Something like a sequel mod

[False.Genesis]

By updatepack, what do you mean? A beta of future content, or some fixes to the current build?

You already have the newest one: http://www.bit-blot.com/forum/index.php?topic=4313.0

But yeah, i used to do these regularly but since the biggest issues have been fixed 2013-ish, it's mainly just improvements here and there. e.g. Better win10 compat, window/fullscreen handling, and improved controller support are the top things on the list this time but they are not quite done yet. And the usual slew of added API functions i need for the mod. Just taking my time since there are no immediate problems to fix.
(And i also started to implement theoretical local multiplayer support but hit a wall. Would be nice to get this in too, in a state that doesn't cause problems elsewhere.)

[Zhanneel]

Hello all. I remember how vivid this game was when I played it nearly a decade ago. A few days ago I caught myself reminiscing about Aquaria and had a gnawing sensation to find out right then and there if ever there was a final ending made for the story. I had hoped for news of a sequel years ago, but alas... I am sad that such a beautiful game did not reach the larger audience it deserved. I would certainly do what I could to fund a sequel, and if packaged together perhaps that could bring a whole new life into making revenue?

Okay, I see that a lot people probably had that idea already, and it just didn't come to pass for various reasons. I agree that having an ending to Naija's story would certainly help boost any new-combers who are wary to play a game with a questionable ending. (At the least I would love for one of the creators to release a synopsis of what ultimately happens to Naija and Li...otherwise we did all of that hard work only to have the sad, inconclusive ending.) As I find out more and more about the current situation, I realize the creators no longer care about this game, the characters, or the players who came along for the ride. At one time, yes, the creators were passionate for Aquaria, but to write such an irresponsible cliff-hanger ending and never follow-up is too much for me. If what NickonAquaMagna said is true in his second youtube review, then the creators may have lost their way before the game was even finished. Somehow that makes me feel hollow, for myself and the characters.

This forum post has brought new life into the game, I'm so thankful to you False.Genesis and all others who are putting heaps of time into an ending mod. It's the best I can hope for right now I think, and I'm thankful. I think I will look for my old Aquaria game download (lost somewhere when moving from multiple computers) just to try out this mod.

This mod looks like it will be thorough, not just in beauty but in story. Thank you! I also love the difficulty settings. I'm a light-to-intermediate gamer, so this prevents hours of frustration (or giving up) for a person like myself who no longer has time to hone awesome gaming skills. I was driven to watch Aquaria's ending on Youtube because I just couldn't beat those last couple of battles. And I'm glad the mod is not dumbed down for those with skills either. Win-win!

I'm happy to see more of Li! I enjoyed the love story and am excited to see some kind of fulfilling ending for the family. Thank you for not going down the "there are no happy endings" route.  I have much faith in you guys.

Thank you to NikonAquaMagna for those video reviews. I was reminiscing so many beloved scenes again, and it helped to hear your thoughts on the game, the characters, and even the creators. Knowing that you also cared a lot for this game and felt hurt and frustrated regarding the lack of a conclusion or sequel was cathartic.

Update: Ah. This is funny. Apparently my graphics driver (which I checked was up to date) is incompatible with Aquaria. I'm running Windows 7, so that shouldn't be a problem. I got so hyped to try this mod, but I think it unlikely in my current situation. I'm not a tech wiz, or I would tweak my computer and force it to run the game.

[Fantist]

Ah I love this little hidden crevice of the vast ocean that is the internet! It's been so long since I last checked in, 2015 if I'm not mistaken. It's great to see everything continuing on. It's as if this is a place set apart from flow of the world, as though time passes differently here. Or maybe that feeling is due to being awake for more than 24 hours straight haha. Hope everyone is doing well! And thank you for all your passion and hard work Genesis!

[NickonAquaMagna]

Thank you to NikonAquaMagna for those video reviews. I was reminiscing so many beloved scenes again, and it helped to hear your thoughts on the game, the characters, and even the creators. Knowing that you also cared a lot for this game and felt hurt and frustrated regarding the lack of a conclusion or sequel was cathartic.

Aw, shucks, thanks. I only discovered this game like, a year or two ago, but better late than never right? I still really enjoy it.

[Trevenant]

just wanted to post encouragement that random people are still watching this

[False.Genesis]

Yay!
Unfortunately, due to a server move, the git progress pic in my sig doesn't update properly. Hoping to get it fixed soon.
Aside from that, everything is good. Not much time these days but spent what was possible on code improvements and optimization. Hoping to make another little dev stream thingy on twitch soon, but somehow every weekend something came in between. And just doing random coding isn't interesting, so i'd save this for maps, animations and other such visual things.

