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[droqen]

Version 0.999 is coming in a few minutes -- I'm typing this just so I won't have to sit around watching the progress bar slide by.

  Actually, I'm going to go get something to eat.

T is a temporary cheat key used to pre-emptively unlock "post-2km mode". Please note there is not an actual final boss entity, and there may never be (unfortunately). But this will definitely spice up late-game gameplay (and it's pretty good at making early-game gameplay tough & interesting in a good way, too). For those of you able to get that far, your experience may be improved if you can make it to 2km naturally.

Tell me what you think. Tell me if the difficulty ramps up enough, or too much (?), or in a bad way.

Oh, and... gameplay should be much smoother overall, some bugs may or may not be fixed (switched to Pyglet 1.1.4 which apparently had a number of bugfixes!) and finally it'll also run "faster" on slow computers. Give it a go.

LINK HERE (pzero-0999.zip)


EDIT :: Ability Tree Considerations...

Switch Knees+ with Stomp.
Doesn't add multistomp functionality (unfortunately ._. I kinda would have liked to see that too.) but it makes Knees+ a slightly less obvious choice, while making Double Jump a little more expensive to get. That does mean two 3-5 ability branches right next to each other, but that's not too bad as I've ensured variety all over the rest of the tree, right?

( It makes Stomp a bit more of a viable 'lucky positioning' Knees+ replacement, too )


& Thanks, Parthon :D nice to get your approval :3

[mokesmoe]

I'm not saying that the headbutt thing shouldn't be in, I'm just saying that Double Jump is overpowered, but I'd rather see it require more of a skill point investment to get than see it get weakened.

Thats not what I meant. I meant that I think the headbutt will help balance it more than you think.

EDIT: I played it. Love the falling damage marker.
I like the special effects of the 'boss'. Slo-mo was cool. Got completely stuck once when it did lots of blocks. Noticed it would do multiple effects at once .There were some hard ones, like high gravity and less blocks, but it wasn't to bad.
When the screen stopped scrolling, It looked like it was moving up slowly. I could look at the top and bottom and see it wasn't, but it was a weird illusion when my eyes were used to the scrolling. Not a complaint, just something I noticed.

[droqen]

It's not fun to feel like crap in the middle of the night ):

EDIT: I played it. Love the falling damage marker.

I'm glad its effect is apparent and welcomed :D

I like the special effects of the 'boss'. Slo-mo was cool. Got completely stuck once when it did lots of blocks. Noticed it would do multiple effects at once .There were some hard ones, like high gravity and less blocks, but it wasn't to bad.

A few of them are tuned better for when you have nice mobility abilities to counter them (like double-jump, knees+, dematerialize, smash, L.o.F) but I'm glad you enjoyed them overall.

When the screen stopped scrolling, It looked like it was moving up slowly. I could look at the top and bottom and see it wasn't, but it was a weird illusion when my eyes were used to the scrolling. Not a complaint, just something I noticed.

I noticed this too! I think it's a neat optical illusion. My brain is expecting Probability 0 to go down and it struggles when it doesn't

[mac]

I just created an account to say that this, in my mind, is a top-20 casual indie game. I especially admire the creature AI (simple, but with just enough behavioral quirks to make hunting or avoiding them while planning a descent path interesting), the well-balanced upgrade tree, and the mood/theme (the stark graphics, the relentless pressure, the hapless blinking protagonist, the probabilistic health display, the talent/potential choice).

I also wanted to put in my two cents while you are approaching version 1.0.

I'm against the idea of adding a win condition. First, because a win condition would undermine the purity of the high score tables, which are currently the heart of accomplishment in this game. For example, to maximize certain goals (like points or depth), a player may need to avoid winning, which can detract from the spirit of the game. Second, because a win condition goes against the mood/theme of the game (I feel that the title "Probability 0" catches the essence of the game--the uncertainty of life, the inevitability of death, and the different sorts of lives we may live in the face of these facts). 

