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Garthy
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« Reply #40 on: October 30, 2012, 12:43:07 AM »


Okay, I got a little further this time.

Created an online account, and saved. Got a bit confused how I created an account and a password, but needed to use the account name and a save code to save the game. Worked it out though.

Played for a bit, and got knifed to death by an invader. My dungeon master got cornered, and just sat there taking the attacks, while his minions watched on. They didn't seem terribly interested in fighting back. Tried left and right clicking opponents and allies, trying to make them fight off the invaders. It didn't seem to work.

After I died, attempted to load the save I made. Each time it lasted about a minute before crashing. Reloaded about fix or six times all up before stopping. For whatever reason, I can no longer play off that save.

Before I got stuck, I found myself wondering how I was going to get fur to make a bed. I saw a wild animal of some sort, but didn't seem to be able to domesticate it or turn it into a meal.

Save slot 2 contains the game that tended to die a minute after load.
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« Reply #41 on: October 30, 2012, 10:43:49 AM »

Happy to help. Smiley After posting the message I was worried it came off too much as a series of complaints. I'm always worried when I give feedback that it may come across in the wrong way. I should have also said that the reason I tried it out in the first place is that it sounded like a very cool concept, and it looks like it's going in a very neat direction.
...

@Garthy, thanks again for your feedback. I think everyone could agree that it's an important requirement for a game designer to be able to take critique. I don't take your feedback as complaints but constructive criticism. Thanks a ton =)

With regards to what you said about first impressions, I agree with you on that too. While developing the game, there are so many priorities that get thrown around and work to improve the first impression and help/tutorials on how to play the game should be somewhere on top.

To add to what you said about bandits arrival, you are right, bandits and all other enemy types would not care much about your initial settlement. The main reason is that you don't have much that they like to steel. Bandits like to steal gold, red gems, gold ore, meat, and nuts. Archers also like to steel arrows. I am thinking of adding some logic that determines the enemy type based on what riches are within your dungeon.

Anyhow... Thank you very much for testing and returning with feedback. =)
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w01fram
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« Reply #42 on: October 30, 2012, 10:49:22 AM »


Okay, I got a little further this time.

Created an online account, and saved. Got a bit confused how I created an account and a password, but needed to use the account name and a save code to save the game. Worked it out though.

Played for a bit, and got knifed to death by an invader. My dungeon master got cornered, and just sat there taking the attacks, while his minions watched on. They didn't seem terribly interested in fighting back. Tried left and right clicking opponents and allies, trying to make them fight off the invaders. It didn't seem to work.

After I died, attempted to load the save I made. Each time it lasted about a minute before crashing. Reloaded about fix or six times all up before stopping. For whatever reason, I can no longer play off that save.

Before I got stuck, I found myself wondering how I was going to get fur to make a bed. I saw a wild animal of some sort, but didn't seem to be able to domesticate it or turn it into a meal.

Save slot 2 contains the game that tended to die a minute after load.


@Garthy, I looked into the error you received with regards to your save slot #2. I found some nasty bugs which didn't load some game objects properly within the workbench. So that is fixed and your bug disappeared with it. Try loading it again and let me know if you still experience any bugs there. Thanks for letting me know about it!

With regards to account creation and using the passcode... that is something that will be changed soon, to make it more user friendly. =)

I uploaded the fix and the newest version is now 0.1.7.18. If you re-run the game, you will automatically get the newest version.

Cheers.
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Garthy
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« Reply #43 on: October 30, 2012, 04:43:06 PM »


Okay, I've just tried the update, the crashing bug is gone. There were no crashes for quite some time after reloading that particular save. Also, things seem more stable overall (compared to my first experiment). Good stuff. Smiley I did get some crashes later on- see below.

I still can't tell how to attack either bandits or animals. I experimented with every combination of left-clicking and right-clicking minions on the dungeon master and the animals to see if I could get someone to attack an animal. I did not succeed.

I eventually found an option to equip a slingshot (minions only), clicked on it and nothing seemed to happen. Checked the inventory of my minions, and I believe they have no slingshots. I'm guessing that's the reason.

The slingshot recipe needed fur, I had none, and I'm guessing I might need a slingshot to kill an animal to get fur. That means to get fur, I need to start with fur. Unless I'm missing something, this might be a problem.

Can minions attack without a weapon? These are the same minions who seem to be happy tearing down stone walls with their bare hands, so I thought they might be able to engage in a little bit of hand-to-hand fighting- at least in self-defence.

I just discovered that there are two types of bed that can be built, and only one needs fur, so that solves the bed issue I experienced (I just built the other sort). The two bed icons aren't next to each other in the blueprint dialog, and I suspect this might have thrown me. Perhaps the bed quest should mention that there are two types of bed, and you should build the wooden one? Perhaps the two beds shouldn't both be called "Bed", but "Wooden bed" and "(something) bed"?

