Looks interesting.
I notice the last entry in the changelog is nearly a year and half ago - has development been on standby since then, or has the changelog stopped receiving updates?
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) :)
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!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.
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
despite the fact that by current gen games both suck for DoomRL! It still was the most accessible roguelike when it came out though!
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!
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.
Looks cool at first glance, but are keybindings in a separate (read "editable without recompiling") file ?
I'm french, so A&Q are inverted, as well as Z&W.
And in case it helps as an incentive, if you make it possible to rebind the keys, I'll make a Let's Play video of it in the style of my DoomRL videos. :)
Btw: Have you tried loot mode? It is activated by holding down the A_LOOT_MODE button and it is really handy to figure out what stuff is lying around, picking up specific items, using items (heal, equip ect.) and even unloading weapons without picking them up first :) The keys for that are A_LOOT_GRAB, A_LOOT_USE and A_LOOT_UNLOAD.Spoiler (click to show/hide)
and am gonna play it at least until I reach the end alive.Just to make sure you don't quit out of frustration: There is currently no end. It is play until you die :)
The only thing I would try to change is that imo, inventory management, doesn't fit well with the dynamic (real time) gameplay. I find it quite frustrating that I have to first kill everyone, then bother about getting that stuff on the floor and putting it in some weapon slot after having emptied my previous weapon to get back the ammo... well, I gotta have to press 10 keys for that (and check the controls reminder web page 5 times :p)I get that autograb suggestion a lot, but this is actually one thing that was clear from the beginning: The game should never do things on its own without explicit input from the player. Imo, this would create more frustration than it would solve. Instead I tried to make item management as smooth as possible by adding the loot mode. (see my previous post for that)
Thats why imo, some improvements like autograbbing the ammo when walking on it, or easy unloading of weapons / muting useless items, etc., should be considered among future evolutions.
Anyway, it's cool. Gotta continue killing spiders for some time !Thx for you feedback <3