Zortch

Zortch Maxinum against The Alien Brainsuckers · By mutantleg

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A topic by Berzerk2k2 created Jul 23, 2023 Views: 521 Replies: 23

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Berzerk2k2283 days ago (4 edits) (+1)

So I just finished the game on "Subjugator" difficulty and thought I'll share some stuff where I think this game could still improve. Not really much I have to list. For $5 this is absolutely well done stuff. Ok so here we go:

1. Boss health bars - I wish the boss health bars had a bit more visual style to it and would also include the boss names so I would know the names of them. So far I only know the name of the second boss because it was mentioned at the end of E2M3.

2. Boss fights - Imo some of the boss fights where a bit too easy. The third boss for example was not able to hurt me once on "Subjugator". Would be nice if some of the bosses (2nd, 3rd, final) had more attacks they could use against Zortch. Also after beating a boss it would be nice if the level transition wasn't automatic and you still had time to check the area for ammo etc. before moving on to the next episode (like you where able to do it after the E4 boss fight).

3. Reload cancel - It would be really nice if you where able to shoot your weapon or switch to another one during reloading. Right now you'll have to wait for the reload animation to be completely done before you can attack enemies again.

4. Pistol alt fire - Imo the alt fire shield should break after some time when being hit by many enemy projectiles so you can't just hide behind it forever and kinda cheat your way through the game.

5. Health and Armor - I think on higher difficulties the amount of health and armor pickups should be lower to increase the challenge. There was always so much stuff around the next corner that I never really felt like I was in danger.

6. Audio - I think the audio in general could need a bit more punch to it. Everything felt a bit muffled imo (especially things exploding). Enemies could need more noticeable sounds for teleporting around or when landing after jumping around. I got "jumpscared" a few times from an enemy landing behind me without making a sound and then attacking me.

7. OST - I think it wouldn't hurt if this OST had a few more tracks that would be a bit more fitting for bigger action parts in the game (e.g. the big arena fight in E4M1). Also every boss should have it's own unique music imo.

8. Berzerk powerup - I had a hard time using this powerup due to the screen going completely red. Looking at a fully red screen did actually hurt my eyes a bit. Maybe a different color or effect could be found for it.

9. Story text - It would be cool if the game had some little story text at the end of each episode (same style you did it at the end after defeating the final boss) that would show how you got from one area to the other. For example E2M1 starts you inside a little boat. But how did you get there from the boss room?

10. End screens - Imo the end screen of each level should also display the amount of enemies defeated in the level.

11. FOV slider/mouse sensitivity - For some reason you can't manually type in the value you want to use for your FOV or mouse sensitivity. The FOV slider for example goes up from 70 to 75 and then to 80. If I would like to have my FOV on 78 then I could only get it done by editing the settings.conf file but not by moving the FOV slider in the options menu. Same for the mouse sensitivity slider. It would be cool if you could just double click on the number next to the slider and type in the value you want to use and/or have the slider move in +1/-1 steps.

I've not encountered any crashes, softlocks or places where I would fall through a map at all. The only time I got stuck was when an enemy pushed me against some stairs and I was suddenly trapped inside those. I don't remember the exact level anymore. Could have been in one of the E3 levels. Also I found out that when you have the flashlight active on the end screen of a boss fight you could still move it around with your mouse.

That's all I can think of for the moment. This game is really a hidden gem and imo underpriced. I've played games that ain't as good as this one but would cost at least $15–20. You should also put this game on GOG and ZOOM-Platform imo. More people need to experience what it's like to be scammed by Alien Brainsuckers.

mutantlegDeveloper283 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

thank you for your feedback!

1) that is interesting - I guess for some people it's personal 🤔
2) hear hear (for now I'll keep it in mind for the expansion)
3) nah this one has my veto (sorry)
4) you would be surprised how many people forget about that they have a shield
(smart and resourceful people will find this game easy no matter what 😉)
5) this was also a common complaint (will keep in mind for expansion)
6) alas audio is one of my weak points 😔
and the quiet landing is also a common complaint (but why would someone who want's to kill you insist on making noise? 😉)
7) hear hear
8) the idea was that you are seeing red - also other colors didn't feel right -
also I want to keep it this way due to a personal achievement: I managed to break every common video compression algorithm with it 😮
9) I couldn't think of anything witty to write for these parts 😔
10) not displaying it on purpose - I didn't want it to be part of 100%-in the game
(I didn't wanted to force any sort of combat style)
11) this is interesting - how did you end up with 78 as you are most comfortable with? 🤔

thank you for finding this flashlight bug! 👍

reason for price is simple: the game is always on sale
(of course my original price was going to be 7$) 🤔

gog is not happening 😯

Berzerk2k2283 days ago (2 edits) (+1)

