IS OUR INBOX FULL !?!?!?! Leaving feedback in comments: 1. Helps me save memory in my inbox. 2. Helps us get new testers interested in testing for us.
Programmer
Joined on 10/28/13
Nice picture, though I wish Alice would jump from one platform that's under the purple star explosion and onto the other platform left of the big giant orange clouded epxlosion while F,V, or H bombs are activating and are blowing up heh heh XD.
Oh and also your game right now is going through a ton of glitches. I"ll shoot you a pm about it if you want.
You an put them up here publicly. I don't mind.
My inbox is overflowing at the moment.
Or send me a message about it via PM on deviant art.
Your choice.
I have been noticing a lot of bad glitches in the editor.
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
I posted a quick summary of what I thought of the Deviantart version of the game (that was a bit outdated) and I would now like to try out the Newgrounds game. I did search up a bit, and I must first beg your pardon for not looking at my inbox for a good while.
I'll write a review of it when I well get the beta, as during the weekends I am free to whatever I feel like.
I will add you to the beta tester list.
We've got some new interesting features in the current update.
Most noteable a rogue-map generator in the level editor.
Sending you an invite now.
Sorry, been coding like crazy all day.
Pretty sure my inbox is still full.
I could clean it.. But I want to spend my time coding.
Alright. Played the game for maybe an hour or so, and here's what I've come across as things noteworthy:
The Textures on the blocks have a good variety, making it easy for a player to see the difference in them, and to know exactly what will do what, especially the skulls for obvious reasons.
The music helped greatly to carry along the game whenever you dodged things left and right, and also leaped off platforms like Indiana Jones, although a few other notes could help along, I still found the music enjoyable.
Gameplay wise the game prooved to be alot more difficult then I had previously imagined, and caused great amount of adrenaline rush and brain strains whenever explosions went off left and right, while the controls felt quite smooth as well. It was like you were out ice skating, while dodging explosions left and right.
The backgrounds though could use a bit of improvement, as whenever I was out of action and decided to look at it, it was just meh in colour and general look. The game felt a bit itchy at times, and while it was frustrating, it was just trustrating enough for you not to quit the game. It's like when you get into a heated arguement that just refuses to settle down until you beat it.
While I still did have some problems with the jumping, it felt alot better then the other games I've seen with such issues, plus you rarely get killed because of this jumping lag.
For improovement, I'd say some slight improvements on the menus, as it was a bit of sight for sore eyes when I looked at it, and when I moused over "Exit" or "Back to Menu" I have some significant framedrops for a second, before it dissapears completley unless I restart the beta.
In general, the platforming was good, the challenge was there, frustration - check. The backgrounds, menu, and some very significant textures could be improoved just for visualities sake.
By the way, what's up with the "You are Alice" "Hold down-" message if you fill everything in the map creation?
I've been getting more and more annoyed with the jumping lag. Also notice the controls get stuck sometimes. I am not sure if this is fixable, or just a problem with flash. I will have to look into it.
I've been thinking of ways to design more interesting backgrounds... Hmm...
Maybe another set of tiles specifically designed for background art mixed in with some props...
There is definitely an opportunity to put something more interesting and less abstract back there.
Quote:
"By the way, what's up with the "You are Alice" "Hold down-" message if you fill everything in the map creation?"
Elaborate on this a bit more. Not sure I understand the question.
The text drawn in blocks was a makeshift way to make an easy intro level that had
some text guidance.
Not sure how that relates to the editor. You can edit any level in the editor.
I like your "iceskaing with bombs" analogy. Lol.
I am glad you understand the textures of the blocks. Not everyone sees the textures. Some people see more types of blocks than their actually are because they don't make that texture connection with all of our art assets.
Menus do need some work.
Just, make them look more polished? Or actually make them hurt less on the eyes?
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
Please excuse my barging in on this comment thread, but it appears that your PM inbox is full; I can't send any Private Messages to you!
This is true! You could try Deviant Art.
I've been super busy coding.
And like to save all the game reviews in an organized fashion.
And... Someone on my team said they were going to clean out our inbox a week ago...
I will ask them a few more times. And if it still doesn't get done I will have to do it.
