Support NeoGAF

[Justinian]

I'm on a 970, and it definitely dropped below 30fps for me regularly. So much so that I had to turn off adaptive v-sync (I was getting serious screen tearing throughout). I'd make sure you don't have too much going on in your nvidia control panel that might be contributing to input lag. But I could never tell if the reason my dash chains never worked in boss fights was because of input lag or because of nerves...

Try turning adaptive vsync off and just using the "window max" mode in game. It gets rid of stutters or any weirdness.

How many frames are you dropping? The thing with frame rate drops in this game is that the entire game slows down too, so you'll notice you walk slower and input timings are slowed down... so it's not really input lag.

 

[Justinian]

I had an hour long conversation with the game director Alex Preston about his inspirations, production process, design philosophy, and artistic choices behind Hyper Light Drifter. We also check out his game collection and talk about 16-bit JRPGs. It's great insight, check it out and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/lYcE8bajdjY

This is absolutely amazing. Great questions and really in depth.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

I keep getting this and Transistor confused. Main differnece being that this will be available on a platform I own.

 

[OricWindstar]

I got there in the end.. North and East down, West and South to go

Question: What upgrades should I try and get? They don't exactly come easy and I don't want to waste my yellow things on something bad. So far I've got chain dash, the projectile deflecting sword one and I upgraded my health pack count, thinking it was my actual health bar.

Bomb? Gun upgrade? Other?

I'm in the same spot as you and I've gotten the Dodge Sword Slash and Chain Dodge, both of which have been incredibly helpful. Just got the redirect projectiles one, curious to see how that changes my play style.

 

[JonCha]

So I've defeated North's boss, and I have four pieces

Spoiler

, but where there is a door needing four of them to access the lift I'm blocked from opening it

. I'm not really sure what's going on there. Very confusing.

 

[BraXzy]

So I've defeated North's boss, and I have four pieces

Spoiler

, but where there is a door needing four of them to access the lift I'm blocked from opening it

. I'm not really sure what's going on there. Very confusing.

I got confused by that too recently. Take a closer look.

Spoiler

There's more than four shapes on the door.

 

[JonCha]

I got confused by that too recently. Take a closer look.

Spoiler

There's more than four shapes on the door.

Ah, thanks. I did double check and

Spoiler

noticed only four were lighting up

but I'll have another look.

 

[thenexus6]

My friend just asked me on twitter if i've heard of this game - I had but didn't really know much about it.

Watched the trailer on the steam page and was immediately liking the art style and music.
I noticed the soundtrack releases today on Bandcamp - i've been listening to it on youtube and its really nice. I will probably get it as its only like £3.

Whats the game like? Is it difficult?

 

[Volotaire]

Easy Allies Review: 4/5

 

[IcyRhythms]

Is this game going to stay locked at 30FPS?

 

[conman]

Try turning adaptive vsync off and just using the "window max" mode in game. It gets rid of stutters or any weirdness.

Did all of that, but still losing frames. I think it's just the game. Haven't bothered to measure exactly how many or where. I just noticed that I was getting some pretty awful and consistent screen tearing with adaptive v-sync on. Turned it off and I can notice what looks like sub-30fps, but no stuttering or anything terrible. If I had to guess, I'd say it's dropping only just below 30fps (fluctuating I'd guess between 28 and 30fps). Less noticeable or annoying than the tearing.

How many frames are you dropping? The thing with frame rate drops in this game is that the entire game slows down too, so you'll notice you walk slower and input timings are slowed down... so it's not really input lag.

Just to be clear, I'm not experiencing anything that feels like input lag. Just responding to another poster who thought they might be.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I had an hour long conversation with the game director Alex Preston about his inspirations, production process, design philosophy, and artistic choices behind Hyper Light Drifter. We also check out his game collection and talk about 16-bit JRPGs. It's great insight, check it out and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/lYcE8bajdjY

lots of n64 games, but any Glover representation?

cool vid

 

[PaulloDEC]

My friend just asked me on twitter if i've heard of this game - I had but didn't really know much about it.

Watched the trailer on the steam page and was immediately liking the art style and music.
I noticed the soundtrack releases today on Bandcamp - i've been listening to it on youtube and its really nice. I will probably get it as its only like £3.

Whats the game like? Is it difficult?

Fantastic. It's definitely tricky at times though, so you'll need some patience and dedication.

Is this game going to stay locked at 30FPS?

