itch.io

In game notes:

• The main menu is very complete.
• New enemy sprites are nice, but they still feel very non-threatening
• Hard to tell when a level is ending
• Unclear what “Focus” does, or “mind” (oh I see hold alt now)
• Dual cast is nerfed with mana, but still soooo fun 
• Almost wish the camera was zoomed out a bit
• Some feedback when you can’t afford an item would be good
• Vampire survivors has a "Vacuum" item you pick up sometimes to get all dropped gems. That would be nice, because it’s easy to lose them forever
• I wish I could not unlock elements, to keep some items more potent
• No exit button on main menu
  

Post game thoughts:

This is by far the best build of the game. The mana bar is the perfect balance to most spells, and the new enemies add just a bit of spice and difficulty. I played 4 rounds, and at the end I had a good spell and felt like a godly wizard casting spells all over the place. Very fun.

My biggest gripe is I still don't feel much need to use all the spells, mostly I find two I like, and just spam them. But this really isn't a bad thing, especially as more items get added to make this more viable. Just a note.

Really fun though, this is great progress!

In game notes

• Opening had a lot of quick camera movements, tone it down and smooth it out
• Controls and menus are nice, very satisfying
  • BUG: If you click off the game during a camera transition, the camera will get stuck. This can softlock the player
• Wish the weapons had more distinct names, but I like the ship builder screen.
• The breaking of walls and dead enemies is nice, but the physics seem a bit bugged, or underwhelming
• No SFX on my own gun is kind of lame
• I found I could spawn camp enemies easily
• Boss entry is cool, but he dies in one hit
• The fast paced track with the high-hat is a jammer
• Sometimes enemy shards get stuck in front of the player

After play thoughts

There’s the bones here for a good “binding of issac”-like, but it just needs a lot more content. I was enjoy the gameplay, but without the slow drip of items and new enemies, it quickly gets samey. It seems like you have a good framework built though, so hopefully you can start adding that in easily.  Flying around was satisfying, the music was good, and everything mostly worked. Just needs more content.

In game notes

• The HTML load took forever, not a problem, just a note
• Great controls as before
• Small lag when I fire the shotgun the first time?
• No sound options or main menu
• I wish I could control the main menu with the arrow keys. This would help restarting levels after a death
  • Also maybe starting the focus on the level you just died on? IDk how much the menu is a placeholder
• I agree the kick could be *slight* faster, and maybe make the foot a bit bigger so it’s clear when the hurtbox is on
  • Could just use a bit more visual feedback for *started kick* -> *kick is active*
• Screenshake shows blank background at the bottom of the window
• I do wish I could kill the turrets, even if it’s a waste of bullets. They can be really annoying
• IDK why, I’m having a hard time “clicking” with the controls. I think if I could play with WASD I’d do better

After play thoughts:

This is a good improvement since last time I played it. I really like the players' animations, they look solid and smooth.

 This time, I was enjoying the free-running/jumping controls more than the shoot the targets aspect. I especially wanted more of the kick hopping we got a little taste of in level 2. Trying to combine the running + shooting together was a bit too much for me difficulty wise, I don’t think I’d be able to unlock level 4.

In game notes:

• Everything is still so loud, music options please
  • Especially level start from the map, holy crap
• The start is still *very* slow. A game speed option would not be missed.
• Possibly make the pickup sounds a little less echo-y? It’s a little odd
• I like the new upgrade menus
• Music variety would help a lot, I’m already tired of the main theme.
• I wouldn’t mind something to spice up runs. Like some random stuff in the background
  • Or something like a flying item that shows up randomly. Something I could choose to attack for some gems/gold, or left go
  • IDK maybe just something to make repeated runs a little less samey
• There is some kind of memory leak. I left the game running (phone call) and it had taken up an extra 2GB, and was laggy in browser
• I see we rescued an archer, but an animation or something would be cool

After play notes:

This is a solid demo, and I would have played more given the chance. I’d definitely like to be able to speed up the gameplay, and think the visuals and sounds could use some more polish, but I think this has some real potential. There's certainly improvements from the first demo.

Thanks for playing!
And also thanks for the reminder, I kind of forgot about mid-run save.

I'll have it in for the full release!

Thanks for trying it out again, I'm glad to hear things have improved!

-Bitcoin is over powered if you just a ton place small bets and it get bit enough that you never lose money 
This is a good point. I'll look into balancing it

- Sometimes when placing a bet it would change the color from blue to yellow and was confused about that.

