A downloadable SC for Windows

Hiya!

STILL WIP (Work in Progress, only 65% done)!

Updated v0.80A D11.M03.Y2024

Saves SHOULD also be backwards compatible! 

From version 0.73 onwards you dont have to move savefiles from old version folder to new version folder. Sorry for that.

Story in short:

You are Simon a vampire slayer. After the last battle with dracula you failed to vanquish him for good. Now his minions are gathering his remains in order to bring their master back to life. Festering wounds caused by dracula have cursed your blood making you weaker and when night comes you powers are further diminished. Can you find draculas remains and destroy dracula before the curse withers your life away?

What is this game all about:

-It's semi free roam (aka semi open world)
-It's metroidvania game with light RPG elements

-You go around the land defeating bosses and gearing up

-Done in semi Nes(8-bit) to early pc style with "modern" effects and controls
-It's based on Simons Quest but I tried to do it better (fix known issues and prolly adding some new ones =D )

-Once finished will feature: Multiple endings, choices affect the story, time spent affects the story, new game +, etc, etc

-And its free of course

The game tries to fix all of the problems that I could think of from the original Simon's Quest. 

Adding additional features, bosses, minibosses, map, better menus, armors, new items, map, new enemies, new music, etc etc... 

Improved graphics made by me using the original style art as a base.

It also makes the game more modern metroidvania like, adding things that you are used to from those games.

Whats ready?
Well the full engine is done everything works as it should, items, physics, enemy ai, movement, etc.
Whats not ready?
Prolly about 30% of locations and their graphics,  less than half of the enemies and some minor things.


Update v0.80A D11.M03.Y2024

##fixes

-fixed saving crashing the game due to luck changes

-fixed certain enemy swing blinking in wrong direction at start


Update v0.80 D06.M03.Y2024

##story related

-added hints where to go next that ties in with the story

##location

-added several new areas

##enemies, npc and objects

-added 5 new enemies

-added new lights

-added new decor object 

##graphics and effects

-improved map graphics (it's a lot better now)

-improved jova town trees

-improved sky/cloud graphics

-improved intro graphics and some animations

-minor changes to  several locations 

-added new effect reflecting mirrors

-added new backgrounds 

-added several new tiles 

-added new background to aljiba

-added item box graphics in invetory

-added unknown location map marker

-added coin bag dropping in water effect

-added mist effect to an area 

##nefs/buffs/changes

-added item to enemy drop list

##codebase

-changed lighting code a bit to allow more adjustable lights

-added better loot tables and improved its coding

-luck now works and affects things such as loot tables (and there is one item that gives a bit of luck)

-added continue delay, so that respawn is not instant but still quick

##fixes

-fixed few light positions

-fixed some breakaway blocks having wrong color

-fixed missing portrait from intro

-fixed intro chat text swapping too fast

-fixed few non moving backgrounds

-fixed merman jumping out of water splash effect too high

-fixed jumping merman not facing player

-fixed not getting exp from killing a jumping merman

-fixed very rare case where map would not work

-fixed certain drop being deadly when it should not be (again)

-fixed few missing tiles

-fixed menu logo being over scanlines

Known Issues:

- (If you have Corsair keyboard the game might take a bit more time to start running. Corsair software could be interfering with GMS2 executables sometimes (found out very often unplugging the keyboard for a moment helps) TOPICLINK

Download

Download
Simons Curse.zip 29 MB
Download
Simons Curse.exe 42 MB

Install instructions

Zipped file. Unzip and should run just fine.

If the zipped file does not work try the .exe installer instead

Development log

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Comments

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I was in the aquifer area, where I believe the heart is located, and the game crashed when I reached a certain spot, preventing me from progressing through the level.

Alright I'll have to check that. Thanks for the info. I'll see if I can get it reccreated.

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I'm loving the amount of detail and care you're putting into this project! Thanks again. It's an honor to test this game!

It's been a minute! I gave .80 a try! Graphics tweaks look great! I had one small glitch where Simon got stuck and couldn't move. I'm sorry I didn't note where. Other than that, I have no concerns at this time. I'll report some as soon as I encounter any. Thanks again.

It's been a while. Thanks for testing. For some reason when compiling the game its sometimes messes up the collision boxes. Thats why you might get stuck or get hit with spikes that arent near. I think I made enough effort that spikes and noxious ponds wont bother anymore. But I have to look in to thats stuck thingy. I'm currently trying to finish a large patch to my game Monolith Tiermes that I made for the dungeon crawler jam. Once that is done I'll be right back to Simons Curse, currently just cant leave Monolith Tiermes to its current state. 

