Search Unity

  1. Megacity Metro Demo now available. Download now.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Unity support for visionOS is now available. Learn more in our blog post.
    Dismiss Notice

Games Subsideria [RELEASED] - A Modern Reincarnation of the Arcade Classic

Discussion in 'Works In Progress - Archive' started by QFSW, May 29, 2015.

  1. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    EDIT: 09/07/2018
    Here it is!


    Subsideria is a modernised reincarnation of the classic arcade space shooters, re-imagined with boss fights, multiple game modes and more; how long can you survive the oncoming asteroid barrage?

    You've been sent into the depths of Tenebra with nothing but your ship and its cannon. You have one task - you must locate and eliminate the source of chaos threatening your world. Annihilate everything in your way, exterminate all those that challenge you - you must conquer the cosmos!

    Features:
    -6 unique asteroids to keep you on your toes
    -12 life saving abilities and power ups
    -3 intense boss battles
    -3 game modes with 4 difficulty settings each
    -Over 70 challenging achievements
    -Online leaderboards to challenge the world
    -In game Datalog of Tenebra's secrets
    -Original orchestrated soundtrack with over 5 unique pieces
    -Crisp HD graphics

    Do you have what it takes to stay alive?


    EDIT: 19/12/2017



    Subsideria has come extremely far since I started logging it here a few years ago (including several name changes :p) so I recommend skipping the first 8 or so pages if you want to see it more true to its current form, or read from the beginning if you want to see it grow! Currently I am aiming to have it released in late 2018 on Steam, GameJolt and Itch, with maybe a mobile port coming later, as most of the core is complete. Just a push for some of the content now like more bosses and gamemodes. Hope you all enjoy and hope to hear what you all think!​

    OP:
    Hi all, I've been having my friends testing the game so far, and we are in constant communication about design choices and general discussion on the topic, but I think it would be more beneficial if I also post about it here, as I'll get more and a wider range of feedback, and who know's, you might like it :)
    IconSmall.png
    Now the game is Asteroids. Im sure you are all aware of the arcade classic, shoot the asteroids to stay alive, but I'm putting in an effort to make it feel more refined, polished, fresher and more modern. I'm also trying to get a good difficulty curve in (which theoretically changes with you play style) to cater to a wider range of players. My aim is to do something simple and realistic, something thats been done so I know the concept works, but hopefully feel fresh enough so it feels new and good enough to play, and not just a cheap clone.

    In my opinion, I believe it is far enough now that I could release it as a beta, but I want to try and get some more things done (I'll post them if you would like) before releasing it, my aim is to get it out by 2016, seems realistic?

    So what do you guys think in terms of:
    -Realism in terms of finishing
    -Pros
    -Cons
    -Major Flaws
    -Poor and good design choices
    -Aesthetics
    -Any thing else you feel is relevant

    In terms of platforms I'm going to start with Kongregate, if it gets good feedback I might try moving to bigger places like Miniclip (Anyone have any experience with them?). If it generates even any kind of revenue (such as the minimum for payment) it will most likely motivate me to pay the fees to go for Greenlight and Android, as I do have an Android build, but in it's current state it isn't as good, mainly in terms of controls (Currently tilt controls, am looking into adding optional onscreen joystick hopefully around summer when I'm more free)

    I have created everything that in the game with the exceptions of
    -A few textures like fire particle textures and lens flares from the standard assets package (I believe I am allowed to use these commercially, could someone confirm that?)
    -The font, good times, however, it is a royalty free one
    -The music and background, both of which i will be replacing with my own

    Currently in game key rebinding is not functional, and only asteroids and power ups have actual instruction entries
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2018
  2. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
  3. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Game#3.png Game#2.png game#4.png HighScores.png
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jun 9, 2015
  4. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
  5. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Remember, if you have any questions, or need anything more to be able to give feedback, just ask!
    (If you would like the drop box links I wont be able to get the builds up today, so it would be tomorrow)
     
  6. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Does anyone have any ideas on what kinda music would be suitable? Techno? Retro?
     
