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[mtarini]

GREAT update, lot's of great additions. Especially the new boss!

My only complaint is that controls are too complex. Why can't I have a vertical shooter controlled with half a key?

[TheWing]

Great update indeed!

My only complaint is that controls are too complex. Why can't I have a vertical shooter controlled with half a key?

Only 50% of the keypresses get through to the game? shouldn't be hard..

[and]

Hello!

Are you planning on being at Rezzed this year by any chance?

[crowbarska]

Thanks, pals!

Hello!

Are you planning on being at Rezzed this year by any chance?

I don't have plans to go. Maybe I should plan to go. Rezzed is a little tricky for me now as I'm based in Leeds. EGX is much closer/easier.

[and]

Yeah I know what you mean, I'm in Sheffield so in pretty much the same boat. I'm hoping that I can get a cheap ticket off Megatrain for the travel but it's accommodation that's the big hurdle for me.

Did you go to EGX last year? I was thinking about it but it looked like it'd be less focused on smaller/weirder games that I'm interested in.

[crowbarska]

Ah, just had a look and submissions for the Leftfield Collection are now closed! I'll have a look at EGX though.

I did go for one of the days. I worked on Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty which was being shown there, although I wasn't actually working. There were quite a few interesting indie games! Cuphead and Videoball were the highlights for me.

[migrafael]

On itch.io? Let me just get that for today's lunch time :D looks cool!

[crowbarska]

@migrafael: Did you get a chance to play it?

[crowbarska]

Hello!!

Sorry for the quiet spell again! Work's been busy, but the good news is I have a new build available on itch.io right now!

Go and grab it and let me know what you think pleeease thank you.

What’s new in 0.15.2:

• Added audio to menu buttons.
• Added audio to the boss aliens (still needs volume levels balancing).
• Added a filter to the random name generator so it doesn’t create rude/offensive words (please let me know if you still see anything that you think fits this description; this is a game for everyone!)
• Added a ‘screen wipe’ effect whenever you load into a new level or retry the game.
• Prevented consecutive aliens from appearing too close together. This is to avoid situations where missing one alien meant it was impossible to kill several in a row (it’s still difficult, but possible).
• The title screen now displays your personal best along with the current high score.
• Added screen shake to the boss alien’s vomit attack.
• Optimised some boring trigger event code (should be marginally smoother now).
• Your shots now collide with the boss alien and make a little splat effect (they still don’t deal damage though (as designed)).

[oab]

I really like your game.

Is it has any chance to be on mobile?

[crowbarska]

I really like your game.

Is it has any chance to be on mobile?

Thank you!! I'm glad you like it.

Yes, I actually just decided to make mobile my top priority (instead of PC). There is already an Android package available for free on itch.io.

I am also working on getting the game on Google Play. It's currently in closed alpha there but I'll be opening it open to the public when I'm happy it's stable.

iOS is something I will consider later, depending on the success of the Android version. I don't own a Mac or a recent iOS device or a developer account, so I would have to spend a lot to get started.

[mtarini]

Cool improvements!

A minor bug report:

  Windows version (fullscreen):
  if, when the game is run, your mouse starts over the initial button, this really confuses it.
  Then, it stays confused even after removing the mouse from there.

[crowbarska]

Thanks!

Ah that makes complete sense. The whole UI system is a bit janky to be honest. I'd like to overhaul it. However, I'll be focusing on the mobile version for now as I've decided to target Android first as my primary target platform.

Thanks for the bug report though, I've added it to the list!


In other news...

I experimented with a new look for the "Helper" graphic at the weekend. I've got 2 versions of it: one points in the direction you are moving, while the other points in the opposite direction.

I wrote a full blog post about it here actually.

Normal:


Inverted:


I'm curious which one you folks prefer.

[Zorg]

What do the points do? I don't think you need a visual for the direction as you always see which direction the ship is flying. And having a button graphic for the opposite direction is distracting, imo.

If you really want to add a button it could be a slider button, maybe?

[crowbarska]

The points indicate your weapon power. They turn into larger blocks as you collect power-ups. So the directional helper sits either side of this bar.

One problem players have reported is that if you spam the button rapidly it becomes difficult to tell which direction you're going to end up moving (you lose count of presses). This was to help soften that issue.

It's also a help on mobile as it makes it much clearer whether or not your finger is making contact with the touchscreen.

That's my thinking behind it anyway. Whether or not it's successful is up for debate!

[Zorg]

One problem players have reported is that if you spam the button rapidly it becomes difficult to tell which direction you're going to end up moving (you lose count of presses). This was to help soften that issue.

In this case the arrow should show the current direction, i guess. I'm not sure if the additional information, if the finger is touching the screen, is needed or should be combined with the arrows. I'd probably always show the left or right arrow all the time, because the ship is constantly moving left or right, too.

If it's helpful to see if you are touching the screen, i would rather use a color or another element to indicate this information.

[crowbarska]

Hmm yeah I think you're right. This is leading me to think: why do I not just show this information on the ship itself? The ship could easily bank to the side, tilting to show its direction. When you touch it could show a little jet boost or something. This would communicate the same information with no HUD elements.

[crowbarska]

Sorry for the double post! Little update in response to my previous comment.

I've done a quick test to see how it looks with the information conveyed by the player ship alone.

1. The ship now banks to the side to indicate direction (maybe the sprite needs to be clearer? but the functionality's there).
2. There's also the white muzzle flash that indicates when the button was pressed (again, maybe needs to be clearer or stay on for another frame or two..?)



I think it works pretty well though, and the power bar HUD is now much cleaner. What do you think?

[crowbarska]

Major milestone achieved this weekend: Google Play Games features!

Check out this Vine to see it in action.



It's been a long and gruelling task getting GPG features integrated, with several major complications along the way.

The main problem was that my keystore (which is basically a unique 'digital signature' file used to sign your Android packages) got lost. This meant I couldn't upload any updates to the game on Google Play, and my only option was to create an entire new listing for it.

I also hit a roadblock with the game not loading past the first 'empty loader scene'. Turned out I had this box empty when it should have been ticked.


Anyway, it all seems to be working just fine now! I'm thinking of keeping it in a closed test for the time being though, and opening it up to public when it's close to final release.

If you would like to get access to the Closed Alpha Test, please send me a private message with your Gmail address you use for Google Play. I will add you to the tester list and send you a link.

Bonus gif: Sometimes just need to make it really flippin clear that you mustn't touch the sides.

[crowbarska]

Well the last 6 weeks’ development has been REALLY hard work. I’ve been focusing primarily on the Google Play version for Android devices, and this included a bunch of features that turned out to be pretty difficult to implement for those who are inexperienced in such things (me).

The good news is that it’s pretty much done now, save for some under-the-hood security measures.

The Google Play version is currently in Closed Alpha Test phase, but I’ll be making it public soon. If you’d like an early invitation, send me with your Gmail and I’ll add you to the tester list!

So what’s new in version 0.17.1?

A lot! But most of it is exclusive to the Google Play version (achievements, leaderboards, stuff like that). That’s why it’s taken so long.

Having said that, a bunch of new features and loads of polish and bug fixing has now moved across to the other platforms. I won’t go into full details (I’d be here all day) but here’s an overview:

• The entire UI has been overhauled. It now uses icons instead of text, and you can use arrow keys to navigate instead of having to press & hold your ‘single button’.
• You can now customise your colour palette using the Plus+ menu.
• The aforementioned new Plus+ menu is locked by default on Google Play unless you purchase the IAP. It’s unlocked by default on standalone builds). Your lifetime stats now live in here.
• Player sprite now banks left and right and has a muzzle flash. This also makes the ‘Helper’ bar redundant, so that’s gone.
• The laser walls and boss attack now use zig-zaggy animated sprites instead of solid red blocks.
• Boss behaviour and difficulty has been tuned.
• The Shield collider is smaller so it’s harder to lose it by accident, BUT you now only have one chance to catch the Shield in each sector.
• Removed the background colour changing (for simplicity when using custom colours).
• Added screen rotation lock on Android.
• Numerous bug fixes, tweaks, polish and optimisations.

The Google Play version also features:

• Google Play Games support
• Achievements
• Leaderboards
• Share functionality so you can post your score and pilot name to Twitter, Facebook, etc.

As always, you can download the alpha builds for FREE right now.
https://crowbarska.itch.io/switch-n-shoot

Also, check out the brand new website!
http://switchnshoot.space

If you like what you see, please give the game a vote and share it with your friends!


Some of the cool options available with the new colour palette tool.