All good things are worth the nail-biting wait! Thanks again.

The creator named Warhammer has their games starting off with a disclaimer that their game is not-for-profit to cover themselves. They even had someone else upload their game and try to sell it. Fans saw this and notified Warhammer so they could stop it. Be careful.

All my projects so far have been non monetary not even donations are active (money I could certainly use). Never heard of Konami targeting non monetary fan games. They have always let fans be fans, atleast so far. But if they said I need to take this down I would take this down. Then I would use what I had done in engine and graphics and make a new game thats not a fan game. I would how ever put a small price to that game (3-5 dollars). I do have some cool plans for making a new metroidvania like game that more RPG and more darksouls like. Even now I have 2 commercial projects coming (dungeon crawler and a rogue like) but my main focus (90%+) is on this game. Once this is done then the focus shifts.

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I'll look for those games you're planning!

Want to ask something - I'd like to do a logo for my gaming channel that looks like the CastleVania 2 logo, but says "J.Q. Belmont's Gaming and Adventure Channel". Like have the "J.Q. Belmont's" part in the long pointy bar and the "Gaming and Adventures Channel" part below it. I would pay to have someone do up a PDF of that. If that's not possible, I totally understand.

I can check if I have time. But for you I would not dare to ask for any money. But I cant say for certain if I'll do it but I will seriously consider it.

I'd seriously be happy to pay for that. Thanks for considering!

I got to the Aldra area in .74. I still feel like I keep dipping a toe in the poison marshes and getting hurt when I shouldn't? The skeletons with plants of fungi growing on them are really neat!

Simon would also get stuck in the ceilings of the underground areas in the Sadam Woods.

Thanks for the info. Yeah I gotto check that out. I think the celing stuck might be because in certain state the hitbox is considered crouching. I should prolly change that to standing hitbox. I had not problem testing the noxious ponds anymore. Even with 2 pixel bridge going directly over them inside the pond sprite. But I will look into it. If it causes problems I must check it out.

I can do another video so you can see where things are happening. I was thinking maybe if Simon can "buy" extra lives somehow, that would be good. Maybe buy them from certain priests or merchants? And then once he has them, he always has them. The one life only set up, having to go back to a save point that's fairly far from where I was, is rough. Or install more save points maybe. Thanks again!

I will add more save points and I have been thinking about extra lives etc. But buying extra lives can turn into abuse by farming gold and faming is made semi easy as in the original. Next update will also have minor balance uppdate lowering some enemy damages, increasing exp gains and lowering some enemy hp. Thank you for informing me of things and vigorously testing/playing. I can only improve from critisism not from praises (thou praises make you feel better) =)

With .71, I've played up to the mausoleum area. Is the game set up so buying the chain whip isn't possible until after I make it through the mausoleum area? I like your idea of giving grumpy faces to the skeletons who throw their bones! The Day/Night effect working on the monsters in the mansions, etc., as well as outside is awesome! I'll be careful to pay attention to when I go in them! The sound effect for leveling up from VS is a nice touch but do what you need to there to keep things legal Smeagol. I'm working on getting guy who has a channel called FATALVISION to try this game. He's a big CastleVania guy himself. And I'd like to record myself playing the game as well here soon, if that's ok.

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Thanks again for the great feedback. You can buy the chain whip before but... This is a bit of a spoiler but the game has consequenses for some actions and not always to you. These consequenses and actions affect the ending of the game. Yeah wanted to keep the player balancing between losing time or going in at night when its harder. As in the original game time matters most to the ending after that come the consequenses of your actions, thou they are vaque in purpose hints are given for correct actions. The sound effect for leveling is actually made by Juhani Junkala, most of the sounds are made by him, thou that leveling effect sound might not be the most fitting. Also the improved leveling effect might change as it is a bit similar to when you get a status effect like poison or cursed. Sure it would be fun to watch some one else play the game. I love to watch videos of people playing castlevania games. Just watched HUNGRY GORIYA play castlevania games and have watched AVGN play trough the series several times. It was actually AVGN original first video about simons curse that inspired me to make this remake. As I had always loved Simons Quest thou acknowledging the mistakes in it as well. I wanted to try to make a remake that would make people see the game trough my eyes or how I felt the game was. EDIT: Also checked out Fatalvision and started watching his Simons Quest Redaction video. Good stuff.

Happy to help! Just noticed a glitch. I activated the shield and the game crashed on me. Thanks again.

