General > Discussion
Game inspired in part by DoomRL
Tormuse:
Thanks, ZicherCZ! :) I had to install the latest Java version and ignore all the warnings that Windows XP doesn't support it, but I got the game working. :)
First impressions... I know you said that the graphics are just placeholders for now, but I grew up with 80's video games, so I rather like the retro look. :D (Music gets a tad repetitive, though) :| Gameplay works well as a top-down shoot-em-up; the player viewpoint working by line-of-sight works well for keeping things tense and interesting and I like the way the AI hunts, tracking your last known location when they lose sight of you. The "insane" difficulty level provides a good challenge. (I haven't tried the lower difficulties yet, so I can't comment on them) ;)
On the downside, I think the game really needs you to be able to redefine the keys, or at least have a key selection that fits the playstyle better. Since the whole thing is played in realtime and doesn't pause for looking at inventory or stats, it's deadly to have to look down at what keys you're pressing and/or move your hands around. When I'm playing any kind of realtime game, I want all the keys I use to be reachable from where I place my hands. Add to that the fact that the inventory screen is a bit finnicky, (it took me some time to figure out how to change weapons; it seems like a bit of a nuisance to have to go into the inventory and manually put it into your equipment slot before the game will let you switch to it, although I guess that's to make the juggler ability more worthwhile, so maybe I just need to play some more to see how it all fits together) and I find myself having to hunt for keys for unloading weapons and/or dropping excess equipment which leads me to my least favourite way to die, inventory management. :P
So yeah, it's a solidly put together game and I'd like to see more of it, (and play some more) :) but personally, I think you should make it a priority to be able to remap the keys, because I'm finding the current keys make gameplay rather frustrating. (I mean that in the nicest way possible) :)
EDIT: Oh yeah, one more thing: It would be nice if, when you find a chest, there was a button you could push to automatically take everything out of it. Having to click on each item individually seems unnecessary. (Of course, again, that could just be because I haven't gotten very far; I might just need to play more) :)
lostmekka:
--- Quote from: Tormuse on October 06, 2016, 06:28 ---Thanks, ZicherCZ! :) I had to install the latest Java version and ignore all the warnings that Windows XP doesn't support it, but I got the game working. :)
First impressions... I know you said that the graphics are just placeholders for now, but I grew up with 80's video games, so I rather like the retro look. :D (Music gets a tad repetitive, though) :| Gameplay works well as a top-down shoot-em-up; the player viewpoint working by line-of-sight works well for keeping things tense and interesting and I like the way the AI hunts, tracking your last known location when they lose sight of you. The "insane" difficulty level provides a good challenge. (I haven't tried the lower difficulties yet, so I can't comment on them) ;)
On the downside, I think the game really needs you to be able to redefine the keys, or at least have a key selection that fits the playstyle better. Since the whole thing is played in realtime and doesn't pause for looking at inventory or stats, it's deadly to have to look down at what keys you're pressing and/or move your hands around. When I'm playing any kind of realtime game, I want all the keys I use to be reachable from where I place my hands. Add to that the fact that the inventory screen is a bit finnicky, (it took me some time to figure out how to change weapons; it seems like a bit of a nuisance to have to go into the inventory and manually put it into your equipment slot before the game will let you switch to it, although I guess that's to make the juggler ability more worthwhile, so maybe I just need to play some more to see how it all fits together) and I find myself having to hunt for keys for unloading weapons and/or dropping excess equipment which leads me to my least favourite way to die, inventory management. :P
So yeah, it's a solidly put together game and I'd like to see more of it, (and play some more) :) but personally, I think you should make it a priority to be able to remap the keys, because I'm finding the current keys make gameplay rather frustrating. (I mean that in the nicest way possible) :)
EDIT: Oh yeah, one more thing: It would be nice if, when you find a chest, there was a button you could push to automatically take everything out of it. Having to click on each item individually seems unnecessary. (Of course, again, that could just be because I haven't gotten very far; I might just need to play more) :)
--- End quote ---
Wow thx for the extensive feedback, really appreciate that :)
I also heard from friends, that the input is a big thing. I personally did'nt think so, but that is probably just because I was the one who chose the key mapping :D It would take a while though to make the keys fully configurable, since this requires a more manageable menu. On the bright side this means for me that I have one more incentive to move to the new engine, since this one has decent gui/menu and input mapping support. I have thought of putting a keymap cheat sheet into the current main menu (where the game is paused) in the meantime.
The graphics style will definitely remain retro, so no worries there :) I also had the effect that the music is getting quite annoying. When I test or play for fun, I usually turn it off. Need to come up with a better workflow; at the current rate that I produce music, this game will be in development forever xD And the song also is more like a real song than game music.
Thx again for the feedback, you sir are awesome :)
Kornel Kisielewicz:
Do not underestimate UI and UX. It's what got DoomRL to where it is, despite the fact that by current gen games both suck for DoomRL! It still was the most accessible roguelike when it came out though!
thelaptop:
--- Quote from: Kornel Kisielewicz on October 06, 2016, 19:31 ---Do not underestimate UI and UX. It's what got DoomRL to where it is, despite the fact that by current gen games both suck for DoomRL! It still was the most accessible roguelike when it came out though!
--- End quote ---
Inasmuch as I hate to admit it, first impressions do count strongly, and the UI/UX is often the first thing people look at before delving into the game mechanics in more details.
Tormuse:
So, I've played a few more times, first at hard difficulty, where I was able to get to level 8 before succumbing to one of those big blobby mini-boss things with all the grenades and then I tried easy mode to see how it compares and got much further. So, good scaling of difficulties there. :)
--- Quote from: lostmekka on October 06, 2016, 13:47 ---I also heard from friends, that the input is a big thing. I personally did'nt think so, but that is probably just because I was the one who chose the key mapping :D
--- End quote ---
If you're hearing it from multiple people, I suggest you take it seriously. Honestly, I really quite like the game and the input is the only thing marring that experience. The biggest culprit is the "G" key for picking stuff up. If I'm in the middle of a firefight, I'd really like to be able to pick up health and ammo on the run, but because of the distance between G and the WASD movement keys, I have to take my hand off the controls (and stop moving) to pick stuff up and when I'm being shot at, that's a good way to die. :P The second biggest culprit is "R" for reload, which at least is closer to the movement keys, but again, I have to take my index finger off the controls to use it, so I can't reload while running to the right. I would much rather have those controls mapped to buttons that are within reach of my thumb and/or pinky fingers. (Right now, those fingers don't have anything to do!) :P It would improve playability by an order of magnitude for me.
EDIT: Also, a couple of questions: Do those little red flying saucer things do anything besides run away? I notice I get experience for destroying them, so I wondered if they notify other enemies of my location or something.
And what are "super skills?" I notice that on the skills screen, everything has a listing that says "Super Skill 0/1" but I can't figure out how to earn them. My first thought was that I have to max out a regular skill to gain access to a super skill, but even when I maxed out several of them, I still couldn't get them.
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