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[Noel Berry]

Hey Tigsource people! Time and I just began working on a new game yesterday that we've dubbed "Nisus."  The basic premise is that you are a guy running around in a decomposing industrial environment avoiding worms... And shooting teleportation receivers.  You can shoot a bullet at different angles that, when it hits the floor, will teleport you to that position.  By bouncing the receiver off of walls and ceilings, you can get to whole new places you couldn't reach before, making for a very interesting and fun experience.

At the moment, we have an engine out there with enemies, platforming basics, and the teleportation finished.  At this point, we basically just need ideas!  We really are just trying to come up with ideas for different objects, obstacles, etc. to put into the game to make it fun.  So hit us up with some ideas!




So... Play it [Build 4] and give us feedback!

Older Versions:
003 | 002 | 001


Oh, and, the game is being created in Chevy Ray's awesome Flash Punk library.

Cheers!

[RCIX]

Looks cool, trying it out

[RCIX]

I have one word for this game:

AWESOME!

As far as feedback goes, MAKE MOAR LEVELS
Edit: i found 2 things: if you move while holding the teleport aimer up, then it resets to as far up as possible instead of holding the angle you chose. That, and if i aim right i can get on top of the platform you can see in the top middle of the screenie you gave (so i'm offscreen above the level)

[tesselode]

Nice mechanic. Just make sure you ease players into it before putting in hard levels!

Have you considered making a level editor for this? That would really get peoples' creative juices flowing.

[Noel Berry]

@RCIX: Thanks man! I'll look into those bugs as well, thanks for pointing them out.

@Tesselode: Well, currently, we've been using Ogmo Editor, so we could quite easily share the config file(s) for that if people were interested in creating levels, though there wouldn't be an "easy" way of testing them (or at least not that I know of without re-compiling the project).

[Nix]

Oh yes, very cool mechanic. Have you considered adding some sort of line that shows a prediction of the arc of the the receiver? You would still have the puzzle aspect, but it would ease off the guesswork in shooting a bit. I found myself flying into the worms quite often.

[ConnorUllmann]

Oh yes, very cool mechanic. Have you considered adding some sort of line that shows a prediction of the arc of the the receiver? You would still have the puzzle aspect, but it would ease off the guesswork in shooting a bit. I found myself flying into the worms quite often.

We've thought about it, but I feel like it might feel a bit overwhelming for the player to have an enormous curve coming out of them when they move around with <X>, and we also need to figure out how to program it

@Tesselode: I think it would be a great addition, but that would most likely be an addition at the end of development.  For now, at least, we need more ideas for obstacles and such!

@RCIX: I'm glad you liked it!  Thanks for the bug report, also

[RCIX]

No problem. I'm looking forward to trying it with more levels

[tesselode]

Hey look, someone threw in the arc. Now you should take it out after a few levels to make the game harder!

So let's see, ideas for obstacles...how about a platform that the missile bounces off of?

[ConnorUllmann]

Hey look, someone threw in the arc. Now you should take it out after a few levels to make the game harder!

So let's see, ideas for obstacles...how about a platform that the missile bounces off of?

I like both these ideas :D

[RCIX]

Found a bug:
If you go to the lowest platform area at the start, and aim the teleporter launcher as far up as it can go, such that the end of the line is parallel with the right edge of the platform just to the right of you, then you'll be beamed into space

Anyway, ideas:
 * What if you could throw the teleporter reciever onto creatures or stuff and then you'd swap places with whatever was there?
 * The ability to throw a teleporter in midair then be beamed back from death if it lands would be really cool.
 * What about a boss where you had to use the swapping mechanic to make it charge you only to find it would be eating an explosive or something (because you swapped with one)?

[gimymblert]

OH GOSH

I just have a vision of an multi-player fps with teleporter grenade, once it hit the ground it teleport you there, my mind blow under the tactical possibility with temporizing and ricochet.

cool mechanic! cool game

[RCIX]

Another bug: If you fire a receiver then get rammed by a worm, the reciever will bounce till you're not red. If you die before the receiver has a chance to activate, the game breaks (i think).

