Project Alpha Spaceshooter, Version 0.2
Community Forums/Showcase/Project Alpha Spaceshooter, Version 0.2
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| The next demo of my second retail project is finally ready :) Major thanks to Mr. Ash, my graphics designer for the awesome artwork.   This one includes 2 levels, and finally some proper level design, instead of the mindless swarms of randomly spawning enemies that were in the first 2 demos. Use the arrow keys to move, spacebar to shoot, 'P' to pause, Esc to exit, and 'Q' to bring up the secret debug menu. Enjoy! http://www.mediafire.com/?i86femop7fkoqfh And be harsh with your feedback, since I am intending to sale this game. |
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| Looking good! This is something I wouldn't worry about too much until you're done with all of the internals, but one thing I'd consider is changing the font used for the counters and score. I'd try to find one that looks more like the type found in classic shooters. Visit KLOV.com and check out what the scores in Raiden, RType, Lifeforce, and even Xevious look like for some ideas. |
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| Yeah, I've been planning to change the font at some point, 'maybe' even make a custom one with Fontforge. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out :) |
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| Maybe its me but the sigar shaped bullets look wierd. The ships i like, good job overall! |
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| I finally got on my PC and was able to try the game on my pc. I played both levels and although the game is OK, I felt that it needs quite a bit of work. I don't know how much of the game play is complete but as it stands it needs a bit of work. some of the things I didn't like are the crowding of the baddies, there are two many and take too many bullets to kill one, they shoot too many bullets and don't allow for movement to try to avoid them. the worst part is that they push you with them. I think that collision with the baddies should cause damage to your ship and to them. as far as explosions are concern I think they are too small for the size of the baddies. personally I think that all moving objects should be a bit smaller including the player ship. maybe 30% smaller. I felt like a little kid playing with huge puzzle pieces. objects should have some kind of animation or effect to make them see alive. I agree with Ferret the bullets look weird and need some improvement also the position of the laser on the player is offset wrong. I didn't know if I was shooting from the left side cannon or the middle front of the ship. the modules are ok, but I didn't like the one I tried, it was the cutter. I didn't like the way it moved as it seem kind of random bounce I think it should be more of a orbital movement. that one might just be a personal preference. the turret in the asteroids are to small to be noticeable and the fact that the asteroids move a bit too fast make it almost impossible to figure out what they are. the first boss fight is OK but it needs to show at least a few explosions when it gets killed. I did like the second boss but it seems like it needs a bit more work so it can look more acceptable. I think it needs a bit of work before it can be considered commercial. I do think it got potential and with a bit more work it can be a good game. I know you are going to make quite a bit of modifications but I have made my comments based on what I saw. I hope you take this as constructive criticism and nothing more and don't give up. I am working on a shmup myself but it's quite far from being finished it's here if you want to take a look at it http://www.mediafire.com/?g3qtyvruxc3hcnv I have progressed quite a bit more than this demo shows. I am trying to incorporate a tile scroller which will add another dimension to the game. |
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| I finally got on my PC and was able to try the game on my pc. I played both levels and although the game is OK, I felt that it needs quite a bit of work. I don't know how much of the game play is complete but as it stands it needs a bit of work. First off, let it be known this game is still in the early stages of development, it doesn't even have a name yet ;) BOTH bosses for these levels are placeholders, and I still need to add a lot more to turn these into proper levels, such as terrain, which I'm working on now. Now I will respond to the points you brought up one at a time(Thanks by the way for such a lengthy response. Tis much appreciated!) some of the things I didn't like are the crowding of the baddies, there are two many and take too many bullets to kill one, they shoot too many bullets and don't allow for movement to try to avoid them. the worst part is that they push you with them. I think that collision with the baddies should cause damage to your ship and to them. as far as explosions are concern I think they are too small for the size of the baddies. personally I think that all moving objects should be a bit smaller including the player ship. maybe 30% smaller. I felt like a little kid playing with huge puzzle pieces. Conveniently, most of what you say here can be easily adjusted. There are definitely too many enemies on screen at once, so I'll fix that one for sure. I'll also reduce the firing speed for some of them, since I've gotten the too many bullets complaint from some of my other playtesters. Collisions need to be further refined, I want the baddies to be able to damage your shield when they collide with it, and they definitely need to take collision damage as well. As to explosions, I'm going to give different enemies their own unique explosions, as well as making(maybe) it so explosions deal damage to anything they touch, allowing you to take damage from them, and wipe out hordes of enemies by causing an explosion 'chain'. It's interesting that you though the sprites were too big. I'll definitely keep that in mind and see what others think. objects should have some kind of animation or effect to make them see alive. Stuff will get animations later. Right now I'm just happy to have the images :) I agree with Ferret the bullets look weird and need some improvement