"I dunno how to do this section without aiming upwards..."
*He literally does it 2s later*
XD
Next best segment was in your winning run when you found a secret passage.
Thank you so much for playing a lot! I'm sorry you didn't play the last hotfix, it was less buggy (like the audio bug), it was even easier and with better tutorials/UI (also with the actual commands for keyboard only -__-')
It's just ok. I'm not a fan of the constantly spawning enemies, so it goes against what I want(clear the room calmly) vs rush in and kill the spawner. Movement feels pretty good. Visuals are fine. Just not my cup of tea really, though I think the gameplay would be enjoyable to others.
- "south button" based - I despise the heavy screenshake on every shot, that alone already makes this iteration a huge downgrade and there's no way to turn it off - clicking the options button automatically clicks the resolution button
Tried it for a few more min and the shaking is really insufferable. Let me know when I can toggle it off, was looking forward to replaying this.
Noted. Ofc the bgm for now is just to not play in silence.
I'm having a really really hard time hitting anything. IDK Maybe I just suck at these games.
You were playing with pad or keyboard? I should see you play, but hitboxes are in a huge advantage for player fire. Maybe you should be more aggressive, or if you wanna play safe you can count the range of the weapon (the tiles help you) and aim not for the projectile itself but for the explosion after. (since both proj and explosion deal damage, this playstyle is safer but slower).
It doesn't seem like there's any reason to ever land, given that it makes you slower. Maybe have it reduce knockback from recoil and explosions?
That's a nice idea. Thanks, and ty again for playing and commenting.
It feels a lot better then the last Time. Played with a Controller this Time around.
I'd prefer if both Shoulderbuttons were for strafing instead of only left one I think. Music is nice, Sounds became a lot quieter after a while, don't know why.
Some of the Rooms play nicely, others don't. Theres still the Issue that some of the Spawners just spawn as fast as you can kill them, so if something else also spawns/is there, you are stuck in the same Place and can't progress. Unless you suicide through the Enemies to rush to the Spawner and Bomb it. Which at least takes 2 Health to do, one from hitting an Enemy to become invincible, one from the Bomb. Subweapons feel nice, Movement feels less floaty I think. Don't know if you changed anything on that tho.
I'd prefer if both Shoulderbuttons were for strafing instead of only left one I think.
For next demo I'll try to implement control rebind.
Sounds became a lot quieter after a while, don't know why.
Y, that's a bug I didn't solve yet.
Some of the Rooms play nicely, others don't.
If you remember what were the shit rooms I'll all ears.
Theres still the Issue that some of the Spawners just spawn as fast as you can kill them, so if something else also spawns/is there, you are stuck in the same Place and can't progress.
Could you check if you played the [hotfix] version? That's maybe also a tutorial issue. With the new knockback (if you align player, stalker and spawner) if you kill an enemy he will be knocked back and explode, killing the spawner in the process. By the same rule if you are starting to get over whelmed you could retreat, stalkers will follow you and die all together with a chain explosion when you kill one .
Unless you suicide through the Enemies to rush to the Spawner and Bomb it.
That's a valid tactic when you don't wanna lose time, but you should be able to rush a spawner without getting hit. So maybe among the other things that's a balance issue; in the first levels I need to make enemies slower or reduce spawn rate/range even further.
Movement feels less floaty I think. Don't know if you changed anything on that tho.
I did. Now the gravity is different if you stay still on the air or if you are moving, also while strafing you fall slower.
The annoying Rooms basically where the ones with the Spawners. The one that made me quit was the one where you spawn on the bottom right, with 3 different Subweapons above you, and Spawners coming from the Left. They are far enough apart to not chain back a meaningful Way, but came fast enough at me to not be able to move forward. Maybe I just suck tho.
I got you, That's a secret (hard) level. A trick you can use (that I didn't say in the tutorial) is hug a wall with a spawner on the other side and use a bomb. But no problem, the difficulty balance is pretty fucked right now. I need to think like a new player and make some starting levels for beginners.
