Hey great work! I'm not a big fan of metroidvania games myself but from gameplay I can see this is great.
I am a somewhat proficent linux user, and I have a suggestion. Rather than using a VM try using a usb stick with Ubuntu flashed onto it. It has a feature where you can run a trial version off a usb stick/CD/DVD etc. Just be warned that you will need a second (FAT32) usb stick/drive to download files onto as Windows disks use NTFS which cannot be read by linux without other drivers/apt packages.
Sorry for information overload ;) Hope you can properly test this!
PS: If you can compile it into a .deb package or the like that would be good
I've got Ubuntu 20.04 LTS installed alongside windows on my laptop now so I'll be testing on an actual install and not a VM for the newer versions.
The current demo was only tested in a VM, but once I update it I will update the description as well.
As for releasing it as a .deb, I can look into it, but I think Game Maker Studio v1.4 might be too old at this point to create functional .deb packages.
So that might not be possible unless I upgrade to Game Maker Studio 2, which will probably not happen for a while, if at all.
Thanks for the info though, even if I didn't really need it anymore. ^^
___________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of Step Event1
for object o_MenuController:
DoAdd :1: undefined value
at gml_Object_o_MenuController_Step_1
############################################################################################
yes, that was the whole bug report... i think. it occurred when i tried to set my left diagonal aim to the keybinding of 1. I presume it's an issue where the game doesn't know what number i'm pressing (aka. numpad 1 or key 1), but i have no clue apart from that, regarding that i don't have your code nor i know your game engine.
Steam achievements will very likely be added as that is the main reason the in-game achievements were added in the first place.
There are way too many factors for me to be able to predict an actual date so the only thing I can say about a release date is: It's done when it's done.
Sorry if that's not the answer you're looking for, it's just the truth.
You are free to do what you want of course, I was merely trying to tell people that this was an old version of the game. :)
As for playing the current demo version, it's up to you.
I have to say though, an even newer version is coming at some point which will change things up once again, I don't know when though, could be weeks / months, just giving you a heads up.
This is a great demo and I look forward to seeing the final product. For a game of this current era it is pleasantly pleasing to the eye with a great "retro" vibe and interesting gameplay. Make sure to poke me when the full version becomes available ;-)
hi there, very nice game indeed! controls feel fluent, the gameplay is fun. even my cheap generic controller was recognized - something steam fails to achieve. :D i just wanted to let you know that windows (win7 in my case) tends to "forget" border-less mode when window loses focus. i'm not sure if it can be fixed, i've run into same issue with game maker. also the game freezes when i enter the door on the left in this room:
i have to admit i failed at boss as well and i agree with Schnoerkel that save point is a bit too far away from the boss room. i'm more of the explorer than boss slayer, so it would be more convenient to respawn closer to boss for multiple attempts. apart from that i haven't come across anything what would really bother me (but i second a notion to be able to shoot straight up and down when hanging on the ledge).
overall, this is very promising so far. as a huge 2d metroid and AM2R fan i'm really looking forward to finished game.
Nice to hear that the controller seems to work, I test it all on a super cheap generic controller myself. (it had a price of around 3 dollars or so)
As for the borderless fullscreen issue, I'm not sure there's much I can do about that for at least two reasons:
1. I can't really test the game on windows 7 right now as windows 10 is the OS I use, but the game should work just fine on windows 7 which is why I put "windows 7 or higher" as system requirements.
If I get to a better living situation I could put windows 7 on my other computer but this will probably not happen for the foreseeable future.
2. The game is not actually running in borderless fullscreen, it just runs in a window that is the same size as your screen which in turn hides the borders.
No clue how other games do this but this was the only native way I found to do it with Game Maker.
For the room issue, this happens because you entered a room that does not exist in the demo.
The way you reached this room is a bug that has been fixed in the internal version.
As for save points, there will be a closer save point in the full game. ;)
And aiming straight up/down while ledge grabbing is on the to-do list but I'm still not sure when or if it will be added.
Based on the demo so far, this game is a great example of re-imagining super-metroid for the modern era. You've managed to improve on almost every single aspect of the game, and brought it into today. How great!
I got to the boss, died 3 or 4 times, then gave up -- It's so tough for a first boss! I could get it down to about 50% health on my best attempts.
I'll be sure to keep an eye on this game! Love it so far!
Hi, I just finished the Demo. It took me two hours, and well over half of that was owed to the boss.
What you made so far is looking great, I appreciate the many options such as custom sharpness to the pixels. All the particle effects (I hope that's what they are, I'm not really a dev myself) look really good, such as when you fire and when you vaporize small enemies. The sound effects are quite nice too, especially the enemy sounds. The ambient music is nice, but a bit of a short loop.
What I'm missing is the ability to shoot straight down and up when hanging from a ledge. It seemed to me that using the triggers might be used for that, like when you're in the air. Also, it's weird how you lose a tad of momentum when landing from a jump. Oh, and the screen tearing is unfortunate since V-sync does add a bit of input delay. But good on you that you put that warning on the option, since I would not have noticed it otherwise.
Now, the boss is a real killer. As I died a few times, I felt myself getting better at it and stuff that I thought I was going to complain about seems fine in retroperspective.
There are a couple of things though: I started crawling to avoid the super-quick overhead dive the Slither does, but I found myself getting hit three times by it anyway only when all of its eyes were gone. I might just have crawled a pixel too far to the edge, but I'm unsure so I mention it regardless.
And then there are the flies. Oh man, the flies. The varying distances they come out at sometimes meant that I would miss one because it barely ducked under my shot, and I'd get hit. Also the screen going all grey when you get to low health made me straight up not see them when I was looking out for the bright purple boss, resulting in the flies killing me. It's rough when you get hit by an unlucky fly and get ten energy or nothing at all in return. Or when you then jump in to collect the energy and immediatly get bodyslammed by the boss coming up the middle. By the way, do sometimes more flies spawn than normal? I think I was facing down ten one time.
But what gnawed on me more than the boss or the flies (pun sadly not intended, it was one of my better ones) was the way back to the boss room from the save point. Might there be a possibility for some sort of soft checkpoint outside of the room for when you die to the boss only?
You wrote that you unlocked all doors after the boss, but I found myself unable to go anywhere new except for the charge beam in the adjacent room. All the colorless doors are still locked. I thought I might be able to return to the starting area with the green door, but I couldn't jump up at the point where you get the Geo Suit. Did I miss something newly explorable?
And here's something that just happened as I'm writing this: when I tried to start up the .exe a second time, it didn't work. I opened task manager and found it just running as a background process, loafing around at 0% CPU usage. Killing it and trying again sadly does nothing different. I'm currently playing on Windows 10, if you want to know.
The characterization of our protagonist so far is minimal, and that is quite alright. Not that I'm saying I don't want her to have any character, but in this regard one can overdo it.
The environments are great and quite detailed. I like the glowing green spikes in subterra, and all the havoc caused in the facility. Of course the purple slime is a highlight in being so dynamic and truly looks goopy. It's good to see that the underwater stuff doesn't slow you to a slugs pace and make it a chore that way.
I think that's finally everything I wanted to say. I'm stoked to see what further things you'll do with Zordak. And thank you for what you've made and shared with us so far.
The music will be reworked at some point so this will be improved upon, likely when the game is closer to being finished.
I'll add aiming straight up / down while ledge grabbing to the list and we'll see when or if this will be added.
The speed loss when landing is just another way of trying to make the character feel more heavy as I want it to feel a tiny bit clunky but not too much.
As for vertical sync, I don't get any tearing without it on but this differs from monitor and graphics card I would imagine so there's not much else I can about this.
So.. there are many things still wrong with the boss which I'll be trying to improve upon at some point.
The main thing right now being randomness, I'll be looking into making it less random.
