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.