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A high energy, local multiplayer action space brawler. Combining classic arcade action with modern gameplay. · By
Hey Josh! Thanks so much for checking out our First Access release :)
The keyboard controls are WASD to move, and the mouse is used to aim as well as shoot and boost (Left mouse click and right mouse click respectively.)
Let us know any feedback you may have, Chuck and I really appreciate the support!
Finally got a chance to play it for a bit - in related news, I can't believe how easy it was to use a PS4 controller on my MacBook!
I love the strafing, it makes the movement feel really dynamic. Great graphics and sound, too.
One thing I kept wanting to do was hold down to shoot continuously. Is this possible?
Also are you planning on having powerups during gameplay?
Thanks @mctaylorpants! Yeah hooking Xbox and PS4 controllers up isn't too bad these days. I was surprised I even got my Xbox controllers working on Linux!
Holding down shoot charges up your ship, which let's you do a couple different moves. So holding down fire to fire the regular shot won't work. We're hoping the combat and strategy is more dynamic than holding down fire!
Powerups are also something we're avoiding for now, but they may come in at some point down the road. What kind of powerup are you hoping for?
After having the game for a while now I still haven't gotten around to playing it in local multiplayer, but I still wanted to give some feedback based on the Survival mode.
I like how weighty the shots feel. It feels a lot like punches being thrown back and forth. Also the limited range of them is a great idea, so it's not possible to spam each other or the AI from across the screen. You have to get in each other's proximity and that's where the great battles happen.
Another cool thing is that you're able to change the charge up for the shot into a boost dodge when you need to get out in a pinch. It's things like that that add way more depth to the game than it would have had otherwise.
I really like the new additions in the latest patch. Names for the player ships, the functioning war ship. Really cool to be able to use the war ship to lure AI opponents into their striking zone.
One thing that I'd love to see is damage by incoming meteor showers. That they're able to take down your shield for example. Afaik that's not happening now, right?
Someone talked about powerups and that definitely can be a cool thing. The way I see it could be that it's optional for local multiplayer, so that you're able to play the game as is or add powerups to the mix by having it as a selection in the menu. For powerups themselves I was thinking like a shockwave that takes out enemy bullets in its proximity and either blows up/takes down the shield of a very closeby enemy ship or pushes them away. Maybe a double or triple shot (either in a spread out pattern or two/three shots in very quick succession)? A hyperdrive powerup that transports the player to a random location on the screen. Temporary buff to the shield that makes it take two hits before going down? I can probably come up with a bunch more, but this is off the top of my head.
Again, I'm reaaaaaally enjoying the game <3
@frankster -- Amazing. Thanks so much for getting into it and giving us all that super helpful feedback! It definitely made my day yesterday (and today) to know you're enjoying the game.
I've thought a bit about how asteroids crashing into ships (and possibly other asteroids) could cause damage. I think it's an awesome idea. We'll probably play around with adding that in and see how it feels.
We've gone over powerups a bunch in the past couple years and we always come back to keeping them out, since it would take the game in an incredibly different direction. With powerups, it feels less like it's up to each players skill where everything is more balanced, to how well you can collect and use those powerups. That said, maybe it'll end up in the 3rd version of Astervoid (if we end up making something like that someday) :)
Cheers, thanks again!
Yeah, I can imagine there can be different ways of implementing asteroids like that; from temporarily damaging movement or weapon systems to taking out the shield/destroying a ship. It just makes them something to pay a little more attention to, because at the moment they only throw up a small barrier or push you away a little.
I'm also not that much pro-powerups, but was just trying to think along with fellow players. I can definitely see why it's not something that fits with the current direction of the game. The way your shield regeneration works also severely limits the impact of said powerups. I prefer a more tactile approach to the matches like it must be atm (still need to get around to trying local mp, grrr).
So we've tested out asteroids moving at rather high velocity's which can damage ship's & ship's shields, but only the larger ones. And generally if the ship is flying into the asteroid storm. It definitely adds a bit of danger as you really have to watch out for the storm warning (red bars on the sides of the screen) now. Before, the storm could push players out of bounds but now it can obliterate them.
Also, larger asteroids colliding with each other can cause damage to each other. Both of these changes make the environment feel more alive, and I quite like that.
Excited to hear what you think of the local multi when you give it a shot! We only have FFA at the moment, but plan on adding Team Deathmatch as well before release. (2v1, 2v2, 1v3)
Thanks again for the suggestions! I'll upload a build with all of the new changes on Thursday or Friday.
Hi! I really like the game.
I've played a bit of both survival and local multiplayer. Both modes are fast paced and the controls feels very fluid and intuitive. However, when playing local multiplayer me and my friends agree that using the keyboard/mouse controls feels easier and almost advantageous compared to the controller. It is not a big deal. Maybe we all just suck at using the controller.
As for powerups, i think that you should definitely add them. It adds variety to the game so that players can perhaps choose a new strategy paired with a powerup every game time. I think a speed/control powerup would be neat which increases speed yet decreases drift to make your ship super maneuverable.
Anyway, excellent game! I look forward to seeing how it improves and changes over time.
P.S. Is there an easier way to update to newer versions than downloading the file from here each time?
Get the Itch.io desktop app, then your games automatically get updated whenever there's a new update: https://itch.io/app
Thanks Moose ! That's interesting about keyboard / mouse being easier. In order to make the game accessible to more players, we added support for keyboard / mouse and the singleplayer survival mode. This reaffirms my desire to ship the game for Xbox and/or PS! As it was designed to be played w/ gamepads all along. I'm thinking of ways to nerf the keyboard / mouse controls to put them on the same line as the gamepads, but feel that would be the wrong move. Will have to think more on this!
Powerups would be interesting, but would make Astervoid a very different style of game. They won't make it into Astervoid 2000, but possibly in future versions down the road.
Great to hear you've tried multiplayer, too! Have you and your friends found that tapping boost is better for dodging & speed, or do you usually just hold down the boost button?
Thanks for the quick reply!
I personally like to use the boost with the charge to quickly move away from my opponents fire and also to get in a more offensive position closer to my opponent. I haven't actually tried just holding it down yet. I'm still learning how to properly use all the mechanics to play more effectively.
Really loving the addition of the asteroid damage to the game. Like Chuck said in the latest devlog; it really makes the gameworld feel more alive. Had a couple of 'oh shit!' moments already when I was in the heat of battle and suddenly a meteor shower came raging through the screen. Cool stuff!
Some small things I noticed, that you might be aware of already: When you start a Survival match the sound is really loud just before the countdown starts, like way louder than the game is when you're actually playing. The other small thing is when you pause a (survival) game the Restart game option is already highlighted as if it was selected.
#TeamIgnis
I think it was a really good suggestion, Frank! It definitely adds to the game. And I've noticed I lose my shield if a fireball mélee into an asteroid now, too. Would probably destroy my ship if my shield was down!
We've toned down the volume of some of those sound effects. That one where you spawn before the countdown start was cranked to full. So that should be nicer on the ears in the next live build.
Regarding the "Start Over" button highlighted. That's a tough one. It has to do with where your mouse cursor was. So if your mouse cursor was right over the "Start Over" button, that will be highlighted when you pause the game. It's super annoying -- and I've been trying to think up ways to fix it without breaking other functionality. Will have to dive into it further!
Ha, I didn't even think about that it could be related to the mouse cursor, but yeah, that makes sense. Since I only play with a gamepad I didn't consider that.
I'm going to visit a friend for the weekend, so I'll definitely try and get some Versus games in so I can finally give some feedback on that too.