itch.io

Your art is incredible, but I'm not really a fan of VNs, so I'm not going to comment on the gameplay. I'll keep my review limited to the art, aesthetics and sound.

The style is coherent and vibrant. Characters are expressive with an exaggerated style, which suits the aesthetic. The colour palette is appropriate, but I feel that the contrast on some characters is too strong (harpy girl for example). I feel you could tone down the contrast on some characters a little to bring them into line with the whole cast. Lines are clean, but there are some issues with the plaid design on some characters. The plaid pattern should follow the contours of the clothes, you know this because you did it on some images, but in many others it looks like the plaid was just overlaid flatly, which makes it look uncanny. Strongly recommend you redo most of the plaid clothing to follow contours and folds.

Some backgrounds look really good, while others seem to be computer generated (not AI). In some scenes this creates a dissonance between the characters (who are hand drawn) and the background. I think it's fine for now, but consider this for the future.

Sound was fine, nothing spectacular, but nothing wrong with it. Audio adds another layer to video games, I do recommend perhaps investing a little bit more time into understanding sound design and how to use it to add additional dimensionality to your game.

For my final thoughts, good job and making a game with strong art direction. I feel perhaps your art skills are wasted on a VN and think you can probably tackle something more ambitious for your next project. Well done, looking forward to the final product.

You are right about the menus. I've considered your feedback and made starting the game easier. 

I have thought abut making the camera fixed angle, controlled either by keys or mouse. There are pro's and con's, but as you pointed out it might be necessary.

Sound effects are very much a work in progress. I haven't spent much time on them at all. I'll check the volume and make adjustments.

I'm working on the UI and user feedback to make the game easier to understand visually. 

Thanks for your feedback.

I've been thinking about this and I agree with you. I'm planning a pivot with more realistic ship control and slower, more tactical gameplay. In regard to the combat system. Current plan is scissors paper rock style system, with projectiles being analogous to melee (close range, penetrate shields, bad against armour), beams being like magic (medium range, can't miss, bad against shields) and missiles which are like guided arrows (long range, slow, tracking and guidance, can be destroyed by small weapons). Additionally, I want objects and velocity to play a greater role, with asteroids acting as cover and ship velocity having a greater effect on accuracy and evasion.

Thanks for the feedback. Always appreciate it.

I'm planning to do some more work on the UI. I'm not 100% happy where it is now. I'm glad you like the title music.

I'm not sure if the Outfit screen was fixed in 001. It should be working in DECO version. 

I'm still working on UI reactiveness. I'm wondering if I should scrap it all together because of how much work it is. Maybe just support everything above 1920x1080.

Planning to put patch notes in title. Might move embark to first selection as you suggested.

Yeah, controls is still WIP.

I'm thinking of reworking the movement system into something more hard scifi like from The Expanse. I'll be adding thrusters to all sides of the ship and thrust control.

The original intention was to build a VS clone, but the market is now saturated with VS clones that are better than anything I could make in such a short time. I'm thinking of pivoting into something that is more Slay the Spire meets Diablo in space with VS style upgrade system. I'm still looking for that x-factor.

Thanks for your feedback and input, it's highly appreciated.

Thanks for your in depth feedback.

• I'll have a look into borderless mode to make sure it works as intended.
• I've implemented the resolution in the DECO version. I plan to improve it further.
• FOV settings are still WIP. Wondering if I should remove them and make them a game system.
• Still figuring out how to work the reactiveness of the UI. WIP.
• Agreed with the language options. They will be removed.
• I'm working on a basic tutorial for controls.
• Agreed with the weapon. Plan to further refine this in future iterations.
• Health bar comes from upgrading the bridge. Still thinking about this system.
• About manual targeting. I'm still debating whether to add this or not. I may create an iteration with manual targeting to get some feedback.
• I'm planning on improving the AI so non-close combat ships stay away from the player.
• Damage avoidance mechanics are still WIP.

Thanks for your detailed feedback. I'll add them to my list of TODOs.

Press M for free modules. Press N for free upgrades. (For debugging purposes). Do not run into asteroids. 

Thank you for your kind words and support. It means a great deal to us. I look forward to seeing your own projects in the future.