[Cascade]

Sheesh dude, I'm entirely sure that this mod will be our salvation

A single question that's burning me however, is if the Arnassi are going to make a comeback, and not be as useless as they were in Aquaria?
I'd love to see them get proper characters and a story of their own, however if you choose to leave them out, that's entirely up to you, People are still watching, cheering you on!     

[NickonAquaMagna]

Someone just commented on my sequel mod review worried the project's dead. I don't, but I understand if people are worried. Anything you want me to tell them?

[False.Genesis]

Can also comment myself if you want
No, it's not dead. To be perfectly honest I took a break because of general inactivity (*) and therefore things haven't been progressing since march or so.
But your timing is good, because just 2 days ago we (Fawpaw, Bhoren, and I) had a nice chat and decided to get off our asses and get the thing rolling again. I really hope to show some updates again soon.

(*) For quite some time i was the only one doing anything (**), which gets dull and isn't exactly motivating. And life/work/PhD/stress/broken arm/lack of creativity/etc added to it, so it was probably better to take a break and not force it, and do something else for a bit.

(**) Because the others also had life/stress/university/whatever, the usual thing...

But thanks for asking (and sticking around!)

[asdfasdf]

just wanted to say I'm still watching this interest   looks good thanks for work

[NickonAquaMagna]

Noice.

[Cascade]

Heyo! Me again, it was me who commented on his video, i made a bit blot forums accounts for the sole reason of following and interacting with the people in this thread during the mod's development! I'm glad things are getting started back up, and i'm extremely excited to play the next chapter when it's released!
I played through the first chapter at least five times, and it never ceases to impress me what you did with your tools!
You're awesome, can't wait for more. But quality > quantity, so i guess i can wait.

[False.Genesis]

Didn't want to reply without screenshot, but oh well. Soon (tm), hopefully.

Sorry Cascade but somehow i completely forgot to anwer to your first post.
Late, but here goes.

A single question that's burning me however, is if the Arnassi are going to make a comeback, and not be as useless as they were in Aquaria?
I'd love to see them get proper characters and a story of their own, however if you choose to leave them out, that's entirely up to you, People are still watching, cheering you on!     

AFAIR we didn't yet have any specific plans for them, but good that you brought this up. I think one of the main problems is that the maps they were most present on do not exist in our version, and therefore right now there is no place to put them. Might post an overall map layout overview at some point, maybe you have an idea. As always, suggestions are welcome.

I played through the first chapter at least five times, and it never ceases to impress me what you did with your tools!

Anything you'd like to point out that could be improved? Or something to learn from how to do things better?

One thing i know for sure is this:

-Last but not least, the ending for this first chapter was a bit of a letdown. [...] was one of the most anti-climatic things in that moment, and while it was not really disappointing, it bothered me, because I saw this nonexistent transition out of there to the ending sequence - which in itself was fair enough - as a big amount of wasted potential.

Didn't yet get around to improve this, but it's definitely on the list for the final.

[Cascade]

Hi! So, now that i reread the Arnassi comment, i realize it would be a tight fit being as you've created a map full of content i'd imagine. Maybe there would be plans for them in later chapters.
But for right now, there's one more question i have. And that is, if there are going to be custom pets? You may've mentioned this sometime in the thread thus far, or i just passed over it.
I feel it would be a good addition to the story, and a big room for creativity! Such as a crab pet, that when equipped throws rocks that hit nearby enemies. That would be one of my suggestions. I understand coding is difficult, so is creating custom textures. But i feel like it would be a nice edition to both gameplay and story!

[False.Genesis]

Pets. Hm.

Actually, i considered removing pets entirely. At least it's not very high on the list of must-have things. Sure, implementing extra pets is no problem but here's why:

I never really liked the vanilla ones aside from having that extra bit of firepower they provide (The same goes for Li, plus he also tends to hug at inconvenient times). That was about all, right?
So either pets need a complete overhaul, or they can go, imo. The extra chars and other people in your party should more than make up for it.
So if you have a suggestion how to make pets cooler, fire away.
(Steal eggs? Grow them? Feed them? Balance vs complexity? Too much effort? etc.)

Related: At some point i found this: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50698/? -- Doesn't have anything to do with Aquaria but i'll just leave this here, as an inspiration, maybe.

Re: Crab pet. Throwing rocks is easy. Aiming properly at moving enemies is easy too. But it's *really* hard to make things move along walls in a *controlled* way, so that one would have big trouble following. Unless it's able to swim?
Not sure about this one. But go convince me

And your other suggestions?

Re: Arnassi: Definitely not before chapter 2 or 3. And the map is kinda a patchwork, some largely finished chunks, some completely empty parts, some half-finished, etc.