Right now it's pretty much purely random in what pattern it chooses, this is why you sometimes get no flies and other times 10 flies for example.
And yes, the overhead dive does not work as good as I want it to, it's probably too quick with little to no warning before it uses this attack and the avoiding it is probably a bit too hard when it does the low dive.
So yeah.. as mentioned, will be looking into improving this at some point.
As for the screen going gray etc, I actually agree and will add this to the list, I'll be looking to make it less intense or maybe even completely rework it.
A checkpoint system will very likely not be added, but this is not to say that I won't add more save stations. So we'll see what I do about this, I do however, want there to be a bit of a "punishment" when dying, but this particular one might be too much.
The "doors unlocked" message just means the doors in this current boss room and exploration means collecting secrets you missed that are available in the demo. Maybe I should have worded this better, some people miss the entire text as well so yeah..
Never had that issue before where the game doesn't start up so not sure what is happening here, the only thing I can really suggest is going to "C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Local\Zordak" and deleting the "settings.ini" file.
Or maybe editing the "options.ini" file located in the .exe folder:
I do not have control over this file since it is included by Game Maker Studio so I don't know what value ranges are correct or if all of them even do anything, so the numbers within the parentheses are just my guesses.
SleepMargin does affect cpu usage and performance however, higher value = more cpu usage, so this is probably the one you should try changing.
I'll add this to the list but if I can't reproduce it there's not much I can do unfortunately.
As for the protagonist having character, I'm trying to keep this very vague and not super "special" since you are supposed to be something like an ordinary person, I don't know how else to describe it.
I'm glad you like the environment and detail since this and atmosphere is somewhat of a main focus.
Thanks a lot for the extensive feedback, very much appreciated. :)
Alright, I just tried to start the game again and it worked. Seems a PC restart fixed whatever was going on.
And actually I was thinking being able to aim straight down could be useful even when standing normally. I found myself trying that when standing on ledges. It could also be used when you're hit by a little bug, so you don't have to run away to shoot them. I know it's just a little thing, but it would be nice to be able to do it.
I do enjoy the "character weight" thing, it makes actions more deliberate. And it really isn't too much. Cheers!
hey boy, look at that.I just jump in the fish and i get stuck there :< its a future secret? And this game is show, im trying get all itens of the game, you make a good job :)
Played the Windows version on 64-bit Linux with Wine (didn't want to install all those i386 dependencies) and it worked flawlessly.
Really fun to play and looks pretty. Surprisingly the difficulty was just right for me. Often games like these require too much split-second timing in jumping and shooting. Controls felt good.
Since I'm using GMS 1.4 to make the game, the "runner" for the native linux version is 32bit only and quite old, so there's not much I can do about the dependencies.
But I guess it doesn't matter much since it works with Wine anyway, just wanted to try and give you an explanation. ;)
Glad to hear that the difficulty and controls were fine, and don't worry about split-second timing, there should not be much of that in the game, if any at all.
Looking great, after I got bored with the demo I gave myself all the upgrades(sorry cound't resist) It showed me some decent differences with Super Metroid and some real good effort in making back tracking worth it, I have als met Glob.
Can't wait for the full game good metroidvania games are rare and far apart, and this heading to become a classic.
So.. yeah, you're not supposed to have those kinds of upgrades when fighting that one so it won't be like that in the final game.
And yep, that fight is definitely supposed to be unexpected and you already know those event triggers are a thing in this game now so there you go. ;)
I'm not gonna lie here, as this is a 100% single player game, I kinda was planning to use this save system (+- some tweaks like actually checking demo upgrades...) but I'm probably going to rewrite it a bit.
Originally, the reasons for this system were:
Very easy for me to handle and a low risk for breaking any previous saves when patching the game. (very important)
Also it's somewhat easy for anyone else to try and fix themselves if something has gone wrong. (with some guidance)
In any case, changes will be made to the system and thanks for bringing light to this issue, you're the first one who has said anything about this. ;)
I really enjoyed this demo. The aesthetic stands out for me because it is familiar to a Metroid lover, but also feels famliar to a human who lives on Earth. It's a delightful balance and I am eager to see what else you come up with.
If I may ask, what program/s are you using to make this and how hellishly difficult is it to learn to produce a playable game with it/them, art design aside?
Thank you for the work you've already put into this project and I hope it exceeds your expectations in every way.
I use GameMaker Studio and using this is probably one of the easiest ways to get a game into a playable state.
But I'm going to be honest here, unless you're already familiar with some type of programming then it's probably going to take a long time before you make something good, as with all things, it takes a lot of learning and practice.
Hello! I played through the demo and really liked it! So much so that I didn't see the "Thanks for playing message" until after wandering the whole map for like 20 minutes. haha!
Some feedback:
I think the boss is in a good place right now in terms of challenge. Though I'm sure any future speedrunners would perfer less randomness.
The enemies in the ceiling that fly directly at the player could use more of a tell. Maybe their spikes could glow before they attack?
When hanging on a ledge and pressing away from it, your character releases from it. This feels kinda awkward and unintuative. For most games this would aim away.
The font can be a little hard to read at times.
Regardless, I'm excited to see where how this game develops. It's really promising so far!
Hey, thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
Maybe I should have made the end of demo text a bit easier to see. ;)
So, the boss has gone through some big changes since the demo was released so I can't really comment much on that right now since it's not exactly the same anymore.
I do however agree with the randomness, some of this has been improved upon in this new version of the boss with more opportunities to actually hit it.
More on that subject should exist in some of my recent devlogs.
As for the enemies in the ceiling, they have also already been changed to be more noticeable.
And everything ledge grab related have been improved and the issue you were having basically doesn't exist anymore. Left/right no longer lets go off ledge grabbing by default, there is now a horizontal momentum boost when ledge grab jumping to allow you to jump further, you can now aim diagonally with the d-pad if you enable a setting and likely some more changes.
There is also a new accessibility setting called "large font" which is self explanatory.
Hopefully I can get a new demo update out soon so new people won't have to experience these issues anymore.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback, even though pretty much everything has supposedly already been fixed. ;)
I'm digging the overall concept, but is there a way to get through the no-oxygen area? I keep dying in there and I can't seem to find any items that would help.
I love the Metroid inspiration, but I am bothered by the little drone thing at the start. It's reminiscent of Fi in Skyward Sword, and not in a good way; It reeks of telling the player, rather than showing. Instead of outright listing the controls, I believe you should let the player discover them.
Putting obstacles in the way that require knowing the controls allows the player to feel like they've figured something out, and it looks like it already has this baked in. The section with the first series of vertical ledge grabs is perfect. The path clearly demonstrates where to go, and it educates the player about a movement mechanic without the bot having to explicitly say "this door wont open, you can climb up these ledges." The elements are already there, all that needs to happen is letting go of the players hand. Let them discover for themselves that sparky cables, acid, and lasers are environmental hazards, and it'll be perfect.
The obstacles are there in the first few rooms for this exact reason.
There are pretty much only two reasons the bot is there:
1. It's 2019 and I assumed people expect this sort of thing since it's been so heavily ingrained in pretty much every game at this point.
2. Keyboard users, it's either this or they will have to go to the options and check the keys / mash random keys on the keyboard to find out how to move, with a controller this would not be an issue.
With that said, I've kinda been trying to remove the bot already, in the current version it only helps you up until the save room then it powers down leaving you on your own.
And now, just as I was typing this, I came up with another way I could do this:
Show a yes/no "popup" when starting a new game asking if you want to enable tutorials or not.
That seems like it could be a good compromise so this has now been added to the to-do list.
Controller worked well for me. Game is starting to look good but it's a little too quiet and gloomy with the soundtrack and sound effects. The inventory items are not very prominent and it's hard to tell them apart from the background. The menu system is gorgeous!
