Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!)

Goobsausage
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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) Apr 25, 2017 15:43:43 GMT -6 Galamoth, qaantar, and 1 more like this

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Post by Goobsausage on Apr 25, 2017 15:43:43 GMT -6

I got to play the demo of Forsaken Castle at PAX South and had fun with it.

The goal is $10,000, costs $15 for a copy of the game, there's stretch goals for PS4 ($20,000) and Switch ($35,000) ports, and the highest goal is $50,000.

UPDATE: The Kickstarter campaign has ended, but Forsaken Castle can still be pre-ordered at BackerKit.

forsaken-castle.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Last Edit: May 24, 2017 13:46:26 GMT -6 by Goobsausage

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) Apr 25, 2017 15:55:57 GMT -6 Goobsausage likes this

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Post by purifyweirdshard on Apr 25, 2017 15:55:57 GMT -6

Wow, this looks right up my alley. It has a few little touches to it that I wish other games like it had, and I haven't even watched the trailer yet...

Most likely getting behind this one D:

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qaantar Ancient Legion Posts: 350 qaantar inherit Male Ancient Legion 201 0 Oct 28, 2020 7:17:09 GMT -6 218 qaantar 350 Loyal Familiar Jun 25, 2015 17:04:33 GMT -6 June 2015 Twitter qaantar	Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) Apr 25, 2017 18:12:44 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by qaantar on Apr 25, 2017 18:12:44 GMT -6 Kind of odd when their highest tiers are in the same ballpark as their overall goal.... kinda worried they set the bar too low. I backed it, but I guess we'll see how it goes...

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) Apr 26, 2017 6:05:43 GMT -6

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Post by gunlord500 on Apr 26, 2017 6:05:43 GMT -6

Quick question, nothing serious but I downloaded the demo of the game from IndieDB and ever since then my computer has been saying something about an encryption key. I mentioned it to the devs (DuckBlockGames) on Twitter here, with screencaps:

I downloaded the demo from here:

www.indiedb.com/games/forsaken-castle/downloads/forsaken-castle-pre-alpha-1-build-windows

Anyone else had this occur? I think it's probably nothing, but the devs are curious.

Smoop.

Goobsausage Fifty Storms Posts: 1,369 Goobsausage inherit Male Fifty Storms 473 0 Sept 11, 2019 21:43:33 GMT -6 1,266 Goobsausage 1,369 Shardbinder Jul 30, 2015 13:50:49 GMT -6 July 2015 unclstv	Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) Apr 26, 2017 12:32:42 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Goobsausage on Apr 26, 2017 12:32:42 GMT -6 I have not downloaded the demo, but thanks for informing everyone about that. Seems kinda weird.

gunlord500
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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) Apr 26, 2017 14:53:23 GMT -6 via mobile

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Post by gunlord500 on Apr 26, 2017 14:53:23 GMT -6

Apr 26, 2017 12:32:42 GMT -6 Goobsausage said:

I have not downloaded the demo, but thanks for informing everyone about that. Seems kinda weird.

It might be nothing, I looked it up online and it seems sometimes windows automatically encrypts things. My antivirus programs arent detecting anything :0

Smoop.

spideryfingers Worm Demon Loyal Familiar Posts: 194 spideryfingers inherit Worm Demon Male 219 0 Mar 12, 2021 6:12:17 GMT -6 175 spideryfingers 194 Loyal Familiar Jun 30, 2015 16:27:05 GMT -6 June 2015 spideryfingers	Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) Apr 30, 2017 5:14:09 GMT -6 gunlord500 likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by spideryfingers on Apr 30, 2017 5:14:09 GMT -6 Another Castlevania wannabee! I suppose it's OK but it will always be a shallow imitation in my eyes.

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) Apr 30, 2017 5:35:04 GMT -6

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Post by Galamoth on Apr 30, 2017 5:35:04 GMT -6

Certainly looks interesting from what I've seen.

Curse you, Alucard!

Devin R. Lowe from the Bloodstained Kickstarter page.

Lestaroth
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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 2, 2017 20:32:23 GMT -6 Goobsausage likes this

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Post by Lestaroth on May 2, 2017 20:32:23 GMT -6

I'll definitely buy this one game when it's on Steam! I completed the demo under 16mins and I love it to bits.
It's sad that once again it is another project I cannot back because of KS's policy but yes, I shall be rooting for this game's success.