On the other hand, I think many of the ideas about the boss and extra challenges that you've discussed are good. I like the idea of eventually catching up to a boss (e.g., a 3x3 block sprite) that you see generating/placing the bottom rows of blocks. When the boss "sees" the player, it may make play more difficult by how it arranges the blocks and/or by zapping the player to change the player's characteristics (speed, gravity, etc.). The boss may also slow down, effectively narrowing the playable field (because the screen is scrolling faster than the boss is generating blocks). The player needs to speed the boss up so that the boss will eventually (temporarily) retreat below the bottom of the screen again (e.g., by attacking the boss so that the boss speeds up in order to get away from the player, by attacking/pressing a button on the boss, by using an ability created for the purpose, by feeding power-up bubbles to the boss (when the boss is on the screen, touching a power-up bubble may send it to the boss), etc.). I like the symbolism of this kind of boss--the very creature that is causing all of your grief and difficulties by creating the world that you must traverse, the one who would kill you and symbolizes your ultimate death, is also the creature that makes your survival possible by saving you from plummeting into the abyss. It's sort of a Nietzschean life-as-a-rare-species-of-death idea.

Also, I suggest removing the fall-limit indicators introduced in 0.999. They detract from the stark atmosphere, player immersion, and the uncertainty that pervades the game's theme.

[poppy100]

Played the newer version a little bit now, about 50 minutes or so, and that text bug STILL HAPPENED at a random time during gameplay! *this time though, instead of dots appearing, there was NO text whatsoever, so all that changed was the way it looks when it bugs up* -_-;

I couldn't get very far because the game is way harder since it moves so much faster, but this is a good thing overall.

Also, there was a round where there were nothing BUT blocks on screen, so I couldn't proceed unless I had the power to smash them, which I didn't.

[droqen]

The fall-height indicators certainly were something I was unsure of adding -- and ever since doing so I have felt reluctant to keep them in. While helpful, it does detract from some things as well (including player skill).

Let my mind be blown. I've seen quite a few people creating accounts just to comment on Probability 0, and this is some strong praise here

I am additionally going to stick with no win condition. I believe the only real reason I had to add one was because I was thinking about Spelunky and what the final boss did for it -- but the certainty of your doom, the lack of a goal, these things have sort of defined Probability 0.

To the big paragraph -- it's definitely been very interesting considering the final challenge you have to face would be the very thing to be providing that which sustains you and torments you at the same time.


Suppose I'll have to see what is in store for pzero.

-----

poppy: Damn! D: And all the text buggers up at the same time, does it?
I was worried that something along these lines would happen. Things aren't really going faster, but they're going at the speed they should have been going at all along

A full-of-blocks screen does happen, but it should be infrequent. Were you using the T-cheat or past 2km at the time?

[poppy100]

I don't think I used the T cheat on that round, and I just got to the point where it happens by itself just a minute ago.

I noticed there were times, *even before that great depth thing* that I seemed to be getting hit by...thin air? I don't THINK I was falling to far or anything, I had power ups to help prevent that. It seemed like it might've been related to bosses possibly...maybe that one that shoots those bombs? Maybe the explosion was lingering longer than it should've? or maybe it was the spider? I noticed they were around at the time it was happening...yeah, don't even take my word for it just yet, I really don't know what the deal is. -_-;

[droqen]

I've noticed this before (the getting hit in thin air) but it usually only happens when I'm preoccupied with other things -- and so it wouldn't be inconceivable that I just didn't notice whatever hit me. I have looked through my code and have so far been unable to find a possible issue, but then again I can't find the little memory leak either >_<

... Actually, I could probably fix that in a slightly easier way (part of the memory leak).


The block spawn rate alteration is really pushing my generator to its limit.

[poppy100]

Yeah it just happened again, I just killed the drill enemy, *and I was a little to his left* and then I got hit...which means nothing can be concluded. -_-;

Well the game hasn't crashed on me, though given how much harder it is, I don't know if I even got far enough to the point where it happened in the previous version.