Sound effects and music / ambiance will be completely reworked at a later point in time.
As for it being quiet, I'm not sure if you noticed the audio levels can be increased to 200% in the options menu but that should let you make it a bit less quiet.
Also I kinda realized just now that this is a bit weird so I will put this on the list and see if I can improve on this.
Do you mean inventory items as the ones on the in-game HUD or do you mean the upgrade list menu?
In any case, I'll add both to the list and see if I can improve upon this.
Anyway, thanks a lot for the feedback, hopefully I can improve on what you said. :)
I meant the items lying around in the game. I ran past one without noticing it on the floor. And by gloomy sound, I meant this game could use some fast and upbeat tracks. Since you said it will be added later, I guess it's all good. This is going to be a great game. Looking forward to it!
You have heavily referenced Metroid and take a lot of 'the good stuff' but also taken other scifi influences and they are coming together nicely.
Technical notes:
Hooked it up through steam on a windows machine to try out the steam controller and it is pretty good. Takes a few seconds to detect the controller at startup, and if the controller ever disconnects you have to restart the game to get it back. These are pretty common issues with controllers, so are at worst C bugs.
The diagonal angle fire is a little wonky feeling, but I imagine you get used to it with longer play. You might consider keeping the character facing the same direct when moving and holding an aim button so the player can do some backpedal firing and can also target switches a little better.
Less technical notes:
I am interested in what other elements you plan to include. How much are you planning to diverge from Metroid and what kind of story you plan to tell. (I am not asking you to answer any of that, I am just saying those are the elements that would excite me most about the continued dev on the project)
They are small touches, but the reflections on fluids and the little light enemies go a long way to pull you into the game.
Likewise, starting out with nothing instead of starting out all power armored up feels like a better plot piece. Others have already spoken to progression and it sounds like you have some ideas about it, so I will just note that you have made the first part of the game feel almost more like alien isolation and then you get to build up to being a force of your own. It feels good and has a LOT of potential as an immersive experience and I hope you find the balance you are looking for there.
There are also a lot of teases of lore and you figuring out what has happened to the base. That is an aspect I would love to see leaned into. The little bot at the beginning who gets you started is a beautiful little touch and you have other ones scattered about as well(like what appears to be a corpse of another female who looks very much like you as you flee the first section.)
All and all this project feels like it has a great deal of potential.
Hey, glad you like the game and thanks for the extensive comment. :)
Controller issue:
I have pretty much only tested it on two different controllers and both are knockoff playstation ones, pretty sure they don't have this disconnect problem though, assuming you mean unplugging and plugging in while the game is running, so not really sure what to do about that at this moment.
Diagonal fire:
This is something that would definitely improve the game so I've added backpedal aiming to the to-do list, so I'll be trying to add that at some point.
Story:
I have a general story line planned out, but I haven't decided how it's going to turn out yet as I have multiple versions of it laying around. So I'll be combining / choosing among them to make the final story line when the time comes. I know this doesn't exactly answer your question but that's all I got to say about that for now.
Diverging from metroid:
Well, this is always going to primarily be a VERY metroid like game so that is always going to be there. My general idea about the game is something like this - metroid but not metroid at the same time. So if everything goes as planned, I have a lot of non metroid things coming to the game. Not sure what else to comment about this so you'll just have to wait and see.
Other elements:
Well, this can be interpreted as many different things so I'll just say, yes, there will be many different elements added in the full game.
Progression:
Yeah, I have big changes planned for the beginning of the game in terms of progression. Like finding parts of the suit instead of just helmet then straight to full suit, which I'm guessing is what you've already read about. And that is definitely how I want the game to feel - building up from nothing.
Teases of lore etc:
If all goes as planned, then there is a reason for the bodies to be there, let's just stop there. ;)
The bot is going to stay, but I've changed it a bit so it goes offline at the in the first save room as I feel it didn't really do anything after that. It was pretty much always supposed to be a tutorial only thing anyway.
So, I hope that answers some of your questions, thanks again for the extensive feedback. :)
Controller issue: assuming the controllers are connected via Bluetooth, try disabling Bluetooth on your computer while the controller is connected, and the game is running. If you are lucky, it will trigger a similar situation, and you can see what you need to do to continue using a re-connected controller in the framework you're using.
Even from just the demo, this looks like it's going to be a very good Metroidvania game.
I have a few points and questions though...
First, she wakes from cryosleep in just her underwear (understandable - you're going for a pretty standard sci-fi trope right there), but the fact that the first "upgrade" is a broken helmet before next getting a spacesuit with attached armcannon is kind of jarring as far as progression goes. I understand she'd be a bit disoriented after waking and her clothes might be inaccessible, but wouldn't it make more sense to find a jumpsuit/coveralls and a [laser]handgun first?
I dunno, that's just my opinion on aesthetics/progression and it may be far too late to even consider changes to the beginning, so take from it what you will.
I suddenly can't actually think of any other comments/critiques that haven't already been stated in the first page of comments I read (hitboxes and the like, mostly) so I'll just skip to questions.
1. How far progressed is the development? As in, have you finished the majority of the levels and just need to polish it so it doesn't break? Or is it more of a process of "get this section running smoothly before I start the next"? (I'm just curious about others' processes)
2. How long are you planning on making the game? Super Metroid is anywhere from ~3 hours to 8 hours, depending on skill. I'm currently paying La Mulana 2 and I'm already at 10+ hours.
3. Where do you plan on releasing it? If you release on Steam, will you put it up in Early Access?
3.a. How much are you planning to charge?
You can ignore #3 if it feels to early to say.
Thank you for taking the time to respond, I can't wait to see how the end product turns out.
Ever since I added the broken helmet upgrade I've actually been thinking about something similar to what you said.
For example: finding parts of the suit until you finally complete the whole thing and put it on or something like that.
In an ideal world, I'd like to have this system in the game as far as suit progression goes, that's why it's on the to-do list, but I can't promise anything, all I can say is I want the game to begin like that at some point.
I assume the hitbox issues you mean are when you aim straight up near a wall and you hit the wall, if so, then it is on the list, otherwise I'm not sure what issues you mean.
As for your questions:
1. I have most things planned out, every room on the map, item locations, bosses, etc, but I still go by the "get this section done" way as you said it in terms of actually adding things though, since a lot of what I already have planned change over time.
As for how far in development the game is, can't really say exactly but there is A LOT left to do, I'm still considering adding more areas as well.
2. I have no idea how long the game will be, this will vary from person to person.
I don't know what else to say here other than that the demo is only the beginning of the game. (and it may become longer)
3. It will be on Steam at some point, don't know when but it will not be in Early Access.
I'd rather not discuss pricing at this point as the main focus right now would be actually finishing the game.
Hope that answers some of your questions, I'm glad you like the game and thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback. :)
The following youtube video links to the creator's page instead of this one:AlphaBetaGamer: Zordak . The link does eventually take you to this page, but I have commented the video with a link directly to here for you. I'd recommend you contacting the creator and asking them to link directly to this page instead of using your game to make them money through their own blog/review site.
I really liked this demo, although I thought it was too short.
Some notes, first the game detects usb controller but won't accept input(linux); I ended up using qjoypad to play with controller and the game was much more enjoyable. I just wanted to verify this wasn't a VM issue.
Second, the boss was very balanced. I thought I had it figured out, then it changes the pattern. I really hope you can achieve this sort of challenge for a full game.
Hey, thanks for playing the demo and glad you like it.
Okay thanks for letting me know it's not just a VM issue, not sure what the issue is but I guess I'll have to look into it at some point.
I'll also take a look at qjoypad, no idea what it does at the moment though.
The boss has been through some changes since the demo as well, so hopefully it's even better now, we'll just have to wait and see until I update the demo again.
