As long as you anticipate more than minor changes in the gameplay, or have a lot of content yet to be developed I wouldn't use too much time to work out the balance during development. Off course make sure that you gather necessary data as you go and have it easily readable once you begin polishing, but I certainly don't focus too much on balance until I have a big picture, main content locked and enough data to analyze the whole road.
-
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GAF Indie Game Development Thread 2: High Res Work for Low Res Pay
- Thread starter Jacksinthe
- Start date
- Status
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
Balance is a big thing with multiple sub-parts that all directly affect each other (eg is your weapon too strong, or is the enemy too weak?) - I had something to say about loot table balancing in the last topic much of which holds true for general balance concerns.
First off establish a baseline 'vanilla' value, then make comparative changes to that baseline; if you can do that using variables in code, all the better, because modifying the baseline will then modify all other values at the same time.
For large projects, you probably want all those values in a spreadsheet to look for outliers, but be careful about overbalancing to spreadsheet formulas, because you end up with something uninteresting but mathematically precise - don't be afraid of exaggerating differences in values or of making things that feel right but are Under / Over powered on a spreadsheet. A lot of balance is perceived balance, not actual balance, and if you're not designing for competitive PVP remember that NPCs will never complain that weapon / class / build x is crazy OP, but players will have a shit ton of fun fidning a weapon / class / build that is.
Also protip for 'final' balancing, which ends up being a really monotonous task of moving values slightly up, then slightly down, then slightly up again. Find a number that is DEFINITELY underpowered, and find a number that is DEFINITELY overpowered. Your correct value is somewhere between those two. This might sound obvious, but ends up saving ridiculous amounts of time.
As someone who is probably going to have to do crazy balancing of a turn-based strategy game, I also appreciate these tips.
Can you explain exactly what you mean by this in particular?
thanks guys.
to answer your question, the trailer wasn't very hard to edit. I actually learned premiere and edited it in the same day. I already had a library of ghost song music to choose from so I just put the footage to the music. Probably took a few hours to edit.timetokill
Banned
Trailer looks great, Jobbs. I hadn't actually seen much of it beyond .gifs posted here -- it's amazing what the improved framerate does for it.
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
Sure;
Let's assume you have 10 stats that each go from 1-100, and you level each one individually, and there is some form of exponential system in place where levelling each stat gets slower the higher it goes, and your overall level is derived from your individual stat levels (this is a fairly common sort of RPG system).
The time spent by all players in general will be a bell curve, where very few people will have all stats at the bottom, and very few people will have all stats maxed out (unless your endgame / postgame content is great), so your baseline values in this case will either be 50 for each stat (for a baseline balance value of each specific stat) or the median level at which all skills are 50 (for a baseline balance value of a specific character level) - again, bear in mind this will be a value across all possible players, and most RPGs don't expect players to level all stats concurrently, they expect people to skew towards certain classes / playstyles.
If you have a different system (for example, all stats grow linearly as you level up, or there is no exponential growth from experience, or some stats grow at different rates than others), work out where the bell curve 'peak' of average player time will end up being, and use that as your 'perfectly balanced' baseline state.
From that state, you can increase / decrease values comparatively - levels below the bellcurve median will be x% weaker, or y points less effective, or take z extra time to perform (depending on what your stat is, and how it works). This can be directly linear (eg a percentile system; at level 1 accuracy you have a 1% chance to hit, at level 100 you have a 100% chance to hit) or modified any way you see fit using coefficients; you might want the game to be really easy before an arbitrary level, and then level off to a curve that meets your baseline, or you might want players who over-level to be able to tear through low level enemies, or any combination thereof.
Expressing those values as a comparative equation to your baseline rather than in explicit numbers means you can make widespread changes very quickly and not have to redo everything (for example, if you decide there is not enough granularity in health being 1-100 and multiply that out to be 1-1000 instead).
For final balance values you would probably want to fix all those values into a lookup table for code efficiency, but by that time you should have a good idea about if your game is close enough to balanced or not.
