I played this demo on Twitch for my first stream ever last week, love the aesthetics, and gameplay is super smooth :) Can't wait for the full release!
By the way, my main goal on Twitch is to translate indie games from English to French, which means I'm currently translating the demo. Would you be interested in a free semi-professional French translation for your game? Also, I can't figure out how to display accentuated characters in the game (stuff like "é, à"). I tried saving the txt file in UTF-16 but it just seems to break everything. Do you have any tips for me?
Hey, thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
Technically I would be interested, but the problem is that not all text is in the game yet and the localization file is currently a bit of a mess with a bunch of unused stuff in it.
My plan was to add all text to the game and finalize the localization system before getting any translations done.
So translating it now would be a bit of a waste as things could change at any moment, well, not necessarily a complete waste as it would still help me figure out problems if done right now, but hopefully you get what I mean.
And I have no idea when all the text would be added or when the localization system is finished, so I can't exactly give you a time frame here either.
But if you use Discord and you're still interested in doing this or just want to join the community, then feel free to join my server:
It's much easier to discuss things and get more in-depth over there. (and you can PM there me if needed)
If you don't use Discord then we can continue talking here I guess but it will become kind of a mess with this comment system.
Also, I'm not sure why "é, à" wouldn't work, I copied it from your message here and put it at the end of the credits.txt file just to test and it worked, so no idea why it wouldn't work right now.
No idea if UTF version makes a difference either since I don't have much control over how the engine loads a text file, I just make a text document in windows and save with default settings and that works.
A real pretty game and one i will be looking forward to.
The environment and general atmosphere hits the spot just right, so even with the homage to Metroid missing, fans will clearly be able to tell how much the game was inspired by it, without being a literal copy.
The Oxygen is an interesting feature though i'm not sold on it yet. It decourages exploration since the urgency of not running out of air is high, since players are unable to tell when they can take a breather again or find a new save point to reload on it. It really depends on how you'll add to this feature to get me better hooked on it.
My only Issue would be those Crumble Blocks unlocking secret areas, or just normal progressions, they can be hard to see and if there was a "learning" section about them, it clearly didn't last for me. Using them for Secret Areas only would be much more rewarding, since they can be hard to find, while using them for general progression just makes them a tedious staging element since you'll need the one correct spot to shoot at to progress.
Hey, thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
The Oxygen mechanic is not quite where I want it yet and I understand this can hinder the exploration element at times, but I can say this:
It will not be used everywhere, the plan is to use it in select areas and situations.
The "shooting blocks" part is not really going to go away, even for main path progression.
But I get what you mean and I have plans to add more different things you need to do to progress.
The keypad and battery are two examples of this that made it into the demo, but more things will be added.
For the "tedious" part, I've removed some blocks in one area in the demo update I just released, and if I feel like other areas are a bit pointless like this one was, then I'll change those as well in the future.
Zordak runs into a segmentation fault on Kubuntu 20.10 STS (Groovy), 20.04 LTS (Focal) and 18.04 LTS (Bionic) - i.e. the window closes immediately - even when all lib dependencies are solved (and I do have some 32 bit games running in my systems). I am using AMD Zen2 and RDNA1 (Navi 10).
On a side note: Why is 32 bit still necessary ... would be much better to have a 64 bit binary as 32 bit is said to be discontinued on future Ubuntu LTS releases ... at least stated by Ubuntu (1st considered for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS but then postponed).
Sorry to hear that but as mentioned in the readme, I only test on regular Ubuntu with a virtual machine right now so no clue why it doesn't work.
I also don't have an AMD machine plugged in to test with right now either (no space to put the computer anywhere) so not sure if there is a difference between AMD and Intel in this regard.
Well the reason for 32 bit is that I have no choice, Game Maker Studio v1.4 only exports 32 bit.
If they discontinue 32 bit on Ubuntu then I guess the Linux version of the game will be dead for a while until I manage to get my hands on Game Maker Studio 2.
Either way, I don't think there's much I can do right now unfortunately.
Thanks for letting me know though and I'll add this issue to the list in case I ever decide to add more distros to the testing suite.
OK, I understand that you can not test it ... just a pity. My AMD system is quite new and fast - but under Linux it is really no problem ... have a lot of games ... and also 32 bit one.
I understand - it's the game engine version forcing 32 bit ... but as said this is not the problem in 1st instance. But maybe with a new game engine it may be easier to get it run on modern systems ...
Segmentation Fault can happen if trying to use libraries no longer compatible to linked libraries provided by the distribution. But as I tested also Bionic (the oldest one supported - Xenial is only in rare cases supported on the desktop - and to old to run on my new system) I can not understand it ...
Would have liked to see your game ... but thanks for your reply!
Switching to a completely new engine is not really possible unless I want to add like at least a year (maybe more) of extra development time.
I don't know why it runs into a segmentation fault, the executable file I get when "compiling" for Linux is from like 2016 since it's actually just a VM that interprets the code.
I haven't gotten the actual compiler to work for Linux yet and likely won't get it to work either since it's so old at this point.
So what I'm saying with all of this is that the engine I'm using will always produce a very old executable for Linux, which is likely why things don't always work.
The reason for this is that I'm using an old version of the engine: Game Maker Studio v1.4 (GMS).
And I can't promise anything but I may or may not have access to GMS 2 in the future which is a lot more updated and very likely fixes a lot of issues like this.
And you could always try the Windows version using Wine or something similar, I've heard that works for some people, other than that, I don't think there's much I can do right now.
Of all the Metroid inspired games I've played, this one best evokes the feelings I experienced when I first played Super Metroid. The goop boss seemed well balanced! It wrecked me the first time, but I was able to learn its moves and take it down after a couple more tries. So excited for a full release!
That's good to hear since that feeling is pretty much what I'm going for.
Also good that the boss was somewhat balanced, it's still going to get a few more rounds of changes over time though as it's not quite where I want it yet.
I got 2 achievements: Exterminator & Fresh air. Still don't know how unlock 'Escape artist' though..XD I'll keep trying over & over again until figure it out.
So I kinda like everything, my only real nitpick was the oxygen level, it added anxiety for me to get through the outdoor parts as fast as possible, otherwise I am preparing my money for the full version :)
Oxygen is there for that very reason but with that being said, it's still really in the testing phase on how much it should drain and where it should be used, etc.
So things will likely change over time, hopefully for the better, what I can say though is that it will only be used in specific areas and not everywhere.
Very impressed so far! A few nitpicks were the animation is much better now, but it still feels a little flat when it comes to the poses. Sometimes the way to progress isn't obvious (like shooting diagonal in a hole) and can be a bit frustrating, since with all the bloom and effects, it can be a bit hard to notice. Items do disappear way too quickly, and maybe they should come to you like a magnet when close because a lot of the time, when an enemy is killed, the energy/missile is just out of reach by a pixel or so. The level design can feel very same-y with multiple rooms having the same layout. The first boss is a bit unforgiving and becomes a waiting game, as it has a bit too much health so you either die quickly and have to restart or stand in a corner waiting for it to pop up. Other than that great work!
Not exactly sure what you mean by "flat" in this regard but I will continue to improve the sprites over time, this demo update was the last time they will change this drastically though.
The diagonal hole is there to force the player to learn about diagonal aiming, I do agree that it might need more hints though so this is already on the list.
You can turn off the effects in the options menu if needed as well.
The magnet part about items is already on the list and it will be implemented so they move to the player if they are very close which in turn should solve the "just out of reach" issue.
I'll add "items disappear too fast" to the list though.
Not quite sure what you mean about the same-y part either since the rooms are all hand made and none should be the same really.
I guess you might refer to "this room is two views wide and this one is two views tall, this is a single view" or something like this.. otherwise I'm not sure.
The boss will be improved more over time, I do agree with the health part though so that is already on the list.
As for it being a "waiting game", sure it can happen but that might change once I reduce the health a bit and possibly do some pattern changes, so I won't put this on the list for now.
It is a very good demo that gives a good visualization of the somewhat more oppressive environment to the saga on which it is based, generating in sections a sense of urgency and exploration with the oxygen meter mechanism that forces you to cross quickly or look for possible air spaces to survive the exploration that gives it a different but fresh touch. Mobility is somewhat clearer than in Super Metroid, you cannot jump on the walls but a mechanism of ledges was added to climb that I liked to give verticality to the levels and it seems more "normal" for the doors to open when close instead of shooting them. It also made me curious how the character crawls to pass through small spaces, which makes me think that the Metroid morphball probably originated to make a simple animation when passing through closed spaces. I hope to see the complete project.
I made a gameplay capturing the inputs of the control, although I must say that the control was quite responsive and fluid.
The atmosphere is incredible, it's obvious you've put a lot of love in to it. My problem is that I just keep forgetting to keep track of oxygen, I get so engrossed in exploring and then I realize I'm out O2 and die.
Your puzzles are just my speed though. I get stuck for a minute, but then I find the solution very satisfying.
So oxygen will be a pretty big part of the game but it's not going to be used in all areas.
I will continue trying to improve upon this aspect over time and things will likely change a lot at some point.
Glad you like the puzzles as this is going to be a major part of the game, there will be more variation in the full game though as the demo is a bit repetitive at times.
Thanks for the feedback, glad you like the demo. :)
The demo is working fine in archlinux and manjaro, thank you for the linux build. Created the aur installer script for the archlinux and manjaro users: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/zordak
As mentioned in the readme file, I don't know much about Linux so I'm assuming an "aur" script basically installs the game and probably dependencies as well?
I might install Manjaro in a VM and try it out there myself so I have more of an understanding about how it works.
If it's not too time consuming I could possibly start to at least semi-support that as well (and possibly include that script link in the install instructions), but we'll see.
My bad with not clear terms: AUR is kinda playground for user install scripts. It's for the projects that are not in official community repos yet. And it's only for the Archlinux-compatible distros (such as Manjaro).
