I was able to cross a few things off the list this weekend! Nothing major, but I think they make the overall experience more enjoyable. Also added a little "Battle Tips" popup to the main menu and changed the way missions work so they remember which level you defeated them at and get tougher with each additional victory. No major bug fixes though - only Time Arrow got tweaked as the recovery amounts were off. Thank you for your continued patience!

Thanks, I too think working with digitized versions of the characters is the best way to explain the gameplay (the Miyamoto method of storytelling) and I'm glad you picked up on that.

I can have the players fight each other temporarily, but only until they realize that they're all on the same side (or are they?) and work together in the end, trading robots and helping each other progress through the story.

It also explains all the robot data modifications, multiple copies of robots, fusion stages, and especially the "downloading data" phrase thrown around in game. It even makes the whole Core Match thing more believable - Bubble Man learning Laser Trident in real life is unrealistic, but as a virtual program working within the confines of data compression algorithms and database type categories it's more plausible.

To answer your question, I would LIKE to have robots from all "official" games - even Japanese. That means eventually including the Challengers from the Future (Wonderswan) bosses in some way, but probably not until much later. The only real exception to this are the RockMan Strategy robot masters - I just really do not like their designs. "Fan" might be an option, but the others are too... sloppy. :|

EDIT: AND it can play into the X series very, very well without ever explicitly stating that it does. Even if this "prototype" project is destroyed and abandoned at the end of the game, who's to say Light and Wily do not continue the research themselves in secret? Light using his experience to build the AI for X and Wily to build the AI for Zero? I wonder what Cossack ended up doing with his life?

@SparkChaser : I have no problem with you posting the name of other games or links to other websites. I'm not crazy! :P

He looks pretty interesting, so if someone can make a deal with the developer and allow him to appear in the game than I'm okay with it. Special fan-characters might not appear IN the game until much later when we have other stuff completed, but they'll at least be added to the database until they're ready. A pipe dream of mine is to have an entire "set" of robot masters (meaning 8 with their own weakness cycle) make up of hand-picked fanmade robots from other fangames. Maybe Yoku Man from Unlimited, and 7 other from other completed or highly regarded projects. I think it might be fun. :)

@SparkChaser Ballade is already complete - Sean sent him to me several months ago. I just need to add him to the game and give him some attacks. Sorry!

Wow, you guys are basically planning out the game for me! Haha.

Truth is, I already have a few ideas of how the "new" or "final" game flow should be. There are still a lot of details to iron out, but some things I want to make clear before you all get your hopes up about certain things.

1. I only plan to add one more playable character, and that's obviously Dr. Cossack. I feel like three is a powerful number in video games, which is why so many use it constantly. I'm not sure of the exact science but it appears to have worked for the likes of Mario, Zelda, and so many other classics, Three hits to beat the enemy, three buttons to hit in a specific order, three magic crystals, three main dungeons, etc. etc. Also, I feel like adding more players would unnecessarily complicate what is already a very complicated game.

2. Each of the three players will have access to different robots, but all will be included within those three campaigns - no more players. Think of each of the three save files as different versions of a Pokemon game - same basic layout and game and mechanics, but a different set of robots to unlock and abilities to collect.

3. The amount and order of campaigns will be changed as or before Dr. Cossack is add to the game. Right now there is a LOT of filler. Trust me, having you fight the same robots over and over and over for the main campaign is embarrassing, but it's there to pad out the space until the newer robots and abilities and fields are completed.

4. The method for unlocking robots will be changed at some point in the future. People are getting too comfortable using 2, 3, 8 robots for every battle from the get-go and missing out on lots of experience and level-up abilities as a result. I want the robot masters to be accessible, but not automatically given to you unless you want them. I was thinking of having the Powered Up way where you only unlock a robot master if you do NOT hit him with his weakness, but it doesn't play into the "story" ideas I have. Another option is having the robots purchasable in the "store" (a forthcoming feature). We'll have to see though...

5. Oh, did I not mention there would be a store? At some point bolts will be added to the game and these bolts will be used in a new shop/store section. You will be able to buy new abilities, new robots, items, and other fun goodies. In order for this to happen though, I have to program a few other things first - namely the "items" and their functionality, and weapon energy limits.

6. My primary goal with these three saves files is to make them with WITH each other instead of against each other. Right now Dr. Light and Dr. Wily's stories have them fighting each other because there's nothing else to fight - in the next major revision of the game Light, Wily, and Cossack (the classic-series Sage Trinity will be working together against a common threat. Clear some stages in Light mode and it unlocks new missions in Wily's. Clear some more stages in Wily mode and new ones are opened up for Cossack. Rinse and repeat as you fight through the new bosses.

