Humans Must Answer (Beta Demo)

[RSG_Spoonparty]

Beautiful environments and ships, great job. The combined weapons effect at 00:30 on the youtube trailer was really cool. Can't wait to see what other combinations are in store.

-Samuel

[EugenySG]

Humans Must Answer has been submitted to the IGF! We're nervous =) New trailer too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD8XJIOYbcw


And yeah, we removed the inertia, and you can switch off screen shaking and distortion in options! =)

And if you want to play Humans Must Answer on Steam, then you need to help us out and vote it up on Greenlight! Thanks!
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =102856657

[EugenySG]

Mars. The industrial heart of the Solar System. Feeds on the ghosts of its laborers.



and more ost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXqydJCK-m0

[EugenySG]

WELCOME TO NEW URUK!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkqNUlHq3Ms

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With the danger of living in today's Solar System, all you really want is to be around likeminded people, a comfortable home and the latest technology to make your life as easy as it possibly can be. Right? Located on and around the always sunshine-happy Uruk Sulcus region on Ganymede, New Uruk is a new kind of city for exciting people - one that welcomes you with open arms and guarantees that all of your needs can be catered within a kilometer radius.

Since its inception, New Uruk has become the commercial and domestic heart of the galaxy. There's no place quite like it! Being situated right next to the huge scientific laboratories around Jupiter means that the very latest innovative breakthroughs are delivered to, sometimes even tested on, the denizens of New Uruk. You can be ahead of all the technological trends to ensure that your apartment is kitted out with the most plush metallic wares. If you are into your science, then you'll be excited to hear that you'll be just minutes away from all of the biggest fairs and expos - tech heads and cyborgs will fit right in here!

New Uruk is also one of the cleanest human cities of today's great age! This is partly due to making use of our huge Solar Sails to bring electricity 24/7 to everyone located in three of the city's four huge quadrants, but also because all other resources are imported from Mars. You'll find no quarries here!

Worried about crime in the big city? Fear not, for New Uruk has the best police force that humankind has ever known. Led by the formidable Sheriff Gilgamesh, our police units use the latest search and tracking technology to chase up any crime they don't deal with on the spot with a 99% chance of justice being served!

We can't wait to hand over your new apartment in our exciting city! We're sure you'll fit right in as all personalities are served, ensuring you can live your life of pleasure with no worries. Sign up today!

And remember, always wear your Sun Screen!

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Game looks breathtaking (that Pac Man Mars looks ridiculously good). Bullets are very visible and they've certainly become a lot more + no inertia, good decision! Can't say I'm a big fan of shops in shmups but that's a matter opf taste I guess. I'm really looking forward to this game now.

[shaowebb]

Oh my God the soundtrack on this is golden. Please say I can purchase the OST somewhere. BTW loving the puzzle aspects and the ability to shoot and blow up your own projectiles.

[EugenySG]

Ok, I finally crawled out of the cave! I'm sorry it took so long to reply ) work takes all the time.

Please say I can purchase the OST somewhere.

it's not finished yet, but then of course it will be possible )

btw in the coming days we are going to launch Kickstarter campaign so you can essentially pre-order the game and OST and help to make the game bigger and better

[n0rtygames]

btw in the coming days we are going to launch Kickstarter campaign so you can essentially pre-order the game and OST and help to make the game bigger and better

This is an exceptionally beautiful game and while I'm more a fan of vertical shooters - with some of the recent Kickstarter shmups that have gotten a good amount of funding for a small team - I can see no reason why you won't do extremely well with this on kickstarter to fund your release.

Only thing I'd say from reading the thread is - Ghegs comments about Euroshmup mechanics we don't much care for is really true. But you seem to be on top of removing the majority of the issues.

Do you plan to add say.. an 'arcade' mode - where the shop system is non existent and we can acquire ship-wide powerups during play?

[EugenySG]

Do you plan to add say.. an 'arcade' mode - where the shop system is non existent and we can acquire ship-wide powerups during play?

Unfortunately no. At this stage of development it will be very difficult to do. The problem is that game should be designed from the start around this things. Otherwise, it will be neither fish nor fowl

but

We do not have a lot of similar weapons in the shop.
You can sell things at the same price for which you bought them.

and we have not completely linear levels structure. the player can choose which level to go first, and what level to skip

[EugenySG]

ok, kickstarter page )

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/116 ... e-2d-shmup

[n0rtygames]

Unfortunately no. At this stage of development it will be very difficult to do. The problem is that game should be designed from the start around this things. Otherwise, it will be neither fish nor fowl

Then, to be honest - unless you've got a 100% finished product - I wouldn't *personally* be able to back you on Kickstarter in good faith if you're using it as anything more than a risk free pre-order system for physical copies - as I can't see my money being pledged towards additional development going towards features that I might want.

Stage selection I can dig, but I really want 5-6 stages of increasing difficulty and weeks of practise to get a clear.

I'm sure you'll still do well though, as there's more people than me in the world and they're not anywhere near as picky!