When I built and placed some beds, my workers immediately jumped on them. This isn't feedback specifically, just something that made me laugh. I think they were exhausted!

One of my workers seemed to be having occasional breathing problems- an air meter appears and gradually goes down. He was near some walls and torches, in a corner I think, but not in water as far as I can tell. I am unsure of the circumstances, and I'm not sure if any of my save slots are useful here.

I also had absolutely no idea where to place traps, and whether they could potentially harm my minions or not. A beginner (such as myself) simply won't know where traps should be placed.

Save slot #1 now crashes immediately on load (it's a save done a bit after save slot #4, I think). Slot #4 seems fine for a bit, but eventually crashes. Account name is the same as my forum name (I forgot to mention that last time).

Another suggestion: The escape/main menu doesn't have a "Continue" option (ie. exit menu and keep playing). You have to hit escape again to get rid of it. I'm used to it now, but people might wonder what button they should hit to continue playing after a save.

And another: Could the save slots show date/time of save? I believe I'd saved in the order (slot 1, slot 2, slot 3, slot 4, slot 1), and without dates it means that any time someone resumes playing, they have to remember which slot they last used. If a date/time is included, you can just look for the save with the latest date/time. A number of games that provide save slots (rather than named saves) show the date/time of save as feedback.

I'm really liking the direction this game is going, by the way. I'm looking forward to being able to build a big base with a bunch of minions busily running around performing tasks to keep my dungeon running smoothly.


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w01fram
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« Reply #44 on: October 30, 2012, 08:11:51 PM »

@Garthy:

I still can't tell how to attack either bandits or animals…

To attack bandits or animals, select your creature and then right click the enemy/animal. That will send your creature to attack. There isn’t much feedback on that and the AI isn’t beautiful at the moment, but that’s on the todo-list.

I eventually found an option to equip a slingshot (minions only), clicked on it and nothing seemed to happen....
Yes, only minions can equip the slingshot. You need to craft the weapon and ammunition for them. The Sling is made from the leather of the boar, the stones are made from the Rock resource. Once you have them crafted and stored in any container (chest, workbench, barrel, …) and click the equip button, a worker will go and grab a set (Sling + 10 ammo). You can verify if the worker has the sling in its bag, by selecting the worker and then clicking on the bag button on the right-hand-side.

The slingshot recipe needed fur, I had none, and I'm guessing I might need a slingshot to kill an animal to get fur. That means to get fur, I need to start with fur.
You get fur from a boar, and you don’t need a sling to kill a boar, just right click on the boar with a unit selected.

Can minions attack without a weapon? These are the same minions who seem to be happy tearing down stone walls with their bare hands, so I thought they might be able to engage in a little bit of hand-to-hand fighting- at least in self-defence.
Yes, if they see an enemy they will attack, but if they get too weak, they will run for support: Either to a nearby Shrine to heal or to their dungeon master for protection.

One of my workers seemed to be having occasional breathing problems- an air meter appears and gradually goes down.
This is still a work in progress. At the moment you need to have at least 2-tiles-wide corridors from the outside world. If a creature is in a room with a passage to the outside only one tile wide (or if the creature is closed off, then the air gets depleted.

Account name is the same as my forum name (I forgot to mention that last time).
Yea I figured it out =) but thanks

Another suggestion: The escape/main menu doesn't have a "Continue" option (ie. exit menu and keep playing). You have to hit escape again to get rid of it. I'm used to it now, but people might wonder what button they should hit to continue playing after a save.
Good point thanks.

nd another: Could the save slots show date/time of save?
Yea, good one…I may also allow custom text and use date/time as default or something like that…


I'm really liking the direction this game is going, by the way. I'm looking forward to being able to build a big base with a bunch of minions busily running around performing tasks to keep my dungeon running smoothly.
Thank you! Garthy, you should subscribe to my blog on tumblr or follow me on twitter to get the latest update news.
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Garthy
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« Reply #45 on: October 30, 2012, 10:46:27 PM »


Thanks for all of that. Smiley

A quick update: I tried selecting a minion and right clicking an animal to attack, but it didn't seem to work. The minion walks to the square near where the animal was at time of click, and when it gets there it remains stationary, but turns to face the animal as it moves around. Even when the animal walks up to the immediately-adjacent tile, no damage is done. The selected minion remains forever fixed to the spot, turning to face the intended target, but never moving. I'm afraid if there is another trick to performing an attack, then I haven't figured it out. Sad

Also, against the original bandit neither the Dungeon Master nor minions attacked. The minions might have been cowering due to weakness, but should the Dungeon Master have fought back?