EDIT:
It's very difficult to explain this without knowing more specifics about what you're balancing / the system you're using / how you expect players to behave / etc - hopefully the above makes some sense.
My takeway is, "Try to implement equations, not hard-coded values. This will make it easier to balance a system as a whole."
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
For initial balancing, yeah, absolutely; it might seem like way more work initially, but unless you are crazy lucky with 'gut feeling' balance, it is significantly less time in the long run.
Truth is, 90+% of what they were saying was good advice. Gotta shove aside that ego and take it.
(Of course, these were very talented and respected designers. You should always judge what someone is saying on a case-by-case basis.)
I've updated the Ghost Song beta to make it a bit more "complete" feeling (for what it is) and I've also released a new trailer.
Trailer: "Reborn"
Let me know what you think
Awesome. Looking forward to playing it again
Shame on you for distracting me though.Jacksinthe
Banned
This is awesome stuff. I'm letting the dudes at WayForward throw some control testing on my game not named STRAFE at the moment which I will hopefully find valuable. They made Shantae and it's dope so I hope to get completely crushed by them hahaha!
Thanks, I use BANDICAM to record. I find it better than FRAPS, although VEGAS only seems to like Motion JPEG
It's not that bad - but YouTube completely crushes the video quality. I'm surprised BANDI didn't miss more frames running at the clip i was in that video - it holds up surprisingly well under those framerates and I get pretty much next to no performance hit.Also, again, loving what you are doing here. Great quick vid of the GG! Looks lovely, Friken.
This looks great and you had me at Mario, Risk of Rain and Binding! Can't wait to see more!
I've updated the Ghost Song beta to make it a bit more "complete" feeling (for what it is) and I've also released a new trailer.
Trailer: "Reborn"
Let me know what you think
Absolutely floored by the audio. Too perfect!
----------
Finally signed all the required docs for Xbox One title and licensing agreements. Now it's time to sweat a little. Just waiting to hear back from Sony before all systems are a GO and I get to assemble my crappy version of Voltron.
Wreck-It Ralph
Member
Is there any sort of market for tiny mini-games that people will only play for like a minute? Because I made a really simple ball and paddle game over the weekend that's like that, but I like it enough that I don't want to let it just sit on my computer unplayed by anybody.
This week I'm working on two game modes. First up, star diving. As one could guess, stars will play a major storyline role in StarDiver. One of the main alien races call stars their home and you will slowly build up the technology to play with them on their home turf. Here is an early look at what flying around in a star looks like:
youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk94J_i-ce0
Next up is hypserspace travel. When a player leaves a solar system they will need to navigate hyperspace in an unusual cross between Babylon5 and Starcontrol way. We will be using a fog of war type effect and make players discover hyperspace exits. Avoiding getting lost in hyperspace and learning of new exits for your alien allies will play a large part to the game.
youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk94J_i-ce0
Next up is hypserspace travel. When a player leaves a solar system they will need to navigate hyperspace in an unusual cross between Babylon5 and Starcontrol way. We will be using a fog of war type effect and make players discover hyperspace exits. Avoiding getting lost in hyperspace and learning of new exits for your alien allies will play a large part to the game.
This might be of interest to some:
72h free access to digital-tutors.
https://www.digitaltutors.com/11/register.php
72h free access to digital-tutors.
https://www.digitaltutors.com/11/register.php
Wow, that Ghost Song trailer looks cool. Though I wish it had sound effects (this is one of my main complaints with a lot of 2D game trailers I see).
App stores? If it's really simple then it won't be too hard to polish up the GFX/audio and port to iOS/Android, right? (Disclaimer: I've never done anything with iOS/Android.)
Steel Assault | NES-styled sci-fi action platformer | Update #8
Twitter (@SteelAssault)
Website (http://steelassault.com)
(1/20/15 - Update #7)
(1/17/15 - Update #6)
(1/10/15 - Update #5)
...
