Veneficus Arcanum, a Try Project (Working Grounds).

[Armored Entity]

Well I had a Try Project that I am now going to start. I was inspired by others such as SPIDER and Zarro and Rumia a bit to make an actual-full game multi-stage try, as well as some tutorials and other help I found on the internet gave me some ideas too. Well here is the working ground for it, and hopefully I can release some stuff for it soon. I will update this first post of this topic whenever I have made progress to show.
Also sort like Zarro did, I plan to make the bosses first and release them individually, then make try-versions of them and go from there. Well here it is. ;D

Veneficus Arcanum

Story: In a far away land, the citizens had been living in mostly peace from other foes, until a force of powerful Youkai invaded from far away. These Youkai, though fearsome and mighty, had never interfered before, and a team of 4 powerful combatists known as the Cemetery (which is comprised of the 4 player characters), have come to eradicate these Youkai and find the reasons behind their attack.

A few starting notes: Veneficus Arcanum will be the type of danmaku game that uses little flying spellcaster/fairy type characters rather than a fighter ship, like the kind you see in games such as Castle of Shikigami, Eden Aegis, Mushihimesama, Esp-Ra-De, Deathsmiles, Touhou, Trouble Witches, Gundemonium, Hellsinker etc. No one has attempted this in Fraxy yet, all other ones have used fighter-ships. I thought this will be unique for that reason.
I plan for it to have 6 total stages (7 if you count the Micro-Stage for the true-last boss), secret forms to all the bosses, variation of difficulty, and maybe some power-ups for things too. Also this will not have any midbosses in it, but it will have plenty of enemies of different types and very-hard bosses too. I am trying to make them look less mechanical and more living-creature like. I also plan to make the secret forms of the bosses more rewarding as well as have condition more unique than just no-death the boss. Well here's the stuff I have for it.

EDIT: This try I have decided to have 3 Difficulty levels. The Difficulty levels will be called "Apprentice" (easy), "Mage" (Normal), and "Master" (Hard). And yes this will be a hard try, but I won't make it as hard as most of Zarro or SPIDER's stuff, but still fun and mostly playable.
Also I have decided to implement a more complex scoring system as to make it better. In a manner similar to Ketsui, whenever you destroy a familiar, you get more points if you destroyed it at close-range, and less points if you did at long-range, as to reward you for taking these kinds of risks.

Also I am very open to contributions. If anyone wants to add some stuff such as BG's, Familiars, player weapons, power-ups, or even just some suggestions, I am open for all of it.


Now for some stuff I have done (or partially done) for it so far.

The Cemetery Team (the player characters)

Naryuka

The first one. Naryuka has a lot of offensive power, although his bomb-based attack and defensive skills are somewhat lacking. He is a great and powerful leader, though he feels it is better to be a respected leader than a strong one, which he also is. His main weapon involves 4 rifles that are beside him and shoot blasters, though they are slower and slightly weaker than his primary fire. Hold Boost and his rifles move closer together and stay in place, allowing you to attack in 2 places at once. His Bomb, when ready, makes his Mega Magnum appear in front of him, and when fired, fires a high-damaging blast as well as shoots a flurry of sol diffusers around to protect him. The blast is very powerful and can deplete a significant amount of most bosses's health in one shot, but it only fires forward, meaning that it requires aiming and can't deal with multiple foes easily.

Kiragi and Niri

Kiragi is second and she is accompanied by a small tamed-sprite with fluttering wings named Niri. Niri is the small orb with wings in front of her and is one of the few non-hostile sprites. Her style is aimed fire and a large focus on close-range but still is very powerful. I changed her's a bit and she works a bit like Fossil Maiden in Hellsinker, but easier to use, and maybe a bit like the aimed fire in Warning Forever. Her primary fire is a massive spread that isn't that damaging, but fires out in wide directions, giving a larger area of attack. Hold Boost and her fire aims in whatever direction you are moving and changes while you move, and she reveals two Magic Spears composed of player-bullets that do high damage, though can only be used at close range, limiting its effectiveness. Release and Niri stops moving in whatever direction she was facing when you let go, allowing Kiragi to aim her attack. Her Bomb is stationary but powerful. When used, it makes an energy ball appear where she was (but you can move away from it), then it explodes shooting damaging blasters and a large Sol Diffuser in its blast radius, being more defensive. Might remind you of the energy bomb in XII Stag.