Make the options menu accessible from the main menu.
Why does the resolution default to 1600x900?
Pressing Esc in the options menu unpauses the game instead of just going back to the pause menu.
Z/X should confirm/go back in menus.
I don't know about the huge knockback from explosions. I feels wrong to get knocked back by an exploding enemy without taking damage, and it can be a bit disorientating.
Explosions should only do damage/cause knockback for one frame. Lingering hitboxes are bad.
Firing the laser muffles all sound effects until you turn the sound effect volume all the way down and then turn it up again.
I don't like the delay before crates open.
Upon further testing, the knockback is just terrible.
Maybe it's just muscle memory, but I kept getting the buttons for the sub-weapons and the bombs mixed up.
The bomb sub-weapon is still pretty useless since there are so few enemies on the ground, and most levels have you moving upwards.
I think you should experiment with larger/more complex enemies. These tiny flying ones can be pretty finicky to hit, and I don't think they'd be all that fun in the long run as the main enemy type.
Make the options menu accessible from the main menu.
It was cut because it was bugged, but y it's my intention to have options on menu screen.
I don't know about the huge knockback from explosions. I feels wrong to get knocked back by an exploding enemy without taking damage, and it can be a bit disorientating.
Explosions should only do damage/cause knockback for one frame. Lingering hitboxes are bad.
Agreed. It's bad and I'll solve it (just reading your commend gave me the solution, just have two fukking explosion layers). I leave it in like that for the demo because it's fun to see enemies chain explode, and with 1frame explosion the chain it's always underwhelming,
Firing the laser muffles all sound effects until you turn the sound effect volume all the way down and then turn it up again.
Thanks for find, the audio is still super bugged.
I don't like the delay before crates open.
It's still an on exit trigger because some boxes dropped enemies (a thing you didn't like in the last demo, that I cutted for now).
Maybe it's just muscle memory, but I kept getting the buttons for the sub-weapons and the bombs mixed up.
Hopefully I'll have a rebind system next demo.
The bomb sub-weapon is still pretty useless since there are so few enemies on the ground, and most levels have you moving upwards.
Agreed, since last demo I worked almost nothing on new levels
I think you should experiment with larger/more complex enemies. These tiny flying ones can be pretty finicky to hit, and I don't think they'd be all that fun in the long run as the main enemy type.
Agreed. Thank you for playing and commenting again dud.
I wrote a nice giant review but I lost it when accidentally clicking your game icon which switches the page because this website stinks. So i'll try again from memory
I played your game after asking for recommendations from the thread. I played a nice solid amount, but I am not a shmup gamer so some of the feedback might be inconsistent with good shmup design. Anyway, here goes:
>Game should have an Option button in the Main Menu, not just ingame, incase the sound is too loud or quiet
>The Setting sliders are inconsistent. Usually I grab the slider or option under what I'm actually trying to aim. Your button colliders are probably misaligned from the actual Text component
>Changing levels and some other unknown triggers reset the sound volume, but the sliders stay the same in the options menu
>Some sounds (level transition explosion?) are either crazy loud or unaffected by the sliders. Perhaps the volume resets right before those sounds play
>The combat is fine, it makes sense. Movement is a bit weird but that feels like a selling point you can expand upon more than a negative
>The yellow lightbulb always make me think it's part of the background instead of being an interactable object. Perhaps the color is to blame, since the non yellow bulbs are obvious and stand out so I always shoot them. A good idea might be to give them some bobbing animation, an outline, or something else to remind the player it's not just scenery
>In general I think respawning enemies or enemy spawners are an awful mechanic in any game. I would revamp many levels to remove those entirely and save them for special encounters (if at all). It makes me think of the levels as cheap, because the ultimate meta tactic is to approach things slowly through attrition instead of any other interesting approach. There's no tactics there, just sluggishness. I think the game would be much more enjoyable if you hand-placed a bunch of enemies where there would be an ideal path or way to clear the room instead. Save the spawners for a boss room with plenty of space and smart enemy positioning
>The visuals are fine. The terrain is clearly still WIP since it has no detail, but its serviceable and has no issues, which is better than what most demos offer
>The sound is fine as well, apart from the volume issues. Any sound is better than none and I found no problems here
I think you're headed towards having a good game, and I'll give it another go next DD
I wrote a nice giant review but I lost it when accidentally clicking your game icon which switches the page because this website stinks.
