Saturday, January 31, 2015

Zerodius_Feedback_20

Sent Feb 21, 2014
http://zerodius.newgrounds.com/Sent Feb 21, 2014
I've tried out your game, starting it up on the Default setting.
I'll go with the positives first, so you know what you're doing right and can keep doing it. The game's after-glow effects on things is very neat and give the game a very surreal feel that I feel is positive as it help make your game distinctive from the usual retro game and thus, make it eye-catching. I also find the idea of a keyboard + mouse simultaneously Bomberman/platformer game to be an original and potentially very fun idea.
Gameplay-wise, this makes the game very fluid. The controls are not immediately intuitive ; you pondered the use of signs and I approve of them versus a tutorial ; tutorials tend to be used as excuses for a steep difficulty curve usually. It's much better to introduce mechanics via gameplay. So you get a positive for this idea.
Now for the negatives, for which there is plenty. I will stress that so far, your idea has much potential and the engine appear solid so you're doing well. Likewise, the game is obviously a WIP so there's many things I won't fault you on (like the lack of the signs you planned for or the lack of a plot).
Graphics-wise, the game suffer from being a bit busy and confusing. Maybe it's the small size of objects or simply bad art but it's quite difficult to tell what is what ; the main character is a bit too perfectly blocky, making him look more like a glowing yellow block than an actual character. Although the mines you're meant to destroy are easily visible, the mines you're not meant to touch are dark blue on black, making them very difficult to see and thus, avoid.
I enjoyed some of the details you included, such as the breakable lamps ; small details such as these and furniture/misc items can help make your game world feel more 'genuine' and less like random collections of challenges. It also give a crunchier, more satisfying effect to the act of blowing up stuff.
Audio-wise, the sound effects are pretty good but the music loop is very repetitive, very short, and apparently the only music track, which means it become annoying very quickly. I recommend you have a different music track for the menus and if you're not going to have more than one music track for the game proper, I recommend you pick a long, varied, and if possible catchy (though you could pick a moody/atmospheric one if you want a less arcade-ish feel) one. The players will be hearing this for potentially hours on end so make sure the music track is slow to annoy.
The level design on the first few levels I played seemed to be pretty clever, with an emphasis on thinking before leaping but on keeping going once you do move. I feel it's the right feel for this game ; don't rush ahead but when you do move, move swiftly. The controls do have a bit of a perceived drift to them so keep that into account for later levels ; later stages should be hard through complexity of solutions, not pixel-perfect jumps (though I think that having foes and even bosses could be interesting too ; did not make it far enough to run into foes yet).
The game's restart option is bugged on level 1. Given this is a Bomberman-style game and blowing yourself up as your first action is very likely, it is jarring to be booted back to the main menu if you die on the first level. I'd recommend fixing this.
Likewise, the main menu, although it has an original layout, is not immediately intuitive. The red color of the default difficulty setting does help though. The main problem with the menu lies in the text box's font ; although it looks fancy, I feel it's not exactly super easy to read and could drive off many players (or motivate them to skim the text). Likewise, it is not immediately obvious that the text box can be scrolled or whenever or not you reached its end.
Given I can see the text box being useful for both story bits and/or stage descriptions and hints, I feel you should pick a more easily readable font and make it more obvious that you can scroll the text box.
Stage names are mostly just 'default 1, default 2, default 3' so far but I assume those are placeholder names.
So, overall, I think you're progressing very nicely. I love the afterglow effects and the surreal graphical style. The controls also seem to work pretty well and your gameplay concept is original and well-done. Mostly, what you need to do is fine-tune your game a bit, streamline the menus and early levels, and vary/change the music.
I'll try the other difficulty options later and see if I have any comments about them.

Valio_BackupStuff

Sent Feb 21, 2014 Valio

At 5 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:This black screen bug... Could you possibly get a video of this on youtube for me?
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)

At 12 minutes ago, Valio wrote:Level Menus:
1) smaller font or less description (usually flows beyond the view)
2) change overall graphical appearance

Everytime I die, the screen goes black (the flash player obiously still works, as the out of focus display still works).
This one is a really bad bug. I don't wanna restart something everytime I die.