That stuff thats just been mentioned aside, the difficulty seems perfect. ^_^;

[mokesmoe]

The fall indicator does take away from the randomness, but it doesn't take away from the skill. With it there, you can do all sorts of fancy moves without worrying about if the fall's going to kill you. Instead of guessing and hoping I live, I now plan out my decent more carefully.

I'm also going to have to vote for no win condition. I also don't think that you should include a final boss. I think the vagueness of what you have now fits the game quite well. I wouldn't complain if you used some of the final boss weapon ideas on some new mini-bosses though.

The getting hit by nothing could be the small invisible enemies. They close there eyes for a second after they get hit while they're invisible and rush away, so you might not notice them afterwards. There might have been one hiding behind the drill.

[poppy100]

I already thought of that...I suppose it is possible but I really don't think they were around, aren't their red eyes always visible except when you just landed a hit on them?

[Curseman]

The fall indicator is an interesting addition.  I'm not sure whether it's better or worse.  I do think that it works as a sort of stealth buff for Leap of Faith, and a nerf for Knees+.

The indicator for the player's position when they're above the top of the screen, however, is excellent.

The "final boss" special events are really cool.  They do seem kind of like the platforming equivalent of a boss battle.  They add enough variety that I would even say it might be worth considering having special events like that show up all throughout the game, and just make it so harder ones are more likely to occur as the player gets further.

Played the newer version a little bit now, about 50 minutes or so, and that text bug STILL HAPPENED at a random time during gameplay! *this time though, instead of dots appearing, there was NO text whatsoever, so all that changed was the way it looks when it bugs up* -_-;

I can confirm that the dots still do show up (at least for me).

[droqen]

The fall indicator is an interesting addition.  I'm not sure whether it's better or worse.  I do think that it works as a sort of stealth buff for Leap of Faith, and a nerf for Knees+.

The fall indicator does take away from the randomness, but it doesn't take away from the skill. With it there, you can do all sorts of fancy moves without worrying about if the fall's going to kill you. Instead of guessing and hoping I live, I now plan out my decent more carefully.

I find it's really quite useful for notifying the player when their gravity is increased.
& I do agree, I find it can bring that element too.
However, I like the mystery of precise fall distance. It becomes a matter of "I should have judged that better" as opposed to "I should have been watching the fall meter" which I feel is more interesting.

The indicator for the player's position when they're above the top of the screen, however, is excellent.

Yes, I'm definitely keeping this one in ^^
Thank you for mentioning it!

The "final boss" special events are really cool.  They do seem kind of like the platforming equivalent of a boss battle.  They add enough variety that I would even say it might be worth considering having special events like that show up all throughout the game, and just make it so harder ones are more likely to occur as the player gets further.

No disagreements here.
I had an idea sort of like this... I think I'll be rolling with it, but you'll have to wait a bit to see what I end up doing :D

//

No win condition =

Invisible enemies = When you can't see them, they can't hurt you (or that's the way it's supposed to work, anyway!). If you bump into them while they appear as just a red eye, they become a little more visible -- but just temporarily.

EDIT :: HAHA! Bug spotted and squished. SQUISHED!
Object wasn't agreeing with my new time-altering code.
But now it does. ^^

SOME NEWS
1. Probability 0 is a game that is on the free indie rapid fire here and so I may be getting a lot of gamejolt traffic? o_o
2. Version 1.00 is uploading as I type. I'll be back in a bit to link it up. Weird shit starts to go down at 1km (hooray!) and then it gets even worse at the 2km mark. Punishing difficulty? Yesss. There's one more effect on top of the SEVEN there were before, and this last one... is awesome.

Let's see you get all 20 abilities NOW!

[ChaoSpectre]

However, I like the mystery of precise fall distance. It becomes a matter of "I should have judged that better" as opposed to "I should have been watching the fall meter" which I feel is more interesting.