  7. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Just did a quick hotfix, shouldn't say 'Surpassed Highscore of 0' the first time you play anymore
     
  8. theANMATOR2b

    theANMATOR2b

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2014
    Posts:
    7,790
    Hey QFSW - I've seen several modern day takes on asteroids recently and I love them.
    I haven't played yours yet - but I'll give you some thoughts/suggestions.

    My personal thoughts on 'realism' is feeling. The game has to evoke an emotional feeling one way or the other, anger, happiness, sadness etc. The graphics really don't address realism at all because we all know were sitting playing a game. Realism comes from how the game makes the players 'feel'. Asteroids was actually a great example of evoking player emotion.
    So may want to keep that as a thought when you talk about realism.

    Music - I'm not a music guy so my opinion is probably associated with a very small minority. With that said - original asteroids and all successful remakes that came after used the music to evoke emotion. The slow doom/doom/doom really works as it builds and more and more asteroids come on screen, and as the player is playing all the sudden a loud alien ship bleep-bleeps across the screen shooting at you. The music/sound fx really support the feeling the developers wanted to relay to the player. Keep thinking about the players emotional state and feeling as they play.
    Just slopping on some funky techno or chip tunes music won't deliver quite right.

    Not sure how your going to go about making your game feel more refined, polished and cater to a wider range of players than the original. Good luck with that one. In my opinion the original was tight and had all the elements nearly perfect, and at 25 cents a pop - was approachable and playable to anybody, all gamers who had a quarter in there pocket.
    You may consider here - less is more, but I'm not going to go into detail beyond that.
    There were basically two play styles one could attempt in the original asteroids - move and shoot or try to sit as motionless as possible and shoot.
    What other play styles do you think are available to asteroids players?
    How does the difficulty curve 'change' based on play style?

    One of the coolest parts of asteroids was the ship exploding in semi-slow motion when you died. I think that's a must for any asteroids remake. And not just a simple explosion - like many others have done. Explosions are alright, but there has to be ship particles and debris floating around afterwards for a couple seconds. Major must have for this asteroids fan.

    Good luck. I'll download and check it out when I can.
     
  9. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    @theANMATOR2b , thanks for the feedback!
    By realism I meant going for more towards the accurately shaded, true to life style rendering as opposed to stylised or retro but yes I understand what you mean

    Yeah I understand what you mean, I'm leaving the music as one of the later things to do as it will be hard for me, especially to get it right

    I mean as a modern game, if you whipped out the original, albeit an amazing classic, a lot of casual gamers these days would view it as a bit 'simplistic', with not much depth to it or lacking in visuals. I'm not saying the original isn't good, it's certain amazing, but a lot of 'non gamers' want something different, I'm not too sure how to explain itself

    I guess theres
    passive - stay back and just try to shoot them
    tactical - retreat and go in when is best to get a good balance
    aggressive - fly in with bullets blazing, risky, but can get big score fast

    based on your: Score, lifetime, lifetime per whole session, average movement speed and attack frequency the rate at which the difficulty increases changes, essentially the more aggressively you play the quicker it gets hard, but the quicker you can get big points, you also get drops more often

    Do you read my mind? ;) The explosions are actual the next thing im gonna work on, so far its just the standard fire burst, but I'm gonna add ejected burning debris, the object shattering, fancy lights etc. :)

    Thank you, I hope you enjoy it :)
     
    theANMATOR2b likes this.
  10. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    I'm going to be working on the the spaceship exploding/shattering into its fragments on death, do you think the same fracture patten / fragments will be okay or should I make it use a selection of a few patterns?
     
  11. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Scrap that last post, things didn't go as planned

    I've ended up making it have ejected debris, which uses a texture which has been cut out of the spaceship, its a different effect, but I feel like its still a good one, what do you guys think?

    I will be updating build shortly, apologies if the Android one becomes broken, I reimported packages and I had made modifications to the tilt input script to suit to my need, I tried to redo them to what I think it was, but I haven't tested it
    Debris.png
     
  12. theANMATOR2b

    theANMATOR2b

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2014
    Posts:
    7,790
    Fun!
    I think the rotation is a little too slow.
    I liked the sound fx.
    The only time I really died was when the asteroids spawned nearly on top of me. I think there should be an area around the ship where the asteroids don't spawn, but then make the asteroids spawn more frequently.
    I think the bullets travel a little too far beyond the screen - the wrap thing. They might not, but it just felt a little too much imo.
    I think some additional types of asteroids would be really cool. I got the fuming purple one twice. More of that type stuff would be really cool.