So, other popular linux distros (like debian or rpm-based) are not supported with my approach. They are using their own package managers. It's possible to write install packages for the deb and rpm based distros too using my archlinux files as a draft. I'm a bit lazy to do that, since I'm not using another distros right now. Maybe another contributors help too if needed :)
There's also AppImage format. I'm not a fan, but it's an attempt to make a standart for portable apps. So probably AppImage is also an option to provide a general linux install package for many distros.
Anyway, don't bother much, existing archive is enough to run and README covers all the info. Thank you for the game and good luck! :)
Absolutely! For what I´ve seen so far its one fantastic love letter to one of my fav. games of all time (Metroid III). Maybe i overread it somewhere, but do you know when you guys will finish the full game?
Oh wow - honestly! You are creating this on your own? Ok... now this is UEBER impressive now! Fantastic job! And you are absolutely right: its done when its done! Take your time and I can already see that it will be 1 fantastic game!
I am working on #SpaceCowboy since many years on my own as well - and I just love working on the game without any stress because of a release date :)
Thanks, I'm trying my best here so I appreciate it. ^^
If it's something you love working on, then keep working, don't let anyone stop you. :)
I'll tell you one thing though, I'm definitely not working on this without stress, in fact, I'm almost always stressed out.. the game is not the reason though and I won't go more into it than this.
Hi, first of all thanks for releasing your game for Linux :-)
Regarding libssl1.0 on Ubuntu 20.04, you don't need to install it, you can simply uncompress the deb archive into the game directory and set a couple of paths.
This is some very nice information and I'll be putting this in my notes for the next release as this seems to be a much better way of doing it.
As far as I understand, this means that I could bundle all dependencies with the game which would be a much better option than having the user install them.
Just to be sure (and because I had already a lot of dependencies installed on my machine) I tried with a fresh install of Ubuntu 20.04 on a new VritualBox VM.
I think you are missing a step in the README: before installing the i386 library packages, I'm quite sure you have to enable the i386 architecture.
So this is the sequence of commands I verified to be working on a fresh install:
I didn't have to do that when installing it on a fresh VM or natively on my laptop (fresh install) when that still worked, both of them had Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 64-Bit installed.
And just to be clear here, the README does have the ":i386" part on all listed dependencies in case this is part of what you mean.
But that being said, I might add the "sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386" part explaining that this may have to be run to enable i386 architecture in the README for the next version.
I would love to try this demo, but your controller configuration is broken. Not all gamepads have a "select" button (button 9?), and for those without, it is impossible to rebind keys.
Perhaps allow a keybind to be cleared with Backspace in gamepad mode? Or allow a bind to overwrite an existing bind? Very, very frustrating.
EDIT: While you're at it, perhaps don't arbitrarily choose a controller on systems with multiple controllers? Let the user pick one.
Never seen a controller without a select button of some form so not sure what to say there other than I guess they exist then.
I'll be looking into putting that on another button then, and did you try using backspace with a controller plugged in?
Can't remember if it works or not right now but the game should at least switch to keyboard mode as soon as you press a keyboard button, it might not clear the controller button keybind though.
You mean overwrite an existing key as in if the same key is already bound somewhere else (not on the current action you're trying to bind) then just unbind that key for that action?
If so, that can probably be done and I'll put it on the list.
And finally, never actually seen someone use multiple controllers at the same time unless they're making games themselves and use them for testing so I didn't account for that yet.
I'll be putting that on the list as well and it will probably be added as a list you can scroll through and select the controller you want.
Here are two that lack a Button 9 that I have at hand:
Those are officially-licensed, but I also have a couple of Chinese clones which skip Button 9, which I assume is what your code is looking for. There are also SNES-inspired controllers that might not map select to Button 9. Yes, Backspace with a controller just switches to keyboard mode, it doesn't clear the button binding.
By suggesting that you might use another button, you're still making some assumptions about what the button layout and mapping of the user's controller will be, and arbitrarily choosing a button that will be gated off. It would be better to have a universal key (such as Backspace) that will clear a button binding or a keyboard binding, and that all PCs are guaranteed to have.
The other option would be to overwrite an existing bind, possibly with the red text prompting for a second confirmation press, instead of simply refusing to remap.
For the record, local co-op and such is still a completely legitimate reason to have multiple controllers connected to a PC. Also, some disability controller setups might still use multiple controllers, although I don't expect indie games to support those out of the gate.
EDIT: Wrong pic for the Gen/MD controller, fixed. Also, I realize that historically, indie games' solution to controllers has been "just use Joy2Key", so I appreciate that you are actually supporting controllers. My suggestions are only intended as constructive criticism.
EDIT 2: Tried a couple of generic PSX controllers of different make/model, which have "Select" mapped to Button 9, and it still doesn't clear the binding. I've tried all of the buttons (including thumbsticks) on both, and none of them do. I'm not sure which button you're looking for in the code to clear the binding, but it doesn't appear to be working.
Huh, well, I never had anything Sega related so that explains that.
I'm not really looking for "button 9", I'm looking for a constant set by the engine I'm using. (which might be button 9 I have no idea)
And regarding backspace not clearing the controller keybind, I've now tested it and it actually does as long as you're in controller mode when pressing backspace, if you press a keyboard button other than backspace before pressing backspace, then it will clear the keyboard key instead.
So you have to press a controller button to enter controller mode and then press only backspace to clear a controller binding.
There is however some issue where "select" is not working as intended, it just gets detected as a menu button press instead of clearing a binding.
But both of these problems will be largely irrelevant after my intended fix listed below.
As for using another button to clear bindings, I'm just going to have backspace clear both the keyboard and the controller binding, that should solve the problem.
I'll be looking into changing how keybind conflicts work, it's probably either going to be the way you described or the way I mentioned in my previous comment.
Yeah you're right there, I didn't really think of local coop at all, probably because I don't really like multiplayer that much so I usually stay way from it.
And the disability point is also correct and for that reason I'll be looking into a setting like this: "Accept input from all connected controllers", therefore allowing input from all controllers without selecting one from a list.
This probably won't magically make all those non-standard controllers work though.
I'll also be looking into adding that list to be able to select controller if the above setting is turned off, which it would be by default.
And using "Joy2Key" is an option I guess but I'd rather just have it work in game.
And finally, for your second edit, refer to the "button 9" part of this post, there is an issue with select apparently.
Anyway, I appreciate the feedback, I'll be trying to add these new features and fix the issues.
I don't mean to be a pain, but I'm trying to use Backspace to clear a bind, and it doesn't seem to be working, even for keyboard bindings. Pressing Backspace just brings up the red-bordered keybinding screen, and the buttons/keys are still shown as being in use, with red error text.
To be clear, my expectation (based on other programs with remappable controls) is that pressing a "clear bind" key should stay on the same screen, and the bound entry would become blank, after which the user could select it to bind it.
Also, the demo shows a notification whenever it loses focus that the controller has been disconnected. Probably not critical, but odd.
Okay I think I see what might have happened, is Backspace bound to any action?
This is the only case I've gotten it to behave as you explained, apparently I forgot to disable that as a key you can bind.. so this will be fixed as well.
To fix this you'd have to bind whatever action Backspace is bound to another key and then Backspace should behave as intended again.
And your expectation is correct, it's supposed to stay on the same screen and just set the action to "unbound".
That controller disconnection notification is normal, I'd have to rework aspects of my controller detection system to *maybe* get rid of that so that probably won't be fixed any time soon.
And yeah, you should probably wait for the next version, I'm on a bit of a break right now so I'll be getting back to work on this next monday.
I got all the way to the first boss, didn't beat it because it wasn't very fun to fight against.
That being said, the art direction and sound desing are simply phenomenal, you really nailed that Metroid vibe perfectly. And the design of the first boss was really cool! The ambience tracks can feel repetitive, they do the trick of being ambience but they don't hold my attention for very long like Lower Brinstar or Norfair get to do, I would make the actual loops way longer.
I also feel like the initial areas are way too small so it's hard to get a feel and identity for each one, so it ends up feeling more like Metroid Fusion than it's bigger brother Metroid Fusion. The fact that a lot of progression is hidden behind shootable blocks makes me feel like they are there without much rhyme or reason and it kinda defeats the purpose of feeling like a secret when they're so many one after the other.
Also, only 2 rockets at the start? Come on, at least gimme 5, let me have fun blowing stuff up! I know the drop rate of rockets is like crazy high but I still feel like 2 doesn't let me get excited to start blasting stuff around.
Overall I think it shows a lot of promise and it can be polished into a great game if you keep working on it. Again, the art is crazy good and the animations feel nice! But there's much more to a Metroid game than the aesthetics of it, and I just don't get the same feeling of adventure with Zordak.
Please keep up the good work! I'll be looking forwards to more updates.
The boss will continue to get improvements over time, for example: currently I think it's still a bit too random and it doesn't always give the player much time to hit it, so those will be improved upon at some point.
All music and most sound will be reworked later so expect these things to change, the current music is just something quick I threw together a long time ago so I understand.
So, I simply can't make everything as big as in Super Metroid so the rooms will be smaller in this game, that being said, there are bigger rooms in the full game than in the demo.
And if you mean areas like full zones and not just rooms, the same answer still applies.
I don't really consider the progression parts as secrets even though they are somewhat hidden, I think of it more like puzzles and this is one of the main mechanics of the game, so this is not really going to stop.
But I get what you mean, things can get a bit repetitive and I'm trying to come up with new things you have to do as the game progresses, not much of that is in the demo after a certain point though unfortunately.
The reason for the low ammo count is that I don't want the player to be able to spam the missiles but rather use them in specific scenarios like tougher enemies, bosses and such.
So this will probably not change, I'm not completely sure though.
Of course there's more than aesthetics to a Metroid game like the music and movement mechanics for example but I'm not making an actual Metroid game here so things will be different.