At 5 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:Hey there everyone!
PASSWORD: NewGroundsBeta
^^^ You WILL need this.

We are going through all of our active testers and announcing a new beta.
We only send messages about new betas when the beta has changed significantly since the last announcement.

Changes:
1. Level Selector
2. Level Name Display on side-bar menu
3. Both JoshicusLD's level and my levels are represented in the level sets.
DEFAULT level set is JoshicusLD's work.
Hard,Easy,Puzzle,and Twitch are my designs.

A lot of levels are probably broken because of button behavior changes.
1. Blue Buttons explode on contact with fire and leave trussles. Trussels are indestructable, but allow flames through.
2. Red buttons are indestructable and fire proof.
3. Green buttons are super fragile and when they hit fire, they vanish.

- MakeGamesHappen
(Amanda)

Sent Feb 21, 2014
I'm using Chromium (which is about the same as Google Chrome without the trademark stuff)
At 2 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:Crap! That is a problem. And I haven't a clue what is causing it.
Thanks for the video. I'll need some time to think about it.
What browser are you using?
-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)

At 7 hours ago, Valio wrote:
At 5 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:This black screen bug... Could you possibly get a video of this on youtube for me?
There you go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWRSxJ5l6IE&feature=youtu.be

-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)

At 12 minutes ago, Valio wrote:Level Menus:
1) smaller font or less description (usually flows beyond the view)
2) change overall graphical appearance

Everytime I die, the screen goes black (the flash player obiously still works, as the out of focus display still works).
This one is a really bad bug. I don't wanna restart something everytime I die.

At 5 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:Hey there everyone!
PASSWORD: NewGroundsBeta
^^^ You WILL need this.

We are going through all of our active testers and announcing a new beta.
We only send messages about new betas when the beta has changed significantly since the last announcement.

Changes:
1. Level Selector
2. Level Name Display on side-bar menu
3. Both JoshicusLD's level and my levels are represented in the level sets.
DEFAULT level set is JoshicusLD's work.
Hard,Easy,Puzzle,and Twitch are my designs.

A lot of levels are probably broken because of button behavior changes.
1. Blue Buttons explode on contact with fire and leave trussles. Trussels are indestructable, but allow flames through.
2. Red buttons are indestructable and fire proof.
3. Green buttons are super fragile and when they hit fire, they vanish.

- MakeGamesHappen
(Amanda)

Sent Mar 1, 2014
okay, cool :)
np about the video; wasn't such a deal ;)
At 6 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:I shall ask Amanda to download Chromium and record the video for our next beta with it.
That way I can see if she runs into any problems. Which will be easier to fix if they happen in person.
Once again, thanks for the video!

-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)



