So this is what we're gonna do
Added 2015-10-06 04:03:50 +0000 UTCThe team talked it out and we’d rather make sure a few things work great than having them be incomplete or wonky, so we’re aiming to release the finished, public, upgraded demo sometime within the next few days, and we’re also going to push the Ice Level demo back one week for Patrons-only so that it has a bit more meat on it as well instead of just being practically a few maps with nothing else.
In return though, if you’re a Patron and your pledge went through for September (i.e. the most recent pledge), at the $5 level or above, check your inbox; inside is a link to what we currently have for the demo, which again is about 99.9% complete, only missing the Grunt and Boss cutscenes and a few other odds and ends.
Again, the finished, public version of the demo will be out in a few days tops, but we figured this was the best way to make amends for those of you who’ve supported us for so long and helped make this game a reality, was to give you what we had so far as a placeholder until the finished thing is out to everyone (as well as the Ice Demo too).
Comments
Yeah, we're trying to find a balance; half the people we sent it out to playtest said it was a cakewalk and super easy, the other half said it was insanely difficult, so hopefully the soldier scene before the boss will give the player some tips, but we'll continue refining the boss and adding stuff to balance it out.
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-09 19:28:42 +0000 UTCi really love the demo but i don't know if it was just me but the boss was extremely difficult to kill. @-@
Colin, and Maggie
2015-10-09 19:06:11 +0000 UTCyeah, a lot of the delays/getting crap to work have been almost exclusively due to GameMaker's limitations, haha.
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-08 19:26:33 +0000 UTCWell thanks for the high praise! :)
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-08 19:26:09 +0000 UTCSounds good, Gamemaker has too many walls developers seem to run into, it'll also be nice to have the game run by your own programming. The demo was pretty awesome by what I saw.
RAID!
2015-10-08 16:29:40 +0000 UTCAlright, that makes sense. I never saw anyone commenting on it and it wasn't in the demo's notes when I booted the game up, So I wasn't sure if it was a supplement or what.
RAID!
2015-10-08 16:27:14 +0000 UTCOh lord I just went back and tried one last time and nailed it *facedesk* The boss was fine, just a matter of working out how best to tackle it (slight change in my tactics made quite a difference). The maps felt alright, left a bit of exploring to do to get all the data banks and flowed pretty well I thought. Can't wait to see the finished demo and beyond! Best of fortune to you all.
HalcyonAndOn
2015-10-08 16:02:38 +0000 UTCThis demo *is* C++ being ran through GameMaker, so when we're talking about moving it to C++, we mean we're going to strip everything non C++ out of the program and make it just a core, stand alone game :P
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-08 15:58:51 +0000 UTCYep, this is actually intended; since there is no gallery for the demo, we wanted the players to be able to experience the cutscene as much as they wanted without having to replay the entire game again. Once the gallery's in the game, we'll remove that feature, etc.
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-08 15:58:04 +0000 UTCThere is controller support right now :P We also plan to make the bosses's difficulty more manageable too, of course.
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-08 15:57:39 +0000 UTCYea I've about smashed my keyboard trying to beat the boss... Here's hoping for controller support in the future, my timing with getting the charged shots off just right on keyboard is impossible for finishing this. Other than that, looks good so far.
HalcyonAndOn
2015-10-08 15:48:55 +0000 UTCAlso I have to ad that there seems to be a problem with the cutscene. It functions fine, but If you back track to a previous room then return to the spot where the cutscene occurs, the scene will replay itself. Might be a problem with the scene's control switch.
RAID!
2015-10-08 06:10:30 +0000 UTCAre you guys planning on running C++ through Gamemaker or are you porting the code you already built into another program?
RAID!
2015-10-08 03:59:04 +0000 UTCYeah, it's a REALLY subtle change, but it creates lines running down the screen slowly, like you're viewing it on a TV. Depending on your monitor resolution/color, it may not even be noticeable.
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-08 03:54:31 +0000 UTCWas using the "filters" and didn't seem to notice any change by pressing L. The others were obvious, and worked well though.
Secular Reason
2015-10-08 02:59:16 +0000 UTCWell thanks :D sorry about the lag though still!
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 19:22:26 +0000 UTCYeah, we'll have the ability to do that for that for sure :D
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 19:22:12 +0000 UTCWe'll have a robust gallery and such with all cutscenes available, so no worries :D
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 19:21:59 +0000 UTCGod damn the boss is hard... although i beat that slime mofo for good but i had to switch my hand to win this biatch it will be easier to play it on a console joystick control than on keyboard
DrThrax
2015-10-06 18:44:05 +0000 UTCThe game is really impressive now. I see why it took so long. One question though. Eventually, will there be a way to have both Mage A and B on screen at once in the gallery, have enemies nearby Mage B's scenes, or collaborative scenes? Maybe you could take a nod from Witch Girl and have a thing to make Mage B's scenes appear to the side. Once again though, I'm definitely eating my words now for being impatient.