I'll just say what I always do:
I'm trying to make Super Metroid but not Super Metroid.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback, glad you like the demo overall. :)
If it's puzzles what you're going for I think you're going on a good path, I'm not a huge puzzle fan so I can't comment too much on that. Experimenting with that concept can be a lot of fun if you push the puzzle aspect really hard into the game and you could get away with the smaller areas if they're all full of entertaining puzzles. It would really make Zordak stand on it's own if you manage to pull such a thing since it'll be quite unique.
Just wanted to say that because it did feel more like a puzzles overall.
Once again, keep up the good work and looking forwards to more stuff!
Regarding your question though.. I'm going to have to disappoint you but the ability to unequip the suit will probably be going away when I add a new planned feature.
So.. sorry, but that is likely not going to happen.
I've now done some reading and sadly.. you're probably right.
I'm not going to go more into it than this but let's just say I don't agree at all.. but it's not up to me so it will not be there in the next version, you can't have fun in this world I guess.
Glad you like the game though and thanks for trying the demo.
I apologize for make you feel uncomfortable. but nintendo is really ***hole when it comes to copyright issues...D:(
Did you heard 'AM2R (Another metroid 2 remake)'? AM2R is metroid fan game development began in 2008, completed and released on August 6, 2016. It was well-made metroid fan game & it also been awarded at the amateur Nintendo 2nd creative game contest.
As far as I know, The developer has already received development approval from Nintendo, and there were no actions or claims during development either.
However,soon after AM2R was completed,this game was banned by Nintendo. A year later, Nintendo released new official remake named 'Metroid samus returns'.
That was trecherous and cowardly decision.. Not only a betrayal to fans and users, but also intercepts the developer's ideas and efforts. Don't you think?
After AM2R was banned, Nintendo has banned the distribution of over 562 fan made games in the same way. That's why I really hate Nintendo and I don't want this game to be another victim of Nintendo's copyright policy.);
It's fine, I wasn't exactly feeling uncomfortable, it was more disappointment in how boring companies are.
I know about AM2R, not as much detail as you explained but still.
I don't think this will be the same case though (especially after the metroid has been removed) for multiple reasons:
1 - I'm not calling this metroid or trying to make it seem like an actual metroid game.
2 - All my graphics are original and isn't made to completely look like metroid. (although with obvious similarities)
Even the actual metroid easter egg sprite was made by me but that one is too similar so it's going away as mentioned before.
So I don't really see how this could be a victim of copyright issues when everything is original.
But with all of that being said, this game is not done and will receive numerous changes over time so other things may or may not be removed/changed as well.
I like the feel of this game. One little issue I have is with regards to the game's conveyance. So many instances where I found myself in a room where I couldn't figure out how to progress. The cracks in the walls and pipes can be a little hard to see; perhaps it may be worth exploring some kind of map marker like what they have in the Metroid series. Something just to indicate that there is a breakable wall or a hidden item in the room.
Anyhow, keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing the finished product.
Well, eventually you did find out how to progress, right?
So I guess it can't be that bad and I can agree that sometimes it's a bit much but this is one of the main points of the game.
So it's probably going to stay this way unless a lot of people get stuck in the same place, then I know there's a big problem.
And regarding a map marker system, this already exists but not in the same way, this one is manual and you have to put the markers there yourself as reminders / notes.
Thanks for the feedback, I'm sure things will improve over time.
Yeah, well, that system is going to be changed again in the next version, whenever that is, there are still some issues with this one but it's better than before.
The ending message should be there, it was there in all of my testing so not sure what happened there..
In any case, someone else had this issue as well so I'll be displaying the message in a different way in the next version.
Well, I kinda want people to get stumped / stuck at these points in the game and I've left multiple hints for both places so I'm not sure how much this will change.
Maybe a few more hints will be added, I've got at least one in mind for the diagonal shooting part.
Good to hear that the boss is better, it's still not quite where I want it since it's still a bit too random so more changes will come to that one later.
Thanks for trying the new demo and the feedback. :)
Great job on the demo! You hit the mark exactly. It feels like Super Metroid, but with it's own style and mechanics. I'll be looking forward to the full release!
I did encounter a bug I wanted to report. I use a dualshock 4 controller on my PC and it incorrectly detected some of the buttons.
I have them mapped like this: Square is attack, Triangle is secondary attack, X is Jump, and Circle is Secondary Weapon Swap. However, this is how the game detected that configuration:
If you need any more info from me just let me know. Great job and I'm looking forward to seeing more!
So.. do the buttons you bound work like you wanted them to and it's just the name that is wrong right?
If that's the case, I don't think there's anything I can do about it really, I don't actually know what button was pressed because all controllers are different.
And the only reason I know it was one of the face buttons is because it was detected by the built in function from Game Maker Studio, otherwise my own method would detect it but then it would just display a number instead.
So I'm not sure there's much I can do about this issue.
The important thing is that the keybindings work as you bound them, the names are pretty irrelevant as long as they work as you bound them, it could possibly get a bit confusing sure.. but it is what it is for now.
Thanks for the feedback.
If you use Discord and are looking to get more involved with providing feedback, feel free to join my server listed in the "Links" section of this game page.
So, I loved this demo, great concept with great execution. There were a few things that I found frustrating however, such as the diagonal shooting. I understand that the player is supposed to figure a lot of things out on their own, but assigning the diagonal shooting mechanic to a button, and not telling the player about it felt agitating. Maybe put a hint text on the item when you obtain it, or some additional controls related to the item?
There are a few things that I did love however, such as how there are different types of water, and each had negative effects, but in different ways, such as how the beginning water takes away oxygen, and later water pools take away energy. Also, I didn't know if it was a bug or not, but occasionally when I would shoot at a crawling bug enemy, they would stop, wait a second, then flip over. It gave me the impression that the creatures were just as scared of the player as the player was as scared of them. Another nice thing is that the secrets were designed in a way that made me want to start shooting around to find out if there were any other secrets. It felt natural and rewarding.
Overall, loved it, and I look forward to a full release. Keep up the good work.
I had the controls listed on there before but people said there was too much text and I saw in multiple videos that they didn't read it anyway so I removed it.
So I decided to just tell the player about the controls menu instead, same thing with the first missile you pick up.
Not sure what else to do here, the controls menu is the best place to find these things out anyway.
The crawlers flipping over is kind of a bug but I mean.. It doesn't really impact gameplay in a negative way so I've left it in for now.
Anyway, glad you like the demo and thanks for the feedback. :)
Since you just released the new demo/build I want to give some feedback. First I want to start by telling you that I was impressed with the visuals, it felt like Metroid but different and it was nice pixel art and sound to enhance the feeling. It did run great on my old potato laptop so that is great work! Kept stable frame rate, good visuals and smooth inputs. I had two small glitches, when a energy pickup was left and I moved away from view distance the purple glow was still there when I came back and the pickup was unloaded. The boss was damaged in its "Serris" attack and it kept doing the sound of damage until it repeated the attack.
I did like what you have done and my main point of frustration was that the breakable blocks where sometimes hard to hit and find. Gave up twice and took a break and then I tried to shoot everything and realised the crack in the wall was breakable but I needed to aim to break it while it looked as my show did connect. So maybe increase the hitboxes.
Other than that I just want to say I am really interested and wants to see where this project ends since I liked what I tested. :)
Good to hear that it felt like Metroid but different since the feeling I'm going for is basically "Super Metroid but not Super Metroid".
Also good to hear that it works on a lower end computer, I spent quite a bit of time trying to optimize it a week or so before release.
The light/glow issue is already on my list so I'll be fixing that at some point.
I'm not sure what "Serris attack" would be but the sound playing thing does not sound correct so I'll add this to the list, thanks.
Yeah.. breakable tiles still have some issues and I'll be improving on that over time.
The thing is.. I can't just increase the hitbox size since it's already a bit too big, meaning: if you shoot above the floor for example and the projectile moves along the floor but does not hit it, it will still hit a breakable tile at the same position as the floor even though it's not even close to it.
So, I'll have to look into other ways to improve that aspect.
Here is the deal from my play through - there isn't a lot to get in the game area you are allowed to play in, in the demo. Unless I am missing something. Power armor 6-8 missiles and an energy tank.
If you are taking input for new parts to the game would be some kind of mutagen addition to allow the heroin to get additional powers, even increase energy/health levels, jump, armor and the like. (Though this seems like just surface level things, since there is no metroid flipping here.) Enemies seem a bit too Metroid-esk, Might work on differing them so that there is no conflict with Nintendo. Heroin's hair color could be changed for the same reason. Else include a hair color choice, at least for the few times she gets out of her armor to show... (Though as it is seemingly version .5 a lot of the seen features and things might change over the development... Might suggest also getting in contact with DoctorM64 the one that made AM2R and see if he can help with getting additional tallent to help this get made. )
Well, judging from your numbers, you missed 1 or 2 items depending on if you just left one key item out or not.
But that being said, it is a demo after all so of course it won't have that much content, in fact, it's already quite long for a demo in my opinion.
The main functions of the demo is to show people how the game plays and let them have a way to see if it works on their computer.
I already have A LOT of upgrades and such planned, some are in the game already (not in the demo), so I'm probably not going to be adding many suggestions like that at the moment.
Not 100% sure what "metroid flipping" means but I assume it's like the spinjump maybe? In that case, no there will not be any spinjump in this game.
I mean, sure, many enemies are based on enemies from metroid and behave very similar but it is all original sprites and code so I don't see how this would be a problem really.
Same goes for hair color.. and having the option to change it will likely not be in the game, I'd have to add a lot of extra sprites just for that.
And regarding contacting DoctorM64, I'm not really looking for any help in this regard right now (maybe not ever) so this will likely not be needed.
Yeah pretty much everything has been improved since the last demo in my opinion.
Good to hear that the boss is better as well, I will likely continue tweaking it later as it's not quite 100% where I want it yet, it's a bit too random still.
That homage to Metroid has actually been there since one of the first demos I released but I'm pretty sure most people miss it. ;)
Solid foundation but having energy and power on separate bars feels weird. maybe power could be renamed something else to make it clearer what it's supposed to do.