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
The game controls are somewhat good, the only real problem is that you have both asdw and the arrow keys both as controls while you also have d+click as a mandatory need to cause explosions, because of that the player will have to hold down d will forcing your person to go right and sometimes you don't want to move at all. Also it kind of irked me the first time I got to a level where you had to use it with out any way of letting the player know that it was a mandatory need to use it. Like add a level in easy where you make it through everything and then you have you use it to drop a bar down to get to the end. It would be a nice and easy way to introduce it to players.
You should limit the amount of times a person can d+click explosions, because a player could abuse it to completely remove all challenge to the game.
The music is kind of catchy. So don't change that.
Even though I know this is beta, so you most likely thought of doing this, don't have the player auto start on easy. Have them start on the difficulty select. Its really annoying when I have to keep on going back though all that stuff just to get to the difficulty select. Also when you beat the last stage on a level don't just go to a level editor of that stage, go to something that will let them know that you finished the level. The first time it happened to me I thought that either something was wrong with my comp or I messed up your game.
That's all I can think right now. If I can think of anything else later I will post it.
Good advice.
I agree, having to play the easy levels over and over is very annoying.
No one who has played the intro/easy level sets should ever be forced to play it again.
We won't go viral if we annoy people.
Yeah, that was pretty stupid of me with the click+d.
Originally it was only arrow keys and when I put it WASD it overlapped
with a lot of debug keys.
I am glad you like the music. Tyler will be including 10 total tracks.
I've been working on figuring out how to stream the tracks into the game.
If you have any ideas of what I should look at for that, let me know.
I am still in the research phase.
Throwing people into the editor is just for beta right now.
I wanted beta testers to be throw in on the editor right after they knew
enough about the game to effectively understand the editor.
Some glitches in the editor right now. Like use of old art assets. Will be fixing that.
Anyways, Thanks for the feedback!
I will be messaging you letting you know I replied!
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
Your inbox is full. o.o
Anyway,
Okay, so. I like the new direction the visuals are going in. A lot of the dangerous things are a lot easier to see then before. There are some levels that take far too much mechanical skill to pass, though. I don't like that kind of design, it feels cheap. Most notably the second "Rush" level. It took well over 30 to 40 minutes to perform it good enough to pass it. Some glitching was required. (Glitching through the falling blocks to get on them to jump up to the exit door before they fell too far.)
Other then 2 or 3 levels, the level design is becoming much better and more puzzle-y. I kinda like that. But I think the idea of the "Rush" levels should be a main part as well. It really shows the games true colors. The adrenaline from going through the levels fast makes it so much more sweet.
The game is looking and feeling so much more polished. I can't wait for the next major build to test.
One last thing, can you credit me in the testers field as Templarfreak instead of NodTrooper? I go by that more often then NodTrooper.
Hey there!
So I am thinking of trying a version of the game that only has two level sets.
One will be called "Hardcore" and the other will be called "Casual".
Casual will be super easy and require minimal platforming.
So people who play things like bejeweled can play.
Hardcore will be any levels that fit into our definition of what a good platformer should be.
Cool to see you noticed the credits! That menu still needs some work.
What site are you known as "Templarfreak" on?
I get an error when I try to go to "Templarfreak.newgrounds.com"
I say that because, with every name in the credits, you can click on it and it brings you to that person's newgrounds account.
My inbox will be full for quite a while. But feel free to leave a comment on any news post of mine and I will get back to you!
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
I am Templarfreak on Moddb (http://www.moddb.com/members/aple) and Steam (http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198065470522/). And on StarCraft II/Battle.net. The account will still be this one on Newgrounds, I haven't gotten around to changing it on here yet. I'll link to my Moddb account I guess on my profile page.
I think you should stick with just "Normal" "Hardcore" and include the "Rush". I don't really think this game will reach people in the casual market. =p
I am thinking of going with 2 main level sets no matter what.
And then those level sets have "branching" paths.
I say branching in quotes because each level set would become 3 parallel sets of levels.
You would weave between them as you progress depending on how skilled you are.
I would say get around to changing your name on newgrounds.
Because if you don't, and I put you in as TemplarFreak, I am going to have to change
a lot of code just for you. The name doesn't exist yet. So you should probably
get on that and claim it before someone else does.
I have my doubts about the casual market as well. As I am learning more and more that casual games are not appealing because they are easy. They are appealing because you don't have to think at all.
Some people like to shut off their brains when they play games.
By the way, I am going to have a scoreboard for EACH level in the game.
Hmm... Need to think of how that would affect my scoreboard idea... Hmmm...