I'm going to try and slowly increase the difficulty as the game progresses, so we'll just have to wait and see.
AlphaBetaGamer sent me here. Didn't get to play it myself yet, but just from the aesthetics, I really like what I'm seeing! Looking forward to seeing how this game will shape up.
As a side note, do you have a Discord server? I don't log into Twitter or itch.io often and I think most people would prefer following your game on Discord. Though, maybe I'm in the minority here.
Yeah, Discord makes it very easy to share this kind of stuff. Most of the groups I joined (some of them Kickstarters) usually have a channel dedicated to announcements, where only the admins can post. So you know, if you ever make the jump, you can just share your links in a dedicated channel.
Linux version works well, using Ubu 18.04 with AMD HD6870. The Yoyo Games Runner also requires libssl1.0.0:i386. You can see all the library files required by running ldd ./Zordak though it's not always clear which files are in which library package (eg: file libcrypto is in the above libssl package).
The art, sound, and level design are all wonderful so far. The pose of her jump while initally unsuited seems a bit odd, like she's leaning back too far, but not really a big deal.
I thought more indication when oxygen was depleting would be handy, perhaps a box blinking red around the oxygen indicator? I didn't even realise the gas section was using oxygen until I was in the last room.
There's one point where you shoot upwards to a tentacle above but the edge blocks you, you have to step out a bit to shoot the tentacle, the edge probably shouldn't block like that. ABG does the same thing.
A lot of people are complaining that this is apparently a Super Metroid clone, as if that's a bad thing? Also I think you've extended beyond that game with things like kick/punch, ledge hang, crumbling blocks, so it feels like it has a bit more variety which is great. I look forward to seeing your future ideas to differ from the exact SNES/GBA gameplay as well.
Thanks for that dependency check tip, had no idea you could do something like that.
I'll be updating the dependency script at some point with libssl added.
I don't know much about linux as mentioned in the readme file. ;)
I'll add the sprite suggestion to the list for whenever I decide to update the non suit sprites again.
Yeah, I think I'll probably add something like that for the oxygen actually, so thanks for the suggestion.
And yes, aiming straight up and shooting will sometimes hit the wall if standing too close, this will be fixed at some point when I decide to update the suit sprites.
I'm not really hiding the fact that I'm taking a lot from super metroid, I'm also not just trying to copy it which the people who actually play it will see.
The demo is also intentionally restricted with a bunch of closed off areas and only certain items available, which happens to be items pretty identical to super metroid, this may be a mistake on my part but it is what it is.
I'm just trying to make a game that is super metroid and not super metroid at the same time.
But yeah... I mean, it doesn't matter what I do.. some people will always call it a clone or simply complain about pointless things.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback and linux help. :)
Alright, so basically it's Super Metroid, but holy hell it's really well done. I like where this is going.
The art style and atmosphere are great. I really like the little touches, like how water and goo moves and the swaying of plants when you walk by.
I thought the oxygen limit would be frustrating, but there are only select rooms that don't have air, and the mechanic adds some urgency to the gameplay. You get enough time to explore, but there's a sense that you need to keep moving to stay safe. I'm guessing this might get expanded upon in the full release.It also adds to the feeling that you're not some superhuman, but a person stuck in a messed up situation.
The only issue I think is the amount of health the boss has. It takes a really long time to kill and the flying one hit creatures don't give a lot of missiles. Then again, the missiles take off quite a big chunk of health off the boss, so it's probably for balance.
So.. yes, I'm basically trying to make super metroid but not super metroid at the same time, more things will likely change at a later point in time to differentiate the games more but it will always look / feel like super metroid.
Just wanted to give some more clarity on that subject.
Atmosphere is a pretty big deal for me which you've probably noticed. ;)
Yep, you're pretty much correct about the oxygen part.
I've gotten this comment about the boss a couple of times now, regarding that the flies do not drop enough stuff, so this will be addressed at some point.
I may look into the boss health as well since I know the fight can get long if it gives you the wrong patterns.
And you're pretty much right about the missiles as well, I don't want the player to have a large amount of missiles (ie: be overpowered) therefore the upgrade(s) only add 2 to maximum missiles.
Which in turn will hopefully force the player to use the standard beam weapon more later.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback and glad you like the game. :)
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Hey great work! I'm not a big fan of metroidvania games myself but from gameplay I can see this is great.
I am a somewhat proficent linux user, and I have a suggestion. Rather than using a VM try using a usb stick with Ubuntu flashed onto it. It has a feature where you can run a trial version off a usb stick/CD/DVD etc. Just be warned that you will need a second (FAT32) usb stick/drive to download files onto as Windows disks use NTFS which cannot be read by linux without other drivers/apt packages.
Sorry for information overload ;) Hope you can properly test this!
PS: If you can compile it into a .deb package or the like that would be good
Hey, thanks, glad you like the game. :)
I've got Ubuntu 20.04 LTS installed alongside windows on my laptop now so I'll be testing on an actual install and not a VM for the newer versions.
The current demo was only tested in a VM, but once I update it I will update the description as well.
As for releasing it as a .deb, I can look into it, but I think Game Maker Studio v1.4 might be too old at this point to create functional .deb packages.
So that might not be possible unless I upgrade to Game Maker Studio 2, which will probably not happen for a while, if at all.
Thanks for the info though, even if I didn't really need it anymore. ^^
I am loving this game so far, great work
Thanks, glad you like it. :)
___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ FATAL ERROR in action number 1 of Step Event1 for object o_MenuController:
DoAdd :1: undefined value at gml_Object_o_MenuController_Step_1 ############################################################################################
Sorry for the ugly bug report, i didn't know where to put it.
No problem. :)
Never seen this one before, what were you doing when this happened?
And was this the whole error message?
I'm going to need more specifics for this one.
yes, that was the whole bug report... i think. it occurred when i tried to set my left diagonal aim to the keybinding of 1. I presume it's an issue where the game doesn't know what number i'm pressing (aka. numpad 1 or key 1), but i have no clue apart from that, regarding that i don't have your code nor i know your game engine.
Okay thanks, and just to be 100% clear here:
You were trying to bind it to the key "1" and not "numpad 1"?
In any case, I'll be testing both, just making sure. :)
i was pressing key 1 (the one that's ! if you hold shift)
When you finally release this on Steam, please include Steam achievements!
Also, any idea on the state of development? Do we have months or years left until product finished and I can buy it?
Steam achievements will very likely be added as that is the main reason the in-game achievements were added in the first place.
There are way too many factors for me to be able to predict an actual date so the only thing I can say about a release date is: It's done when it's done.
Sorry if that's not the answer you're looking for, it's just the truth.
It's great to see this gem of a game advertised again. I did a gameplpay (kinda) a while back enjoy.
All the best.wobbly
Well thanks. :)
A LOT has changed since you last played it so I'll have to comment and say this for anyone new reading it:
This is a playthrough of the demo from 2 years ago so don't expect the game to look like this in it's current state.
I'm not bashing the video or anything though, the video is just fine, I'm just saying it's very old and A LOT has changed since then. ^^
I will update the description to reflect this AND play the new version if that's ok with the DEVs?
Regards
Wobbly
You are free to do what you want of course, I was merely trying to tell people that this was an old version of the game. :)
As for playing the current demo version, it's up to you.
I have to say though, an even newer version is coming at some point which will change things up once again, I don't know when though, could be weeks / months, just giving you a heads up.
This is a great demo and I look forward to seeing the final product. For a game of this current era it is pleasantly pleasing to the eye with a great "retro" vibe and interesting gameplay. Make sure to poke me when the full version becomes available ;-)
Hey, thanks, glad you like it! :)
I can't exactly promise that I will be able to remember that.
But if you use Discord I have a server up where you will get pinged whenever I post an update.