Yellow means you will win and lose on that number. For instance if you have a 6 Bet and a Field bet. A roll of 6 wins on the 6, but loses on the field. 
A tool tip pop-up is a great idea, or it could highlight the bets that are effecting it.

Thanks for play-testing again, I really appreciate it!

Thanks for playing! I'm glad you had a good time

Hey, thanks for playing and recording your gameplay! This is really good feedback, and I'm glad you understood the rules and the UI wasn't a problem for you.

>in terms of skill expression, if there is a chip that increases payout of 5, I bet more on 5... and that's it?

Essentially, yeah. Part of craps is "bankroll management", and playing to the high EV play. So betting more on 5 would be better in the long term, over many rolls. Keep in mind that by default, Craps has a negative EV over time, so you are working against that at the start.

Other chips this is more extreme. Like the ones that increase multiplier per Come/Don't bet set. A good player would set some numbers first, then start wagering large amounts to get the higher EV rolls with the higher multiplier.

IDK if that makes sense, but that's the idea.

>I feel like to have the Balatro style roguelike tension, there needs to be stricter rules that escalate beyond the amount needed to pass.

>I.E. if the buy in pass line went up to like $1k it would get me sweating.

This is actually the first difficulty tier in the full game, an escalating minimum bet per round. I want the first level to be fairly easy, as many players are still grappling with the rules when they start playing.  The difficulty levels all stack like in balatro, so they get pretty hard.

>If i needed to make the target within X rolls, it would force me to bet aggressively and make hail mary plays.

This is not a difficulty level yet, but I could definitely try it! My concern was it would frustrate players when the dice just don't roll in their favor, but that's already an issue anyways.

Thanks again for playing, I really appreciate it! 

Thanks for trying out the demo!
Sorry the rules were confusing, Craps is simple at its core, but difficult to explain at the same time.  Basically, all you need to do is roll the right number at the right time. That is what the blue/red numbers are trying to indicate.

I can definitely describe what yellow means better (It means you will win one bet, but lose another if that bet rolls). Same with the tutorial text complete on click. Same with game speed, I'm never sure what is too fast or if I'm just used to it.

Thank again for playing!

• Bird BG gets kind of annoying
• I kind of hate the dark ritual enchant you get
• You’re guys leveling up is cool, wish it happened with all the minions (Oh it can!)
• Attack/defense values are small and kind of unreadable
• Pretty sure I beat one of your ghost’s kek
• I played on “very fast”, but I wish there was a bit more effects to tell how much damage was being done. Maybe like some pop-up values?
• Had the game crash trying to equip bloody axe on my jester
• Not a fan of having to heal between battles. I forgot to most time because I win 90% of the wild encounters, then forgetting can cause a dumb loss 

Overall it all works, I just wish I had a bit more info about the synergies from the descriptions. Maybe I would get it with more time.

Hey all! Thanks for checking out my demo! 

This is 6 Way's to 7's last demo day, as I will be  very close to release during DD67. I've got lots of thoughts of feelings about this projects reaching the end of the line, but I'll write them up later. 

For now I will say: Thanks to everyone here who played the demo and gave feedback, especially the UI anon who drafted mockups for me! These constant demo days are a massive benefit to getting a steady stream of playtests and feedback for amateur game devs. I know the threads have been kind of shit, but these DD's are great.

Here's the changes since last DD:
- Tutorial polished. While still text heavy, it should be as easy as possible to digest and understand the basic craps rules.
- New chip unlock system where achieving different achievements unlocks new special chips for you to use
- Major rebalance to NPC's behavior
- Tons of bugfixes
- Sticker system expanded and improved
- Game now ends after level 10
- Optional hard mode after beating the base game
- Crapless table unlocked by default
- Controller + Gamepad support

Some feedback:

- Music is really loud

- I don't like how you have to die each dungeon.  I wish I had a button to bail on a run instead of die, even if it's just psychological.

- I feel like part before you get the strike was a little too long

- I don't mind the art, but I really don't like how they have shadows that make no sense (Except the cleric?)

- I don't really like how your progress is gated on the RNG of getting your strike, and you have no way to improve it

- I missed the cleric upgrades because I was zoomed in on the top of the warrior one

- Ok, now that I've gotten to the swamp level, this feels a lot more fun. I still don't like how it's the same enemy order over and over but now that I have more power and agency, it's much better

- Change the physics on the coins, maybe some friction? I can tell they are the godot default physics on a circle collision

- Bit of lag when the swamp boss died

- If you fill up your bar things get weird

Overall it's fun! I could see it getting quite hectic if you added more characters and abilities and enemies.

