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[ActionGamemaster]

Thanks for the Linux version, runs fine after adding a symlink from libudev.so.1 to libudev.so.0 O_o

The itself is interesting.
It would be good if you would save the progress of the player. Otherwise it is quite demotivating to start it again after you failed e.g. at an enemy three times in a row.

Speaking about it. It was not possible for me to kill the "carrot firing" enemy in the second level.
Maybe you should also implement some kind of direction signs, where to go. At the end of the first level I didn't know, what to do. In fact I wanted to jump on the platform, which was "blocked" by the enemy.

I would also overthink the font. It doesn't fit quite good to the game. And even if you keep this funny character, maybe it would fit better, if he would be pixelated like in the intro instead of being blurred?

However I think this game can be improved. I like the story (but miss a picture of a space ship. :D).

What did you use for the game?

Uhh.. what exactly is a libudev?

Well, saving is kinda hard to program, and while I can figure it out, it's kinda pointless, since the game's very short and you can beat it in 1 run.

I made the "carrot" enemy (that's supposed to be fireballs. Yay for my "programmer art" skills) to teach players that the Bomb weapon can destroy enemy projectiles, but it doesn't actually do damage. I reduced the cannon's fire rate so it is easier to destroy the projectiles.

We all miss the spaceship. *sniff*

I used a program called Construct 2. It doesn't have actual programming: it's like Game Maker, but it is based on HTML5. Here's a screenshot which somehow explains on how it works:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ql6zaat6nu4n20a/randomc2screen.png

[Ziz]

Uhh.. what exactly is a libudev?

A library of linux, used for input / output operations on devices. I know it mainly from checking, whether new hotplug devices like usb sticks are available. I have no idea, why your game/engine needs this.

Well, saving is kinda hard to program, and while I can figure it out, it's kinda pointless, since the game's very short and you can beat it in 1 run.

Okay, then I have to try again.

I made the "carrot" enemy (that's supposed to be fireballs. Yay for my "programmer art" skills) to teach players that the Bomb weapon can destroy enemy projectiles, but it doesn't actually do damage. I reduced the cannon's fire rate so it is easier to destroy the projectiles.

Oh, okay. I will try this the next time!

We all miss the spaceship. *sniff*

I used a program called Construct 2. It doesn't have actual programming: it's like Game Maker, but it is based on HTML5. Here's a screenshot which somehow explains on how it works:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ql6zaat6nu4n20a/randomc2screen.png

Never heard of it, but looks interesting. At least it supports Linux as platform, which is nice.

[Ziz]

I did test it again, and I managed to kill the enemy, with which I had problems.

However in the next level I got stuck and I have no idea, what to do in the "warning, no entry without authorization" sublevel.

[ActionGamemaster]

I did test it again, and I managed to kill the enemy, with which I had problems.

However in the next level I got stuck and I have no idea, what to do in the "warning, no entry without authorization" sublevel.

The part with CTRL key? You're supposed to open that door with a new weapon that is activated by ctrl. Updated link, made it more obvious that you're supposed to get something new to go through.

[Ziz]

I had a lot to do theese days, so I didn't have time to test until now.

Thanks for the 64 bit version. It works.

However I didn't get to the missing weapon again. I stick a the sublevel with a froglike thing. I have no idea how to reach it and die sooner or later because of the needles coming from the ceiling.

Sorry to say that, but it doesn't make much fun to play this game. It is hard to tell, what to do next. It even begins at the start screen. I needed some time to realize, that the "Go" is a button to click! I would have thought, that the game starts with Z... Furthermore it is quite hard to kill anything with these weapons, especially without getting hurt before.

[Rastrelly]

Okay, I tried it out )

So, first: I am in no way platformer fan so take it into account. I get bored from platformers pretty fast. Say, I never finished Super Meat Boy.

But what I can actually say.

First: there is no consistent design. Enemies, platforms and backgrounds don't work together. Mostly because sprite resolution is never the same. Player sprite and some blocks are blurry, while some popups and enemies are sharp.

Second: moving platforms. You know, I'd make them stop for a second or two at top and bottom positions.

Third: What about adding some sort of 'respawn tokens' at some places on the level?

Fouth: Mapz, we need ingame mapz!

Fifth: UI It actually has to be present. HP bar and weapon status are musthave. Say, that gum shooter. It is able to maintain 3 balls at any given time, so why not to add some sort of indicator to the top left corner? Also, why not attach to player sprite a corresponding gun sprite? It would improve visuals.


Sixth: Also, it would be great to see what upgrades does player have. Say, small icons at top right corner

Overall I liked this game, but it's noooooot my genre at all

[ActionGamemaster]

1- Well, I've had problems with that for a long time. I basically take a lot of sprites from a lot of different games. I can't draw, and I don't know any artists who would just work for free for a cheap game on the TIG forums.

2- Good idea. I will soon implement that.

3- Well, as I've said before, I plan on removing the "respawning when you die" design and have save points, like in Metroid, but right now, the game is too small to have any sort of save points, since there's not much space for them.

4- There are the map files, but I don't really know how to program a map into the game.

