Hey guys! I recently released the alpha of an action RPG that I've been working on. This is my first time seriously designing a game, and I know that no matter how confident I feel in the product, there are things that can be improved and made better. I would love it if some of the people in this community could take a look at the game and offer their thoughts, good or bad.
Well, it's fairly clear this is a labor of love. The art style seems a bit rough, but is rather expressive with a number of animations. There's also fair bit of complexity here, along with enemies and interactions, the UI and control scheme seem's a bit cumbersome though and could use some refinement. Out of curiosity, is the game more or less "complete" in term's of levels? How many level's are there?
Few observations:
-Your control scheme needs work. Its X to talk to people, Z to advance text, A to run, D to attack, M for inventory, Enter for shop menu prompts, Z for casting spells, 1 for quick items, etc.
It would be much more efficient to have A be for both running and starting conversations, and A again for speeding up text while talking, this is referred to as "context sensitive controls", where a single button can do multiple things in different situations.
Store and inventory menu's should also follow the same paradigm, where you use A for selecting options, and either select an exit prompt or have something like D be to cancel out.
Alternatively, you could make it so by holding a button and pressing another can act as menu prompts. For example holding S and then pressing left/right for using quick items or casting spells, respectively, or up for the inventory, etc.
-T'would be nice to be able to reorganize your inventory.
-Stores should probably list how much gold you have while you shop (for reference).
-Wasn't sure how to save, until I eventually bumped into your save gem. Might be good to give the players a prompt to let them know.
As for Bugs, you can knock enemies through the electric field (such as the dark clerics), which could be an issue if you can't reach them. Also, pressing escape in the magic shop when buying things crashes out:
############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Key Press Event for <Escape> Key for object oLevel1Stores: Variable oLevel1MagicShopDialogue.sabrinadialoguecounter(100178, -2147483648) not set before reading it. at gml_Object_oLevel1Stores_KeyPress_27 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_oLevel1Stores_KeyPress_27 (line -1)
Thank you so much for playing the game and offering your feedback! The game is supposed to have five main levels plus some end-game content and an infinite mode. I'm designing all of the game's infrastructure now (minus the infinite mode) so that adding more content will be significantly easier going forward.
That's actually a really good point about having context-sensitive keys. I don't know why I didn't consider that before, even when I was thinking that the controls were a bit cumbersome. The other points are all valid too, and I'll be sure to consider them as I refine the game further.
The crash you reported was fixed in the 0.014 build, as somebody else had caught that as well. But good point about the electric barrier - I'll be sure to address that.
Alright, it's time to bump this because a LOT of updates have been made since the last post. I've added the following to the game, several of which address the above poster:
-The control scheme has been greatly simplified - one key now controls dialogue, selection, and attacking. Additionally, key mapping has been implemented, as well as volume sliders for the game's music and sound effects. I have also included a dialogue speed slider and a partially-implemented colorblind setting.
-I have finished composing the game's title theme, and it has been included in this build. Stick around to the end, and watch the title screen change alongside it.
-Attack animations have been greatly improved.
-Numerous other animation and sprite fixes.
-Small changes to enemies and combat addressing some complaints from earlier. More to follow in future updates.
-The inventory now adjusts so that there are no empty spaces whenever an item is consumed/sold/destroyed. I haven't implemented manual sorting since this is not a widely requested feature, but if it's something a lot of people want I'll put it in.
-Various bug fixes, including the ones mentioned in this thread.
-Lots of additional dialogues appear after level 1-6.
-Substantial internal refactoring - not visible to the player, but it makes adding more content to the game a lot easier in the future.
--------
This is just what I can remember. This is all included in the newly uploaded v0.030 Alpha build, which can be downloaded here: https://bynary-fission.itch.io/battle-tower-royale
v0.040 has been released! This update adds in the Character Creation screen, which makes it possible to create your own custom characters. You can modify the player's race, add various bonuses, change the starting stats, and pick a starting spell. This has quite an effect on the game's overall balance, so I'm keen on hearing what players have to say about how the game feels and plays with these changes.
The new game can be downloaded as an executable here: https://bynary-fission.itch.io/battle-tower-royale
v0.041 has been released! The elf has been added in a playable race, offering numerous bonuses and enhancements to your spellcasting power! Also included is a fullscreen mode, an option to show damage taken by the player, QoL improvements, bug and sprite fixes, and more! A full list can be found here, as well as an option to download the .exe of the newest build: https://bynary-fission.itch.io/battle-tower-royale/devlog/704022/v0041-released-...
I also made some balance changes throughout, so any feedback on how the game feels and plays would be greatly appreciated!
It's been a while since I've posted, even though several updates have been made since the last post. There have been a lot of substantial changes and bug fixes to the game, and the demo is now very nearly complete! The following major changes have been made to the game since then:
-The Orc has been added as a playable race, and the Elf has been replaced with the Spellborn.
