AKE

A place for people with an interest in developing new shmups.
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9uile
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:57 pm

AKE

Post by 9uile »

Hello,

I develop a Shmup in my free time and I finally have something to offer you!
It's a beta version which contains a short level. I hope that pleases you.
Don't hesitate to give me positive or negative feedback, it will allow me to improve myself for the future.

https://9uile.itch.io/ake

If you liked it, share the link with your shmup friends.
Thank you !

9uile

edit (20220222) : some v0.2 screenshots

Image Image Image

More details:
I had wanted to make a game for a very long time but couldn't find a suitable free game engine.
Then, I discovered UNITY and the many tutorials available on the official website and YouTube.
In January 2020, after having followed many tutorials of all kinds, I decided to seriously start the creation of a Shmup.
Due to my technical shortcomings and the lack of framing of the project, I went all over the place.
You can take a look here to see my beginnings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSTfL2oWIfc
In September 2020, I took it up a notch and set a deadline for April 2021 to release something playable.

And here we are! Some compromises were made to be on time.
There is no music yet and the boss is not very charismatic.
However, I hope you enjoy playing it and find the HIDDEN GEM to maximize your score! :)

On your sticks!
Last edited by 9uile on Tue Feb 22, 2022 12:41 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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9uile
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Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:57 pm

Re: AKE

Post by 9uile »

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9uile
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:57 pm

Re: AKE

Post by 9uile »

Hello,

I made some update to AKE and i'm proud to publish the v0.2.
It contains one level currently.

https://9uile.itch.io/ake

If you liked it, share the link with your shmup friends on social medias.
Thank you !

What's new in the v0.2 ? :

- Level 1 almost definitive
- Changed game resolution to fit all computers resolutions (3:4 ratio - 320*240)
- Added a Rotation option to play TATE (vertical orientation)
- Medals value decrease with time (Gold -> Silver -> Bronze)
- Added collectible stars. Star value increases when chained.
- Added weapon item with three different shots.
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Verticen
Posts: 87
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2019 4:57 pm

Re: AKE

Post by Verticen »

I got a chance to try the v0.2 demo for a bit. I was able to get this running in 64 bit wine, which is good b/c it means the game is very likely Steam Proton/Deck compatable. This game ran smoothly on fairly low-end hardware with some noticeable frame drops.

The game has a nice style and is a good challenge. I used an arcade stick, and I was pleased with how tight and responsive the movement was. I was able to execute most dodges I expected to succeed quite well. For instance, I could position in the gap between the dual downward shots of the medium large flying enemies as I would expect to kill them. I kinda wished I had a slow movement button, especially during the last phase of the boss fight, but the game can do without if it is part of the desired challenge.

The countdown that kills you at the beginning is something I could live without, but I imagine may be a placeholder for something else like a ship select.

The difficulty is pretty good for me, but kept me on my toes. I found myself having to rapidly execute dodges with sparse safe time deep into the stage. The challenge is excellent for a stg regular, but if you plan to release you’re definitely going to need to add an easier section for casual players at some point in dev if this is how hard your stage 1 is. There were also times when I wouldn’t respawn with an special shot like I normally would, and would sometimes chain death due to this later in the stage. The section with the blocks after the scrolling line of tanks is where I would most frequently chain death. I would lose at least two lives here even on runs that I cleared. Consider removing the splitting asteroids from this section except for the large one with cannons. I think that the section would be hard enough without the asteroids which blend into the background. I would often move to evade the dangerous neon pink bullet sprays into a dark asteroid that I didn’t see in my peripheral vision.

The charge shot works fine, but could probably use a buff, especially after the player receives any shot power up. Any powerup besides the green weapon plus autofire is usually easier to route than using the charge shot. My highscore run I did not use the charge shot at all. I generally found the basic wide shot teal weapon to be the preferred, followed by blue weapon. I had a suspicion that charging the shot made the ship move a bit slower, but I couldn’t tell, and I would suggest not having such speed reduction regardless. 1941 Counter Attack has a very similar burst shot/hold to charge system that works quite well if you’re looking for a good example to borrow from.

The game could use some sort of indication that what you’re hitting is destructible. For instance, I did not realize that the moving blocks themselves (in addition to the pink bullets cannons) could be shot and destroyed until I noticed that they were killable after several playthoughs. A single frame white or red flash is a fairly common way to do do this.

I really like how you can chain the stars item pickup score; that’s actually a really solid scoring mechanic. It’s like Strikers gold but less annoying. You may want to give the player a visual or gauge for how long their star chain will last. The green score tokens that flying enemies drop can look about the same size as the smaller bullets, and are about the same color value, which startled me several times. Consider starting their size at the medium size and making them less of a round shape. If the ‘M’ item is more than a point item, then it’s not obvious what it does.