Server Link: https://discord.gg/fTTEUNZ
Anyway, thanks for the feedback. ^^
Did you make this in gamemaker studio 2 or 1? Really cool game btw!
Hey, thanks.
I'm using GameMaker Studio v1.4. :)
Cool!
hi there, very nice game indeed! controls feel fluent, the gameplay is fun. even my cheap generic controller was recognized - something steam fails to achieve. :D
i just wanted to let you know that windows (win7 in my case) tends to "forget" border-less mode when window loses focus. i'm not sure if it can be fixed, i've run into same issue with game maker.
also the game freezes when i enter the door on the left in this room:
i have to admit i failed at boss as well and i agree with Schnoerkel that save point is a bit too far away from the boss room. i'm more of the explorer than boss slayer, so it would be more convenient to respawn closer to boss for multiple attempts.
apart from that i haven't come across anything what would really bother me (but i second a notion to be able to shoot straight up and down when hanging on the ledge).
overall, this is very promising so far. as a huge 2d metroid and AM2R fan i'm really looking forward to finished game.
Hey, thanks, glad you like the game! :)
Nice to hear that the controller seems to work, I test it all on a super cheap generic controller myself. (it had a price of around 3 dollars or so)
As for the borderless fullscreen issue, I'm not sure there's much I can do about that for at least two reasons:
1. I can't really test the game on windows 7 right now as windows 10 is the OS I use, but the game should work just fine on windows 7 which is why I put "windows 7 or higher" as system requirements.
If I get to a better living situation I could put windows 7 on my other computer but this will probably not happen for the foreseeable future.
2. The game is not actually running in borderless fullscreen, it just runs in a window that is the same size as your screen which in turn hides the borders.
No clue how other games do this but this was the only native way I found to do it with Game Maker.
For the room issue, this happens because you entered a room that does not exist in the demo.
The way you reached this room is a bug that has been fixed in the internal version.
As for save points, there will be a closer save point in the full game. ;)
And aiming straight up/down while ledge grabbing is on the to-do list but I'm still not sure when or if it will be added.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback! :)
Really nice game, only some suggestions.
Please change the text font, for one who be more clear, I have myopia, I have to make an effort to be able to read the text fluently.
And (isn't essential) but i want in Spanish hahaha
Thank you very much for your demo and good luck with the project.
Best regards
Hey, thanks, glad you like it. ^^
Try going into the "Accessibility" options and turning on "Large Font".
Let me know if that helps.
In any case, I'm working on minimizing text usage as text is not really going to be a big focus in the game.
As for Spanish language, I'll be looking into translating the game to multiple languages after all text has been finalized in the game.
Can't guarantee anything though but I'll be trying to get as many languages in there as possible.
Thanks for the feedback. :)
Solved with large font, the another before it was so minimalist. Thankkyou
One more thing. Sorry i buged de game in this point xDDDDD
Glad to hear that the large font setting worked better.
As for the room issue, it's technically not a bug, you just entered a room that does not exist in the demo and therefore causing this.
The way you reached the door is a bug though and this has already been fixed in the internal version.
Thanks for letting me know though. ;)
Congratulations! Very polished game!
Thanks. ;)
Game is great so far. Good luck!
Thanks. ^^
your game is great !!!
Thanks! ;)
Based on the demo so far, this game is a great example of re-imagining super-metroid for the modern era. You've managed to improve on almost every single aspect of the game, and brought it into today. How great!
I got to the boss, died 3 or 4 times, then gave up -- It's so tough for a first boss! I could get it down to about 50% health on my best attempts.
I'll be sure to keep an eye on this game! Love it so far!
Hey, thanks trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
The boss still has some tweaks planned, mainly reducing randomness and improving visibility for attack patterns.
So it may or may not get a little bit easier when I have improved on those two things, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Thanks for the feedback. ^^
Hi, I just finished the Demo. It took me two hours, and well over half of that was owed to the boss.
What you made so far is looking great, I appreciate the many options such as custom sharpness to the pixels. All the particle effects (I hope that's what they are, I'm not really a dev myself) look really good, such as when you fire and when you vaporize small enemies. The sound effects are quite nice too, especially the enemy sounds. The ambient music is nice, but a bit of a short loop.
What I'm missing is the ability to shoot straight down and up when hanging from a ledge. It seemed to me that using the triggers might be used for that, like when you're in the air. Also, it's weird how you lose a tad of momentum when landing from a jump. Oh, and the screen tearing is unfortunate since V-sync does add a bit of input delay. But good on you that you put that warning on the option, since I would not have noticed it otherwise.
Now, the boss is a real killer. As I died a few times, I felt myself getting better at it and stuff that I thought I was going to complain about seems fine in retroperspective.
There are a couple of things though: I started crawling to avoid the super-quick overhead dive the Slither does, but I found myself getting hit three times by it anyway only when all of its eyes were gone. I might just have crawled a pixel too far to the edge, but I'm unsure so I mention it regardless.
And then there are the flies. Oh man, the flies. The varying distances they come out at sometimes meant that I would miss one because it barely ducked under my shot, and I'd get hit. Also the screen going all grey when you get to low health made me straight up not see them when I was looking out for the bright purple boss, resulting in the flies killing me. It's rough when you get hit by an unlucky fly and get ten energy or nothing at all in return. Or when you then jump in to collect the energy and immediatly get bodyslammed by the boss coming up the middle. By the way, do sometimes more flies spawn than normal? I think I was facing down ten one time.
But what gnawed on me more than the boss or the flies (pun sadly not intended, it was one of my better ones) was the way back to the boss room from the save point. Might there be a possibility for some sort of soft checkpoint outside of the room for when you die to the boss only?
You wrote that you unlocked all doors after the boss, but I found myself unable to go anywhere new except for the charge beam in the adjacent room. All the colorless doors are still locked. I thought I might be able to return to the starting area with the green door, but I couldn't jump up at the point where you get the Geo Suit. Did I miss something newly explorable?
And here's something that just happened as I'm writing this: when I tried to start up the .exe a second time, it didn't work. I opened task manager and found it just running as a background process, loafing around at 0% CPU usage. Killing it and trying again sadly does nothing different. I'm currently playing on Windows 10, if you want to know.
The characterization of our protagonist so far is minimal, and that is quite alright. Not that I'm saying I don't want her to have any character, but in this regard one can overdo it.
The environments are great and quite detailed. I like the glowing green spikes in subterra, and all the havoc caused in the facility. Of course the purple slime is a highlight in being so dynamic and truly looks goopy. It's good to see that the underwater stuff doesn't slow you to a slugs pace and make it a chore that way.I think that's finally everything I wanted to say. I'm stoked to see what further things you'll do with Zordak. And thank you for what you've made and shared with us so far.
Hey, thanks for trying the demo.
The music will be reworked at some point so this will be improved upon, likely when the game is closer to being finished.
I'll add aiming straight up / down while ledge grabbing to the list and we'll see when or if this will be added.
The speed loss when landing is just another way of trying to make the character feel more heavy as I want it to feel a tiny bit clunky but not too much.
As for vertical sync, I don't get any tearing without it on but this differs from monitor and graphics card I would imagine so there's not much else I can about this.
So.. there are many things still wrong with the boss which I'll be trying to improve upon at some point.
The main thing right now being randomness, I'll be looking into making it less random.
Right now it's pretty much purely random in what pattern it chooses, this is why you sometimes get no flies and other times 10 flies for example.
And yes, the overhead dive does not work as good as I want it to, it's probably too quick with little to no warning before it uses this attack and the avoiding it is probably a bit too hard when it does the low dive.
So yeah.. as mentioned, will be looking into improving this at some point.
As for the screen going gray etc, I actually agree and will add this to the list, I'll be looking to make it less intense or maybe even completely rework it.