MrPoppyPenguin
2015-10-06 18:10:40 +0000 UTCLike I said, I didnt think it was much of an issue. I still think its a fantastic game and I'm happy I am supporting it. :)
Bradley Drake
2015-10-06 17:42:26 +0000 UTCIt's likely all the extra sprites, but when it's ported to C++, the lag stuff shouldn't be as much of an issue.
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 17:10:41 +0000 UTCWhen we port it to C++, a lot of the lag issues should stop, sorry ya had those though :(
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 17:10:25 +0000 UTCThey're actually different voice actresses; I'm not sure why you think they're the same person :P
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 17:10:05 +0000 UTCHmm, you're the first person we've seen with this issue, I'll let Cheshire know, but it's likely due to the extra weight that GameMaker puts on the system; the C++ version shouldn't have these issues. As far as that bug, I'm fairly sure I know what that is, we just positioned talia's respawn sprite at the wrong part of the map, so we'll fix that too. :P The boss fight is able to be beaten, just takes a lot of fast shots :P
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 17:09:43 +0000 UTCI'm having issues on the audio of the game. It sounds like if the game was going through some serious frame drop, but it plays perfectly fine. How could I explain it... It sounds with cuts, it gets seriously annoying. Also found what's probably a bug... Was playing on Easy, and I ended up falling on the lava of a level. When the game started again, I was at the end of that level, where you see the Mage B cutscene. Dunno what happend, but it skipped me most of that level. I also couldn't finish the boss fight, but it seems that it wasn't finished.
BadassFreeman
2015-10-06 14:54:32 +0000 UTCIf you time the frames on the rapid shot right you should clear the boss easily. I loved the demo, and I especially liked all the wind dashing parts. That last one before the boss was a bitch but it was real satisfying to get done when I did. My only complaint is that Mage B and Talia's voices are the same and that kind of breaks the immersion a bit.
kaalveiten
2015-10-06 14:51:24 +0000 UTCyeah, in the big rooms with a lot of lava, I experienced lag. Nothing to say it was that big of a problem, but it was there. Also, the slime boss was difficult, but I did eventually beat it.
Bradley Drake
2015-10-06 13:51:41 +0000 UTCIs anyone else having a huge performance drop? Frame rate issues and stuttering are a big problem now, on all screen resolutions.
Bayushi-san
2015-10-06 12:21:18 +0000 UTCYeah, basically Triangulate and I were going back and forth on the design of the map; due to the RNG of the blobs coming out, with this particular boss, we're kind of unable to do a lot to make it super fair for the player, which is why we'll likely err on the side of not making it THIS hard in the full game, etc. The problem is that if we design the map for him to stick close to you, then the blobs are even closer, meaning you have to spend precious time to shoot them off you, which then means he catches up no matter what. Conversely, like you said, if he's a while away, he generally *stays* a while away. Adding in the stuff to jump over and redoing a few things like his speed and the # of blobs shot out could all help with the problem, but it's something we'll likely have to explore after the demo, as for the purposes of the demo (since nothing is after it), it's not really a major negative for him to be that hard (and hey, it gives people somewhat of a challenge :P) Your idea about the tentacle thing sounds good, but I think it might make it even more difficult by reducing the gap (and leading to being unable to beat the level due to the blobs being closer to you etc.) We'll figure out something, and from this boss, we've learned to basically remove any sort of RNG aspect from future bosses as well, or at least tone it down heavily. Each boss will definitely have a unique gimmick though :P but no more "run away from the boss" gimmicks, we promise!
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 08:50:09 +0000 UTCYep, this is because the boss scene isn't in the game yet; this happens if you're at 0 HP and he nails you, this will be fixed once the demo's got the boss cutscene in :P
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 08:44:30 +0000 UTCYep, this is because the boss scene isn't in the game yet; this happens if you're at 0 HP and he nails you, this will be fixed once the demo's got the boss cutscene in :P
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 08:44:25 +0000 UTCIt hasn't been implemented yet; remember this is an incomplete demo :P
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 08:41:12 +0000 UTCEasy/hard only changes how you spawn at the beginning of rooms, etc. doesn't affect anything else :P Try charging up your attack and also shooting back to push the boss away; it'll be a bit more clear when the soldier cutscene is in, as he gives hints of what to do a bit etc.
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 08:40:58 +0000 UTCIt'll be out to the public in just a few days, and with more stuff!
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 08:40:14 +0000 UTCActually you can beat it, you just have to keep charging up your attack and quickly get through.
Derpus752
2015-10-06 07:36:28 +0000 UTCYeah I can't beat it either. I'm guessing you're not supposed to yet. It looks like the boss animation hasn't been implemented yet either.
Derpus752
2015-10-06 07:33:14 +0000 UTCCouldn't beat the boss fight on easy :( He always caught up to me when I blowing away the barriers.
