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I'm thrilled that you tried the game and shared your feedback! Your kind words and encouragement truly motivate me to keep pushing forward with this project. Knowing that it brings joy to players like you makes all the hard work worthwhile.

As I'm developing this project mostly on my own (with the exception of the amazing OST by Excemia, for which I'm incredibly grateful), I often rely on my instincts to make decisions. This can leave me uncertain about whether I'm on the right track. Player feedback like yours is invaluable. It helps me understand what’s working, what’s fun, and what needs improvement.

Thank you so much for following the development and giving the early build a chance. We’re on this journey together, and that fills me with joy!

Thank you very much for playing and providing feedback with screenshots! Things you have mentioned are stuff that's easy to fix and will be addressed before the next build. 

I'm really glad you enjoyed the game already in its very raw and unpolished form. I can promise it will be even better in the future.

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much for the feedback and for taking the time to play and provide your feedback! Bugs have been addressed, and most, if not all, things will be fixed or tuned to the next development preview. 

Thank you for playing one more time. It really keeps me going with the project to see people are interested in the game in its early stages.  I'll do my best to keep making it better and better until we have something special to enjoy together.

Hi! Thank you very much for playing and for the feedback! All the issues have been noted, and I have created working tickets for them. 

I look forward to resolving the issues and adding more content to play. 

Thank you very much for playing! Feedback also noted and listed! 

This Demo Day primarily focused on determining the viability of the Campaign mode for the rest of the Marras development. Based on the feedback from people who have less experience with shmups, it has reached the target audience and I will continue having it as own game mode. 

I have followed the development of Illusive Domain couple of demo days. Good job with the game and I wish very best for the last stretch of the development with it!

Thank you very much! I'm really glad you like it. The difficulty will be adjusted when more stages are implemented. First stage difficulty I'm fairly confident that difficulty of this demo will reflect more Campaign stage 2/3 and Arcade stage 2. We will see later how things will progress, but one thing I'm trying to avoid is making the game too hard for the campaign and too easy for the arcade.

Three words that make me really glad. Thank you for playing!

Thanks for letting me know. Seems like my keybindings backend overhaul got a bug. That's fixed and hotfix is out.

That's intended behaviour. Please use the power of slow movement and laser to demolish everything!
Thank you very much for playing the game!

I'm really glad you enjoyed the game even while It's in very early stages! This kind of feedback you provided really helps me with the development and to make the game as good as players deserve to have it. Already now I can say that SFX and ships visibility will be very high in priority in coming weeks. Also implementing missing features such Bomb, Resource system tied to bombs, score and collectable items Thank you one more time to playing the game and giving your honest and precise feedback!

Thank you very much for playing and extra thanks for providing feedback! Especially in a form, that' s very usable when creating my next working tasks with the project! Super!

Please find the changelog for DD64 below. Have a wonderful Demo Day, everyone!

https://mint-jams.itch.io/agdgpachi/devlog/1025047/agdg-demo-day-64-changelog

Thanks so much for playing my demo on your stream! 

I’m thrilled you enjoyed the demo. Analog stick support for gamepads is definitely coming, and most likely it's there at the next build. The game’s vertical slice is in progress, with features planned for this year, but the full release will likely take a couple more years. I’ll share new playable versions during future demo days with meaningful updates. Thanks again for the wishlist and kind words. I really appreciate the support!

Thanks for giving my demo a shot despite not being a shmup fan! I

I hear you on the pickups looking too big and out of place. Also, the default weapon’s rockets can feel dull, and I appreciate your suggestion to make them larger with exhaust trails for more visual flair. I’ll add notes about revisiting their design later on development. Thanks again for the feedback!

Thanks for playing my demo and for the kind words! A score counter and meaningful item collection are definitely planned, and I’ll look into adjusting the menu delay too. Thanks again for the feedback. Much appreciated!

Thanks for playing the demo and for the kind words! I’m thrilled you enjoyed it! I appreciate your feedback on the difficulty curve, it’s mostly working as intended. I’ll make some tweaks, especially noting your suggestion for an easier level after the tank boss to improve pacing. Thanks again for the great input!

Thanks for playing the demo and sharing your feedback! 

