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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | Official Update Thread

OmegaDL50

OmegaDL50

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 25, 2017
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Synth_Synapses said:
I really hope that the game can turn out good, and not another Mn9, but looking at the development some fears have started to creep up for me. I hope I'm wrong.
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If you played the Beta backer build you would know this isn't remotely the case.

Daitokuji said:
I can almost guarantee that any of the critically acclaimed Metroidvanias released in the last few years like Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, etc. will end up being way better than this. It just seems like Iga is resting on his laurels and rehashing his earlier stuff, whereas different devs have new ideas and are making fresh games in the genre.
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What is exactly being rehashed here? There is no assets, character design, levels, or music being carried over from any of IGA's previous work. Everything was done entirely from the ground up. It's not like IGA could reuse stuff like he did with SOTN for obvious reasons.

In terms of controls and feel it's plays closest to SOTN, and for the initial pitch for this project that is exactly what backers expected out of this. If anything folks would be far more likely to be disappointed in terms of gameplay the game isn't remotely similar to SOTN, and based on the playable backer builds, this has not been the case.

Backers wanted another IGAvania game and we getting exactly that in terms of gameplay where it counts. That is what IGA promised with his initial pitch and all signs show that is exactly what we are getting.

There are some folks will have issue with some of the aesthetics of the game preferring all hand drawn 2D as opposed to 3D, but that is another matter but in regards to gameplay in terms of actual feel and controls there is little to be disappointed about. For an unfinished beta, the Bloodstained demo is by far a superior game compared to the finished result that Mn9 turned out to be.
 
StarCreator

StarCreator

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Oct 25, 2017
4,853
Synth_Synapses said:
They just cancelled two versions and had to bring in outside help. I wouldn't say smooth sailing either. I don't think it's going to be Mn9 level of fiasco, and I don't bring up Mn9 normally. The similarities are making me do the link though (huge revered japanese dev of original classic goes to kickstarter to make a spiritual successor of said game with a new small dev team and the kickstarter is carried through his name most of all, not on the strength of what was shown. Then there's the 3d/2d mix, etc...)
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I backed both, and frankly the level of transparency Bloodstained's development team have been operating under is a night and day difference. I ended up basically forgetting MN9 existed for a while updates from that development were so sparse, but Bloodstained's monthly briefings and multiple playable demos for backers have kept me engaged the entire time.
 
OP
OP
Zonar

Zonar

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Oct 25, 2017
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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night/posts/2400501

Development Update - Crafting Shards and Squashing Bugs
Posted by Koji Igarashi (Creator)

January has almost come to a close, so it's time for an updated look at the team's progress! Here's the latest from IGA:
Hello everyone! IGA here.
We would like to talk about the shard-crafting system. We've discussed the crafting element of Bloodstained in the past, and I'm sure everyone knows about item crafting and the shard rank-up system from the Beta Backer Demo.
However, in addition to all those… you can actually create new shards from crafting!
Let's begin with an example. Riga Storaema is a Conjure Shard — these were formerly known as Trigger Shards — that conjures fire columns.
Rigo Storaema
If you upgrade this shard, you'll be able to create a new Directional Shard called Riga Dohin.
Using an existing shard and materials to create a new shard. (You can keep your old one, too!)
(As a side note, the Riga Storaema shard you used as a base will not disappear after you've created a new shard; instead, the item used with the shard will disappear. In other words, the item acts as a catalyst to create a newly enhanced ability from the existing ability. So you get to use your favorite shard to create new ones without losing it. I think it's a pretty good deal!)
Voila! Riga Dohin.
Our current phase of development has been fixing bugs, bugs, and bugs... There was a particular bug that caused lighting to weigh heavily on system resources which is now gone. With that solved, we can now be more flexible with lighting, which we're improving on a daily basis. We're all working hard to deliver a solid game to everyone.
We're still going strong. Thank you for your support!


Have some fanart you'd like to see featured in a future Bloodstained backer update? Tag it #IGAVANIA or #bloodstained on your platform of choice and we'll do our best to find it!
Rock Cr
大作@warthecheese
伯
Hey, all!
We hope you are excited for this reveal of shard crafting. Being able to gather the materials and develop additional shards (without losing your existing ones) will add greatly to your arsenal.
Between item crafting, upgrading shards and now being able to craft new shards (and upgrading those too), you'll be able to choose the loadout that is just right for you and the enemies you'll be facing. Managing your weapons, items and shards will be important as you get deeper into the game.
The screenshots above are from the current build of the game. This is just a small taste of some of the visual work that has been happening behind the scenes over the last few months. We will delve into the visual changes in a future development update.
We appreciate your patience as the teams from Artplay, WayForward and DICO are continuing their work on the game and we march towards our 2019 launch.
Jason Ryan, a.k.a. "Question"
Sr Community Manager – 505 Games
 
StarCreator

StarCreator

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Oct 25, 2017
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AztecComplex said:
You must've hated the feel of Castlevania SotN since Alucard and Myriam control exactly the same. There are comparisons online where you can see they both move exactly the same speeds.
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I think the animations play a bigger role in how people perceive the movement than people think - SotN's limited number of animation frames vs Bloodstained's much more fluid animations affects how it looks and feels a lot.
 