CountChunko_2014.02.21

http://countchunko.newgrounds.com/Sent Feb 21, 2014

Alright, I got all the way up to map 48 in Default Difficulty before composing this, and was ultimately pleased with what I saw from a gameplay perspective. Simple, clean running and jumping and an intense, sometimes panic-fueled dash for the exit. However, map 48 is as far as I got without some technical issues and aesthetic choices just bogging the experience down for me. It makes me feel a little dubious as for the future of the game as a whole.
The technical issues may have been my computer just in need of some maintainance, which is getting resolved right now, but the problems occurring might happen to some lower-end machines as well. What ended up happening was that I ended up dropping frames randomly, especially during times of high explosion counts. The end result several times was that I wound up looking at a screen that had stopped updating while the game was running and then things would jump forward and then the screen would instantly catch up to where I was, most times too late to avoid a death. A little bit of optimization would go a long way here.
Aesthetically, there was nothing that set my heart alight with sheer glee. There was no sense of progression, other than an incrementing number telling me which map I was playing, and the Jackson Pollock of blood all over the background. Difficulty pretty much started at 10 and only went up to 11. Along with that, the bombs that I could drop (with X, not with Mouse clicking debug cheatery) only served to break some of the otherwise challenging levels. I did have great fun initially when the game looked to be both challenging and each level looked like it was going to add a slight variation as to how it would present itself, but a few levels in, it just felt like it had devolved into simple challenge over presentation. As if
The lighting effects were good, but ultimately Muddy and while left on, mostly obfuscated the greater portion of the level. I eventually turned them off so that I could read the entirety of the level at a glance. Bombs on the level were clear and easy to understand, so there was no difficulty in attempting to understand what would happen when I set off a chain before I did. Level design as a whole, everything was awesome and worked.
As I wrote this review, I went back and checked the notes, and realized that the flare box, bomb drop button, and all were debug features, but then again, it would provide some tasty challenge variations. I also tried out a couple more of the level packs, and they only had a modicum of variety that set them apart from each other. Some new tools that changed up the style would have done some good, either new tools in the level designer's belt, or in the player's belt would have made a world of difference.
A few more general notes:
- The ceilings were kind of odd, sometimes jumping into a breakable block would halt your upward trajectory, sometimes they wouldn't, sometimes I'd run my helmet across several blocks and break them all, and it was generally hard to tell what would make them do what in each situation. There was one level that stuck out in particular, as you needed to begin by jumping into a button, which would cause some bombs to go off, but if you jumped a little too hard, the flames would come through the button and hit you.
- Deaths were frustrating, primarily because the screen would zoom into this absolutely confusing clusterfuck of fire, bombs, more explosions, and for a while I thought I was just having a hard time telling which sprite was me, until I realized that there was only a couple frames after the zoom where I was still visible before being replaced by blood splatter. That in and of itself was kind of frustrating, because it was hard to tell what exactly was causing my death so I could get a better sense of what to do next time, or if I was two or three pixels too far to the right or left.
- Being dumped to an interim screen after deaths was a pain, because after all the confusion of the last note, the interim screen finished the job of piledriving all sense of flow and pacing into the ground. Especially since the only thing you could do from there is re-start the level.
- The music was dull, repetitive, and I could here the loop point whenever it came around.
- Every sound effect sat in the same gravelly bass tones and really just did all of nothing to really set themselves apart from each other. explosions and landing on the ground sat in the same tonal range, fire and longer explosions were indistinguishable... Sound design was a total mess.
All in all, the game is doing fairly well, and these are my first impressions so far. I'll go back and through it all again and make some more refined notes, and bring them all to each of you as appropriate, This initial shot is just going to go to everyone, and if I get word back from anyone as to what types of elements I should try paying attention to in further extent, I'll do so in the future.
Expect to hear more from me soon.
- Bren Krasmer.

PaulMagLev_Valio_KillingYouTwice_2014.02.21

http://paulmaglev.newgrounds.com/Sent Feb 21, 2014I am interested in beta testing and have plenty of free time to do so at the moment. I cannot find the links on your page though and do not know where to start the testing.
At 2 days ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:I stumbled across your review on 'You Are Disabled'.
Would you be interested in beta testing my game, it's 13+ months in the making?
It's a puzzle platformer similar to Bomberman.
There are links on our page to check out images/information on it as well.

I noticed that in your review you gave honest and constructive criticism.
It can be hard working with just a sentence that says 'AWESOME!' or 'THIS SUCKS!'

Feel free to send any questions my way.
c:

-MakeGamesHappen
(Amanda)

Sent Feb 21, 2014: http://valio.newgrounds.com/
Level Menus:
1) smaller font or less description (usually flows beyond the view)
2) change overall graphical appearance
Everytime I die, the screen goes black (the flash player obiously still works, as the out of focus display still works).
This one is a really bad bug. I don't wanna restart something everytime I die.
At 5 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:Hey there everyone!
PASSWORD: NewGroundsBeta
^^^ You WILL need this.

We are going through all of our active testers and announcing a new beta.
We only send messages about new betas when the beta has changed significantly since the last announcement.