I LOVED the demo, it's amazing. It felt so smooth and nice to navigate and explore. The secrets, the exploration... truly amazing! The ambience is great too. The tutorial felt kinda sloppy, without telling you about using W or A to point down or up, but matches the metroidvania style of not telling you anything. Overall amazing demo, I can't wait for more content! I guess that there is no estimated release date? How many years would it take to be complete? I am really hyped up for this game! Will buy it on release, might even support it on patreon once I pay my taxes.
Well, regarding tutorial text, it was just too much text to display so I decided to tell the player to check the control options instead, which is the best way to check controls anyway.
I have no set release date and I don't know how long it will take to finish, all I can really say is:
It's done when it's done.
As for supporting me and/or the game, it's completely up to you and every little bit of support I get on Patreon is extremely appreciated.
I love this demo so much!! Lots of fun, and it really feels like Metroid. The bossfight and puzzles are a lot of fun to figure out. The only criticism I have is that the player animations are a little stiff. Great work so far, excited for the release!!
Instead of an early access, when a demo that you feel comfortable enough (Maybe near release) is ready, release a demo in steam with the page (No early access). That would be really cool.
Hey there, I'm liking the demo so far. I see you are close to releasing another demo, so this feedback may be irrelevant by now.
I haven't completed the demo, because I got stuck behind a pedestal that had my second missile pack on it. I cannot jump back out. I can provide a screenshot to show you where if you need it. I will need to quit and reload from a save.
I noticed many scaling artifacts in the intro sequence that look like textures are being stretched in a non-1-to-1 fashion, even though my graphics settings were set to not stretch.
The 'fit to screen' option leaves large black bars on all sides of the game area. I assume you are doing integer multiple scaling only - a 'keep aspect ratio' type scaling could eliminate the black bars on two sides of the screen (top and bottom in my case) and would be an improvement.
I tried running with vsync enabled. I usually prefer this to avoid tearing artifacts. However, the game ran very sluggishly. The built-in fps counter says 30fps, but it seemed like the game logic (rather than rendering) was executing perhaps somewhere in the 8-10 fps range.
Hey, thanks for trying the demo and yes, a new demo should be coming up very soon with a lot of changes. :)
That pedestal room issue has been fixed assuming you mean the room which is half submerged in water with spikes at the bottom.
There will always be some scaling artifacts since the game is actually rendered at 200% scale, this is done to be able to render the text as small as it is, it would be double the size if the game was rendered at 100%.
That being said, I'm looking into good ways of rendering the text separately to allow 100% game scale rendering, still have not found a good way though.
"Fit to Screen" will have black bars on any widescreen monitor as the game is not made for widescreen, and this is not possible to change either.
It does not use Integer Scaling and actually does Aspect Ratio Scaling unless Aspect Ratio Scaling means something else to you.
It should not have black bars on all sides of the screen though, just the sides or the top/bottom, a screenshot of this would be nice unless I'm misunderstanding here.
Technically the only reason V-Sync would make the game run at 30FPS would be if your monitor is running at 30Hz, unless something is broken.
Not sure about the 8-10FPS thing though, but one thing you could do regarding V-Sync is to turn on "Alternate Sync" which may or may not fix the issue.
Thanks for the feedback :)
If you're interested in providing more direct feedback or maybe knowing more about the game, feel free to join my Discord server, there's a link to it on this game page.
If not, then that's fine as well, I just respond faster on Discord. (+ there's a benefit or two for being there)
The game is very good, and has a great feel for it. The lighting, sound effects and music - all create a great atmosphere.
My only gripe is with the boss fight. He doesn't telegraph his attacks in an optimal way, and thus doesn't leave many options to learn his patterns and respond to them properly.
It all feels like a game of chance in regards to how I must position myself before his next attack, and whether or not I'll meet my impending doom. It all just feels like it's out of my control.
Also, the spike in the difficulty level, is too great for such an early phase of the game. It's a bit of a leap to move on from dealing with jumping suicide crabs to dealing with an over-powered water bender that shoots plasma balls out of his eyes.
Hey, thanks for trying the demo and I'm glad you like it.
So, this demo is quite old by now and I'm currently in the process of making a new demo with A LOT of changes including changes to the boss.
That being said, you are correct and I agree with pretty much everything you said, many of these things have been fixed / improved upon in the upcoming demo and will continue to be improved upon after that.
So if you find the time to test the new demo whenever it's out (hopefully "soon"), feel free to tell me if you think it's better or not.
Also just to comment on the difficulty spike:
The boss should be easier in the new demo as well and thus reducing this difficulty spike.
But it should still be challenging and dying on the boss now results in less of a penalty as there is a save station closer to the boss.
I would love to play the updated demo when it comes out(and also buy the game when it's finished).
And it's definitely a good thing that the boss will still be challenging. I don't mind dying often in a boss fight. I just want to feel like it's my fault for dying, instead of like it's the game's fault.
What a treat! I grew up with Metroid, and I can not wait for the game to be fully released one day. Instant buy! Love the atmosphere and all these little particle effects. Really bring things to life! Amazing work so far :)
love it, looks like an unreleased metroid game for the MS-Dos in the 90s! the atmosphere is certainly one of it's stronger aspects, the same thing that made metroid fusion my favourite Metroid game.
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I played this demo on Twitch for my first stream ever last week, love the aesthetics, and gameplay is super smooth :) Can't wait for the full release!
By the way, my main goal on Twitch is to translate indie games from English to French, which means I'm currently translating the demo. Would you be interested in a free semi-professional French translation for your game? Also, I can't figure out how to display accentuated characters in the game (stuff like "é, à"). I tried saving the txt file in UTF-16 but it just seems to break everything. Do you have any tips for me?
Keep up the good work, this is great stuff :D
Hey, thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
Technically I would be interested, but the problem is that not all text is in the game yet and the localization file is currently a bit of a mess with a bunch of unused stuff in it.
My plan was to add all text to the game and finalize the localization system before getting any translations done.
So translating it now would be a bit of a waste as things could change at any moment, well, not necessarily a complete waste as it would still help me figure out problems if done right now, but hopefully you get what I mean.
And I have no idea when all the text would be added or when the localization system is finished, so I can't exactly give you a time frame here either.
But if you use Discord and you're still interested in doing this or just want to join the community, then feel free to join my server:
https://discord.gg/fTTEUNZ
It's much easier to discuss things and get more in-depth over there. (and you can PM there me if needed)
If you don't use Discord then we can continue talking here I guess but it will become kind of a mess with this comment system.
Also, I'm not sure why "é, à" wouldn't work, I copied it from your message here and put it at the end of the credits.txt file just to test and it worked, so no idea why it wouldn't work right now.
No idea if UTF version makes a difference either since I don't have much control over how the engine loads a text file, I just make a text document in windows and save with default settings and that works.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback. :)
Many thanks for this lengthy reply, hopefully I'll find a solution to this "é,à" problem ;)
I'm currently away from home but I'll join the Discord as soon as I can :)
A real pretty game and one i will be looking forward to.
The environment and general atmosphere hits the spot just right, so even with the homage to Metroid missing, fans will clearly be able to tell how much the game was inspired by it, without being a literal copy.
The Oxygen is an interesting feature though i'm not sold on it yet. It decourages exploration since the urgency of not running out of air is high, since players are unable to tell when they can take a breather again or find a new save point to reload on it. It really depends on how you'll add to this feature to get me better hooked on it.
My only Issue would be those Crumble Blocks unlocking secret areas, or just normal progressions, they can be hard to see and if there was a "learning" section about them, it clearly didn't last for me.
Using them for Secret Areas only would be much more rewarding, since they can be hard to find, while using them for general progression just makes them a tedious staging element since you'll need the one correct spot to shoot at to progress.
Looking forward to this Game. :3
Hey, thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
The Oxygen mechanic is not quite where I want it yet and I understand this can hinder the exploration element at times, but I can say this:
It will not be used everywhere, the plan is to use it in select areas and situations.
The "shooting blocks" part is not really going to go away, even for main path progression.
But I get what you mean and I have plans to add more different things you need to do to progress.
The keypad and battery are two examples of this that made it into the demo, but more things will be added.
For the "tedious" part, I've removed some blocks in one area in the demo update I just released, and if I feel like other areas are a bit pointless like this one was, then I'll change those as well in the future.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback. ^^
Seems like a legit game!
However...
After escaping the begin area and getting both the helmet and suit/gun...
I am stuck in small room with no way out.
Some kind of power up, two little crawlers, and a weird barrier blocking the power up.
The exit thingy changed to red...
Getting completely stuck should not be possible unless something has gone wrong, and if you are where I think you are, then you're not stuck.
Keep looking around in that room.
Hmmm...thanks, will do!
I wanted to try your game in Linux but failed.
Zordak runs into a segmentation fault on Kubuntu 20.10 STS (Groovy), 20.04 LTS (Focal) and 18.04 LTS (Bionic) - i.e. the window closes immediately - even when all lib dependencies are solved (and I do have some 32 bit games running in my systems). I am using AMD Zen2 and RDNA1 (Navi 10).
On a side note: Why is 32 bit still necessary ... would be much better to have a 64 bit binary as 32 bit is said to be discontinued on future Ubuntu LTS releases ... at least stated by Ubuntu (1st considered for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS but then postponed).
Sorry to hear that but as mentioned in the readme, I only test on regular Ubuntu with a virtual machine right now so no clue why it doesn't work.
I also don't have an AMD machine plugged in to test with right now either (no space to put the computer anywhere) so not sure if there is a difference between AMD and Intel in this regard.
Well the reason for 32 bit is that I have no choice, Game Maker Studio v1.4 only exports 32 bit.
If they discontinue 32 bit on Ubuntu then I guess the Linux version of the game will be dead for a while until I manage to get my hands on Game Maker Studio 2.
Either way, I don't think there's much I can do right now unfortunately.
Thanks for letting me know though and I'll add this issue to the list in case I ever decide to add more distros to the testing suite.