7. Once the new setup is completed, the game will be released in "expansions" to ease development. What this means is that new content will be released slowly in packs instead of all at once later. No there will never be any charges or anything, calling them "expansions" is just a good way to explain it. The first expansion will be Light with MM1 robots, Wily with MM2 robots, and Cossack with MM4 robots. Next expansion Light, Wily, and Cossack will fight robots from MM3, 5, and 6 (with the exact distribution pending). After that for expansion three I can release MM7, 8, and MM&B, etc. etc. I'd like to throw some custom robots in there as well as some robots from other fangames, but that's still pending too.

8. OMG SO MUCH MORE! I don't know how I'm going to do it all, but I've come this far so I can't stop now! Of course, it would not be anywhere close to possible without all the contributors, and you all know how grateful I am for your help. ^_^

That's all for now. Thanks for listening to my crazy ideas. :)

@Keepman96 @MetalMan I'm sorry Keepman, but I did say that Sean (MetalMan) was already making Quint and you should ask him first. I also said that I was still thinking over how I wanted Quint to actually be made and didn't want anyone to start on him until I had decided. I can find other, special projects for you, but I have to give Quint to Sean. I'm so sorry to both of you for the confusion. :(

Now that you guys have forced it out of me, I guess I have to make a decision about Quint. I've decided that I want his base sprite to be in the same format as all other robots, without the Sakugarne. I would like the Sakugarne as a separate, 40x40 sprite with a simple bouncing animation and maybe an "impact" frame for when it lands on the target. Please let me know if you need any other details Sean, and I look forward to what you come up with. :)

I definitely want you to do him, but before officially give you the job I need to decide (in my mind) how I want him done. Quint's design is very unique, and I'm thinking about whether the Sakugarne should be part of his robot sprite, or added as a separate ability/attachment in-game. Once I figure it out I'll let you know, and the Spring Man you sent me looks GREAT! I look forward to rest of the sheet, and it will be a lot of fun to see MM7 robots in the game at some point. ^_^

Thank you for posting this article - I really want people to be able to see what goes on behind the scenes and maybe get a better understanding of why things are the way they are. You've done a great job with the weaknesses, and I enjoy reading your journeys and thought-processes as you balanced the robots.

I had no idea the Archie comic was the reason behind Crash Man's Shield weakness! I thought you were just trying to give the type more exposure, but this is even better. :D I think that this game can and should incorporate not just the official canon, but also fan and/or extended universe canon where it makes sense - given the nature of the project it feels appropriate to treat it as a tribute to the entirety of the Mega Man fandom and not limit it to official games.

I should also mention that I really enjoyed your use of type-colouring in this article! I hope more people become comfortable with using the style/formatting options in the future - they add a lot of visual flare to an otherwise neutral/dark website design!

Let me just end this by saying "thank you" again for all you've done. Your research and choices have really helped to enrich the game's universe, and I want you to know how much I appreciate your hard work and professionalism. :)

I have watched videos for many of these, but have played none of them. I have a hard time with games that require an install, as I'm very picky about what's on my home/work machine - paranoid about viruses! I'm such a bad person... >_>

They certainly look cool though, and one day I might give them a try. Some of the bosses look cool too - maybe one day I'll ask we can use them in our game? :P

This is a great article - thank you for writing it. :) I love how we all have our own unique origin stories for our love of Mega Man - my first was Mega Man 3 rented from a convenience store down the street of my grandmother's house... such nostalgic memories. ^_^

I have had so much fun working with you so far (and everyone else!) and it's a pleasure to have you contribute to the game. I'm excited to finally give your sprites proper treatment with their own stages and abilities, and I promise to do it as soon as is humanly possible! ^_^

I was originally intending for this thread to be in the News forum, but it actually fits kind of well in here especially with the title you gave it. If anyone else wants to share their "Mega Man and Me" stories, please feel free to do so! :D

Thank you all for your kind words, it really means a lot. :)

But really, I understand where vaati is coming from and I can see how he might be turned off by the graphics. I've had several people say the same thing, and objectively they are correct. The sprites themselves have a lot of polish, and do the individual frames of the attack animations, but the way they are expressed in-game makes them appear very "static" and non-action like.

That being said, I do not intend to change the way the game is animated anytime soon. It is simple for a number of reasons, including the reason mentioned by BladeWolfe1 - the less CPU-intensive the game is the more accessible it is. There are SO many good Mega Man fangames out there, but they almost all require installing something on your computer and maybe having the right drivers/hardware/control-pad to play it. By making it browser-based with (very) primitive graphics we're able to play it on a number of different devices with a relatively low memory footprint.

As I cross-off other, higher priority items on my development list I will continue to polish the aesthetics and presentation of game to the best of my abilities. If that happens to include smoother animations or other bells and whistles, awesome, but the basic frame-by-frame flow of the game will not be changed. I apologize if this is a deal-breaker, and I thank you for playing either way. :)

Can't believe I forgot to reply to this! You can email me or you can use the contact form. I've updated the thread with you as the editor - look forward to seeing your work. :D

@MetalMan and MMX100 - if either of you have a problem with this and wanted to do Spring Man, let us know and we'll work something else out. :)