[All Done] Flesh

[TrevorMcFurr]

Looks suitably gooey, keep up the good work

Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk

[oab]

This week update. I added another new enemy. Only mid-boss and the boss left before finishing the second level.

[oab]

Small update between the week.

- I added another new enemy. I got an idea for this one while looking at the fish swimming in the water tank.

[oab]

This week update.
- Finished the first draft of the second level's mid-boss.

[oab]

Another update:
- Finished animations for the second boss.
- Testing the first bullet pattern for the second boos.
- Bullet patterns generate using JSON files instead of coding for each pattern :')

[oab]

Small update:
- added bullet pattern editor. It can export JSON files to use in the game.

[oab]

This week's update:

- Finished making all enemies on the second level.
- Bullet editor pattern ready.
- Design for the third level.

[Ark]

Those purple bullets look like they'll be a pain coming from behind. This is dependently bullet hell.
I do like the behaviors of the attacks. I was imagining the bullets being as gooey as the enemies,
but hey, visibility and contrast are important. I'm enjoying the progress.

[oab]

This week's update:

- I have finished another editor for making the enemy path.

[oab]

Those purple bullets look like they'll be a pain coming from behind. This is dependently bullet hell.
I do like the behaviors of the attacks. I was imagining the bullets being as gooey as the enemies,
but hey, visibility and contrast are important. I'm enjoying the progress.

Thank you

[oab]

In case anyone curious about bullet pattern editor. The editor generates JSON files and The game read and saves them in HashMap<String, Vector> and gives a copy of it to any weapon or bullet when it needs.

Please check the example of the JSON file.

Example:

- The weapon fires 11 bullets (Bullet-1). For each time it fire. It will rotate clockwise at 45 degrees.
- The Bullet-1 will change speed to 6 in 1000 milliseconds, wait for 400 milliseconds before spawning 10 bullets in a circle (Bullet-2) and destroy itself.

weapon preset json:

Code: Select all

[
    {
        "name": "weapon-1",
        "bullet_preset": "bullet-1",
        "commands": [
            "int_rotate_cw:45",
            "fire",
            "step_back_countdown:2:10"
        ]
    }
]

Bullet preset:

Code: Select all

{
    "commands": [
        {
            "name": "bullet-1",
            "commands": [
                "set_speed_to:6:1000",
                "wait:400",
                "spawn_bullets_circle:bullet-2:2:10:36",
                "remove"
            ]
        }
    ],
    "presets": [
        {
            "name": "bullet-1",
            "config": "animation_name=bullet-01|scale=1|speed=0.5|damage=1|radius=6|health=1|life_time=1000",
            "firing": "animation_name=bullet-firing-01|width=20.0|height=20.0|scale=1.4",
            "hitting": "animation_name=bullet-bouncing-01|width=20.0|height=20.0|scale=1.0",
            "bouncing": "animation_name=bullet-bouncing-01|width=20.0|height=20.0|scale=1.0",
            "extra": "preset_name=bullet-1",
            "command_name": "bullet-1"
        },
        {
            "name": "bullet-2",
            "config": "animation_name=bullet-03|scale=1|speed=4|damage=1|radius=6|health=1|life_time=1000",
            "firing": "animation_name=bullet-firing-03|width=20.0|height=20.0|scale=1.4",
            "hitting": "animation_name=bullet-bouncing-03|width=20.0|height=20.0|scale=1.0",
            "bouncing": "animation_name=bullet-bouncing-03|width=20.0|height=20.0|scale=1.0",
            "extra": "preset_name=",
            "command_name": ""
        }
    ]
}

[oab]

This week's update:
- Added a new enemy type to appear between the wall to make the level more interesting.
- Added showing a very long health bar for the boss.

[oab]

This week's update:

- improve UI. (added fade in/out)
- reworked enemy spawn pattern for level 1 and 2.

[oab]

This week's minor update:

- add squeezing animation to the enemy when it takes damage.

[oab]

This week's update:

- new background assets for the 3rd area.
- new enemy assets for the 3rd area.
- hired a composer for the game's music. it will be electro-house style.

[emphatic]

Amazing graphics and gameplay looks fantastic as well. Nice work!

[oab]

This week's update:
- The game has BGM. listen here
- support global ranking using `steam's leaderboard`.
- enemy waves placement for 3rd area.
- rework on menu UI.

[oab]

The demo is available for playing.

This demo includes global ranking via `Steam leaderboard.`
Any feedbacks are welcome, and Please wishlist my game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1660850/Flesh/

[Ark]

The sword slash is very helpful. I would be toast if I didn't have that.

[oab]

This week's update:
- Add bullet shadow to improve the contrast between bullet and background.
- Add an option to adjust the strength of the bullet contrast.

[oab]

This week's update:
- Finish making the 5th boss. 3 more to go.
- Add pause frames when the boss transforms to the second phase.

[oab]

This week's update
- rework on the 3rd boss.
- finished implementing all-new enemy types on the 4th area except for the bosses.
- added level selection on the main menu.

[oab]

Minor update while I am working on the three remaining bosses. Also, I am terrible at the estimated time. I planned to finish 6th boss in one week, but it took me six weeks instead.

- change player bullet colour
- add trail particle on player bullet
- add SFX.

[oab]

Minor update:
- Improve blood splash particles. It will spawn more with random patterns.
- Postpone release date to Q1, 2023.

[oab]

Minor update:
- Redrawn background for the first area to match the style with other areas.
- Adjust player UI to make it easy to identify between the health bar and the special weapon bar.

[oab]

Minor update:
- add distortion shaders on the effects when bullet hits, enemy dies, use special weapons

[SolDirix]

Looking good! I like how you added shadows behind the bullets to make them more visible against the background.

[Verticen]

The demo is available for playing.