OK, I understand that you can not test it ... just a pity. My AMD system is quite new and fast - but under Linux it is really no problem ... have a lot of games ... and also 32 bit one.
I understand - it's the game engine version forcing 32 bit ... but as said this is not the problem in 1st instance. But maybe with a new game engine it may be easier to get it run on modern systems ...
Segmentation Fault can happen if trying to use libraries no longer compatible to linked libraries provided by the distribution. But as I tested also Bionic (the oldest one supported - Xenial is only in rare cases supported on the desktop - and to old to run on my new system) I can not understand it ...
Would have liked to see your game ... but thanks for your reply!
Switching to a completely new engine is not really possible unless I want to add like at least a year (maybe more) of extra development time.
I don't know why it runs into a segmentation fault, the executable file I get when "compiling" for Linux is from like 2016 since it's actually just a VM that interprets the code.
I haven't gotten the actual compiler to work for Linux yet and likely won't get it to work either since it's so old at this point.
So what I'm saying with all of this is that the engine I'm using will always produce a very old executable for Linux, which is likely why things don't always work.
The reason for this is that I'm using an old version of the engine: Game Maker Studio v1.4 (GMS).
And I can't promise anything but I may or may not have access to GMS 2 in the future which is a lot more updated and very likely fixes a lot of issues like this.
And you could always try the Windows version using Wine or something similar, I've heard that works for some people, other than that, I don't think there's much I can do right now.
New info: "Linux version works!" in new comment above (on 13. Feb. 2021) - as these comments used demo 0.30 {= 63} - and now 0.32 {= 67} is available.
Excellent! But I would like to be able to reassign the control keys.
This should already be possible from the controls menu, it has some issues when using controller though which will be fixed in the next version.
An interesting little game, we had fun testing it.
Thanks for trying the demo.
I haven't watched the video yet, but when I do, I'll try to remember to leave a comment over on youtube. :)
Of all the Metroid inspired games I've played, this one best evokes the feelings I experienced when I first played Super Metroid. The goop boss seemed well balanced! It wrecked me the first time, but I was able to learn its moves and take it down after a couple more tries. So excited for a full release!
Hey, thanks for trying the demo. :)
That's good to hear since that feeling is pretty much what I'm going for.
Also good that the boss was somewhat balanced, it's still going to get a few more rounds of changes over time though as it's not quite where I want it yet.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback. ^^
Hey whats the code to get into the door to get the suit and gun? i looked at the demo video on youtube an i put in 4082 but it doesnt work
The code is different for each save file so you can't watch a video to get it.
Also, for the record, I have not put out an official demo video but I assume you mean the Alpha Beta Gamer one.
My bad. I saw a video on youtube about the demo. thats how i found out about the game. What i played so far is nice, but Im stuck at the code door.
It's all good, I was merely stating the fact that it's not my video.
And thanks, as for the code: try looking around in previous areas.
I got 2 achievements: Exterminator & Fresh air.
Still don't know how unlock 'Escape artist' though..XD
I'll keep trying over & over again until figure it out.
Nice, good to know that they work as intended. ;)
The last two achievements, Map Explorer and Item Collector, are not obtainable right now just to let you know.
Escape Artist should be obtainable unless there is some bug going on.
LOVE IT! And love the gamepad support, will write more when I finish the demo :)
Thanks, glad you like it, let me know if there are any issues. ^^
So I kinda like everything, my only real nitpick was the oxygen level, it added anxiety for me to get through the outdoor parts as fast as possible, otherwise I am preparing my money for the full version :)
Oxygen is there for that very reason but with that being said, it's still really in the testing phase on how much it should drain and where it should be used, etc.
So things will likely change over time, hopefully for the better, what I can say though is that it will only be used in specific areas and not everywhere.
Thanks for the feedback. :)
Very impressed so far! A few nitpicks were the animation is much better now, but it still feels a little flat when it comes to the poses. Sometimes the way to progress isn't obvious (like shooting diagonal in a hole) and can be a bit frustrating, since with all the bloom and effects, it can be a bit hard to notice. Items do disappear way too quickly, and maybe they should come to you like a magnet when close because a lot of the time, when an enemy is killed, the energy/missile is just out of reach by a pixel or so. The level design can feel very same-y with multiple rooms having the same layout. The first boss is a bit unforgiving and becomes a waiting game, as it has a bit too much health so you either die quickly and have to restart or stand in a corner waiting for it to pop up. Other than that great work!
Not exactly sure what you mean by "flat" in this regard but I will continue to improve the sprites over time, this demo update was the last time they will change this drastically though.
The diagonal hole is there to force the player to learn about diagonal aiming, I do agree that it might need more hints though so this is already on the list.
You can turn off the effects in the options menu if needed as well.
The magnet part about items is already on the list and it will be implemented so they move to the player if they are very close which in turn should solve the "just out of reach" issue.
I'll add "items disappear too fast" to the list though.
Not quite sure what you mean about the same-y part either since the rooms are all hand made and none should be the same really.
I guess you might refer to "this room is two views wide and this one is two views tall, this is a single view" or something like this.. otherwise I'm not sure.
The boss will be improved more over time, I do agree with the health part though so that is already on the list.
As for it being a "waiting game", sure it can happen but that might change once I reduce the health a bit and possibly do some pattern changes, so I won't put this on the list for now.
Thanks for the feedback. :)
oh yeah forgot to mention, the music doesn't loop correctly.
On Windows or Linux?
It should mostly loop correctly on Windows, there can be a hiccup at times though.
Linux has way more issues with this.
It is a very good demo that gives a good visualization of the somewhat more oppressive environment to the saga on which it is based, generating in sections a sense of urgency and exploration with the oxygen meter mechanism that forces you to cross quickly or look for possible air spaces to survive the exploration that gives it a different but fresh touch. Mobility is somewhat clearer than in Super Metroid, you cannot jump on the walls but a mechanism of ledges was added to climb that I liked to give verticality to the levels and it seems more "normal" for the doors to open when close instead of shooting them. It also made me curious how the character crawls to pass through small spaces, which makes me think that the Metroid morphball probably originated to make a simple animation when passing through closed spaces. I hope to see the complete project.
I made a gameplay capturing the inputs of the control, although I must say that the control was quite responsive and fluid.
Hey, thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it.
As mentioned over on Twitter, I haven't had time to watch the video yet but when I do I'll try to remember to leave a comment over on youtube. :)
I'm going for a somewhat more "realistic" feel for movement so that's why the player feels a bit heavy and there is no spinjump for example.
And just for the record here, there won't be any morph ball in this game if that's what you meant.
Thanks for the feedback.
The atmosphere is incredible, it's obvious you've put a lot of love in to it. My problem is that I just keep forgetting to keep track of oxygen, I get so engrossed in exploring and then I realize I'm out O2 and die.
Your puzzles are just my speed though. I get stuck for a minute, but then I find the solution very satisfying.
Hey, thanks for trying the demo.
So oxygen will be a pretty big part of the game but it's not going to be used in all areas.
I will continue trying to improve upon this aspect over time and things will likely change a lot at some point.
Glad you like the puzzles as this is going to be a major part of the game, there will be more variation in the full game though as the demo is a bit repetitive at times.
Thanks for the feedback, glad you like the demo. :)
Hey, thanks for trying the demo.
Good to know that it works there as well.
As mentioned in the readme file, I don't know much about Linux so I'm assuming an "aur" script basically installs the game and probably dependencies as well?
I might install Manjaro in a VM and try it out there myself so I have more of an understanding about how it works.
If it's not too time consuming I could possibly start to at least semi-support that as well (and possibly include that script link in the install instructions), but we'll see.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback. :)
Thanks! :) Yes, it resolves all the dependencies automatically, here's the main script:
https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/tree/PKGBUILD?h=zordak
I'm also providing zordak.desktop file for the system path /usr/share/applications/ to make it visible in the games list of the system menus:
https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/tree/zordak.desktop?h=zordak
My bad with not clear terms: AUR is kinda playground for user install scripts. It's for the projects that are not in official community repos yet. And it's only for the Archlinux-compatible distros (such as Manjaro).
So, other popular linux distros (like debian or rpm-based) are not supported with my approach. They are using their own package managers. It's possible to write install packages for the deb and rpm based distros too using my archlinux files as a draft. I'm a bit lazy to do that, since I'm not using another distros right now. Maybe another contributors help too if needed :)
There's also AppImage format. I'm not a fan, but it's an attempt to make a standart for portable apps. So probably AppImage is also an option to provide a general linux install package for many distros.
Anyway, don't bother much, existing archive is enough to run and README covers all the info. Thank you for the game and good luck! :)
Ah, I see.. thanks for the detailed information.
I probably won't be doing any type of packages, at least not any time soon.
And as mentioned before, I may play around with Manjaro for a bit and see how time consuming it would be to test on it as well.
I'm choosing Manjaro because:
1 - You mentioned it.
2 - From what I've read it seems to be a pretty popular distro.
I've got the KDE Plasma version downloaded so hopefully this version would be sufficient.
Thanks once again for the feedback. :)
Ok wow! This looks 1st impressive 2nd very promising and 3rd... I NEED TO DOWNLOAD THAT DEMO!
Thanks, let me know if you find any issues when/if you try the demo. :)
Absolutely! For what I´ve seen so far its one fantastic love letter to one of my fav. games of all time (Metroid III). Maybe i overread it somewhere, but do you know when you guys will finish the full game?
Super Metroid is one of my favorites as well. :)
And no, I do not have a set release date, the only thing I can really say is this:
It's done when it's done.
Also, for the record, this game is a solo effort so it's only me working on it. ;)
Oh wow - honestly! You are creating this on your own? Ok... now this is UEBER impressive now! Fantastic job!
And you are absolutely right: its done when its done! Take your time and I can already see that it will be 1 fantastic game!