1. I just think a stylized health bar with the name of the boss would look better.
2. Had no idea an expansion is planned. Very excited already. :)
3. Sad face (but I think I get why this is working the way it is)
4. Nah I wouldn't be but for me at least it was the total opppsite: I overused/abused it.
5. Same as for 2.
6. I wouldn't call it weak. It's just that sometimes explosions etc. could be a bit louder when happening close to you. The sound effects in general sound nice.
7. Yeah, I would like to hear
8. Well I guess I'll have to avoid using the powerup then for the most part. I really had to pause the game for a few minutes to rest my eyes after seeing red for a bit.
9. Hmm another way would be to extend the levels so the end of a boss level would be the start of the first level of the next episode. I just think sometimes the transition between levels could be a bit more clear so it doesn't feel like just a bunch of levels and more like a real campaign. But that's just a "me" thing I guess.
10. Understood.
11. I use https://themetalmuncher.github.io/fov-calc/ to calculate my fov. 78 vertical matches 110 horizontal on a 16:9 aspect ratio so that's what I always end up using.

Maybe once the expansion is out you could increase the price (just like all those devs do it with their Early Access games once all episodes are included).

Any particular reason to say no to other game stores like GOG and/or ZOOM-Platform or just not interested having your game there too?

Two more brain farts that just happened:

1. Right before you drop down into the final boss area there should be one last "?" floating around informing you that this is the final showdown and you're about to go 1v1 with the biggest Alien Brainsucker scammer of them all.
2. Would it be possible to have some kind of in-game bestiary available so you could take a closer look at all those nice enemy models?

mutantlegDeveloper283 days ago(+1)

8. so it's the red part itself that bothers you? .. thing is I'm really not sure how else I could indicate this powerup - maybe I could add an option to turn this effect off altogether? (and then the effect on the guns might be enough?)

11. that is also interesting - how did you arrive at 110 for horizontal fov?

1. the original idea was that you lose communication on this level - but I still wanted to have the "duck." part in
I'm still not sure how to explain it ingame 🤔

2. yes I'm still working on it - visually it's almost ready - problematic part is writing something witty for 60 characters
(which is why it was cut originally)

Berzerk2k2283 days ago(+1)

Maybe there could be some kind of red effect only on the borders of the screen that would indicate the effect of the powerup so that the rest of the screen still remains normal.

At some point I increased the fov to 110 and it felt good playing so I stuck with it to this day but don't ask me when I started using it and which game I was playing back then. It's been too long to remember. #OldFart

That Zortch-o-pedia looks nice already. Looking forward to seeing it added to the game in the future.

Btw I had another brain fart when it comes to the level transition from a boss room to the start of the next episode. How about in the boss room there is some kind of teleporter or slipgate (Quake/Startgate reference maybe?) which you use as the exit and then at the start of each new episode there is a teleporter or slipgate through which you enter the new level. That way you don't really need much explanation how you ended up in this new area.

mutantlegDeveloper283 days ago(+1)

alright - fresh from the oven: in Patches.zip you can find the latest build (1946)
it lets you turn off the red powerup (and the fov slider is no longer rounded)

what I find odd is that the exit tunnels are accepted as transition and don't need further explanation 🤔

Berzerk2k2283 days ago (2 edits) (+1)

Thanks I'll give it a try.

Hey if you find better ways for a level to level transition and include them in the game I'm the last person to complain about it. :)
One transition I like for example is the one right before the final boss. At the end of E5M3 you see that tunnel that you have to enter and at the start of the final level E5MBOSS you start inside it. Both levels feel connected that way.

EDIT: Just checked out the beginning of E2M3 real quick to see how things feel with the powerup effect being off when activating it. I like it. You still notice when it's active due to the red aura embracing the character while the rest of the screen just stays normal. Much easier on the eyes (at least for me). Very nice to have this option included.

