Comments - Adjuvant

Hmm, I'll have another look, but I don't think this object uses any particular external resource. Maybe I'll try to build a new executable without that object and see if a similar error pops up. The joys of Game Maker! lol

Try this: Locate the game .exe and open its properties dialogue, click on the security tab, then the button to edit user permissions. Check 'Full Control' for every user and group and saved. Seems like Hotline Miami had a similar issue, I'm just looking through various groups to find a solution.

Bummer, sorry to hear that. I'll have to borrow someone else's PC and see if I can get the same error to pop up. Not sure why that's happening at all!

I probably won't have it done by the end of this year, but hopefully early in the new year!

Huh, not sure what the deal with this is. Here's a thread with some solutions, looks like there are some other Game Maker games that had the same issue: Forum.yoyogames.com

Coming soon!

Thanks a lot! I had big hopes for it, but there didn't seem to be much of an audience so it was hard to get motivated to work on it. But hopefully I can find some time to make progress soon.

I've been working on it on and off for a while, but will probably return to it soonish. Based on the state of the world at the moment, microbiology and viruses seem like a big topic of discussion!

Well, thanks for playing it and having fun with it! As for a hint, okay: let's just say it's in the grey, decaying area. Keep an eye on the pipes throughout the zone... ;)

At this point I've settled on this version of Ex Vitro as just being a prototype for an eventual full game (with modern functionality). It contains a ton of creative commons assets and programming that belong to other people that it would be pretty much impossible to replace. But it is actually on Steam Greenlight under their concepts section!

And the other downside (relating to the resolution issue as well) is that it doesn't use Game Maker Studio, just Game Maker 8.1 which isn't integrated into Steamworks, as far as I'm aware. Ultimately, I would like to include a level editor with the full version.

I think using this version as a concept for a properly developed future game is my best bet for now. One that is designed from the ground-up to be accessible and modern with all the bells and whistles. We'll see!

Yeah the beams remain a big conflict for me, because I keep going back and forth between being glad I kept them separate or wishing I had merged them into one composite beam. But as with such things, I just wish I could have my cake and eat it too! But I'm glad that find them all useful in some way. To me variation is part of the fun of it, and making them distinct but still useful is a big challenge on top of that.

Ohhhh nice ideas for the micro beam! Those are great suggestions! Yes, full auto would be extremely cool, and the fragmentation idea is awesome too. Ironically, the reason I added the micro beam in the first place was because people were complaining that the pulse beam was too slow, but now I cranked up the fire rate on that one, so the micro beam is kind of out-of-place. But your suggestions are perfect, and may just bring it some much needed respect :). Once again, thanks!

So without spoiling too much, I have plans for one final beam that will tie into the final zone. I'm debating whether to make it balanced against the others or just going hogwild as it is supposed to be the ultimate one. One idea is to make it have some dramatic trade-off while active, like draining health or something. But then again, once you complete the final zone you are essentially done, so why not just have a screen-annihilating weapon to plow through everything? LOL.

Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again: thank you! For me, if you take the time to play and give me feedback, then the least I can do is try my best to respond in some way. While I can't promise I agree with everything, you certainly seem to have some great ideas. I often get a bit of tunnel-vision with things, so it's really helpful to get outside perspectives. I just wish I was better at technical stuff so I could implement more of your suggestions! I definitely value your time and effort (and kindness, too, of course)! For me, this was about having fun designing and creating something, so if I can maximize other people's fun, then win-win for everyone :)

Yeah, the beams are another thing I would do differently if I could restart. I would do some kind of composite beam where they are continually added to each other rather than being independent. I think if they each had more obvious effects (ice, for example) I could better justify them being separate.

Because yeah, the 'micro' beam is obviously deficient compared to the others. I attempted to make it slightly useful in the yellow zone against the squirmy tendrils, but it probably doesn't beat just spamming the others. Like, I mean, the later beams have to be more powerful to justify why they're found so late, but then how do the early beams compensate? I feel the only beam that is probably always useful is the Refraction beam because it can go around corners, at least until you find the 'optional' Seeker beam.