I am working on #SpaceCowboy since many years on my own as well - and I just love working on the game without any stress because of a release date :)
Thanks, I'm trying my best here so I appreciate it. ^^
If it's something you love working on, then keep working, don't let anyone stop you. :)
I'll tell you one thing though, I'm definitely not working on this without stress, in fact, I'm almost always stressed out.. the game is not the reason though and I won't go more into it than this.
Hi, first of all thanks for releasing your game for Linux :-)
Regarding libssl1.0 on Ubuntu 20.04, you don't need to install it, you can simply uncompress the deb archive into the game directory and set a couple of paths.
Given this game dir layout, for example:
.
├── assets
├── libcrypto.so.1.0.0
├── libssl.so.1.0.0
├── openssl-1.0.0
│ └── engines
├── README_LINUX.txt
└── Zordak
This script will set the paths to preload local ssl version (it will also set the executable flag to the game if not present yet):
#!/bin/bash
GAME=Zordak
export OPENSSL_ENGINES=$PWD/openssl-1.0.0/engines
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$PWD:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
if [ ! -x $GAME ]; then
chmod +x $GAME;
fi
./$GAME
Save it as start.sh (and set it as executable with chmod +x start.sh) and you should be good to go.
Tested on Ubuntu 20.04 today.
Best regards :-D
Edit: typos on Ubuntu release
Hey, thank you for trying the demo. :)
This is some very nice information and I'll be putting this in my notes for the next release as this seems to be a much better way of doing it.
As far as I understand, this means that I could bundle all dependencies with the game which would be a much better option than having the user install them.
So thanks a lot for this information. ^^
Just to be sure (and because I had already a lot of dependencies installed on my machine) I tried with a fresh install of Ubuntu 20.04 on a new VritualBox VM.
I think you are missing a step in the README: before installing the i386 library packages, I'm quite sure you have to enable the i386 architecture.
So this is the sequence of commands I verified to be working on a fresh install:
$ sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
$ sudo apt install libopenal1:i386 libglu1:i386 libxrandr2:i386
$ cd Zordak; ./start.sh (the script I wrote last time)
Hope this helps. Bye and keep up with the really good job you're doing.
Hmm, I don't know, maybe..?
I didn't have to do that when installing it on a fresh VM or natively on my laptop (fresh install) when that still worked, both of them had Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 64-Bit installed.
And just to be clear here, the README does have the ":i386" part on all listed dependencies in case this is part of what you mean.
But that being said, I might add the "sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386" part explaining that this may have to be run to enable i386 architecture in the README for the next version.
Thanks again for the information/feedback. :)
I would love to try this demo, but your controller configuration is broken.
Not all gamepads have a "select" button (button 9?), and for those without, it is impossible to rebind keys.
Perhaps allow a keybind to be cleared with Backspace in gamepad mode? Or allow a bind to overwrite an existing bind? Very, very frustrating.
EDIT: While you're at it, perhaps don't arbitrarily choose a controller on systems with multiple controllers? Let the user pick one.
Never seen a controller without a select button of some form so not sure what to say there other than I guess they exist then.
I'll be looking into putting that on another button then, and did you try using backspace with a controller plugged in?
Can't remember if it works or not right now but the game should at least switch to keyboard mode as soon as you press a keyboard button, it might not clear the controller button keybind though.
You mean overwrite an existing key as in if the same key is already bound somewhere else (not on the current action you're trying to bind) then just unbind that key for that action?
If so, that can probably be done and I'll put it on the list.
And finally, never actually seen someone use multiple controllers at the same time unless they're making games themselves and use them for testing so I didn't account for that yet.
I'll be putting that on the list as well and it will probably be added as a list you can scroll through and select the controller you want.
Here are two that lack a Button 9 that I have at hand:
Those are officially-licensed, but I also have a couple of Chinese clones which skip Button 9, which I assume is what your code is looking for. There are also SNES-inspired controllers that might not map select to Button 9. Yes, Backspace with a controller just switches to keyboard mode, it doesn't clear the button binding.
By suggesting that you might use another button, you're still making some assumptions about what the button layout and mapping of the user's controller will be, and arbitrarily choosing a button that will be gated off. It would be better to have a universal key (such as Backspace) that will clear a button binding or a keyboard binding, and that all PCs are guaranteed to have.
The other option would be to overwrite an existing bind, possibly with the red text prompting for a second confirmation press, instead of simply refusing to remap.
For the record, local co-op and such is still a completely legitimate reason to have multiple controllers connected to a PC. Also, some disability controller setups might still use multiple controllers, although I don't expect indie games to support those out of the gate.
EDIT: Wrong pic for the Gen/MD controller, fixed. Also, I realize that historically, indie games' solution to controllers has been "just use Joy2Key", so I appreciate that you are actually supporting controllers. My suggestions are only intended as constructive criticism.
EDIT 2: Tried a couple of generic PSX controllers of different make/model, which have "Select" mapped to Button 9, and it still doesn't clear the binding. I've tried all of the buttons (including thumbsticks) on both, and none of them do. I'm not sure which button you're looking for in the code to clear the binding, but it doesn't appear to be working.
Huh, well, I never had anything Sega related so that explains that.
I'm not really looking for "button 9", I'm looking for a constant set by the engine I'm using. (which might be button 9 I have no idea)
And regarding backspace not clearing the controller keybind, I've now tested it and it actually does as long as you're in controller mode when pressing backspace, if you press a keyboard button other than backspace before pressing backspace, then it will clear the keyboard key instead.
So you have to press a controller button to enter controller mode and then press only backspace to clear a controller binding.
There is however some issue where "select" is not working as intended, it just gets detected as a menu button press instead of clearing a binding.
But both of these problems will be largely irrelevant after my intended fix listed below.
As for using another button to clear bindings, I'm just going to have backspace clear both the keyboard and the controller binding, that should solve the problem.
I'll be looking into changing how keybind conflicts work, it's probably either going to be the way you described or the way I mentioned in my previous comment.
Yeah you're right there, I didn't really think of local coop at all, probably because I don't really like multiplayer that much so I usually stay way from it.
And the disability point is also correct and for that reason I'll be looking into a setting like this: "Accept input from all connected controllers", therefore allowing input from all controllers without selecting one from a list.
This probably won't magically make all those non-standard controllers work though.
I'll also be looking into adding that list to be able to select controller if the above setting is turned off, which it would be by default.
And using "Joy2Key" is an option I guess but I'd rather just have it work in game.
And finally, for your second edit, refer to the "button 9" part of this post, there is an issue with select apparently.
Anyway, I appreciate the feedback, I'll be trying to add these new features and fix the issues.
I don't mean to be a pain, but I'm trying to use Backspace to clear a bind, and it doesn't seem to be working, even for keyboard bindings. Pressing Backspace just brings up the red-bordered keybinding screen, and the buttons/keys are still shown as being in use, with red error text.
To be clear, my expectation (based on other programs with remappable controls) is that pressing a "clear bind" key should stay on the same screen, and the bound entry would become blank, after which the user could select it to bind it.
Also, the demo shows a notification whenever it loses focus that the controller has been disconnected. Probably not critical, but odd.
I guess I'll just wait for the new version.
Okay I think I see what might have happened, is Backspace bound to any action?
This is the only case I've gotten it to behave as you explained, apparently I forgot to disable that as a key you can bind.. so this will be fixed as well.
To fix this you'd have to bind whatever action Backspace is bound to another key and then Backspace should behave as intended again.
And your expectation is correct, it's supposed to stay on the same screen and just set the action to "unbound".
That controller disconnection notification is normal, I'd have to rework aspects of my controller detection system to *maybe* get rid of that so that probably won't be fixed any time soon.
And yeah, you should probably wait for the next version, I'm on a bit of a break right now so I'll be getting back to work on this next monday.
I got all the way to the first boss, didn't beat it because it wasn't very fun to fight against.
That being said, the art direction and sound desing are simply phenomenal, you really nailed that Metroid vibe perfectly. And the design of the first boss was really cool! The ambience tracks can feel repetitive, they do the trick of being ambience but they don't hold my attention for very long like Lower Brinstar or Norfair get to do, I would make the actual loops way longer.
I also feel like the initial areas are way too small so it's hard to get a feel and identity for each one, so it ends up feeling more like Metroid Fusion than it's bigger brother Metroid Fusion. The fact that a lot of progression is hidden behind shootable blocks makes me feel like they are there without much rhyme or reason and it kinda defeats the purpose of feeling like a secret when they're so many one after the other.
Also, only 2 rockets at the start? Come on, at least gimme 5, let me have fun blowing stuff up! I know the drop rate of rockets is like crazy high but I still feel like 2 doesn't let me get excited to start blasting stuff around.
Overall I think it shows a lot of promise and it can be polished into a great game if you keep working on it. Again, the art is crazy good and the animations feel nice! But there's much more to a Metroid game than the aesthetics of it, and I just don't get the same feeling of adventure with Zordak.
Please keep up the good work! I'll be looking forwards to more updates.
Hey, thanks for trying the demo.
The boss will continue to get improvements over time, for example: currently I think it's still a bit too random and it doesn't always give the player much time to hit it, so those will be improved upon at some point.
All music and most sound will be reworked later so expect these things to change, the current music is just something quick I threw together a long time ago so I understand.
So, I simply can't make everything as big as in Super Metroid so the rooms will be smaller in this game, that being said, there are bigger rooms in the full game than in the demo.
And if you mean areas like full zones and not just rooms, the same answer still applies.
I don't really consider the progression parts as secrets even though they are somewhat hidden, I think of it more like puzzles and this is one of the main mechanics of the game, so this is not really going to stop.
But I get what you mean, things can get a bit repetitive and I'm trying to come up with new things you have to do as the game progresses, not much of that is in the demo after a certain point though unfortunately.
The reason for the low ammo count is that I don't want the player to be able to spam the missiles but rather use them in specific scenarios like tougher enemies, bosses and such.
So this will probably not change, I'm not completely sure though.
Of course there's more than aesthetics to a Metroid game like the music and movement mechanics for example but I'm not making an actual Metroid game here so things will be different.