Also, my slot #1 load started working- if you did that, thanks. Smiley I didn't change anything on my side, as far as I know (I was out for a few hours and didn't change much).
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w01fram
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« Reply #46 on: October 30, 2012, 11:03:45 PM »


Thanks for all of that. Smiley

A quick update: I tried selecting a minion and right clicking an animal to attack, but it didn't seem to work. The minion walks to the square near where the animal was at time of click, and when it gets there it remains stationary, but turns to face the animal as it moves around. Even when the animal walks up to the immediately-adjacent tile, no damage is done. The selected minion remains forever fixed to the spot, turning to face the intended target, but never moving. I'm afraid if there is another trick to performing an attack, then I haven't figured it out. Sad

Also, against the original bandit neither the Dungeon Master nor minions attacked. The minions might have been cowering due to weakness, but should the Dungeon Master have fought back?

Also, my slot #1 load started working- if you did that, thanks. Smiley I didn't change anything on my side, as far as I know (I was out for a few hours and didn't change much).


Ha!, you beat me to it.. i was about to post that the issue on Save#1 is now fixed. =)

With regards to the problems with attacking animals, the logic isn't fine-tuned yet, there are a few things missing which are on the todo list;
 
 Generally, if you click on the enemy or animal, then it should attack. There are some behaviors which will cancel an attack.  But when enemies are in the viewfield of a worker or the Master, your units should attack them automatically. Animals, on the other hand, are ignored and only attacked when right clicked upon.

Hope this helps =)
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Garthy
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« Reply #47 on: October 30, 2012, 11:53:06 PM »

I'm afraid in my case that the attack really isn't working for me. I am selecting the minion with a left click, selecting the animal with a right click, and doing nothing else but watching the result. The behaviour is as I've described- it goes over to the square where the animal was, and just keeps turning to face the animal. It would appear the game logic is aware that the animal *should* be a target, and is facing it, but it never launches an attack. I tried several times with different minions to be certain.

I've saved slot #2 in a state where (I believe) a recently slept, fed, paid, and otherwise idle minion was sent outside, and I right clicked on a wild boar. On my PC at least, when I load this file, the minion is "watching" the boar by turning, on the spot, to face it, but not attacking it.

Also, in the original bandit case, neither the DM nor the minions did anything about the bandit slowly stabbing the DM to death. The minions may have been exhausted from lack of sleep though. Neither seemed to react to or move on the bandit. It might have been fixed since I saw it happen though.
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w01fram
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« Reply #48 on: October 31, 2012, 09:57:56 PM »

I'm afraid in my case that the attack really isn't working for me. I am selecting the minion with a left click, selecting the animal with a right click, and doing nothing else but watching the result. The behaviour is as I've described- it goes over to the square where the animal was, and just keeps turning to face the animal. It would appear the game logic is aware that the animal *should* be a target, and is facing it, but it never launches an attack. I tried several times with different minions to be certain.

I've saved slot #2 in a state where (I believe) a recently slept, fed, paid, and otherwise idle minion was sent outside, and I right clicked on a wild boar. On my PC at least, when I load this file, the minion is "watching" the boar by turning, on the spot, to face it, but not attacking it.

Also, in the original bandit case, neither the DM nor the minions did anything about the bandit slowly stabbing the DM to death. The minions may have been exhausted from lack of sleep though. Neither seemed to react to or move on the bandit. It might have been fixed since I saw it happen though.


Thanks Garthy, I found some more bugs in the save#2. Those should be fixed now. Not sure about the bandit issue, but hopefully it'll be fixed too.
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Garthy
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« Reply #49 on: November 02, 2012, 02:11:31 AM »

I can right click to attack now. Excellent.

I noticed the name change for the bed- that makes it much clearer.

If you accidentally cut off light to your bench you can have a lot of trouble placing a light source nearby to relight it as your workers seem to have an issue with the darkness.

Sometimes my fell-fed, well-paid, well-slept workers just don't feel like placing anything any more. This grinds the game to a halt. I have no idea why they do this.

Things are a bit crash-happy for me at the moment, unfortunately. I've lost a few games to crashes now.

I hope my feedback has been useful. All the best. Smiley
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« Reply #50 on: November 02, 2012, 07:35:25 AM »

Sometimes my fell-fed, well-paid, well-slept workers just don't feel like placing anything any more. This grinds the game to a halt. I have no idea why they do this.
This could be due to the fact that their Bag/Inventory is full. Select the worker and on the right hand side, click the Bag button. This opens their personal inventory. Check the capacity level and make sure that what you want them to carry would fit in their bag. Unfortunately, at this moment, there is no information about weight of items. That will be added. In the meantime, you have to rather guess or see how much the capacity indicator changes when items are added/removed from an container. (This is still a work in progress and will get better notifications and logic soon.)