Thanks Enkeria for the signature picture!
Thanks carlsson for the avatar!

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 5, 2017 10:26:47 GMT -6 Astaroth, gunlord500, and 6 more like this

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Post by DBG-Lance on May 5, 2017 10:26:47 GMT -6

Hey everyone! Thanks for the support!

Quick introduction, my name is Lance and I'm the CEO and Programmer for Duck Block Games and I apologize for what's going to be a long post.

It's exciting and daunting to see a post about our game on this forum. No doubt everyone here has a strong love for the Castlevania franchise as do we, and that can result in an array of emotional responses. Full disclosure, I also backed Bloodstained and can't wait to play it as well!

@goobsausage: Thanks for checking us out at PAX South!
It was a pleasure to have you play our demo at the close of the vendor hall on the final day!

I'd be more than happy to address any questions! Just know my attention is pretty split right now and it may take a bit for me to get back around to answering.

Apr 25, 2017 18:12:44 GMT -6 qaantar said:

Kind of odd when their highest tiers are in the same ballpark as their overall goal.... kinda worried they set the bar too low. I backed it, but I guess we'll see how it goes...

First, thanks for backing our project! We had this concern of our goal being too low pop up in the comments on Steam Greenlight (which we're now Greenlit as of May 4th). I'll re-post the response here:

$10k may seem low to most, but we are keeping our overhead low. Much of the core work for the game has been done in our spare time ahead of the Kickstarter. Most of the funding is going towards paying Zack to produce music as my brother (Clint) creates the art and I (Lance) handle the programming and have little to no skill in music production. Unless we hit some stretch goals, we will see little money personally and that is fine with us. It's more important to us currently to find the people who want a game like this and any extra money we get above paying for music will only help speed things along and allow us to make the best game we can right now. I hope that answers your question.

Apr 30, 2017 5:14:09 GMT -6 spideryfingers said:

Another Castlevania wannabee! I suppose it's OK but it will always be a shallow imitation in my eyes.

We've gotten that from a few people and I'm perfectly fine with that label.

This is our very first project we've let out of our proving grounds to see public consumption and aren't expecting to be pushing many boundaries. The largest hurdle to getting started in game development is getting that first game out the door. We wanted to make something that was familiar and loved by us, focus on getting the formula right, getting it out on time, and make it the most enjoyable experience we can and save innovation for the games that come after this one. This game will still feature its own original story and cast of characters, which I think will be of interest to people. I hope that gives a little perspective on why we're doing this particular project.

May 2, 2017 20:32:23 GMT -6 Lestaroth said:

I'll definitely buy this one game when it's on Steam! I completed the demo under 16mins and I love it to bits.
It's sad that once again it is another project I cannot back because of KS's policy but yes, I shall be rooting for this game's success.

Thanks so much for your interest! I'm curious, what Kickstarter policy is preventing you from backing the project? If I had to hazard a guess, it's Kickstarter (or their payment provider) may not be available in your region. If that's the case, we're planning to launch a page on our site where people will be able to support us using Paypal in the coming days after I get some fixes for the current demo released. Hope that helps!

Last Edit: May 5, 2017 10:28:27 GMT -6 by DBG-Lance

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 5, 2017 17:25:29 GMT -6 Galamoth and Goobsausage like this

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Post by Lestaroth on May 5, 2017 17:25:29 GMT -6

May 5, 2017 10:26:47 GMT -6 DBG-Lance said:

Hey everyone! Thanks for the support!

Quick introduction, my name is Lance and I'm the CEO and Programmer for Duck Block Games and I apologize for what's going to be a long post.

It's exciting and daunting to see a post about our game on this forum. No doubt everyone here has a strong love for the Castlevania franchise as do we, and that can result in an array of emotional responses. Full disclosure, I also backed Bloodstained and can't wait to play it as well!

(Abridged post for obvious reasons)

May 2, 2017 20:32:23 GMT -6 Lestaroth said:

I'll definitely buy this one game when it's on Steam! I completed the demo under 16mins and I love it to bits.
It's sad that once again it is another project I cannot back because of KS's policy but yes, I shall be rooting for this game's success.