Sayuto

Sayuto is the third of the group, and his attacks mostly have a wide range of fire, though he has some downsides too. He is a boy as well and is also the oldest of the Cemetery Team. Sayuto's primary fire is a large spread fire as seen there, which can be very powerful. His secondary fire from holding down boost makes two magic orbs appear in his hands which shoot spread fire shots out to the sides of him, similar to one of Kagura's armments in Hellsinker. His side-fire shots are actually weaker than his primary fire shots, but they are good for hitting foes from there. Sayuto's Bomb is modeled after Minogame's bomb in Hellsinker, it has not detonation time like Kiragi's, and it fires a flurry of blasters out in all directions and is very strong and is sometimes useful against large groups of enemies. Though the individual blasters fired out by Sayuto's energy bomb don't do that much damage, the sheer number of them and the fact that they fly out everywhere makes up for that. His bomb also shoots out a long-lasting Sol-diffuser where it was launched which can be used like a shield bunker, but isn't very large unfortunately.

Myomi

Myomi is the last one of the team, and the youngest too, and she is also a Meido as you can see. Myomi mainly fights by using glowing spell orbs around her. Her primary fire and each orb fires at the same time and they all have the same firepower at all times. When not holding down Boost, they orbit around her as seen there. When holding down Boost, they trail behind her in classic Gradius Tail-Option style, but with more space between each one, as to hit foes in a wide range. And like the others, her hitbox marker appears when you hold down boost. Myomi's Bomb is one of the most defensive and is also pretty good. When fired, it shoots an area-clearing Sol-diffuser out that clears the entire screen of enemy shots, as opposed to the other 3's ones that have more limited range, although the effect of her Sol Diffuser lasts less time. She also fires a ton of blasters everywhere with her Energy Bomb but not as many as Sayuto does, although her's do more damage for each blaster than Sayuto's do. The triangle thing you see at her center is what flashes when her energy bomb is ready, and also for a bit when she releases it. Myomi has some good defensive moves and a good way of hitting multiple targets, but however she lacks sufficient offensive skill though.
I also had an idea for her in the Try, though I'm not sure how good this is. I was going to add power-up weapons dropped by enemies that increase your attack power until you get owned, like in most danmaku games (if I can figure out a way). I had an idea that for Myomi, instead of gaining attack power, she would gain an extra option for each one collected. She would start out with two and gain one more for each one, and then after the second she would gain attack power like the others. Would that be a good idea or not?

Well that's all the 4 player characters. Let's move onto their foes.

EDIT: Here's download links for the Player weapons of all 4 characters. Download them and test them out, and tell me what you think, and if I need to make changes to them. I could use the help.
Naryuka Wep: http://acmlm.kafuka.org/uploader/get.php?id=4180" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Kiragi and Niri Wep: http://acmlm.kafuka.org/uploader/get.php?id=4181" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Sayuto Wep: http://acmlm.kafuka.org/uploader/get.php?id=4128" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Myomi Wep: http://acmlm.kafuka.org/uploader/get.php?id=4130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Stages, Youkai, and Familiars

Each stage will have multiple foes and a BG that represents the Youkai it is for. Few enemies will be in every stage, save for some such as the Sprites, and the stage-only ones also are to represent the Youkai they serve. Also there will not be midbosses, but a lot of enemies to make up for it. Each stage I am also planning on there being a maximum of 3 unique familiars to it, though different versions of the same familiar that appear too are okay, as long as they look mostly alike with small differences.

Also here's the message that is displayed right before every boss fight as warning.
CONFLICT WITH (Youkai's full name)!!! PRESERVE YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!
EDIT: I also designed a WARNING Image to display before the fight with each Youkai. In fact, it quickly changes from the first to the second to make it look more mystical and stuff. This is my current WARNING Image design, tell me what you think.

Goes from this -->
Then changes to this -->

All Stages

Familiars: Sprites

Small Fairy-like creatures that inhabit the realms where these Youkai usually inhabit. Sprites are small and attack those not of their kind, and they come in many variants. However, one should not fear them much as for they usually aren't too mighty.

These ones are cannon-fodder enemies that appear in every stage. Pretty much easy to beat, but they come in a few different variants, differentiated by their colors and other small features.


Stage 1, Crystal Cavern
Youkai: Joanne, the Gemstone Youkai

The Gemstone Youkai. Her nature is of Loneliness. She resides in the massive crystal cavern wanting someone to befriend her. No one ever does though, and her only visitors are those who are intimidated by her appearance, those who wish to rob the cave of its massive jewels, or those who wish to do her harm. She mostly spends her time inside of a massive crystal and rarely comes out, though she can regenerate this crystal over time. Her true head is hidden by a false one, and she will throw the false one at a foe whom she cannot defeat easily.

Joanne will be boss 1. Note that she will have differences from the original version, such as she will not time-out, have actual health, and her attacks will be toned down to a stage 1 boss. Just so you know.

