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[clockwrk_routine]

falling off the map from bottom of the screen should restart the map.

@fresh mozzarella so teleport happens when III is off the ground rather than double tap.

Which I'm kind of like why?  it feels really weird as fresh mozzarella puts it.

I feel like this would be better played on the controller, with left and right bumpers corresponding to teleporting directions, it's a bit finicky depending on iii's facing direction.  Then again I didn't play very long.

Regular movement could be tightened up a little bit and more responsive.

I'm interested to see where this goes though, I think it'd be worth it to do more work on the demo before doing another kickstarter.  It feels very much like a prototype but it could just be me.

edit: controls were a lot easier the second time around, so maybe just a tutorial would fix that.

[premonster]

Put link in first post?

[rj]

(can there maybe be a mac build)

[Zack Bell]

falling off the map from bottom of the screen should restart the map.

Totally face-palmed here. I accidentally took out death by pits when I was commenting out a bunch of gamepad stuff. I will update that.

@fresh mozzarella so teleport happens when III is off the ground rather than double tap.

Which I'm kind of like why?  it feels really weird as fresh mozzarella puts it.

Yeah, a few people do seem to have a problem with this. Is it that you want to teleport on the ground? Or you just want it to be a separate button?

I feel like this would be better played on the controller, with left and right bumpers corresponding to teleporting directions, it's a bit finicky depending on iii's facing direction.  Then again I didn't play very long.

Regular movement could be tightened up a little bit and more responsive.

I'm interested to see where this goes though, I think it'd be worth it to do more work on the demo before doing another kickstarter.  It feels very much like a bare prototype but it could just be me.

edit: controls were a lot easier the second time around, so maybe just a tutorial would fix that.

Thanks for all of the feedback!

Put link in first post?

Yes, sir.

(can there maybe be a mac build)

Working on it!

[premonster]

So when a platform i was standing started going down, i tried to jump and i instead teleported (wasnt grounded). Maybe give a little timer before being able to teleport, so the player is sure hes not grounded?

[Zack Bell]

So when a platform i was standing started going down, i tried to jump and i instead teleported (wasnt grounded). Maybe give a little timer before being able to teleport, so the player is sure hes not grounded?

Hmm, yeah, I can do that. I was thinking that the 'X' to teleport would also fix this potential issue.


Also, I just implemented a bunch of items/powerups for multiplayer. Should I do a multiplayer build next or update the singleplayer? People have asked about multiplayer being an Early Access feature via Steam. I'm not sure how comfortable I would be with (plus we have yet to be Greenlit), but it's in the cards.

I've been getting lots of positive feedback via Twitter and the GMC RE: Alpha, so I'm happy about that 

[alvarop]

Tried the alpha. The controls felt kind of weird at first (changing directions while jumping, there's a weird momentum thingy going on that I couldn't really get used to). The level design gets nicer in the next to last level, the rest feels a bit "mini-game-ish"? The boss design is nice and fun, it was a very welcomed change of pace and showed where the game can go.

I enjoyed it overall, my favorite part was the boss, that's for sure. You got some nice mechanics going on there, but it felt a little bit "empty" (which I guess is normal, since it's only Alpha 0, hehe...

The moving "smoke" foreground (not really sure what to call it, sorry) was kind of distracting/annoying to me, but it's not the end of the world.

[lobstersteve]

Tried the alpha:

I actually really liked the physics...the acceleration, friction etc, didn't need any time to get used to them.
Regarding controls, i also think that teleporting should be a separate button (had the same issue with the dashing in frog sord), it was way less confusing then using the same button in frog sord, but still a separate button would seem more logical, at least to me.
I liked how the "tutorial levels" were constructed, with having one mechanic more in each of them. (switches, enemies i can jump on, enemies i can dash into), i guess there will be more levels until the first boss encounter in the final version, but the way it is now, there are too few levels. Not because i didn't get the mechanics, but because i would like to play around with them in some normal levels more first.
To the boss: it was fun, the screen wrapping laser was a little hard to maintain focus on (maybe it shouldn't screen wrap, so you can escape it ... by screenwrapping). The collision detection of the explosions could also be more forgiving - seemed like it is pixel perfect? I barely touched the edge and died.

[Zorg]

Double tap does not work at all, sorry. For gamepad i'd prefer to use the shoulder buttons for left dash and right dash separately. Maybe you can do both and offer an option to switch between one-button-dash and dash-direction-buttons.

But it looks very promising! Go on!

[Zack Bell]

Thanks, everyone! I'm glad to be receiving so much feedback!

Tried the alpha. The controls felt kind of weird at first (changing directions while jumping, there's a weird momentum thingy going on that I couldn't really get used to). The level design gets nicer in the next to last level, the rest feels a bit "mini-game-ish"? The boss design is nice and fun, it was a very welcomed change of pace and showed where the game can go.

I think the control thing is just opinion at this point. Almost anyone who is into Super Meat Boy and games like that seem to LOVE the controls. People who didn't like that game also don't love this game. I'm still open to tweaking things though. We'll see 

As for the levels, yeah. They're simple. Those actually are the "first levels" right now. However, there will be at least twice as many prior to that boss.