Thanks so much for your interest! I'm curious, what Kickstarter policy is preventing you from backing the project? If I had to hazard a guess, it's Kickstarter (or their payment provider) may not be available in your region. If that's the case, we're planning to launch a page on our site where people will be able to support us using Paypal in the coming days after I get some fixes for the current demo released. Hope that helps!

Yes, it's the no-Paypal payment possibility that prevented me from backing this game.
I could back Bloodstained because indeed they worked on this alternate form of payment (and that way it was even easier for them to reach funding goals).
I will definitely participate once it's ready!

I like Lily a lot, she can do even more stuff than the regular Belmont ( automatically grab ledges, store multiple subweapons, dash... even if for the latter Richter can do it too).

By the way, I did vote for the game on Steam Greenlight. I'm glad it's official now!

Take care!

Thanks Enkeria for the signature picture!
Thanks carlsson for the avatar!

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 6, 2017 8:05:40 GMT -6 Lestaroth likes this

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Post by Galamoth on May 6, 2017 8:05:40 GMT -6

I'll most definitely be interested in backing it now that I see the PS4 Stretch Goal.

Curse you, Alucard!

Devin R. Lowe from the Bloodstained Kickstarter page.

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 10, 2017 22:22:41 GMT -6 gunlord500, Galamoth, and 1 more like this

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Post by purifyweirdshard on May 10, 2017 22:22:41 GMT -6

Hey guys, I made a video playthrough of the new pre-alpha! I thought it was really nice of the dev to stop in and say hello, and thought I would share some thoughts on the game.

Sorry about the weird tapping noise during the video? Not sure what that's about, and apologize for the audio in general. The beginning area may be a bit booming depending on your bass/speakers.

Also...haha, I noticed during this that you can bring up the pause menu before the "press A" screen comes up. Not an important thing though

Valkyrie outfit unlocked now! D:

edit: In case it wasn't clear enough, I really feel a bond with these guys lol. This is honestly me: the game.

Last Edit: May 10, 2017 22:30:54 GMT -6 by purifyweirdshard

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purifyweirdshard Administrator Administrator Calling from Heaven Posts: 3,789 Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2 purifyweirdshard inherit Administrator Male Administrator 210 0 1 Oct 25, 2024 0:03:05 GMT -6 3,660 purifyweirdshard Calling from Heaven 3,789 Eternal Guardian Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6 June 2015 Twitter purifyweirdsoul Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2	Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 16, 2017 13:40:45 GMT -6 Goobsausage likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by purifyweirdshard on May 16, 2017 13:40:45 GMT -6 New platforms and goal info! They've confirmed a Vita version (already reached with the PS4 goal) and Xbox One is now possible too! Cat girl mage!
	Last Edit: May 16, 2017 13:42:06 GMT -6 by purifyweirdshard Brent Taylor - (Stained glass profile theme created by XombieMike) Have a question about Bloodstained? Check for an answer here, and if you don't already see it, ask away!: bloodstained.forums.net/thread/2143/bloodstained-faqs-misc?page=1&scrollTo=39317

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 16, 2017 15:35:27 GMT -6 Goobsausage likes this

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Post by crocodile on May 16, 2017 15:35:27 GMT -6

Big props to DBG-Lance for stopping by to answer questions

General Comments:

Y'all already mentioned you were doing this but I'm at least glad you're aware the animation and art could still use some work. Lilly looks pretty stiff in some places (especially her climbing animation or when she tosses "holy water") so she could still use work.

I think you should go with your hand-drawn art rather than pixel art for your character talking portraits. I think it might be a better fit but maybe others disagree?

I know you tried to preemptively answer the question but I always get super concerned when Kickstarter projects starting adding platforms out of the blue. There is more to the cost than just the dev kits and I've seen a lot of projects go WAY over budget/time trying to accommodate extra platforms than initially planned. I wish y'all the best of course but I've seen it bite a lot of developers in the ass before. Good luck!

Watching the gameplay video purifyweirdshard posted, I do think it's a bit weird that the whip has no hitbox just behind you during the start of your strike. I think it would be better if it does. I'm not sure if that is more or less realistic (though realism isn't really a concern for me) but I think it feels better/is more fun.

I think you are almost there with the demo level but I think it could probably be slightly better tweaked to subtly teach you the skills you need to use. See Mega Man X High Stage or Shovel Knight Plain's stages as good examples. Again I think you already almost there.

