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Development has been paused due to life but I am still around and looking for an opportunity to get back at it. The Doberman is playable in Arena mode.

The controls should be the same for both modes and for PC and Mac. I do not have a mac myself though so I do not know if there are any issues with the Mac version unless it is reported

Thanks for the comment, I see the bug in the webgl too, It seems there were some lingering issues converting from mobile. I did add an unlock button in the settings to open all the levels incase anything had issues.

v06 patch notes are listed here: https://dogatworkgames.itch.io/houndsofvalor/devlog/195834/demo-v06-update-all-d...

The last v06-1 was a hotfix for some issues  that were found.

Glad you liked it! Have you tried turning the graphics settings down to low and disabling a few options in the graphics menu?  Some older machines will likely struggle until I can nail down some minimum specs.

Thanks for your comments Mayo! The issues of attack variety and utility is actually something I have been diving into just this last week. I have been adding more robust stagger mechanics, in the current online demo things are very simple in that enemies flinch and resume combat .5 seconds later no matter if it was a light or heavy attack. The new system adds stagger damage along with the normal damage number to attacks so enemies can get hit harder and stagger for longer. That way multiple big hits on an enemy can put them out of commission for longer. I am also working on a "Punishing mode" difficulty where staggers will become more more important, enemies wont even interrupt with a single light attack anymore. Its a wip so it may also change.

Also a big factor is numbers  getting tweaked with combat polish, its possible light attacks do too much damage for how fast they are. 

Also I have started working on enemy's that resist light attacks. in my current dev build the shielding monsters can have their shields broken with heavy attacks, or you can still flank them. 

I do feel the light, heavy and bash buttons work well for the game along with all the combos they bring.  though it does need adjustment to the attacks and enemies so that combat variety and reaction is the most optimal way to play.

The combat design for hounds of Valor has been more similar to the PS2 God of War games where combat is about controlling larger groups of enemies in a hack and slash way. Dodging incoming strikes while keeping enemies close to you staggered so you can finish before the rest of the horde closes in and not letting yourself get surrounded. 

So light attacks should be quick, pure damage that hits enemy attacks in a wide sweep

Heavy attacks currently deal x2 damage and have a bigger stagger animation but are slower and deal damage in a smaller sweep. I have considered upping the damage as I have noticed the dps even on a single target isnt good enough vs light spamming. also the light, light, heavy combo give a good combat option against a larger group you have room to wind up against.

bashing attacks are about dealing low damage but smacking enemies away/down to put them out of a fight so you can wail on them or focus on a more pertinent target on the battlefield, they also allow a lot of movement so you can chain them with other attacks as an option instead of dodging when in danger. 

Air combat can be started with a heavy hold+release or jump+any attack button and is meant to allow you to isolate an enemy and combo them in relative safety for a moment.

Action combat is a tricky design but I really do love games with deeper, masterable combat systems with a large variety of options in combat for utility and flash. Thanks for your comment again, its actually helping me think on what needs to be done to really push the combat system.

I have been continuing development the whole time and a lot of progress has been made to finish the whole first level and a number of important refinements to game systems. I have been unsure of what to include in a new public build so haven't gotten a new build out. I have posted on my twitter but should also make a post here to update things. 

The other dogs are not playable as other development has taken priority and there are some technical challenges associated. But thanks for checking in and I will shoot to have a post soon with how things are going with the games development.

"dieing" in the game is more abstracted showing you more tired and defeated.

I am actually not familiar with Linux at all, but you should be able to run one of the downloaded files to start the game up.

deployment platforms are not decided yet but getting on the switch would be really cool.

I won't be sure of the platforms to launch to until things are closer to that launch. But if its a success I would love to bring it to as many platforms as possible.

Thanks for the encouragement, development is progressing well. There actually is a sprint button, you click the left stick in or hold Alt on the keyboard.

You currently can only play as Max and the story will follow him but I do want to try and get the other dogs playable at some point. It is likely the netbook will not be able to play the game well. optimization and scaling will be a step later on.

I see what you mean!  WW does have some pretty flash hit effects, frame pausing and sound that helps your hits look and sound bigger.  That is something I will definitely look into  with the next patch.

Thanks for playing! did the boss actually shatter? the health value at the top and its actual health can get un-sycned currently.  Its something I need to get nailed down since that is confusing people. You also mentioned some combat refinement, I am currently in the process of doing just that and adding in some more moves to round things out, if you had any further feedback on that it could be very valuable to push things further. And will do on the updates, the first cutscene is being animated and the rest of the first level is next after these combat refinements.

Great, did you have to do the work around or did you just press the play button?