Probably. The devs have mentioned (on the Steam forums IIRC) that changing the framerate would takes months of work.

 

[CRS]

The Soundtrack is Out!

 

[alcheim]

The Soundtrack is Out!

I got the soundtrack, and quickly skimmed thru the songs. It doesn't seem to have the track that was used in the first trailer

http://youtu.be/LIfVqZq1cJo

Anyone know what the title of the track is?

 

[Justinian]

I got the soundtrack, and quickly skimmed thru the songs. It doesn't seem to have the track that was used in the first trailer

http://youtu.be/LIfVqZq1cJo

Anyone know what the title of the track is?

That was a special track made by Baths, not Disasterpeace.

There was originally meant to be a track by Baths in the final game but I think that fell through.

 

[alcheim]

That was a special track made by Baths, not Disasterpeace.

There was originally meant to be a track by Baths in the final game but I think that fell through.

Ah, I see. Thanks!

 

[Slixshot]

The Soundtrack is Out!

I am of the tiers that is supposed to get the soundtrack. Do you think I contact humble again to tell them I'm missing more stuff or is that sent through a separate email or something by the devs??

 

[J-Skee]

The Soundtrack is Out!

Damn, I wanna listen to it, but it's not out for PS4 yet. I think I got it as a backer reward anyway.

EDIT: Just got the email from BrackerKit. That was way sooner than I expected.

 

[CRS]

I am of the tiers that is supposed to get the soundtrack. Do you think I contact humble again to tell them I'm missing more stuff or is that sent through a separate email or something by the devs??

Add-ons are probably going out when they have all the physical backer rewards ready. Even though they're using BackerKit, it's probably easier in the long run to send digital and physical rewards out at the same time since almost every tier has digital rewards.

 

[epmode]

I am of the tiers that is supposed to get the soundtrack. Do you think I contact humble again to tell them I'm missing more stuff or is that sent through a separate email or something by the devs??

I just got an email notifying me that my digital download is ready. The soundtrack was covered in my Kickstarter tier, I didn't get it as an add-on.

I'd wait a day before contacting Heart Machine.

 

[CRS]

I just got an email notifying me that my digital download is ready. The soundtrack was covered in my Kickstarter tier, I didn't get it as an add-on.

I'd wait a day before contacting Heart Machine.

yep. 10 minutes after my post and they send out an e-mail to claim the soundtrack, lol.

So yeah, I guess if you were a backer, you should get an e-mail to claim it.

 

[BraXzy]

Edit: Nevermind, I was struggling because I thought I'd been everywhere derp.

 

[archagon]

Really, really enjoying this game 10 hours in. I've especially gotta give a shout-out to Disasterpeace's soundtrack: it's stunning and as far as I can tell absolutely unique both in style and its use of the medium. (That

Spoiler

ice giant

vista with the building soundtrack? Shivers!)

My main gripe — fairly minor — is that the chain dash is too hard to time right. By far the most frustrating part of the game for me has been those chain dash challenges where you have to run over a bunch of fire grates or falling tiles in a row. Not fun at all.

I'm surprised that so many people seem to have an issue with the difficulty. To me, the bosses feel a bit easier than classic Zelda and other Nintendo/Capcom bosses. I can't tell you how many times I was tempted to throw the controller at a wall after getting destroyed by a Castlevania boss ten times in a row. Here, I've gotten past the first three bosses within 5-10 tries. Perhaps people have forgotten how frustrating Nintendohard bosses used to be back in the day?

(Admittedly, I realized pretty early on that the spin attack was one of the most powerful in the game and have been using it prodigiously ever since.)

 

[BraXzy]

End game spoilers:

Spoiler

This final boss is destroying the hell out of me. I'm finding the combat increasingly frustrating. My one biggest gripe is the dash cooldown, I totally get that it's there to stop you spamming it.. But when you're in the midst of it and you see something coming, press dodge and it doesn't happen, gah I pull my hair out.

Closest I've gotten is down to 1/3 health. But it's certainly turning more into frustration than fun. I just need to git gud :3

 

[Justinian]

End game spoilers:

Spoiler

This final boss is destroying the hell out of me. I'm finding the combat increasingly frustrating. My one biggest gripe is the dash cooldown, I totally get that it's there to stop you spamming it.. But when you're in the midst of it and you see something coming, press dodge and it doesn't happen, gah I pull my hair out.

