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[QuadrupleA]

OK, was a little short on time the last couple weeks but got some new changes in:

* New enemy type, more challenge
* Made player art grittier
* Bunch of engine workflow improvements, so I can make future changes faster
* An eminently funky 80's soundtrack (a joke, though part of me likes it)
* Much reduced item pickup delay (agree w/ Quicksand-S, it's annoying, might get rid of it entirely)
* Other little tweaks and fixes...

[Quicksand-S]

I have to say, I'm kinda relieved that music is a joke. At first I thought it was serious. It might fit in a more retro game, with maybe a zany "secret base" setup, but not in the game as it is.

Anyway, I sorta like the new enemies. I think they could be tweaked a bit, though, and aiming at them is annoying sometimes (primarily because I can't aim at an angle). I have three suggestions:

-Don't have them hurt the player on contact. This could open up interesting level-design possibilities (because you can run by them if you time it right), although it may also cause unforeseen issues. I don't know.

-Do something interesting with the projectiles. Having them go straight toward the player is kinda boring to me, when they're already "boring" enemies (ex. stationary, barely animated). Maybe the projectiles could move in an arc or something.

-Maybe decrease their "hiding" time. Having them stay in their shells when you've attacked them isn't too bad, but the amount of time it takes for them to come out again is just irritating. That said, this could be drastically improved if you decide to implement my first suggestion.

I also think that maybe they show up too often, but I'm thinking that maybe when you have other enemies you won't need so many of these. I noticed they see me through walls. Is that intentional? I guess it kinda adds to the retro feel of the game.

I didn't really notice new player art until I put the images side-by-side. Making the backpack darker was a good move, I think.

[QuadrupleA]

Don't have them hurt the player on contact. This could open up interesting level-design possibilities (because you can run by them if you time it right)

That could be interesting - could bury them in one-tile gaps to accomplish the same effect maybe. I'll experiment with both.

Maybe the projectiles could move in an arc or something.

I like the arc idea - I might keep these barnacle guys as-is, but add some other enemies with arcing shots (I remember NES metroid had some metal rounded plates on the ground in Norfair that fired in arcs).

I think I need a LOT of enemy types to pay off on the "different experience each time you play" goal, so hope to start cranking a ton of them out.

Maybe decrease their "hiding" time. Having them stay in their shells when you've attacked them isn't too bad, but the amount of time it takes for them to come out again is just irritating.

Thanks - I'll play around with that.

I also think that maybe they show up too often, but I'm thinking that maybe when you have other enemies you won't need so many of these.

Yeah, agreed. More enemies is the solution I think.

I noticed they see me through walls. Is that intentional?

Yeah, I think I need to implement raycasting in my physics engine. Would be a bit of a technical hassle but very useful down the line for future AI stuff. Been avoiding implementing a broadphase (quadtree, etc.) since brute force pair checking has been fast enough, but raycasting might necessitate it.

[QuadrupleA]

Thinking of "Infinitroid" as a title - any thoughts?

[Quicksand-S]

It's got kind of a nice ring to it, although it may be a tiny bit cheesy.

Mainly, though, it brings up the question: Is it infinitely generated (ie. endless) or are there just infinite possibilities?

[QuadrupleA]

Hmm... hoping it would imply the "infinite replayability" angle. The eventual goal will be to escape the planet - think that would help counter the endless/"game that never ends" interpretation?

"Retroid" was another idea, though there's a little-known DJ in Norway or somewhere by that name.

[Quicksand-S]

Retroid makes me think of an Atari-style game. Yours is too modern looking to have "retro" in the title.

Infinitroid isn't too bad if you make it clear that there's a goal, although the name is a bit long. I'm not sure it would look good on a titlescreen, but maybe you can think of something.

Personally, I'd stay away from "-troid" and make it feel more like its own thing...or maybe just call it Troid.

[QuadrupleA]

Yeah, I kinda feel the same way about the "troid". It's obvious from a screenshot that the game has inspirations / homages to Metroid, so the title doesn't need to mention it. And "troid" has a bit of 50's scifi campiness to it too.

I'll brainstorm some more ideas... would be helpful to have a title at some point soon, to maybe post on IndieDB, Greenlight, etc. and get some wider feedback. I tend to suck at naming things but we'll see.

[QuadrupleA]

OK, new 5b release:

* New enemy - spike fish
* Improved air maneuverability (bit quicker accel/decel)
* Ability to take midair shots in opposite direction of movement
* Overhauled offscreen enemy deactivation system to fix problem where crawlers bunched/stacked at offscreen room boundaries
* Fixed scaling problem for smaller resolutions
* Added goal message at start, and changed win room to "to be continued..." room
* Desaturated random colors a bit (going to redo soon to "sectional" random coloration in this current 1st "overworld" area)
* Increased barnacle firing rate

[Quicksand-S]

Oh no! That music is growing on me!

Anyway, I like that there's a goal given now, although this method of showing the play makes it seem like an arcade-style game (which, I guess, it might be? Just a long-ish, not-so-repetitive one).

The spike fish works fine, and I like how it's not really in places where it's likely to hit you. It's in places where you have to be careful not to jump into it, like up near the ceiling when you have to jump over something nearby.

I have to ask, though, do you plan on making any really original enemies? The spike fish is basically a Ripper (http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/Ripper) from Metroid, at least in terms of its movement and indestructibility. I'd love to see you separate this game from Metroid a bit more.

One thing I forgot to request in the past is the ability to "loop" in menus, so I can press Up at the top of a menu to get to the bottom item and vice versa.

[QuadrupleA]

Oh no! That music is growing on me!

Muahaha!

Was gonna switch it back to the original track, but I tried and I don't like that one right now - seem to enjoy this loop better while testing etc. So I'm gonna wait and overhaul the first track to make it better.

The goal text is just temporary too, I'll do a small intro story at some point. Manned ISS supply mission goes horribly wrong, dude loses consciousness, winds up on alien planet. Something quick, I'm not really a fan of stories in games, more just theme & context.

Re: enemies, that's all the Metroidy ones I was planning on - got a lot of ideas / sketches for other ones in the works. I wanted the early levels to feel closest to the classic game, then once you get out of this first area/biome things will go different directions. The size of the current map is probably good for the first biome, just needs to be flushed out with a bit more stuff to do - then the last room would become a bridge / elevator to the next biome, where challenge can be ramped up etc., paths branch off to miniboss lairs, etc.

I'll add the menu loop thing to the list, that sounds good.

Thanks for checking it out.

[QuadrupleA]

So, I've decided to cancel this project; from the feedback so far it doesn't seem like there's much interest in it, and I had been hoping for a smallish 4-5 month project - that's about where things are at now, and there's still much more to do to get it to where I originally envisioned.

Big thanks to Quicksand-S though for all the feedback and advice - really appreciate it - I hope to put it all to good use in future projects.

I may choose to pick this one up again later, we'll see - but for now may it rest in peace. Hope to focus on some small 1-month type projects for the near future.

[Quicksand-S]

Noooooooooooooooooo!

Well, that sucks. Oh well. At least you seem to have gotten something out of this project, and learning is always good. Looking forward to seeing your next project.