How to use a DirectInput controller with Megaman X: Eclipse

Eclipse has built-in support for Xinput controllers, however it does not support DirectInput. It simply wouldn't work well if I tried to integrate it into Eclipse itself (based on how GameMaker handles it) but there is still a way to use that controller with a program called Joy2Key.

It's a fairly simple program to use. Open it up and click on "Auto Setting Wizard" and then press the key you want to map to. Eclipse will have to be set to the keyboard setting for it to work. Once you're all done just minimize the program and you're good to go!

I do intend on trying to add DirectInput support in the future, but I won't keep it unless it works flawlessly. I'm doing some brainstorming to see what methods I could try. In the meantime, Joy2Key works great.

MMX Eclipse Demo v1.02 Released

New Features:

• "I'm Stuck" button. If you happen to get stuck in a wall and cannot move X, press Escape and it will kill X without taking away a life. You must be stuck inside something in order for this to work. 

Bug fixes:

• Fixed wallshooters freezing when going off screen and coming back on
• Fixed hearts respawning after dying
• Fixed not being able to pause/unpause after Alt+Tab'ing
• Fixed X moving too fast horizontally when dash wall jumping if left/right is held
• Fixed getting stuck in gate before lava pit, it'll kill X now

X changes:

• Wall jumping re-tuned

Level changes:

• Checkpoint added between the spike roof area and lava ascension area
• Lava will no longer be instant kill and it will move at a more reasonable speed.
• Lava ascension area has been rearranged
• Lava bursts now do twice as much damage to the ride armor
• The mid-boss no longer moves up to the roof.

Enemy changes:

• Hoganmer's health increased
• Dig Labour's axe throwing improved
• Wall shooters in lava pit won't shoot if submerged by lava
• Extra life drop rate lowered. (We're working on finding out the true drop rate of SNES X games, but it's going to take a bit of research)

You can download it here

MMX Eclipse Demo v1.01 Released

Features:

• Added checks for shader support and compilation. This will prevent the game from crashing on computers that don't have shader supporting video cards. 
• Added a message in the pause menu that tells you if your computer supports shaders
• Moved the life bar up

Bug fixes:

• Ride armor not being destroyed
• Accuracy of the missile turtle when shooting to the right
• X being frozen if you died while Scorch Raptor was dying
• Half boss being able to hit you when falling off screen after dying

You can download it here

Error Upon Shooting Enemy

If you're getting a "D3DXCompile failed - result" error upon shooting the first enemy, this should help you fix it.

Go to http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=35 and simply download and run it. It'll update your DirectX to the latest version.

It's also possible that your graphics card doesn't support shaders. No worries, though. The next update will run a check to see if you can run shaders, and if not, it won't use them. You just might miss out on some neat effects, but the game will be playable.

Demo Release!

It's here! The demo has finally been completed and you are now able to download it for Windows. The OUYA version is being worked on. I'll give an update on that later.

You will be able to play Scorch Raptor's stage. It's very challenging and it will be the longest level in Eclipse, so we're giving you 5 lives and a subtank to start you off. We're considering making an "easy mode" later on, but that's not a priority at the moment.

You will be able to dash, air dash and up dash; however X will not have any upgraded armor equipped. We want to keep the armor design a "surprise" for the full release.

The stage select screen design and some of the music is temporary. We were unable to finalize some of the songs we planned to use, but once we do we'll provide an update.

We also want to give Josh Shelton a HUGE thank you for joining our team and his endless contributions. He designed and animated Scorch Raptor and has done a significant amount of sprite work for us. This demo couldn't have happened without him! I encourage you to check out his deviantart page, he's got some unreal talent.

BarylTDF did the original Scorch Raptor stance sprite, and Yllisos Zanon refined it. Big thanks to you guys as well!

You can download v1.00 here or from the sidebar on the right. (If you get a D3DX error, read this: http://mmxeclipse.blogspot.ca/2013/08/error-upon-shooting-enemy.html)

The default controls are -

Move - Arrow keys
Shoot - X
Dash - C
Jump - Z
Full screen - F11

We also support Xinput controllers. These (except fullscreen) can be modified in the option mode.

I should note that recently GameMaker: Studio had a bug that ruined the .exe's created from it, causing many, many glitches. It worked fine on my computer except for 1 small bug, but was completely broken on others. I have downgraded to an earlier build and it worked as it should for me, so let's hope it also does on your computer! If you have any errors or bug repots, be sure to let me know in the comment section. Eventually I'd like to set up a proper bug report system, but not right now.

Getting Closer!

The demo is very, very close to release. All the tiles have been laid out and the level events have been coded. It's just a matter of doing some final bug testing and a bit of fine tuning.

We're primarily focusing on the Windows version right now. After it's out, we will get started on the OUYA version. However, we won't be putting it out on the OUYA market, so you will have to download and sideload the .apk file from us.

After the Windows & OUYA versions are out, we'll start looking at bringing Eclipse onto other platforms (Ubuntu and HTML5 are at the top of that list).

Testing the OUYA

Got my OUYA in the mail today and decided to test out MMX Eclipse on it. Still need to do some optimization but so far it works like a charm!