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Dungeon Crawler Jam 2024

Hosted by zooperdan · #dcjam2024

3,144

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A jam submission

Cosmic CryptView game page

A Dungeon Crawler with a new and innovative combat system (still in development)

Submitted by Rebello

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Cosmic Crypt's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Overall fun and playability	#84	2.818	3.000

Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Theme incorporation
The main theme is Ancient Ruins but it leads on to a Cosmic Horror...

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Comments

CryptRatSubmitted22 days ago(+1)

I stepped into the portal, which froze the game but I assumed it was the end of the game.

I had to restart twice because of bugs I think, once because I tried to fight the second rat, not realising you should not just like with the first one and another time because in the room with several blocks you'll get to push a pot was floating around while the furthest tile in front of the entrance to the room acted like an invisible wall. It's fine.

The environments are very detailed, I enjoyed all the puzzles and the overall dungeon layout and feel is very good. The encounters are rightly placed too. One thing I really liked was the transition from combat and to combat, you do it as soon as you want and it's fairly organic, overall the game features very satisfying animations for everything. It controls well, the inventory works, and another thing I really like is how items are perfectly integrated into the environment, no highlighting, you will probably notice most of them (especially the important ones) but might miss some (coins). Buttons for secrets are great, that you're never rewarded with a strong weapon isn't.

I like that you went with an ambitious combat system, overall I like how it looks and feels and being able to kick my opponent is something I'm very fond of during 1-on-1 martial fights against another character with a sword and shield. However I never figured out the combat, I just equipped the last weapon (and a shield) and mashed '3' with the first weapon(s) then proceeded to mash '6' with the later ones. It was specially efficient against the boss for some reason.

Overall it's a cool entry, thanks for sharing.

Submitted

To death and beyond

Ilyos GamesSubmitted24 days ago(+1)

I really loved what little I could play from this one. Sadly, I have no break btn on my laptop keyboard, so I couldn't skip the rat. Loved the graphics, loved the puzzles and the atmosphere. Combat I couldn't figure out, so I just cheesed the skelly. Would REALLY like to continue this one post jam.

Submitted

Derek Deagle - The Case of the Unknowable

RebelloDeveloper23 days ago

Thanks for you feedback and for playing our game. Sorry about the bugs with the rat and combat in general. We will try to do an update with a fix post jam and we'll let you know when we think it's worth having another try, if you're up for it. Glad you liked the graphics, puzzles and atmosphere.

We look forward to playing your game soon.

Realms&RuinsSubmitted24 days ago(+1)

I couldn't figure out combat and got stuck on the skeleton dealing 0 damage everytime I attacked. Graphics, movement etc all seemed great just couldn't move on until I gave up after a couple restarts.

Submitted

Escaping the Cosmic Abyss

RebelloDeveloper23 days ago(+1)

Thanks very much for playing our game. Sorry about the bugs in the combat. We just ran out of time to finish it and test it properly. You did well to persevere after a restart, so we appreciate that. Hopefully we'll have fixes for all this post jam if you fancy a replay.

We look forward to playing your game soon.

blazeedgeSubmitted27 days ago(+1)

First of all, I was surprised by the high quality of the graphics. Great! The puzzles and gimmicks, such as movable blocks, were well done and made the game worth exploring. However, if you fall into a pitfall, do you have to start over from the beginning?

I couldn't understand why I couldn't break some of the jars. I tried changing weapons, but it didn't make sense.

I felt there was room for improvement in the combat, but other than that, everything else was polished and enjoyable.

Submitted

RebelloDeveloper25 days ago

Thanks for playing our game. We ran out of time to implement the save/load (more specifically the load part). We also didn't get chance to add a New Game option, so yes, you do have to restart the game if you fall into a pit. Sorry about this.

You weren't doing anything wrong with the jars. That was another bug to do with physics and them being dynamic instead of kinematic, causing them to wander around on their own!

The combat was where we were really trying to innovate and bring something new to the table. Unfortunately it was more ambitious than we realized and so we ran out of time to finish it, and as a result didn't test everything either. Hopefully our post jam update will show the combat in a better light.

Thanks again. We look forward to playing your game soon.

NikaKhSubmitted28 days ago(+1)

Looks like I bugged the game right at the very end! I stepped into portal and it froze.

Here is my collection: 11 zooperdans, 56 coins. 1 zooperdan was a healing (?) flask though.

Combat felt a bit strange.. I never figured out how it trully works. My tactic was to engage in combat, hit 2-3 different places that are clickable, move away from the mob, wait for its attack animation and repeat. 0 health lost that way. But attacks never felt like they follow any patern depending on where I would click or how I would move my mouse... it felt totally random. And sometimes character would do long animation of just screaming on an enemy too. Not sure if that did anything. Screaming on jars never helped either!

