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Assault Android Cactus - Steam Early Access |OT| Four-players. Twin-sticks. 60 frames

usea

Member
I encountered either a bug or a behavior I don't understand. I finished a run on Oxygen, and it listed my rank on the leaderboard as my score rolled into place as usual. Then I went to check the leaderboards, went back to oxygen and completed another run. This time, as my score rolled into place it didn't list my rank or any other scores. I did end up beating my score, and it submitted to the leaderboard (went to check after). But it just didn't list it on the level completed screen.

My leaderboard is set to show global. In the game options it was set to "combined" but I hadn't changed it since the update.

BTW if there's a better place to submit bugs (steam forums?) I'll be happy to do so there from now on.
 

Paz

Member
I always say I'm buying neogaffers' games at a high price, time to put the skin in the game. Bought. Will impressions later.

boughtcactus.jpg


And I just realized this was out on steam early access. Would have bought sooner if I wasn't so stupid.

Mate we should have exchanged keys! That's the benefit of being an indie dev :p

Usea - That's a problem to do with the way steam grabs leaderboard data, sometimes it returns blank on a first request (the leaderboards viewer grabs data multiple times to ensure its visible) and on that screen we prioritize getting things quickly, I think long term we will solve it by performing earlier checks to ensure things appear properly on the final check. The data is always accurate, even if some of it is blank.

Steam forums are the best place since I get notifications of posts in the bug thread (I really need to update that thread at some point).
 

plufim

Member
Trying to predict who the final characters would be based on Sycle's older art.... all I can come up with is Dragon Tails and I don't think they'll make it in :p
 

McSpidey

Member
After seeing all the insane amounts of interest over in PS4 Indies Releases Interest thread I figured GAF might like some Avatars. So Tim (Flaxsycle, the Cactus artist) exported the leaderboard icons for all the androids currently in the early access build :)

There are transparent and non transparent versions of each, in PNG format :)
Thanks to Shaneus they're cut into GAF compatible avatar resolution (based on the avatar rules post) :)

Cactus
cactus_notrans_100%20GAF.png
cactus_trans_100%20GAF.png


Coral
coral_notrans_100%20GAF.png
coral_trans_100%20GAF.png


Holly
holly_notrans_100%20GAF.png
holly_trans_100%20GAF.png


Lemon
lemon_notrans_100%20GAF.png
lemon_trans_100%20GAF.png


And finally
Starch
starch_notrans_100%20GAF.png
starch_trans_100%20GAF.png


ZIP file with all of the GIF legal ones :)
And a higher res NOT GAF LEGAL zip set can be found here.
Please re-host on sites like min.us for use on other sites instead of hotlinking :)

ENJOY!
 

Tokubetsu

Member
I like Starch but is it just me or does her battery drain faster or am I just not playing aggressively enough with her?
 

usea

Member
I like Starch but is it just me or does her battery drain faster or am I just not playing aggressively enough with her?
I haven't noticed that. I doubt it's the case.

If you're ever running out of battery, chances are you're not playing aggressively. Although you could also be dying too much. If you find yourself dying between every battery (especially more than once), that's probably the issue.

When I play, I just immediately restart if I die or if I drop my combo.
 

Shaneus

Member
Oh sweet!

We must be nearing proper release, Spidey... is there an official date? If so, I'll get a mod to edit the thread title to whack it in :)
 
I bought Early Access the first or second day, played all the stages a few times and haven't touched it since. I really loved what's there but I've been trying to force myself to hold out until it properly launches.

Edit: Answer was right above me. I might have to jump back in with this update. Can't wait!
 

Shaneus

Member
Another new update :) What does it fix? Nobody knows...
except I bet someone will be in here quick-smart to fill us in :D
 

Paz

Member
Rise from your grave :p

So as you may/may not know we updated the game a week or so ago to include Aubergine, a very unique character who we've gotten a lot of great & useful feedback on :D To celebrate that we made a new trailer showing off how she plays and using some of Jeffs fantastic zone 4 music that was in the mini update.

aubergine_oxygen.gif

http://youtu.be/yLETZbpAWqA

Also a teaser for the next character: By popular demand, the Rail Gun will be making an appearance!

Oh and we're currently 25% off on Steam, as part of their sale, so now's a good time to get it if you were waiting :p
 

Shaneus

Member
Rise from your grave :p

So as you may/may not know we updated the game a week or so ago to include Aubergine, a very unique character who we've gotten a lot of great & useful feedback on :D To celebrate that we made a new trailer showing off how she plays and using some of Jeffs fantastic zone 4 music that was in the mini update.

aubergine_oxygen.gif

http://youtu.be/yLETZbpAWqA

Also a teaser for the next character: By popular demand, the Rail Gun will be making an appearance!

Oh and we're currently 25% off on Steam, as part of their sale, so now's a good time to get it if you were waiting :p
Any chance of a 60fps download of that trailer, Paz?
 

Shaneus

Member
Really love Aubergine, BTW. I've never really encountered such a unique player type in a twin-stick shooter. Ever. Love to know what (if any) the influence was!
 

Paz

Member
because they hate coral :p

Actually we were just discussing buffing Coral's shield so that missiles travel slower or alter their trajectory when entering from above :p Plus she dominates some of the leaderboards already, crazy character!

