also amazed is that after a very long time, another new boss design contest has been announced, but this time, Capcom's provided participants with a base model(almost like how Mega Man 8 did with base models that time) with a long suction hose as its right arm, said to be a giant suction arm, so I'm willing to guess plenty of participants are going to throw in crazy ideas about their arm-mounted weapons.

Jon, thanks for letting us know, but I ask you this, what entry would you design for that contest if you want to partake in it? Hope you're up to stemming plenty of inspiration and fuel your artistry skills for this contest! And, have a good time with it!

5

Gaming / Re: Crater, a Sokoban clone for MS-DOS

« on: December 10, 2025, 06:22:42 pm »

At long last, Crater is finally finished!

Download link: Crater VGA Version 1.0

After over two years of working on and off on this thing, I'm so happy it's done and I can move on to my next game project.

I hope anyone who's interested in my humble rendition of a classic puzzle game enjoys their time with it. 

Well, good for you, and congratulations on finishing your project! I'm sure it'll be a nice game anyone can enjoy!

What I'd think of actually enjoying is a good spiritual continuation of one of my favorite longtime past games, "Treasure Cove!", but with more original, longer and larger stages, far less repetitive grinding, bosses to face, maybe a good bonus stage or two, additional side content, and great replay value.

I mean, the gameplay formula was really good, even though its mostly about learning oceanography for young children, yes, but getting to search for gems and acquire treasure to explore the ship farther and farther by one room, despite the long grind to get a lot, that's more of what I enjoy in that game's formula. Hope it gets picked up again and made into its own better spin.

I'm not sure if you remember that game, but, I'm just saying. Maybe that could be jotted down as potential ideas drafted for your later projects.

I mean, I do love good classics and 2D platformers, but there's certain bits in my heart that have left voids time to time, craving for some more.

Anyway, good luck with your later projects!

6

Mapping Tips/Guides / Any Tools for Viewing Clickteam engine's Maps in Tiled?

« on: December 06, 2025, 09:08:41 pm »

I'm having this question in my mind, how can anyone see any game's maps made through Clickteam Fusion and prior versions with what tools to use?

I have no idea about their sizes, even the more recognizable games, like Freedom Planet, Aggleos, and Spark the Electric Jester. They're still yet to be documented.

Anyone with prior experience with them, any answers? I'm asking.

7

Maps In Progress / Tileset Curiousities

« on: November 29, 2025, 06:35:36 am »

A little curious about this, but, how come the background layers count as tiles themselves as the foregrounds' tiles are, and why are they're in a tileset as if they're part of one, anyway? Weren't they sorta separate from each other?

Well, I've seen tilesets being made time to time, but the foreground and background tiles being part of one whole tileset rather than being in their own tilesets, even if a stage does have many background layers, is what I've yet to really understand. How does it suit well for optimization in developing stages' maps, anyway?

Anyone with knowledge and experience, please answer this.

8

Gaming / Starbuster, by Strange Matter

« on: November 28, 2025, 01:21:13 am »

So, I went and found a rather promising action-packed indie game, made by Strange Matter, consisting of, I think so far, PrototypeTheta, taking place in its own galaxy, and its home planet to two playable characters, Alpha, the latest creation from the antagonistic organization, Grey Imperium, and Cassie, a salamander-like alien with her right arm somehow lost in a dangerous infliction from her past and replaced with a cybernetic arm that turns into a multi-purpose, weaponized tool of her liking.

...I'll be honest, the details of its story are, so far, scarce, but, the overall goal seems to be clear; trek through numerous stages with Alpha and Cassie, tear through numerous robotic legions of Grey Imperium, find and collect numerous weapon mods, along with secrets, avoid many hazards and overcome challenges and obstacles, and, what else, fight numerous bosses to get to the goal.

Though each character does have their own perspectives, along with their strengths and weaknesses, they'll no doubt travel through much  of the same stages, but they'll have to go to their own stages at particular points in the story, example being, they have their own intro stages.

Did I forget mention this before? The stages in Starbuster are going to be huge, perhaps even more than Freedom Planet 2's stages, and whatever 2D Sonic game that held the longest/largest map yet. Should the game get launched(hopefully sometime soon), let's hope the mappers can handle doing its maps.

The inspirations of the game's development are surely from Mega Man Zero, Sonic Advance, the novel series, The Culture, and, moreover Freedom Planet 1 and 2.

The game's got a demo, and it's available for anyone to play and try the game. I'll leave a link for it here for anyone to give it a try - https://strange-matter.itch.io/starbuster

I have to say, the pixel art is GORGEOUS!