Changes:
1. Level Selector
2. Level Name Display on side-bar menu
3. Both JoshicusLD's level and my levels are represented in the level sets.
DEFAULT level set is JoshicusLD's work.
Hard,Easy,Puzzle,and Twitch are my designs.

A lot of levels are probably broken because of button behavior changes.
1. Blue Buttons explode on contact with fire and leave trussles. Trussels are indestructable, but allow flames through.
2. Red buttons are indestructable and fire proof.
3. Green buttons are super fragile and when they hit fire, they vanish.

- MakeGamesHappen
(Amanda)


http://rainheart666787.newgrounds.com/
https://soundcloud.com/steve-sharp-music
https://www.facebook.com/sharprainmusicuk
Sent Feb 21, 2014
Hey :) well I am working on a few projects at the moment for people but if you get a chance listen to 'wake into nightmare' on my profile, I think its appropiate to the style you are going for. If not I can see a 8bit style working well also.
At 6 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:I wish my computer's audio jack was not broken!
I wanted to listen to your submission on your new's feed while I mass messaged people about the new beta.
Feel free to remind me later about your musical submission.

Here is the beta info:

Hey there everyone!
PASSWORD: NewGroundsBeta <<< You WILL need this.

We are going through all of our active testers and announcing a new beta.
We only send messages about new betas when the beta has changed significantly since
the last announcement.

Changes:
1. Level Selector
2. Level Name Display on side-bar menu
3. Both JoshicusLD's level and my levels are represented in the level sets.
DEFAULT level set is JoshicusLD's work.
Hard,Easy,Puzzle,and Twitch are my designs.

A lot of levels are probably broken because of button behavior changes.
1. Blue Buttons explode on contact with fire and leave trussles.
Trussels are indestructable, but allow flames through.
2. Red buttons are indestructable and fire proof.
3. Green buttons are super fragile and when they hit fire, they vanish.

-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)

http://killingyoutwice.newgrounds.com/
Dang! There's a lot added to the game! I give you mad props man! My review will come once I've gone through each level.
At 5 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:Hey there everyone!
PASSWORD: NewGroundsBeta <<< You WILL need this.

We are going through all of our active testers and announcing a new beta.
We only send messages about new betas when the beta has changed significantly since
the last announcement.

Changes:
1. Level Selector
2. Level Name Display on side-bar menu
3. Both JoshicusLD's level and my levels are represented in the level sets.
DEFAULT level set is JoshicusLD's work.
Hard,Easy,Puzzle,and Twitch are my designs.

A lot of levels are probably broken because of button behavior changes.
1. Blue Buttons explode on contact with fire and leave trussles.
Trussels are indestructable, but allow flames through.
2. Red buttons are indestructable and fire proof.
3. Green buttons are super fragile and when they hit fire, they vanish.

-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)


ss4FlameAlchemist_2014.02.20

http://ss4flamealchemist.newgrounds.com/
Sent Feb 20, 2014
Well... it's a great game so far. I got to level 19 before I got tired. It wasn't the game, I just had to stop for a while. He does move kinda fast, but that seems intention since the level design relies on that. The only real thing I notices was a few times I could have sworn I got hit by the bomb's explosion and didn't die. But that could have just been my imagination. So far you have a pretty addictive game. It seems a lot of levels require a few tries to get the layout down, but usually after 1/2 deaths I can get it. So far, I haven't found anything that is particularly game breaking. Honestly, I'm trying to think of things to fix with it, but I can't seem to really thing of anything. The only real thing I might complain about is the dark level design. I know from your post though you changed that because too many people were complaining about the bright design. The bomb flashes would probably cause some people seizures if your not careful. I didn't try the light function on the side though. Probably should have. So far, it's a great game. It seems far better than a lot of beta games.
Quick question, what do the red blocks you can lay down do. So far, it creates what looks like a water stream and I can't seem to figure out what they do.
At 3 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:Hey there everyone!
PASSWORD: NewGroundsBeta
^^^ You WILL need this.

We are going through all of our active testers and announcing a new beta.
We only send messages about new betas when the beta has changed significantly since the last announcement.