I'll just say what I always do:
I'm trying to make Super Metroid but not Super Metroid.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback, glad you like the demo overall. :)
If it's puzzles what you're going for I think you're going on a good path, I'm not a huge puzzle fan so I can't comment too much on that. Experimenting with that concept can be a lot of fun if you push the puzzle aspect really hard into the game and you could get away with the smaller areas if they're all full of entertaining puzzles. It would really make Zordak stand on it's own if you manage to pull such a thing since it'll be quite unique.
Just wanted to say that because it did feel more like a puzzles overall.
Once again, keep up the good work and looking forwards to more stuff!
Yeah, puzzles, exploration and bosses will be the main focus.
General enemy combat is considered more like an "annoyance", most of them are pretty much there to be in your way.
So.. yeah, we'll see how it turns out, thanks again for the feedback. :)
Dude, this looks very promising! I'm a big fan of 2d Metroids and I really enjoyed going through this demo! Amazing work!
I hope that in the full version it will be possible to "unequip" the helmet and jumpsuit :)
Thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
Regarding your question though.. I'm going to have to disappoint you but the ability to unequip the suit will probably be going away when I add a new planned feature.
So.. sorry, but that is likely not going to happen.
Thanks for the feedback though.
I found 'metroid' in new version of demo. And I'm afraid
this gonna be 'serious copyright problem'.
As you can see, that's definitely 'metroid'. And it's too blatant plagiarism to be called an Easter egg or something.
Of course, I love this game & looking forward to meet the
full version. But, also I feared 'Nintendo' will never go
easy on you for this one.
I hate to say, but I think you should delete that 'thing'.
I've now done some reading and sadly.. you're probably right.
I'm not going to go more into it than this but let's just say I don't agree at all.. but it's not up to me so it will not be there in the next version, you can't have fun in this world I guess.
Glad you like the game though and thanks for trying the demo.
I apologize for make you feel uncomfortable.
but nintendo is really ***hole when it comes to copyright issues...D:(
Did you heard 'AM2R (Another metroid 2 remake)'?
AM2R is metroid fan game development began in
2008, completed and released on August 6, 2016.
It was well-made metroid fan game & it also been awarded at the amateur Nintendo 2nd creative
game contest.
As far as I know, The developer has already
received development approval from Nintendo,
and there were no actions or claims during
development either.
However,soon after AM2R was completed,this
game was banned by Nintendo. A year later,
Nintendo released new official remake named
'Metroid samus returns'.
That was trecherous and cowardly decision..
Not only a betrayal to fans and users, but also
intercepts the developer's ideas and efforts.
Don't you think?
After AM2R was banned, Nintendo has banned the
distribution of over 562 fan made games in the
same way. That's why I really hate Nintendo and
I don't want this game to be another victim of
Nintendo's copyright policy.);
It's fine, I wasn't exactly feeling uncomfortable, it was more disappointment in how boring companies are.
I know about AM2R, not as much detail as you explained but still.
I don't think this will be the same case though
(especially after the metroid has been removed)
for multiple reasons:
1 - I'm not calling this metroid or trying to make it seem like an actual metroid game.
2 - All my graphics are original and isn't made to completely look like metroid. (although with obvious similarities)
Even the actual metroid easter egg sprite was made by me but that one is too similar so it's going away as mentioned before.
So I don't really see how this could be a victim of copyright issues when everything is original.
But with all of that being said, this game is not done and will receive numerous changes over time so other things may or may not be removed/changed as well.
I like the feel of this game. One little issue I have is with regards to the game's conveyance. So many instances where I found myself in a room where I couldn't figure out how to progress. The cracks in the walls and pipes can be a little hard to see; perhaps it may be worth exploring some kind of map marker like what they have in the Metroid series. Something just to indicate that there is a breakable wall or a hidden item in the room.
Anyhow, keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing the finished product.
Thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
Well, eventually you did find out how to progress, right?
So I guess it can't be that bad and I can agree that sometimes it's a bit much but this is one of the main points of the game.
So it's probably going to stay this way unless a lot of people get stuck in the same place, then I know there's a big problem.
And regarding a map marker system, this already exists but not in the same way, this one is manual and you have to put the markers there yourself as reminders / notes.
Thanks for the feedback, I'm sure things will improve over time.
I see you implemented a new save system, which makes me glad and sad at the same time.
Demo seems mostly same some rooms changed,ending message is gone.
The code needed and angle shooting to progress feels like secrets, not like early game progression it needs to be bit more obvious this early on.
The first boss improved a lot bug spawn feels like most RNG is removed from it, some attacks that seemed unavoidable can now be avoided.
Great work overall.
Yeah, well, that system is going to be changed again in the next version, whenever that is, there are still some issues with this one but it's better than before.
The ending message should be there, it was there in all of my testing so not sure what happened there..
In any case, someone else had this issue as well so I'll be displaying the message in a different way in the next version.
Well, I kinda want people to get stumped / stuck at these points in the game and I've left multiple hints for both places so I'm not sure how much this will change.
Maybe a few more hints will be added, I've got at least one in mind for the diagonal shooting part.
Good to hear that the boss is better, it's still not quite where I want it since it's still a bit too random so more changes will come to that one later.
Thanks for trying the new demo and the feedback. :)
Great job on the demo! You hit the mark exactly. It feels like Super Metroid, but with it's own style and mechanics. I'll be looking forward to the full release!
I did encounter a bug I wanted to report. I use a dualshock 4 controller on my PC and it incorrectly detected some of the buttons. I have them mapped like this: Square is attack, Triangle is secondary attack, X is Jump, and Circle is Secondary Weapon Swap. However, this is how the game detected that configuration:
If you need any more info from me just let me know. Great job and I'm looking forward to seeing more!
Thanks for playing the demo, glad you like it. :)
So.. do the buttons you bound work like you wanted them to and it's just the name that is wrong right?
If that's the case, I don't think there's anything I can do about it really, I don't actually know what button was pressed because all controllers are different.
And the only reason I know it was one of the face buttons is because it was detected by the built in function from Game Maker Studio, otherwise my own method would detect it but then it would just display a number instead.
So I'm not sure there's much I can do about this issue.
The important thing is that the keybindings work as you bound them, the names are pretty irrelevant as long as they work as you bound them, it could possibly get a bit confusing sure.. but it is what it is for now.
Thanks for the feedback.
If you use Discord and are looking to get more involved with providing feedback, feel free to join my server listed in the "Links" section of this game page.
So, I loved this demo, great concept with great execution. There were a few things that I found frustrating however, such as the diagonal shooting. I understand that the player is supposed to figure a lot of things out on their own, but assigning the diagonal shooting mechanic to a button, and not telling the player about it felt agitating. Maybe put a hint text on the item when you obtain it, or some additional controls related to the item?
There are a few things that I did love however, such as how there are different types of water, and each had negative effects, but in different ways, such as how the beginning water takes away oxygen, and later water pools take away energy. Also, I didn't know if it was a bug or not, but occasionally when I would shoot at a crawling bug enemy, they would stop, wait a second, then flip over. It gave me the impression that the creatures were just as scared of the player as the player was as scared of them. Another nice thing is that the secrets were designed in a way that made me want to start shooting around to find out if there were any other secrets. It felt natural and rewarding.
Overall, loved it, and I look forward to a full release. Keep up the good work.
I had the controls listed on there before but people said there was too much text and I saw in multiple videos that they didn't read it anyway so I removed it.
So I decided to just tell the player about the controls menu instead, same thing with the first missile you pick up.
Not sure what else to do here, the controls menu is the best place to find these things out anyway.
The crawlers flipping over is kind of a bug but I mean.. It doesn't really impact gameplay in a negative way so I've left it in for now.
Anyway, glad you like the demo and thanks for the feedback. :)
What do I do after getting the Geo Suit and green battery? I think everything is too high up for me to get out of this area.
Look around in the room you got the suit. :)
I found the energy tank but I'm still stuck in here.
Lower left part of the room if you're still stuck.
Edit: I figured it out! I'm sorry I'm such a dumbass. I didn't realize you could aim diagonally until just recently.
It's fine, that part is there for that exact reason: to try and force the player to learn about diagonal aiming. :)
Since you just released the new demo/build I want to give some feedback. First I want to start by telling you that I was impressed with the visuals, it felt like Metroid but different and it was nice pixel art and sound to enhance the feeling. It did run great on my old potato laptop so that is great work! Kept stable frame rate, good visuals and smooth inputs. I had two small glitches, when a energy pickup was left and I moved away from view distance the purple glow was still there when I came back and the pickup was unloaded. The boss was damaged in its "Serris" attack and it kept doing the sound of damage until it repeated the attack.
I did like what you have done and my main point of frustration was that the breakable blocks where sometimes hard to hit and find. Gave up twice and took a break and then I tried to shoot everything and realised the crack in the wall was breakable but I needed to aim to break it while it looked as my show did connect. So maybe increase the hitboxes.
Other than that I just want to say I am really interested and wants to see where this project ends since I liked what I tested. :)
Thanks for trying the demo, glad you like it. :)
Good to hear that it felt like Metroid but different since the feeling I'm going for is basically "Super Metroid but not Super Metroid".
Also good to hear that it works on a lower end computer, I spent quite a bit of time trying to optimize it a week or so before release.
The light/glow issue is already on my list so I'll be fixing that at some point.
I'm not sure what "Serris attack" would be but the sound playing thing does not sound correct so I'll add this to the list, thanks.
Yeah.. breakable tiles still have some issues and I'll be improving on that over time.
The thing is.. I can't just increase the hitbox size since it's already a bit too big, meaning: if you shoot above the floor for example and the projectile moves along the floor but does not hit it, it will still hit a breakable tile at the same position as the floor even though it's not even close to it.
So, I'll have to look into other ways to improve that aspect.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback. ^^
Here is the deal from my play through - there isn't a lot to get in the game area you are allowed to play in, in the demo. Unless I am missing something. Power armor 6-8 missiles and an energy tank.