The art style of the game is fairly solid. I’d make collideable asteroids a bit brighter and easier to see. Also, you should see if you can overlay “Game Over” on the playfeild instead of being a different scene for major aesthetic points. Many enemies already look great, though I understand that some is still placeholder. I would also make the GUI and score text just a bit larger.

+bug.feature players can survive inside of asteroids if they are inside them when their respawn shields run out. They will still die from bullets. The effect resets when the player leaves the asteroid, which will not kill them.

My High Score: 80950
Keep up the good work.
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9uile
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:57 pm

Re: AKE

Post by 9uile »

Thanks a lot for playing and your great feedback.
I'll try to give you answers and tips :)
Verticen wrote:I got a chance to try the v0.2 demo for a bit ... This game ran smoothly on fairly low-end hardware with some noticeable frame drops.
I didn't test it on other computer than my main computer. I'll do this in the future.
Verticen wrote:The game has a nice style and is a good challenge. I used an arcade stick, and I was pleased with how tight and responsive the movement was. I was able to execute most dodges I expected to succeed quite well. For instance, I could position in the gap between the dual downward shots of the medium large flying enemies as I would expect to kill them. I kinda wished I had a slow movement button, especially during the last phase of the boss fight, but the game can do without if it is part of the desired challenge.
It's nice that you played it with an arcade stick. I tried with a x360 controller and keyboard but the sensations are really not the same. I took a lot of time to set the player movements (speed, global feeling) so i'm happy it fits you. There is a slow movement when fire button is pressed down. You can use this to move across patterns and then use the beeam shot when the button is released. Try a close kill on a specific enemy to have a bullet cancel. Like the last ennemy before the warning screen :)
Verticen wrote:The countdown that kills you at the beginning is something I could live without, but I imagine may be a placeholder for something else like a ship select.
You're under attack and do nothing is killing you. By the way, each second you lost is related to 1 life. It's a mechanic that i'm proud of because the less you have lives, the bigger green gems will be. This is where i want advanced players were engaged to play with death to make a highscore.
Verticen wrote:The difficulty is pretty good for me, but kept me on my toes. I found myself having to rapidly execute dodges with sparse safe time deep into the stage. The challenge is excellent for a stg regular, but if you plan to release you’re definitely going to need to add an easier section for casual players at some point in dev if this is how hard your stage 1 is.

My goal is to make this game interesting for shmup lovers which means it has to be challenging. Despite this fact, i know that it could be hard at first but after some attemps, this is really doable when not focussing on collecting stars and medals.
Verticen wrote:There were also times when I wouldn’t respawn with an special shot like I normally would, and would sometimes chain death due to this later in the stage. The section with the blocks after the scrolling line of tanks is where I would most frequently chain death. I would lose at least two lives here even on runs that I cleared. Consider removing the splitting asteroids from this section except for the large one with cannons. I think that the section would be hard enough without the asteroids which blend into the background. I would often move to evade the dangerous neon pink bullet sprays into a dark asteroid that I didn’t see in my peripheral vision.
Not respawning with the lastest weapon type is wanted to avoid playing always with the same. It add more variety between your attemps. Some are good and other aren't :) Trust me, when you get comfortable in this section, you'll chase asteroids for extra gems ! Try this : kill the 5 tanks, collect the five stars from right to left while killing upper turrets, go up and collect the stars before they escape from the top of the screen. Then, go down to the bottom left corner, charge your beeam before the first platform arrives. You can kill at least one pink turret and the main ennemy in the center. It will be a good start to manage this section.
Verticen wrote:The charge shot works fine, but could probably use a buff, especially after the player receives any shot power up. Any powerup besides the green weapon plus autofire is usually easier to route than using the charge shot. My highscore run I did not use the charge shot at all. I generally found the basic wide shot teal weapon to be the preferred, followed by blue weapon. I had a suspicion that charging the shot made the ship move a bit slower, but I couldn’t tell, and I would suggest not having such speed reduction regardless. 1941 Counter Attack has a very similar burst shot/hold to charge system that works quite well if you’re looking for a good example to borrow from.
Beam is not mandatory but try to use it in an efficent way. e.g. when nothing is on screen, prepare it to quickly destroy next ennemies. I'm not a huge fan of autofires. That's why i put a beeam. I know that it can be frustating for thumbs but i really like to hammering button and charge beeam at some spots. Another alternative that works is too much CAVE to me (Wideshot/Laser).
Verticen wrote:The game could use some sort of indication that what you’re hitting is destructible. For instance, I did not realize that the moving blocks themselves (in addition to the pink bullets cannons) could be shot and destroyed until I noticed that they were killable after several playthoughs. A single frame white or red flash is a fairly common way to do do this.
An impact when player bullets hit something is planned. Flashing enemies not yet but i keep this idea in mind.
Verticen wrote:I really like how you can chain the stars item pickup score; that’s actually a really solid scoring mechanic. It’s like Strikers gold but less annoying. You may want to give the player a visual or gauge for how long their star chain will last. The green score tokens that flying enemies drop can look about the same size as the smaller bullets, and are about the same color value, which startled me several times. Consider starting their size at the medium size and making them less of a round shape. If the ‘M’ item is more than a point item, then it’s not obvious what it does.
I tried to have severals mechanics for making points without being so punishing like a chain could be. For casual players, collect (or not) stars and medals without care of their values. Mid players, quickly collect medals (gold), think of a path to collect stars to increase their value. Advanced, same as medium but with collecting all medals and stars, with the less lives as possible to collect big green gems and collect the hidden red gem is you know his location. This one is well hidden :)
Verticen wrote:The art style of the game is fairly solid. I’d make collideable asteroids a bit brighter and easier to see. Also, you should see if you can overlay “Game Over” on the playfeild instead of being a different scene for major aesthetic points. Many enemies already look great, though I understand that some is still placeholder. I would also make the GUI and score text just a bit larger.
I'm not a pixel artist so i tried to keep time for the whole project instead of tinkering with the art too much. Mainmenu, ignition, gameover and stageclear scenes must be better but i focus on the gameplay, the fun. We all agree that it's the heart of a game.
Verticen wrote:+bug.feature players can survive inside of asteroids if they are inside them when their respawn shields run out. They will still die from bullets. The effect resets when the player leaves the asteroid, which will not kill them.
You are an awesome beta tester ! You are right, it's on my v0.3 to do list. It's a small change i guess. I think it's an enter2D/exit2D vs stay2D stuff.
Verticen wrote:My High Score: 80950
Keep up the good work.
Being not too easy and having things to discover is wanted to have a nice learning curve.
The worst thing i want is having players that clear the game in one attemp and put the game in bin.

