Cool game! it's way harder than it looks...
Weenter
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Haha! It's too late for our team to not go monkey mode :,) . Barely any sleep but it sure was fun. The design of your mechanics was also really good, I've been thinking for a bit and I finally think I understand how the camera focus mechanic works (programming wise). It was a really cool effect. In the 4th level when I was walking through those rings, I almost for a second thought you guys has non-uclidean worlds (you kind of do actually), but I recommend looking into it if you wanted to make a full release of the game. If this went mainstream it would blow everyone's mind. I'm sure you could pull it off. Anyways, hope you expand on this game, future GMTK jam winners.
Some other points:
Lily & orbit have 125 HP (Will be 135 next patch)
Lily & Orbit can have a lot of trouble pressuring a blocking opponent because their moves all have 1 of the following attributes: Low shield damage, a lot of endlag on block or low range. Whenever their super attack is activated, they can essentially trap the opponent into blocking because the stars will hit them if they don't block. This is why an unblockable attack such as dash attack can also be really useful. I agree it has almost no niches though.
The hitbox part of the fading fist destroys projectiles.
If you release Orbit's charge right as you're about to jump, you can do a jumping attack at the opponent that is completely safe against anti-air attacks. If they attack, Orbit will hit them, then your air attack will hit them, so you get a combo. If they block, nothing bad will happen to you either, of course.
wow, this list was very complete
Some other points:
Happy and Mad have 120 HP. The lowest in the game.
Happy and Mad's stats vary wildly from eachother. Happy has the highest jump in the game (ignoring totem monster's double jump) and the slowest walk speed, while mad has the lowest jump in the game and the fastest walk speed.
If you can see that your opponent will block happy or mad's fully charged neutral attack or super, you can press down and the animation will cancel. You will not do the attack and keep your super meter.
If you hold forwards or backwards during crouch attack you will move slightly in the direction. not really too useful, but nice for microspacing or repositioning.
Happy up attack is completely invincible at the start, so it's a great way to escape if the opponent is pressuring your shield. it can be punished hard so watch out.
in general Happy's moves are very unsafe if the opponent blocks, so don't use her too much at a close range. especially dash attack.
Mad uncharged neutral attack is the fastest attack in the game (frame 2) (ignoring the fact that lily and orbit's Orbit charge is instant, but it will take a while to hit the opponent) if you let go of the charge instantly. this means that it can punish almost every attack that is even slightly unsafe against shield (if you're up close). This includes even dragonfish crouch attack. it can also combo into the amazing combo attack medium charged neutral attack, which can be followed up by all sorts of things, such as dash attack. So yes, this is actually a very good attack. It is not safe if the opponent blocks it, but it can still be hard to react to, so don't worry too much throwing out this attack.
Mad up attack gains him a great amount of pepper meter, even if he misses, so if the opponent is keeping you at a distance, try to use this attack safely a couple of times.
Mad is completely invincible during his super attack until the last hit.
Side note: the super turn around shield ignore glitch (this should really have a better name) is a result of a different mechanic. Normally when a character jumps over the opponent while they are blocking, they can hit hit the opponent from behind. This glitch is the unfortunate result of the fact that mad can turn around while his opponent is still facing him during the super attack, and the fact that the attack hits behind mad. But yes, this will be patched out later. In the previous version there was actually a really niche infinite combo with totem monster. if the opponent jumps over totem monster, but totem monster keeps blocking and then uses crouch attack, the opponent will get hit regardles of if they are blocking, because TM is not facing the opponent's side and crouch, TM can spam this over and over again, becuase the opponent doesn't have enough time to counterattack and blocking doesn't work. in the current version, moves that hit on both sides will still ignore block if the opponent is behind you, but often they won't combo afterwards. except for Mad super of course.
Some other points:
Totem monster has 130 HP
Neutral attack, both variants of crouching attack and air attack destroy moving projectiles.
if you hold forwards while doing crouch attack, you will do a 6-hit version of the attack. Aside ffrom doing more damage, this move is worse in almost every way, longer endlag, it is less safe if the opponent blocks, it has less combo potential. But totem monster really struggles with presssuring an opponent up-close, so this attack might help you mix up your pressure every once in a while.
you can also use up attack as a combo starter (when its going down). up attack > (you have plenty of time to do anything) > jump > air attack > anything you would normally do after air attack such as doublejump cancel or neutral attack.
If you land with air attack before the hitbox comes out, you get no landing lag.
Super attack breaks projectiles, so if your opponent uses a projectile at a distance, use this move to instantly grab them and take no damage.
Down air attack (totem stomp) can break shields really easily, this is a very good tactic if the opponent is blocking your super attack.
Tips for fighting against totem monster: totem monster's attacks are really unsafe if you block them, so instead of rushing at it from a distance, try slowly approaching it while blocking every so often. once you're pretty close, totem monster's only safe way of hitting you is his crouch attack, however, this attack is extremely vulnerable to jumping attacks.
Some other points:
Shella Snail has 180 HP - the most out of any monster
You can charge your charged heart & charged up attack at the same time & while doing other attacks. Because of this she can charge a heart while using a noncharged heart and make a barrage of projectiles with different timings and speeds on the screen. There is actually so much you can do with this, such as combo a crouch attack > charged heart > a lot of other moves, or you can jump forwards, then hold back while jumping so you can charge you move in the air while moving forwards. in my opinion charged heart is shella's best move. Sometimes it is important to move a bit forwards too however, because shella snail can easily get cornered and she is really bad in the corner.
