Nordenfelt - 2D Steampunk Shmup

[BulletMagnet]

Tried the beta myself, made it to the stage 4 boss before taking a break:

- The zip download doesn't seem to work, though the installer does. The game seemed to run fine on my Windows 8.1 laptop.

- Is the appearance of power-ups determined at random? Sometimes it felt like every enemy gave one up, other times I'd be stuck with a pea shooter and overwhelmed a little ways into a level. If so, definitely replace this with some manner of designated power-up carrier, because the current system wreaks havoc with both scoring (what there is of it) and survival. Off to the side, some power-ups seem to fill the meter more than others, but they all look exactly the same; some color differentiation would help here.

- Is there some manner of rank system in place to give you a chance to recover after dying and losing your power levels (and possibly your special attack)? I found it a bit tough to tell either way during my time with the beta...

- As Ebbo brought out, some enemies like to snipe you from annoying angles, particularly from behind if you let them float past you; nothing wrong with aggressive adversaries, but the implementation of a "dead zone" or other such means to give yourself a little breathing room might be warranted to cut down on the frustration factor.

- Some sort of manual/tutorial would probably be helpful, especially when it comes to getting used to your hitbox's location and testing out items in the shop before buying them.

- Speaking of which, there's probably a bit of work yet to be done on the "auto-aim" enhancement: for the most part it works as advertised, but during the second boss's final phase it was firing off in all manner of worthless directions.

Overall I concur with Ebbo that most of the basics are well-implemented, but some more spit and polish is needed to bring this one to the next level, so keep at it.

[hermitC]

@BulletMagnet
Thanks for the feedback. You've pointed out some important flaws. As coder it gets difficult over time to see the obvious problems...

I have a few questions:

- The zip download doesn't seem to work, though the installer does

I've tried downloading and playing the USB version using the link in the sales email. It works fine. What exactly didn't work for you?

- Is there some manner of rank system in place to give you a chance to recover after dying and losing your power levels (and possibly your special attack)? I found it a bit tough to tell either way during my time with the beta...

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you think of a chance to get some refill for the power level after you've been hit?

[BulletMagnet]

I've tried downloading and playing the USB version using the link in the sales email. It works fine. What exactly didn't work for you?

The zip file downloaded fine, but when I try to look inside it I'm told "the file is invalid" and when I attempt to unzip it it says "the file is empty" (which is weird, since size-wise it's about the same as the installer). Not sure what the hang-up is, especially since it looks okay on your end. Maybe I'll re-download it later and try again.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you think of a chance to get some refill for the power level after you've been hit?

When I say "rank" I mean an automatic difficulty adjust - i.e. when you're powered up enemies become more aggressive, but when you die and power down they become easier to deal with, or something along those lines. This is used not only to keep players from basically wasting their credit if they make a single mistake, but also at times to as a scoring mechanic (i.e. if you raise the rank enemies are tougher, but are also worth more points, so it's up to you how much you want to risk; check the thread for Papilio in this forum, he's got something like that going in his game). Failing that, a partial power-up refill might not be a bad idea either, at least under certain circumstances.

[hermitC]

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you think of a chance to get some refill for the power level after you've been hit?

When I say "rank" I mean an automatic difficulty adjust - i.e. when you're powered up enemies become more aggressive, but when you die and power down they become easier to deal with, or something along those lines. This is used not only to keep players from basically wasting their credit if they make a single mistake, but also at times to as a scoring mechanic (i.e. if you raise the rank enemies are tougher, but are also worth more points, so it's up to you how much you want to risk; check the thread for Papilio in this forum, he's got something like that going in his game). Failing that, a partial power-up refill might not be a bad idea either, at least under certain circumstances.

Got it. Thanks.

[BPzeBanshee]

Had similar issue with the portable ZIP but 7-zip somehow managed to extract it properly anyway despite spitting said error. Some kind of format issue with your choice of archive program I guess.

Given this a spin but can't really bring anything new to the table that BulletMagnet hasn't mentioned already other than completely agreeing with his findings.

[hermitC]

Had similar issue with the portable ZIP but 7-zip somehow managed to extract it properly anyway despite spitting said error. Some kind of format issue with your choice of archive program I guess.

Given this a spin but can't really bring anything new to the table that BulletMagnet hasn't mentioned already other than completely agreeing with his findings.

Thanks for testing the game.