I'm sure you can reach 200.000 points easily.
Try again and have fun !!! :)
Ark
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2021 1:28 pm

Re: AKE

Post by Ark »

I enjoyed the variety in this demo. My shmup skills are pretty pedestrian but man you were throwing the kitchen sink midway into the level.
I enjoyed the action but was really dodging the bullets midway into the level. I'm fine with that but for a first level I can only imagine how intense
the next level would be. There is a lot going on the level, keeps a person's head on a swivel. I almost thought the green gems were bullets at the beginning.
Will you have auto fire in this game?
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9uile
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Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:57 pm

Re: AKE

Post by 9uile »

Ark wrote:I enjoyed the variety in this demo. My shmup skills are pretty pedestrian but man you were throwing the kitchen sink midway into the level.
I enjoyed the action but was really dodging the bullets midway into the level. I'm fine with that but for a first level I can only imagine how intense
the next level would be. There is a lot going on the level, keeps a person's head on a swivel. I almost thought the green gems were bullets at the beginning.
Will you have auto fire in this game?
Thank you for trying AKE ! :)
As you said, the difficulty is here but i'm sure after a few runs, you will make your own path across the level. You will be pround and happy when you'll manage it well.
So yes, it's not really a classic level 1 regarding the difficulty curve, but there are three reasons for that.

- The first is that i don't personnaly like boring levels 1 especially because it is the most played level of the game. So I still want it to be a challenge, even after x attempts. I played it a lot for debugging. If you don't play for highscore, it's really doable when you know enemies arrivals.

- 2 : Nothing is definitive so this level could be in a different order in the next updates.

- 3 : I want people suffers in a good way. :) It's satifaying when you finally pass parts that you failed before. A friend of mine who's really good at shmups will try it soon. I hope he doesn't beat the game too fast :)

I don't plan to put an autofire but if you have a pad who did this, it's possible to play this way. I test it and i really dislike this feeling. It's annoying to have the button down across the whole stage.
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9uile
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Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:57 pm

Re: AKE

Post by 9uile »

Hi all,
After a long time, i finally release a second level for my game and some additions.
AKE v0.3 is available.
http://9uile.itch.io/ake

WHAT'S NEW ?
+ Level 2
+ Music for the level 1
+ Stretch mode to fit the whole screen
+ Basic 'How to play' instruction card
+ Score multiplier with fully charged beam
+ New items (fruits, cherub and cooldude)
+ Stage clear scene with rank (gem, star and medal completion)
+ Hud
+ Hints on gameover screen

Feel free to tell me what you like (or dislike :) )
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