Thanks a lot for playing!  Sorry about the tutorial chip, I'm not sure what could cause that...

>the heat vignette effect is kind of obnoxious
I'll tone it down some, I increased how much heat you get without taking this into account

>now i know a little bit about how craps works!
I'm super glad you could learn a bit, that's been a major problem in previous builds.  Glad all the stuff like the roll indicator numbers help!

Thanks again for trying the demo out, I really appreciate it!

Web version should be fixed, please let me know if you encounter any more issues!

Apologies, there seems to be an issue with the web version with the steam integration... I'm working on a fix now, the download should work.

Part two:

• You can get tons of big swords 

• I still can’t figure out how to sit on the bed. Is it a special control? I’ve walked all over it and pressed every combo with no result.
• I was able to sit on the chair no problem, just pressed “down”
• It’d be nice to have some way to “examine” or know what the items in my inventory are
• Starting a fire to escape is super funny
  • But it was a little hard to figure out, I just started throwing items together
  • But I do get that’s part of the “classic adventure game” feel, so it is what it is
• I took the mission right away, I feel like I should have explored the town more
  • Maybe this guy could show up after the player walks around a bit?
• Didn’t realize I could climb bedsheets, really cool
• In the Manor
  • I found the Ledger
  • Figured out who the prisoner was
  • Gave my future wife a rat
  • Hoofed it past the goblins to escape
• Goblin ending.  Based

In regards to the full stat combat, it feel fine, if a bit samey. The basic goblins are barely a threat, because your basic stab comes out so far.  The hobs are more dangerous, but still not a huge threat. Damage seems a bit inconsistent, sometimes it takes 5 stabs to kill sometimes it takes 2.

Overall, I can really see the improvements, and I’m looking forward to the full release.  I’m sure making content is really tough, but I hope you have enough building blocks and systems build to start putting more together. 

Great job!

I got through about  4 teleporters.  I see the risk of rain influence, but it needs a lot more time to bake before it can compare.  That said, I do think risk of rain is a good learning game to copy, as a project to learn an engine or making one.

A big thing is working on clarity for the player.  Like for the laser, it'd be good to have some feedback on the player that tings are firing.  Also different sprites for the laser impact, and the orbs that orbit you. Just stuff like that that makes it more clear about the action -> reaction that comes from players actions.

In game thoughts:

• Love the SFX and intro
• Combat is fun, if a bit samey.  I do wonder what lower STR feels like
• Gobos can attack while I’m talking
• The cursor staying on screen is a little distracting
• Chad is such a pussy lmao
• Can’t climb down ladder (Oh just chads)
• The wall jump feels cool, but clunky
• Wish there was a little bit of coyote time
• The big gobo’s attack hangs around a little long
• Big sword small attack hit bit is too small, animation looks like it hits but doesn’t
• DAYYYUMMM she thick
• Maiden’s key wasn’t really visible, I just kind of guessed it was there
• I’m trying to sit on the bed but nothing is happening.  Maybe because a hob goblin is there as well?

I love the art and vibe of this game, great job.  Is there any way to skip past the opening segment where I got softlocked? If not I'll come back to this one after I try some more games.

Death ring

In game thoughts:

• Opening menu buttons kind of blend in with the background
• Escape closes the game, wish it paused
• Shotgun projectiles get removed when you shoot a second time?
• The laser is the best weapon by far hollllyyy
• Enemies get stuck in corners a lot, which is annoying at later stages
• Bosses feel kind of samey

This is a really solid top down shooter. I do think you could make the characters about 50% bigger.  Enemies were fine, but could maybe take a bit more variety in how they move or attack.

The weapons could use some of the same. Things like the flamethrower feel VERY weak compared to the laser, or even the starting gun. 

I like the "death ring", but it does become a bit of a downward spiral at some point.  It'd be really cool to have a "single use" item to expand your ring, or maybe temporarily disable it so you can hunt down enemies/power ups before you continue?  IDK just throwing shit out.

Really fun game!

