next »

[DarthBenedict]

It's at #29 now, with a noticeably better yes rate etc. than the current top 50 average.

Thanks for those KS links, reading through them was pretty handy.

Recently I've been doing some experimentation with the title because that seems like something I should finalize before doing the kickstarter. Here's a few different attempts:




And I added in some effects to show you where coolant is when your gun is overheated. This should also make the idea of picking it up to prevent overheating a bit more intuitive. Getting annoyed at overheating seems to be the biggest thing that can cause people to bounce off the game, so hopefully this will minimize that without having to remove any gameplay depth.

[Christian]

I had replied on Tumblr

I think the second one (third one here) with larger end letters would look best

But now I really like that first one. Has the distinct angled letters of the original title with the cool metallic texture

Torn between that first one and the more stylized, minimal third font. I have a soft spot for minimalist art so personally I'd probably go with the third one, but I think the first one fits the tone of your game best. I do agree with the Tumblr comments though. The rest of the menu seems bland by comparison.

Have you considered a dedicated title screen, with a Press Enter/Any Key prompt to continue? Then you could dedicate an entire screen to the other menu options rather than cramming them under the title

Edit: Oh, and a suggestion I had posted earlier
Could be cool if the title screen was more dynamic
Like you could have something like this

And as the laser fades away, the title remains

[DarthBenedict]

I'll think about animating the logo on startup, but a startup screen is pretty unlikely as I want to minimize the time between booting up the game and playing it. I kind of like the rest of the UI being a bit stark/minimal - it lets the space backgrounds get the players attention and I'm much better at making them than I am at graphic design. The title text is the only exception to that, because I want something a bit recognizable.

Also, got the enemies remaining counter done:


It shows reinforcement% while they can spawn, enemies left when they can't and boss hp% during boss fights.

Edit: I fixed 'reinfocements' after making the gif.

Edit2: Also added a compare function to the hangar when you mouseover stuff.

[Christian]

That's perfect. Very informative

Oh, and I saw you added the "push stuff with missiles" suggestion into a feature. Cool!

[Arcalane]

I was hoping more for clamps/grapples so you could tag enemies/asteroids and then throw them into (other) enemies using laser-guide or homing (or smart would acquire a new target, ignoring whatever the missile latched onto) but I figure this'll work just as well. Manhacks are fun times too!

Of course, intentionally directing asteroids around could be pretty nasty, and flinging bosses into each other would be pretty silly.

Reinforcements/Enemies Remaining thing is a nice touch too. Very welcome for some waves, I imagine, as some seem to go on forever. I think... Wave 2 or 3 of Minefield would be a prime example? One of those post-Mars/pre-Fortress levels has a tame first wave, but a really drawn out second wave.

[DarthBenedict]

Here's some new toys (click for video):


I've actually switched them to drill missiles after making the video, the manhack missiles looked to much like the flying sawcer enemies. You can definitely push enemies around with the laser guided variant, although it isn't very precise.

I was hoping more for clamps/grapples so you could tag enemies/asteroids and then throw them into (other) enemies using laser-guide or homing (or smart would acquire a new target, ignoring whatever the missile latched onto) but I figure this'll work just as well. Manhacks are fun times too!

Of course, intentionally directing asteroids around could be pretty nasty, and flinging bosses into each other would be pretty silly.

Reinforcements/Enemies Remaining thing is a nice touch too. Very welcome for some waves, I imagine, as some seem to go on forever. I think... Wave 2 or 3 of Minefield would be a prime example? One of those post-Mars/pre-Fortress levels has a tame first wave, but a really drawn out second wave.

I'll have a look and tweak the waves a bit, didn't intend to have any super long ones. The are we there yet counter definitely make them feel shorter.

[DarthBenedict]

You can try out the drill missiles now.

[Gregg Williams]

I'm a supporter of Logo #1, game is progressing awesome. Keep up the good work!

[Christian]

New title looks great. Drill missiles are awesome. So badass to glance at the minimap, see what direction a horde of enemies is coming from, shoot a few missiles into an asteroid, and then watch the reinforcement counter drop

[DarthBenedict]

, still feel like there's room for improvement but it does represent the current gameplay a lot better.

[Christian]

, still feel like there's room for improvement but it does represent the current gameplay a lot better.

The gameplay and visuals have really come a long way since that first trailer.

I think it would be cool, maybe better pacing too, if instead of starting off with rocket-propelled chainsaws, etc., the trailer had a flythrough of some of the levels first
Kind of like these images:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/13b4c8d1ae2491f7d4ab76f1aa395253/tumblr_n3j922dXvQ1shfjldo1_500.gif
http://37.media.tumblr.com/0a19cc85514c24d3515abe2fedcde8a3/tumblr_n336acuTyv1shfjldo1_500.gif

Peaceful, tranquil, showing off the environment variety and visuals...and then chaos

Also might be more informative if you'd highlighted the weaponry variety. Like "Hundreds of weapons", then a rapid series of clips showing different weapons and abilities, with text. Similar to the first trailer, but faster. IMO, the sheer weapon variety is one of the highlights of the game so I think that could use a bit more emphasis

Same with bosses. Think they deserve a highlight too. "Massive bosses", rapid clips of some of the bosses.

Personally I'd have "Co-op/Competitive Multiplayer" instead of simply "8 player co-op". Seems more comprehensive about the online gameplay. I'd also would have put that later in the trailer.

"Hundreds of weapons" > "Massive bosses" > "Rocket propelled chainsaws" > "Co-op/Competitive Multiplayer"/"8 player co-op"

[DarthBenedict]

Thanks, that was pretty helpful.

[Christian]

Greenlit!

[Arcalane]

Huzzah. Celebratory flag waving. Victory cake. Unbridled enthusiasm. Etcetera.

But seriously, about damn time!

[DarthBenedict]

Set up some postprocessing effects on the background camera to dim+blur+desaturate it when the action gets more intense, making it easier to see whats going on when the screen is full of bullets. Also looks really cool when you take out the last few enemies with one shot and the color+detail floods back into the screen.

[Thomas Finch]

I reaaaaaally like that.

[DarthBenedict]

New map with a few new enemies coming soon, it's early in the campaign and should help smooth out the starting difficulty curve.

It's full of explosive barrels.

[DarthBenedict]

New Build is up (Windows/Mac/Linux), here's the changelog:

New level with a few new enemy types early in the campaign to smooth out the early difficulty curve.
The background now dims during firefights to make the gameplay clearer.
Some balance tweaks to make overheating a bit less annoying.
Netcode bugfixes.
Enemy homing missiles now move via physics and have cooler looking trails.
Some more UI work.
Added some bigger enemies to the first level.
Early bosses have more hp.
The camera now follows your character a bit faster.
Minor controller input tweaks.


I’m interested in feedback on how the difficulty curve feels in this build. Does it get you ready for the challenging levels without being boring early on?

[DarthBenedict]

I’m thinking of redoing the player model. The living ship idea is something I want to stick with, but I’m not entirely happy with how it currently looks plus it’s one of the main things I get negative feedback on.

My current idea for a redesign is to remove the wings/tail and replace them with big particle systems which vary based on your engine type. Rocket booster would give you jets of flame arranged to look like wings, plasma thrusters would have lightning wings, teleporter would have something like the Diablo angel wings etc. I’m also better at particle effects than I am at modelling, so this design would play to my strengths more.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[Gregg Williams]

Worth a shot, the player ship does seem like a bit of a weak point at the moment. Game looks to be coming along beautifully though, good job!