Know the feeling. Since something similar happened to me I use on a txt then copy-paste.
>Game should have an Option button in the Main Menu
Agreed, it was bugged, so i cut it out
>All Sound bugs
Noted, sound and option ui is very bugged right now
>The combat is fine, it makes sense. Movement is a bit weird but that feels like a selling point you can expand upon more than a negative
Thanks!
>The yellow lightbulb always make me think it's part of the background instead of being an interactable object. Perhaps the color is to blame, since the non yellow bulbs are obvious and stand out so I always shoot them. A good idea might be to give them some bobbing animation, an outline, or something else to remind the player it's not just scenery
Agreed. Hopefully they will be animated in the next demo (among an actual tileset).
>In general I think respawning enemies or enemy spawners are an awful mechanic in any game. I would revamp many levels to remove those entirely and save them for special encounters (if at all)
For now I always avoided the issue because the game I took inspiration from worked in this way. The reasoning is simple, if you can fly anywhere you could just dash through the whole level like a body run in dark souls. On the other hand I don't like much the idea to lock you in some combat arena every two rooms. I'll explore on that and try some classic level design for the next demo
>I think you're headed towards having a good game, and I'll give it another go next DD
RoboTemplar is one of the worst meatloaf recipes I've ever seen in my life. No information on what kind of meat to use, how much chopped onion, how long to cook it, how to prepare the ketchup sauce, just nothing. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a recipe, it was more like a fast paced shooter that took me numerous tries to get all the way through, one with at least five different types of attacks and explosions that'll knock you clear across the room. What a shitty meatloaf recipe...
Comments
Here's the video I promised with commentary:
https://mega.nz/file/PBdSxTTS#LwCsraTXZO4t9sQ5EJ23ukZ7Ks0Unkb8rf30jj4Wbc4
Sorry if audio volumes are not ideal. I did not rewatch the whole video, but it should work fine. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
"I dunno how to do this section without aiming upwards..."
*He literally does it 2s later*
XD
Next best segment was in your winning run when you found a secret passage.
Thank you so much for playing a lot! I'm sorry you didn't play the last hotfix, it was less buggy (like the audio bug), it was even easier and with better tutorials/UI (also with the actual commands for keyboard only -__-')
well, that section where you need to go up always felt like a suicide run.
I am sure out of all the videos I recorded, there are some mildly funny moments.
I am going to play your game next DD, so you can make even more improvements.
It's just ok. I'm not a fan of the constantly spawning enemies, so it goes against what I want(clear the room calmly) vs rush in and kill the spawner. Movement feels pretty good. Visuals are fine. Just not my cup of tea really, though I think the gameplay would be enjoyable to others.
- "south button" based
- I despise the heavy screenshake on every shot, that alone already makes this iteration a huge downgrade and there's no way to turn it off
- clicking the options button automatically clicks the resolution button
Tried it for a few more min and the shaking is really insufferable. Let me know when I can toggle it off, was looking forward to replaying this.
It's a shame you didn't like the shake, I'll make an option to adjust/turn it off in the next demo
- "south button" based
Can you elaborate? If you didn't like the wording, I chose it because writing for ps/xbox/switch was an hassle
Yep, options are pretty bugged right now.
Juicy.
BGM Track gets repetitive very quickly.
I really like the strafing.
I'm having a really really hard time hitting anything. IDK Maybe I just suck at these games.
It doesn't seem like there's any reason to ever land, given that it makes you slower. Maybe have it reduce knockback from recoil and explosions?