Familiars: Bartolomeu

Familiars of the Gemstone Youkai, their duty is to maintain the Crystal Cavern and make sure it stays clean and make sure the crystals still shine brightly. There exists a few variants distinguished from others by the color of the gem that forms their lower torso. Despite their lively appearance, they are actually under Joanne's complete control and have no free will of their own. Joanne is very much aware of this, and they do not help cheer up her loneliness

Stage 1 enemies. The Red gem ones fly downward and shoot spreading reflect rays from their arms, and the blue gem ones fly from the sides and fire diamond-shaped bullet configurations at you. They only can be harmed at the gemstone (with a barrier hitbox). I partially based them off of the Misteltoe's from Hellsinker. I have completely finished all variants, including their attacks and movements and stuff.


Stage 2, Palace of Melody
Youkai: Amanda, the Melody Youkai

The Melody Youkai. Her Nature is of Vanity. She believes that she is better than others in her playing and dislikes anyone who disagrees with her. Within her palace lies many beings playing music for her to satisfy her, and she directs their work all the time. However, in truth her songs are not as good as she believes, but she still thinks she and her familiars are blessed musicians. She is a very slow Youkai and most of the time, she hangs from the large arches in her palace directing the music. When she wants to move more, she has one of her personal familiars pick her up and move her, as for it would be much more harder to move there by herself.

She will be the Stage 2 boss. Some of her attacks involve patterns that follow a distinct beat, or shots that are shaped like musical notes or other music-based writing. Her second phase has her being carried by a bat-like familiar named Alexis and there she is more mobile.

Familiars: Alexis

A familiar of the Melody Youkai, this one is a more unique one for Amanda. Her duty is to help Amanda move from place to place due to how Amanda is very slow. She projects a spellbound rope to grab onto her master and flies her to wherever she desires. She is much like Amanda's personal pet and is at the beck and call of her master.

Not exactly a stage enemy, but a familiar nonetheless. On the second phase of the boss fight against Amanda, her arch is destroyed, so she sends in Alexis to carry her around and flies with her. Alexis darts around while Amanda call out the attacks, and at this part she becomes a lot more mobile and harder to hit. I tried to make Alexis look like a spiritual bat-like being, and she certainly does look like that.


Stage 3, the Woods of Light
Youkai: Helen Von Maximoff, the Forest Youkai

The Forest Youkai, she has a Covetuous nature. She loves and covets the plant life and features of the Woods of Light where she resides more than anything else. She expends most of her power to make the forest larger and greater, but she despises those who wander in and desecrate the forest with their presence. Despite her similar appearance, she is actually a much different creature from a sprite.

Stage 3 Boss. Some of her attacks will be heavy on drone-spawning and flower-based moves, as well as summoning solid-part vines to attack. She has a second phase too, and I thought her look seemed fitting, though I altered the wings a bit now.

Familiars: Geoffrey

Familiars of the Forest Youkai, their duty is to protect the Woods of Light from lawless intruders. The flowers on top their Jester-like hats are set by Helen Von Maximoff. Upon finding a foe, they will sound alarms and dash at the foe with the blade on their lower body. Their blades are said to cut through any known solid substance.

These ones appear from the sides of the screen, then they aim and then dash at you blade first, leaving a bullet trail behind them. Helen also summons a lot of them during the boss battle. Also I had an idea to have them give you more points if you destroy them while they farther down the screen, as for it would be harder there. I have completely finished these familiars, including their attacks and movements and stuff.

Bradley

Familiars of the Forest Youkai, their duty is to plant seeds and help make the forest grow larger and make it more pleasing to Helen. They do what they are told to by Helen, though not always without hesitation, as for some of them think that they are not being treated with enough respect.

These ones fly downward and shoot seeds (missiles with no booster or shadow effect) that explode with bullet shrapnel everywhere. They are supposed to kinda look like plant creatures too. On harder difficulties, their seeds have more shrapnel after detonating.


Stage 4, Realm of Dense Fog
Youkai: Veronica, the Fog Youkai

The Fog Youkai. Her nature is of Delusionality. She is not a very smart Youkai and is easily fooled, but she is still a formidable opponent. Her power grows as the fog around her becomes more thick and harder to see through. Her abilities prevent her from being hindered in sight by the fog, but the same cannot be said for her foes. She is very powerful and few have seen her true form, let alone her fake self due to the fog. Her true form is of a much more larger and powerful demonic being. When the fog is extremely thick, she is quite a threat to others.

Stage 4 Boss. I've shown it before but she has a second phase of a much larger demonic being with her first phase in its forehead. Some attacks of hers involve creating effector-based fog clouds that blur the screen if you get too close, but don't do much else, but it is still advised to stay away from them as for the blur will make it harder to see incoming shots. She also has some more complex moves. Her first phase is weaker but a lot more mobile, and her second phase is less mobile but far more troublesome in attacks.

