itch.io

Ask and I Shall Deliver: https://grumpymunkyindy.itch.io/schmuzzler

Latest version of the game with more levels, story elements, new models, effects and weapons.

Thanks for the positive comments and hopefully the new version without the gamejam limitations gives a better idea for what I was going for.

I presumed that might be the issue right after reading your comment, so when I went back and updated the game with new levels, models and effects I also capped the frame rate to 60fps with a minimum target of 40fps, not the most elegant of solutions but as far as my limited testing has panned out it seems to have solved the issue. I was indeed using tick to control movements without taking the delta seconds into account.

I have a new hugely updated version with New UI, models, more levels and bosses and the capped frame rate

https://grumpymunkyindy.itch.io/schmuzzler

If you have the time it would be hugely helpful to know if this fixes the speed issue on higher end systems, my specs are woefully low running with a 1050ti and the like so I wasnt really able to test it on higher spec systems prior to putting it out.

im hoping this solves the issue and since old skool shooters tended to run at 60fps on 8bit and 16bit systems a higher frame rate would be undesirable in any case!

Thanks for the feedback so far!

It's meant to be, It harks back to the Old Skool Bullet Hell Shmups of the 80's and 90's.
I've tested it vigorously on my system and it runs at pretty much exactly the speed I want it to, I'm working on an update currently with higher poly assets, more visual effects and the like. It does run fast, but its intended to.

I like it! The music really heightens the mood and plays into the mysterious feeling the game evokes.

Just... Gorgeous

Thank you for the comment, I really Appreciate it! I tried my best to do what I could within the time frame whilst creating as much of the content as possible from scratch. All the models effects etc, I would have liked to have had more intricate patterns, better effects and smoother transitions but I did what I could within the allotted time limit.
I have been slowly adding to it alongside other projects now I am free of the Game Jam time and content restrictions so expect to see an updated version with higer fidelity graphics, models and VFX on the page soon (uploads are disabled while judging is in progress, I doubt I will place but its been a fantastic learning experience)
Thanks again for the comment, positive feedback is really important , espescially to solo devs like myself whose entire workflow can be dictated by mood and motivation, thank you for playing it and taking the time to comment!

Hi! Just to let you know I'm packaging the 0.0.0.4 Update right now! :)
-Lengthened Day Night Cycle
-Reduced the Thirst and Hunger Drains
-Updated the Title Menu with a bit of extra visual fidelity.
-Fixed the first person body mesh to now map correctly to your chosen character replacing the default UE4 Mannequin (When you look down at your body) the hands are still articulated currently

Look out for a new Dev Log with a link to the update soon later on today! (I'll also update the download link on the main game page at the same time)

Hi thanks for the Continued feedback!

The Next version has been slightly delayed to incorporate the feedback you have provided. I have a build ready and meant to upload it over the weekend but I have also entered the Epic Game Jam so rushing to finish that (you only get 7 days to make a game from scratch) has delayed the new version. I will address the issues you have raised particularly the zombie amount and the first person limbs.

Expect an update within the the next few days!

Hi Thanks for the Feedback! I really appreciate and dont worry Im somewhat glad those are the only issues you encountered as currently These are all known issues and in fact some of them very much intentional! To address them individually:

-The First Person mode still uses the default Unreal Engine Mannequin hands due to certain discrepencies between the Third person Models and the way the First Person Meshes are set up (The first and third person meshes dont share the same skeletal model this is something Im working on but currently its the best way to go since the sockets dont match up well on the skeletal meshes for the characters so if I had them as the first person meshes they entirely obscure the view which obviously isnt great) so currently in the alpha I'm defaulting to the UE4 Mannequin for first person this will change soon once I can Retarget the 3rd person meshes and animations to properly work in first person so dont worry, its a known issue Im working on!

-Thirst and Hunger decrease currently at 2x the standard rate, this is to make testing easier (making sure new food items and drink items restore the correct amount of thirst or hunger requires the thirst and hunger to decrease a little more rapidly) during testing If I had to wait half an hour for the hunger to hit halfway it would make testing the new updates take MUCH longer.  In addition each are calibrated to decrease more aggressively when doing things like sprinting etc.

-Day and Night Cycle is indeed accelerated this is again for testing purposes, a 10 minute day is much quicker to test than a 40minute day night cycle! Im one person studio so every minute spent waiting for the sun to rotate in game for testing is a minute I cant spend improving the game so it is much accelerated compared to what it will eventually be like, But this too will change in the next update since most of the testing I wanted to do regarding the Cycle is complete at this point.

But I appreciate the feedback and I am working on having version 0.0.0.4 Up in the next day or so. I shall Send you an email Immediately upon upload.

I will Increase the Day/Night Cycle Duration and Adjust the Hunger and thirst mechanics to be a bit less aggressive In the next update so expect that to drop sometime between now and the weekend!

Im so glad your enjoying it so far!

What do you think is a good time Cycle for the Day night?

I emailed you the media fire link you requested and double checked myself to make sure it worked. Please check your email.

Okay, I've managed to get registered with Mediafire and I'm uploading it now while I wait to hear off support.

I've sent Itch an email requesting more upload space. just waiting to hear back from them.

Media Fire Wont allow me to upload it without upgrading to a paid plan which I can't afford right now.
I'll Contact Itch.io Support staff to see if they can increase the 1Gb Upload limit on games.
It's difficult to find free hosting for large files. The two I use mainly are Google Drive and now Drop Box, No one else has ever had an issue with downloading from them so I never really looked into alternatives.