I’m glad you enjoyed the polish and had a blast, even if Level 16 was a beast. it’s overtuned, and I’ll balance it. I’ll also revisit the first five stages to adjust the difficulty curve. Noted on the portals and player death smoke clashing with the art style; I’ll add that to my to-do list. Analog stick support wasn’t included due to some issues, but I’m working on it for the next build. I hear you on the crystals feeling cluttered, and add a note about that on my list. Thanks again for the great input!

Thanks for playing my demo and sharing your feedback! 

I had issues with analog stick handling before DD, so it’s not in this demo, but I’ll fix it ASAP. The scoring system, pickups, and sounds are still in development, and I’ve noted your suggestion for better pickup audio. I’ve logged the visual bug with pausing during death and the gameplay bug with off-screen bullets killing you post-respawn. I’ll address both. Great idea about making enemy deactivation more obvious; I’ll explore options like visual cues. The pause menu focus issue is a bug, and I’ll fix it soon. I’m glad you see promise in the game and enjoyed the level structure! Thanks again for the detailed input and bug reports. I’ll tackle them one by one!

Thanks for playing the demo! 

The button setup is designed for specific gameplay reasons, which the upcoming tutorial will explain. Button remapping is accessible at the options to fix the Z/X issue. I’ll check why your controller didn’t work in-game; you are not the only one with controller issues. Small hitboxes are standard in bullet hells, and the tutorial will clarify this. I’m thrilled you enjoyed the level design and sprites! 

Thanks again!

Thank you for playing and for your kind words! 

A story will be included, designed to integrate seamlessly into the gameplay without disrupting the action's flow. However, story elements will be added later in development and won’t appear in the next demo day. The game will feature two playable ships, each with a co-pilot (as you play the pilot). Additionally, an officer will serve as the mission leader and instructor, guiding you to achieve the best mission outcomes. 

You can find the characters below. The image itself was some promo art, which ultimately did not come into us

Thank you for playing! 

Your insightful and valuable feedback is greatly appreciated. I've added your suggestions for improvements to my work queue and will incorporate more exciting features. Thank you!

Thank you for playing! 

The hitboxes are currently quite small, which is acceptable by genre standards but could use tuning later when I have more varied playable content. Your observations from the second paragraph are noted and added to my work queue. Much appreciated! My focus remains on a traditional, solid core experience, and I hope to bring unique features to the table as development progresses!

Thank you for playing! 

Based on feedback in general, there seems to be a demand for short tutorial areas to explain basic strategies for using wide shot and laser. Players seem to grasp these mechanics in later Stage 1 areas, but it can feel frustrating initially. This is extremely useful feedback for Campaign mode development! Much appreciated!

As for power-ups/upgrades, no promises yet, but let's say maybe!

Thank you for playing the game and for your detailed feedback! Much appreciated!

The bomb feature isn't implemented yet, but I'm aiming to complete it before the next demo day. Control remapping has been tested with generic XInput and DirectInput controllers, and I'll note the issue with F101. For modular damage, I designed the stage 1 main boss with this in mind, and I'm glad you found it intriguing. I'll consider investing more in this feature later. Collectibles are currently just cosmetic, like Christmas tree decorations, but a scoring system tied to them will be added later. I understand your point about the damage feel challenges, which is a common issue in similar games. I'll dedicate ample time to addressing this.

Thank you for playing the game! I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed parts of it.
Noted on the ship explosion sound and hitbox sprite size. For the first stage, I kept the areas short to avoid overwhelming new players. I'll consider extending stage areas in later levels. An arcade mode with a traditional gameplay structure is also planned. A bomb feature will be added alongside the arcade mode, possibly as early as the next demo day release!

I spent about 20 minutes with the demo and really enjoyed it. The aesthetics are fantastic. Girls and tanks are both hitting my "those" spots. The art style, HUD, and menus evoke a great vibe and showcase the SOVL poured into this project. I'll definitely return to play more.

Great work!

Absolutely delightful and engaging puzzle game. The presentation, menus, and overall style are well-executed and consistent. I love the unique touch of the splash screen voiceover featuring different character voices each time. The characters are adorable and perfectly suit the game. I'm excited to play more!

Great job!