TRYH4RD: Conqueror Edition (Post-jam update!)

Hi all!

I've been hard at work for the past month or so working on the post-jam version of TRYH4RD. The original jam version took me about 40 hours of work. The new update took an additional 32 hours of work, which was definitely more than I expected. I poured a lot into the new update, so I hope you all enjoy it! Without further ado, let's talk about new features:

Conqueror Mode

This is the new "Hard Mode" of the game. Bosses have all new attacks and attack patterns in this mode, and each boss also has a unique "Super Attack" that they do on their final phase. The original jam version is now called "Standard mode".

I'm gonna avoid any gifs here, because I don't want to spoil anything, but just to give you an idea of how different Conqueror mode is: Most of my friends were able to beat the original TRYH4RD (which is now called "Standard mode") with 1-5 deaths total.

On conqueror mode, the number of deaths ranged from 21- 60 deaths total. Conqueror mode is hard, but it's meant to be fair. The knockdown system is still in place, so you can keep trying and eventually beat any of the bosses (although bosses will restore a little more HP in between attempts on Conqueror mode).

In general, Conqueror mode is sort of what I had originally planned for the game in terms of difficulty. I wanted this game to be really hard, and to force you to dig deep and learn the bosses, and keep trying. I think conqueror mode achieves that.

Controller Support!

The game now supports XBOX and PS4 controllers! The button prompts in the download version will update to whichever controller you are using. In the web version, the prompts will default to keyboard / xbox controls, but you can still use a ps4 controller just fine.

I think the game feels so much better on a controller. If you struggled with the original game due to the clunkiness of the controls, I highly recommend giving it a second try with a controller of your choice.

Other Quality of Life improvements

Rapid fire time:

• Skippable cutscenes! Hold the "K" key (or start on a controller) to skip a cutscene
• Boss select screen! Press the "9" key on the keyboard to go to the boss select, and pick your favorite boss to re-fight! You can fight them on standard or conqueror mode!

What's Next?

One thing I want to apologize for: I do not think I'll be making a technical devlog for this game. If anyone has any specific questions on how I implemented something, feel free to DM me on twitter or leave a comment. I had originally planned a lengthy devlog, but I'm pretty burnt out from the post-jam version of this game. I'm ready to move onto something new.

No promises, but I'm planning on revisiting some of my past games to see if I can expand on something. I'm also planning on gauging the reception of Conqueror mode for TRYH4RD to see if it's something I want to create a sequel for.

Thank you all

Thank you all SO SO much. I still can't believe TRYH4RD did so well in the jam. I'm so happy that people enjoyed this game, and I'm so glad I met so many great gamedevs during this jam. Thank you all for playing, and I hope you enjoy Conqueror edition!

Thanks!

Abhi