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[Hempuli‽]

I've noticed a strange bug with the final boss, which has now been the cause of my death about 5 times out of 9. The boss seems to have some sort of weird pushing power even out of the actual boss sprite, so when the boss jumps and lands right next to me, I get pushed into ground and therefore die. Also, if the boss is right next to me and jumps, I get thrown a bit upwards, though there's no problem with that.

[rjb]

Too easy.

I'd actually like to put forward my opinion that it's rather too hard as it stands.

I've been playing the game for quite a while now, and I still don't ever use the teleporter, simply because it's not common enough for it to ever have seemed worth my time to waste the many lives necessary to test how it works.  After my first couple of telefrags, I quickly learned that it was probably a little too dangerous to play with in any run that was going well.

I'm aware that people have already worked out exactly how it works (and posted examples somewhere in this thread), but I don't really think it seems fair to expect most players to have to look up information on the internet in order to use it (which could be considered cheating anyway! ) or spend time experimenting with it in custom-level dry-runs to find out for themselves.  I think that items like this should always be possible to understand by trial and error in the game, and given the lack of explanation coupled with both the randomness and the degree of complexity in how the teleporter works, I just don't think the learning curve is balanced with its current working - especially given that it's not even the best movement-enhancing item available in the game, and precludes carrying another item while in use.

I actually quite liked the suggestion somebody made a few pages ago about having a visible target on screen that wavers randomly around a destination area, making it obvious how to use the device, but difficult to actually master, which seems much more in keeping with the rest of the game.

A more uncompromising version of this idea would be to show the target marker only once the action button has been pressed, and then teleport when the button is released, with the marker moving around haphazardly in the meantime (maybe even with a little bit of player control?) - and a short time limit before the teleporter goes off anyway, whether or not the button has been released.

That would make the destination and use of the device obvious, but only once the player had committed to using it, so it would still be a very tricky and potentially dangerous item, but much more accessible to new players, and rewarding for those who acquire a certain level of knowledge and skill with using it.  All in all, much more like Spelunky in general!

Just my few thoughts, anyway.

Ryan

[bigbossSNK]

I believe Too easy meant that implementing the suggestion was trivial.

[Derek]

Hehe, no I meant it would make it too easy to use.  But I was only semi-serious.  I'm not sure how I feel about the targeting idea, though...

[markus]

Amazing game.

I know you don't need more ideas, Derek, but...

One thing I'd love to see are nethack style bones-files/bones levels. In nethack, you occasionally enter levels where a player character died in a previous game. The level is recreated and there is a ghost carrying all the loot that the character had at the time of death. The levels are very dangerous but potentially very profitable. And it is a way for prior games to influence future games.

Maybe an aspect of the restless dead level, or just a level event that can happen anywhere. Maybe the level the prior character died on is preserved in whole, and the dead spelunky man w/ full equipment must be defeated.

[Mr. LL]

Um... could you possibly make the Die button not F1/right next to the escape button? I kinda killed myself on a good run after I paused it to do something and accidentally pressed F1 instead of Esc. 

I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE THAT'S DONE THIS RIGHT?

[Fifth]

You could have like somebody suggested some time back and have the teleporter itself have some indication on the probability of being squished.  The top bit could change color or change the little waves it emits, based on how many of the potential teleport spaces would kill you.
I don't know how hard that would be to implement, though.

On a slightly related note, I just found a fun little teleporter bug.  If you teleport while you're on a ladder, you'll remain in the "climbing ladder" state wherever you end up.  You can teleport back and forth, clinging to the air!

[demnos]

What's so bad about having to quickly figure out what's 4-8 tiles away? I agree that not knowing the teleporter's rules when you first come across it can kind of suck, but once you understand it, it's pretty easy.

Having a targeting reticule would really make the teleporter overpowered. As it is now, you have to stop and think before you use it and that fits this game's theme a lot more. Trust me, it doesn't take long to get decent with it as is and can be pretty useful through a good part of the game.