Had to restart right at the very end. When I dropped the cube from above to make passageway to the exit, I moved it forward (I didn't jump after it at first - I just went to the exit and clicked on cube from there). It got stuck on those closed gates in the floor and I couldn;t move it back. So I hardlocked myself from completing game that way. Second attempt I just jumped after and was very careful not to move it on those gates anylonger! Worked much better. :D

All in all - beautiful entry. Loved those commentaries. "I feel like Dan somewhere here" "I knew it!" :D

BTW, you also could pick up first bone and drop it in the wall by missclicking inventory slot... did it first time :) But that is me, getting all the bugs possible each time >_<

Submitted

RebelloDeveloper28 days ago(+1)

You made it to the portal!!!!! That is impressive. You finished the game with all the Zooperdan trophies and nearly all the coins (there were 70). In the Unity Editor it displayed "Game Completed" on screen when you go into the portal. However there must have been some kind of timing issue because the game stopped but the message didn't appear in the final build. Sorry about that.

The combat system was our attempt to try to do something different, along the lines of the old Lost Worlds, or Ace of Aces, two player combat books. But instead of being simultaneous actions, the actions can be triggered by the player and enemy at any time they want. The hope was that the emergent combat gameplay from the differently timed animations would be very interesting and exciting. We still think it would be, but we didn't demonstrate that in any way for the jam build.

The wandering jars was another bug that we didn't see in testing because the game needed to be running for some time for them to jitter around into places they shouldn't have been thanks to the physics engine. They should have been kinematic the whole time.

The push block into the pit trap would indeed lock the game and prevent you from completing it. Another bug we didn't get around to fixing before we had to submit our entry. It might just have occurred in debug mode where you could open doors out of order.

You're right about the physics not being robust enough on the wall bevels at the bottom, so items like the bone club would sometimes fall through when they shouldn't. More bugs to fix.

Thanks for the feedback on the commentary. People don't usually notice or mention it, so we're glad it wasn't completely in vain.

We do plan an update post jam that should fix all these bugs and hopefully give you a better taste of what we were trying to achieve with the combat system.

We look forward to playing your game soon!

NikaKhSubmitted27 days ago(+1)

Oh I had I lot of fun even with combat that I didn't personally understood. Would be awesome to trigger different kind of attacks based on how or where you clicked. And mobs have 'block/avoidance' based on how they positioned or in general (side strikes not working on skeletons with shield because of the shield etc).

And maybe having some possibility of defence maneuvers, unless runing back is a tactic in mind. Though with that tactic its practically impossible to get hit at the moment :)

And daymn... I wonder where those missed coins are o,O gotta collect them all somehow :D

RebelloDeveloper25 days ago

Absolutely with everything you said there about combat. When you click it picks a random combat animation but you can pick specific ones by pressing the numbers keys (1-6 depending on what weapons are being carried). Hopefully we'll add GUI buttons to make this more obvious in a post jam update. The mobs also have their own animation set and we play to show you which ones are available and which one is currently being used, possibly which one is about to be used. Defensive moves are in there when you get the shield but yes more would be good. Unlocking them as you advance as well is also in our minds.

More coins. Better physics. Noted. Thanks again for your feedback.

DamienDeSubmitted31 days ago(+1)

The graphics are among the best the jam hs to offer, great textures, models, lighting and everything is super smooth. Cool, hoe Unity gives Unreal a run for its money, as you have to be able to use an engine. Picking up stuff in the world, jumping up and down ladders, moving blocks, it all feels very good. And then the combat starts, I have to be to dumb, as I got trashed by the skeleton. My character made different move, but nothing seemed to hit the skeleton.

Submitted

The Nexus Grave

RebelloDeveloper28 days ago

Wow. Thanks for the great feedback, and for playing our game. We used Unity URP so we could target WebGL, believe it or not, so we're not using any HDRP features. Unfortunately the build was too big for itch so we had to quickly upload a PC only version instead. Glad you liked the movement and puzzles.

The combat was way too ambitious for us to complete in the jam week unfortunately. We will post an update after the jam finishes, hopefully with a play through video, so you can see what we were trying to create, but failed! It's a shame as the rest of the game seemed solid and we were very happy with it.

Thanks again for your review and we look forward to playing your game soon.

LutzGrosshennigSubmitted32 days ago(+1)

Wow, you really know how to deliver!