5- Another good idea. I will make a weapon status square, which shows what weapon you have on right now and how much ammo does the gumball have. As for the hp bar, the game requires you to know the precise amount of hp left. Also, hp is upgradable, so just having an hp bar is going to be inconvenient. Well, HP bars aren't really must haves. Metroid doesn't have hp bars, it only has the amount of energy tanks. Super Smash Bros doesn't have hp bars. And both don't have one because it's important to know how much hp exactly does the hero have. I might make a combination of both: Have both numbers and an hp bar, like in your screenshot.

6- Good idea. Not all the upgrades are going to have icons in the HUD, though, because their effects are visible already, like the explosion or missile upgrades.

[ActionGamemaster]

I did the weapon on the HUD and made all moving platforms stop for 2 seconds when reaching the end of their loop. To anybody doing play testing for this, I'd like to know the place where you stopped playing, and why, too.

[Tcrakman]

I played until i reached a cave in the planet area, sorry i didn´t take a screenshot.
Its the part where i think you first destroy the floor with missiles, which was weird since i just discovered this by luck while trying to do different things. I didn´t continued because i ran out of missiles before reaching the area below, and was too tired of getting back for more ammo.

The player movement is good, not much to change here.
I liked the music, it really fits with the game!

Here´s some things i think you could make better:

-First, keyboard input, maybe its just me but i had problems changing weapons while fighting or jumping.

-Some enemies are too fast or hard for you to hit and sometimes, once they reach you, they lock on your same position
giving you constant damage.

-I, for the most part, found useless the water thingie that stops enemy bullets since most enemies shoot fast and many projectiles at the same time. I tried to spam the water to stop most bullets but in the end just gave up and decided to dodge the projectiles and shot back. Dont get me wrong, this ability is fun and certainly interesting to use but i think you could make it more useful if the water stayed active for a long time in screen (also maybe make it bigger?) hence giving you enough time to fight back shooting enemy types while the water takes care of their proyectiles.

-The art, as said before, could use improving but more than that it should be constant, i mean, some tiles seem
randomnly placed and sometimes they confuse you whether they are destructable or not.



Overall i was having a little fun playing through most zones, some of the enemies frustrated me since i got killed many times by them, (im the type of player who cant continue before beating the living hell out of everything) but at the end i simply dodged through everything.

[ActionGamemaster]

"I played until i reached a cave in the planet area, sorry i didn´t take a screenshot.
Its the part where i think you first destroy the floor with missiles, which was weird since i just discovered this by luck while trying to do different things. I didn´t continued because i ran out of missiles before reaching the area below, and was too tired of getting back for more ammo."
-Oh, I understand where that is. Those blocks aren't supposed to be destroyed with missiles. They can be destroyed with any weapon! The easiest with the Explosion weapon. I'll add a part in the game where you have to destroy those blocks to progress, so that people will know that they can be destroyed with anything except the bomb(water weapon).

"Here´s some things i think you could make better:

-First, keyboard input, maybe its just me but i had problems changing weapons while fighting or jumping."
Weird, I haven't gotten anything like that. Were your problems because the weapon changing buttons were too far away and it was hard to get used to, or because the weapons straight up didn't change at some points of the game?

"-Some enemies are too fast or hard for you to hit and sometimes, once they reach you, they lock on your same position
giving you constant damage."
You can just go the other way you were going so they have to turn around to catch up and thus widen the distance between you and the enemy, but most players don't think of that, especially in the beginning. I'll try to make them slower.

"-I, for the most part, found useless the water thingie that stops enemy bullets since most enemies shoot fast and many projectiles at the same time. I tried to spam the water to stop most bullets but in the end just gave up and decided to dodge the projectiles and shot back. Dont get me wrong, this ability is fun and certainly interesting to use but i think you could make it more useful if the water stayed active for a long time in screen (also maybe make it bigger?) hence giving you enough time to fight back shooting enemy types while the water takes care of their proyectiles. "
With the bomb weapon, there must be a certain balance to it. The ability to destroy any enemy projectile from the start of the game is kinda OP already, so I have to balance its range and longevity with caution. Plus, the bomb will have upgrades to it later on, so I guess, for now, it's better to just leave it as it is- a situational weapon.

Thanks for your feedback!

[Bob_STE]

Hi! Thanks for sharing.

I thought the hint text displayed in the background was pretty effective.

The first challenge is probably harder than it needs to be.  I'm trying to figure out the control basics while a fireball is killing me.

I found the controls somewhat cumbersome.  I am MUCH more comfortable moving a character with the WASD keys.  For shooting, I would rather press the ENTER key with my index finger than have to reach for Z.  Scrolling through the weapons with Q and E might be nice too as the number keys are a longer reach.  You could even provide both.

Thanks,
Bob

[ActionGamemaster]

The buttons that switch weapons are now A;S;D.
Using weapons can now be done with ENTER as an alternative. It isn't used by the game right now, so, why not?
Added a wall before the turret in the first level that the projectiles can't go through, so players can't get hurt by it while getting used to the controls.