The Steel Assault Kickstarter is going pretty well! We've managed to raise almost $3,000 of our $8,000 goal in just a week, and have over a hundred backers who have pledged. In addition, we've also gotten over 1100 Yes votes on our Steam Greenlight campaign.
We just posted an update on our Kickstarter page talking more about Steel Assault's mechanics and design. In addition, we're aiming to have a playable alpha build of the game ready within the next 1 or 2 weeks! Nothing too huge, just 1 or 2 small areas. We'll see how this goes (and if it doesn't work out, we'll release a more complete playthrough video of the game instead).
Here's a link to the dedicated GAF thread. GAF has actually been the single biggest source of backers so far (with Kickstarter itself coming second)!
Is there any sort of market for tiny mini-games that people will only play for like a minute? Because I made a really simple ball and paddle game over the weekend that's like that, but I like it enough that I don't want to let it just sit on my computer unplayed by anybody.
App stores? If it's really simple then it won't be too hard to polish up the GFX/audio and port to iOS/Android, right? (Disclaimer: I've never done anything with iOS/Android.)
Steel Assault | NES-styled sci-fi action platformer | Update #8
Twitter (@SteelAssault)
Website (http://steelassault.com)
(1/20/15 - Update #7)
(1/17/15 - Update #6)
(1/10/15 - Update #5)
...
The Steel Assault Kickstarter is going pretty well! We've managed to raise almost $3,000 of our $8,000 goal in just a week, and have over a hundred backers who have pledged. In addition, we've also gotten over 1100 Yes votes on our Steam Greenlight campaign.
We just posted an update on our Kickstarter page talking more about Steel Assault's mechanics and design. In addition, we're aiming to have a playable alpha build of the game ready within the next 1 or 2 weeks! Nothing too huge, just 1 or 2 small areas. We'll see how this goes (and if it doesn't work out, we'll release a more complete playthrough video of the game instead).
Here's a link to the dedicated GAF thread. GAF has actually been the single biggest source of backers so far (with Kickstarter itself coming second)!
Purple Cheeto
Member
Man, every time I read this thread I see projects I'd rather be working on than my own project. I think its because I'm a programmer with no art skills and no artist help and seeing all these awesome games nail aesthetics or ideas I'd love to explore is really cool and I get super jealous.
I'm open to collaborate if anyone needs programming help.
The GameMaker community forums threw a jam this weekend too, so I figure I may as well post what I did there here.
download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/ti2rugi37xjad88/Auditurgatory_v01.exe
Your job is to audit some ghosts in purgatory, which plays out as weird bastard child of Super Meat Boy and Papers, Please. It's technically playable with the keyboard, but it's so, so much better with a controller.
http://fat.gfycat.com/JauntySereneAzurewingedmagpie.webm
download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/ti2rugi37xjad88/Auditurgatory_v01.exe
Your job is to audit some ghosts in purgatory, which plays out as weird bastard child of Super Meat Boy and Papers, Please. It's technically playable with the keyboard, but it's so, so much better with a controller.
http://fat.gfycat.com/JauntySereneAzurewingedmagpie.webm
I've updated the Ghost Song beta to make it a bit more "complete" feeling (for what it is) and I've also released a new trailer.
Trailer: "Reborn"
Let me know what you think
wow
The art of this game looks fantastic!
Jacksinthe
Banned
I just got a cease and desist from a law firm for the name STRAFE. I sent a really nice message questioning the development timeline of their game vs mine to the devs - SUPER nice, too. Not acting mad or anything. And those jags hit me with a lawyer. WOW. WOWOWOWOWOW.
They will take leagal action UNLESS I can show use of it prior to their registered trademark. Which I can and I sent the lawyer about 10 public links before their trademark date from IndieDB, twitter, here, etc.
It takes a special kind of jag to respond to a nice email with a lawyer. A special kind of jag.
They will take leagal action UNLESS I can show use of it prior to their registered trademark. Which I can and I sent the lawyer about 10 public links before their trademark date from IndieDB, twitter, here, etc.