Also the comments are not the best place to report bugs, use the form I created so I can log things better.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzmdsjZOfP0zvc1uPmnxgWi21784nhccQ2hTja...

Also that chest across the river is a secret, you need to double jump+air dash to reach it.

Hey Sharky, I just updated the game and modified the level load code. Its likely this still wont work so I have a backup in place. On the menu screen click on the Hounds of Valor title to load with a more direct method. the game will freeze for a minute but will more likely load for you. Try both methods and let me know if this works for you, it would help greatly to root out why your machine and likely others are failing to finish the load.

Ok, that helps a lot to know what may be going on. it appears the level load function is stalling for some reason, there likely is an error but you are not seeing anything. I can look it over and I do plan to release a new version soon, hopefully that will let the game fully load for you.

Indeed, there are not too many armed canines in gaming, It was fun to see Pokemon getting in on it too!

Is it the Mac version? Windows32 or 64 bit? Are you able to get past the launcher for the game? (where you select a graphics option) Do you see the main menu screen? Are there any errors involved or things like black screens?

What version are you trying to run, And when do you have the issue?  Also knowing what system specs you are using would help, there may be an incompatibility with the Unity game engine if it doesn't load at all.

I actually just posted and old one I made last week, though it is android. https://dogatworkgames.itch.io/fetchandrun

Thanks a lot for playing! I assume you are speaking of the camera hiding system which sometimes makes walls ahead of you disappear. It's a fine tuning issue that is on going to make sure things hide to let you see where you are/going but not make objects hide unnecessarily. Its getting closer to a final state but will still have a few oddities now and then.

There is a low graphics setting and a toggle to turn off terrain grasses to help. But yes more graphics options are necessary in the future to help lower end computers more. If you have a chance PM me your specs and what framerate you are getting on the current low settings.

Thanks for letting me know, there likely are some axis's switched around for dualshocks and seems there is a dead zone issue for the analog sticks on that controller too. I will grab one of those controllers and make sure its working the same across as many controllers as I can manage.

I was not sure if there would be a want for it, but I went and exported a linux standalone build for you. I do not have a linux machine to test so let me know if it has any issues!

I am sorry for that! In order to port to mobile touchscreen would be a pretty heavy undertaking so I am sticking to gamepad and keyboard/mouse for now.

"Bark Souls" has been my favorite pun so far.

I have actually heard the botw grass comparisons a lot, I guess I ended up getting the colors pretty close! Thanks for playing!

Thanks for letting me know, testing I cannot replicate the issue in v02. What platform and specs were you playing on?

Thank you for your very kind words! Much appreciated as I keep on the development!

Thanks for playing! I am going through the video now for your feedback and spotted bugs. Love your enthusiasm and honesty where things aren't working quite right!

You can actually control the camera with F on the keyboard, hold F then move the mouse to look where you want.  For a game like this a gamepad will always be the best option but I will see what can be done to smooth out things for anyone without one.

Edit: I found the camera issue! Its something I have not had to deal with using a gamepad but thanks for highlighting the problem! Fix will be in the next update with other tweaks.

Hey Queen, would you mind providing some system specs? I noticed the lighting took a very long time to load in and it was running at low framerate. Want to make sure the game can run as well as possible on peoples machines.

Thanks for playing Fluffey! I think you had some very good feedback. I have been tuning the game pretty heavily on the easy side but can definitely experiment making things tougher. Was planning on having settings for that and doing it sooner may be a good thing to include in the next update. 

That actually wasn't the third secret, that just was the last part of the full level I have turned off for the demo, just got above the level ceiling. 

The real third secret is by the corn field, there is a part of the cliff with a crack which should speak to your inner Zelda/Okami instincts.

Again thanks for your candid input and reaction! It does really help to watch someone playing it without any of my usual setup.

I have been working for 3+ years on this passion project of mine. I love dogs and action games so decided to blend them together!

You play as Max, a valiant dog who has been trained to fight the monsters that threaten this world. It is an action game with combos, secondary weapons and a developing story as you explore and protect the world.

https://itch.io/embed/530478?border_width=2&bg_color=fbf3cb&fg_color=222222&link_color=fa5c5c&border_color=dc302f

This is my first public demo of the game, I am looking for all feedback you can give. I've shown it at the Ohio based GDEX conference and some game dev meetups. In those settings I have gotten very great feedback on how Hounds is shaping up. So if you have the time please give it a go! I love animal based games and really wish there were more out there. 

One of my main inspirations is Okami, having a canine protagonist and a painted art style. Then the combat plays more akin to my other favorite ps2 game, God of War.