One important thing to remember about only using projectiles is that you don't gain any pepper meter, so if you're trying to keep away your opponent at midrange, make sure to mix it up with a crouch attack every once in a while as well.
if you use up attack while dashing, you will keep some momentum. The slidy-ness of that momentum will carry over to the pushback your get if you hit an opponent, so if you're juggling an opponent in the corner with up attack, the best thing to do is to not dash in-between, as you will get sent flying away on your last hit. YEET
Despite being 3 hits, super attack can only hit 1 time, once you hit the first one, the opponent is invincible to the second one for a short while. You can hit a blocking (or parrying) opponent multiple times though.
Some other points:
Dragonfish has 150 HP
while the normal fireball has a lot of endlag, the yellow version does not. because of this, if you keep dashing after using it, you can use your yellow fireball as a moving shield that destroys incoming projectiles and starts combos. it has a lot more startup though, so don't get too predictable.
Dash attack is invincible to all moving projectiles (so things such as dragonfish fireball, but not totem monster's bursted bubble) for a short while. If the opponent is using projectiles up close you can easily close the gap.
you can actually cancel your crouching attack into a yellow fireball attack (both variants of crouch attack can be cancelled, but the non-moving one won't combo). Simply do crouch attack without holding forward, then quickly do the yellow fireball input and press attack. This won't do that much extra damage but it will carry the opponent to the corner al lot quicker and it gives you more reaction time to plan your next move. with this technique you can do things like: air attack > crouch attack > yellow fireball > crouch attack > super. or if the opponent is cornered crouch attack > yellow fireball > crouch attack > yellow fireball > loop this until you get pushed too far, then end the combo with an up attack or super.
up attack beats out opponent's air attacks if you don't time it too late.
if you use up attack while dashing, you will keep some momentum. really important if you want to finish a combo with it.
You already sort of mentioned it, but crouch attack > super attack is an easy combo that makes dragonfish's crouch attack even more terrifying.
I'm gonna comment on this one so I won't add unnecessary bloat comments to your guide, but your guide was really extensive! I can see that you put in a lot of research and that you have a lot of knowledge on this type of game already, wether it's traditional fighting games or platform fighters. For example, you correctly understand that the small attack are often way more important than the big attacks, for example with dragonfish's crouch attack. and you also figured out an advanced movement tech in Dashjumping
I'm going to add some comments under there to make the list even more complete, cause a lot of these things you had no way of knowing. If you want me to delete them so you can update your own list, let me know. it might be a better read that way.
There's also a really important mechanic that I don't think you mentioned anywhere, but you can parry attacks by releasing the crouch button (there's a half second cooldown after a failed attempt, but if you parry something, you can more quickly counterattack and you get some pepper meter). this is a good counter to most projectiles and you should always keep it in mind if you're using projectiles from far away.
Thank you so much! The yellow crystal kick from Lily and Orbit has indeed been removed. I felt like it was a strictly worse version of the normal variant. Would you be interested if I added it back in again? Lily and Orbit do have 1 new motion move, the fading fist. You can do it with a dragonpunch motion (forward, down, downforward).
I uploaded the update pretty late at night, but I will soon write all the patch notes in the devlog.
Also, to answer your previous comment (I waited a bit because I knew the update was close to release), but player 2 can attack with Period ( . ) now. It's not really my way to play since I like having my attack button on the right side of my movement keys, but this will let player who don't have a keypad have an easier time.
And yes :) I did indeed make ragdolf too
Your strongest attacks are the phantom fist, and the charged uppercut. You can do the phantom fist by holding the attack button for 1 second, then releasing. you can do the charged uppercut by holding down for a short while, then pressing up and attack quickly.
These 2 attacks take pretty long to start up, so your opponent can attack in the meantime. one of your faster strong attacks is the (regular) uppercut, which you can do by quickly pressing up/jump and attack at the same time.
thank you so much for the comment and for playing! the charged uppercut attack can be charged by holding down, so not just by crouching. you can charge it during another attack, during a roll, while parrying, or while in the air. This is what the lvl 4 CPU does constantly (and frame perfectly), so somethimes it might look like they unleash this attack out of nowhere, but they can't do it if they weren't previously doing something that a human player can't also do. Similar situation with the phantom fist, though I admit that there are quite some bugs with the AI.
Thanks!
well, I have never really made an entire game for someone, but I do make pixelart animation comissions, which of course the price depends on how many animations you want. i can also help with some of the building blocks in godot, or make a game that is a bit simpler than this. it all depends on a lot of things, like what you want to make, or what parts you will design/make yourself.
We can talk a bit further about this on discord if you have it. my tag is "weentermg"
otherwise, you can also mail me at weentertheperson@gmail.com
ok thanks! I will add an option for p2 to play with . and , . not really how I usually design controls, since I often would rather have the playyer use the left hand for movement, but I think this is an ok way to fix it. custom controls might be a little annoying to make, but maybe later. thanks for the help and comments btw.