Changes:
1. Level Selector
2. Level Name Display on side-bar menu
3. Both JoshicusLD's level and my levels are represented in the level sets.
DEFAULT level set is JoshicusLD's work.
Hard,Easy,Puzzle,and Twitch are my designs.

A lot of levels are probably broken because of button behavior changes.
1. Blue Buttons explode on contact with fire and leave trussles. Trussels are indestructable, but allow flames through.
2. Red buttons are indestructable and fire proof.
3. Green buttons are super fragile and when they hit fire, they vanish.

- MakeGamesHappen
(Amanda)

RealFaction_AlbertStClare_2014.02.20

Sent Feb 20, 2014: http://albertstclare.newgrounds.com/I am interested, yes, but I am also a full-time Graduate Student, so I have some Difficulty guessing how long it will take me to finish, as Assignments can crop up rather unpredictably at Times; as Things currently stand, however, I should be able to test it. If there is any specific Variety of Feedback you are looking to get, please note it, and I shall do my best to provide it if I find I have any Feelings on the Subject.
Is this some Kind of collective Account? I see multiple Names used after the Account Name in Signatures.
— Albert

Sent Feb 20, 2014: http://realfaction.newgrounds.com/
https://twitter.com/RealFaction
https://soundcloud.com/realfaction
Unfortunately i get that a lot....it's just my artist name, it has nothing to do nor was inspired by that. I might have to make a post and video to clear that up. I made it when i was 14, it basically meant to me, "what is real?" and i wanted to be more real as an artist than the majority of pop singers out there who are fake. I wanted to give people REAL music, something from my heart, something honest. But im working on an electronic side project that focuses on the electronic music.
I'll play the beta, cant wait to see the changes.
At 25 minutes ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:Is "Real Faction" a game based off of "Red Faction"???
Waaaiiit!! That is your user name.... Wait..
What is your user name based on?

Anyways, new beta!

Hey there everyone!
PASSWORD: NewGroundsBeta <<< You WILL need this.

We are going through all of our active testers and announcing a new beta.
We only send messages about new betas when the beta has changed significantly since
the last announcement.

Changes:
1. Level Selector
2. Level Name Display on side-bar menu
3. Both JoshicusLD's level and my levels are represented in the level sets.
DEFAULT level set is JoshicusLD's work.
Hard,Easy,Puzzle,and Twitch are my designs.

A lot of levels are probably broken because of button behavior changes.
1. Blue Buttons explode on contact with fire and leave trussles.
Trussels are indestructable, but allow flames through.
2. Red buttons are indestructable and fire proof.
3. Green buttons are super fragile and when they hit fire, they vanish.

-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)

BackingUp_2014.02.20

Sent Feb 20, 2014
http://hewhohasnoname.newgrounds.com/
Cool. been playing through default and I gotta say much better. I like this version where the bombs interact differently. ill keep up the testing and let you know what I find. nice work
At 4 hours ago, MakeGamesHappen wrote:Hey there! So I don't think I can do another game project. I really wanted to. But this is taking up more of my time than
I thought. I am in the middle of messaging all of my testers about the new beta release and the work on this project is non stop.

Here is the info:

Hey there everyone!
PASSWORD: NewGroundsBeta <<< You WILL need this.

We are going through all of our active testers and announcing a new beta.
We only send messages about new betas when the beta has changed significantly since
the last announcement.

Changes:
1. Level Selector
2. Level Name Display on side-bar menu
3. Both JoshicusLD's level and my levels are represented in the level sets.
DEFAULT level set is JoshicusLD's work.
Hard,Easy,Puzzle,and Twitch are my designs.

A lot of levels are probably broken because of button behavior changes.
1. Blue Buttons explode on contact with fire and leave trussles.
Trussels are indestructable, but allow flames through.
2. Red buttons are indestructable and fire proof.
3. Green buttons are super fragile and when they hit fire, they vanish.

