Ascension (MV) Alpha 7.0 [Gehenna]

Another quick turnaround, as Gehenna turned out to be a pretty straightforward level to adapt. It's another fun one - all fiery and bright orange. Next up, though, is the largest obstacle between me and putting out a finished version of this game - Labyrinth. I've put considerable effort, yet had considerable difficulty, building a maze that's worthy of living up to its own hype of stranding travelers for ages, until they lose all memory of ever having entered the maze in the first place, yet not being so difficult and frustrating that it prevents players from completing the stage. And that's the task I now have in front of me. The bright side is that once I surmount this obstacle, it will be pretty much clear sailing to the end, so that's what's motivating me. But it's going to take me a little time. So, fair warning. If nothing else, I've made respectable progress this month!

Ascension (MV) Alpha 7.0 (including all stages up to Chapter 9 - Gehenna)
Download (~230 MB): Windows | Mac [see sidebar for latest release]

Note: It occurred to me, after my last release, that if anyone had played through all the available stages in the previous release, they might want to dive straight into the new level added to the next release, and not have to play through all of them again just to get to that point. I apologize. For this release, I've tweaked the stage unlock function so that after you run a new game once, up to the Chapter 1 heading, the next time you load the game and select Continue, all completed stages will be unlocked on all difficulty levels, for you to peruse at your leisure. For testing purposes only. :-p

Ascension (MV) Alpha 6.0 [Sodom & Gomorrah]

Back within a week for another update and release! I am now forging ahead into territory I never made it to, two years ago when I started adapting Ascension from VX Ace to MV. Which is to say, I've completely recovered from my computer crash that corrupted my project files. So that's good news.

With this release I am featuring the adaptation of Chapter 8 - Sodom & Gomorrah. This is a fun level, that really adds a lot of color to the world I've constructed in this game. Another change I've made to the game with this release is that I've added a "story completion" percentage that will display on the continue/map screen. This will give you a general feel of how much of the story you've experienced as you work your way through the game, with the idea that when you reach a sufficient percentage, an extra scene will be unlocked during the ending credits.

I plan to provide a brief explanation within the readme file when the final game is released, but the percentage mainly keys on chapter introductions and Archfiend autobiographies - stuff that fleshes out the story, but that you're given the option to skip to facilitate faster (and less tedious) playthroughs. You only have to read them once, and the percentage will be saved even after you close the game.

That's the reward for completing the story - there will be another reward for dominating the arcade challenges in the game, which is the bonus level and secret ending, but that's for another day. In the meantime, have fun seeking companionship from the denizens of Hell, as you explore the streets of Sodom & Gomorrah!

Ascension (MV) Alpha 6.0 (including all stages up to Chapter 8 - Sodom & Gomorrah)
Download (~230 MB): Windows | Mac [see sidebar for latest release]

Note: One thing that has been frustrating me endlessly is the way that this map is taking unusually long to load the first time. I've concluded that it's the Preload Manager plugin that's causing the lag, but I can't for the life of me figure out why this particular map should be significantly slower than any other in this game so far. I can't figure it out, so you're just going to have to live with it, for now at least. It's only a cosmetic issue, anyway - a matter of a few extra seconds loading the map. I think it's annoying, but it doesn't actually change the way the level plays. [Update]

Ascension (MV) Alpha 5.0 [Chaos]

And, after a two year intermission, we pick up right where we left off - almost to the day* (how weird is that?), with the very next update I would have published, featuring the completed level that I was working on (Chaos - The Yawning Chasm) when my program crashed and my files were corrupted, and before my home life turned into a chaotic whirlwind that has since mercifully stabilized.

*Which also happens to be Valentine's Day - because nothing says love like the impending doom of crushing darkness, leading to the ultimate destruction of the universe!

I'm about as tired of making promises now as you are no doubt tired of hearing them, so from here on out, it's what you see is what you get. I am determined, however, to complete this project. I've given up on the pipe dream of making this game "everything it could be". I don't need this game to be perfect, I just want a finished product I can share with the world, that can be played start to finish, that brings to life the story that I wanted to tell.

Which I think it already can - it just needs to be put together. Which is to say that I need to finish the adaptation effort I started two years ago in porting the game from VX Ace to MV. Which I am now once again working on. The good news is that, although there are periods when I struggle to even open the program, the fact is that once I have it open and am working on it, I really enjoy the work quite a lot (barring the occasional frustrating coding challenge that I can't seem to surmount). It's just that - and this is true in a lot of disciplines - putting together a large project, and seeing it through to a level of completion is hard. (Which is why I have to finish this one before I work on Dragonfaith again).

But, like Sisyphus, I'm still chugging away. And these periodic downloadable updates are the proof of that. I've made a determination this time around to cut out some of the fat, so hopefully that will make my task easier. No more save files - you can continue from any stage once it's been unlocked. And I no longer have anxiety about the length of the game - this will be one you can probably complete in a single sitting. (But maybe not the first time; or at least, it will take some added commitment to unlock the secret extra stage). And that's okay.

Ascension (MV) Alpha 5.0 (including all stages up to Chapter 7 - Chaos)
Download (~230 MB): Windows | Mac [see sidebar for latest release]

Note: The download size has jumped quite a bit, because I couldn't use the option to "strip unused files" because I tried it that way, and it stripped some files that were used but not recognized because I referred to them only implicitly via a script command (and not a traditional eventing command). It sucks, I know, but I'm not going through right now and individually hand-picking which files are used and which aren't, so you'll just have to live with it.