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.

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

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.

Update: Dev version should load from zip file in future:

Message to team members: Found bug that broke the doors in the dev version. Working on fixing it now. Eventually this will be fixed. Though booting up the dev version of the game takes way too long. For now, something you'll have to deal with. But on my list is to make the game load levels from zip files to make the loading go faster. The reason the game loads so slow currently is because the game has to "guess and check" to see if the files exist. Because flash is NOT allowed to see all the files in a directory. However, flash can see all the files in zip file.

FIXED: VerifyError: Error #1068: int and * cannot be reconciled

//THIS SIMPLE CODE WILL CAUSE A STACK DUMP IN AS3:
//[Fault] exception, information=VerifyError: Error #1068: int and * cannot be reconciled.
private static function stackDump():void
{ 
 //obj can be an object, dictionary, vector, array.
 //probably anything that can be accessed using bracket notation.
 var obj:Array = [1, 2];
 var dex:int = 0;

 //if you access an object,vector,array,or dictionary using a nested incrimentor operator
 //followed by a continue statement, you will get a stack dump.
 //The loop can be a for, while, or do loop.
 while (false)
  {
  obj[dex++] = 0;
  continue;
  }

}//end stackDump


How do you fix it?
The problem is caused by using a continue statement after accessing an object using a nested increment operator on a variable.
Change the code inside the loop to:

dex++;
obj[dex] = 0;
continue;

OR:

obj[dex] = 0;
dex++;
continue;


Whichever one has the logic you are going for.


private static function stackDumpFIXED():void
{ 
 //obj can be an object, dictionary, vector, array.
 //probably anything that can be accessed using bracket notation.
 var obj:Array = [1, 2];
 var dex:int = 0;

 //if you access an object,vector,array,or dictionary using a nested incrimentor operator
 //followed by a continue statement, you will get a stack dump.
 //The loop can be a for, while, or do loop.
 while (false)
 {
  dex++;
                obj[dex] = 0;
                continue;
 }

}//end stackDump

I am getting stack dumps. And I am not happy.

Putting reference material to read up on this. Possibly a bug in flash, not my code. Ran on my other computer fine. Yet the build here fails... http://www.kongregate.com/forums/4-programming/topics/96607-as3-warning-stack-dump-verifyerror-error-1068-int-and-cannot-be-reconciled

AS3 Import Fails At Compile Time

My game was compiling fine on my other computer. I brought over the code base to another computer and tried to compile, and one of my imports was not found at compile time. The import was recognized by intellisense... But not when I tried to compile. I renamed a class from "TileMapCreationKeyGAS.as" to "TMCKey.as" And all of the sudden the import started working. I have NO CLUE why that worked. My thought: I know in HAXE if you name folders with capital letters, it thinks that is where the import stops because of the "Constant-Class" convention. Possibly my code was causing a parsing error at compile time? Maybe the "AS" at the end of the file name caused it to be parsed as: TileMapCreationKeyG.as instead of TileMapCreationKeyGAS.as I havent a clue. Frustrated. Unfocused.