As for inspirations - I'll get Sycle to post something up since she's his masterpiece, at the core we wanted to do something that a) utilized our attack button (many ask why we even have that, this is why) and b) felt like you weren't the one dishing out the damage, giving your weapon a sense of entity. For a while we were talking about WOW-style pets and such that were completely autonomous, but Helo turned out way more interesting :)
 

McSpidey

Member
The update with reaper is now out! Also includes some new levels (see GIF in prior post), enemy variants and best of all imo new music :)
Update Release Notes
Features
New enemy type - "Reaper"
New enemy variant - fido-that-drags-you-around
New enemy variant - "Bubbler"
new visuals for Heat (world 3 - 3) Also a slightly reworked level design. Enjoy being chased by a flamethrower on shiny floors!
new whitebox level Relay (world 4 - 1) (replaces the whitebox level Pillars)
new whitebox level Repeater (world 4 - 4)
Assembly and Focus have been rebuilt with the new enemy types and rebalanced to represent a better progression through world 4 - as a result their leaderboards have been reset
New music for world 5!
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Cactus is playable at GDC 2014 for anyone that's there.
at both the Unity booth
I spy a PS Vita on that table

and Indie Megatooth.


If you're at GDC and spot them be sure to say hi, they're all wearing identifiable Cactus character t-shirts :)
I know one of those people!

Hope you are having good impressions :)
 

Shaneus

Member
Hah, I love that they're all different t-shirts. Only somewhat let down by not having one of each of them on each shirt, but it's all good :)

What sort of reception are you guys getting there? Any idea if Steam sales have increased with the extra publicity?
 

McSpidey

Member
Cactus is at PAX East, Sanatana (Paz) is there showing off the next android they're working on adding to the game: Shiitake
aac_shiitake.gif


Day 1 is down but if you're around be sure to drop by booth #1093 and say hi tomorrow :)
 

McSpidey

Member
Update 6 is now out!
It should auto-download on Steam and includes new boss Justice and new character unlock Shiitake with a railgun. Just have to defeat Justice to unlock her :)

There's also a new blog post on animating Justice.
http://www.assaultandroidcactus.com/2014/05/there-will-be-justice-part-2.html
justice_enter.gif
aac_justice_phase.gif


Release notes: http://steamcommunity.com/games/250110/announcements/detail/1804000826659734472
In this update we are excited to release the third world boss, Justice, and our next playable character, Shiitake!

Justice is work in progress, both him and his stage will see a substantial overhaul then continued refinement over following updates. If you recall the transformation between initial Vespula and her current state, you can expect something similar! Our priority was getting his gameplay to where we wanted it then getting into your hands.

We're now keen to hear feedback, either on the forum or you can contact us directly through email or twitter, although if you do get stuck on Justice, please give him another go with different characters and try varying your tactics! We want to hear about initial frustrations, but it's more constructive if it's in the context of having seen his entire battle.

We are also very much looking forwards to hearing peoples impressions of Shiitake. She's not as unorthodox as Aubergine, but still has her own tactics and strengths and we'll be paying close attention to how well she integrates into the game!

Features
  • New whitebox World 3 Boss - Justice
  • New playable character - Shiitake - she can be unlocked by defeating Justice
  • new visuals for Centrifuge (world 5 - 1) with rebalanced enemies - as a result the leaderboard has been reset
  • Aubergine's singularity has had a minor damage increase and when using mouse and keyboard, Helo now controls cursor relative.
  • Tutorial support for up to four players - starting a game with cleared settings will now ask you to confirm players before progressing to the tutorial. The tutorial can also be played in multiplayer from the Stage Select menu
  • Rebalanced audio across the game - if the game seems too quiet, check your volume settings. The mix should be more even so you might want to set them back to default
  • hitting Y / top button on a gamepad during multiplayer will indicate your character

Justice is kicking my ass...
 

Paz

Member
Any update on when the PS4 version is out? I feel like I've been waiting for this forever.

Hey! Been a while since I popped in here (Though it has been kept up to date in my absence :) but we're making progress on the console versions, unfortunately our goals of releasing the game earlier this year were just too ambitious and we're now focused on finishing the PC version before really tackling consoles.

We had Vita on display at GDC and PS4 is also coming along, but their releases are not going to be until a bit later on.

Sorry about that, we just really want this game to be as great and complete as it can be, so we won't rush things for release.
 

Prologue

Member
Hey! Been a while since I popped in here (Though it has been kept up to date in my absence :) but we're making progress on the console versions, unfortunately our goals of releasing the game earlier this year were just too ambitious and we're now focused on finishing the PC version before really tackling consoles.

We had Vita on display at GDC and PS4 is also coming along, but their releases are not going to be until a bit later on.

Sorry about that, we just really want this game to be as great and complete as it can be, so we won't rush things for release.

I was just thinking about this game yesterday :(

Possibly a fall release or are we talking sometime next year?
 
Any new updates McSpidey/Paz/whoever on progress? I can be as patient as needed, but maaaaaaaan, I want the full game. I haven't played since before the most recent update and I think I'm just holding out for the full release now.

I'm hoping you guys are done before Destiny starts the train into autumn, but even if it releases right in the middle of everything else I want I'm sure I'll find time for it.
 

plufim

Member
Sycle is at AVCon with a new build with the 8th android. She's pretty rad! Her gun shoots lava-like goo which not only damages when shot, but paints the ground leaving behind a damaging puddle.
 
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