Quyrium [In Development]

[VDK_Chris]

Thanks for your feedback, BulletMagnet!

I felt compelled to make use of the special abilities whenever I could, instead of worrying about whether or not I should hoard them.

Yeah, that's exactly how it felt to me when I tested the new system for the first time.
The idea of buying consumable items looked good on paper but, to be honest... It just sucked!
I'm really glad that you also think the new approach is an improvement!

1) The "cancel" ability seems to be the only one with much application for scoring, which means that anyone looking to score well will be abusing the heck out of it (and milking bosses like there's no tomorrow) at the expense of everything else, which seems like a waste. Ideally, you'll find some way to have all of the special weapons play some potential role in scoring well.

Straight answer: Yes, I agree...
Considering the fact that the use of the Neutralizer is limited, it doesn't really allow overly excessive milking but I totally get your point.
The offensive items affect the scoring a bit more implicitly. They help you increase the multiplier, maximize your Kill-Ratio and they can enable you to time your kills for the most valuable cancels possible.
Still, that doesn't seem to be enough. I'm not sure how I'll approach that issue - I actually thought about removing the cancelling-property of the Neutralizer entirely (it would only dissolve the bullets but it wouldn't help you in terms of scoring). I'd like to get some opinions on that one...

2) The "bomb" weapon's delay seems excessive offhand; the missiles already take a little time to hit their targets, the bomb uses more energy and should be more effective (seeing as it's possibly the only "offensive" weapon with some defensive capabilities).

You're right. I think, the Bomb should deal more damage and it should probably go off quicker. Although, I'm most likely not going to make it instantaneous.

Will mention more if it comes to mind; hopefully some of the other issues mentioned above are next on the to-do list, but this is unquestionably a positive shift.

Thank you so much for your feedback! I'm really happy about the fact that everybody who tested the new system says, that it's much better than the old one.
I'll take your suggestions into account but I'm not sure if I will keep patching the public demo.

[eebrozgi]

The new system feels definitely better.

Credit-fed the new build once through with the Striker, I feel like there's a lot to take in with all the items and buttons you've presented with at once. Not necessarily a bad thing though, and apparently the demo has the third stage instead of first, so it might add to the effect.

However, I suggest considering about combining the functionality of beam (X) and combat mode (C) buttons: I feel like combat mode change mostly serves switching to the different items, since the difference it brings to your normal shots is very small. The beam button, on the other hand, gives a clearly different shot but seems to affect the items in no way.

Or alternatively, you could make them do more distinct things. Just a wild suggestion, I don't want to be the one blamed for having the game overly simplified, just do what feels right to you.

[BulletMagnet]

I actually thought about removing the cancelling-property of the Neutralizer entirely (it would only dissolve the bullets but it wouldn't help you in terms of scoring). I'd like to get some opinions on that one...

I'd suggest keeping the ability as it is, myself; apart from noting that the shield costs less and lasts longer for purely defensive purposes, the whole "cancel the attack and zoom around the screen to span lots of big medals" thing is one of the game's more effective appeals to my lizard brain, and being able to make it happen at will from time to time is IMO a good thing. I just worry that the scoring system as it stands makes it a bit too dominant in that department...obviously, though, tweaking the underlying system is a lot more difficult and time-consuming than adjusting a single ability, so I sympathize with you there.