Redoing the charging effects (both visually and in terms of gameplay) was on my master list of needed improvements, but seemed to have fallen in favour of stuff I find more fun to do, like enemies exploding ;)

I'm torn about whether to display singlets on the map or not. I like the idea that they are hard to find, but completionists will likely hate me for that. I think we discussed this before, but an item that allows easier tracking of them may be required at the end game.

Interesting about the movement button. Didn't notice that!

Running is a hold-over from the game's original Mario engine, so I didn't really touch it. One of the first things I tried to do before anything was make a dash effect. Believe me, I tried and tried but just couldn't get it working. But maybe I could attempt it again after so long. Megaman X style would be perfect I think.

Good point about the double jump. It also needs a sound of some sort.

I had a lot of fun making the EMP charger... If I could make even more ridiculous distortion effects, I would.

Ah, good point about the datalogs as well.

The map screen should also have customizable notes! Number 101 on the list of things to do :) Yes, the map screen should be all glitchy and distorted like the minimap. Number 102... lol

Glad you like the inventory screen. I like the tease of seeing what else there is to find, although adding more items is going to be annoying as hell as the screen is already quite cluttered.

Haha oh yeah, believe me, that containment wall definitely should not have been broken. Punishment for being lazy and not going back. Lol. But seriously, one thing I wish I could do was make the zones change over time and interact more. I LOVE the idea of having the yellow parasite begin spreading everywhere (and even creatures from different zones to spread too). Sigh, maybe one day...

But seriously man, thank you so much for all of your time and feedback. If you lived nearby I would buy you a drink for sure! You are always insanely helpful, and the fact that you're doing this for free makes me feel a little guilty...

Wow man, thanks a whole lot for the detailed feedback. If I ever start a gaming company, I definitely need to bring you on board somehow! :)

It's not immediately clear what is causing that error, but the lighting effects can act wonky sometimes. It may have something to do with a memory leak if a restart fixes it. Hmm, I'll have to do some digging into it.

Honestly I bashed my head against the wall trying to find a good solution to the resolution issue. I can scale the screen to whatever size I want, but due to the Game Maker engine the tiles get all glitchy at any resolution above the default. There is a crappy work-around that would technically work, but it pixelates the hell out of everything and is just unacceptable. The lesson here is I didn't plan ahead very well... :(

I'm really glad you enjoyed the new areas. I love messing around with atmosphere (it's the whole reason I love Metroid to bits!). Although to be honest, I wish I had made far more alien environments to start with. I would redo the jungle area and 'technology' areas and even the blue areas to be far more bizarre and weird. I'm going to go nuts with the final zone to compensate fort that ;)

I'm glad you like the story. My goal was to make it ambiguous enough to make people interested in the mysteries, but not so vague as to be unsatisfying. There's some perfect combination of intrigue and revelation that I'm aiming to reach by the end of the story, so we'll see how well I can achieve that goal.

You have no idea how happy I am that you're asking all those questions, because that is exactly what I aimed for! As for answers, some will have obvious resolutions, but some you will have to read between the lines to answer. I hope to leave enough clues in the environment that people should be able to parse them together. Let's just say the 'final' zone will probably answer 75% of your questions... (at least, what I'm hoping to do!)

Awesome! Glad you'll give this version a try (since you are basically my lead tester...) ;)

Honestly, I'm acutely aware of most of the fundamental flaws already, but I guess I'm just interested to see if you come across any game breaking stuff. There are a few missing sound effects, some enemies may glitch, but from my experience there wasn't any major scripting errors that I came across. But then again, I only played through this version from start to finish a few times.

Interested to hear what you think of the gamepad controls (if you have one, of course). I tried to go for a 'retro' control scheme ala Super Metroid, but I suspect there may be some better variants I'm unaware of.