It takes a special kind of jag to respond to a nice email with a lawyer. A special kind of jag.
electroflame
Member
Well, maybe they'll change their name and you can keep it.
Probably not, though. Just call it S.T.R.A.F.E to spite them.
Just call it S.T.R.A.F.E to spite them.Jacksinthe
Banned
I clearly have had posts here, on Twitter and on my site before their site even went up not only talking about the game but a development blog.Well, maybe they'll change their name and you can keep it.
Probably not, though.
I wonder if that is grounds enough to file a copyright infringement notice on Kickstarter since I clearly was using the name first. Hmmmmm.
My opinion? If they have something already publicized and coming out and getting funded, and my game is more of a concept at this point, I'd just back off and come up with another name. It just ain't that important. A good idea or a name are two things that are a dime a dozen. All that matters in the end is putting the effort in to make a good final product. If your game is awesome, you could name it the most random collection of words that mean and evoke absolutely nothing and it wouldn't really matter.
Another thing an indie can't really afford, or at least isn't optimal, is a battle. You don't want to divide anyone. Stay out of politics and stay out of feuds. Don't make enemies. None of it benefits you. If you somehow won and came out with the name, what do you gain? Besides other devs out there now not liking you. You could make an enemy now that in three years bites you in the butt when you're both doing something else. It's not worth it, especially since it sounds like your game has yet to really form yet beyond being an idea and a simple prototype you've shared in dev forums.
Jacksinthe
Banned
I know. But still. They just blocked me on Twitter. Even their devlog is STRAFEGAME for the meta which is my STRAFEGAME.COM
The huge Registered symbol was a direct jab at me in their Kickstarter.
I guess I don't work fast enough working 50-60 hour weeks at my day job to compete with peeps who have more time and resources than I do to put together something without it getting shit on by some other devs. Nothing is sacred, I guess.
Again, I don't think it's worth it, and while you were obviously attached to the name, I can tell you it doesn't really matter, especially since your game has yet to take form when it comes to an asthetic or art or even a logo (correct me if I'm wrong). At this point it's easy to bolt on something else. From my perspective, "Strafe" is kind of a generic name anyway, and I just don't know that it's really worth battling over. When I hear "Strafe" I just think generic video game stuff. It doesn't evoke anything original or memorable.
If you make nice maybe you can even sell them the domain name for a profit. They'll certainly be flush with cash (if they fund).
jag / lawyer... is there a difference? The sentence seemed a bit redundant. Sorry to hear about this... pretty lame imo.
Listen to Jobbs. I know this sucks, but it isn't worth it.
S.T.R.A.F.E:
Sick
Tyrants
Resort to
Attorneys
For
Everything
Tyrants
Resort to
Attorneys
For
Everything
+1 for Jobbs advice. Two deep breaths and let it go. Not worth the stress. Let's all toss around some name ideas for a replacement.
Ninja Scooter
Member
call it CIRCLESTRAFE
Looks great! If you want someone to test it out, let me know.
The trailer kinda makes him look like a crazed killer.
Hey now, he's firing fruits at them, one of your essential five a day!
Thanks for the offer though. If I'm honest I've had a fair few people offer testing but I still like to get as many people's thoughts on the title as possible since I'm hoping every experience will be different. I'll hit you a PM in the future : P
Thank you, it means a lot to hear that. Funny enough the original aesthetics I was going to go for was with the Master System, even had the resolution emulate it (I talk a bit more about it here.) but I think the change was a good idea. All those hours researching Monster World and Sonic paid off!
Sorry to hear that man, that blows. Makes me look at things from that awesome trailer differently now :/
It's a shame any old English word can be trademarked. I can understand you wanting to hold onto the name and kind of stick a finger up but I do think responding to a legal battle really isn't worth the hassle, just focus on making your game the best it can be.
Jacksinthe
Banned
Yeah. Just for giggles i looked up the registration for the name, did some reverse lookups for IP based on registration address and then went to my website logs and searched between my announcement date and the date they registered their website. Of course I found what I was looking for.