The only thing I'd really like added to the game is a bigger pool of random levels like the snake pit. Maybe one or two with new minibosses or new trap designs.

[The-Imp]

These two jerks almost killed me!


I also seem to be improving on how I play, but no matter how much I play, those arrow shooters will ALWAYS BE MY WORST ENEMY. I got to the final world yesterday, and then the mummy shot some bees out and killed me.

[rjb]

What's so bad about having to quickly figure out what's 4-8 tiles away?

Nothing at all, once you've spent all the necessary time and deaths determining that this is the exact range of the possibilities, and you're already thinking of the map in terms of counting tiles.

Bear in mind that there's a big difference between us playing and testing an in-development build of a game, and someone just playing for fun.  People don't necessarily want to spend time counting tiles and looking for exact mathematical rules about how things work.

I'd gamble that an item that comes with no instructions and promptly telefrags you the first couple of times you hit the button won't get too many repeat attempts from most people, especially once they've found out that they can also spend the money on guns, capes, and jetpacks...

Ryan

[Destral]

Found a bug. Here is the error output...

You didn't tell how that happened.
Was an untouched damsel attacked by mummy flies?

Aw, and here I was all excited that I'd found a bug. Ah well. Back to the game!

[moonmagic]

Amazing game.

I know you don't need more ideas, Derek, but...

One thing I'd love to see are nethack style bones-files/bones levels. In nethack, you occasionally enter levels where a player character died in a previous game. The level is recreated and there is a ghost carrying all the loot that the character had at the time of death. The levels are very dangerous but potentially very profitable. And it is a way for prior games to influence future games.

Maybe an aspect of the restless dead level, or just a level event that can happen anywhere. Maybe the level the prior character died on is preserved in whole, and the dead spelunky man w/ full equipment must be defeated.

I love bones levels but they always totally kill me.

FIVE YEARS AND I HAVEN'T ASCENDED.

I foresee a similar relationship with Spelunky. Curse you, Derek.

[Destral]

I don't think I've played a game that was so frustrating yet enjoyable at the same time. I'm currently playing through simultaneously with one of my coworkers, and we're really enjoying the co-op aspects of sharing our discoveries as we make them and figuring things out without looking at any spoilers.

I don't know if you're taking suggestions, but are you planning on having any kind of achievement system for crazy things like getting thrown by one yeti into another yeti, or falling a certain distance without dying, and so forth? Putting some really out there achievements could be a good way of extending the game's lifespan - not that it really needs it, but there are always going to be people who are going to clamor for more.

Also, the game shows records for money, saves, and kills, as well as number of deaths. It might be neat if you had a detailed stats page that can be accessed where you are shown how many times you've died in each way (spikes, falls, explosions, at the hands of monster X or Y), how many of each enemy you've killed. I realise it would be non-trivial,  but it might be a neat feature.

(Bear in mind I haven't finished the game yet. I've reached and beaten the golden stomping idol boss, but died after the fact both times from wanting to explore the level instead of progressing further).

Is there a thread somewhere where you discuss what plans you have for the game? I'm interested in reading what you're planning on doing with it, but I'd rather not spoil undiscovered aspects of the game by sifting through pages and pages of bug reports/feedback.

[TriCorce]

Um... could you possibly make the Die button not F1/right next to the escape button? I kinda killed myself on a good run after I paused it to do something and accidentally pressed F1 instead of Esc. 

I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE THAT'S DONE THIS RIGHT?

I haven't ever had that happen. Still, harsh. I bet lots of people have had that happen.

[pgil]

Um... could you possibly make the Die button not F1/right next to the escape button? I kinda killed myself on a good run after I paused it to do something and accidentally pressed F1 instead of Esc. 

I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE THAT'S DONE THIS RIGHT?

I haven't ever had that happen. Still, harsh. I bet lots of people have had that happen.

I'm pretty sure you're the only person that's happened to.