[EugenySG]

Then, to be honest - unless you've got a 100% finished product - I wouldn't *personally* be able to back you on Kickstarter in good faith if you're using it as anything more than a risk free pre-order system for physical copies - as I can't see my money being pledged towards additional development going towards features that I might want.

no problem. I totally understand your position

[n0rtygames]

no problem. I totally understand your position

That doesn't mean I don't like it! I'm actually quite likely to buy this if it's a good price - just not kickstart for the above reasons.. :>

But of course, if you had a finished product and were looking to use it *purely* for pre-orders (so you didn't have to spend thousands on getting discs burned and then have no people buying it) - that's a lot different!

Hope that makes sense. I just re-read what I wrote and realised it sounded like I wasn't supportive of your game at all.. the caffeine hasn't woken me up properly yet...

[EugenySG]

ok, PUBLIC BETA DEMO!

We've released a beta demo and would love for you all to try it out! Please note that nothing is final in this demo and, in fact, we're already making a number of changes and additions based on feedback we've received thus far.

Please go and play it, though, and offer us comments and suggestions based on your first impressions of Humans Must Answer.

There are four levels in total, and a number of the story elements are missing - it will feel like you just jump in and won't know these characters. The main thing to concentrate on is the gameplay at this point, which is an element we're still tweaking and hope to be even smoother soon.

Downloads [WINDOWS ONLY] (Extract .rar first and then double click the .exe):

Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/22im8gyalc58meu/HMADEMO.rar

Website: http://sumomgames.com/load-HMADEMO.rar

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[Reiko]

Seems pretty cool so far. Music and sound effects feel very fitting, and the background is kinda nice.

Some suggestions:

1. Make the circle things on the first stage go transparent when you go through them so that you can still see what's going on. Right now, they cover up everything behind them.
2. Make analog stick work in menus if possible.
3. Add a help screen that appears the first time you enter the store, explaining how it works/how to navigate, and that upgrades can be resold for the same amount that they cost to buy.
4. Maybe add a yes/no confirmation to the store when buying/selling, perhaps showing the cost of the item and how much I will have left over if I make that action.

When I first went to the store I bought an upgrade, then pressed B to exit the store, without really looking at the buttons at the bottom telling me that I actually needed to press Start to exit, but doing so immediately sold the item. Took me a moment to realise I didn't actually lose anything though and could just rebuy. With a confirmation, it would save me from my stupid self and I'd cancel the selling and actually look at the controls to see how to exit out lol. That might sound dumb, but I'm just used to that button being a "back" button, and pressed it without thinking. If I made the mistake, someone else will do it as well.


By the way, I like what I see with the weapons/special abilities so far. Looking forward to seeing what else the game offers.


Edit:
Another suggestion: Make the default controls setting based on what I'm using. Like if I start the game using my gamepad, then make that the default controls. If I use keyboard, then use that, without me having to set it manually. A lot of other games do this.

Also with the controls set on keyboard, I wasn't really sure how to navigate the store, since there's no instructions at the bottom like with gamepad. I tried pressing left+right arrows to switch menus, or to get to the buttons at the bottom, but that just bought/sold stuff. Do I need to use the mouse?

Basically, some usability improvements could be made regarding the store.

[EugenySG]

to Reiko:

thanks! suggestions are included in the suggestion-database! )

>> Do I need to use the mouse?

for now yes. if you don't use gamepad than definitely better to use the mouse for the shop.
but if a lot of people will say that "we want a keyboard!", we would certainly add keyboard to the shop.

[Reiko]

to Reiko:

thanks! suggestions are included in the suggestion-database! )

>> Do I need to use the mouse?

for now yes. if you don't use gamepad than definitely better to use the mouse for the shop.
but if a lot of people will say that "we want a keyboard!", we would certainly add keyboard to the shop.

Personally I would use a gamepad, but I tested out playing with the keyboard just to give some feedback on it.

I think mouse usage is ok, don't take it away, but being able to also use the keyboard would be better.

[EugenySG]

That doesn't mean I don't like it! I'm actually quite likely to buy this if it's a good price - just not kickstart for the above reasons.. :>

But of course, if you had a finished product and were looking to use it *purely* for pre-orders (so you didn't have to spend thousands on getting discs burned and then have no people buying it) - that's a lot different!

Ok, now we are unlikely to achieve any of the stretch goals so you can not worry about additional development going towards features that you might don't want. But now you can pledge to DVD box

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

So more news!

First. We've teamed up with Curious Panda Games (Rhythm Destruction) and StudioEvil (Syder Arcade) to now offer a shmup bundle at just £7.

Second. For the fans of buying boxes to adorn their shelves, we're now offering just 50 limited edition box copies of Humans Must Answer at the £35 price point (if you're situated outside of the UK then an extra £10 is charged for shipping costs).

Third. Linux port is very likely for Humans Must Answer. We can't say that it will be definite at this moment in time, just that it seems that it will be almost certainly happening.