[PsySal]

Worms that charge! Awesome =) This game is great!

[lpmaurice]

Ohhhhhhh, Portal meets Worms... I smell an addiction coming 

[mokesmoe]

OH GOSH

I just have a vision of an multi-player fps with teleporter grenade, once it hit the ground it teleport you there, my mind blow under the tactical possibility with temporizing and ricochet.

cool mechanic! cool game

[cough]Unreal tournament[/cough]

Although this form of teleportation isn't original, the way you use it is, and the game is quite fun.

[Draknek]

Once after I died a few times, it went to a blank grey screen. Can't reproduce it again though.

I'd really appreciate some way of being able to cancel the teleport after you've pressed X, or for it to cycle between minimum and maximum aim distance. Currently there's no way to re-aim if you hold it down too long and end up aiming too far away.

[Nix]

Once after I died a few times, it went to a blank grey screen. Can't reproduce it again though.

I'd really appreciate some way of being able to cancel the teleport after you've pressed X, or for it to cycle between minimum and maximum aim distance. Currently there's no way to re-aim if you hold it down too long and end up aiming too far away.

You can use the left and right arrow keys to adjust laterally, but you're right, there should be a way to re-adjust the power.

Edit: Woops, I meant to say up and down (though I guess left and right does the same thing by walking)

[Noel Berry]

Thanks for the feedback and bug reports everyone!

So, from what we've heard back, it seems like there are two issues with the current game, the first being that the aiming of the Receiver still needs some tweaking (particularly to adjust the power) and that the game runs just a bit too fast (teleportation goes too fast, worms run around too fast, etc).

In terms of shooting the receiver, I guess we have a few options...

1. We could limit the shooting even more, and make it more direct, so that hitting X fires it at 45 degrees in whatever direction, and a static strength. We would of course design the levels around this. This probably makes it easier for beginners, but at the same time, it also removes the ability to be more precise, and thus the ability to create levels where you need more precision.

2. Keep it how it is, but make it a static strength. This is similar to above, but we keep the aiming. Then you'd basically use your position as the strength of the shot.

3. Make it so you can't move while shooting, and instead use all the arrow keys to create the angle, and the strength, of the shot. This is actually what we had originally, but we felt that it broke up the gameplay too much when you disallowed the user from moving. However, this would allow the player to shoot with really good precision, though the lack of movement while doing this may be an issue... (for example, you couldn't jump & shoot at the same time)

I think those are the 3 main possibilities to consider... But at this point really not sure which one is ideal.


Now, in terms of speed... I haven't heard too many people say that was an issue here, but a few of the people we sent it around to felt that the teleportation simply happened too fast. I think one of the issues was the screen flashing to white on teleportation - it confuses the player and they lose track as to where they are. We removed this, and I think it helps a lot. Really, I think it's less of a speed issue than it is being able to tell where you just went (which is why we removed the flash so it's smoother), but it'd be good to hear back if this is still an issue that needs to be considered.

We could create a short delay from when you disappear to when you reappear (for example, the Receiver lands, you disappear, 0.5 seconds latter you reappear in the correct position, instead of it being instant).


Also, a quick list of things we intend to add shortly:
 - Bouncing platforms, where the Receiver bounces off of them (thanks tesselode)
 - Mines, a static enemy so it's easier for earlier levels, before we introduce moving enemies (the worms)
 - Possibly add the ability to "flip" positions with obstacles/enemies (thanks RCIX)
 - More that I can't remember but will add when I get back from work today.


Also, pretty sure that bug where the level doesn't reload is when you die with the projectile still in the air.... looking into that.

Thanks again for all the brilliant feedback and bug reports everyone!  

[agersant]

Great concept. That's an interesting take on Unreal Tournament's translocator.

About the controls, have you considered using the mouse as a way to aim with the Receiver while moving with the arrow keys ?
Also it could be fun if it activated not only when it hits the ground but after a certain time. You could fire to the air and get altitude this way. Just my 2 cents =)