There's a Twitter/X account about the game, and, so far, the deliverance of sneak peeks are amazing, and neat to watch. Here's its link if anyone wants to go give a talk - https://x.com/Starbuster_Game

There's a few preview clips, too. I have about one featuring Cassie grinding and fighting against a massive robot as a boss fight to a stage. If you pay attention to the video's bottom-left corner, there's a distance indicator showing how far Cassie's grinding to, well... you know what and where, exactly.

Here - https://x.com/Starbuster_Game/status/1665010449417658370#m

Drop on by to chat. I hope we hear some details in the story soon enough.

And another featuring a clip collection, including those that have new stages made so far. Video link is here - https://x.com/Starbuster_Game/status/1984666209283887118#m

I must say, with each few new stages seen in more clips, makes the anticipation to play the game all the more thrilling! Even their pixel art scenery's getting more gorgeous every time.

Hope the game gets ported to consoles soon, once its launched on PC.

And, I also hope we get some story insights from Strange Matter... really.

Give the demo a try, and see how well you could go along with others.

9

Maps In Progress / Re: Shovel Knight (PC)

« on: November 26, 2025, 06:31:28 am »

I will be planning to finish mapping out shovel of hope but it will probably take me while because i still have school, and thank you for the tip cyratog, will keep that in mind

No problem. I look forward to more. Even with school, it takes great focus to document the maps. However amount of maps you can do in a day, its in your hands. Keep writing reminders now and then, too.

And, don't worry. Working alongside Tiled will take some getting used to.

10

Maps In Progress / Someone's Resumed Mapping Shovel Knight! :)

« on: November 23, 2025, 02:43:00 am »

Well, it seems someone's already began to resume work where TerraEsperZ left off, and it turns out that, aside from others waiting, I won't have to be disappointed about this at all.

I took a look at the game's maps, and found that a mapper, David Tait, has mapped Pridemoor Keep, King Knight's stage, and has been added to the Atlas' PC page.

I'm more relieved there's someone able to contribute to this, but more happy to see more of the game's maps documented! And, as always, it still helps for those still trying to find all their secrets hidden.

David Tait, if you're around, I commend you for tending to that task! Plenty ahead, yes, but, I'm looking forward to seeing more!

Small time-saver advice: Shovel Knight's stages are made with Tiled, the map editor. It's pretty much evidential when you go to its website. If it helps, use it to cut down on trying to document the stages' maps by using their tilesets without needing to use the backgrounds to occupy them, unless its for decoration. After all, the background layers aren't entirely static like numerous NES games; they're free roaming. Give it a try, if you want.

11

Mapping Tips/Guides / What Tools to use for ripping Inti Creates' game maps?

« on: November 21, 2025, 11:33:47 pm »

I have no idea, but if anyone has any input, what are the key tools/programs needed to do maps made from Inti Creates' games to document on?

So far, they're known for their original games, like the "Azure Striker Gunvolt" series, "Mega Man Zero", "Mega Man 9" and "Mega Man 10" and the "Blaster Master Zero" trilogy, but after many games, my curious mind got me thinking lately, "Why haven't their game's maps been documented yet?".

The thing is, while Inti Creates' 2D games are enjoyable, there's still some lingering confusion to how long their stages are, what hidden secrets to uncover, and what paths to take in certain stages that can be confusing, like False Zonda's(GV2 explains why later on) stage, "Sinner's Row", in "GV1", where certain mirror panels are touched to progress, sections of the intermission stage has been flipped upside down to create disorientation to anyone's perspective before facing the actual boss, Copen, for the first time.

I can pretty much tell from sight that the Gunvolt games' tilesets are entirely Photoshop made, rather than handmade pixel art, although the characters themselves are made and animated through it in-game.

Inti Creates' games are all made through their own in-house engines, one of which is called, well, "Inti Creates Engine"(I.C.E.; yeah, yeah, a pun.), the second, "Imperial Engine", used for other games, like "Gunvolt 3", and the third, is used for "Luminous Avenger iX 2".

If, by chance, no compatible tools are present, maybe somebody can make some to streamline the process.

Hope there's good recommendations for anyone to get into documenting them soon.

12

Message Board Help / Re: help with submitting

« on: November 21, 2025, 11:08:34 pm »

It's found directly at VGMaps' home page. You can see it on the left side, called "Contribute". Its synonym follows the same as, well, "Submit".

13

Map Requests / Freedom Planet 1 & 2 Stage Structure Comparisons

« on: November 18, 2025, 03:46:23 am »

A little food for thought on this, but...

