next »

[Raku]

Thank you, all.

@beetleking22, I appreciate the compliments. I've already lengthened the first few levels to be longer, and this will be shown whenever I put out an updated demo. Can you tell me what you didn't like about jumping?
And I'm sorry, but saving in a shop will always cost a lot, because I don't want it to be an easily accessible thing for the player to have.

[beetleking22]

Thank you, all.

@beetleking22, I appreciate the compliments. I've already lengthened the first few levels to be longer, and this will be shown whenever I put out an updated demo. Can you tell me what you didn't like about jumping?

Maybe there is nothing wrong about jumping controller.. But I used like Super mario world slipery controller.. It might make the game easy tought..

And I'm sorry, but saving in a shop will always cost a lot, because I don't want it to be an easily accessible thing for the player to have.

Oh I see.. I really understant this then... it was hard collect them but really rewarding when you buy a save.

[TheMightyDefault]

The demo was great and a ton of fun!  I did find what seems to be a bug.  I can jump in the air, go in one direction, and spam the dodge button.  When I do this, I am able to get a little bit further before hitting the ground.  I reached a few ledges with this that would normally require a double-jump.

As far as slippery vs. sticky movement, I would prefer the movement the way it is now.  I think that sticky works better with a game like this.  It might just work better with the size of the sprites.

[Rumrusher]

 Feedback: just tested easy mode and notice a few things.

- You can't switch between easy and normal mode through options, and To play easy mode you have to start a new game.

I kinda find this a huge screw you to easy mode players since easy mode just taunts you with it's scarecrows while being able to save at the end of the level is okay it just means you're playing a demo of a demo in a way.

- This also means telling someone to "switch over to easy mode" equals to saying "normal mode is too hard, well too bad. Start over in easy mode and work your way back where you left off and don't expect any ending in this run ya manbaby" 

Someone coming from normal mode thinking it's to hard then switching the difficulty to easy thinking it will scale down the enemies and challenges like in other pc games (elder scrolls) will come to a rue awakening when you can't switch to bypass a hard gauntlet of levels by saving by beating it once(which easy mode has) and not saving by farming coins to gain the ability to save at the shop or prying to the RNG gods for one in normal mode. 

- I wonder if any of the removed tricks will be re-added in easy mode?

So far there no difference between easy and hard outside of saving restraints, and graphical changes to the healing items sprite the mode seems pretty bare bones and not really interesting I could say easy mode is a beginners trap.

- you die you get booted to the world map.

This isn't an issue for normal mode more so an issue for easy mode, dying being this big of a set back means the player has to replay the whole map. If their getting the ability to restart at the recent unlocked level after they game over then they should be able to get access to checkpoints in stages. maybe if they die they just get sent back to the start of the room their in.

so far my feedback on easy mode.

other stuff:

Oh and here some fanart of the first 'boss' in the game
it was quite a journey learn new things along the way.

[eyeliner]

Congrats on the game's identity. Looks great, and the character is quite stylish.

Good job so far.

[Raku]

@TheMightyDefault, ah yes, I've seen that bug before. I can only think of a few ways to combat it, one of which is to make it so that you can only dodge once in mid-air, but I'm not sure if that would be too pleasant for the player.

@Rumrusher, yes, you can not switch difficulties mid game, you have to choose one at the start of a new game and commit to it. I have never understood games that allow you to change the difficulty mid-game, it seems to cheapen the challenge, and I don't like that aspect so it's not in my game. It seems like a lot of people don't understand the sort of game I'm making here. It's not for everybody, especially people who can't commit to the game they're playing. I don't understand the lack of endeavor that's become a trend in games.

Easy mode is certainly supposed to taunt the player here. Beating it on easy provides no sense of accomplishment, and hopefully, that will tempt players to try and hone their skills and get better at playing the game to beat it for real on normal difficulty. If you noticed in the options screen, selecting easy mode gives the warning that you will not be able to see an ending. I firmly believe in "risk versus reward".

I'm sorry if I sounded harsh, but that is my stance on the matter.

Playing on easy could be a good introduction to this game for players who are not confident in their skills to carry them through, but eventually, they will have to get better to be able to reach the true ending. Usually, the harder a game is to beat, the more satisfying it is, don't you agree?

 I have been considering lowering the health of enemies if easy mode is being played, but I'm still on the fence on that.

I assure you all, playing the game on normal and finding the true ending will not be a disappointment. I've been planning and doing concept art for the final boss and ending out for almost a year now, and waiting until I finish every other part of this game so I can dedicate 100% of my attention into it. I want to make a game with an ending that will stick with people, be memorable for the rest of their lives, like the games from my childhood that I've experienced and wont ever forget. Then again, I shouldn't overhype anything, so that's all I'll say on the matter.

On a lighter note, thank you very much for the picture, Rumrusher! it's cute.

[Konidias]

Honestly I don't really believe in difficulty modes. Just have your game's difficulty curve up nicely and be done with it. I think there is too much hand holding in games nowadays.

I never used easy mode in any game I ever played because I also felt that it cheapened what the game was originally supposed to be.