-MakeGamesHappen
(-John Mark)

Friday, January 30, 2015

OpenReply02

Original Message from our tester: RiggzRukus
Morning/Afternoon/Evening John,
First of all if this is the wrong place for me to give my opinions and such for the game, please let me know, I noticed an API Output section or something below the game but no idea what that is so here I am lol, either way, here's some of my thoughts after playing around with Atomic Alice so far.
I do have to admit it's one of the best "platformer puzzle running" games I've ever played, the visuals, the threats, the sheer fun of massive chain explosions and certain death making the completion of each level feel rewarding. I've been playing with it here and there ever since you added me to the Testers list and so far I haven't really been disappointed, so with that being said, here's some of my opinions on what I'd like to see:
First of all, my main concern is the menu, knowing that this is in Beta form I'm rather positive that nothing is set in solid stone right now so I have no doubt it will change, though I do have to ask what ATM_ABC and HC_ABC stands for? lol. Also, while I'm on the subject of the main menu, for whatever reason the save game option doesn't seem to work for me, it says I have a player profile but everytime I start the game up I either have to do the whole tutorial over and over each time, or exit the tutorial and try to remember where I left off the last time I "saved" the game.
I do have to admit though, that the "Intro" you have set up is absolutely perfect in giving the player a taste of the game they have just dived into and getting them familiar with the controls and what they can expect as they progress. My only problem with the intro is the menu says that there's only 6 levels in the Intro, where by I think there should be atleast 10, make the additonal 4 levels a bit more complex than the rest of them just to "up" the tutorial experience in my opinion. The Normal and Rush modes are fantastic, I've played all 50 stages in normal and even with that many levels once again I do believe there should be about 50 more lol, though this could just be me but 100 levels would be even more enjoyable. Of course you also have the level editor so that alone brings endless more stages from fans so I have no doubt it will balance over time. Once again with the Rush mode though, it definitely needs more than just 10 stages, it -deserves- more than 10 stages lol, though at the same time I have to admit that some of the Rush stages seem "impossible" lol Maybe if Alice could jump a little higher/farther, or run faster? Like add some ability orbs in the equation if possible even if only for Rush maps.
Either way though, I have enjoyed Atomic Alice very much, great job in my opinion, and hope to see where it goes as Beta continues up until release. Once again I'm still blown away and honored that you invited me to test this game out, and hopefully the novel that I have written helps a little bit aswell as feel free to ask me questions if you want to and I will try and answer them the best I can =] Thank you, once again, and hope you have a fantastic day!
Sincerely,
-Riggz

ATM: Stands for "AToMic object"
I was creating this level set around the time I was scoping out a company called Atomic Object in Ann Arbor Michigan. The level set really has no clear direction. So it was basically named based on what was going on in my life at the moment. Pretty much an experimental level set. Seems to have some broken levels in it too.

HC_ABC stands for "Hard Core A,B,C" because it is meant to be a more difficult level set with 3 parallel paths: A,B,C. Branching paths were a bit too technical to pull off due to the way we programmed the game from the beginning. So HardCore (HC)  ABC could be seen as 3 parallel hallways on different floors. If you get to a more challenging door, you are promoted a harder hallway. If you go through the easiest door, you are demoted to a lower, easier hallway.
If you go to the medium/normal door, nothing changes. You stay in the current hallway.

whatever reason the save game option doesn't seem to work for me

My fault. The data is broken right now. I haven't completed save data just yet.
For now: "N" for next will let you skip levels. All except the last level of a level set.
Sorry that for now, you have to play the intro every time you start up!
It works halfways. It creates a profile after you play. But the info it creates is corrupted.
Not your fault. My fault. The moment the save data is created, it is bad.

I've played all 50 stages in normal and even with that many levels once again I do believe there should be about 50 more lol, though this could just be me but 100 levels
That is awesome to hear. Because we would like to bank a lot of the success of this game on level design. The level editor is kind of glitchy, but if you would like to make a "Fan level" for the game, we will put it in the game.