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Aaa thanks for the info I'll try to fix it. Thou I might need a bit more info on how it happened so I can replicate it. Or it was just one time random even that just crashed. If it keeps repeating please let me know and if you can how it happened. But I will try to test it out my self if I can replicate it. Would not wonder if its a keyboard issue again. I tested keyboard controls poorly. My bad... Thanks for info!

It seems to happen when I use my Y button on my XBox 360 controller (it's not an official controller - VOYEE brand). I'm also running JoyToKey so I can use my left joystick to use as a second D-pad. Here's the message that pops up.

___________________________________________

############################################################################################

ERROR in

action number 1

of Other Event: Animation End

for object block_obj:

unable to convert string "left" to bool

at gml_Object_block_obj_Other_7

############################################################################################

gml_Object_block_obj_Other_7 (line -1)

Thanks for the info. It is now fixed. Download is availiable. I kinda new even thou I thought I tested this version very well there would be a lot of bugs. Thats what you get for improving code base.

It happens consistently

Fixed now =)

FATALVISION has two channels - the one with the blue robot logo and the one that is the black matrix background like an old Master System game. I think he's using the matrix channel at this point. Something he said about how the algorithm seems to have made it harder for his first channel to be found/discovered. He has a series called RandomVania where he's playing all the hacks he finds. I think he'll be another source of great input if he's on board for testing! There are a few other CV gamer creators and hackers that talk to him there as well! There's a great ContraVania styled game that has a long Japanese title that was made by another game maker that's pretty cool. It has a two-player co-op mode that's nice. He recently replayed that one if you want to see it

Yeah I watched videos on both of his channels. On the other he had metalgear as icon from snatcher a great sega cd game. I played that game two weeks ago.

My opinion and you're free to disregard it - have the throne whip do the leather whip sound from the original CV2 game. Or don't.

Intrigued to hop down some platforms that would lead to a blacksmith (I think) that I would buy a chain whip from, but when I tried to send down, the function didn't happen. It's the house where the woman tells me that her husband isn't at home.

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Double tap down to move downwards while on thin platforms.

Ok, thanks! I eventually figured out how to make Simon descend down on the thin platforms (that's what I was having trouble with). I still don't exactly understand if it's like a quick motion of going from the up point on the D-pad to the down point to cause Simon to descend, but eventually he went downward, and I was able to purchase that needed chain whip. Thanks again

AA thats what you meant. It's double tap down. Same as in Terraria. As if its just pressing down you cant crouch with while on the platforms. If its the usual Castlevania go down then its down + attack but that prevents coruching attacks on thin platforms. So I decided to go the Terraria way AKA double tap down quickly (press down twice fast). I might add a tutorial or help for the movemetns ETC at some point in the main menu. There are reason for all the movements. Mainly trough my frustration for castlevania game controls.

This is amazing, I only wish I didn't suck so badly at it so I could actually reach save points more often.

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Thanks for the comment. Dont worry its not that balanced yet. I will be making some parts harder and some easier once I hit the balancing update. I recommend getting holy water from the first town Jova. You have enough gold for it at start, it also does more damage than the leather whip (vampire killer) and does damage over time. Holy water can also reveal secret areas.

.65 is looking good! Your Dabi's path remake is really cool! Glad you found those 8-bit remixes of music from Super CV IV! One small glitch is a werewolf getting stuck when he jumps on the higher ground in the Jova Woods. Wow, great work!

Th music is not actually from super castlevania, all the music is made by optomon https://optovania.com/ . As in super castlevania the sounds are made with snes soundchip and they sound different compared to those made with nes soundchip. Also fun fact try to listen Famicon version of CV3 soundtrack then compare it to NES version soundtrack. Famicon version has extra channels and sounds a lot better. The werewolf has already been improved for next version, its not prefected but I made some additional collision checking and movement preventation towards walls. I'm reworking all the enemy movements but that is not done yet. Next version sadly wont be out this week, I have a lot of work to do. Next update is going to be huge. Lot of new areas, enemies, improvements like inventory is now a lot better, status efects, graphical improvements and bugfixes. Thanks again for your info and enjoyment!

Gave .61 a try! It's playing good so far! The stairs transitions are smoother and the arrow coming up from Simon is a nice touch! Difficulty balance is good! I like the thorn whip sprite! The new enemies at night are a nice touch while being challenging, as they should be! Does it still matter how many days it takes Simon to complete his journey? Small suggestion - have the crosses on the churches be Greek Orthodox crosses maybe? I think it fits better geographically with Romania's branch of Christianity. Or don't! Thanks again.