More information here - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/116 ... sts/446315

[DrInfy]

I tried the demo beta build a while ago and I have to say that I really don't like the difficulty settings. Unless I'm mistaken the only difference between difficulty levels is different amount of hit points for the player. That's a terribly lazy way of doing 4 difficulty settings and doesn't give the game any replay value. The least you could do is make some multiplier values to enemy projectile speeds and firing intervals to make at least look like it's a bit different. I didn't far enough in the hardest difficulty setting to see whether you can buy useful upgrade to make your ship durable enough to take a hit, but for a game that is balanced for having repairs mid stage it is kinda weird that you have a difficulty setting with instant death. Syder Arcade also did this and it wasn't fun there (especially in the survival mode where you only have one life, not so bad in story mode other than making repair items useless garbage) and it isn't fun here.

I'd also question whether it is a good idea to include stage 4 in the demo. I kinda see the point where the player returns to this stage later on and is able to blow up more stuff and get more items/money/whatever, but it really isn't any fun with the low level ship you can get in the demo build. All you're doing is sitting there waiting for your weapons to recharge so you can shoot something.

[EugenySG]

I tried the demo beta build a while ago and I have to say that I really don't like the difficulty settings. Unless I'm mistaken the only difference between difficulty levels is different amount of hit points for the player. That's a terribly lazy way of doing 4 difficulty settings and doesn't give the game any replay value.

No, it's not only that. Also differs power (damage) of your weapons. And some enemies will shoot slightly differently. Maybe it's not so noticeable in this demo. To some extent, the game requires the study of the levels, so better to take lower difficulty at first.

I didn't far enough in the hardest difficulty setting to see whether you can buy useful upgrade to make your ship durable enough to take a hit, but for a game that is balanced for having repairs mid stage it is kinda weird that you have a difficulty setting with instant death.

In fact you can beat any level without taking damage. Yeah, it's very hard but we think it's fun as a result. But yes, it takes research, knowledge of levels. Yeah, later you can upgrade your your HP. Do you think we need give more HP on Very Hard difficulty? Or maybe better to open Very Hard after player beat the game on Hard?

I'd also question whether it is a good idea to include stage 4 in the demo. I kinda see the point where the player returns to this stage later on and is able to blow up more stuff and get more items/money/whatever, but it really isn't any fun with the low level ship you can get in the demo build. All you're doing is sitting there waiting for your weapons to recharge so you can shoot something.

To be honest we made it in that way so that you can kill there all with the weapons that are available to you at this stage already. You don't need to wait Experiment with a set of weapons, use turrets, specials, both type of weapons, pickup bonuses.

[EugenySG]

I'd also question whether it is a good idea to include stage 4 in the demo. I kinda see the point where the player returns to this stage later on and is able to blow up more stuff and get more items/money/whatever, but it really isn't any fun with the low level ship you can get in the demo build. All you're doing is sitting there waiting for your weapons to recharge so you can shoot something.

Ah, sorry. I thought about another level. You talked about level with a lots of cars, right?
You do not get points for killing civilians This is just an element of level, like meteor shower or geometry.

[DrInfy]

I just tested the demo again finishing all stages with very hard. It wasn't really the hit points that was the problem, it seems like the bullets for stage 2 end boss (those curvy bullets) have a hitbox that is just too big. Or perhaps the hitbox for the ship is a bit too big? Are you using rectangular hitboxes? That would probably explain why the hitboxes feel especially bad on that boss. Anyways it is rather frustrating to get instantly killed by something that I surely dodged. It's also a bit strange that ramming into a big bad ass meteor takes one health, but a weak looking bullet takes 3. I'm quite fine with the current health levels in very hard as you can generally take a single hit before you're dead and the game seems to be so easy that you really shouldn't be taking any hits to begin with.

Ah, sorry. I thought about another level. You talked about level with a lots of cars, right?
You do not get points for killing civilians This is just an element of level, like meteor shower or geometry.

I don't think a lot people are going to be able to figure that out when playing the stage for the first time. There's no point indicator for point enemies and there's nothing indicating that you don't get anything out of them. Even the score updates so slowly that you cannot know where you're getting those points. Now I'm starting to wonder whether I'm blowing up all those radars and boxes up for nothing... A score floating text would be a nice addition if you're making shootable stuff that doesn't give you any.

[EugenySG]

It wasn't really the hit points that was the problem, it seems like the bullets for stage 2 end boss (those curvy bullets) have a hitbox that is just too big. Or perhaps the hitbox for the ship is a bit too big? Are you using rectangular hitboxes? That would probably explain why the hitboxes feel especially bad on that boss. Anyways it is rather frustrating to get instantly killed by something that I surely dodged.

Ok, I'll check. It is possible that there really is a too large hitbox.
curvy bullets - the ones that he shoots from the main cannon or that appear after the rocket explosions?

I'm quite fine with the current health levels in very hard as you can generally take a single hit before you're dead and the game seems to be so easy that you really shouldn't be taking any hits to begin with.

Finally someone said that the game seems too easy. So far we have only heard the opposite opinion. and it was a little scary

I don't think a lot people are going to be able to figure that out when playing the stage for the first time.

Yes, you're absolutely right. This is flaw.

Now I'm starting to wonder whether I'm blowing up all those radars and boxes up for nothing...

No, it was not for nothing. All artificial objects thet player can destroy give points. But there are few exceptions. We'll work something out with this.


DrInfy many thanks you for your feedback