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[Scattle]

JUX

Amon26 and I are working on a new shmup called JUX. It has a neat little gimmick that I think you'll like :D

Anyway, we just finished the first stage of the game, and we wanna know what you guys think about it so far.

For those of you wondering, here's our duties in the collab

Me: Programming, some graphics, level design
Amon26: Most of the graphics, Music

Get the demo here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2074248/JUX.zip

[___]

This is pretty cool.  HIGH FIVE.

[Frostblade]

Christ that was hard.

Graphics and music were trendy-awesome, and the concept is pretty interesting. My only complaint is that the level design seemed a bit less "enjoyable but challenging" and a bit more "punch you in the face over and over again".

[cactus]

I like it, probably your best effort yet, Scatman

[ExciteMike]

That IS a neat gimmick!

[Banov]

Demo cleared! Score: 3400

This was pretty cool, definitely ended too quickly though... make more! 

[KniteBlargh]

I love shmups, and the mechanics/set-up of this one make a nice change from the usual. Great stuff so far; nice graphic style and music. Keep up the awesome work guys! I'll be keeping my eyes on this one.

[starsrift]

I got this when I started it:

___________________________________________
ERROR in
action number 1
of Create Event
for object musictitle:

Failed to play song -

The music still played and stuff though.

I agree with Frostblade's comments...

The direction mechanic is neat, and I wish I had a bit more vertical room to play around with.

[Andrew Brophy]

Christ that was hard.

Graphics and music were trendy-awesome, and the concept is pretty interesting. My only complaint is that the level design seemed a bit less "enjoyable but challenging" and a bit more "punch you in the face over and over again".

Pfft, this was easy as hell. Once you figure out the general movement of the enemies, it's simple to get through.

Anyway, I look forward to more. 

[Valter]

Are those blocky ships you see after the orange jumping monkey things indestructible? Weaving between them is monumentally difficult with the current movement system.

If you want anybody to make it more than about ten seconds into your game, something's gonna have to change.

I like the concept, but it's too crowded at the moment. I would appreciate a much larger playing field. As things currently are, you basically have to die whenever anything new is introduced, then you memorize where the enemies show up at that point only to immediately die at the next set of enemies. If there were advance warning (IE, a larger field so that you could see the bad dudes from further out) of enemies approaching, you could more effectively deal with them instead of dieing until you understand their movement pattern.

I don't really like the jumping monkeys, because they only display their mechanic once (jumping). If you turn it into a pattern, that is to say having them jump twice while on the screen (once as soon as they enter and then again about halfway down the screen), the player can get an idea of what their movement pattern is before having to deal with them.

[jwaap]

This is a good concept, with funky art, fast gameplay, and even checkpoints. WOW!
I want to see at least 5 totally different levels and crazy tentacle bossfights and then this won't be removed from my harddisk.

<3

[Blackcorn]

I have just test it and even if I really enjoy the concept of the vertical shoot while having an horizontal progression, I share Valter's comments:

- There is no way to avoid successive and cumulative deaths in order to progress in the game (fortunately, there is no "life" in this demo so people can try and try again without losing patience).

- As Valter suggest, a larger playing field will be more than welcome

One question : What are your next steps? Create more levels? Adding features (e.g.: an upgrade area after each level or some power booster bonus in game)? Change some mechanics such as pattern rules, level design, movement system, etc.?

[Scattle]

I have just test it and even if I really enjoy the concept of the vertical shoot while having an horizontal progression, I share Valter's comments:

- There is no way to avoid successive and cumulative deaths in order to progress in the game (fortunately, there is no "life" in this demo so people can try and try again without losing patience).

- As Valter suggest, a larger playing field will be more than welcome

One question : What are your next steps? Create more levels? Adding features (e.g.: an upgrade area after each level or some power booster bonus in game)? Change some mechanics such as pattern rules, level design, movement system, etc.?

I was actually just thinking of adding 2 more stages and a boss at the very end. an upgrade shop would be awesome, but I just don't know what I could update... ( I'm also gonna make it so the ship can take 3 hits before dying, except on big things, like the carriers)

@ Valter: I actually like your idea of establishing the gold armadillos' movement pattern before it gets to you. I'll add that to the game and see how it goes    

@ starsrift: Hmm? That's odd... I'll check that out too

But yeah, thanks everyone! as a special treat to all of you, here's a screenshot of stage 2:

[Sos]

3950! I win!

Cool concept!
The music however would do some remastering for big headphones. I mean, the tune is cool, but it's to heavy on my ears using headphones

[HöllenKobold]

This is a pretty great concept! Just need some better level design and this will shine like a diamond.

[Matt Thorson]

Yeah this is a lot of fun. Was very relieved when I reached the first checkpoint and confirmed their existence

Maybe a "precise movement key" would add a bit more depth? Like, hold C and you move at half speed or whatever.

[Strom]

It has a neat little gimmick that I think you'll like :D

Interesting... could there be levels where the line is vertical?

[supershigi]

Yay!  Demo cleared!  Very fun, clean graphics, and good fast gameplay.  I was also quite thankful for the checkpoints. 

As Sos mentioned, I think the music could use a little mastering work if only for the purpose of being less heavy for those wearing headphones.  I deal with this issue often, so I usually try to test out the music using different speak mediums.  Anyways, besides that this was really fun... I want more

[Scattle]

Thanks guys!!

I've been thinking recently about, maybe entering this game into this year's Indiecade!

Do you think the game stands a chance?

[Destral]

Very cool, took me a moment to figure it out, but definitely interesting. Looking forward to see what else you can do with the idea.