I am glad I read the instructions on the game page first, otherwise I would have been surprised/puzzled by the combat system, the vases and the rats.

Very well done, hats off to you.

Submitted

Twins vs. Ancients

RebelloDeveloper28 days ago

Thanks for that. We really appreciate you playing our game, even though it was full of bugs. The combat system was more ambitious than we should have attempted in the jam week TBH and it didn't leave us any time for proper testing. Looking forward to playing your game soon.

zooperdanHost33 days ago(+1)

Very polished graphics and good dungeon layout. Once again you nailed the movement and perspective.The sound effects and overall sound design are superb. The lighting and overall atmosphere create a very nice ambiance. The engine is incredibly solid, and every interaction feels great and well implemented. There were however a couple bugs but nothing too extreme except for the rat you mentioned on the project page and a vase that wouldn't let me destroy it - until it was kind enough to move by itself to a location where I could successfully attack it :D

I found myself uncertain about which weapons were most effective. I presumed it followed a vertical progression, with each new weapon being superior to the last.

I always enjoy meeting an old friend; the classic fireball trap :)

The vertical mechanics are executed flawlessly, with smooth ascending and descending.

I am not particularly fond of the combat style. While the concept is intriguing, I found it somewhat awkward and struggled to determine which actions to take, resulting in random key spamming without knowing what happened or why it happened. I lost half my health vs the first skeleton and I didn't see any way to heal up. I found a green potion but when I picked it up it registered as a zooperdan trophy. Actually fighting the vases feels unnecessary. When clicked on a vase a well aimed kick would suffice, without going into combat mode.

It's always fun to be incorporated into a game and this time with a cool 3D model! Too awesome :)

RebelloDeveloper32 days ago

Thanks for playing our game, oh mighty Zooperdan!

We're delighted you liked the graphics, controls, camera angles and dungeon layout. We put a lot of effort into these.

"The sound effects and overall sound design are superb" - something no one has ever said about one of our games before. THANK YOU!

Sorry about the combat bug with the rat. We were overly ambitious with the whole combat system and because it took so much time, and still wasn't right, everything else suffered. We completely ran out of time to test properly at the end so we didn't catch these bugs.

You were right about the weapons. We had actually ordered them incorrectly so one of the more powerful ones could be gained from the Skeleton at the start. We ran out of time to balance these.

We loved the fireball trap too, combined with nice new shiny pressure plates that glimmer in the torchlight...

We'll polish the combat for the end of the jam update, to the point where you can see what we were trying to achieve and hopefully that will show the idea in its best light. It was flawed in many ways in the current implementation. We wanted the vases to be a way of practicing combat before it became life or death with a real enemy. Unfortunately they had a mind of their own and didn't like being smashed so wandered off. We'll look into making that experience smoother, but still as satisfying as when you kick or punch one and it shatters.

We're glad you like the new 3D Zooperdan head. Of course we've now set the bar very high so we're not sure how we're going to top it next year!

Thanks again for playing (persevering) with our game.

DaveLikesPastaSubmitted34 days ago(+1)

Very interesting game! I really like the world. The block onto spikes puzzle was very satisfying. The free look, choice of assets, etc. were all top notch. I want to play a large game in this world. Sadly I couldn't get past the rat beyond the fire shooters - it walked past be, through a wall, and I couldn't move beyond it.

Submitted

Library of Endless Souls

RebelloDeveloper32 days ago

Thanks for playing our game, we really appreciate it and it's great to get your feedback. We're glad you like the world, assets and movement. We spent a long time trying to get the controls to feel smooth. The only model assets that were third party were the Rat, Skeleton and Zombie (PROTOFACTOR) and the two Mayan Macuahuitl weapons (Sketchfab). Everything else was created by Dan (the artist of the pair of us), including the push/pull crates, buttons, switches, chests, pressure plates, doors, tables, shelves, columns, altar, fireball emitter, spikes, even the StarGate at the end (although the whirlpool effect was from an asset pack). He even produced the final Zooperdan trophy based on a ropey charmed.ai 2D->3D model generator. Dan also designed all the levels and puzzles. Mazeworks was our level building system, which made the beveled wall creation easier (by Adam/Arlorean).

Sorry about the bug with the rat. We were overly ambitious with our combat system, because we wanted to try to avoid the classic two-step movement and whack-a-mole weapons style of combat. We then ran out of time to properly test everything which was a real shame. We had some Unity Physics bugs where things were dynamic when they should have been kinematic so they wandered around the scene randomly on their own!

Hopefully we'll upload a version which fixes all of this so you can see what we were aiming for after the jam has finished.

