Hello!
The Demo(v0.2.1) for 99999 is finally out on Steam!
The previous versions of the Demo has been really useful not only for drawing some attention to my game, but also for the feedback received. Opening up your game to public scrutiny can be scary but the pros far outweigh the cons. For one you'd get much more honest feedback from internet strangers.
Onto the changes.
Hit sprites
Amid the chaos, it can sometimes be hard to tell when you get hit. Hurt sprites and animation is now a lot more obvious. Because of the longer animation, recovery time(you can tell by the player sprite fading in and out) is also extended for balance.
Movement
Pressing the down button meant the Player-avatar would get stuck in the kneeling position even if Left/Right was also being pressed, this was an especially common problem when using a controller(moving with analogue stick).
Now, Left and Right directional press take precedence over the Down button. Your avatar now continues to move so long as Left/Right is being pressed.
Going down Platforms
Previously pressing Down + Jump allows you to pass through platforms one at a time. Now you can speed through them so long as you hold down both Down + Jump buttons. You can even do so while in mid-air to speed up the action (previously you can only do so while grounded).
Dodge-roll and wall-cling
Previously doing a dodge-roll while next to a wall meant that you'll lose the wall-cling and fall quickly down. Now you'll continue to wall-cling even while doing a dodge-roll (should you not want to stick to the wall, going the opposite direction will make you lose the stickiness).
Screenshake
I have gotten plenty of comments, both good and bad, about my implementation of screenshakes. I get that screenshake is very subjective, and personal tastes vary greatly. The default screenshake is now toned down from before. But more importantly, you have the option to turn it off completely if you want to (or put it to max, if that's your thing).
Difficulty
The feedback I've received regarding difficulty tend to be that it is too difficult in the beginning, and actually becomes easier by the end instead of harder(at least to those who didn't give up immediately). That also led to some players feeling a lack of progression because while they got better, the game's challenges did not keep up.
The difficulty has been adjusted and it is now much easier in the beginning to give players the time to learn and get used to the game's controls. The difficult gradually ramps up to give more of a challenge as one progresses.
Shop
Items and weapons costs have been greatly reduced. Since my intention is to encourage the use of new items/weapons and experimenting with different combinations, it makes a lot of sense to reduce their costs. Hopefully this will also help those who are struggling to adopt different strategies with the use of various item abilities.
Future updates
The first thing on the to-do-list is to add global leaderboards!(for Steam) Since the whole point of the game is to challenge yourself to obtain a higher score (hence 99999? no?), I think it'd be cool to know how you compared to other players.
Thanks for reading. Please do try the demo and let me know what you think. Feedback is always appreciated!
Looks cool! :)
Thank you! :D