also the position of the laser on the player is offset wrong. I didn't know if I was shooting from the left side cannon or the middle front of the ship. Ecch, looks like I need a new bullet image then. And I certainly need to adjust the laser a bit. the modules are ok, but I didn't like the one I tried, it was the cutter. I didn't like the way it moved as it seem kind of random bounce I think it should be more of a orbital movement. that one might just be a personal preference. the turret in the asteroids are to small to be noticeable and the fact that the asteroids move a bit too fast make it almost impossible to figure out what they are. The modules are barely functional right now. They were just put in, and the glue is still drying. Try to use em to much, and they'll break ;) The cutter will move in an orbit around the player, once I finish with it's code. The asteroids are placeholders, until I can get my graphics designer Ash(Who's currently on vacation), to make some proper ones. and I'll slow them down as well, since they're a bit hard to dodge. Also the gun turrets are too difficult to deal with, and WILL kill you, so they shall be adjusted as well. the first boss fight is OK but it needs to show at least a few explosions when it gets killed. I did like the second boss but it seems like it needs a bit more work so it can look more acceptable. Due to the vacation factor of my graphics designer, both of these guys are place holders. Here is the TRUE boss of level one(When he's finished).  And once again I reiterate the fact, that this game is still in the early stages of development, and a lot more features and polish will be added before completion. Your lengthy feedback is very encouraging, and just the kind of stuff I need to hear. Thanks Jesse, I really appreciate it :) (And on a side note, here's the new youtube video to go along with this) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmloMir2aZA W E R D N A |
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| Nice video! :) Only thing I can pick up currently is that I'm not overly keen on the ships movement animation, the slight rotation, I personally prefer a sort of strife animation, where if you move left, then the left wing dips and the right one raises up... and vice versa... If you get me... I do realise that while doing that, you'll lose control of where the bullets are heading, but generally with these types of games, this sorta helps add to the 'must get [X] weapon to fire diagonally' feeling. Also, maybe a touch of inertia in the movement, I mean, the ship is in space, so slight 'sliding' may be the order of the day and will add a little 'believability' to the controls! :) Other that that, very good start me thinks! Dabz Last edited 2010 |
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| The shmup boys will be up in arms if you add inertia! Cheers Charlie |
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| Only thing I can pick up currently is that I'm not overly keen on the ships movement animation, the slight rotation, I personally prefer a sort of strife animation, where if you move left, then the left wing dips and the right one raises up... and vice versa... If you get me... The ship movement is still a work in progress, so what you suggest may very well be how it ends up. I'll experiment with a few different options, and see which one I(And the players), like best. Also inertia is a definite possibility(my apologies to the shmup boys), and gravity will almost certainly make an appearance ;) Keep the excellent feedback coming, folks! W E R D N A |
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| Well, don't say i didn't warn you! Cheers Charlie |
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| Also inertia is a definite possibility(my apologies to the shmup boys) Push comes to shove, you could add it as an option... Keep everyone happy! ;) Dabz |
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| I would listen to jkrankie if I were you. He knows what he is talking about. I have innertia in my game but I don't like it and since it's adjustable I will try different levels and probably end up removing it completeley. Does your game have some sort of timing code? it might be the problem. personally I can't point that as the problem but... |
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| Does your game have some sort of timing code? it might be the problem. personally I can't point that as the problem but... Not for the movement, if that's what you meant :) I'm thinking I'll do away with the inertia after all, lol. Or at least make it very minimal. And many apologies Jesse, but I haven't gotten a chance to try out your game today. I've been online for at least 4 hours today, working on facebook, responding to several e-mails, getting the Project Alpha video running, updating my website, posting here, etc,etc,etc, so I haven't really had a chance yet. Plus I'm busy signing up for college, and both Saturday and Sunday I'll be in town working ;-( Hopefully I'll have a chance to check your game out on Monday. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've done ;) Cheers! |
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| I would listen to jkrankie if I were you. Well, t'was only a suggestion... *Dabz sulks away* Dabz :P |
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| @Dabz: I'm not going to disagree and say that inertia wouldn't make the movement more believable/realistic, but it does make the ship less controllable in tight spaces. Navigating through bullets such as those in the picture at the top can be pretty tricky anyway, so not having to fight the controls for precision of movement is the reason most shooters don't have inertia in this way. Cheers Charlie |
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| lol I like inertia too Dabz. Feels more real, and not like moving a mouse pointer about. But I can see why it's not used. Back in the day some people complained about Elite being hard to control...until they mastered it and got some satisfaction from their skill. |
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| Not for the movement, if that's what you meant :) No, I mean like Delta timing for the whole game. Well, t'was only a suggestion... don't feel bad Dabs, that's what we all do. |