RUSH:

Glad you like rush mode. We'd like all of our level sets to have some sort of strong theme to them. Rush concept is very  fun. But been having a hard time wracking my brain for more rush ideas.
The basic concept of RUSH is "Move or Die" Because some players were complaining that you could just stand still and observe the entire level and figure it out and then play.

ESCAPE GOAT:
I actually really enjoy that aspect of the game. Being able to know what will happen before I play.
This is why I enjoy Atomic Alice more than Escape Goat. Escape Goat is pretty cool though. Probably worth checking out if you like our game. I don't personally know the designer of Escape Goat. But, rather than knock his stuff and tell you we are better... Escape Goat is similar, but different. And you might enjoy it. It is like 5.00 on steam I think. At least when I bought it it was.

I really appreciate the feeback.
From now on, I am going to try to reply this way. This way I can:
1. Save inbox space.
2. Be updating the blog.
3. Be giving testers public credit for their help.




Open Reply 01

Levels where an ingenious chain reaction happens all by itself and player doesn't have anything challenging to do about it should be bonus levels (see sushi cat 2) Good idea.
Hitboxes should be transparent under sprites. At some bomb mayhem times, we can see some explosion sprites cover that of the next explosion. I think it is because hitboxes are not transparent. I know that transparence is hard to do for hitboxes, but it would create a better graphic result in my opinion. I might solve this if I decide to re-do the system to optimize it's performance.
There is an obvious will to top bomberman's bombing madness with more explosions, therefore more bombs, therefore more editable squares on the map, and THIS leads to a graphical problem. Since the map is that big, the character is tiny and the graphics are a bit wasted. Everything looks too tiny. I think this problem can be solved by zooming on the spot where Alice is on the map with camera stuck on her. Then, the camera would scroll and follow Alice as the player would move through the level.Creates another problem, though, because you can't see the whole map all the time. Maybe a possibility to choose ? This is a huge problem. I might make another game where you are zoomed in closer with the same mechanics.
The "sparkling debris" that come down from blue blocks remain on the floor and look lick pickable device such as some sort of money. They do look collectable. The problem is, if I make them collectable, that could wreck the whole sparking mechanic. Not sure how to fix this.
What are the atoms for on the right ? I did not understand this. Trying to make the score represented by an atom that builds up. I am thinking maybe this is a bad idea? Doesn't seem to be working. A lot of people don't get it.

Feebback Backup 01

Well, as long as you're asking, here is a cookie. Some more feedback:
1. The level set names are not clear enough, I mean what is harder,
Reflex Mode or Hard Like Hell? Consider locking the menu so it would
not loop, or at least add some icons to specify which is what.
2. On 05H, there is a scenario where a character may stand on a wall,
just near the bottom left button if you jump into the wall with the ledges.
I can make a video of this, I just don't want to do it for one bug only.
Have a screenshot for now.
3. In the same level just to get there you need to jump into a small
opening, which might be frustrating, as you not always want to over
shoot. I already reported this, but I might be misunderstood, or it
may not have been considered an issue.
Cheers.
-swooboo

Plasmarift:
I didn't knowing you were flaking out. It's alright. I was shocked in the first place when you agreed to make a game with me (I haven't been able to work with others to make a game because they either want me to have an actual hand in making it (art, programming, or animating which I can't do) or they just stop talking to me for some reason. I have an on-going project called RAIN that hasn't made any progress because the programmer and artist won't respond). I thank you for coming out and telling me and I will still beta test your game/games (including future ones if you'd like). You don't have to help me think of ideas for games. I have plenty of ideas; I just need to find a way to apply them somewhere. I'll play through and document any glitches this weekend at the latest.
I'm not sure if I asked you before. I have a Youtube channel where I review Indie games. Would you mind if I review your game when it came out? Here is a link to it.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Qxtcboquo1nw7mEnCW6lg
Good luck

Sharia:
Hello. I can't say i check my newgrounds mail often. Its only the second time in many years someone sent me a non random message.
I'm very picky/whimsical but your message surprised me. If you still want feedback from me, you're welcomed to it.
If you give me a link, i can check it out. Also, My Steam is nabrendels (handle is Virosa, Canada, old account). I'm alot more active there.
-V
---

pattermj:
Where do I provide feedback? Do I e-mail you directly or Josh?