What I should do is simply ask they stop using the name - and if they do - when they relaunch a Kickstarter and it is a success - change our game name for the hell of it because spite, yo.
In all seriousness - it pisses me off more than anything. I asked their lawyer if they can ask their client to stop using the name and that's it. If that doesn't work I have several names ready to go, just in case. I'm always adding more to the pile. Some are actually really good. But no announcement until we are ready to show more material, vertical slices, and our kickstarter goes up.
For all intents and purposes, it will remain STRAFE at least in discussion here until we relaunch proper which nobody will see until the Kickstarter. I'll keep asking for feedback from everyone here but no real vertical slices or gameplay until then.
I am just sad
What I should do is simply ask they stop using the name - and if they do - when they relaunch a Kickstarter and it is a success - change our game name for the hell of it because spite, yo.
In all seriousness - it pisses me off more than anything. I asked their lawyer if they can ask their client to stop using the name and that's it. If that doesn't work I have several names ready to go, just in case. I'm always adding more to the pile. Some are actually really good. But no announcement until we are ready to show more material, vertical slices, and our kickstarter goes up.
For all intents and purposes, it will remain STRAFE at least in discussion here until we relaunch proper which nobody will see until the Kickstarter. I'll keep asking for feedback from everyone here but no real vertical slices or gameplay until then.
I am just sad
Wreck-It Ralph
Member
I put a game up on Kongregate: http://www.kongregate.com/games/kevinstevens525/octagon
It's a simple ball and paddle puzzle game inspired by the likes of Pong and Breakout. I gave it a glowy Tron style because that's honestly the only good graphical effect I actually know how to do in GIMP.
I'm a bit proud of the octagonal font I created just for this game. Some letters don't look great, but overall I think it turned out pretty nice.
It's a simple ball and paddle puzzle game inspired by the likes of Pong and Breakout. I gave it a glowy Tron style because that's honestly the only good graphical effect I actually know how to do in GIMP.
I'm a bit proud of the octagonal font I created just for this game. Some letters don't look great, but overall I think it turned out pretty nice.
I've updated the Ghost Song beta to make it a bit more "complete" feeling (for what it is) and I've also released a new trailer.
Trailer: "Reborn"
Let me know what you think
Looks great! Very nice job editing. It's really cool to see all the parts come together!
I shared it on facebook and it got a nice response
timetokill
Banned
Oh man, it always sucks when people are douches like that. I get that they're in the middle of their KS and they have press coverage with that name, etc, it's still just insanely lame.
By the way, I HIGHLY recommend changing your game name to
THE ELDER STRAFE
It works on so many levels.
I'm surprised I never found this thread.
I'm just getting started as a programmer and I'm having a blast building and learning.
However, collision detection (simple 2D AABB and/or SAT) is kicking my ass! Could anybody please give me links...thoughts...ideas...
Very, very much appreciated!
I'm just getting started as a programmer and I'm having a blast building and learning.
However, collision detection (simple 2D AABB and/or SAT) is kicking my ass! Could anybody please give me links...thoughts...ideas...
Very, very much appreciated!
The important thing to remember when writing collision tests is that you don't actually write code to check for collisions.
You write code to check all the different possible ways two things could be separated. If you don't find any separation then things are colliding.
So for two boxes, [A] and we can see that if the right side of A ( represented by ] ) is to the left of the left side of B ( [ ) the boxes cannot possibly be colliding. Do that for all four sides and we get our collision test.
Code:
If A.right < B.left not colliding
if A.left > B.right not colliding
if A.bottom < B.top not colliding
if A.top > B.bottom not colliding
else collisionJacksinthe
Banned
Oh man! Bethesda will piggyback these guys and I'll be living in a cardboard box with my cats hahaha!
Purple Cheeto
Member
electroflame
Member
Actually, just call it STRAFE SCROLLS.
