Zordak
Devlog - 50
(interactable object outlines from a previous devlog)
Changes:
Added more lightning / electricity effects to misc relevant things, improved visuals and optimized the effect a bit.
Improved dropped item collision detection.
Display scale method can now be changed in window mode as opposed to only in fullscreen.
The player projectile on screen limit is now back but it has also been increased to 5 from 3.
Fixed a fluid surface pausing issue, fixed a general fluid physics issue and tweaked general fluid physics a bit.
Fixed an issue with map markers causing the map marker selection menu to get stuck on screen.
Tweaked player shooting mechanics in attempt to prevent the projectile from spawning at the players feet. (hasn't happened again yet)
Fixed spamming aiming buttons causing the player projectile to sometimes spawn at the wrong position and / or go in the wrong direction.
Fixed a potential crash when killing an enemy with a projectile.
Reduced misc enemy health values a bit.
Reworked two upgrades a bit.
Added a bunch of new tiles.
Added some new particle effects.
Added 4 new backgrounds, improved an old one a bit and added a new background effect.
Added a new enemy and some missing particle effects to misc enemies.
Added a few new rooms. (one of them took a looong time to finish)
Tweaked crawler enemy hitbox so they are now less likely to hit the player through thin walls.
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This week was pretty good in terms of progress, the devlog could have shown even more but I had to remove a bunch of secret stuff.
I had to make the gif quickly so it's not really that interesting but at least it shows something new.
I don't really have anything else to say so that's it for this one.
Comments
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Progress looks as good as ever :3
Yeah, this one was a bit too good compared to my other devlogs.
Next one will not be this good I'll tell you that. ;)
Anything about progress is a good post to make. Who cares if it's not as much, it's still progress :3
Looking good.
Thanks. ^^
All seems pretty good, the highlighting might be helpful to players as an option ( maybe default it to on ) I remember hwo many people got stuck with the very first powerup :3
Yeah, that's pretty much why it was added, people missing the first upgrade.
And yes, it will probably become an option that is on by default as well.
And the color is not final or anything either, for now it just uses the game menu color that is randomized on game startup.
Thanks for the feedback. ^^
Awesome progress! But I'll be honest, I don't like the highlights on the interactive stuff. IMHO they seem unnecessary and distracting.
The reason it was added is because I've seen too many people miss the first upgrade (damaged helmet) and for example stop playing there because they kept dying when running outside.
Also the color is not final or anything, right now it just uses the random color accent the game chooses for menus on startup.
But with all this being said, it's very easy to add an option to turn this off so I'll probably do that then.
It will probably be on by default for now though because of the reason mentioned above.
Thanks for the feedback. :)
Interesting... the very first time I played the demo, I almost thought the helmet wasn't interactive. But not because it needed a highlight, it was because I kept trying to interact with it and nothing was happening. I think I also died. In the end, it took some wiggling around to find the sweet spot that would let me pick it up. On further playthroughs I had no problem. But visually, it definitely stood out enough that I noticed it as unusual. I just think it's a little silly to put a big highlight on a button that already has a flashing light on it. lol And your game has such incredible mood and atmosphere that I hate anything that disturbs it. But I get your point.
But my thoughts should probably be taken with a grain of salt. I am one of those weirdos who think Metroid 2 on the original Gameboy is the best of the original trilogy and that Super Metroid is grossly overrated. I also LOVED the fact that I had to make my own map for Metroid 1 with graph paper and colored pencils! Back then, that was VALUE to have a game world that complex! lol
Yeah well.. I just recently saw it happen again in a playthrough. (it ended at the helmet)
I thought the helmet flashing white would be enough but it does not seem to be.
I'm fine with people running outside once or twice and dying (and I kinda want them to, to be honest) but when the playthroughs start ending there then we have a problem.
As for "wiggling around to find the sweet spot", maybe I need to take another look at the helmet hitbox and increase it's size a bit.
In any case, "interactable object outlines" is now a gameplay option and it is enabled by default, for now.
I mean, I haven't played Metroid 2 but I'm pretty sure it would not be higher than Super Metroid on my list. ;)
As for making your own map, this is one reason why I added placeable map markers, so you can leave clues for yourself.
You're obviously not making the actual map yourself, but it is, in a sense, part of that.
LOL I'm definitely NOT advocating for hand drawn maps! I just pointed that out because I routinely see it flogged as a "design flaw" by youtubers who clearly did not play the game in the context of when it was originally released.
Yeah, I dunno what to tell you if people STILL aren't realizing they need to interact with the helmet. But I like the way you have it set up. You either learn that you should try to interact with anything that looks out of place or unusual, or you die.
I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but the thing I'm loving about this game (besides the awesome creepy ambience) is how I keep finding myself in that classic Metroid situation of feeling like I've gone everywhere I can access and don't know where I'm supposed to go next, so I retrace my steps more carefully and have that euphoric moment when I discover the hidden thing I had overlooked that lets me progress. I think that is super good design for this kind of game.
Seems like exploration tends to get sidelined in favor of monster fights in Metroidvanias these days.
Yeah, actually forcing the player to draw the map themselves is probably a bit too much for this day and age...
Although, I think it might be kinda cool to make a smaller game where this is forced by integrating map drawing inside the game, just to see what would happen. (actually I might even do that at some point)
Yep, only a couple of days ago (maybe a week) I saw it happen again, this was being played on the demo so it only has the blinking helmet and no outlines but still..
And you could kinda say that the helmet is like the final part of the tutorial, if you can't figure this out then we know there's going to be problems ahead.
So, that feel you're talking about there is pretty much exactly what I want the game to be so I'm glad it's at least somewhat succeeding.
As for exploration getting sidelined in favor of fights, I'll be doing it the other way around, with the exception being bosses.