[beetleking22]

Damn I hope this game is going to realese 3DS or Wii u some day.. I hope..

[godsavant]

I'm quite puzzled why so many people are clamoring for a release on Steam Greenlight or console marketplaces. The fact that you're typing a response means you have the resources to play Jack, right now. Do you just have an insatiable urge to pay money for something being offered for free? If it's about supporting the creator, I'm pretty sure Rakugaki-Otoko will have a donation link with the final release.

A portable version would be the only thing mildly sensible, although even then, I'd spend the majority of my bus rides just grinding out the $300 to save when I arrive.

[beetleking22]

Sorry for bumping this thread.. but i was very wrong about the jumping thing.. When I beated the blue dragon boss.. I got from him some boost power-up ..It helped me so much with the landing.. so dont fix the jumping.. my bad my mad mistake..

[Raku]

@beetleking22, No worries.

Also, so I have something to show, I just got finished putting in the ability descriptions and prices in the shop, I'm sorry again for putting that off before and causing some confusion.



Also, why is there a plume of smoke in the background? You'll just have to wait and see.

[Rumrusher]

Feedback: What situation would you need a soul jar? There no need to horded souls(before the more than one soul on a slot exploit could shove 6 souls into a soul jar and you could stash those souls in a save level for later.)

Will there be a away to replay completed bonus levels in without having to start a new game?


so I notice something about the soul jar, after testing. If you happen to leave the soul jar with a soul in a level it disappears but you can go back to the shop and spend 100 bucks to retrieve the soul meaning you could end up burning 200 dollars on a item when you could have just went back to an earlier level to farm a soul.
oh and found this anomaly at the start of the first level


there's an invisible wall that you can walk under but can't jump over here.

[Raku]

The soul jar is used in situations where you would find a soul you want, but don't want to use it at the moment and you want to save it for later. Another situation would be if you're a cautious player, and you were heading through a difficult stage and you had an ability you're afraid of losing. You could keep that in the urn until you're in a safe place.

No, bonus stages are gone once they're finished in the playthrough you finish them in.

You should pick up the urn after you use it, never leave it anywhere, because it won't be there when you get back, the urn is an object you can throw out, but you should always keep it with you at all times. Touch it after you've thrown it out to grab it again, attack it to break it and release any captured soul you've obtained.

As for the odd invisible wall at the beginning of the first level, don't worry, I found that when I was redoing the first few stages, and have fixed it since then. This will be reflected in the next demo I put out.

[Raku]

New enemy (and recolor)
There weren't enough unique enemies that give the yellow, plant-based ability.

[godsavant]

Greetings, tovarich! Got two more videos, this time from

(who really wants to get in touch with you) and

(who speaks Russian). Both of them are somewhat better at the game than the YouTubers we've seen so far, and thankfully neither run into any glitches.

As this game starts to gain traction, however, it might good to address some of the common mistakes new players make, such as not realizing up/down modifiers on various soul powers (since Boomerang has none, some might be dissuaded from testing it further), or what collecting gems does. It could even be enough to put these as  $1 hints from the shop, since it seem the shopkeeper only has five or six hints he repeats right now. Here, I'll even write them for you.

• Some powers behave differently when looking up or down. Try to experiment!
• Collecting __ gems will refill your health. Collect __ for an extra life!

Also (and this is more for my fellow TIGers), people seem to be hitting barriers every time they encounter a new boss or miniboss. From what I've played, these behave much the same way as Robot Masters in Mega Man, and are particularly vulnerable to a certain soul or soul combination. To help newcomers get past the first few:

Flower Girl: Use Shield and lame it out. Just press down to duck and hold the shield out in front of you (something people forget), which blocks all of her Gas shots and 99% of her seed bombs; since the latter come at an arc, one might land on you from above, but you can just press C to dodge (something people also forget). Keep in mind that you can still attack while shielded, so just stand within melee distance when she bends down and keep swiping (not too close, since her head can still collide with you through the shield). This will probably take a few minutes, since you have to wait for her to come back down, but it's faster than trying to master dodging gymnastics this early in the game.  

Lazy Guy & His Dog: Stand in one spot and use Bullet. If you shoot the dog right as the fight starts, he'll be stunlocked and just sit there until he explodes. After that, position yourself so that your diagonal upward shots hit the guy's bandaged knee, and dodge whenever he summons his rain of sticks. Just mash that button until you win.

[louisdeb]

Watched GFTL's video of this today and was talking to him about it while practicing on my drawing tablet, so figured i'd do a drawing of it :D fan art? mebe.

feedback VERY VERY appreciated, this is like my 2nd drawing with this thing.



oh and he's meant to be falling over dying but i wasnt sure what to do to add bullets or something, it got pretty late.

EDIT: feedback not appreciated in this thread to avoid spam if you wanna help me, PM or something

[godsavant]

Watched GFTL's video of this today and was talking to him about it while practicing on my drawing tablet, so figured i'd do a drawing of it :D fan art? mebe.

feedback VERY VERY appreciated, this is like my 2nd drawing with this thing.