ShinJohnpv

ShinJohnpv

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Oct 25, 2017
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What works in 2D animation doesn't always work in 3D. What can feel right and good in 2D can feel floaty and slow in 3D. You can't just copy it, and you can't just say well this exact stuff worked in SoTN so it must work here too. It just doesn't work that way.
 
Mewzard

Mewzard

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Feb 4, 2018
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So yeah, the Nintendo Direct confirmed Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is coming Summer 2019. That's awesome.
 

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I think it looked awesome in that Nintendo Direct. I can't wait to get my hands on it. I have a physical edition for PS4 and Switch coming. Can't overstate my excitement for this one!
 
JCal

JCal

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Fantastic news. There are still some presentation issues, but the gameplay looked amazing. Still one of my most anticipated games.
 
Dangerblade

Dangerblade

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Oct 25, 2017
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Official boxart

52063658_1660335334112182_6059378382758477824_n.jpg
 
Ryuhza

Ryuhza

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Oct 25, 2017
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Sweet, I can't wait.

I think my main issue with the graphics/presentation at this point is how busy the backgrounds look. I found it hard to find my focus in any given scene.
 
OmegaDL50

OmegaDL50

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So apparently on the Kickstarter page, since I hadn't peaked in awhile, a number of backers seem pissed they didn't get the release window announcement first, and that Nintendo did.

Personally? I'm okay with it. Having it announced on the Direct allows for more exposure to people who may have not been aware of the project. Plus, like they did post it up pretty quickly on the Kickstarter page (within an hour of the Direct) after it was announced there. So I see no issue for it.

Odd curious note: Apparently the Japanese footage on the Direct had the Switch buttons (except one shot), while the English one had the Xbox Button prompts. So not sure how much of the footage was running on actual hardware or not...
 
DrROBschiz

DrROBschiz

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Oct 25, 2017
16,477
Apeach said:
woof the art style and character models are terrible. Don't have high hopes for this.
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Yeah Im not a fan either but im over it at this point

The gameplay looks good and at least they have taken steps to make this visually more appealing than when they started

Here is hoping the next project is prettier
 
GameShrink

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It's weird how many kickstarters choose to save money on art, when it inevitably ends up being one of the main criticisms people have.

Bloodstained isn't as bad as MN9, which pitched itself with gorgeous 2D art and switched to cheap-looking 3D midway through, but I don't get why something like Hollow Knight can get this so right and everyone else blows it. This is even common in crowdsourced animation, where amazing 2D cartoon end up being lame CG upon release.
 
Rob

Rob

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GameShrink said:
It's weird how many kickstarters choose to save money on art, when it inevitably ends up being one of the main criticisms people have.

Bloodstained isn't as bad as MN9, which pitched itself with gorgeous 2D art and switched to cheap-looking 3D midway through, but I don't get why something like Hollow Knight can get this so right and everyone else blows it. This is even common in crowdsourced animation, where amazing 2D cartoon end up being lame CG upon release.
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What? No. MN9 didn't "pitch" itself as having 2D art. What they had on the Kickstarter was a piece of concept art. It showed what they were going for. The problem was that people thought that's what the game would look like. Bloodstained's KS learned from that and showed a vertical slice of the game actually running instead of just a concept art of what the game would be.
 
GameShrink

GameShrink

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Rob said:
What? No. MN9 didn't "pitch" itself as having 2D art. What they had on the Kickstarter was a piece of concept art. It showed what they were going for.
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Then the point still stands that they should have gone for that instead of compromising. MN9 might have still ended up being a mediocre game, but at least it wouldn't have been an ugly one as well.

Artstyle is insanely important, especially for games trying to squeeze as much as they can out of people's nostalgia for the heyday of 2D gaming. To see this as the element that gets skimped on time after time is aggravating.
 
Digital Dinosaur

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GameShrink said:
It's weird how many kickstarters choose to save money on art, when it inevitably ends up being one of the main criticisms people have.

Bloodstained isn't as bad as MN9, which pitched itself with gorgeous 2D art and switched to cheap-looking 3D midway through, but I don't get why something like Hollow Knight can get this so right and everyone else blows it. This is even common in crowdsourced animation, where amazing 2D cartoon end up being lame CG upon release.
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Some of these kickstarter games were attempts to revive what used to be considered AA or "mid-tier" game development. I get the impression that the people behind the projects only knew how to organize and manage a project in the way games were developed at big studios 15 or 20 years ago. They even marketed their kickstarters using a list of "stars" from old-school game development. They got a lot of staff, development partners, etc.