How did you extract the zip archive? It was created with 7zip. Maybe this tool or the used algorithm have compatibility problems...

[Lord Satori]

Currently downloading and installing full version. Will provide feedback asap when I have free time.

[BPzeBanshee]

How did you extract the zip archive? It was created with 7zip. Maybe this tool or the used algorithm have compatibility problems...

I just right-clicked and clicked on extract to folder. I'll need to check what version I used to extract but according to 7-zip.org 9.20 is the latest stable and 9.34 is the cutting edge and if you're running something older than that then updating may be the solution.

[hermitC]

@Lord Satori
Cool, the more the merrier! I'm looking forward to your findings.

@BPzeBanshee
I'll ship the next beta version using the latest stable 7zip archiver. Hopefully this fixes the problem.

[hermitC]

I've just set up a 5min survey for the current version of Nordenfelt:

Nordenfelt survey

It would be great if you could share your experience this way. It would make it easier for me to evaluate your feedback.

Thanks!

[tiaoferreira]

Questionary answered

[hermitC]

Questionary answered

Gratifying feedback, thanks!
The online scoreboard idea is tempting me for a long time now...

[hermitC]

The second beta version of Nordenfelt, version 0.14, went online today.



A short list of what has changed:

• added rank system
• added score multiplier gauge
• added support for joypad
• added pause menu
• added score popups
• added auto-equip on equipment purchase
• moved boss health display to top of screen

There's the demo (direct download) which has two playable levels available to be tested.
As mentioned in the last "call to action", I'm also giving away some copies for free for beta testing purposes. Redeem one of the following codes on the sales page:

• BETAONE9EXWE
• BETAONE6YARY
• BETAONE7TARK
• BETAONE5PBYA
• BETAONE7ZHDT
• BETAONE7NEUH
• BETAONE4FJJT
• BETAONE6XCFZ
• BETAONE3UPCJ

I've no clue which of these codes have already been redeemed. There are too many out there already. So please try them out.

If you’ve already redeemed a coupon code, please use the download links in the purchase email you’ve got back then.
I’ll send out a new email with download instructions within the next 24 hours.

As mentioned in a post above, there is a short survey which streamlines the feedback process:

Nordenfelt test survey

Replies in this thread are welcome as well.

Let's see what the 2nd test run will point out.

[BulletMagnet]

Tried the updated beta, and most everything implemented so far is an improvement; the score popups add a bit of visual interest, the multiplier gives a bit of extra incentive to maximize destruction, and whether or not it's related to the rank power-up appearances seem more balanced than before. Hopefully the next thing on your agenda is the upgrade system; I'm tempted to say that you should simply have at least a "basic" version of all the different options (side gunners, DDP laser, bomb, etc.) available so players always have the option to bring some form of everything (one at a time, anyway) into a level that's giving them trouble, and any "upgrades" would simply make them stronger. I'd also suggest having at least a small amount of power-ups spawn upon death, as emptying the energy gauge leaves energy-dependent upgrades useless, especially if you die at a boss.

Looking forward to the next revision.

[hermitC]

Tried the updated beta, and most everything implemented so far is an improvement; the score popups add a bit of visual interest, the multiplier gives a bit of extra incentive to maximize destruction, and whether or not it's related to the rank power-up appearances seem more balanced than before. Hopefully the next thing on your agenda is the upgrade system; I'm tempted to say that you should simply have at least a "basic" version of all the different options (side gunners, DDP laser, bomb, etc.) available so players always have the option to bring some form of everything (one at a time, anyway) into a level that's giving them trouble, and any "upgrades" would simply make them stronger. I'd also suggest having at least a small amount of power-ups spawn upon death, as emptying the energy gauge leaves energy-dependent upgrades useless, especially if you die at a boss.

Looking forward to the next revision.

Thanks for testing.

I'll have to ponder on the upgrade system...

[hermitC]

Thread closing:

Nordenfelt finally made it to Steam!

I want to thank you guys for all the help you gave me during the development of the game. When I was starting out with Nordenfelt I thought I know what shmups are. This forum convinced me of the contrary. There was and still is a lot to learn regarding this genre. But I'll try something different now...

Thank you!


P.S.:

Code: Select all

Genre bulletHell = masochism;
Steam << sadist->writeGame(bulletHell);

[Stevens]

Congrats man. I love steam punk shooters...going to check it out.

Good luck!