In game thoughts:

• The far wall dash is a little clunky to do
• I love the shotgun SFX, very meaty
• It’d be nice to have some way to restart levels, especially trying to hit a specific time
• I wish I had a sprint button, or some way to speed up on flat areas

This game is really solid, takes me back to classic SSMB break the targets.  I also really like the character animation when you jump. It could use some polish to make different moves easier to execute.  

Would love some new characters and levels!

In game notes

- Comfy music
- I feel like I move faster sometimes? 
- I wish I could take multiple orders at once
- Control scene is really wonky, wish it was just WASD
- The camera perspective makes me feel a bit sick
- End of shift animations are nice

I see the vision for this game.  With some better controls, and someway to buy upgrades or change up your cafe (Or course all magically themed) this could have some good legs.  

I'll be looking forward to this one!

In game thoughts

• 2.5gb is pretty hefty for an indie game. Should look into reducing this for space conscious players
• File and settings in the top right is distracting
• Y/N system should have it’s own window and controls. Just selecting Y or N.  Less button presses
• It does set a good creepy vibe at the end of the interrogation, although I do wonder if this game is spyware haha
• Main menu music is a Jammer, right until the screamo verses covered up the sick beat. But that is a personal preference (I highly dislike screamo)
• The text has a strange feel to it, and I think it’s at least partially because you are using Passive Voice instead of Active Voice in a lot of the text.  More info here: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/sentences/active-vs-passive-voice/
  • There’s also some mistranslations, “What did she said to you” and such
• Ok this is cool.  Why does the girl skip around though?
• I do not typically player text heavy games, but something that does help me is Bolding key terms or important dialogue so even if I’m spam clicking through I still get the gist of the topics being discussed.
• I can clip camera through the walls and see other levels
• If I click at just the right time I can skip multiple dialogues
• I’m really bummed I didn’t get to make my own choice in the prisoners dilemma.  It seems like the perfect chance to give the player some agency
• I did not get those minigames at all

Post game thoughts:

I’m really confused by this game.  There’s a lot of dialogue, but very little gameplay. My advice would be to take out like 90% of the dialogue and instead replace it with more clear player choice and dialogue. Think of the TellTale games, it was *very* clear when the player was taking an action and what the result would be.  In this game it’s hard for me to tell when I’m even making an impact.

Hey thanks for trying it out!  

The NPC's are meant to be a balancing factor on the player, but in your recording it seems you got a lot of difficult NPC's waayy before you had a chance to establish a build.  For instance, the Cowboy (meant to be a late game boss type) shouldn't have spawned at that heat level.  That's my bad and I'll look into addressing the bug.

You are correct in that they are supposed to be a negative for the player.  Craps has a very "fragile" balance, so once the player starts increasing a certain bets payout, or decreasing the chance of a 7, they can start feeling very safe, which is what the NPC's are meant to offset.  But I do see how re-rolling is frustrating, especially when you have nothing to combat it.  I think I'll add some stickers and special chips to give players control over that, which could help with that feeling.

Thanks for playing, and the recording + critique, it's very helpful!

when you say slow do you mean performance wise, or just the game speed?  There is a setting to speed up the latter, the top setting should be almost instant animations.

but thanks so much for trying the demo, I really appreciate it!  I’ve kind of accepted the title issue, much much I can do about it at this point.

In-Game thoughts:

• Cool concept already, this is really great
• I can slide buttons stuff in the shop, is that intended?  It feels annoying to accidentally click a dial when I'm trying to buy
• A bit hard to tell how much Gold I have, maybe highlight the text yellow?
• Kind of weird having to hide the shop before continuing, but I see why
• It’d be really cool to see the paths weapons will take as solid lines or some other representation
  • This would also help me determine where I should put my sliders to hit specific targets
• Music is nice and pleasant, all the sfx are functional. 
  

General Comments:

This game has huge GMI potential. The game is easy to learn, fun to just watch it go, but also has some "skill" to keep players engaged during the idle portion.  I could definitively see this being a big idler hit.  Great work!

Another demo day is upon us...  This is 6 Ways to 7's last DD before it's NextFest debut! 