BGM Track gets repetitive very quickly.
Noted. Ofc the bgm for now is just to not play in silence.
I'm having a really really hard time hitting anything. IDK Maybe I just suck at these games.
You were playing with pad or keyboard? I should see you play, but hitboxes are in a huge advantage for player fire. Maybe you should be more aggressive, or if you wanna play safe you can count the range of the weapon (the tiles help you) and aim not for the projectile itself but for the explosion after. (since both proj and explosion deal damage, this playstyle is safer but slower).
It doesn't seem like there's any reason to ever land, given that it makes you slower. Maybe have it reduce knockback from recoil and explosions?
That's a nice idea. Thanks, and ty again for playing and commenting.
It feels a lot better then the last Time. Played with a Controller this Time around.
I'd prefer if both Shoulderbuttons were for strafing instead of only left one I think. Music is nice, Sounds became a lot quieter after a while, don't know why.
Some of the Rooms play nicely, others don't. Theres still the Issue that some of the Spawners just spawn as fast as you can kill them, so if something else also spawns/is there, you are stuck in the same Place and can't progress. Unless you suicide through the Enemies to rush to the Spawner and Bomb it. Which at least takes 2 Health to do, one from hitting an Enemy to become invincible, one from the Bomb. Subweapons feel nice, Movement feels less floaty I think. Don't know if you changed anything on that tho.
It feels a lot better then the last Time.
Thanks!
I'd prefer if both Shoulderbuttons were for strafing instead of only left one I think.
For next demo I'll try to implement control rebind.
Sounds became a lot quieter after a while, don't know why.
Y, that's a bug I didn't solve yet.
Some of the Rooms play nicely, others don't.
If you remember what were the shit rooms I'll all ears.
Theres still the Issue that some of the Spawners just spawn as fast as you can kill them, so if something else also spawns/is there, you are stuck in the same Place and can't progress.
Could you check if you played the [hotfix] version? That's maybe also a tutorial issue. With the new knockback (if you align player, stalker and spawner) if you kill an enemy he will be knocked back and explode, killing the spawner in the process. By the same rule if you are starting to get over whelmed you could retreat, stalkers will follow you and die all together with a chain explosion when you kill one .
Unless you suicide through the Enemies to rush to the Spawner and Bomb it.
That's a valid tactic when you don't wanna lose time, but you should be able to rush a spawner without getting hit. So maybe among the other things that's a balance issue; in the first levels I need to make enemies slower or reduce spawn rate/range even further.
Movement feels less floaty I think. Don't know if you changed anything on that tho.
I did. Now the gravity is different if you stay still on the air or if you are moving, also while strafing you fall slower.
Thanks for playing and commenting again.
The annoying Rooms basically where the ones with the Spawners. The one that made me quit was the one where you spawn on the bottom right, with 3 different Subweapons above you, and Spawners coming from the Left. They are far enough apart to not chain back a meaningful Way, but came fast enough at me to not be able to move forward. Maybe I just suck tho.
I got you, That's a secret (hard) level. A trick you can use (that I didn't say in the tutorial) is hug a wall with a spawner on the other side and use a bomb. But no problem, the difficulty balance is pretty fucked right now. I need to think like a new player and make some starting levels for beginners.
I think you should experiment with larger/more complex enemies. These tiny flying ones can be pretty finicky to hit, and I don't think they'd be all that fun in the long run as the main enemy type.
noted.
It was cut because it was bugged, but y it's my intention to have options on menu screen.
Agreed. It's bad and I'll solve it (just reading your commend gave me the solution, just have two fukking explosion layers). I leave it in like that for the demo because it's fun to see enemies chain explode, and with 1frame explosion the chain it's always underwhelming,
Thanks for find, the audio is still super bugged.
It's still an on exit trigger because some boxes dropped enemies (a thing you didn't like in the last demo, that I cutted for now).
