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[Guert]

I rechecked the game. There were numerous updates on it and it's not that bad at first anymore. I got a score of about 20 after 2 games, which is not bad for a newb like me.
Later!

[Derek]

<edit> Oh one more thing - what do people think - should I add code so that it's never the case that you get hit simultaneously from both sides? What would be the best method for doing this? I suspect that if the ninjas have to 'know' when the other ninjas are going to strike, it will slow the game down enormously.

One way would be to perhaps have two objects on either side of the player that detect ninja stars, and maybe slow them down if two approach at the same time.  Just enough so that it doesn't seem awkward, but gives them the chance to *cha cha!* knock them both away.

[handCraftedRadio]

I don't think you should go messing around with that kind of thing. I think you should leave it alone. There are hardly any times when they attack at the exact same time. If you try to make one slow down in mid-flight it will probably look weird and make it a lot easier. And besides, a real Samurai master would never stop and ask attacking ninjas to stop throwing shurikens at the same time(so neither should you).

[Derek]

And besides, a real Samurai master would never stop and ask attacking ninjas to stop throwing shurikens at the same time(so neither should you).

hahaha alright.  I am convinced. :D

[Joseph]

It would be nice if the guy could jump up when he's surrounded by ninja stars. BTW my top score was 24...Its pretty addictive even in this early stage :D

[-B-]

So, anyway, I think that's all I had to say. Now to demonstrate I know what I'm talking about:



The next rank better be "Cheater."

Does anyone else notice something special on that image?

Highlight (or read with good eyes) below this if you wanna know what is wrong:
With score 74 the level should be 8, not 7. A bug in game or a little miss when editing that picture?

[Guert]

Yes, I see something wrong... Too many ninjas! No wait, that's the whole point of the game :D

Perhaps that's what MattC meant with next rank "Cheater"... Perhaps it's a clue for a greater quest that will save mankind. Perhaps he will kill himself positioned in the shape of a pentagram holding a riddle in his hand. Perhaps he has planted memories in a young boy that will decide the faith of the world. Perhaps he is an alien trying to tell us a mysterious fact about life that will change how we see our existence once we understand. Perhpas he's telling us we're in a big computer and we're used for energy for machines... Who knows! Who knows...

[handCraftedRadio]

Who cares, I already beat that score even if he cheated.

[Lim-Dul]

I, on the other hand, agree that the "being attacked from two sides simultaneously" issue should be fixed. It's true that it rarely happens that you get attacked at exactly THE SAME moment but you have to consider the "swing time". It's extremely annoying since the game is highly addictive BUT most of the time I get the feeling that I failed because of bad luck and not a lack of skill. The "double attack of death" can occur as early as level 2 and occurs quite frequently on level 3, which is a shame as level 3 would be otherwise quite easy - I feel "under-challenged" when I drop out at level 3 with no fault on my own. Then, again, from level 4 onwards the ninjas keep coming at such ridiculous speeds that the score keeps rising with almost no effort at all and the "double attack" issue seems less important by then. I managed to get a score of 61 but I didn't feel that I got it only by playing well - I got lucky and there had been no double attacks. The score-board shouldn't obscure the final "scene" of the fight - you should be able to blend it away - that way I could post a gazillion of screens where I'm dying because of "undefendable" double attacks...

Ah - I should stress that double shuriken throws are rarely an issue - just like HandCraftedRadio said - a combination of sliding attacks with a shuriken coming from the other side, however, appears all too often. That's because the sliding attacks have an inherent delay built in and can effectively increase the number of on screen attacks taking place at once.

[-B-]

Who cares, I already beat that score even if he cheated.

Nobody cares. I hope.

It is true that after you learn to play this game, it's a lot about luck how far you can go. So I mostly agree what Lim-Dul said.

But I somehow like that "luck-factor" in this game. It feels bad to die, but sometimes there is just too many ninjas (at the same time from opposite directions).

[ZombiePixel]

Maybe a special "smart bomb" type of move that clears all the enemies from the screen.  Or you could try a Max Payne slow-mo that slows everything down so you can easily swipe away the incoming stars.

The key would be to make it very limited, like once per game or once for every 15 ninjas you kill.

[handCraftedRadio]

A sliding attack and shuriken at the same time can almost always be avoided, it is usually never impossible, though it may seem that way. The trick is to hit the shuriken first and then go after the slider. You can hit the slider a lot later than a shuriken, his leg can almost go the whole way through you. The levels before you get to 60 and 70 are definetly possible and not based too much on luck because I can consistantly get in the 40-60 range on an average game.

[Lim-Dul]

C'mon - I've been playing the game for several (!) hours now and I'm not stupid. I know the order in which to hit things and I too am usually getting above 40 - I didn't say the levels aren't manageable - quite the opposite, they'd be easy but for the luck factor. You kind of contradict yourself in your statement. You're saying that you can "consistently get in the 40-60 range" - well that's a variance of about 30% which is HUUUGE. If the game was truly skill based your average scores might vary by, I don't know, several points, but not 20.

If you oppose any changes in the gameplay because you think that I'm saying that you got your hi-score by sheer luck and I'm not as good by sheer BAD luck, then you misunderstand me - I'm far from saying that, I see that you probably are a better player than me, nevertheless I want the game to be simply better and less frustrating and if you're good at it then you'd be good even after the changes.

Ah! And when we come to the sliding attacks and stuff - the collision detection could be improved - not made harder, but more consistent. Some shurikens in the down+left stance seem to pass right through the sword and ninjas can hit you while sliding more easily when coming from the left side than from the right side...

[handCraftedRadio]

I don't like the new graphics at the bottom of the screen. They look good, but there's too much going on the screen now. Maybe the swords should just be there before you start and then they can reapear whenever you lose.

[Bennett]

I don't like the new graphics at the bottom of the screen.

Really? I thought it looked kind of shoddy and underdone before. Maybe I should limit the palette of that area to just brown and yellow? What do people think?

[Derek]

I agree with HCR: look cool, but too much.  Mainly the swords.  It wouldn't be a bad idea to have them go away when the game starts and come back when you lose.

Also: totally dig that the ninjas can get hit with their own stars.

[Bennett]

Yeah, I only just added in ninja-shuriken collisions. Let me know if it slows down your computer at all - on mine, it does, but then my laptop is pretty underpowered.

[handCraftedRadio]

It would be so sick if we could set up a tournament of this game. We could compete to see who is the Ultimate Samurai Warrior.

[Lim-Dul]

It would be so sick if we could set up a tournament of this game. We could compete to see who is the Ultimate Samurai Warrior.

C'mon - don't be modest - we all know it's you. =)

[Derek]

Yeah, I only just added in ninja-shuriken collisions. Let me know if it slows down your computer at all - on mine, it does, but then my laptop is pretty underpowered.

Nope, it's fine for me.  P4 3.4 GHz CPU, 2 Gb RAM.

Btw, you're probably not thinking about the title screen right now, but I thought I'd point it out just in case.

You've got some redundancy going on here:



Also, I thought having a character on the title screen might make it seem more "finished," so maybe kill two birds with one stone and do something like this (really horrifyingly quick edit)?



The ninja could drop off the screen when you start the game, kind of like "Hayaaaaah!"  Then it also gives you the impression that the guy on the title screen is jumping straight into the game to attack you!

But maybe it's too "in your face" for what you want.  It'd have to look much better than my crappy edit, of course. (Dude ripped from the box art for Ninja Gaiden.)