If you are taking input for new parts to the game would be some kind of mutagen addition to allow the heroin to get additional powers, even increase energy/health levels, jump, armor and the like. (Though this seems like just surface level things, since there is no metroid flipping here.) Enemies seem a bit too Metroid-esk, Might work on differing them so that there is no conflict with Nintendo. Heroin's hair color could be changed for the same reason. Else include a hair color choice, at least for the few times she gets out of her armor to show... (Though as it is seemingly version .5 a lot of the seen features and things might change over the development... Might suggest also getting in contact with DoctorM64 the one that made AM2R and see if he can help with getting additional tallent to help this get made. )
Well, judging from your numbers, you missed 1 or 2 items depending on if you just left one key item out or not.
But that being said, it is a demo after all so of course it won't have that much content, in fact, it's already quite long for a demo in my opinion.
The main functions of the demo is to show people how the game plays and let them have a way to see if it works on their computer.
I already have A LOT of upgrades and such planned, some are in the game already (not in the demo), so I'm probably not going to be adding many suggestions like that at the moment.
Not 100% sure what "metroid flipping" means but I assume it's like the spinjump maybe? In that case, no there will not be any spinjump in this game.
I mean, sure, many enemies are based on enemies from metroid and behave very similar but it is all original sprites and code so I don't see how this would be a problem really.
Same goes for hair color.. and having the option to change it will likely not be in the game, I'd have to add a lot of extra sprites just for that.
And regarding contacting DoctorM64, I'm not really looking for any help in this regard right now (maybe not ever) so this will likely not be needed.
Thanks for trying the demo and giving feedback.
The new Demo blows the old one out of the water!
Better graphics and lighting. I love the new jumpsuit and power armor.
And the Boss Slither is so much improved. Good telegraphing on attacks, more time to react, and the bugs that you can kill for supplies is wonderful.
Now I'm even more excited for the full release. Definitely gonna try and buy this day 1.
Also I laughed at the lil metroid easter egg after you get the jump suit. Very cute :)
Hey, thanks for trying the new demo.
Yeah pretty much everything has been improved since the last demo in my opinion.
Good to hear that the boss is better as well, I will likely continue tweaking it later as it's not quite 100% where I want it yet, it's a bit too random still.
That homage to Metroid has actually been there since one of the first demos I released but I'm pretty sure most people miss it. ;)
Thanks for the feedback. ^^
Solid foundation but having energy and power on separate bars feels weird. maybe power could be renamed something else to make it clearer what it's supposed to do.
Power does pretty much nothing in the demo, it is used in the full game though.
That being said, Energy and Power does kind of mean the same thing in a sense so maybe one of them will be renamed, we'll see.
Thanks for the feedback. :)
Aux power might work depending on what its used for.
I LOVED the demo, it's amazing. It felt so smooth and nice to navigate and explore. The secrets, the exploration... truly amazing! The ambience is great too. The tutorial felt kinda sloppy, without telling you about using W or A to point down or up, but matches the metroidvania style of not telling you anything. Overall amazing demo, I can't wait for more content! I guess that there is no estimated release date? How many years would it take to be complete? I am really hyped up for this game! Will buy it on release, might even support it on patreon once I pay my taxes.
Glad you like the demo, thanks for playing. :)
Well, regarding tutorial text, it was just too much text to display so I decided to tell the player to check the control options instead, which is the best way to check controls anyway.
I have no set release date and I don't know how long it will take to finish, all I can really say is:
It's done when it's done.
As for supporting me and/or the game, it's completely up to you and every little bit of support I get on Patreon is extremely appreciated.
Thanks for the feedback. ^^
I love this demo so much!! Lots of fun, and it really feels like Metroid. The bossfight and puzzles are a lot of fun to figure out. The only criticism I have is that the player animations are a little stiff. Great work so far, excited for the release!!
Hey, thanks for trying the demo, I'm glad you like it. :)
I'm sure the animations will be improved upon over time but it will not be something I focus on for quite a while.
Thanks for the feedback.
When i launch the game there is 2 diff exe files,which one do i use?
Either of them should work, the Zordak_YYC one just has better performance but might have new bugs I don't know about.
More information in the README file included with the game.
my man why dont you do an early release on steam...this game got me hooked!!! kudos for releasing this to linux my man!!!!!
It's not quite ready for any sort of early access release just yet and won't be for quite some time.
I'm not sure I want to do one either but we'll see.
I'll be trying my best to keep supporting linux. :)
Instead of an early access, when a demo that you feel comfortable enough (Maybe near release) is ready, release a demo in steam with the page (No early access). That would be really cool.
I will be making a Steam page at some point and likely putting a demo there as well.
And this naturally answers the other potential question, yes, the game will be on Steam at some point. :)
I love the look of this. I will definitely be looking on with great interest, not enough of this flavor of game around.
Hey, thanks, glad you like it. :)
Hey there, I'm liking the demo so far. I see you are close to releasing another demo, so this feedback may be irrelevant by now.
I haven't completed the demo, because I got stuck behind a pedestal that had my second missile pack on it. I cannot jump back out. I can provide a screenshot to show you where if you need it. I will need to quit and reload from a save.
I noticed many scaling artifacts in the intro sequence that look like textures are being stretched in a non-1-to-1 fashion, even though my graphics settings were set to not stretch.
The 'fit to screen' option leaves large black bars on all sides of the game area. I assume you are doing integer multiple scaling only - a 'keep aspect ratio' type scaling could eliminate the black bars on two sides of the screen (top and bottom in my case) and would be an improvement.
I tried running with vsync enabled. I usually prefer this to avoid tearing artifacts. However, the game ran very sluggishly. The built-in fps counter says 30fps, but it seemed like the game logic (rather than rendering) was executing perhaps somewhere in the 8-10 fps range.
Looking forward to trying the next demo!
Hey, thanks for trying the demo and yes, a new demo should be coming up very soon with a lot of changes. :)
That pedestal room issue has been fixed assuming you mean the room which is half submerged in water with spikes at the bottom.
There will always be some scaling artifacts since the game is actually rendered at 200% scale, this is done to be able to render the text as small as it is, it would be double the size if the game was rendered at 100%.
That being said, I'm looking into good ways of rendering the text separately to allow 100% game scale rendering, still have not found a good way though.
"Fit to Screen" will have black bars on any widescreen monitor as the game is not made for widescreen, and this is not possible to change either.
It does not use Integer Scaling and actually does Aspect Ratio Scaling unless Aspect Ratio Scaling means something else to you.
It should not have black bars on all sides of the screen though, just the sides or the top/bottom, a screenshot of this would be nice unless I'm misunderstanding here.
Technically the only reason V-Sync would make the game run at 30FPS would be if your monitor is running at 30Hz, unless something is broken.
Not sure about the 8-10FPS thing though, but one thing you could do regarding V-Sync is to turn on "Alternate Sync" which may or may not fix the issue.
Thanks for the feedback :)
If you're interested in providing more direct feedback or maybe knowing more about the game, feel free to join my Discord server, there's a link to it on this game page.
If not, then that's fine as well, I just respond faster on Discord. (+ there's a benefit or two for being there)
The game is very good, and has a great feel for it.
The lighting, sound effects and music - all create a great atmosphere.
My only gripe is with the boss fight. He doesn't telegraph his attacks in an optimal way, and thus doesn't leave many options to learn his patterns and respond to them properly.
It all feels like a game of chance in regards to how I must position myself before his next attack, and whether or not I'll meet my impending doom. It all just feels like it's out of my control.
Also, the spike in the difficulty level, is too great for such an early phase of the game. It's a bit of a leap to move on from dealing with jumping suicide crabs to dealing with an over-powered water bender that shoots plasma balls out of his eyes.
Hey, thanks for trying the demo and I'm glad you like it.
So, this demo is quite old by now and I'm currently in the process of making a new demo with A LOT of changes including changes to the boss.
That being said, you are correct and I agree with pretty much everything you said, many of these things have been fixed / improved upon in the upcoming demo and will continue to be improved upon after that.
So if you find the time to test the new demo whenever it's out (hopefully "soon"), feel free to tell me if you think it's better or not.
Also just to comment on the difficulty spike:
The boss should be easier in the new demo as well and thus reducing this difficulty spike.
But it should still be challenging and dying on the boss now results in less of a penalty as there is a save station closer to the boss.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback. :)
I would love to play the updated demo when it comes out(and also buy the game when it's finished).
And it's definitely a good thing that the boss will still be challenging.
I don't mind dying often in a boss fight.
I just want to feel like it's my fault for dying, instead of like it's the game's fault.
Israeli?
Yep, I assume you are too?
Indeed.
Know bibi?
I agree completely that it shouldn't feel like it's the game's fault and I've tried to fix some of this for the new demo.
The boss will definitely not be perfect in the new demo but hopefully it's better than the old one.
In any case, we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.
Played on Linux and I can say this game is amazing, you did a really good job on basically upgrading Super Metroid. I love it!
Hey, thanks for playing, glad you like it. :)
Good to hear the Linux version works, unless you played with Wine or something, but good to hear either way.
I used native linux to run it :)
Okay, good to know that works then, thanks. ^^
This looks really cool. What engine are you using to make this? Unity?
Hey, thanks.
I'm using GameMaker Studio 1.4. :)
What a treat! I grew up with Metroid, and I can not wait for the game to be fully released one day. Instant buy! Love the atmosphere and all these little particle effects. Really bring things to life! Amazing work so far :)
Hey, thanks for trying the demo.
It's a bit old by now and I'm working on getting it updated, glad you like it though. ^^
Atmosphere is one of my main focuses so I'm glad you like that as well. ;)
love it, looks like an unreleased metroid game for the MS-Dos in the 90s! the atmosphere is certainly one of it's stronger aspects, the same thing that made metroid fusion my favourite Metroid game.
Thanks, atmosphere is one of main my focuses so I'm glad you like it. :)