Mojang has proven that Scrolls is generic enough to not get successfully sued over, so it should be safe for you.
This is not legal advice, if things go south you're on your own.
TheHollowNight
Member
Yeah. Just for giggles i looked up the registration for the name, did some reverse lookups for IP based on registration address and then went to my website logs and searched between my announcement date and the date they registered their website. Of course I found what I was looking for.
What I should do is simply ask they stop using the name - and if they do - when they relaunch a Kickstarter and it is a success - change our game name for the hell of it because spite, yo.
In all seriousness - it pisses me off more than anything. I asked their lawyer if they can ask their client to stop using the name and that's it. If that doesn't work I have several names ready to go, just in case. I'm always adding more to the pile. Some are actually really good. But no announcement until we are ready to show more material, vertical slices, and our kickstarter goes up.
For all intents and purposes, it will remain STRAFE at least in discussion here until we relaunch proper which nobody will see until the Kickstarter. I'll keep asking for feedback from everyone here but no real vertical slices or gameplay until then.
I am just sad
As others have mentioned, it's not worth the stress of fighting over a trademark. Especially when all of us in the indie scene are fighting for any scraps of exposure. I know it's hard to receive rotten news over your project you've slaved over, but any negative light cast in your direction could seriously tarnish your reputation within the community if things got bitter/public between you and them.
I had this exact same situation occur about a year or so ago, where we were prepping to announce a project called Shelter, and the team that made that badger game goes and unveils their trailer before us. It's sort of beside the point if we actually started development before them. They've got their name out first, and it will be associated with them from there on out. We had a 5 minute chat internally over whether its worth chasing this up, but decided we didn't want to be *that* team that grumped on another indie studio over a silly name. There's simply no way we could've predicted or known their development cycle, and I'm sure their intentions weren't to steal our thunder in any capacity. Shit happens.
Expect name changes, it's never fun, but it's also not that important in this context. The game will speak for itself if its awesome (which I'm sure it is!)
Jacksinthe
Banned
Actually, just call it STRAFE SCROLLS.
Mojang has proven that Scrolls is generic enough to not get successfully sued over, so it should be safe for you.This is not legal advice, if things go south you're on your own.
GOOD ADVICE ELECTRO THANKS BRO
u tryna get me bankruptured i feels
Yeah I've already moved on. I do feel much better after doing a real quick #STRAFE search on Twitter. Strafe is German for punish. Lots of nudity, latex and other things my game should not be associated with.
So we are looking at translations for: thief, theft, steal, etc. OK maybe not but it would be a funny play on the title wars.
-
Anyone else in the Sony queue get an email to re-register as a developer? They are moving their "onboarding" process to a new system and need developers to reapply into the new system at the end of the month. I'm hoping they aren't throwing this to everyone in queue - but only the devs that have passed the queue but didn't make the new system cutoff. I can't imagine sending out a mass email to devs you weren't interested in to reapply just to review their applications again. At least I'm hoping.
timetokill
Banned
...Or should it? I think the universe is trying to tell you something here bud.
akachan ningen
Member
Actually, just call it STRAFE SCROLLS.
Mojang has proven that Scrolls is generic enough to not get successfully sued over, so it should be safe for you.This is not legal advice, if things go south you're on your own.
Better yet, STRAFE SOULS.
feel like if you named your game German Latex Association that'd be pret cool tho
electroflame
Member
Alternatively just call it outSTRAFE. Not only is it a jab, but you could totally do some cool marketing by using Intellisense colors to make it look like "out STRAFE".
Just think: your game's name would be an inside joke that only a handful of people would "get". You can't put a price on that, although feel free to PM me to organize where to send my check.
I actually really like the name outSTRAFE on it's own merit. The fact it would be a little satisfaction makes it even better
Thaumaturgic Tomato
Member
Yeah. Just for giggles i looked up the registration for the name, did some reverse lookups for IP based on registration address and then went to my website logs and searched between my announcement date and the date they registered their website. Of course I found what I was looking for.