Hopefully I'll have a rebind system next demo.
Agreed, since last demo I worked almost nothing on new levels
I think you should experiment with larger/more complex enemies. These tiny flying ones can be pretty finicky to hit, and I don't think they'd be all that fun in the long run as the main enemy type.
Agreed. Thank you for playing and commenting again dud.
I wrote a nice giant review but I lost it when accidentally clicking your game icon which switches the page because this website stinks. So i'll try again from memory
I played your game after asking for recommendations from the thread. I played a nice solid amount, but I am not a shmup gamer so some of the feedback might be inconsistent with good shmup design. Anyway, here goes:
>Game should have an Option button in the Main Menu, not just ingame, incase the sound is too loud or quiet
>The Setting sliders are inconsistent. Usually I grab the slider or option under what I'm actually trying to aim. Your button colliders are probably misaligned from the actual Text component
>Changing levels and some other unknown triggers reset the sound volume, but the sliders stay the same in the options menu
>Some sounds (level transition explosion?) are either crazy loud or unaffected by the sliders. Perhaps the volume resets right before those sounds play
>The combat is fine, it makes sense. Movement is a bit weird but that feels like a selling point you can expand upon more than a negative
>The yellow lightbulb always make me think it's part of the background instead of being an interactable object. Perhaps the color is to blame, since the non yellow bulbs are obvious and stand out so I always shoot them. A good idea might be to give them some bobbing animation, an outline, or something else to remind the player it's not just scenery
>In general I think respawning enemies or enemy spawners are an awful mechanic in any game. I would revamp many levels to remove those entirely and save them for special encounters (if at all). It makes me think of the levels as cheap, because the ultimate meta tactic is to approach things slowly through attrition instead of any other interesting approach. There's no tactics there, just sluggishness. I think the game would be much more enjoyable if you hand-placed a bunch of enemies where there would be an ideal path or way to clear the room instead. Save the spawners for a boss room with plenty of space and smart enemy positioning
>The visuals are fine. The terrain is clearly still WIP since it has no detail, but its serviceable and has no issues, which is better than what most demos offer
>The sound is fine as well, apart from the volume issues. Any sound is better than none and I found no problems here
I think you're headed towards having a good game, and I'll give it another go next DD
I wrote a nice giant review but I lost it when accidentally clicking your game icon which switches the page because this website stinks.
Know the feeling. Since something similar happened to me I use on a txt then copy-paste.
>Game should have an Option button in the Main Menu
Agreed, it was bugged, so i cut it out
>All Sound bugs
Noted, sound and option ui is very bugged right now
>The combat is fine, it makes sense. Movement is a bit weird but that feels like a selling point you can expand upon more than a negative
Thanks!
>The yellow lightbulb always make me think it's part of the background instead of being an interactable object. Perhaps the color is to blame, since the non yellow bulbs are obvious and stand out so I always shoot them. A good idea might be to give them some bobbing animation, an outline, or something else to remind the player it's not just scenery
Agreed. Hopefully they will be animated in the next demo (among an actual tileset).
>In general I think respawning enemies or enemy spawners are an awful mechanic in any game. I would revamp many levels to remove those entirely and save them for special encounters (if at all)
For now I always avoided the issue because the game I took inspiration from worked in this way. The reasoning is simple, if you can fly anywhere you could just dash through the whole level like a body run in dark souls. On the other hand I don't like much the idea to lock you in some combat arena every two rooms. I'll explore on that and try some classic level design for the next demo
>I think you're headed towards having a good game, and I'll give it another go next DD
Thanks dud, thank you again for the long review.
RoboTemplar is one of the worst meatloaf recipes I've ever seen in my life. No information on what kind of meat to use, how much chopped onion, how long to cook it, how to prepare the ketchup sauce, just nothing. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a recipe, it was more like a fast paced shooter that took me numerous tries to get all the way through, one with at least five different types of attacks and explosions that'll knock you clear across the room. What a shitty meatloaf recipe...