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[PleasingFungus]

Whoa, nice, you finally got MML working in AS3! Good for you, Drowen! Now that you've linked to that, if I can figure out MML (or music stuff generally?), I may end up using that myself.

[droqen]

If you have any questions, I can provide assistance where the website for SiON/MML cannot :3

[JMickle]

Its like a programming language, a lot of times I did go through "bug-fixing", which is a strange feeling when making music. It felt familiar (to coding) and unfamiliar at the same time. The documentation and reference are pretty badly translated from japanese, though.

[mokesmoe]

As a completionist, I don't like the idea of being shut out of a power forever. I think that getting one top-tier power should make it harder to get others, just not impossible.
You could make it so every top-tier power increases the cost of the others.
You could make bosses have special points that only apply to top-tier powers.
You could link each power to a boss, and make the powers locked until you beat the boss that has it.

[droqen]

Oh, fine x3

Only for you, mokesmoe!

I do want to make sure that it is sufficiently challenging to get all of the abilities. I will probably offer some kind of reward to those who manage such a ridiculous feat. Some kind of awesome, secret reward.

edit :: Something that will not change - the player will have all the choice when buying abilities; that is, none of it will be left to random chance (i.e. via dropped items or defeating spawned bosses). However, the environment (current enemy spawn layout in early game) may guide the player's ability purchases.

[mokesmoe]

Secret reward:


Although the pixel resolution is off.

[droqen]

a system to keep that health display out of the way is in the works it is a little spazzy and a little bit awesome

[mokesmoe]

I like the sideways score.

I always thought the old health system was fine, as you knew when you had only one hit left, and that's really all that matters.

[droqen]

In case there's any confusion, the old health system is still in.

That bottom number is for stars and I will clarify such :3

I'm glad you like the sideways score :D

[mokesmoe]

I just tried it, and it is definitely more in the way right now.
I'd say have it at the top and make it semi-transparent when your at the top with it.

Also the bock and monster spawns are crazy, but I bet you already know that. The enemies seem faster too.

[droqen]

Alright. I'll ditch the experimental flailing-text, then ;3
I believe that at least a large part of the problem is how thick the font is as compared to the font of old P0.

And yes, I'm aware :3
That'll be fixed soon enough.

edit :: new version up with the arrow of consternation added, alpha instead of dancing, and new star display down there in the corner. also kinda cool death effect.

[droqen]

added three new enemies to my private, unplayable-by-you version.

> TheDevourer.as is kind of like the jumping guy except a little more excitable. Also he eats other enemies. I might make a second form wherein he flips out and turns into something horrible. I might not.

> StarDancer.as moves around pretty quickly and erratically, flies straight up fairly quickly, and dodges stars with ease (unless he's right next to you when you throw it). Very fragile.

> BoomCreep.as moves like the catheads (again I note: they're not really catheads) until you get close enough. Then they give chase. After taking enough damage, they chase chase chase until exploding. This enemy can destroy blocks and other enemies.

----

I've played with a new ability that allows you to exit one side and come back on the other side. It's kind of difficult to use, though, especially when you lose track of yourself. @_@

----

Still need:
+1 ghost member for each of buff, bomb, and bolt tiers.
+2 regular members for buff tier.
buff tier has been changed to a sort of 'self-improvement' tier, as compared to the other tiers' members who never really change (except from 'not dead' to 'very dead').

ability purchase menu

new abilities?

definitely restructure ability menu (at the very least for the super powers)

----

Soon I will be seeking serious beta testing capabilities.

[Curseman]

I'm up for that.

[mokesmoe]

Here's the totally real leaked BoomCreep.as sprite:

[droqen]

I have created a regular enemy who I hate to fight but they are as amazing as they are frustrating.

Also, a new enemy that I will make: the egg of horrible terror, who spawns two to four of the same enemy (as chosen randomly (based on the current spawn pool?), though bosses are not up for grabs) if you happen to kill it -- or if another enemy happens to kill it. There are a few who can do that (mostly bosses though).

It'll probably explode if you so much as touch it, too.

mokesmoe: You have the right idea xD I couldn't help but name it that based on its abilities :/ (of course this is in the source code only -- and nobody cares what those names are)

Vanguard: You'd better be >:3 my entire development process hinges on that.\

edit

On one hand, I really want to put out a beta version with the depth scaling and sound in place.
On the other hand, making (and testing!) these new enemies is so much fun. Almost all of the new ones are in.
Sorry it's taking so long (even though it's only been like... a day).

Rest assured that even though I won't be putting the bosses in before updating the mini-beta, there will be a damn good challenge waiting for you in these crazy new enemies.

Last one left: GHOST BOLT.

[Curseman]

I don't know how recent the change is, but I like the new health display much better than the previous one.

Edit: The new star display isn't bad either.

Have you considered changing the ability for stomping on enemies so the player character always does the higher jump?

I don't know if I described that very well, but basically if you aren't holding the jump button as you land on an enemy you almost always get hit, so it seems better to me to not even give the option of low jumps.

[mokesmoe]

I agree, the whole hud looks great.

I like being able to bounce lower if spikes are above me, or to get more falling distance without taking damage.

[droqen]

consider: stomping always does the higher jump?

Don't worry, I understood it (:
It's definitely something I considered, especially since with the double jump there's kinda no way to do the high jump.
However,

being able to bounce lower <for various strategic purposes>

is an important consideration.

I'm thinking about allowing you to hold UP or DOWN while in the air to modulate jump height, but it seems like a kind of limited use if the only time it really matters is during stomps.

Would it be okay to make the stomp always a high-as-possible jump, with DOWN held allowing you to fall faster post-stomp?

//

Also, I'm terribly glad yous guys like the new display. :D

Something especially good: no more silly font bugs because I am doing all of  the custom spritey fonty code myself hahahahahahaa

//

Oh, right.

News:

1. There are now 16 enemies. Eight of them are new. The old ones are almost completely unchanged. I think the new ones fit in pretty well, although they are occasionally quite... radical. Every enemy is pretty distinct in terms of both appearance and ability.

2. Most of the BUFF-tier enemies are a little weak when there are no other enemies to take advantage of. I'm not quite sure how to handle this; they probably won't appear until spawn rates increase (a bit later in the game - it's probably a good idea to keep enemies locked until later anyway! create a stronger sense of progression and all that good stuff).

3. My next step will be to re-implement the ability purchase menu. Leveling up is already working, but you can't do anything at all with the points you get quite yet.

4. I will obsess over other details being perfect before letting you guys play with the new version. Definitely enemy spawn scaling will need to be finished. Once that and #3 (see above) are done, we'll see.

[Inanimate]

I never did figure out how the heck to get good at Probability 0. I'll give this a real try!

[droqen]

>:3 (don't try the current version it will probably bring any p0 newbie to tears T_T)

I almost let you all in on the super-secret spawn brainstorming that's currently going on, but then I realized that'd be OXYmoronic:

super-secret spawn brainstorming

Hopefully it will make the game a little more exciting and dynamic and constantly fresh.

edit:: the system's existence, that is -- not the fact that I'm hiding it.