Gwan-Thwei:
Alright, well, here goes! Keep in mind, this is the first time i've beta-tested a game. I had no idea how far/long i was supposed to play for and for now i just did the 'Easy' levels. If there is a specific place you need me to look over, let me know and I'll check it out. These thoughts will likely be jumbled, as i played for a bit and didn't exactly write anything down. This will probably also sound harsher than how i mean it, I'm just trying to list things i found wrong or unusual.
Gameplay:
The light on/ light off option didn't make too much sense to me, unless it was a way to make the game harder ( can't see what you're doing with the lights off), but that would make it more of a trial-and-error game than an actual puzzle game.
There weren't any instructions or directions. I had to discover what each block did through close observation and trial and error. It took quite some time, as before that, i just hit buttons randomly until the level could be solved. I don't know why the character can take damage if most things are a 1-hit kill. The ability to set bombs everywhere also took out a lot of the challenge of a level, as i could just set a line of bombs somewhere, set off one, and retreat to safety. There was also no explanation as to who i was, where i was or what i was trying to do.
Graphics/Visuals:
With the lights off, the game was almost like trying to figure out how to escape of a derelict spaceship. The lighting was actually really well done, though i don't know why some of the lights went off when some buttons were hit. With the lights on though, it was easier to see. The graphics were a combination of really detailed and heavily pixelated - it really didn't blend together too well. For example, I'd be running away from a detailed column of falling marble(?) on a pixelated green floor, then get shot by a pixelated lazer and splatter realistic blood. Either one really is fine ( in fact i enjoyed the leftover bloodstain - kind of lets you know where you messed up last too!) The background was a bit busy, especially with the lights on. The character themselves was kind of dull, but there was a pink/purple/blue square around them whenever i stood still. I'm not sure if that's a thing that happens in beta testing or not, but i figured I'd point it out just in case.
Suggestions:
As i said before, the combination of detailed and pixelated clashes in a way that isn't too pleasant. On their own though, each looks fine. Detailed games are aesthetically pleasing, but pixelated games are charming. Make the background darker or less detailed. Give the main character a bit more colour or detail, if possible. As for the block types, maybe when a level is started and a new block is introduced, a text box is nearby to let the player know what the block does. The text when I'd died was off center, and sometimes couldn't be read. Perhaps make the number of bombs you can use be in a finite number. When you finally get around to naming the levels, maybe give them names with hints hidden within them - for example, in one of the rooms where the solution was to just run as fast as you could to the exit, maybe the title of that level would be 'gotta go fast'.
Overall, i give the game a 3 out of five if it were to be released right now.
Wow, sorry for the huge wall of text. Hopefully my blunt ranting helped a little!

 GallowsWaiting:
 Sent Feb 21, 2014
Thanks muchly!
Hardcoding it to WASD should help me immensely. However, being able to swap controls would be better. I'm not really comfortable using OP for action in the game, and would like to be able switch that to JK.
Damn muscle memory!
So, the default should be arrows + whatever the action keys are (I can't remember right now), but have a control menu where you can change them around to whatever keys the player wants.




Thursday, January 15, 2015

Awesome Slider Component

This is a pretty awesome slider component I think I will be using in the game's credits menu: http://code.tutsplus.com/articles/exclusive-freebie-custom-as3-slider--active-8660 Code-Re-Use means re-using other people's code as well as your own. A lot of people suffer from "Not made here syndrome". You only have so much time in a day. Decide what is worth doing from scratch, and what is worth looking for on the internet. -John Mark

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

The 1 dot rule.

Found this optimization tip interesting. 
Makes sense!
http://upshots.org/actionscript/20-tips-to-optimize-your-actionscript#comment-5876
Also, 
guess I should include photos of progress while I am here.
Been posting most of my dev notes as personal private comments into my facebook status.
But now that I am blocking facebook to keep me on track... Well... 
Haven't been doing thatas much.