Familiars: Frederick

Familiars of the Fog Youkai, their duty is to create and spread more fog around Veronica's domain. They are strange beings that enjoy the sight of the fog and keep forming more around them. When many are around it can be hard to see, but their glowing eyes can still make them easy to spot through the fog. Strangely despite their appearance, they function a lot like a solid being and have properties much like one. Those who wander too close to one will have their vision distorted until they get farther away, so it is best to deal with them from afar.

Enemies that I found fitting for Veronica's lair, though there will be a second type of Familiar for her that is more solid-looking. Essentially they are effector-based beings and they use a lot of bullet spam but never aim their attacks. Might make there a few different-colored variants as well, though not decided yet. They also have a bad habit of suddenly appearing from nowhere, which can also be troublesome. As stated, the screen gets blurred when you get too close to them. I haven't finished these familiars completely though.


Stage 5, The Gorgeous Stage
Youkai: Emily, the Performance Youkai (full design still pending)
The Performance Youkai, Her nature is of Lust. She loves so many things, and whatever she wants, she does everything in her power to obtain. What she loves the most is the performance of massive plays which her familiars do for her. She directs her familiars to perform acts and plays for her, some that she stars in, though they are not acts or plays one would usually come to see. There are many other things she has an affinity for too, and she will stop at nothing to obtain them, even if it means harming others and destroying villages. Her lust is so great, she mostly plays by the end justifies the means. She is truly a cunning and powerful Youkai, and it is no wonder why she and Amanda get along very well.

Familiars: (not completely decided yet, but somewhat)


Stage 6, The Shadow Lair
Youkai: Vanessa Drakkea, the Darkness Youkai (design still pending)
The Darkness Youkai, she has a Conceited Nature. She believes that she is one of the most powerful beings in existence, and for good reason too, as for her powers are immense and nearly unstoppable. She resides in a massive Dark Realm of her creation, and believes that nearly everyone else besides herself, her familiars, and a few other beings she cherishes, are mediocre compared to her. She will strike down and slay those who do not acknowledge her glory or disagree with her greatness, or cause them pain until they do. Perhaps one of the most diabolical and megalomaniacal Youkai ever known.

Familiars: (not decided yet)


Stage 7, True Last Boss
Youkai: ????????

Familiars: ????????


Well I hope to get this Try done eventually. If anyone has any comments, suggestions, of wants to lend a hand, feel free to ask me.


EDIT: Also here's some more stuff I have for this.

-A magic circle that I am going to use for the emblem. The runes in the big circles spell out the word POWER when read clockwise starting from the top-left one.

-A font of Runes that Garo designed for me. I plan to implement them into the try at times, followed by them being changed to the english-font shortly afterwards so you can read them.

[ZarroTsu]

You're just abusing the HELL out of my ugly sprite, aren't you.

And yes, it IS mine, that guy on Deviantart you ripped it from just recolored it for depth. Which you've up and bastardized.

Good job.

[Armored Entity]

Well I needed a sprite for a girl like that and I am kinda bad at that so I tried editing Dainny for Kiragi. Also I couldn't find any good Hellsinker Sprites on the Internet so I did the best I could with some other sprites I could edit.

Anyone else have anything to say here?

[ShadowHunter]

Are you allowing people to help with the try?

[Armored Entity]

Are you allowing people to help with the try?

Of course I am. I am open to contributions, as long as they work well in it and help me finish it.


I also designed a WARNING Image to display before the fight with each Youkai. In fact, it quickly changes from the first to the second to make it look more mystical. This is my current WARNING Image design, tell me what you think of it.

Goes from this -->
Then changes to this -->

[ShadowHunter]

Of course I am. I am open to contributions, as long as they work well in it and help me finish it.


I also designed a WARNING Image to display before the fight with each Youkai. In fact, it quickly changes from the first to the second to make it look more mystical. This is my current WARNING Image design, tell me what you think of it.

Goes from this -->
Then changes to this -->

Great but on the second image you misspelled richeousness but I know it can be hard to spell

[Halico]

Of course I am. I am open to contributions, as long as they work well in it and help me finish it.


I also designed a WARNING Image to display before the fight with each Youkai. In fact, it quickly changes from the first to the second to make it look more mystical. This is my current WARNING Image design, tell me what you think of it.

Goes from this -->
Then changes to this -->

Great but on the second image you misspelled richeousness but I know it can be hard to spell

No he spelled it right

[Aquamancia]

Great but on the second image you misspelled richeousness but I know it can be hard to spell

A bit hypocritical there, don't you think?
MM spelled it correctly. Just pointing that out.

Edit: dualer ninja but you get the point

[ShadowHunter]

No he spelled it right

That says righteousness

spot the difference

richeousness
righteousness

[Halico]

No he spelled it right

That says righteousness

spot the difference

richeousness
righteousness

I KNOW the difference