Berzerk2k2277 days ago(+1)

I think it would be good to integrate this Build 1946 patch into the game and upload a full 1946 version.

mutantlegDeveloper277 days ago

I guess your right - I keep trying to finish up the zortch-o-pedia and make one big update and just end up losing the track of time 🤔

jaadeowo282 days ago(+1)

Disallowing weapon switching instead of reloading is a shame because it makes the game feel a lot more slow and clunky, and disincentivizes players from using a variety of weapons (especially since most ammo types are abundant enough that a thorough player can use one weapon only and never run out). The game would be more fluid and dynamic if switching between weapons in combat was actually beneficial. A player might think to use the flamethrower alt-fire to lay flames on the ground under a boss for extra damage while using another weapon as the main source of damage, but that combo is made pointless when the flamethrower has to be reloaded before another weapon can be used. It feels like the game's mechanics are working against each other, and against a player who tries to be creative with how they play.

If the worry is that players will end up cycling through their weapons in a fight and then having to wait around and reload them all (which is as detrimental to the gameplay flow as forcing the player to reload every time they exhaust the ammo clip), a possible solution is backpack reloading, where weapons automatically reload after not being used for x length of time, or after getting x amount of kills with another weapon, or with pickups spread around the levels, or when collecting ammo for the weapon while it isn't being used, etc. Regardless of the implementation, or even without backpack reloading, it must surely be more fun than using nothing but the machine gun/grenade launcher and having to reload when the player wants to be shooting (shooting is fun).

Also it's already possible to just leave 1 ammo in the clip and then switch weapons to avoid reloading, and it's possible to have run out of ammo in multiple weapons and then have to reload multiple weapons before being able to use them, so it's not as if such sitations have been entirly avoided anyway. And there's no implementation of allowing players to switch instead of reloading that stops players from choosing to reload their weapon before switching if that's what they want to do. Allowing more choice in gameplay just seems better overall, especially in a game of this genre.

mutantlegDeveloper282 days ago(+1)

it was done in this way because it felt more fun to have reloading
like the fact there is an extra factor to worry about made fights more interesting
and tbh not having to reload made some of the guns feel weird - but maybe it's just me 🤔

i'm not sure how I would explain the backpack reloading - some people will think it's a bug no doubt 🤔

for now I insist on keeping it the way it is - at least I can promise I won't be experimenting with making this part more difficult 🤔

Berzerk2k2282 days ago(+1)

How about making weapon switching/firing during reloading another option you can toggle on or off?

mutantlegDeveloper282 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

reload is something I insist on having .. but perhaps a cheat code is possible if you both insist on not having it 🤔

Berzerk2k2282 days ago (2 edits) (+1)

Oh I was not talking about removing reloading completely. Just being able to use the current weapon or switch to another one. For example:

lets say we use the shotgun. This weapon holds 12 shells. When I shoot 12 times the gun is empty and the reload animation will start and I'll have to wait until all 12 shells are loaded into the weapon again. Only after that has happened I can either use the shotgun again or switch to another weapon.
What I was talking about it the ability to use your shotgun again when e.g. only two shells have been reloaded or switch to another weapon and when switching back to the shotgun again you would still have to load the remaining shells into the weapon to have it fully loaded again.

So it's more like interrupting the active reload animation of a weapon either through using the weapon or through weapon switching.

mutantlegDeveloper282 days ago

that's odd - you already supposed to be able to do that for the shotgun 🤔

Berzerk2k2282 days ago(+1)

Ok I just noticed that you can indeed switch weapons before the shotgun is fully reloaded. What you can't do though is use the shotgun while the reload animation is happening. You have to wait until the animation is done before you can shoot again. Would be nice if you could use the gun again when at least two shells are loaded.

jaadeowo281 days ago(+1)

okay, thanks for replying. a cheat that allows the player to cancel reload animations by weapon switching would be cool, im very interested in seeing how the game feels with that

Birds283 days ago(+2)

don't forget you still got a cheats file to mess around in the game xDD

mutantlegDeveloper283 days ago

btw do you have a steam account? they got this whole section for this kind of stuff: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2443360/guides/
you could upload it there too if you want 🤔

Birds283 days ago (3 edits) (+1)

yes I have sadly I need money to get access to community features money hungry companies man :(

Edit: NVM I CAN LOL

Edit2: nvm I can't change the visibility it's set to friends only and it's stuck at that help xD

Edit3: gonna get the steam version of the game just for the achievements lmfao

mutantlegDeveloper282 days ago

steam is kind of dodgy indeed - it took me two weeks to find the checkbox to make the demo button bigger 😔

Birds282 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

I can't, just do it yourself and credit me dude I just can't

mutantlegDeveloper282 days ago

ok but it just doesn't feel right -
anyway did you have any trouble claiming the game or at least that worked? 🤔

Birds281 days ago(+1)

that worked at least (already claimed it before it even released since the steam key was given to me)

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