What I should do is simply ask they stop using the name - and if they do - when they relaunch a Kickstarter and it is a success - change our game name for the hell of it because spite, yo.
In all seriousness - it pisses me off more than anything. I asked their lawyer if they can ask their client to stop using the name and that's it. If that doesn't work I have several names ready to go, just in case. I'm always adding more to the pile. Some are actually really good. But no announcement until we are ready to show more material, vertical slices, and our kickstarter goes up.
For all intents and purposes, it will remain STRAFE at least in discussion here until we relaunch proper which nobody will see until the Kickstarter. I'll keep asking for feedback from everyone here but no real vertical slices or gameplay until then.
I am just sad
Actually, just call it STRAFE SCROLLS.
Mojang has proven that Scrolls is generic enough to not get successfully sued over, so it should be safe for you.This is not legal advice, if things go south you're on your own.
Or if you want to be really blunt -
The First Strafe or Strafe This!
Or inverse the letters: Efarts
Well maybe not... But if you do end up changing, perhaps you'll come up with a title that turns out to be much cooler, made possible by this unfortunate occurrence. Perhaps Fate is not yet finished with you.
Yea that sounds about right. Onward!
some little interactivity. test scene to try out fire behaviors which are new
http://puu.sh/f5f4l/f712f6ca59.mp4
http://puu.sh/f5f4l/f712f6ca59.mp4
Jacksinthe
Banned
Holy shit i'm laughing my ass off here!
STRAFE SOULS or Strafe THIS! outSTRAFE - I'm literally in tears laughing! This conversation went in all the right places and it went there fast!
-
I have had a fairly productive night otherwise. Had a conversation after the boys at WayForward took NAME out for a spin. Great feedback from them. One of the only caveats from Austin was that he feels the jump off of a wall stick should occur with just pressing the jump button without the need to press away. It's good feedback but I did try that method and it felt slightly off to have a momentary loss of control during that split second push. The main concern was timing of the jump - if you hit jump before hitting away from the wall - nothing happens.
I feel i have safeguarded the wall stick and jump via your suggestions almost well enough. No sticking unless pressing towards a wall, no dropping unless pressing down and jump, only allowing the wall jump to occur after a 1 frame holdover after the initial stick happens, etc. So i'm feeling pretty good about the way it feels. It's valuable feedback but I need to test on a larger scale with more peeps with a legit vertical slice that includes moving level geometry and far larger level scale to adequately gauge feedback for traversal.
I'm fairly confident I'll get this 90% squared by the time we release IC so we can go full steam with putting the rest of the game together.
STRAFE SOULS or Strafe THIS! outSTRAFE - I'm literally in tears laughing! This conversation went in all the right places and it went there fast!
-
I have had a fairly productive night otherwise. Had a conversation after the boys at WayForward took NAME out for a spin. Great feedback from them. One of the only caveats from Austin was that he feels the jump off of a wall stick should occur with just pressing the jump button without the need to press away. It's good feedback but I did try that method and it felt slightly off to have a momentary loss of control during that split second push. The main concern was timing of the jump - if you hit jump before hitting away from the wall - nothing happens.
I feel i have safeguarded the wall stick and jump via your suggestions almost well enough. No sticking unless pressing towards a wall, no dropping unless pressing down and jump, only allowing the wall jump to occur after a 1 frame holdover after the initial stick happens, etc. So i'm feeling pretty good about the way it feels. It's valuable feedback but I need to test on a larger scale with more peeps with a legit vertical slice that includes moving level geometry and far larger level scale to adequately gauge feedback for traversal.
I'm fairly confident I'll get this 90% squared by the time we release IC so we can go full steam with putting the rest of the game together.
Yup, we had the same experience (coincidentally, an animator from Riot ripped our animations apart, but luckily it didn't really hurt at all since we acknowledged all of that already). In the end it was an extremely valuable experience as in just half a day we learned so much about creating much, much better animations and telling a story through those animations.
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