A checkpoint system will very likely not be added, but this is not to say that I won't add more save stations. So we'll see what I do about this, I do however, want there to be a bit of a "punishment" when dying, but this particular one might be too much.
The "doors unlocked" message just means the doors in this current boss room and exploration means collecting secrets you missed that are available in the demo. Maybe I should have worded this better, some people miss the entire text as well so yeah..
Never had that issue before where the game doesn't start up so not sure what is happening here, the only thing I can really suggest is going to "C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Local\Zordak" and deleting the "settings.ini" file.
Or maybe editing the "options.ini" file located in the .exe folder:
CreateTexturesOnDemand=0 (0-1)
AlternateSyncMethod=0 (0-1)
VertexBufferMethod=1 (0-3)
SleepMargin=15 (1-30)
I do not have control over this file since it is included by Game Maker Studio so I don't know what value ranges are correct or if all of them even do anything, so the numbers within the parentheses are just my guesses.
SleepMargin does affect cpu usage and performance however, higher value = more cpu usage, so this is probably the one you should try changing.
I'll add this to the list but if I can't reproduce it there's not much I can do unfortunately.
As for the protagonist having character, I'm trying to keep this very vague and not super "special" since you are supposed to be something like an ordinary person, I don't know how else to describe it.
I'm glad you like the environment and detail since this and atmosphere is somewhat of a main focus.
Thanks a lot for the extensive feedback, very much appreciated. :)
Alright, I just tried to start the game again and it worked. Seems a PC restart fixed whatever was going on.
And actually I was thinking being able to aim straight down could be useful even when standing normally. I found myself trying that when standing on ledges. It could also be used when you're hit by a little bug, so you don't have to run away to shoot them. I know it's just a little thing, but it would be nice to be able to do it.
I do enjoy the "character weight" thing, it makes actions more deliberate. And it really isn't too much. Cheers!
Good to hear that it works again, no idea what would cause it to not start up. :/
I'll add aim straight down while standing/running to the list as well, same deal here: we'll see if it gets added or not.
Thanks again for the feedback. :)
Hey, I check all relevant places. ;)
So, I left a comment on youtube. ^^
Whoa. Excessively endowed protagonist notwithstanding, this looks amazing so far.
Thanks. ;)
I wish for an OSX build, looks like an amazing metrodivania :)
Thanks, but I'm afraid this is not possible right now as I don't have access to a Mac computer.
I am, however, open to the idea if I ever get hold of one.
But for now, I can't do it, sorry. :(
Great game! Atmospheric and exploration is entertaining, keep going! ;) (Works with integrated graphics card! ;)
Hey, thanks. Glad you like it. :)
Good to know that it works on other integrated graphics cards and not just mine. ^^
Hey, I guess you found a shortcut. ;)
Since that is not the intended way to get over there the room does not exist in the demo, that's why you get stuck there.
I don't know what I will be doing about this, if anything at all, since things like these can actually make the game better.
Thanks for letting me know though and I'm glad you like the game. :)
Played the Windows version on 64-bit Linux with Wine (didn't want to install all those i386 dependencies) and it worked flawlessly.
Really fun to play and looks pretty. Surprisingly the difficulty was just right for me. Often games like these require too much split-second timing in jumping and shooting. Controls felt good.
Hey, thanks for trying the demo.
Good to know that it seems to work with Wine.
Since I'm using GMS 1.4 to make the game, the "runner" for the native linux version is 32bit only and quite old, so there's not much I can do about the dependencies.
But I guess it doesn't matter much since it works with Wine anyway, just wanted to try and give you an explanation. ;)
Glad to hear that the difficulty and controls were fine, and don't worry about split-second timing, there should not be much of that in the game, if any at all.
Thanks for the feedback! :)
Looking great, after I got bored with the demo I gave myself all the upgrades(sorry cound't resist) It showed me some decent differences with Super Metroid and some real good effort in making back tracking worth it, I have als met Glob.
Can't wait for the full game good metroidvania games are rare and far apart, and this heading to become a classic.
Well, thanks for commenting on giving yourself all the upgrades, this now made me realize I've made a huge oversight.
But it doesn't really matter that much anyway since most of what you saw is of subject to change, some is placeholder stuff as well.
And also, many things aren't even implemented at all yet either.
I honestly didn't know if that boss even worked still, haven't tested it in months.
Thanks for trying the game though, I'm glad you like it, and that sneaky upgrade cheat will be going away in the future. ;)
I think the trigger for Glob was pretty cool, can't say anything about the fight as wave ruines it.
Events triggered by progress or some upgrades can be pretty cool, especially if they are bound to an area and feel unexpected first time.
Oversight? you weren't planing to use this save system for the final game where you?
So.. yeah, you're not supposed to have those kinds of upgrades when fighting that one so it won't be like that in the final game.
And yep, that fight is definitely supposed to be unexpected and you already know those event triggers are a thing in this game now so there you go. ;)
I'm not gonna lie here, as this is a 100% single player game, I kinda was planning to use this save system (+- some tweaks like actually checking demo upgrades...) but I'm probably going to rewrite it a bit.
Originally, the reasons for this system were:
Very easy for me to handle and a low risk for breaking any previous saves when patching the game. (very important)
Also it's somewhat easy for anyone else to try and fix themselves if something has gone wrong. (with some guidance)
In any case, changes will be made to the system and thanks for bringing light to this issue, you're the first one who has said anything about this. ;)
Fantastic looking lights.
Thanks. ;)
The game looks really polished and well-made.
Digging the gameplay feel and the effects.
Thanks, I'm glad you like the game. :)
Cool metroid, very nice picture! I hope you finish it.
Thanks, glad you like it. :)
I really enjoyed this demo. The aesthetic stands out for me because it is familiar to a Metroid lover, but also feels famliar to a human who lives on Earth. It's a delightful balance and I am eager to see what else you come up with.
If I may ask, what program/s are you using to make this and how hellishly difficult is it to learn to produce a playable game with it/them, art design aside?
Thank you for the work you've already put into this project and I hope it exceeds your expectations in every way.
Hey, thanks, glad you liked it.
I use GameMaker Studio and using this is probably one of the easiest ways to get a game into a playable state.
But I'm going to be honest here, unless you're already familiar with some type of programming then it's probably going to take a long time before you make something good, as with all things, it takes a lot of learning and practice.
And thanks, I hope so too.
Hello! I played through the demo and really liked it! So much so that I didn't see the "Thanks for playing message" until after wandering the whole map for like 20 minutes. haha!
Some feedback:
Regardless, I'm excited to see where how this game develops. It's really promising so far!
Hey, thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
Maybe I should have made the end of demo text a bit easier to see. ;)
So, the boss has gone through some big changes since the demo was released so I can't really comment much on that right now since it's not exactly the same anymore.
I do however agree with the randomness, some of this has been improved upon in this new version of the boss with more opportunities to actually hit it.
More on that subject should exist in some of my recent devlogs.
As for the enemies in the ceiling, they have also already been changed to be more noticeable.
And everything ledge grab related have been improved and the issue you were having basically doesn't exist anymore. Left/right no longer lets go off ledge grabbing by default, there is now a horizontal momentum boost when ledge grab jumping to allow you to jump further, you can now aim diagonally with the d-pad if you enable a setting and likely some more changes.
There is also a new accessibility setting called "large font" which is self explanatory.
Hopefully I can get a new demo update out soon so new people won't have to experience these issues anymore.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback, even though pretty much everything has supposedly already been fixed. ;)
Awesome!!
Dude I loved your game. Looking forward for the full version. Keep up the good work!
Hey, sorry for the late reply, I'm glad you liked it!
Will do and hopefully I'll get a new update out soon.
I'm digging the overall concept, but is there a way to get through the no-oxygen area? I keep dying in there and I can't seem to find any items that would help.