Well, albeit centered on the game's structures to stages, I already know that Freedom Planet was modeled after Sonic the Hedgehog 3's structure, with each Zone made into 2 Acts, it was modified to be continuous, rather than doing Act clear tallies after defeating the end-Act miniboss and major boss in each Zone, but the notable difference between that game and Sonic 3 is, unlike the latter, the former's stages have their melded Acts continue seamlessly moreso than Sonic 3's act-to-act transition process, and they have their own numbers of sections/areas that harbor large maps at their time, but some people that played through them, prior to, well, many past Sonic stage's maps being far more longer/larger than their previous(not even surpassing Asteroid Coaster Act 2's length from Sonic Colors DS), and even Freedom Planet's(in map size, that is), complained about their length and how long it took them to complete.

Me, I handled them very well after playing them over and over. And, I took a little thought about their maps' length for each stage, aside from their amounts, many were kinda long horizontally, for very little, vertically, and I figured they'd be about within or slightly above the 10,000s range, and given how speedy anyone can be for speedrunning stages, it mostly takes about a minute or so for them to reach the exit point of each stage's map, and continue on to the next from their start point, and etc. until they reach the end-stage major boss.

Freedom Planet 2's stage structure, on the other hand, does away with the former, and has only each stage made into a single, albeit still continuous in its own matter, and oftentimes, larger map, and escalated their size range beyond 10,000s... well, for stages that are mostly horizontal, anyway. And, given their larger tilesets, I've no idea how much longer that made their stages' maps in size.

It did, though, include some emphasis on exploration and lateral traversal for the lengthy, quite expansive stages, but the overall goal is more or less the same, reach the stage's end and defeat the boss. And, most only lay on the regular "Point A to Point B" goal, but not all stages simply focus on, well, running to the right all the time... not that it gets too tedious or anything, don't get me wrong. The only thing is, the mid-stage and end-act minibosses aren't in most stages the former had, and given that they're not made into 2 Acts like FP1, they don't signify the immediate, seamless act-to-act transition trigger procedures after defeating them.

Their stage design may differ, but harboring larger level maps remains the same.

Also, Spark the Electric Jester did harbor stage maps that are indeed larger and longer than Freedom Planet's; their own maps are indeed continuous on their own, but their map amounts are fewer than the former, and more than one miniboss are present, and given it was made in Clickteam Fusion, like the former, reaching the exit point in each stage's map, for those that have more than one map, until being able to get to the end-stage major boss still remains the same. And, given the fatigue some people actually felt while playing through them, it was rather justifiable, but they only need to build endurance to truly handle it.

It's understandable to say that people have their own feelings of handling long and/or large stages in games, but their ability to build up their endurance is surely to be noted and acknowledged.

My question, I ask you mappers out there, is this, if such a game as these does continue with longer/larger maps, even with section/area amounts in them, would they be able to handle them without complaining much? I'd build up more endurance for it if I need to.

14

Gaming / Heads-up! New Barcode Battler Card Game!

« on: November 09, 2025, 03:17:44 pm »

I just happened to come across a rather neat new card game and set on the way to the Barcode Battler II, and I read it's Tanukii Studios, who approached Epoch Co., inventor behind Barcode Battler and Barcode Battler II, making that game.

The new card game set's called "Riot Gunheads - Hyper World Injustice Fighters"!

I just took a moment to think this, if you're reading... You're probably thinking these questions in your heads, "What is Barcode Battler?", "What card games does it have?", "Do we even know how to play it?", alongside a few other questions.

Well, perhaps for those that don't know(or even remember if you've not played it in a very long time), it's time to give you a crash course.

Barcode Battler is a handheld game console that works very uniquely compared to other handhelds, like Game Boy, Game Gear, or even DS. While the controls are different, the system does have card sets sold at retail, comprising of players, but they also comprise of enemies, power-ups, even bosses.

The first model only had stats appear on-screen, for players seeking to battle against each other with their own playable warriors of their choice.

All anybody has to do, upon finding said cards in sets, is to scan by swiping them on its scanner while playing their barcode games in order to progress in their own adventures and face dangerous threats standing in their way.

The first model, unfortunately, while popular in Japan, didn't had actual graphics, sounds, and controls of its own, and its quickly forgotten by people...

Later, Barcode Battler II came along, and improved lot from the first model, to deliver better enhanced functionality to that handheld, including having single player mode. That model also gave way to link up with the Famicom and Super Famicom via an adapter, and allowed them to play games using the handheld's card battle system mechanics(too bad other regions' versions, like NES, didn't receive it), thanks to Epoch's partnership with Nintendo. It also brought up created card sets based on Nintendo's IPs, like, Super Mario and Zelda, along with other games based on T.V. IPs, like, Spider-Man, for instance.

No other new Barcode Battler game was made after '95... until now.

Tanukii Studios' hand in reviving the Barcode Battler itself could pave for later new games and card sets... but of course, their success may also well lead to the rise of Barcode Battler III, a more better model that pars very well to other stronger gaming handhelds(not counting mobile phones) and improved connectivity for multiplayer.