I guess other than that... hmm.. whatever you think stands out? Anyway, I really appreciate your time on this! :)

Cool, glad to hear you eventually got it working! I've been working on it a bit more lately so I hope to have some new stuff to show after so long :)

I'm aiming for end of the year! (Not a guarantee, but I would like to!)

Haha, well let's just say maybe a mix of the above! :) (If I can get the programming to work right, of course...)

Thanks for the kind words and support! Yeah the ONLY reason I started working on this game was because I was tired of waiting for the next official installment of Metroid from Nintendo! The next version will have a few technical updates like gamepad support and better resolution, so hopefully you won't need Xpadder! :)

As far as when the next update will be out, I can't give you a date because I just work on it in fits and starts. But recently (last few months) I've been trying to get a few improvements done every week or so. If I can keep up the pace, I can imagine getting a new release before the end of the year. I've heard good things about Axiom Verge and need to try it out sometime!

Thanks again for the message and hopefully I can meet your expectations with the next version!

Yep, sure am!

I've put some thought into how I think it should end, and I agree it would feel pretty disheartening if it ended too bleakly. In gameplay terms, you should be a miniature god by the end of it, so that's what I'm aiming to complement with the story. PS thanks for the comment, and glad you're still following the game!

Not dead yet, as far as I can tell! Glad to see you're still following the game even after so much time has passed since the last version. I have a serious problem of stretching myself thin, but lately I've had the urge to work on Ex Vitro and get a new version out. Thanks for the kind words! The funnest parts for me are the graphics and the writing, but I'm terrible at programming and it takes ages for me to do it. I really wish I had come up with some sort of gameplay gimmick to set Ex Vitro apart more, but maybe I'll come up with something cool for Ex Vitro 2! Hope the future versions can live up to your expectations!

Yeah you're right. How about deep within the bowels? Everyone loves bowels.

Thanks, I wanted to try a style quite different than what I usually do, and it was fun to experiment! I still need to add some educational stuff to it, but I hope the game itself is enjoyable. I've just added a video (no sound) that shows how the game is played.

Okay, thanks for letting me know what you expect. I'll probably save the improved resolutions for the next next release, because I want to make test it a lot rather than rushing it out. But the other options you mention are great ideas, and I can probably get most of them done sooner. The GUI probably won't be as customizable as an MMO for example, but I can experiment with scale and location of health bars/icons etc.

I think most buttons should be customizable as well!

Thanks for the feedback.

Hmm, well the option button is below the tutorial button once you start the game, not sure if you missed it or do you mean something else?

Yeah the lack of resolutions is a problem. I was hoping to find a shortcut to increase it, but it turns out I have to re-do most of the graphics in order to make it look nicer at a higher resolution. It's not impossible to fix but it will take longer than I thought. But it was stupid of me to make it so small to begin with.

Yeah I'm a little worried about repetitiveness. The Story mode will have at least 8 different mission types to hopefully keep things fresh, but the Action mode needs some more work to fix that.

Thank you very much! That would be the ultimate goal for me, I think! Let me know what you think of the current state of the game. It will continue to improve, so thanks for the support :)

The hardest part is figuring out how to differentiate all of these rod-shaped ones from each other! Very weird that you caught a soil pathogen... my science career is mostly based around the helpful nitrogen-fixing strains, so I tend to think of them as peace loving hippies. But just working on this game has taught me a ton of stuff about the nasty ones already.

I'd love to include even weirder micro-organisms like archea and algae (as bad guys, of course). I'm trying to think of a cool way to battle prions, but it's tricky to figure out how they would fight.

Thanks a lot for your support (if you do decide to spend your money on it!). I should have an updated Alpha version released very soon on Desura, and I'll continue to update the demo as well.

Oh yeah, if you have a link to that microbe feel free to send it to me! Is that a pseudomonas strain? I'm itching to put in an intestine-type level because I had a serious food poisoning incident a while back, and I'd love to replay it as a battle (with my cells as winner, this time!).

I'll have to do some research on that idea. I'm not sure what types of games they accept. Thanks for the tip!

I hope so, maybe once it gets closer to completion!