Closest I've gotten is down to 1/3 health. But it's certainly turning more into frustration than fun. I just need to git gud :3

I found the final boss to be the easiest out of all of them. While his attacks are devastating, he has very clear patterns and gives you plenty of time between attacks.

 

[BraXzy]

I found the final boss to be the easiest out of all of them. While his attacks are devastating, he has very clear patterns and gives you plenty of time between attacks.

I think more than anything I'm tired which didn't help, I knew I was so close I could smell it so I stayed up a lil longer than intended. It is done now

Need to sit on my thoughts on the game for a bit though... The soundtrack, art and setting stand out as major greatness.

 

[Jupiter_Shrooms]

Just beat the game myself. Are there any secret hidden bosses? I remember one of the kickstarter videos showed a cool giant spider boss, was that cut?

 

[ArjanN]

Really, really enjoying this game 10 hours in. I've especially gotta give a shout-out to Disasterpeace's soundtrack: it's stunning and as far as I can tell absolutely unique both in style and its use of the medium. (That

Spoiler

ice giant

vista with the building soundtrack? Shivers!)

My main gripe — fairly minor — is that the chain dash is too hard to time right. By far the most frustrating part of the game for me has been those chain dash challenges where you have to run over a bunch of fire grates or falling tiles in a row. Not fun at all.

I'm surprised that so many people seem to have an issue with the difficulty. To me, the bosses feel a bit easier than classic Zelda and other Nintendo/Capcom bosses. I can't tell you how many times I was tempted to throw the controller at a wall after getting destroyed by a Castlevania boss ten times in a row. Here, I've gotten past the first three bosses within 5-10 tries. Perhaps people have forgotten how frustrating Nintendohard bosses used to be back in the day?

(Admittedly, I realized pretty early on that the spin attack was one of the most powerful in the game and have been using it prodigiously ever since.)

I think it also makes a huge difference what upgrades you have.

And also, yes, a lot of people are soft have come to expect to beat a boss in a couple of tries tops just because that's how it works in most AAA games.

 

[KooopaKid]

Just to be sure I'm playing this correctly. It's exploration based right? No markers or specified goals? Just activate random pillars until it opens a path somewhere? I don't get the map at all at the moment.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Just to be sure I'm playing this correctly. It's exploration based right? No markers or specified goals? Just activate random pillars until it opens a path somewhere? I don't get the map at all at the moment.

Pretty much. There's four main "zones" with objectives within them, but the most you'll get is semi-vague icons on your map to indicate the general area where an item will be found.

 

[CHC]

Just to be sure I'm playing this correctly. It's exploration based right? No markers or specified goals? Just activate random pillars until it opens a path somewhere? I don't get the map at all at the moment.

Yeah the map looks great but functionally it blows. Basically just pick one of the four cardinal directions from town (N, S, E, or W) and go exploring there. There will be a fairly clear path and some dungeons, where you get the pink squares that allow you to proceed.

 

[afternoon delight]

Incoming patch

Hey Drifters, in this latest update we’ve made a significant amount of changes to make you feel like a more badass drifter than ever before.

New patch up in default for Windows. Mac and Linux coming ASAP.

Added frames of invincibility to dash
Warp pads now refill health kits
Achievements for Dash challenge + Soccer
for KB+M: can now choose option for KB direction dash
Sped up heal several frames
Adjusted various room scenery/hitches across the world
Fixed Alt Drifter dash catch
Fixed a credits crash
Can now go to full credits again after you beat the game through “credits” menu option

I-frames for dash, free med kits, and another heal buff.



I said damn.

 

[pje122]

Is this game going to stay locked at 30FPS?

.

 

[sheaaaa]

Incoming patch



I-frames for dash, free med kits, and another heal buff.



I said damn.

I actually liked the difficulty! Shame to see most of it go out the window.

 

[-MD-]

Sounds like the game is going to be piss easy with this new patch, shame if so.

 

[Gbraga]

Incoming patch



I-frames for dash, free med kits, and another heal buff.



I said damn.

Seriously, fuck this. All of this.

What a load of shit. Add an easy mode, it's better than ruining it for people who liked it.

I guess I'll switch to the last update branch and make sure to play as much as I want to before another update comes out and I'm stuck with easy mode.

 

[sophora]

Sounds like the game is going to be piss easy with this new patch, shame if so.