Which sounds great on paper but perhaps doesn't translate well into "small" budgets - even a few million dollar budgets.

The problem with such ambitions is that it tempts you to aim for "impressive" goals like using 3D visuals with elaborate effects and lighting, and well, that isn't a recipe for success on small budgets. If you're not intentionally aiming for a "retro" 3D look, ala Quake or PS1 era.

Small groups like Team Cherry focus on what a few people can realistically do, and were lucky to find very, very talented 2D artists who could work their asses off to create amazing assets for a relatively low budget project.
 

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Mendinso said:
So apparently on the Kickstarter page, since I hadn't peaked in awhile, a number of backers seem pissed they didn't get the release window announcement first, and that Nintendo did.
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Really? Why do people care at all?

GameShrink said:
It's weird how many kickstarters choose to save money on art, when it inevitably ends up being one of the main criticisms people have.

Bloodstained isn't as bad as MN9, which pitched itself with gorgeous 2D art and switched to cheap-looking 3D midway through, but I don't get why something like Hollow Knight can get this so right and everyone else blows it. This is even common in crowdsourced animation, where amazing 2D cartoon end up being lame CG upon release.
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I'm just speculating here, but I imagine part of the reason you have these games with a bigger budget and a team of famous devs not looking anywhere near as good as the passion project of a couple of people with like 10 thousand dollars is exactly because those are passion projects with 10 thousand dollars.

Passion Project pretty much means constant crunch from start to finish and having other jobs while working late hours on the game. I don't think that's what Comcept and now ArtPlay want for them. They want to keep making the games people ask them to, but in a professional environment in "reasonable" (for the industry standard which is already fucked) working hours. It's hard to compare the quality relative to the budget for two titles when the cheaper game had a lot of work done on it basically for free.

If you approach a professional studio and ask them to make a game with the same polish, content and quality as Hollow Knight, I kind of doubt it'll cost you as little as they got through Kickstarter.
 
Why would you do that?

Why would you do that?

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It's a shame that certain art styles like Bloodstained's is associated with "low quality" or especially "cheap". When I saw the trailer in the Direct, I thought the game looked great to the point where I can't look at it and think of anything that needs improving.


In comparison to Hollow Knight, that's not only a 2D game, it's also a completely different art style that wouldn't fit Bloodstained. In fact, I personally think Hollow Knight is way too desaturated (i.e. not very colorful) for my liking. But I simply can't say "it needs to be more colorful" because its style and tone perfectly matches the game and what the game's creators are going for.

Bloodstained's art style is the same as the old Igarashi Castlevania games but in 3D, and IMO it nails that look. Whether or not the style is appealing or not is up to the individual (and this is also true with other games, e.g. the Link Between Worlds / Link's Awakening 2019 look). Since every single screen, animation, etc. reminds me of past Iga CV games, I personally think they nailed the style.

And I think that's what the developers of Bloodstained are ultimately going for. They want to remind you of the old games while also not making it look too realistic, and also have a little anime influence. The game is being made by many talented people that are putting a lot of time and work into it to give it a specific look, and therefore I simply can't see how the game's look can be described as "cheap" at all.
 
Wereroku

Wereroku

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GameShrink said:
It's weird how many kickstarters choose to save money on art, when it inevitably ends up being one of the main criticisms people have.

Bloodstained isn't as bad as MN9, which pitched itself with gorgeous 2D art and switched to cheap-looking 3D midway through, but I don't get why something like Hollow Knight can get this so right and everyone else blows it. This is even common in crowdsourced animation, where amazing 2D cartoon end up being lame CG upon release.
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A lot of the very polished indie games like hollow Knight are getting made by folks drawing very little salary compared to the amount of time and effort they are putting in. Usually that is made up for by the profits one it releases. Bloodstained is using a professional studio with their time constraints and pay schedules that more closely resemble other productions. Do smaller Indies can leverage their funding much more then something like bloodstained. However they are also at a much higher risk if there game doesn't perform well. They will have worked for little pay for long periods with nothing to show for it except debt.
 
skillzilla81

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Rob said:
What? No. MN9 didn't "pitch" itself as having 2D art. What they had on the Kickstarter was a piece of concept art. It showed what they were going for. The problem was that people thought that's what the game would look like. Bloodstained's KS learned from that and showed a vertical slice of the game actually running instead of just a concept art of what the game would be.
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Didn't MN9 show 2.5d gameplay really early in the campaign?

People really just don't pay attention to what the developers are saying.



https:///2013/09/30/first-in-game-footage-for-mighty-no-9/

This looks better than the final game, though, imo. Way better lighting. haha
 
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