There's an interview done by Time Extension featuring Epoch Co. and Webb himself. You can take a read at that with this link I've left for you here - https://www.timeextension.com/features/we-live-in-an-age-where-even-bubsy-can-make-a-comeback-meet-the-developers-trying-to-resurrect-the-barcode-battler

There's another card game set coming up, called "Woggle Ball '94 SuperSports Cards", but I'm not certain its Barcode Battler material. Still, its fun for anybody to try.

So, with that history trip done, I ask you this, would you give Barcode Battler a try? And, what cards would you collect?

Anyone around in here, would you please take some time to support Tanukii Studios' latest card games when they come out? It'd be neat to see some people get into the Barcode battling games once more. Hope you'll get your sets soon!

15

VGMaps Social Board / If "Sonic: Mega Drive" gets adapted as a real game, would you play it?

« on: November 07, 2025, 11:18:08 am »

I can honestly admit, when Archie Comics had the Sonic license for comics, and after it got a severe continuity redoing(don't ask, but some that heard of what happened behind the scenes might know that rough story), I've heard of an original Classic Sonic adventure that commemorates Sonic's 25th anniversary, not throwing Sonic Mania in it to count, "Sonic: Mega Drive".

Yes, it is obviously references to the first game and the console's name outside of America, but what's beneath that adventure's name is its actual originality of its contents.

That adventure featured an all-new setting, Eastwatch Islands, and had actual original Zones Sonic and his friends traversed through, and had its story centered on Dr. Robotnik's next world conquering effort; finding and harnessing all the Ancient Gears to power his most powerful creation, the titular Mega Drive itself, deploying his newest batch of Badniks and Super Badniks to try and stop Sonic again.

I only watched it through online YouTube videos, but I gotta say, it was brilliant! Sonic and his friends trashing more Badniks at every corner, outwitting the mad scientist from one Zone after another, and collecting the Ancient Gears to stop his plans was great... however, Metal Sonic ambushed them and stole these gears and delivered them to Robotnik at his deep sea base, and the twist was that after Sonic gave the 6th Ancient Gear he held, Metal Sonic REALLY had the 7th Ancient Gear installed in him all along as his latest opportunity for a revenge rematch, which ended in another loss for Metal Sonic, but I never got to see him actually unleash that gear's full power for his once-looming final fight in Robotnik's deep sea base.

In my mind, I imagined Metal Sonic undergoing a new, original transformation into a more larger, far more faster form of himself, fittingly called "Overdrive Metal Sonic"(and, no, its not meant to be deriving from Metal Sonic Kai from "Knuckles' Chaotix", an actual new form), with loads of all-new attacks and powers, but he'd still get defeated and finally lose that last gear, only to get plugged into Robotnik's Mega Drive in the actual final battle we never got to see. I really enjoyed seeing Robotnik's latest well-armed aerial fortress, said to be not quite sleek as Wing Fortress, but bigger than Flying Battery.

What I could still imagine in Robotnik's deep sea base we could've seen in the finale, it would've been quite massive(mainly to me, massive that 2 Acts, not even 3 Acts could be considered enough for it; I'm thinking 4 super-huge Acts), and it would have had a new collective group of robots more powerful than Super Badniks Robotnik created to protect that base before confronting him again. I mean, he does build great bases Sonic and his friends came by to destroy, but he could still learn and fortify his strongholds quite more.

That celebratory mini-series had 2 issues made, but sadly, the 3rd issue meant to conclude it never got launched after Archie cut ties with Sega and lost that license. I felt great disappointment in my heart there and then, as others have. Never even got to see the potential all-new Special Stages, too.

However, I do have strong hopes of that adventure getting revived and potentially adapted as another 2D Sonic game... but, I think it might be better suited as part of a NEW Sonic anthology game, likely in the veins of Kirby's own anthology game, "Super Star", and its DS remake, "Super Star Ultra". By the meaning of its veins, I meant only the blueprint of an actual anthology game. Not sure if we have more anthologies outside of Kirby so far...

I didn't even think of Sonic having an actual anthology game consisting of only all-new adventures before, honestly... but the possibilities are intriguing.

And, had Sonic 4's 3rd episode not been cancelled, I can collectively count that we'd have about over six times Knuckles had been tricked by Robotnik, rather than four(TailsTube's 5th episode missed that count by one, "Sonic Advance 2").

I did enjoy Sonic Mania that brought back the original pixel art aesthetic, but I still feel more new Classic Sonic adventures should still continue that aesthetic on, and they really don't have to adhere to the Genesis' tech limits, even for parallax background layers.

So, I ask you this, if "Sonic: Mega Drive" gets adapted as a game, or as part of an anthology game for Sonic, would you play it? I would, and it would be one of the more brilliant Classic Sonic adventures yet!