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| No, I mean like Delta timing for the whole game. No, I lack Delta timing for the game,although I'm intending to put it in 'at some point'. Navigating through bullets such as those in the picture at the top can be pretty tricky anyway, so not having to fight the controls for precision of movement is the reason most shooters don't have inertia in this way. This I think is the main reason why inertia wouldn't work, especially since I intend to tone down the difficulty level of this game because it's more aimed for that darn 'casual games' crowd, since that's what pays the bills ;( Although it will by no means be a walk in the park. I still want it to be somewhat challenging :) Cheers folks! |
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| I know fella's, only having a giggle! ;) Dabz |
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| I lack Delta timing for the game,although I'm intending to put it in 'at some point'. Werdna - I suggest you start putting it in now! Everywhere you move an object on screen you will need to alter your code, so its best to put it in at the start - unless you really like altering your code heaps of times :P |
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| Everywhere you move an object on screen you will need to alter your code, so its best to put it in at the start - unless you really like altering your code heaps of times :P Actually, I thought the exact same thing moments after my last post, but it was alas too late to change it. I've been in town all day, and only now got access to a computer. I will DEFINITELY start implementing it as soon as possible :) I probably should have put it in from the start, lol. |
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| Just played your game Jesse, and I think it's pretty cool :) It has a very retro feel to it, and I really like the fact that you reversed the tradiotional 'shoot everything on screen, while doding enemies' and turned it into 'run into every enemy on screen, while doding bullets'. Very inventive twist there ;) All in all, I quite liked it. |
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| Yeah put in the timing before you event start. Anyway, OMG, I missed this thread. I love shoot em ups. Downloading now. Congrats on getting this much of one made. Achievement-hontus! |
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| Hey that's look pretty good man. You are definitely detting more saavy with each release. Now that you're moving along you're probably going to start getting questions about how you did stuff. For instance, what kind of game timing are you using etc etc. :) |
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| Now that you're moving along you're probably going to start getting questions about how you did stuff. For instance, what kind of game timing are you using etc etc. :) I'm open to all questions, and will even show portions of my code(Although certainly not all of it), to let someone know exactly how I did something. As to what game timing I'm using, I can answer that with a simple, none ;) (Although I'm working on putting some delta timing in, lol). Some MAJOR game changes are in the works, I'm just discussing them right now with the team. However they will involve the 60$ worth of www.daz3d.com models that I bought myself for Christmas :)    Cheers! W E R D N A |
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| I finally found some time to play this. Looks promising. Adding sound effects will help it feel more like a shooter. It seemed to throw me straight into the action with lots of ships and bullets. I'd prefer to be gradually introduced to stuff to build up my skills. Also, although the tilting to the side of the ship as you move is novel, it feels a bit weird. Perhaps just facing up the screen and using a spreadshot will be good enough as it was for most other shooters, but don't let me put you off the tilting if you have a master plan for it. The main menu and sub menus have giant text, I bet they would feel more pro with a smaller neater font. Anyway, good job, I look forward to seeing it progress. |
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| So sorry Grey, just noticed your post, lol. Thanks a bundle for the feedback! I'm getting ready to release a new version within a few days\weeks, and it has addressed the following issues brought up in this thread. I have sized ALL the sprites down by 20%, making them feel less clunky, and giving me a lot more space on the screen to work with. The laser sprite has been replaced by a much more awesome green fireball looking thing. Thrusters have been added to the ship, along with jet stream(If that's the correct term...) flowing behind both wings. Modules have been improved. My graphics designer, Mr. Ash, is redoing ALL of the ship sprites, to make them more awesome. I'll try and slap in some sound effects and music this time around ;) It seemed to throw me straight into the action with lots of ships and bullets. I'd prefer to be gradually introduced to stuff to build up my skills. There will be some sort of practice mission this time around, or at least a 'staggering' of the enemies, so you're only hit with a few at first, then more, then more, etc. Something will be done about the tilting, since it is odd, and is throwing off the placement of everything attached to the ship. The main menu and sub menus are the supreme of 'placeholder' and have been coded so I can easily swap out the placeholdery images with some real ones. Here's a mockup of a possible titlescreen. I'll do something with the font later, and maybe add a planet and some ships.  The entire MotherShip screen, where you switch weapons, etc, has been split up into 5 separate screens that you can go back and forth between, which A: gives you more of a feeling that you're actually ON a mothership of some kind, and lets you talk to an NPC or two, and B:, looks more awesome, as displayed below currently minus whatever text will go with it.  Here you can have Stacy build you new weapons, using Salvage which is acquired from killing enemy ships. Buckets more stuff to come soon folks! |
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