Nevermind, figured it out.
Now I feel like a total idiot...
Thanks for trying the demo, hope you liked the rest. ;)
I love the Metroid inspiration, but I am bothered by the little drone thing at the start.
It's reminiscent of Fi in Skyward Sword, and not in a good way; It reeks of telling the player, rather than showing.
Instead of outright listing the controls, I believe you should let the player discover them.
Putting obstacles in the way that require knowing the controls allows the player to feel like they've figured something out, and it looks like it already has this baked in. The section with the first series of vertical ledge grabs is perfect.
The path clearly demonstrates where to go, and it educates the player about a movement mechanic without the bot having to explicitly say "this door wont open, you can climb up these ledges." The elements are already there, all that needs to happen is letting go of the players hand.
Let them discover for themselves that sparky cables, acid, and lasers are environmental hazards, and it'll be perfect.
You know.. I agree almost 100%.
The obstacles are there in the first few rooms for this exact reason.
There are pretty much only two reasons the bot is there:
1. It's 2019 and I assumed people expect this sort of thing since it's been so heavily ingrained in pretty much every game at this point.
2. Keyboard users, it's either this or they will have to go to the options and check the keys / mash random keys on the keyboard to find out how to move, with a controller this would not be an issue.
With that said, I've kinda been trying to remove the bot already, in the current version it only helps you up until the save room then it powers down leaving you on your own.
And now, just as I was typing this, I came up with another way I could do this:
Show a yes/no "popup" when starting a new game asking if you want to enable tutorials or not.
That seems like it could be a good compromise so this has now been added to the to-do list.
Thanks for the feedback and trying the demo. :)
Controller worked well for me. Game is starting to look good but it's a little too quiet and gloomy with the soundtrack and sound effects. The inventory items are not very prominent and it's hard to tell them apart from the background. The menu system is gorgeous!
Sound effects and music / ambiance will be completely reworked at a later point in time.
As for it being quiet, I'm not sure if you noticed the audio levels can be increased to 200% in the options menu but that should let you make it a bit less quiet.
Also I kinda realized just now that this is a bit weird so I will put this on the list and see if I can improve on this.
Do you mean inventory items as the ones on the in-game HUD or do you mean the upgrade list menu?
In any case, I'll add both to the list and see if I can improve upon this.
Anyway, thanks a lot for the feedback, hopefully I can improve on what you said. :)
I meant the items lying around in the game. I ran past one without noticing it on the floor. And by gloomy sound, I meant this game could use some fast and upbeat tracks. Since you said it will be added later, I guess it's all good. This is going to be a great game. Looking forward to it!
Okay so I take it you're talking about the helmet. I kinda like it how it is right now though, but I'm sure there will be changes later down the road.
Yeah, I get it, and as I said - I have plans to rework anything audio related at some point.
I hope the game will become great with time as well, thanks! :)
meow
Solid style, solid controls, solid demo.
You have heavily referenced Metroid and take a lot of 'the good stuff' but also taken other scifi influences and they are coming together nicely.
Technical notes:
Hooked it up through steam on a windows machine to try out the steam controller and it is pretty good. Takes a few seconds to detect the controller at startup, and if the controller ever disconnects you have to restart the game to get it back. These are pretty common issues with controllers, so are at worst C bugs.
The diagonal angle fire is a little wonky feeling, but I imagine you get used to it with longer play. You might consider keeping the character facing the same direct when moving and holding an aim button so the player can do some backpedal firing and can also target switches a little better.
Less technical notes:
I am interested in what other elements you plan to include. How much are you planning to diverge from Metroid and what kind of story you plan to tell. (I am not asking you to answer any of that, I am just saying those are the elements that would excite me most about the continued dev on the project)
They are small touches, but the reflections on fluids and the little light enemies go a long way to pull you into the game.
Likewise, starting out with nothing instead of starting out all power armored up feels like a better plot piece. Others have already spoken to progression and it sounds like you have some ideas about it, so I will just note that you have made the first part of the game feel almost more like alien isolation and then you get to build up to being a force of your own. It feels good and has a LOT of potential as an immersive experience and I hope you find the balance you are looking for there.
There are also a lot of teases of lore and you figuring out what has happened to the base. That is an aspect I would love to see leaned into. The little bot at the beginning who gets you started is a beautiful little touch and you have other ones scattered about as well(like what appears to be a corpse of another female who looks very much like you as you flee the first section.)
All and all this project feels like it has a great deal of potential.
Hey, glad you like the game and thanks for the extensive comment. :)
Controller issue:
I have pretty much only tested it on two different controllers and both are knockoff playstation ones, pretty sure they don't have this disconnect problem though, assuming you mean unplugging and plugging in while the game is running, so not really sure what to do about that at this moment.
Diagonal fire:
This is something that would definitely improve the game so I've added backpedal aiming to the to-do list, so I'll be trying to add that at some point.
Story:
I have a general story line planned out, but I haven't decided how it's going to turn out yet as I have multiple versions of it laying around. So I'll be combining / choosing among them to make the final story line when the time comes. I know this doesn't exactly answer your question but that's all I got to say about that for now.
Diverging from metroid:
Well, this is always going to primarily be a VERY metroid like game so that is always going to be there. My general idea about the game is something like this - metroid but not metroid at the same time. So if everything goes as planned, I have a lot of non metroid things coming to the game. Not sure what else to comment about this so you'll just have to wait and see.
Other elements:
Well, this can be interpreted as many different things so I'll just say, yes, there will be many different elements added in the full game.
Progression:
Yeah, I have big changes planned for the beginning of the game in terms of progression. Like finding parts of the suit instead of just helmet then straight to full suit, which I'm guessing is what you've already read about. And that is definitely how I want the game to feel - building up from nothing.
Teases of lore etc:
If all goes as planned, then there is a reason for the bodies to be there, let's just stop there. ;)
The bot is going to stay, but I've changed it a bit so it goes offline at the in the first save room as I feel it didn't really do anything after that. It was pretty much always supposed to be a tutorial only thing anyway.
So, I hope that answers some of your questions, thanks again for the extensive feedback. :)
Controller issue: assuming the controllers are connected via Bluetooth, try disabling Bluetooth on your computer while the controller is connected, and the game is running. If you are lucky, it will trigger a similar situation, and you can see what you need to do to continue using a re-connected controller in the framework you're using.
Best of luck!
My controller only has USB so can't test bluetooth at this moment. But I'll add this to the to-do list as a possible scenario, thanks for the tip. :)
Even from just the demo, this looks like it's going to be a very good Metroidvania game.
I have a few points and questions though...
First, she wakes from cryosleep in just her underwear (understandable - you're going for a pretty standard sci-fi trope right there), but the fact that the first "upgrade" is a broken helmet before next getting a spacesuit with attached armcannon is kind of jarring as far as progression goes. I understand she'd be a bit disoriented after waking and her clothes might be inaccessible, but wouldn't it make more sense to find a jumpsuit/coveralls and a [laser]handgun first?
I dunno, that's just my opinion on aesthetics/progression and it may be far too late to even consider changes to the beginning, so take from it what you will.
I suddenly can't actually think of any other comments/critiques that haven't already been stated in the first page of comments I read (hitboxes and the like, mostly) so I'll just skip to questions.
1. How far progressed is the development? As in, have you finished the majority of the levels and just need to polish it so it doesn't break? Or is it more of a process of "get this section running smoothly before I start the next"? (I'm just curious about others' processes)
2. How long are you planning on making the game? Super Metroid is anywhere from ~3 hours to 8 hours, depending on skill. I'm currently paying La Mulana 2 and I'm already at 10+ hours.
3. Where do you plan on releasing it? If you release on Steam, will you put it up in Early Access?
3.a. How much are you planning to charge?