I enjoyed it overall, my favorite part was the boss, that's for sure. You got some nice mechanics going on there, but it felt a little bit "empty" (which I guess is normal, since it's only Alpha 0, hehe...

The moving "smoke" foreground (not really sure what to call it, sorry) was kind of distracting/annoying to me, but it's not the end of the world.

This is new info. I can add something to an options menu or just make it...less.

Tried the alpha:

I actually really liked the physics...the acceleration, friction etc, didn't need any time to get used to them.
Regarding controls, i also think that teleporting should be a separate button (had the same issue with the dashing in frog sord), it was way less confusing then using the same button in frog sord, but still a separate button would seem more logical, at least to me.

Cool. That will probably happen. Common complaint.

I liked how the "tutorial levels" were constructed, with having one mechanic more in each of them. (switches, enemies i can jump on, enemies i can dash into), i guess there will be more levels until the first boss encounter in the final version, but the way it is now, there are too few levels. Not because i didn't get the mechanics, but because i would like to play around with them in some normal levels more first.

As I said above, there will be at least twice as many levels prior to the boss.

To the boss: it was fun, the screen wrapping laser was a little hard to maintain focus on (maybe it shouldn't screen wrap, so you can escape it ... by screenwrapping). The collision detection of the explosions could also be more forgiving - seemed like it is pixel perfect? I barely touched the edge and died.

I think that big issue with the explosions is that they stay dangerous for a frame or two, too long. You should be able to walk through the smoke, but I think I check for the wrong frame. I'll fix that.

Double tap does not work at all, sorry. For gamepad i'd prefer to use the shoulder buttons for left dash and right dash separately. Maybe you can do both and offer an option to switch between one-button-dash and dash-direction-buttons.

Considered that, but we use the triggers for dodging in multiplayer. I think we'll stick w/ Z + X (A + X via gamepad). We'll see!

But it looks very promising! Go on!

Thanks, again! I should be uploading a build with a new level or two as well as a few bug fixes. Hopefully gamepad support as well.

[Zack Bell]

Sorry for the lack of updates, guys! I've been working with a lot of sfx and music. As well as overall sound design work. It's coming along nicely. We have four-ish complete tracks (Title/HUB, World 1, World 1 Boss, and World 2).

As far as the title screen goes, I grew tired of what we had going on. It was pretty, but the resolution was 320x180 and then blown up to our 640x360. The 2x pixels just weren't cutting it for me so when I got the hub world (level select) art I decided to just go with a playable title screen.



I'm currently still working on updating the alpha. I want 10ish levels + boss + gamepad support + audio. That would be ideal. 

[rj]

shiny

[initials]

Loving everything about this logo.

The ping going through it is awesome, the easing is great.

[Zack Bell]

Thanks, guys.   It's coming along. I'm not sure when is too much in terms of squash+stretch and little "polish" things like that.



EDIT: Not the greatest GIF in the world, but I'm working on a basic system for "composite objects". Basically, I wanted large chunks of level to be able to move dynamically. Static objects (spikes, springs, etc) should know how to latch to these moving blocks with ease.


3 objects moving as 1

[lobstersteve]

Title screen looks cool
Maybe "continue" should come before "new"? What if you accidently jump into "new" when you already have a save file? As it seems more easy to fall into "new"..
I know - confirmation dialogue, but still..continue comes first in most video game menus
*Being super fussy* 

[HQ]

to be honest, I'm not a fan of the current logo, this is just a fast sketch, but I think you should align the 3 under the Super and have the title screen animated like this.


the end of the animation should be at the 3 at the top right with the same effect as the sword draw here:
If you need some help with the logo I'd show you some new possibilites  

[dmitsuki]

I agree with mapping teleport to a second button.

Also, the boss felt kinda fast. He didn't have any wake up frames for his laser or moving to the next motion, so while I tried to dodge it I was either always killed by running into the smoke of an explosion or getting hit by the laser.

[rj]

though i like how uber metal this is i really don't think it works as well as the current logo aesthetically (especially in context with this very non-80s vibe game) (and i think the shiny snips in your sanick example are really weird and off-putting IMO)

[Berry]

Hi!
Just played the alpha and I agree that a second button for dashing would be an improvement.

Maybe I'm the only thinking this but when jumping up a long wall it feels more intuitive for me to quickly tap the jump button because holding the jump button longer feels more appropriate to me for jumping away from the wall. However when just tapping the button and steering back onto the wall, you only make little progress getting higher on the wall. For me this makes the character feel quite heavy.

BTW I really really realllyy love how the character deforms when jumping and dashing into walls. It really gives a feel of impact.

[Zorg]

I really like the look of the logo but in my eyes the S is super-heavy compared to the other letters and is not aligned to the III. I think it would look more balanced if you would bring the S more in line with the III. Quick overpaint:



Looking forward to the update of the alpha!