Also working on streaming music. Basically, learning lots of database stuff with my dad.
Set up a new machine today and don't know the credentials to log into the server.
So I thought... Hmm... What can I do to not waste time today.
And then I remembered I have fans I need to talk to on newgrounds. :)
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
I haven't been very vocal throughout the progress of this game and to be honest I haven't had much time. I previewed the game way back when about the time you invited me to be a beta tester. I played it once then and just today had a chance to check it out again. I will say I liked it so much more now versus the time I first played. First of all like someone else mentioned, I love the direction the game has taken visually, its much more engaging and makes a perfect mix with the OST. I'm the type of guy that can go for a fun engaging pick up and play sort of game that is a little difficult but more notably enjoyable, This game I feel does a great job of embodying both of these styles. From the way explosions react on screen to high altitude landings. Everything goes together suitably well. The fact that this isn't really my kind of game and I find it extremely fun and enjoyable I think speaks volumes, tons of replay value and entertainment. I'm assuming this project is nearing its final stages, i'd like to be apart of the official credits if possible. If there is anything I can do to help or contribute, just let me know. But until then i'll continue to play and see if I can pick anything out that may be able to correct.
Hey there! As long as you are part of my project management system, you will be in the final credits.
Let me check to see if you are there.
YEP! You are in our official tester list.
The credits menu is kind of stupid right now.
(Still in progress)
If you want to see your name currently in the credits, you have to mouse over and mouse out
of the list of names and it will flip to a new page. Totally non-intuitive and was just quickly put together to get something working.
I have about 6 more months to work on this. Which is not much time to me.
My dad is teaching me database programming so we can have "intermission" levels
with a UNIQUE time-trial score board for every level.
Every level is a chance to have bragging rights.
Also, I am going to figure out how to stream music into the game.
Today I worked on fixing a horrible stack dump that happens when people play in old versions of the game.
What else...
I am glad you enjoy the game even though it is not your kind of game!
My artist Matthew is the same way.
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
Wow that all sounds great ! And six months huh ? Well if I like what you have now, can't wait to see the progress and changes you make within that time frame ! Glad i'm apart of this project !
^_^
Hey, this is mail in comment form, just to be clear
You sent me mail asking me to be a beta tester a couple of months ago, i just discovered it, haven't had time for newgrounds lately (heresy, i know).
Anyway, your inbox is full, hence the comment-mail, and i would love to help out on this or any future project.
Good day,
Jon Daemos
Hay there! Yeah, sorry. My P.R. Person got a full time job a few months ago.
And I am unable to do inbox management AND code the game and coordinate a team.
I am glad you figured out to comment here!
I will send you and invite and message your inbox to make sure you know you got it. :)
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
Heyo! So, this isn't exactly a beta review..of sorts...well, this is REGARDING the beta, but not exactly..
See, you contacted me back in May about a spot in beta-testing the game, and I was unfortunately inactive for an extensive amount of time. I WOULD be telling you this via your inbox, but it's sort of full, so...
Anyway, I'm assuming the offer is off the table now, due to the inexcusable amount of time I took to respond to this, but, if for any reason, there's still a chance this offer's valid, I'd more than be happy to give it a test-see and give my honest critique.
Best of luck with the game and any other endeavors, and I hope to hear back from you.
Come on board! I will send you an invite!
We are hoping to wrap up the project in 4 months.
I've been getting mentally exhausted and socially reclusive lately.
But I have been coding all this time.
Haven't released a new beta yet because my new level manager code
is not ready yet. But once it is there should be a whole bunch of new stuff to explore.
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
Oh, so sorry! I hadn't got used to the new format of newgrounds (haven't been on here much the last year or so) and never noticed your post in my inbox D:
If you still want help beta-testing or just reviewing for criticism, then I'd still love to help though
Sorry. I've been over extended!
I will add you as a tester. I will send you a message in your inbox with more info.
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)
I apologise for not testing the game and whatnot for the past month (or decade...) or so, I've just been really busy with school.
I'll get back to testing as soon as I can. :)
It's cool. Stuff happens! I've been busy neglecting code for a few days while doing logic problems for an internship. Sometimes you've got other stuff to do!
-John Mark
MakeGamesHappen
Neeto: Armored games has a games with level editors category.
I should take advantage of that.
http://armorgames.com/category/level-editor-games
Also going to go there and scope out my competition so I can make a well designed level editor.
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)