You can ignore #3 if it feels to early to say.
Thank you for taking the time to respond, I can't wait to see how the end product turns out.
Hey, sorry for the late response.
About the suit progression:
Ever since I added the broken helmet upgrade I've actually been thinking about something similar to what you said.
For example: finding parts of the suit until you finally complete the whole thing and put it on or something like that.
In an ideal world, I'd like to have this system in the game as far as suit progression goes, that's why it's on the to-do list, but I can't promise anything, all I can say is I want the game to begin like that at some point.
I assume the hitbox issues you mean are when you aim straight up near a wall and you hit the wall, if so, then it is on the list, otherwise I'm not sure what issues you mean.
As for your questions:
1. I have most things planned out, every room on the map, item locations, bosses, etc, but I still go by the "get this section done" way as you said it in terms of actually adding things though, since a lot of what I already have planned change over time.
As for how far in development the game is, can't really say exactly but there is A LOT left to do, I'm still considering adding more areas as well.
2. I have no idea how long the game will be, this will vary from person to person.
I don't know what else to say here other than that the demo is only the beginning of the game. (and it may become longer)
3. It will be on Steam at some point, don't know when but it will not be in Early Access.
I'd rather not discuss pricing at this point as the main focus right now would be actually finishing the game.
Hope that answers some of your questions, I'm glad you like the game and thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback. :)
the reason you find the helmet is bc you need to breathe when you leave ^^b Also, it serves as your HUD.
The following youtube video links to the creator's page instead of this one:AlphaBetaGamer: Zordak . The link does eventually take you to this page, but I have commented the video with a link directly to here for you. I'd recommend you contacting the creator and asking them to link directly to this page instead of using your game to make them money through their own blog/review site.
Hey, sorry for the late reply.
I don't really think this is that big of a deal, pretty sure that's how they do it for all their videos.
Not sure what else to say about this.
Thanks for adding a comment with the direct link anyways though.
I really liked this demo, although I thought it was too short.
Some notes, first the game detects usb controller but won't accept input(linux); I ended up using qjoypad to play with controller and the game was much more enjoyable. I just wanted to verify this wasn't a VM issue.
Second, the boss was very balanced. I thought I had it figured out, then it changes the pattern. I really hope you can achieve this sort of challenge for a full game.
Hey, thanks for playing the demo and glad you like it.
Okay thanks for letting me know it's not just a VM issue, not sure what the issue is but I guess I'll have to look into it at some point.
I'll also take a look at qjoypad, no idea what it does at the moment though.
The boss has been through some changes since the demo as well, so hopefully it's even better now, we'll just have to wait and see until I update the demo again.
I'm going to try and slowly increase the difficulty as the game progresses, so we'll just have to wait and see.
Thanks for the feedback. :)
qjoypad is just a button mapper for linux
Ah, it's a controller to keyboard mapper.
I'll still keep it on the list so I can tell people to use that instead if I can't get controllers to work any other way on linux.
This was such a cool demo for an awesome game! Cant wait for a full release!
Thanks, I left a comment on youtube. :)
AlphaBetaGamer sent me here. Didn't get to play it myself yet, but just from the aesthetics, I really like what I'm seeing! Looking forward to seeing how this game will shape up.
As a side note, do you have a Discord server? I don't log into Twitter or itch.io often and I think most people would prefer following your game on Discord. Though, maybe I'm in the minority here.
Glad you like what you see. ;)
I guess I could look into getting a discord server, I'm not that into how all that will work but I'll add it to the list.
If/when there is one available I'll be writing about it in a devlog / twitter and adding the link here to the main page.
And if there is a good way to post stuff like devlogs on said discord server, I will be starting to post the devlogs there as well.
Thanks for the feedback. :)
Yeah, Discord makes it very easy to share this kind of stuff. Most of the groups I joined (some of them Kickstarters) usually have a channel dedicated to announcements, where only the admins can post. So you know, if you ever make the jump, you can just share your links in a dedicated channel.
Okay, well, I'll try to get one set up at some point. :)
I'll post the link at said places when it is up.
Awesome! I'll be sure to join if/when it's up.
Saw this on AlphaBetaGamer and loved it.
Linux version works well, using Ubu 18.04 with AMD HD6870. The Yoyo Games Runner also requires libssl1.0.0:i386. You can see all the library files required by running ldd ./Zordak though it's not always clear which files are in which library package (eg: file libcrypto is in the above libssl package).
The art, sound, and level design are all wonderful so far. The pose of her jump while initally unsuited seems a bit odd, like she's leaning back too far, but not really a big deal.
I thought more indication when oxygen was depleting would be handy, perhaps a box blinking red around the oxygen indicator? I didn't even realise the gas section was using oxygen until I was in the last room.
There's one point where you shoot upwards to a tentacle above but the edge blocks you, you have to step out a bit to shoot the tentacle, the edge probably shouldn't block like that. ABG does the same thing.
A lot of people are complaining that this is apparently a Super Metroid clone, as if that's a bad thing? Also I think you've extended beyond that game with things like kick/punch, ledge hang, crumbling blocks, so it feels like it has a bit more variety which is great. I look forward to seeing your future ideas to differ from the exact SNES/GBA gameplay as well.
Will definitely buy the full version.
Thanks for that dependency check tip, had no idea you could do something like that.
I'll be updating the dependency script at some point with libssl added.
I don't know much about linux as mentioned in the readme file. ;)
I'll add the sprite suggestion to the list for whenever I decide to update the non suit sprites again.
Yeah, I think I'll probably add something like that for the oxygen actually, so thanks for the suggestion.
And yes, aiming straight up and shooting will sometimes hit the wall if standing too close, this will be fixed at some point when I decide to update the suit sprites.
I'm not really hiding the fact that I'm taking a lot from super metroid, I'm also not just trying to copy it which the people who actually play it will see.
The demo is also intentionally restricted with a bunch of closed off areas and only certain items available, which happens to be items pretty identical to super metroid, this may be a mistake on my part but it is what it is.
I'm just trying to make a game that is super metroid and not super metroid at the same time.
But yeah... I mean, it doesn't matter what I do.. some people will always call it a clone or simply complain about pointless things.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback and linux help. :)
Alright, so basically it's Super Metroid, but holy hell it's really well done. I like where this is going.
The art style and atmosphere are great. I really like the little touches, like how water and goo moves and the swaying of plants when you walk by.
I thought the oxygen limit would be frustrating, but there are only select rooms that don't have air, and the mechanic adds some urgency to the gameplay. You get enough time to explore, but there's a sense that you need to keep moving to stay safe. I'm guessing this might get expanded upon in the full release.It also adds to the feeling that you're not some superhuman, but a person stuck in a messed up situation.
The only issue I think is the amount of health the boss has. It takes a really long time to kill and the flying one hit creatures don't give a lot of missiles. Then again, the missiles take off quite a big chunk of health off the boss, so it's probably for balance.
Thanks for trying the demo. :)
So.. yes, I'm basically trying to make super metroid but not super metroid at the same time, more things will likely change at a later point in time to differentiate the games more but it will always look / feel like super metroid.
Just wanted to give some more clarity on that subject.
Atmosphere is a pretty big deal for me which you've probably noticed. ;)
Yep, you're pretty much correct about the oxygen part.
I've gotten this comment about the boss a couple of times now, regarding that the flies do not drop enough stuff, so this will be addressed at some point.
I may look into the boss health as well since I know the fight can get long if it gives you the wrong patterns.
And you're pretty much right about the missiles as well, I don't want the player to have a large amount of missiles (ie: be overpowered) therefore the upgrade(s) only add 2 to maximum missiles.
Which in turn will hopefully force the player to use the standard beam weapon more later.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback and glad you like the game. :)
Show post...
goodLeft a comment on youtube, thanks for the video. ;)