Update #77 "Crafting Shards and Squashing Bugs"

eru  Redogan was one of the most critical community members I can remember during the early stages of development, so your attempt at snark is pretty badly misplaced.

Meh, I played Hollow Knight for its impressive gameplay. Not for its looks.

If I wanted a purely-2D metroidvania that looks gorgeous? I've seen better.

Bloodstained looks fine as it is, to me.

I have been a Castlevania fan for decades. Not only did I pay for a high tier on the Bloodstained kickstarter, but I have played pretty much every single Castlevania that exists. I would consider Castlevania to be the best videogame franchise of all time...

However... I can't stop watching that Hollow Knight trailer... it looks simply wonderful.
I watched the Bloodstained trailer like twice and only felt sadness.

Edit: Whoops! Sorry about the thread derailment

purifyweirdshard



Reading the article and looking through the screenshot comparisons I think the move to using procedural generation was the turning point to the graphical downgrade we experienced. Before the change was implemented, asset textures more closely resembled those of the concept screenshot I originally posted. After implementing the change they could easily add damage to structures but the underlying assets were not as beautifully rendered as before. I'm not a programmer, but my best guess is that the higher quality textures weren't compatible with this automated process.

Judging by the most recent video my assumption is that areas that were built and designed after the change do not look as bad as the areas we saw initially because they were designed with the capabilities and limitations of this automated process in mind and didn't have to be converted/downgraded to make things work. Either that or they were first in line in receiving a graphical overhaul by Way Forward, not sure.



Posted my impressions of the new video in its own thread but there's a lot to like with regards to what's being shown. While the overall production values for the environments are still below that of the concept screenshot and in many cases the 2016 build, the game does at least look and feel like an Igavania game now. There are notable improvements to color contrast, dark spaces, and the usage of higher quality textures compared to the 2018 build.

Compared to what I had feared the game may look like, based on the screenshots released in the last update, it's quite good and most importantly represents a visual experience consistent with Castlevania's legacy.

The new environments weren't plastered with cartoonish looking 3D objects like we saw last time around which is certainly a relief:





Obviously there are still things that need to be worked on, wooden objects still appear to suffer from Ikea wood syndrome, a number of assets still stand to benefit from fine-tuning, etc but we are moving in the right direction and that's good news and a breath of fresh air for everyone involved.

Pure Miriam appreciate the historical context. My comments about procedural generation were intended more as historical analysis as opposed to me voicing a complaint that is near and dear to me in the here and now. All things being equal I'd like to have it all (obviously), but I do realize that the team had real life limitations to work with and as long as the final game still plays, looks and feels like a CV game I'm a happy camper.

It does make you think about the potential for Bloodstained 2 though. My dream scenario would be a development team made up of Art Play (IGA), Platinum Games (of Nier Automata fame), and Inti Creates. Art direction and design by Ayami Kojima and sound by Michiru Yamane and MONACA (including Emi Evans). I'm still split on whether or not to bring Gen Urobuchi along for the ride but I'll let you know once I decide

hyugakojiro

That's quite a lot to ask haha. Ayami Kojima was invited but she declined because she was too busy. IGA insisted so much she agreed on doing a piece of art for backers.
Michiru Yamane, as far as rumors and such goes (and IGA kinda said that too) was also busy, but since IGA and Michiru are long time friends, he managed to get her really drunk and made her accept his offer while drunk lol
He said that on a interview, let me quote:

"I basically tricked her into joining the campaign by getting her really drunk and making her promise she would help," Igarashi said. "You think that's a joke, but it's the truth." (LINK)

Jeez. IGA must be fun to have at parties, he's a lad I'd like to have a toast with.