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[pluckyporcupine]

Any news on this? It's been over a month since the alpha build.

[TeeGee]

I've been busy with my other project last month, hence no bigger updates. I started working on the stuff that came up during the alpha testing, though. Feedback was rather positive but also pretty consistent on what needs improvements.

- I need to work on difficulty curve. I've already made the shortest quest more forgiving, and plan to make it so that that the game is generally easier until your first victory. Mainly by picking less annoying monsters.

- I added a simple progress meter. You can now see how far you are in the dungeon and how much is left until the boss. Many people requested that.

- I fixed several issues in the tutorial, and started working on a simple scene system that will allow me to make a proper introductory level as well as add a simple story later.

Other than that, I started implementing challenge quest (non-random and puzzley dungeons with a clear theme), worked on the GUI, and tweaked some balance issues. The game also has a new logo:

Depending on how busy I am with Solstice, I may have a new test build available soon.

[TeeGee]

Nothing like good old showers of blood and golden coins (plus some new monster designs).

[TeeGee]

So I realized that - given that the game is going to be very hard - finishing a quest should be something satisfactory. Like a big boss. That explodes. In volleys of blood and golden coins. Twice!

[pluckyporcupine]

Looking great.

So the dragon is going to be the final boss of all of the quests?

[TeeGee]

Nah, the dragon is just one of the bosses. I just haven't implemented the others yet.

[TeeGee]

The alpha build is almost ready and I'm going to look for more testers soon. If anyone's interested in giving it a try, let me know.

[pluckyporcupine]

The alpha build is almost ready and I'm going to look for more testers soon. If anyone's interested in giving it a try, let me know.

Woo! A new build! I've been itching to try it out since you mentioned adjusting the difficulty curve.

EDIT: And the new monsters look fun.

[TGoCoGames]

It's already looking really cool.  I notice in the video there are no attack animations (or any animations, unless I missed some), but already things look like they are moving smoothly as they jump in to attack or sort of vibrate to die.  With some decent animations this game will be looking great!  Keep it up!

[TeeGee]

Thanks . The game initially had character animations and there's a system for them already implemented. But later we realized it's going to be a pain in the ass to animate everything with the amount of content we have planned. And it looks surprisingly good even with static sprites.

The current plan is to eventually do what old jRPGs did. Animate the heroes and perhaps the bosses, but leave the common monsters static to allow for a greater variety of them. I think it's a nice compromise.

[TeeGee]

Well, fuck you too, game!*

* The new test build is coming along nicely, despite some delays. The game still kicks my ass .

[TeeGee]

Just sent the game to the testers. If someone else wants to give it a try or if I missed someone, let me know .

[pluckyporcupine]

The tutorial seems alright. I noticed that "highlight" was spelled "hilight" and that infoboxes from hovering over a health bar sometimes go off screen.

It's definitely starting to feel more like I'd pay $7 for it, though. The presentation of the introduction was great, especially the title sequence.

EDIT: Made it to the boss of the first quest on the first try. Got him 4/5 of the way down and he took me out. He was relentless with the fire breath and, despite using as many items as I could, I couldn't save my healer so he took the others out with relative ease.

[TeeGee]

Thanks.

It seems like everyone is using the Monk as a healbot, while he's mainly an offensive character, especially during boss fights where his armor-piercing strikes really shine. I guess I need to expand the tutorial with some strategy tips regarding this.

[pluckyporcupine]

It seems like everyone is using the Monk as a healbot, while he's mainly an offensive character

Well, part of that is that, as far as I know, he's the only healer, which makes him invaluable as a...well, healer. Without his healing ability, I probably wouldn't do nearly as well.

I'll have to experiment with groups without a healer once I get some of the other characters unlocked. The goal is to have it so that any combo is viable, right?

Oh, and the Hob-Goblin, Skeleton Sniper, Plague Rat combo seems to be rather deadly, especially when your mage gets taken out as soon as the battle starts. Haha.

EDIT: OOOOOOHHHH. Checked the old build. The Countess is meant to be the primary healer, isn't she?

Not sure how but somehow I completely passed over using the Countess last time. Thought I'd tried them all out at some point. :/

[TeeGee]

It seems like everyone is using the Monk as a healbot, while he's mainly an offensive character

Well, part of that is that, as far as I know, he's the only healer, which makes him invaluable as a...well, healer. Without his healing ability, I probably wouldn't do nearly as well.

I'll have to experiment with groups without a healer once I get some of the other characters unlocked. The goal is to have it so that any combo is viable, right?

Oh, and the Hob-Goblin, Skeleton Sniper, Plague Rat combo seems to be rather deadly, especially when your mage gets taken out as soon as the battle starts. Haha.

EDIT: OOOOOOHHHH. Checked the old build. The Countess is meant to be the primary healer, isn't she?

Not sure how but somehow I completely passed over using the Countess last time. Thought I'd tried them all out at some point. :/

Monk is valuable as a healer, but he's also a good attacker. With his strikes dealing always the same damage, regardless of enemy armor, he's actually the best attacker against bosses and other hard monsters. I just need to encourage the player to give that side of his a try.

The game is also designed so that having a healer is not necessary at all. Max health deteriorates rather quickly, making healing not a viable long-term strategy, and it's often best to simply kill enemies fast to take advantage of natural recovery and level ups.

Of course, the old gamey habit is that healing characters are necessary and should be used for healing only. I even use this habit a little to make the player feel familiar with the game when it just starts. Now I need to find a nice way to show the alternatives when the player is ready for them.

Countess is my favorite character :D. I think overall Monk is the best healer, but she can also heal herself in turn and her Shriek ability makes her a very good support hero.

[Mittens]

Put this to your trailers,

[TeeGee]

Haha! Fuck, that would make the game an immediate mainstream success! 

[TeeGee]

Gathered a lot of feedback over the course of the last few days (thanks!). It's been rather positive. No bigger issues like the last time -- mostly cosmetics, some clarifications, and some stuff I planned to add anyway. Which means the game should be out soon.

Also, sent the game to Desktop Dungeons developers. This is what they think of it, and our reaction :



Yay for validation from the people who made the game that inspired yours  .

[pluckyporcupine]

Gathered a lot of feedback over the course of the last few days (thanks!). It's been rather positive. No bigger issues like the last time -- mostly cosmetics, some clarifications, and some stuff I planned to add anyway. Which means the game should be out soon.

Awesome!

Oh - what's the deal with the Mac version? I saw on the official page that it will have one sometime.