Yeah...real damn shame. Watched some streamers give HLD a try and become frustrated at encounters and particularly annoyed when they're hit mid-dash though they don't realize they dash right into attacks to try get behind enemies. Really disappointed about the warp-points refilling health packs and more packs around the world. I felt like the original game gave you too many to pick up already...now it's seems like you'll always at least have 2 packs at most times if not full up.

 

[Gbraga]

Is there a way to tell my game to never update on Steam and keep the current last_build patch?

 

[afternoon delight]

In the Steam comments it seems these could be toggled with the next patch, I hope they listen. I'm on NG+ already but sometimes you don't want to have just two health you know?

I-frames and refreshed med kits? Were they so hard to recollect after warping? C'mon.

 

[Gbraga]

EDIT: I was able to open the game's executable after closing steam. Does it mean it's DRM Free on Steam? Can I back up the game's folder with the last_update branch applied and still play the last patch forever?

In the Steam comments it seems these could be toggled with the next patch, I hope they listen. I'm on NG+ already but sometimes you don't want to have just two health you know?

I-frames and refreshed med kits? Were they so hard to recollect after warping? C'mon.

I can kinda deal with i-frames, though I wonder what the fuck is the absorb projectiles while doging upgrade I bought good for now. But they REALLY didn't need to mess with healing. The last patch was already unnecessary.

They talk about having a challenging game as part of their design philosphy, and for that reason difficulty options would go against that, but then they make it easy for everyone? Is that really staying truer to the challenging game they wanted than adding an easier mode for the people who wanted it?

I guess it is their game, and they're free to do whatever they want with it. Kinda sucks that we have no guarantee that the game we bought will be the game we'll get to play, but it is what it is.

 

[afternoon delight]

but it is what it is.

Yeah, it is disappointing but I believe them when they say the toggle option will be looked into though- a lot of immediate feedback has been very vocal in the direction we'd agree with.

I'm enjoying NG+ though.

 

[Gbraga]

Yeah, it is disappointing but I believe them when they say the toggle option will be looked into though- a lot of immediate feedback has been very vocal in the direction we'd agree with.

I'm enjoying NG+ though.

I'm already at the bargaining stage, just give me a new update branch with the latest patch that won't be changed when another patch comes out, and I'm good.

Fuck this version.

 

[Starviper]

Incoming patch



I-frames for dash, free med kits, and another heal buff.



I said damn.

Yeahhhh I beat the game last night without this crap. Only part I ever got stuck at is

Spoiler

the first time you gotta look for breaks in the walls

Beyond that, game was perfect as is. Final Boss was fairly challenging but once you learn the attacks it's stupid easy.

 

[Corpekata]

They said in the comments of the patch notes they're going to add a toggle in a future patch for those that dislike the changes.

 

[Gbraga]

They said in the comments of the patch notes they're going to add a toggle in a future patch for those that dislike the changes.

Hopefully the toggle goes all the way back before the first health pack placement change, there were plenty of those already in the 1.0 game.

I'd be down for making health packs estus flasks, though. You get a refill when you rest at a warp point or homeward bone back to them, but there are no health pickups at all. That would be cool.

 

[Maedhros]

They said in the comments of the patch notes they're going to add a toggle in a future patch for those that dislike the changes.

Can you post a screenshot? Because if they push this patch, I'll stop playing until they add the toggle.
Holy shit, what a shitty patch, it fucking destroys the game, making it too easy. I mean, refilling the health was fucking enough, but the health packs too is overkill.

No need for more i-frames.

Hopefully the toggle goes all the way back before the first health pack placement change, there were plenty of those already in the 1.0 game.

I'd be down for making health packs estus flasks, though. You get a refill when you rest at a warp point or homeward bone back to them, but there are no health pickups at all. That would be cool.

Ok, this would be great too.

 

[Dmax3901]

So I beat the last boss and the game glitches and my drifter is just one the ground repeating the falling animation over and over and over. I've had no problems up until is the game just broken?

EDIT: Can't pause or anything, had to task manager my way out of the game. Happened twice in a row.

 

[Noogy]

So I beat the last boss and the game glitches and my drifter is just one the ground repeating the falling animation over and over and over. I've had no problems up until is the game just broken?

EDIT: Can't pause or anything, had to task manager my way out of the game. Happened twice in a row.

That's a drag, but no, that's not supposed to happen.

 

[Dmax3901]

That's a drag, but no, that's not supposed to happen.

Looks like there's a thread on the forums, seems to be only this latest patch.

Pretty bad timing for me!