-The Parry mechanic has been added, which is possible once you buy a shield. This adds a lot of strategic depth to the game.
-All characters have wearable armor sets that show up when you equip gear!
-A totally reworked collision system that is no longer buggy or weirdly functioning - no more teleporting if you move wrong.
-The boss fight has gotten a total code overhaul, and now functions much better than before!
-Balance changes throughout, making the game feel better for players who had trouble beating some of the later stages.
-Rooms have proper transitions now.
-Numerous sprite enhancements throughout.
--------
These are just the big changes - there are many more smaller enhancements, QoL changes, and under-the-hood code changes that make things run better. You can download the latest build here, as well as read the most recent devlogs: https://bynary-fission.itch.io/battle-tower-royale
Time for a new update! The full demo build of Tower of the Immortals is RELEASED! I've changed the name from its previous title to avoid any confusion over the genre of this game. This game now looks like everything I wanted it to be - it has all of the features, music, and artwork I wanted the demo to have before I could finally move on to making new content.
With this demo, I've updated my entire page, filling it with new screenshots, artwork, and a new showcase video with all of the game's new features. Some of the big additions to this game include:
-A new, ominous battle theme for the final stage before the boss fight
-Many redrawn sprites and corrected artwork
-A way to revisit and review all of the game's mechanics within your Character Menu
-A death counter to the game
-A recap of your progress when you save and load a game
-Your gold always displays when you are in a shop now
-Full implementation of colorblind mode
-Tons of sprite fixes and QoL improvements
-----------------
This is the point where feedback is crucial - I want to make sure that the game is as fun as possible for everybody who plays it, so your thoughts and comments will make a huge difference!
You can download the final demo build here: https://bynary-fission.itch.io/tower-of-the-immortals
Boop. Nice to see the demo getting fleshed out, the addition of customizable key inputs is also nice. Did another play through and have a few thoughts:
1) Bug: Buying and using the Healing Touch scroll doesn't give you the Healing Touch spell, unlike every other scroll,
2) This may or may not be an issue, but if you skip visiting the potion vendor and head straight to the arena, you miss out on the free potions when you first meet him.
3) Just curious, but can the final Boss slime be hurt with anything other than magic? My physical attacks didn't seem to do anything, but then I didn't have a high grade sword.
4) Parrying is an interesting mechanic, but I'm not sure if its implemented well. Let me explain, when you equip a shield, how you block depends on your overall defense rating. However, its difficult to tell what objects a shield can, or cannot block based on your defense rating in general. Can it block blue slime spit? Or yellow slime spit? How about fire? Or lightning? Or attacks from wizards? What kinds of physical attacks? What I'm saying is, a defense rating doesn't tell me which attacks it can, or cannot safely block. This means that parrying becomes a gamble, and often times it would be better to evade or attack than risk a defense that may or may not work, at least until you get to higher tiers of armor anyway.
It might be better to rework parrying, and the shields themselves to definitively block certain attacks that your facing than to obscure them by relying on your base defense. Base defense and armor is for damage reduction overall from all attacks from all directions, but parrying could be considered a "hard" defense from attacks your facing, or at least certain kinds, and numbers of attacks. For example the base buckler may be able to defend against slime spit, but nothing else, the 2nd tier shield may block things like physical attacks (like skeletons), spit, and maybe some kinds of magic and overall a greater number of projectiles, with the highest tier blocking magic attacks like lightning and all manner of attacks with a high number of projectiles. Or perhaps shields should only be for blocking projectiles/spells to give a leg up for melee fighter's who don't rely on ranged attacks, as opposed to evasion so they can close the distance or stay in attack range. Things to think about at least.
It's good to see you again! I think you were the first person to play the demo when it was first released - I hope you've enjoyed all the changes made to the game since you first played it over a year ago! I'll address each point you have made:
-Thanks for noting the Healing Touch bug - I'll be sure to fix that. I added that scroll in last-minute, and that's 100% on me for not testing it properly.
-Yep, that was the intended behavior with the store vendor.
-Yes, I increased the boss' defense to provide more of a challenge. This was made after I added in Feats, racial bonuses, and additional spells - the boss got much easier over time as a result. She has 6 armor now, so doing more than 1 HP of damage requires at least 8 Attack (8-6 = 2). Spells are decently effective against the boss - I've found from other playtesters that they usually either get most of the spells or a powerful sword.
-Thanks for the feedback on the parry mechanic. I've privately had some of these same thoughts, and seeing you write them out makes me realize that the current implementation is not the best way to do it. I'll probably drop the defense requirement and make it block all projectiles for now. It also blocks sword attacks as well, and I can possibly add a Feat that enables shields to block those too, or just keep the behavior as-is for now. But the important thing is to make sure that the player understands what to expect when they parry, and the way I've got it set up doesn't accomplish that.
Thanks again for your feedback - this really helps a lot!