Robot
2015-10-06 07:15:07 +0000 UTCLooks like I signed on too late to get the demo, sigh :(
TDKP
2015-10-06 06:38:24 +0000 UTCI also got an error during the boss fight upon loss. Text reads as follows: In script enemy_update: Error in code at line 224: entity_rape_begin( other.id , other.rape_sprite[ irape_id , 0 ] , other.rape_sprite[ irape_id , 1 ] , other.rape_is_infinite[ irape_id ] , other.rape_suicide[ irape_id ] , other.rape_sound_frame[ irape_id ] , other.rape_sound_group[ is_dead , 0 ] , other.rape_sound_group[ is_dead , 1 ] , other.rape_sound_group[ is_dead , 2 ] ); ^ at position 62: Unknown variable rape_sprite or array index out of bounds
EddieDanforth
2015-10-06 06:37:32 +0000 UTCI got the following error during the boss fight, at the point when I was going to lose: ERROR in action number 1 of Step Event for object __newobject76: In script enemy_update: Error in code at line 224: entity_rape_begin( other.id , other.rape_sprite[ irape_id , 0 ] , other.rape_sprite[ irape_id , 1 ] , other.rape_is_infinite[ irape_id ] , other.rape_suicide[ irape_id ] , other.rape_sound_frame[ irape_id ] , other.rape_sound_group[ is_dead , 0 ] , other.rape_sound_group[ is_dead , 1 ] , other.rape_sound_group[ is_dead , 2 ] ); ^ at position 62: Unknown variable rape_sprite or array index out of bounds ______________________________________________ I'm using a Microsoft Surface 2 on Windows 10
Holly Spree
2015-10-06 06:33:00 +0000 UTCYeah, from the way most of the enemies move and the layout you're using, I assumed it would requite a little bit of magic to make him navigate terrain. A couple other thoughts: - he starts kind of uncomfortably close... yes, he's slow at the beginning, but that doesn't leave a lot of room for mistakes. Each time I lost and had to restart, I typically got caught up pretty quickly, but when I was finally successful, I was so far ahead that he was irrelevant. Feels like that should be reversed. - might be way too late to add now, or something you'd want to use in a later encounter, but I think it would be cool if the boss alternated between shooting out the globs that he does now and also just a long, straight-shot, tentacle/pseudopod that stuns/grapples right away like the blobs, but also pauses the boss's forward movement and reels Talia back toward the main body until you break free. So the blob sticks you in place while the boss continues toward you, while the tentacle would drag you backwards, away from your goal, while the boss stays put. Instead of shooting it like the blobs, maybe you need to jump or duck to avoid it. Could also use that as a sort of "catch-up" mechanism for the boss - it could have unlimited range until it hits a wall, so you're forced to avoid it, and unlike the blobs, could hit you even from off screen. Depending on the speed of it, might need an obvious audio cue.
Alyena
2015-10-06 06:15:56 +0000 UTCWell thanks, and you'll have it soon enough :D
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 06:01:50 +0000 UTCAwesome, thanks! :D
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 06:01:25 +0000 UTCYeah, we'll have something like that in there to let you quit it :P Definitely a good idea about some objects to jump across; we definitely plan to make the walls thicker or thinner to indicate their hit points as well, but as far as jumpable objects, we'll likely have to implement that later just because of the programming needed (since the boss actually interacts with the environment right now, he would get blocked by such a gap, so we'd need to give him special immunity to said objects somehow). Nice ideas though, we'll definitely see about doing something with em :D
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 06:01:18 +0000 UTCJust noticed a pretty obvious over-sight: no "quit" option! Sure, alt-f4 is fine, but lowest common denominator and all that. As for some of the questions you posed at the end of the demo: - the sfx for Talia's shot seems more appropriate and less squishy now ;) - this stage is pretty easy IMO, but probably of an appropriate difficulty for a 1st stage and an h-game (no illusions that people who just came for the smut don't want to work to get it) - the scene between Talia and her 'associate' was cute, no love lost in THAT relationship - the boss 'fight' is probably fine... took me a few tries to get it right - my biggest concern with that scenario is there isn't much to it - just run and shoot - some obstacles to jump across would help break up the linearity of it and add some tension - also, would make for a nice end-cap to the skills the first stage teaches you: shoot, run, jump, and charge
Alyena
2015-10-06 05:43:46 +0000 UTCAll jokes aside, this is quite a dramatic change from the previous demo. Im glad to have supported this games development
Moose King
2015-10-06 04:26:12 +0000 UTCwait wut?
The Future Fragments Team
2015-10-06 04:19:56 +0000 UTCHow many fingers do you think the sound designer should be allowed to keep?
Moose King
2015-10-06 04:19:38 +0000 UTCI'm honestly disappointed (I was hoping to get my hands on the demo today), but these things happen. You guys are making sure that whatever you put out there is as good as can be, and I admire that. I support your decisions, and will continue to patiently wait. You guys are doing great work. Hats off to all of you.
Vent
2015-10-06 04:16:33 +0000 UTC
