About Judgement:M.Knight wrote: Timeouts : Even if there are no ways to gain points from milking, I still think it is crucial to have timeouts just in case, as a failsafe. Having a run potentially last forever is an issue, more so if you want to implement replays later on. But even without that kind of features in consideration, it can be a problem with the judgement system. Given that the judgement timer grows over time even if you don't shoot and that every mid-boss or boss only gives the Judgement bonus at least once, it means that if a player used a successful Judgement attack right before a mid-boss and that the mid-boss is too weak to fully recharge the Judgment jauge without being killed before, then the best course of action scoring-wise is to wait ages before the judgement bar increases on its own and can be triggered again, as to not miss out on those bonus points. If there are no incentives to kill the boss faster that outweigh waiting forever to get one Judgement Mode per boss, then this scenario may happen, even if the conditions are kinda obtuse.
That's the kind of potential exploits than can make high-level scoring annoying and I would put hard timeouts on everything to limit the potential for that type of degenerative play.
1: Bosses / Minibosses come right after big Judgement opportunities, so you should always enter the fight with an emptied guage.
2: An alternative fix would be to just remove bonuses from Judgement altogether during bosses. Since performing at all counts towards speedkill bonus at the end of the fight.
3: Replays are unlikely at this point, tbh.
I understand the risks from not implementing time outs...but I think this is part of the character of the game, and I think it's unlikely that I will change this. Bosses aren't going to flee or blow themselves up spontaneously. They will stay until one of you dies.
Perhaps if replays do get in, and a potential endless stall could result in some replay or game breaking bug...I'd consider adding time outs. But like I said, I don't see replays happening right now.
As sad as it is for me to say, I think you are probably right about boss length.M.Knight wrote: Stage 1 pacing : I agree that the scoring potential and the amount of "unlockable" waves can't be as high in Stage 1 as in the following stages, but given the amount of times players are going to go through when trying to nail the 1CC or for scoring purposes, I think it is important not to make the stage 1's skill ceiling too low. Otherwise, it can get kinda boring for an experienced player. You don't even necessarily need to have lots of bullets on the screen, as long as the enemy waves placement allows for a good amount of speedkill optimization.
That also goes for the bosses. 50 seconds for a Stage 1 boss speedkill is way too much IMO. That should actually be how long you need to take it down when you are unfamiliar with the boss and don't know the speedkilling strategies. I think 20~30 seconds to speedkill it is a better estimate and will be more pleasant on repeated playthroughs. Take a look at some arcade shmups' stage1 bosses and how long it takes to quick-kill them : 10 seconds for XII Zeal, around 20 seconds for Dangun Feveron, Darius Gaiden, Thunder Dragon 2, DoDonPachi, Guwange, 40 seconds for G-Darius, Illvelo, Radirgy.
It is important to have a stage 1 boss that does not feel too long because once again, it is the easiest and the one you'll fight the most. Having a first stage that is too long with a boss that is too resilient can be a deterrent for playing the game altogether once the player reaches a skill threshold.
I see this game as having slightly longer battles than most other stg's, but 50 seconds may be pushing it. I may trim one of the patterns off. We'll see.
I think 1:30 will remain the total time for the stage itself (this includes miniboss time, though they will probably get trimmed down as well).
My original intention was to go for something Mecha Ritz-ish, where the stage is very, very difficult to avoid taking a hit in if you don't bomb or go for low risk strategies. Ideally, bombless play would be genuinely terrifying even for advanced players, whereas beginners could still breeze through by spamming. But getting the right balance (both in terms of stage design and mechanics) has proven very difficult. We'll see how it goes.
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Anyway, currently working with a new SFX sound designer. So expect some SFX soon that aren't placeholders ripped from SNK games ^_^
Also new tiles incoming, art. etc.