This demo includes global ranking via `Steam leaderboard.`

I got a chance to try out the demo. Made it to #3 on the leaderboard right behind oab's score at the time of writing. The demo ran fine on my steam deck, though there were occasionally minor framedrops when lots of elements like blood and coins were spawned onscreen.

Player movement felt pretty good and more than quick enough. The vertical screen pan sometimes felt a bit awkward but worked for the most part.

The primary guns are effective enough to be useful, especially for zako. The melee is large, destructive, and satisfying to use. It probably ought to have some sort of sound effects in the future, but otherwise is a thoughtfully designed powerful weapon that players will be heavily incentivized to frequently use.

Game’s visuals are decent and competent, though the style may be unappealing to some audiences. The deliberately ‘gross’ style initially turned me off from the game, but it grew on me somewhat when I played. The juicy, undulating graphics certainly create a cohesive and unique appearance.

I prefer the bg being a darker colour red too – I think it better separates the foreground elements and looks more appealing.

Looking good! I like how you added shadows behind the bullets to make them more visible against the background.

Likewise. Perhaps ideally this shadow effect would not darken enemies, only darkening the background. I think that this could help enemies better stand out behind thick bullet clusters, though that such graphical effect may be more complicated to pull off.

I have mixed feelings on the score display; Normally I would critique the non-monospace number characters causing the score to ‘bounce’ in length as the score changes, but you could easily make the argument that this length variation deliberately fits the game’s ‘squishy’ stylization at a small sacrifice of readability. The switch from black to white score text is a legibility improvement, though if you’re looking for a coding challenge I would suggest seeing how the score looks like in white but with all preceding (‘left-hand’) zeros darkened.
I would also caution against having the score obscured by game graphics like enemies, however all other elements of the HUD are OK to obscure.

- Added showing a very long health bar for the boss.

The boss health bar is a rather nice inclusion, though I think you could afford to make it a bit more visually noticeable. I think the bar could be a bit taller (thicker); at least as tall as the old melee weapon bar.

The default screen shake is tame and non-intrusive to gameplay. Also, If you’re designing with controllers in mind, don’t forget to add some simple rumble support options. These could be quickly tied to the same events which trigger screen shakes. Controller rumble isn’t something everyone cares about or even wants, but in many popular game engines it is a quick, easy optional feature to add for enhancement.
Overall game design feels pretty intelligent. I observed that enemies do not spawn behind you on the left side screen which is player-friendly. This project looks to be maturing into a fairly healthy game even if it is taking longer than the dev anticipated.

[oab]

The demo is available for playing.

This demo includes global ranking via `Steam leaderboard.`

I got a chance to try out the demo. Made it to #3 on the leaderboard right behind oab's score at the time of writing. The demo ran fine on my steam deck, though there were occasionally minor framedrops when lots of elements like blood and coins were spawned onscreen.

Player movement felt pretty good and more than quick enough. The vertical screen pan sometimes felt a bit awkward but worked for the most part.

The primary guns are effective enough to be useful, especially for zako. The melee is large, destructive, and satisfying to use. It probably ought to have some sort of sound effects in the future, but otherwise is a thoughtfully designed powerful weapon that players will be heavily incentivized to frequently use.

Game’s visuals are decent and competent, though the style may be unappealing to some audiences. The deliberately ‘gross’ style initially turned me off from the game, but it grew on me somewhat when I played. The juicy, undulating graphics certainly create a cohesive and unique appearance.

I prefer the bg being a darker colour red too – I think it better separates the foreground elements and looks more appealing.

Looking good! I like how you added shadows behind the bullets to make them more visible against the background.

Likewise. Perhaps ideally this shadow effect would not darken enemies, only darkening the background. I think that this could help enemies better stand out behind thick bullet clusters, though that such graphical effect may be more complicated to pull off.

I have mixed feelings on the score display; Normally I would critique the non-monospace number characters causing the score to ‘bounce’ in length as the score changes, but you could easily make the argument that this length variation deliberately fits the game’s ‘squishy’ stylization at a small sacrifice of readability. The switch from black to white score text is a legibility improvement, though if you’re looking for a coding challenge I would suggest seeing how the score looks like in white but with all preceding (‘left-hand’) zeros darkened.
I would also caution against having the score obscured by game graphics like enemies, however all other elements of the HUD are OK to obscure.

- Added showing a very long health bar for the boss.

The boss health bar is a rather nice inclusion, though I think you could afford to make it a bit more visually noticeable. I think the bar could be a bit taller (thicker); at least as tall as the old melee weapon bar.

The default screen shake is tame and non-intrusive to gameplay. Also, If you’re designing with controllers in mind, don’t forget to add some simple rumble support options. These could be quickly tied to the same events which trigger screen shakes. Controller rumble isn’t something everyone cares about or even wants, but in many popular game engines it is a quick, easy optional feature to add for enhancement.
Overall game design feels pretty intelligent. I observed that enemies do not spawn behind you on the left side screen which is player-friendly. This project looks to be maturing into a fairly healthy game even if it is taking longer than the dev anticipated.

Thank you for the feedback. After I read it, I added support to the gamepad Rumble right away. I will play around with the bullet's shadow layer and the score colour/UI if I can make it look good. It will stay on the release version.

The current progress of the game is I have finished all levels of the game. I am polishing the game and drawing for Intro/Ending scene.

[Verticen]

I added support to the gamepad Rumble right away. I will play around with the bullet's shadow layer and the score colour/UI if I can make it look good. It will stay on the release version.

Sweet to see rumble get squeezed in before release. I think it's a frequently overlooked game feature that often requires little struggle to implement. Be sure not to over-do it and make it gimicky; quick, split-second 'bursts' of rumble is generally all the shake you'll want during gameplay.