If you're just getting into tablet drawing, my best advice is to try and draw from a model or photograph first. It's much easier to focus on technique when you don't have to worry about design.

[Raku]

Thanks for the info on those videos, godsavant! And thanks for the fan art, louisdeb. You have a ways to go, but keep practicing.

Also, I hope people will be happy to hear that I've posted a new updated demo to the game, check the first post in this thread. I'm not actually sure if the upload worked, to be honest.

I would love to hear any feedback or comments on the new additions and fixes.

[louisdeb]

If you're just getting into tablet drawing, my best advice is to try and draw from a model or photograph first. It's much easier to focus on technique when you don't have to worry about design.

Yeah that's what I tried the night before, though still found it hard to get proportions right.. Practice is all it is :D

[godsavant]

I've gotten up to Sharpened Sticks again, and another veritable list of feedback to go along with it; since I'm writing them down individually as I come across them, they'll be listed sequentially. It's pretty clear that no one supposedly "following" this thread has touched this demo yet, because otherwise someone should have mentioned this first point on my buglist.

BUGS
-No music. It appears you left something out of this release, since I was greeted with this error upon startup. Mashing "Ignore" seems to fix it.


-Occasionally, loot may become trapped in a corner wall. Jack can enter this miniscule space by falling forward into the wall, but not running against it.

-On Easy Mode, beating certain levels will trigger the autosave for the level ahead of it, as well. Two flashing "SAVE" icons will appear, and beating the subsequent stage will not trigger another save, forcing me to replay that stage if I Game Over or reset the game. This happens during the following stages:

• Training Grounds triggers the autosave for First Tree
• Doggy Paddle triggers the autosave for Riverbank Stomp
• Activation triggers the autosave for Slightly Bumpy

-When the enclosed mushroom enemy in Lion's Den is killed, its loot explodes through the terrain. Not sure if intentional.

-The rapid jump/land glitch from last demo is back, but this time I found that you can replicate it Onwards & Upwards. Simply walk into this gap here:


-The cat enemy can become trapped in midair if blocked mid-pounce with a Shield power.


-In the obelisk levels, the drill demons on isolated platforms will turn around prematurely and jiggle when they reach the left ledge, making their patrol patterns unpredictable and virtually impossible to avoid.


-Scrolling the screen up and down is a great addition, but doing so on Riverbank Stomp causes the screen to lock in place, preventing the current from pushing you past its border even if there's space beyond.

FEEDBACK
-When running from one screen to another mid-level, Jack will stop moving, requiring me to release and press the arrow key again to continue forward. This is a very minor point.

-The new mid-level Shield tutorial is very clever and charming. It'd be great to have that kind of signposting for Bullet, to teach the player about diagonal shooting. A single, otherwise-untouchable enemy would do.

-Aaw, you removed the farm-able cactus in Seismic Activity. Oh, well. Easy difficulty, it is.

-Onward and Upward is WAY too long, considering how much of it is single-tile platforming while under fire and over bottomless abyss.

-In Room With A View, having bullet moths shooting at you the instant you spawn into the level and the instant you exit the miniboss room is pretty obnoxious. In general, bullet moths appear far too often, and in excessive force. Given that they are the only enemy with homing projectiles, they should be used more sparingly. Much like Akuma's Air Hadouken, this is not something the game's movement was meant to handle, and makes them much more harrowing than an ordinary enemy should be. Meeting a bullet moth during a vertical climbing section is a miserable affair, as tracking both the homing bullet and the fly's movement while navigating single-tile platforms is nearly impossible. The Oil Man wall-crawlers are a similar affair, but at least they move around slower.

-Drill demons on narrow platforms are impossible to bypass. As I noted in the Bugs section, they tend to turn around prematurely (before reaching the right edge of the platform) and get stuck jiggling around on the left side, so that there's never enough time to land on their platform, then jump over them without taking damage; even if I do, they patrol so fast I end up getting hit on their return trip. I realize you're trying to set up a power trip once the player gets the soul that's able to hurt them, but if that's the case, don't put them all over the place in the critical path before it's available.

-I'm still not a fan of the new Bomb + Laser animation. The effect is neat, but it looks like summoning pillars of Jell-O instead of a trail of explosions. A small explosion animation beneath each pillar would go a long way.

-In Activation, it's aggravating that no matter how quickly you move forward, the Kero-robot will rubber-band forward to keep you in center screen, essentially limiting you to 25% of the entire window with which to react to the single-tile platforming. Just treat it like Let's Run!, and present the player with a constant, fair scrolling speed, letting them get up to the left side of the screen if they're good enough.

-There is a visual miscommunication on barriers pictured below. They are impassable, but appear on the same plane as background objects. The only clue is their thickness, which is not consistent with the rest of the game.


-The solidity of the circular wooden stumps (those with the wooden whorls facing the camera) is inconsistent. In Machine Gun Foliage, Jack can jump through them from below, but not in Sharpened Sticks.

-----------------------------------

That's all for now. This update is a great improvement, and I can't wait to see more!