The new hosting link has been sent to your email address! I'll update the itch post with the new link also!

My Apologies. GoogleDrive is the only Hosting Solution I have currently.
Please allow me some time to find an alternate hosting solution and I shall email you a Link, unfortunately Itch,io only allows uploads up to 1Gb Currently.

Again please accept my Apologies and I shall email you with a new download link.

No Problem! I'm 99% sure thats the issue since I had the same one, and since the Master is working the Shader itself is clearly working so I'm almost Positive its just a case of reparenting the Instances. If that fails, which I'm sure it won't, I will Re upload with each Version as its own Master and let folks Create Instances as they wish, since instancing it myself before exporting seems to create issues when loading it into versions higher then 4.22

Yes, I use it in 4.27.2

Hmmm, You may need to reparent the instances, I had a Similar issue when I ported it to a new project Im working on.
Open Up the the instance Material and In the Editor Window there should be a 'Parent Asset' Or Similar, Select the Master Shader shader as the parent and that should do the trick! I Created the kit in 4.22 and had a similar issue when I loaded into 4.27.

I'll upload a 4.27 specific variant tomorrow if reparenting doesnt solve it, but it did for me.

Thanks for the Comment, and the support let me know if you have any further Issues!

Its a little more complex than that, but essentially its flooring the viewport UV's, getting a user inputs scalar to control intensity and then doing some maths and pumping that into a scene texture post process 0 node although there are other methods to do it, I used a different method in the Night Vision/Thermal one I'm working on which is a little simpler and gives a 1:1 pixel ratio, ie, you can specify the screen resolution you want to mimic (256, 512 etc) But to answer your question, nope it doesnt change the games resolution! You can run the shader at 4k screen resolution, it just takes the view ports resolution as a base and does a little simple math with it :) Your game will still run at whatever resolution you set it to! :)

I mean if you wanted a quick and dirty pixel effect you COULD just lower the screen resolution but then when you turned the shader off, the screen resolution would still be super low, this way you can have the pixelated effect and still maintain your desired resolution at all times, Hope that helps!

Oh WOW! Someone ACTUALLY Played it?! Thank you for your Time! And also the lovely Comment!
I honestly never though anyone would actually ever play it, it was just sort of a Concept for trying to see if I could make something in one of the Worst, Most outdated and least known engines on the internet, FPSC got me into game design over a decade ago and that little demo was sort of a going back to the roots type thing for me.
If you'd like a download code for me latest attempt at a quirky RPG email me or direct message me, its up for sale but It be nice to see someone play it since no one has yet sadly! Its only a few bucks but I'm pretty untried and untested as a developer really, so I understand people not wanting to pay for an Alpha build but I'll happily send you a code for it if I can! Feel free do use any footage for streaming or youtube etc just link back here and post the links to any vids you make too, I'd love to see them!

Thanks again!

Thanks! :) Updated build coming later today

-New Enemies

-Updated Spawn System

-New Level

-Option to Purchase abilities (Double Jump, Speed Boost etc)

and Purchasable weapons!

So keep an eye out for those :D

We did it as a laugh figuring it would appear in more search results that way lol, bit of a joke.

holy fuck dude i loved your lets play! It was legit hilarious! It was great seeing all the mechanics work as intended, that part when you got to the bottom and reset rather than use the boxes to get back up for the crowbaw was great! Im glad the lighting mechanic came off as intended! I recently posted a v0.0.8update with a new starting puzzle. The lack of direction and story was very intentional so i appreciate you didnt like that aspect but that was largely the point. Basically the father of the child left her unattended and she burned, the mother hung herself as a result, tortured by guilt he goes insane and tries to kill himself, burning the doll is symbolic of coming to terms with that, then in the latest updatw you cut down the mothers hanging body to get a key, accepting ur fault in that too, then you can proceed into the darkest part of your mind, where you buried the memory of burying her body in the basement to avoid being blamed and declaring her missing, leading to the mother killing herself from grief. Your bring the doll up and symbolically lay it to rest. The new update does add a lot to the story in terms of visual clues but i dont want to outright spell it out to the player, i want them to create theories from visual clues dark souls style! I had a great time watching your video, def a like and sub from me and i will take on board some of the aspects you felt needed improvement, but i will say check out the latest version for some big changed to the early game sections.

aww thank you! <3

well i took the light off the tick and put it onto its own timers now, Im not sure if its 'better' so let me know!

Ahh thanks for letting me know! I just posted the v0.0.8 update but I Need to get back to my main project soon, I'll keep that in mind if theres ever a v0.0.9. Thanks for playing!

*horrible

Thanks! Always nice to know the concept comes across as intended on the other end!

Yeah, I Used a few too many lights and some of them even have two lights in each to give orange and yellow hues! I kind of just pushed my system to the limits as an experiment with just how much stress i can put on Unreals lighting engine without really optimizing anything. thanks for the feedback! I'll check out the video and take a look! thanks a lot for playing and commenting! I might go back to it later on but i have a bigger project and this was just a sort of 'fun, play around, let off some steam' project, so who knows. I would like to make it slightly longer which would require optimizing the lighting but we shall see!

hi thanks for the comment, as far as i know your the first person who i didnt already know, to play anything ive made, so the fact a game so short and rushed got a positive first response means a lot to me! Thank you :) gonna go watch the video u included now! XD. If u have any thoughts on things i could have done better let me know.