Project Llama Shooter. Update: Version 3!

[DarkDedede]

If you choose the sackboy "ship" and another player uses the "kitteh" the sackboy can die from the gas

The issue should be resolved. I decided to use smoke instead.

[DarkDedede]

I am currently working on a power-up that will upgrade the player projectile, for a limited amount of time. Changing the projectile will be simple. The real challenge will be all the behaviors that comes with this added functionality.

Here's what I have planned:

1. Player collides with the projectile upgrade
2. Player will be able to shoot a different set of projectiles, for a limited amount of time.
3. Projectile will follow the player, while the upgrade is still active.
4. After a set amount of time, the upgrade will expire.
5. The player projectiles will revert to the original settings.
6. The power-up object will revert back to it's original movement behavior, and disappear off-screen.

To accomplish this, I will need to modify both the Player Character, and the Power-up logic.

The two power-ups that will be incorporated first will be an Elf, and the Pink Dragon Kitty. The elf will be a good power-up, which will allow the player to shoot projectiles that will do extra damage. In addition to the loss of points, the Pink Dragon Kitty will be a negative power-up that will cause the player to shoot heavy projectiles that will fall downward, as opposed to in a straight direction.

[DarkDedede]

So I broke my level last night. Makes me sad.

For some reason I can't get the confirm to work in the player select. I hope I don't have too much logic in the game, and it's screwing up now. That would make me even more sad.

Crisis averted! Hurray for my debugging skills!

Anywho, I need to find a good song for my player select area. Anyone have any suggestions where I can find some good custom music?

[bonner123]

I played your level, and since it's just a concept at this point I won't really mention the lack of difficulty or visuals. For the intro, I think it would be better if the players automatically started in the character select, rather than having to walk to the controlinator. It would save some time, and it would also make the level feel more polished. Occasionally, when flipping through the characters in quick succession, there's a small delay before the next character spawns. Also, when I accidentally pressed X while switching between characters, I got stuck and had to restart the level.

Regarding the characters, while there was variety in terms of how they looked, they all felt the same, as in the projectiles affected the enemies the same way. I'd add variety in terms of how they control. For example, maybe one character could be very swift but very weak? Maybe one could have a very weak attack but a very strong and efficient charge attack? Things like that would increase the replay value if the level. As it stands, they feel too samey. Other than that, they control well and the hit detection is fine. My only problems are that the charge attack feels sluggish and that the power up doesn't seem to do much at this point. It increases your damage, but that seems unnecessary seeing how easy the enemies are.

The enemies also feel a bit too samey. I know there's one that's immune to bullets (the pink, translucent bat; I don't know if that's intentional) and one that takes more damage, but I'd change the paths some of the generic ones take. Maybe add a zig-zag motion or something like that if it's possible. Still, there was lots of visual variety which is good.

Overall, it's not bad for a concept. It just needs more variety when it comes to how the characters and enemies feel instead of just how they look. The level worked well, and the movement for the characters was smooth. I eagerly anticipate the future versions.

[DarkDedede]

I played your level, and since it's just a concept at this point I won't really mention the lack of difficulty or visuals. For the intro, I think it would be better if the players automatically started in the character select, rather than having to walk to the controlinator. It would save some time, and it would also make the level feel more polished. Occasionally, when flipping through the characters in quick succession, there's a small delay before the next character spawns. Also, when I accidentally pressed X while switching between characters, I got stuck and had to restart the level.

Regarding the characters, while there was variety in terms of how they looked, they all felt the same, as in the projectiles affected the enemies the same way. I'd add variety in terms of how they control. For example, maybe one character could be very swift but very weak? Maybe one could have a very weak attack but a very strong and efficient charge attack? Things like that would increase the replay value if the level. As it stands, they feel too samey. Other than that, they control well and the hit detection is fine. My only problems are that the charge attack feels sluggish and that the power up doesn't seem to do much at this point. It increases your damage, but that seems unnecessary seeing how easy the enemies are.

The enemies also feel a bit too samey. I know there's one that's immune to bullets (the pink, translucent bat; I don't know if that's intentional) and one that takes more damage, but I'd change the paths some of the generic ones take. Maybe add a zig-zag motion or something like that if it's possible. Still, there was lots of visual variety which is good.

Overall, it's not bad for a concept. It just needs more variety when it comes to how the characters and enemies feel instead of just how they look. The level worked well, and the movement for the characters was smooth. I eagerly anticipate the future versions.

Thank you for the feedback. I agree with all of your feedback, and I do plan on making those changes.

• In a future version of the game, I will be upgrading the player select interface (maybe even a title screen). Having the player start there automatically is actually one of my top priorities when I do upgrade. Of course the graphic design layout of that is going to be a totally separate beast.

• I am currently having trouble with the emitters for the player select. I'm not sure if it's the game, or if it's how I have the system set up. I have the respawn at the lowest setting, but there is sometimes a delay between changing characters (I noticed it happens if the character was cleared out previously, and needs to spawn again). I'm thinking that I'm either going to have to add a preloader graphic (which would be annoying for both me and the player), or have the actual playable character spawn from a separate emitter. I'm thinking that the second solution would be able to save the player a bit of time, especially if they already know what character that they want to choose. It would probably also be a good direction to go in, if and when I incorporate the player health functionality

• As for the character design, they are currently all the same (besides the projectiles). Right now, I am focusing on designing the logic to be as reusable as possible. The problem that I have with adding too much customization right now is that I am constantly adding alterations to how the base character class/logic is programmed. Every time I make an update, I have to update all 8 characters and reset the player select emitters. I am getting better at making the update process more streamlined. However, I do have the base chip designed so that the shared and unique character properties are separate. It still does take quite a few steps. As much as I'd love for this game to be more object oriented, it's not. Eventually each character will have it's own unique properties.

• The same is pretty much true for the enemies. As of now, they are all the same. Once I get the system more balanced, I do plan on having more of a variety (movement patterns, enemy projectiles, barriers, bosses, etc).

• I do agree with you about the charge shots. RIght now, I'm happy that they are working. When I get to working on balancing the game, they will definitely be more useful (probably better looking too).

• As for the pink bat/dragon/kitty, it is actually going to be a negative power-up that messes with your projectiles (much like the elf). That's why it doesn't collide with a projectile. Seeing as you haven't been the only one to confuse it for an enemy, I am brainstorming of some way to make sure that the player can distinguish the power-ups from the enemies.

The long and short of it is that I am still working on the system. I'm really not investing too much into game design and balancing issues just yet. I do have some things planned, but right now it's just not at the top of my list.

Thanks again for the feedback. I'll be sure to keep you updated