Wednesday, April 1, 2009

RKS Challenge 007: Lusteful Thinking



Alright, I'm going to have to walk you through some steps to get this challenge to work properly, so bear with me. We at Darkside-Zeppy have been hard at work trying to put this one together, and we hope that it's paid off. In this challenge, you'll have to save the day as the Hero of Justice, Luste Teuber! Err, I mean, UNBEKKANT!

Step 01:
It is very important that you back up all of your original .dat files. I cannot stress this enough. We have had to explain this to a few testers who have been helping us. In the event that something goes wrong (which is unlikely but still possible), you will want to have everything backed up so you do not have to reinstall the game for one specific .dat file.

Step 02:
Download the "RKS Luste Mod" here. I have temporarily stored it on my Mediafire account; soon, we will move it to dedicated file storage for the upcoming new RKS website. Inside the .zip, you will find modified versions of the following files:

- rks.exe - The executable for the game.
- scenario.dat - Where the new script and scenario are stored.
- player.dat - Where the Luste action scripts are located.
- system.dat - File modded to allow the game access to the new Luste files.


You will also find a new folder called "ex_luste", which is designed to act similarly to the "ex_freudia" folder for RKS Freudenstachel; this is where the important Luste graphic files can be found. Because the mod uses no unique sound effects or stage graphics, only a graphic file is included. All voice clips, SFX, and graphics are pulled from the existing RKS .dat files.

Step 03:
Replace and add all the necessary files in their respective directories. The .zip archives the files in a manner similar to the original file archive for RKS, so everything should be self-explanatory. If everything is put in its proper place, the mod will be installed.

Step 04:
Our resident programmer, TDOMMX (from the Darkside part of Darkside-Zeppy), has implemented the mod so that it can only be accessed by a button code at the company logo screen, much like with the Grollschwert Another Mode (which is Left, Right, Weapon Change R, Weapon Change L at the [erka:es] screen, in case you were unaware). Because of how simple the input is for Grollschwert (I actually stumbled upon the Grollschwert mode originally myself), he has taken the liberty of making a slightly more complicated code. To access Hero of Justice Luste Mode, do the following:

Wait 2 seconds and then quickly enter Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Weapon Change L, Weapon Change R, Shot, Jump.

The code may seem familiar to you for obvious reasons. If entered correctly, the "Warning!" symbol will appear as per the norm, but instead of hearing "Grollschwert!" or "Seelegewehr!", you will hear Luste say "Ah! Asobo!". We really didn't feel like making a complete unique title screen or options menu, so it will appear the same as Spiritia's, only with Luste's awesome stage theme playing over it.

Here's some quick info about HoJ Luste:

- Her only attack is Lustatem, but it is chargeable and has infinite ammo.
- She can jump higher than both Spiritia and Grolla; unfortunately, we did not implement a hover/flight mechanic.
- Her stage boss is Spiritia. (This will later be changed to Doppelganger Luste in the next revision of the mod.)
- Her attack power is greatly improved, but her defense is lower than even that of Grolla's. She will only take 3-4 hits before dying.


Step 05:
Now that Luste is ready for action, the challenge begins!



Enter that password to start with Silberflugel Eins, Silberflugel Zwei, and Lilli, and head over to Trauare's stage. Complete the stage in the fastest time, and you win the challenge and, lest we forget, the cash prize!

Conditions:
- You may use any available means to complete the stage. No strings attached this time.
- You must take the lower path in Trauare's stage. (At the mid-level checkpoint, take the path that requires you to slide instead of the ladder path.)
- Because of Luste's defense, taking damage will actually decrease your time by 1 second. This is nullified, however, if you die.


That's all there is to it!

To submit your replays, please use the RosenkreuzStilette Uploader Site. Please follow these easy instructions.



1) Name the .rpy files whatever you want and upload the zip here. (Note: Please make sure your replay is in a .zip archive.)
2) Enter "Lusteful Thinking" in the comment box.
3) Click here to upload the file.

Godspeed, Luste! Show the world your warrior's pride!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

RKS Freudenstachel Delayed

According to the latest blog post by [erka:es], Rosenkreuzstilette Freudenstachel will not be completed in time for Summer Comiket 76 and will probably see a Winter Comiket 77 release. In addition, the Web Trial version is taking longer than expected and will not be seen for some time. Well, looks like bigger breasts means bigger delays.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

RKS Challenge #006 Results... and Other Things

1st Place - Cremator - Combined time of 3'10"50
2nd Place - Tanin - Combined time of 3'26"11
3rd Place - Moonblade13 - Combined time of 4'23"51

And the winner of Double-Cross is Cremator! There's not much I can really say about these results. Go watch the replays for yourself. Some of the techniques used are beyond impressive. I hope you guys are ready for Challenge #007. Remember, it's got a cash prize, so prepare yourself for the worst!

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Another graphic mod for Rosenkreuzstilette is currently in the works. We'll be inserting the Freudenstachel images and sprites for Freudia, Liebea, Grolla, and Zorne into the original game. In addition, I will be fixing a minor error with the original Grollschwert Mod. Future plans, once we hack the game further, will be to create a player mod to allow you to play as Hero of Justice Luste. Because we do not have the sprites for the RKSF version of Hero of Justice Luste, I will be editing the sprites to reflect her RKSF April Fool's version, in which she has black goggles and a yellow scarf a la Protoman. When I get even better at sprite editing, I will implement a graphic mod that allows Spiritia to literally morph into the respective character of the weapon she is selecting.

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There's been more talk about RKS over on 2ch. Our resident reporter has informed me that of all the random things to come up, someone attempted to do a full run of the game using only "pea-shooter" shots, or only uncharged buster shots. Funnily enough, he did not have the patience to defeat the Cross Wall, the Spider, and the Yellow Devil in this manner. There was also talk of a glitch in which the game will bug out if you defeat Sichte during a Time Stop while in mid-air as Grolla. I tried to replicate it as best I could, and the one instance in which I actually succeeded, I did not encounter such a bug. I'll try my best to replicate the method.

By the way, I made a picture for linking and such over there underneath the [erka:es] one. You can use it for linking here.

Monday, March 23, 2009

RKS Popularity Poll Results



And the popularity poll ends! The fans have spoken, and the winner of the poll is the Princess of Permafrost, Freudia Neuwahl with 25 votes. Our original heroines, Grolla Seyfarth and Spiritia Rosenberg, trailed behind her with 17 and 14 votes, respectively. Poor Raimund and Michael, our Castlevania clones, just couldn't get a break this time and were beaten out by a bunch of little girls with amazing scores of 0. It's a shame, really.

Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll!