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[mtarini]

[Xonatron]

Nice!!

[crowbarska]

It just occurred to me something that is probably obvious: that a (Non-networked) multiplayer version of this game (split or shared screen, collaborative or competitive) would actually be possible EVEN on a mobile, for two (or even three) players, thanks to how extremely succinct the controls are (just tap on your side of the screen)! On a PC, you can easily have as many people playing as you can fit around a keyboard!

Yeah I'd love to do that! It's a 'nice to have' feature though. I'm thinking of basically going with a kind of SNS+ version which would be the paid one on mobile, and the standard on Steam. I really love local multiplayer so that's definitely something I'm gonna look into further down the line.

That is so awesome!!

I would love to get this hooked up to a cabinet one day. It was shown at a private event recently with a single button controller, and I may be reusing this soon. It would look so good with proper graphics on the panels.

[TheWing]

That is so awesome!!

I would love to get this hooked up to a cabinet one day. It was shown at a private event recently with a single button controller, and I may be reusing this soon. It would look so good with proper graphics on the panels.

One step ahead, hooked it up to a 'to-be' pinball cabinet today, here's how that went



The machine itself is a -very- early and rugged version of what we've been planning, and just this week it got its first physical form.. no computer inside yet, just hooked up to a laptop behind it. Works like a charm so far, ofc we'll make it look like a proper pinball machine eventually.

But, since there's Switch'n'Shoot on it, it'll probably be played this week at a mini maker faire here in Finland, will be crediting you there!


I did post this to my twitter too.

[Personman]

I feel like I'm missing something really obvious - how do you set your name for high scores? The name generator is cute, but it would be nice to have a persistent identity, and it seems like everyone else on the leaderboard managed to set theirs somehow...

[crowbarska]

One step ahead, hooked it up to a 'to-be' pinball cabinet today, here's how that went



The machine itself is a -very- early and rugged version of what we've been planning, and just this week it got its first physical form.. no computer inside yet, just hooked up to a laptop behind it. Works like a charm so far, ofc we'll make it look like a proper pinball machine eventually.

But, since there's Switch'n'Shoot on it, it'll probably be played this week at a mini maker faire here in Finland, will be crediting you there!


I did post this to my twitter too.

As I said on Twitter, I think this is really cool. I'm really grateful that you're sharing the game and that you like it enough to use it to work with, it means a lot! Looking forward to seeing more.

I feel like I'm missing something really obvious - how do you set your name for high scores? The name generator is cute, but it would be nice to have a persistent identity, and it seems like everyone else on the leaderboard managed to set theirs somehow...

It's sort of a dumb joke really. I arrived at the current system after wondering how I could do a name input using just one button, and ended up thinking screw it, I'll just give you a random name and kind of make a joke out of it. It organically lead to the dialogue box with the Admiral's barks which is something I'm really happy with, so I think I'll be keeping it.

The idea now is that your high scores are local only, so all those names are really you. Eventually I would like to have online leaderboards (if I manage to get the game on Steam and Google Play). When this happens I'll hook in your account username, so other people will see who really got that score.

Until then, and locally, it's just a silly joke.

Oh, the names you see are my friends' high scores I used to populate the high score table, except for Matt (that's me) and Luca (that's our dog, and he didn't really get 5... he got 0).

[Personman]

ok, that makes sense, and is cute :) it's kind of sad though that it means that in a multi-user environment (like that arcade cab), local high scores just don't actually exist. also, it looks like scores aren't saving across sessions for me anyway? is that part of the joke too?

[Personman]

Played a bunch more and encountered a couple issues:

1. As mentioned above, high scores aren't saving.
2. When you get a powerup, a little circle blinks around you. It really looks like a shield, but it isn't. I don't know if it's supposed to be, but you can definitely die while it's on. It should probably be a shield, but if you really don't want that, it should definitely not look so much like one.
3. I got to sector three and the sector bonus was still 1.25. That seems weird.

[crowbarska]

ok, that makes sense, and is cute it's kind of sad though that it means that in a multi-user environment (like that arcade cab), local high scores just don't actually exist. also, it looks like scores aren't saving across sessions for me anyway? is that part of the joke too?

My hope was that people would go along with the joke; "Oh, Blorg? That's me, honest!". I'm running the game at an event next weekend so I will see what peoples' reaction to it is, but yeah it's definitely a valid point.

I haven't implemented any kind of save system yet. I'm putting it off till the end because it terrifies me.

Played a bunch more and encountered a couple issues:

1. As mentioned above, high scores aren't saving.
2. When you get a powerup, a little circle blinks around you. It really looks like a shield, but it isn't. I don't know if it's supposed to be, but you can definitely die while it's on. It should probably be a shield, but if you really don't want that, it should definitely not look so much like one.
3. I got to sector three and the sector bonus was still 1.25. That seems weird.

1. See above!
2. Good point. That's not a shield, but it was implemented long before I added shields so it wasn't really a problem then. I'll look into making this more clear. I could maybe flash the player sprite yellow or something.
3. It's +0.125 for each sector you get to, so that's right!

[Personman]

Oh, whoops! I totally just never noticed the leading one in the multiplier after a sector 2 run. Another reason why the percent display might be preferable!

[crowbarska]

This is gonna be a super quick post cus I'm travelling, but if anyone's at GameCity in Nottingham (UK)  this weekend, come and say hi and see Switch 'N'  Shoot!

I'm giving out free badges and I've got it hooked up to this:

https://vine.co/v/eVe7x1EYgbD

[lobstersteve]

cool af presentation 

[and]

Ah damn I'm only in Sheffield but I'm at a children's halloween party all day Saturday and family stuff all day Sunday!

REALLY want a badge though

[crowbarska]

Ah damn I'm only in Sheffield but I'm at a children's halloween party all day Saturday and family stuff all day Sunday!

REALLY want a badge though

Sorry dude, it was the weekend just gone! Are you registered for GaMaYo? I'm trying to get Switch 'N' Shoot to GaMaYo #9. If you are there I can give you some badges!

Anyway, GameCity went really well and I wrote a bit about it here:
http://crowbarska.tumblr.com/post/131950328843/switch-n-shoot-gamecity-10

I'll do a proper update soon, but in the meantime here's a new expression from the Admiral.

[and]

Ah cool! Yeah I'll try and be there

[crowbarska]

Hey! New build!!

Download free on itch.io

I have two builds to write up though. I didn't get time to do it last when what with GameCity being all busy and everything. So the last two updates were as follows.



What’s new in 0.13.1:

• Full-screen resolution is now determined by the monitor’s native resolution instead of being locked to 1920 x 1080.
• Third-tier weapon is now one massive shell, instead of 3 small ones (they all behaved as one anyway, so this is more consistent with behaviour).
• Fourth-tier weapon is now a double shot instead of a narrow triple shot.
• Changed tool-tip text to say “TAP” instead of “PRESS” and “HOLD” instead of “PRESS & HOLD”.
• Bug fix: the options screen music now resumes when you move away from Jukebox option.
• Bug fix: the left and right bullets in a triple shot will no longer disappear if the middle bullet is the first to hit something. Same applies to double shots.
• Bug fix: screen shake no longer affects UI.

What’s new in 0.13.2:

• Added Credits pop-up to Extras menu.
• Added Stats pop-up to Extras menu (doesn’t get populated with any actual stats yet).
• Changed the power-up icon to look more like a beneficial pickup and less like a spiky hazard. It also animates now, as does the shield pickup.
• Changed alien spawn sounds to ones that are lower in pitch.
• Reduced the time that aliens wait at the bottom (from 1 second to 0.75).
• Power-up gain/loss effects are bigger.
• Shield acquire/hit effects are a little more obvious and include audio.
• Each weapon tier has a unique sound effect.
• The Admiral now blinks and uses different facial expressions based on the text message.
• The Admiral will explain your currently-highlighted button in Front End menus.
• Implemented music ducking on gunshot and alien death.
• Bug fix: Incubator vomit will now clear Shields.

Hope you like the new stuff! As usual...

• Download free on itch.io
• Vote on Steam Greenlight
• Follow on Twitter

Cheers and Happy Hallowe'en.


UPDATE!!! NEW HIGH SCORE

[crowbarska]

Aaaand one more quick update for the weekend-end.

Version 0.13.3 adds this cooool colour gradient to the background. As with the old background colour system, it ramps up the higher your weapon tier is. I'll make it a little more dynamic later but I think it looks pretty swish!

It was inspired by light leaking into the bottom of my laptop screen.

Download it here.

[mtarini]

Supercool!!!!
I'm enjoying each of the small changes.

(the "retry or menu" menu after death still uses "press" VS "press and hold"?)

[Superb Joe]

you know in outrun when you had to choose left or right after clearing a stage. imagine that, but in space.

[crowbarska]

Hey pals!! Apologies for the long silence. I finally got myself a PS4 and it turns out they're quite distracting.

The good news is that I'm back on track with Switch 'N' Shoot development, and officially reached my Alpha milestone yesterday!!  

You can download the latest build for free on itch.io.

There's also a brand new video of 3 minutes of gameplay.

So, a full run-down of what I've done since my last update. There have actually been 2 major releases but I neglected to post here. (sorry!) In short, I've addressed pretty much all the major problems I found when I demoed the game at GameCity, but I have decided to cut some of the additional features I had planned. I came to the realisation that the project is dragging on longer than I had ever initially intended, and at this stage it's far more valuable for me to actually finish it than it is to add all the superfluous features.

That said, I'm tightening up what is there and the game is now feature-complete! The remaining tasks are just a case of adding polish and fixing bugs.

What was new in 0.14.1:

• High scores are now saved if you quit the game… Finally!! Settings (e.g. audio volume) are also saved.
• There is now a visual indicator of your weapon’s power level at the bottom of the screen (see animated gif below). It appears once you acquire a power-up. This is to make it more clear how the weapon tiers work for new players, and to entice players into maxing out their power level and learning about the Hyperdrive.
• The Options/Extras menu have had some stuff removed and they’ve been combined into a single ‘Extras’ menu. What used to be the Jukebox option is now simply “Music: on/off”.
• The boss’ vomit attack has a slightly shorter warmup time (2 seconds down from 2.5).
• Bug fix: when the deadly laser walls squeeze in, enemies and powerup spawn positions will also squeeze so they’re always between the walls.
• Bug fix: the cursor no longer moves after closing Stats or Credits popups.
• Bug fix: game will not start as soon as you load into the scene if you keep the button held during the load.

The new weapon power bar in action (at the bottom of the screen).


The Stats screen is now fully functional! It even preserves your stats when you quit the game.

What’s new in 0.15.1:

• The Incubators (boss enemies) now have proper graphics and animation.
• The Incubators’ behaviours have been tweaked so their eyes open as part of the pattern, rather than independently of it.
• You can no longer knock Incubators off the top of the screen; they will be locked to a maximum height.
• Menu buttons now support mouse pointing-and-clicking on PC and touching on mobile. This replaces the awkward old one-button-cycles-through system, although you can still use that on PC using any button other than the left mouse button. (Note: there’s still quite a bit of polish work to do here, but it’s pretty much working how I want it to work.)
• Global stat-tracking is fully implemented. Stats are also saved if you quit the game.
• Added an option to delete all saved data (high scores, settings and stats).
• Bug fix: touching the deadly laser walls when you have a shield now deactivates the shield.
• Bug fix: the sector number the Admiral mentions correctly increases when you defeat an Incubator.
• Bug fix: music no longer plays in the Extras menu if you have music turned off.
• Bug fix: the Admiral’s face no longer flickers on Android (I think it may have been a bug fixed in a newer version of Unity...?)

The new boss sprite with animation and tweaked behaviours.

I think that just about covers everything.

As always, I really appreciate if you are able to share the game with friends and followers. I'm relying solely on word of mouth to get this out there and I think I'm at a good point to start pushing for exposure now the game's at Alpha.

Those usual handy links:

• Download free on itch.io
• Vote on Steam Greenlight
• Follow @crowbarska (me) on Twitter

Let me know what you think!