You may want to change the visuals of those breakable blocks? They seem to be a gating mechanism ala the doors in Super Metroid and if so, they probably should be color coded with your special weapons. Like the "holy water" has a blue flame so block they can destroy should probably be blue. You also may just want to try something less generic than weird blocks (I think purifyweirdshard suggested vines - that could work as a barrier that could only be opened by the axe). This also begs the question if you will have different types of barriers that get opened by different special weapons.

I'm still not sure on the structure of the world - is this a full fledged Metroidvania (with a fully interconnected world) or more of a level system with discreet sections separated (maybe with a World Map) but you can return to previous levels to do more exploring when you have more abilities. The recent Shantae game is a good example of the later.

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 23, 2017 14:29:31 GMT -6 Galamoth and Goobsausage like this

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Post by purifyweirdshard on May 23, 2017 14:29:31 GMT -6

Less than 24h left now. The last update says that people that back at least $25 now get three extra OSTs from the composer (one of which being another game several of you might have played, Valdis Story). Not bad!

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 23, 2017 19:29:13 GMT -6 gunlord500 and Galamoth like this

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Post by Lestaroth on May 23, 2017 19:29:13 GMT -6

All's left next is to open the game funding to other modes of payment (Paypal and others) so more funding goals are attained and more people (including me) have a chance to back the game -plus getting goodies-.

Dark Lily now clear for game implementation. Wonderful.

Last Edit: May 23, 2017 19:30:09 GMT -6 by Lestaroth

Thanks Enkeria for the signature picture!
Thanks carlsson for the avatar!

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Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) May 24, 2017 13:38:58 GMT -6

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Post by Goobsausage on May 24, 2017 13:38:58 GMT -6

Forsaken Castle reached the $35,000 stretch goal for Xbone and Switch ports! Congratulations to everyone at Duck Block Games!

It's also worth noting that Forsaken Castle now has a BackerKit page available and anyone who missed out on the Kickstarter can back it there.

forsaken-castle.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Last Edit: May 24, 2017 13:45:16 GMT -6 by Goobsausage

BloodyTears92 Loyal Familiar [TI1]It is time for darkness. It is a blood banquet. Posts: 342 BloodyTears92 inherit Male 959 0 Jan 28, 2020 3:45:53 GMT -6 438 BloodyTears92 [TI1]It is time for darkness. It is a blood banquet. 342 Loyal Familiar Dec 7, 2015 22:34:49 GMT -6 December 2015 bloodytears92	Forsaken Castle (stretch goals for ports reached!) Jun 4, 2017 10:34:44 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by BloodyTears92 on Jun 4, 2017 10:34:44 GMT -6 I can certainly see myself picking this up when it launches on Steam, seems like a solid little anime/vania game.

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Post by Goobsausage on Apr 25, 2017 15:43:43 GMT -6

Post by purifyweirdshard on Apr 25, 2017 15:55:57 GMT -6

Post by qaantar on Apr 25, 2017 18:12:44 GMT -6

Post by gunlord500 on Apr 26, 2017 6:05:43 GMT -6

Post by Goobsausage on Apr 26, 2017 12:32:42 GMT -6

Post by gunlord500 on Apr 26, 2017 14:53:23 GMT -6

Post by spideryfingers on Apr 30, 2017 5:14:09 GMT -6

Post by Galamoth on Apr 30, 2017 5:35:04 GMT -6

Post by Lestaroth on May 2, 2017 20:32:23 GMT -6

Post by DBG-Lance on May 5, 2017 10:26:47 GMT -6

Post by Lestaroth on May 5, 2017 17:25:29 GMT -6

Post by Galamoth on May 6, 2017 8:05:40 GMT -6

Post by purifyweirdshard on May 10, 2017 22:22:41 GMT -6

Post by purifyweirdshard on May 16, 2017 13:40:45 GMT -6

Post by crocodile on May 16, 2017 15:35:27 GMT -6

Post by Brainiac on May 22, 2017 20:22:52 GMT -6

Post by purifyweirdshard on May 23, 2017 14:29:31 GMT -6

Post by Lestaroth on May 23, 2017 19:29:13 GMT -6

Post by Goobsausage on May 24, 2017 13:38:58 GMT -6

Post by BloodyTears92 on Jun 4, 2017 10:34:44 GMT -6

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