Thanks again for your help. I think the one in Veros has greek orthodox cross and the one in Jova has a cross that is also used by orthodox faith. But only the church in Veros currently has holy icons. Also if you ever get arround Fetra region and look around you will notice some romanian style cemetary crosses. I like to keep them bit more varied, But yeah, I can try to make them more. Thou have you noticed the crosses turn upside down at night due to draculas influense? Yes the time matters, also story events matter. There are several story events that are goign on in the background that you need to complete to get the perfect ending. They are a bit secret but not too much there are hints (I cant/wont spoil any). But I can tell you the game has a few secrets and tossing holywater arround sometimes might not be a bad idea. There are also few know bugs in the version you are playing, its possible to open multiple shops at once and if you go to belasco marsh the game will crash (I optimised some old sprites and removed a few but forgot one object still having a call for a sprite even thou it did not use it). Those are fixed already but I recommend avoiding those things for a while. Trying to get Aldra, the ferry man and few new enemies finished for next week. If I have time maybe npc portraits.

I did notice the upside-down crosses! Very cool that you're able to include so many details. I'll keep playing. Thanks again!

Sorry it's been a minute since I played this! Will get back on it ASAP! Thanks again for all your hard work

You have nothing to apologize. You dont need to test it. But I do appreciate it, thank you =)

Here's a few glitches that I noticed while playing .53 version:

- Wolf froze in the middle of his jump in the Jova Woods. It worked in my favor (lol) making it easier to slay him, but he should have probably just started walking back towards me. 

- had a glitch while going down stairs. Simon got stuck after slowly floating down a bit. I had to restart the game, which wasn't a problem. I just went to the menu and selected "quit".

- While getting around in Jova (the town), I pressed the jump button while getting ready to go up some stairs and Simon launched into the sky! He got stuck there and wouldn't come down, so I quit the game and started over.

+ some pluses!! I really like the detailing in the sprite animations, the death animations of monsters, the parallax movements of of backgrounds using the 8-bit original stuff, like, for example, the mountains. Hit detection is well placed! The wolves can be a little tricky if I'm not careful while slaying them! And that is fine with me! That's a fair challenge in my opinion and an improvement as well. I like the Day/Night transitions, with the changes in brightness and darkness. Well done! I appreciate the names of locations being displayed in the top right corner of the screen! The save process in the churches is excellent! Quick and easy! The tweaking of the sprites looks are fantastic! Thank you again for your efforts!

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Thanks! I might need to rethink stair locking like in the old games. But for now I'll fix the problems if I can replicate and find them. If you were hitting the werewolf it should hover while you hit it like in old games you hit enemies they stay in the air for a moment when hit, else i need to do some research on why that happened. Also going to add harder werewolfs along the way with modern castlevania moves like jump slam impact moves and maybe more agility. Good info, it seems I might need to swap stairs for modern style stair movement handled like slopes.

EDIT: FIXED the stairs problem. Now on entering stairs sets any possible jumping motion or gravity motion to 0. Incase player manages to enter the stairs somehow before game realises the player is jumping and allows stair access with vertical motion.

Ok! Glad I could help! Just curious - do you know what Optomon is up to these days? I think his racoon game was his last project. I wonder if he's aware of the NESMaker program.

We only exchanged few email regarding the use of his music for this project and I did follow his Rollie progress on kickstarter. But haven't really heard of him since. I cant really make music my self so I rely on others for their permissions, did make one commission for a rogue like game thats still in the works but frozen for the moment (like prolly 50 other games). That game might be first game I will try to sell, thou for a very cheap price. Even that engine is completely done. Creating graphics hinders my game dev progress as I'm not good at it. 

This is a really great looking remake of this game! I hope you're able to finish it!

Thanks, I hope so too! Yeah its been a long process. I started it somewhere arround 2010. Even had to remake my remake once already. Most of the time goes in drawing and level design (I'm a poor level designer). Currently thou its been on a a break for a while (about a year). I needed a side project to clear my head and get more inspiration. That side project thou is almost done and will be uploaded here prolly even this year. Was supposed to be released already but I have been sick.

Good things are worth the wait! And I get needing to give projects space! I find that helps with song writing as well. Thanks again and thanks for responding!

No problem mate. I like answering. Now uploading the other game I made as side project that I mentioned. Nothing special or too interesting, but was fun and quick to make.

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As soon as my renovation to my room is done, I'll do all I csn to help with testing the game. Very cool to help with a 'Vania game and keep the mania rolling! Maybe go with AWHIP (A Work Hard In Progress)?

Thanks. I appreciate any testing and feedback help. Next I need to do Fetra and its nearby areas. Then maybe Carmilla mansion, done some of the graphics and enemies for it already and planned the boss.