I will have to agree. As much as I love the indicator, and as hard as I looked for reasons to keep it, this reason against it is so compelling. Maybe it could be a skill, or included in one? Or perhaps it could be something to add to the pickup queue? You know, lasts for X seconds?

[ChaoSpectre]

...gosh. Your lovely creation seems to be backing up my thought queue. I can't seem to think of much else. Which is bad only because I have classes and assignments.

Two unrelated thoughts.

Sirens are sweet. However, they play both when you're at low health and when mini-bosses come. There is no practical reason to have both be different sound cues. I just thought it might be cool or add another layer to the frantic nature of bad situations or to the sense of impending doom. Just a tasteful, different (possibly higher in pitch) musical siren type thing. I had this really odd idea that it should be more akin to a heartbeat. It could speed up dramatically when the player is off the screen, or become a solid tone upon death. It could even fade in as the player got more injured. These were all fairly odd ideas centered around the concept.

The other idea related to difficulty. As hard as I think about it, Talent and Potential aren't really difficulty levels. They're simply different gameplay modes with different learning/difficulty curves.
Perhaps a difficulty system would not be too impossible to implement? (Very) Minor changes to enemy health, increases/decreases in experience/health occurrences in the pickup queue. Small things like that could definitely change the balance of the game for different experience/skill levels. (Imagine getting to 1k or 2k depth [Not that I've been there yet], with less than 20 skills.)

You obviously don't need to heed any of this. I just really REALLY like your game. One of the most rewarding game experiences I've had it a while.

EDIT: A question about damaging enemies. Do they get a free period of invincibility if they don't go down immediately?
I find myself wishing to drop a star and then stomp on them in quick succession when I have very little clearance above the enemy in question. This usually results in only one hit being registered (despite the jump I get from stomp). And then usually, I land on the enemy, taking damage. This refers specifically to the "dumb" boulder enemies, that slowly move left and right, eventually skidding to a stop on flat ground.

[droqen]

There are definitely a bunch of new ideas I'd like to explore... I may make some kind of sequel, with a better plan behind it now that I know the basic concept of Probability 0 works. Hopefully, I'd be making it in Java!

I like the idea of being like a heartbeat, although it would have to be at best reminiscent of one. New music probably won't be coming for this version.

Talent and Potential aren't really meant to be difficulty levels; they really are supposed to be difficulty curve modifiers for those who want to explore the higher-level abilities (if they can't get that far on their own), not a true "I'm not as good so I'm going to make things totally easier for myself".

You don't need 20 skills to get to 2km

And... I kind of don't like temporary powerups, though some kind of "advanced HUD" is some kind of ability I'd be interested in adding.

Finally thank you :D
but you'd better not fail your classes because of me D<

[Curseman]

So far it seems like the new version does a much better job of keeping the pressure on for a level 10+ character, especially after 2 km.

[droqen]

Great I'm hoping that the effects all make sense and are reasonably fair (i.e. I don't want people running into the 1km, 2km mark and feeling like the game is simply killing them off without giving them a chance). Do you like the... extra "enemy"?

[Curseman]

Great I'm hoping that the effects all make sense and are reasonably fair (i.e. I don't want people running into the 1km, 2km mark and feeling like the game is simply killing them off without giving them a chance).

I felt like I was getting massacred when I hit 2 km and a million squids came with a spider boss and turned the game into some kind of a bullet hell shoot-em-up... but I probably just need to adapt.

Do you like the... extra "enemy"?

The heart sphere?  I'm paranoid of what will happen if I let that thing touch me.  Maybe it'll just be a regular hit, or maybe it'll be instant death.  I don't know.  I just spam stars at it if it gets close until it goes away.

[Pesto_Nightmare]

Alright. I came across this game on Reddit, and I've gotta say, I've really been enjoying it. I recently met a.. gigantic drill. That pretty much freaked me out. Good luck on further advancing this for us.