Thanks again for playing. We look forward to playing your game soon.

steamknightSubmitted35 days ago(+1)

Great graphics and atmosphere. I love that it takes place in the Rebello Crawler Universe :)

The movement was excellent and felt really good.

I found several “hidden things,” and I loved the extra nod to the IKEA hat!

Sometimes, the urns would block me? I would have to attack some of them 8 or 9 times. The game softlocked me as well. At the beginning of the section that said, “You’ll need something heavy to break this,” I landed on a giant urn. That messed with its physics, and it slowly started sliding around the room with all the push blocks. I got stuck and couldn’t progress. When I restarted the game, I was back at the beginning despite the checkpoints.

Great job!

Submitted

RebelloDeveloper34 days ago(+1)

Thanks for playing our game, we really appreciate it. We spent a lot of time on the look and feel and deliberately made it start like Dungeon Diver in the same type of caves but then go onto the ancient ruins. There was third biome which went sci-fi for the cosmic horror when you went through the stargate but we didn't manage to finish it. Maybe next time.

Sorry about the Urns, Unity Physics (PhysX/Novadex) has a mind of its own. The combat system consumed most of our time and energy and was overly ambitious for a jam. We wanted something that was a bit more than just Whack-a-Mole or Rock-Paper-Scissors (no offense to Neon Nose, which is the best version of this we've ever seen BTW). We put the save checkpoints in there, and the game saved, we ran out time to do the re-load part.

We put @Zooperdan's portrait in as a trophy for Dungeon Diver so we knew we had to carry on the theme but up our game as well. When we saw the Theme Reveal on Twitch and he was wearing the IKEA hat we knew we had to put it in there.

We really look forward to playing your game soon. We loved Aegir Rising, which was part of our inspiration for Dungeon Diver. We also loved Neon Nose. You have a knack of making games than are fun to play for sure.

steamknightSubmitted34 days ago(+1)

You are too kind. <3

I hope you get to add the extra biome; it was very exciting seeing the StarGate :D

wolfheatSubmitted35 days ago(+1)

Very nice theme and graphics. Movement is solid.

The pushing of crates feels a bit random, sometimes you have to be on top half to push forward sometimes bottom part, maybe make this more consistent.

Combat also looks great but its hard to determine whats going on and the timings of attacks. I kept stepping back from the skeleton so he never hit me. Did spend some time unarmed trying to fight him without a single hit... But later figured out what I was missing, so that's on me I guess.

The encounter of the rat broke the game as you said, but I did not find any pause button, and it's usually ESC but that did nothing.

Submitted

Dungeon of Dreams

RebelloDeveloper34 days ago

Thanks for playing our game, we really appreciate it. We spent a lot of time on the theme and graphics. Also on the movement controller, which we were happy with, even when the verticality of ladders comes into play. We're glad you noted that.

You're spot on with crates. To pull them you click on the ring and to push you click anywhere else. It made sense at the time but sometimes a literal interpretation of how stuff works isn't as fun or intuitive as a more abstract where the top half is push and the bottom half is pull. We'll fix that!

The combat was our most ambitious innovation for this game. We didn't quite pull it off in this version, as we ran out of time, but we're hopeful it has some potential. The unarmed combat animations weren't good enough to land hits properly so they were only really useful for the Clay Pot destruction. We didn't make it clear that we meant the Pause/Break key on the keyboard, when it comes it enabling debug mode to defeat the rat. More apologies...

We look forward to playing your game soon.

wolfheatSubmitted34 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

As I read that, it totally does make sense that the ring would pull and the bare face would push it. Maybe its just me but I did not get that when playing, I just saw some randomness I couldn't explain. Maybe wait and see if other have same issue or you could keep it. The pause key, I do have that on my keyboard but since I never had a use for it and it is rarely used in any games I barely knew it existed...

BeardedCynicSubmitted36 days ago(+1)

Kept getting a dead end every time I would try and loot the gold. It looks nice though!

Submitted

Aardwolves: Cosmic Exterminators

RebelloDeveloper34 days ago

Thanks for playing our game, we really appreciate it. We spent a lot of time trying to make it look good and control well. Gold is always good.

We look forward to playing your game soon, but we might have to clear some disk space first! We'd be intrigued to know what assets you've used in your game. Some of them look familiar but you've put them together in a really cohesive way.

BeardedCynicSubmitted34 days ago(+1)

We used several different free asset packs from the Unreal store and mashed them together, I think our artist even modified or combined some of them. But yeah, that is a question for @Syvice, he was our dedicated 3D & Environment artist. I am but a lowly Game Designer. :)