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[PsySal]

Hah, wow I didn't know you guys liked the deer video so much!

To tell the truth I've been wanting to make another "let's talk..." video, I've had a few ideas over the past while but haven't jumped on them. I think I will, now! The video quality was really poor which is part of what discouraged me from doing another.

@supershigi I'll reply re: the music on the other thread!

[PsySal]

Bump! Okay kids it's not a really exciting and hard-to-produce video dev blog but... it's some cool gameplay video! Whew!

In case you are wondering, I make it look easy.

[supershigi]

Cool video!  I like the effect for when the cube turns into rubble after you blow it up with dynamite.

[PsySal]

Thank you. Originally I had planned for the floateye to be invincible, and the "stone" was just a disabled-state. But once I had TNT in, there was really no other alternative. Hehehe...

[supershigi]

The inventory system looks pretty good too... how long did it take you to come up with it?

[PsySal]

Bump! Hi everybody, please see the first message and let me know if you want to be an alpha tester. I need you, particularly if you haven't played the game! Thanks!

[supershigi]

I'll do it

[handCraftedRadio]

Looks awesome. I'd like to do some testing.

[PsySal]

Hey folks! Thanks for all the encouragement and feedback... I made another dev blog video last night, I guess I could move this thread to DevLogs or something but really, what I mainly want is feedback feedback feedback. Anyhow the new video is here:

http://kittylambda.com/node/384

I still need alpha testers, I need them eternally. If you think you've got some time to give the game a whirl, just PM me. The next alpha will be out in probably 2 weeks or so, so that's when I'll need more testers.

[supershigi]

Hi PsySal!  Just letting you know I've been playing the game and taking notes as I go along.  I'll post all my feedback when I finish.  It's pretty cool so far!

I'm actually writing now because I'm stuck   I've talked to everyone in the castle (Henleigh, Haddock, Stew, and one other guy), I examined the vandalized painting, and I'm carrying around a very threatening mop.  Do you have a hint for me?

[PsySal]

@supershigi are you playing Alpha 201? The hint is to head for the ballroom, the game actually hasn't properly started for you, yet =) The next alpha will actually partition the castle down a LOT so that you head for the ballroom even more quickly.

Thank you for your support and feedback! I'm looking forward to it =)

EDIT: I should also add that I've made so many changes I can't even remember what each Alpha had or didn't have. But I'm pretty sure you should head to the ballroom. Also: whatever you do, don't censor your feedback! Particularly if you think something isn't good or could be better, that's usually the most valuable stuff to me...

[Bones]

Calvin, I would like access to the most recent alpha version please. 

[shrimp]

I just discovered this and have been chuckling my way through the videos. Looking forward to seeing more!

[PsySal]

Woot! Thanks @Ed I will keep 'em coming... Actually they are getting easier and easier to make, I might not do any with full video until I can get access to a better camera, though...

@Bones/Derek Woot! And yes =) Buuut... would you do me a huge favour and wait until the next alpha (next weekend)? I can send you the link to Alpha 201 but what I really will need is to see what people run into with the next one, since I've already fixed and changed a huge amount.

The difference between these alphas is only 2 weeks but that's actually getting to be quite a lot, lots of fixes and I'm implementing the actual game at close-to-breakneck speed...

[ithamore]

I'd be interested in trying the next alpha. I'd be nice to see what has changed since the first one.

[supershigi]

Okiedokie, I haven't finished the game yet, but I've got some fairly comprehensive feedback for you concerning the first hour, and the combat system.  Since I believe that it's absolutely vital that people don't get stuck during the first hour of gameplay, I tried to highlight a couple areas where I got confused or frustrated.  I actually thought the pacing would have been perfect (the right amount of preliminary exploration in the beginning, humorous and enjoyable dialogue, easy to follow quests, etc.) had I not gotten stuck or had trouble with the combat.  So hopefully this feedback can help a bit with that ^_^

The Castle Map:
I think you've included all the necessary navigation tools for the player, but a few changes could make the interface a lot more intuitive.  Early on, as a result of the graphical style (which is charming, but easier to get lost in) I had difficulty navigating my way around the castle.  I'd get lost easily, and when an NPC would tell me to talk to someone in the library or the kitchen I wouldn't know how to get there.  Had I looked at my castle map (rather than the mini-map) I would have had a much easier time getting around, but I had completely forgotten about picking up a castle map until after going through the portal and talking to Carrie.  I said to myself, "Well, I remember picking up the castle map and looking at it... why didn't it occur to me to use it when I was lost inside the castle?"   