If you accidentally cut off light to your bench you can have a lot of trouble placing a light source nearby to relight it as your workers seem to have an issue with the darkness.
Yes, this complaint comes quite often, and will be adjusted hopefully soon.

Things are a bit crash-happy for me at the moment, unfortunately. I've lost a few games to crashes now.
I need to add bug logging!!

I hope my feedback has been useful. All the best. Smiley
Yes, very much. I am very glad you play the game and thank you for the feedback! =)
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Garthy
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« Reply #51 on: November 04, 2012, 08:33:51 PM »


I need to add bug logging!!

Definitely a good thing to add. Smiley In my case, for example, I could have copied the logs and sent them to you when it crashed. As it turned out, I couldn't find a pattern to the crashes myself, so it left me giving a vague mention of crashes, which I know isn't terribly useful feedback.

This could be due to the fact that their Bag/Inventory is full.

Ah! This could be it. I found that I was having trouble persuading my minions to drop off some extra items they were carrying (are you supposed to be able to do this- are they personal items?), so I'd not be surprised if they were overburdened. I'd definitely suggest some feedback when an issue blocks an action. Perhaps you could get minion chatter occasionally, such as complaints that they couldn't possibly carry something that big? Or, perhaps they should drop off goods to free up space rather than giving up on the task? Just some ideas.

Yes, this complaint comes quite often, and will be adjusted hopefully soon.

Perhaps it would be worth adjusting the pathfinding such that they are more willing to move through the dark, and maybe allow pickup and placement of light sources even in pitch black? Maybe the minions could say only be able to move at 1/4 speed due to the lack of light.

I hope this helps. Smiley
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« Reply #52 on: February 07, 2013, 05:26:46 PM »

Hellooo!

I want to share a new update with you. I've just released a new version increment for completing the todo list to reach 0.1.8!!.. well its been actually already a few days since the release, but all the major new additions/changes are listed below.
You can still download the free alpha here. And, equally important, you can support development here too!  Toast Right. Finally, you can also follow my other online activity on tumblr, on G+, or on twitter. Let me know what you think  Gentleman



The following features were completed in 0.1.7.x:

  • 2D Shader Engine v2 - Adds Soft shadow edges, smoother blending of multiple light sources, and improved performance. Here is a screenshot of what the new shader engine produces (as opposed to this old engine):
  • Dungeon Master Discovery - This allows the Master to read enchanted scripts and books to learn new crafting recipes for now, and new spells in the future. The following cropshot shows the frame used for the discovery system:
  • New Ground Tile Sets with blending of different overlapping materials.


  • New game objects/units/graphics: Barrel, clay pot, steel, firebowl, sand, spider, book case, book stand, cooking pot, ... and more. The following is a medley of some of these new things:

  • New UI elements such as page scrolling, frame borders and tiles, new help/tutorial screens, icons
  • new message system to inform player of certain events or important notices
  • Improved various game controls, such as commanding units, managing resources, placing objects

What's next ?

I am currently working on the new todo list for 0.1.8.x and it will probably include a 2D Shader Engine v3, a new AI system, cooking recipes, and I am thinking of starting the code for the main quest. As of now, the game mode is still open sandbox/tower defense style, but the main quest will include features that will require your Master and minions to dig deeper into the dungeon ... TBA. I am also trying to find the right Sound and Music, this is more difficult than I expected. However, the next few weeks will be spent working on bugs and code refactoring.

Anyhow, please play test, give me feedback and if you like it, please support the project! Thanks!
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« Reply #53 on: February 08, 2013, 07:20:02 PM »

Looking fantastic! I'm glad to see you're still plugging away at this Smiley I hope the pre-purchase model goes well for you.
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« Reply #54 on: February 10, 2013, 01:02:54 PM »

Looking fantastic! I'm glad to see you're still plugging away at this Smiley I hope the pre-purchase model goes well for you.

Thank you Andy!!! It doesn't quite pay every bill yet, so this is a good time to remind everybody that pre-purchase and set your own price is available right now during alpha here  Wink
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« Reply #55 on: February 10, 2013, 09:42:15 PM »

Looking fantastic! I'm glad to see you're still plugging away at this Smiley I hope the pre-purchase model goes well for you.

Thank you Andy!!! It doesn't quite pay every bill yet, so this is a good time to remind everybody that pre-purchase and set your own price is available right now during alpha here  Wink

It will slowly build over time Smiley You should use Twitter more often and get involved with other developers and discussions on there.
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