Wishlist it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4005440/6_Ways_To_7/

Changelog since last DD:

• Chip payout optimized to be faster at large amounts
• Heat scaling modified (Higher scaling with less chance of rolling a 7)
• Slightly reduced gold on win
• New enchantments added
• Add Dice Stickers!  10 Dice stickers added
• Scaling related Special Chips buffed overall
• Point related Special Chips buffed overall
• New "Press" related Special Chips
• New Come and Don't come focused Special Chips
• Hold down when placing a bet to rapidly place it
• Chip payout animation fixed
• Total win animation added
• Crapsless table added (Locked in demo)
• Steam Achievements added (Locked in demo)
• Rollepedia added (Compendium of chips/stickers/NPCs etc.)
• Large wins displayed in scientific notation
• Localization framework added (And shitty translations added)
• Removal separation of winnings and bankroll
• New NPCs added
• Tutorial improved
• Player analytics added
• Game opening screen added
• Take odds on Come and Don't come points
• Select chips with hotkeys
• Fix how chip denominations were shown
• 10 new achievements added
• Fixed various control bugs
• Dice bag and selectable dice removed

You can read a full devlog here:
https://axelstems.itch.io/6-ways-to-7/devlog/1277018/stickers-and-clickers

Happy demo day!

Sorry it was so confusing, hopefully I can clarify some.  Craps seems complicated, but it's not as bad once you get the basics.

>What is "on point"

When the game starts, the "Point" is off.  When a 4, 5, 6 or 8,9,10 are rolled, the point is now "on" that number.  It stays on that number until it is rolled again, or a 7 is rolled.

So here's a breakdown, going through some imaginary rolls to see what happens.

Scenario 1:

>First roll is a 4.  The point is now "On" 4.
>The second roll is a 5.  The point is already "On", so there is no change.
>The third roll is a 4.  The point was "On" 4, and 4 has rolled again.  This is a win!  Yay!

Now the point moves "Off", and the cycle restarts.

Scenario 2:

>First roll is a 11.  Because that is not a 4, 5, 6 or 8,9,10, the point stays "Off"
>Second roll is a 5.  The point is now "On" 5.
>Third roll is a 8.  The point is already "On" 5, so nothing happens.
>Fourth roll is a 9.  The point is already "On" 5, so nothing happens.
>Fifth roll is a 3.  The point is already "On" 5, so nothing happens.
>Sixth roll is a 7.  This is a loss.  Boooo!!

Now the point moves "Off", and the cycle restarts.

I hope that makes sense, here's a youtube video that also explains it: 

Very cool and fun, as people have said.  Waiter Waiter!  More content please!

Notes:

- Died after getting the shotgun and respawned with the pistol

- I can shoot with the mouse, but can't activate the options menu with it

- I wish I could shoot straight up

- Transitions and endings are SUPA cute

I want 5 levels by next demo day STAT

Awesome, hyped for the update!

There should definitely be a variety of NPCs, although it is just random, so you could end up with a lot of the same.  

I’ll definitly work on the tutorial.  I need to find a good balance of letting the player play, and telling them how stuff works.

thanks for playing!

I’m glad you enjoyed it!  I’ll take any feedback, I’m trying to make it accessible for non-craps players, so please share anything you want!

I think this is a really cool proof of concept.  Could go far with the right systems.

Feedback:

- Transition from animations to gameplay is very fast, makes it hard to react

- all the players move the same speed so there's no ability to catch up

- Kind of related, there's not much play in the middle of the field, it's just running to the goal, then passing/shooting

- Animations could be a *bit* faster, or give players a skip option

- I'm sure it's planned, but stats and RPG abilities would go crazy in a game like this

You've made great progress so far and i see the vision, keep it up!

Ahhh, I didn't realize it was based on a real game!  I remember that from Kaiji.  That makes more sense.

As a fellow dice game creator I wanted to check this out.  It was a little confusing at first, but I think I understood it at the end.
Feedback:

- The point is confusing.  i would stick to easily identifiable scoring

- On the note, why not just total up the dice rolls, then add bonuses on top of them? That would soften the impact of getting nothing. 

- I would check out this game for some inspiration: https://miltage.itch.io/rollcadium

- Abilities are half baked, didn't quite get them.  But thought that rolling certain dice combos to unlock them would be cool

I think the main thing this needs is clarity.  Make dice pulse when they can be locked, take some seconds to show who is winning  and why.  This would also be good for tallying score and showing roll values.

I think there is some fun to be found here, it's just very rough ATM.

Thanks, those tutorials are a little old at this point, I need to go over each one and clean them up.

It's fun!  Kind of wish the other modes had some enemy modifiers, because some of them are kind of boring starting out.

Very fun game!

Apologies for the late reply, I've been away from my PC for the week! 

The next update will have a very simple and new player friendly tutorial, which I hope will help with this!

Thanks for playing!