I think there were a few reasons: 1.) I picked up a lot of random objects (everything from brochures to poetry books to flower petals), so the map kind of got lost amidst everything else in my inventory, 2.) My natural action was to click on the mini-map expecting to see a more detailed map of the castle rather than going into my inventory to look at the map.  In retrospect it seems obvious that I should have gone into my inventory and used the castle map, but I guess this is one of those things that gets overlooked when a person is trying to get their bearings and is picking up all sorts of things.  I think a simple solution would be to make the castle map really accessible.  Once the map is in your inventory, perhaps clicking on the mini-map can bring up a picture of whichever map corresponds with your current location.  Either that, or the option to open the castle map once you've clicked on the mini-map would have been really helpful and I don't think I would have gotten stuck.

Combat:

• I really liked the WASD + mouse combination for combat.  I felt like I had a good amount of control, and I liked how moving in any direction would cancel aiming.
  
• Although I was shown how to use a gun in Mathilda's cave, the combat from the first area was very frustrating.  I had to die several times before I figured out what I needed to do when one of the green cubes ambushed me (when it tells you to "resist").  Once I learned how to do it, it was easy from then on.  Given that this is the first real combat in the game, I might suggest either making the first enemies as straight forward as the squirrels/gators, or giving a message indicating how to deal with the "resist" mechanic.  Although this might not be an issue for hardcore gamers who will probably keep trying until they figure it out (as was my case), I think a lot of my friends who are more casual gamers might give up after dying a few times.
• Sometimes when you enter a new area, you're immediately ambushed by a green cube which can be frustrating if you don't know how to escape from its death grip.  It might be nice if the enemies in the earlier areas were placed in such a way that you wouldn't get immediately ambushed upon entering the new screen.
• I'm actually still a bit confused about how to defeat the green cubes.  Sometimes it's easy to destroy them, other times I will shoot them a lot and they just do this weird thing where they expand and contract no matter how many times I shoot them.  I still haven't figured out how to consistently kill them, I kind of just shoot them from different angles until they die, so success felt really random.  You might want to increase the area where the green cubes can be successfully destroyed; I think this might make the combat feel more satisfying.  When I had to go back and kill green cubes to earn money for dynamite I would definitely have enjoyed it more had I felt like I knew exactly how to kill them.

Other Stuff:

• Perhaps I just overlooked it (if so, just ignore this one), but perhaps you might consider adding Carrie's house to the map since everything is in reference to it.
• Clicking on the sign to the right of Mathilda's cave causes the game to crash.
• The dialogue was very well-written and I enjoyed reading it.  Xartan's journal was hilarious.
• I really liked a lot of the music; it was catchy and fit the environment quite well.  The castle theme in particular got stuck in my head and I was humming it afterwards.
• The dynamite was fun to use   The way the barricades crumbled was quite satisfying.

Overall, great job PsySal!  I'll let you know if I come across anything else as I continue to play.  Keep up the good work!

[PsySal]

Woot! Thank you supershigi. Here is what I can tell you so far:

- I'm going to move the slimes to a bit later in the game, the first combat path will have a weaker slime enemy. I think you are quite right about it.
- There is a trick to shooting the slimes but I have to make it a bit more obvious.
- I made a big mistake in the last alpha, you actually weren't supposed to be able to access most of the castle. I can't remember what each alpha was, but I believe Alpha 201 I had meant to actually block off most of the castle but forgot that you could just walk around to the west of it to get in the west door.

You'll see in the next one, it's *much* different. Actually you won't even believe how much has changed in just a week or so...

Thank you x10000000 for your feedback! It's sooo helpful for me, especially other game designers.

PS: Right now I'm adding procedural music generation for the harpsichord, hahaha... that's probably not the wisest expenditure of my time, I need to stop with it now!

[supershigi]

No problem, I'm happy to help ^_^  I hope my feedback made sense; sometimes I have a much easier time verbalizing my feedback as opposed to writing it.  What is the trick to shooting the slimes?  Oh and procedural music generation for the harpsichord sounds awesome to me, haha... more power to you!

[PsySal]

Some New Gameplay Video - Rats

It's been a long time since I posted anything, but rest assured I am kicking a lot of ass on this game.

So here we go with a little tidbit of gameplay video:

The Real Texas Gameplay Video - Rats (Kinda Gross)

[PsySal]

Gameplay Quickie #1 - Mop Bandits

Here is a nicely commented miniboss battle. I'm going to enter into IGF at which point I will have a proper trailer and proper site.