    Good work.
     
  13. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Thank you!
    Yeah I agree, however, it feels fine when you are thrusting, but not when stationary, so I'm not sure how much to speed it up by
    Thanks, I just have the triple shot sound which I shall redo then I need to think about music...
    Ah you have encountered one of the two biggest problems, the empty voids and the spawn kills
    Empty voids is basically when you are floating around for ages with no asteroids, what I did to combat this was add a check if there were two few asteroids, and if there were, to spawn them much much faster - I believe it is now fixed, but please let me know if it happens
    Spawn kills: When an asteroid spawns right in your face! What I am probably gonna do to combat this is rather than setting the asteroids new random location instantly, I will cache it. I'll see how close it is to the player and if under a certain distance recalculate a new location, does this seem like a good idea? I haven't implemented it yet, but does Unity have its own distance calculations? Or will I need to write my own trig code?
    Yeah I also have to agree with you on that, right now they last for 1 second, what do you think would be more appropriate, 0.75?
    That means you encountered the dark asteroids, starts spawning as you get enough score, and progressively becomes more common and overtakes the normal one to some extent. They have a purple aura as you can see, the key difference is they split up into a lot more mini asteroids, but, they give you a more score, so its your choice if you want to wreak their havoc ;) Another type of asteroid is the flaming one, they are red and on fire. They are even rarer and give even more points than the dark asteroid, but, will cause any asteroid they touch to explode and split up

    Thank you, I genuinely really appreciate that :)

    Say, the explosions looking fancy and violent when you die now, so should the asteroid which caused your death also shatter?
     
    theANMATOR2b likes this.
  14. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Okay, @theANMATOR2b, I've tweaked some of the values, obviously wont be perfect, but mind giving me a general direction if I need to push them even further or revert a bit?

    For now to keep it safe its just a slight lifespan shortened for bullets, and a bit of rotation speed increase

    Will be putting up builds now
     
  15. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Also in terms of different kinds of asteroids, they are stuff I want to implement. I have a few ideas so far like and electrified asteroid, not sure of the details just yet but I want it to discharge every now and again, if you are in the radius you will loose control for a few seconds. I may or may not have it electrifying other asteroids it touches for a short time, making it a key asteroid to get off the playing field. Another one would be a kind of time bomb asteroid, after a set amount of time (or when you shoot it) it will explode, but everything in its radius (both you and asteroids) will be killed. I'm not sure whether or not you should get the score for its kills. If I make it so, then it will introduce a new tactic of using them when there are lots around, if I do the opposite, one should endeavour to blow it up when its in the open
     
  16. kburkhart84

    kburkhart84

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2012
    Posts:
    910
    I tested it out. The bullets indeed travel way too far. I think the distance isn't a problem, but they shouldn't wrap. I also think you could branch out and make your ship be able to thrust in all 4 directions. Another thing that could be good is simply a bigger play area. You could ensure that Roids spawn outside of the current section the ship is in too, and the world could be a bit more vast that way. If you ever get a low amount of roids, you would probably want something to indicate what direction the nearest enemy is in.

    About the spawning issues, I would do things only on the very edge of the screen. I would(and have done this before actually) pick a random integer 1 to 4, with 1 = Top, 2 = Right, etc.... Then I would pick a random position only on that edge, and spawn the Roid there. So for example, if the screen wrap is at position 10 in the X axis, then you would spawn at X = 10.5(or whatever depending on the asteroid size, etc...) and Y = random value between 10 and -10. The numbers depend on the size of the level, and considering aspect ratio also the side of the screen we are talking about.

    As far as adding things, I recommend adding something different besides roids. Even the original retro Asteroids games had aliens that would show up, so can you. If you wanted to get really fancy(which may be beyond the scope of the project), add multiple enemy types, and maybe even some bosses of sorts. I don't know how far from the original you want to go, and I don't know how much you want to do with this project before continuing on to something else, but it is something to consider.

    Oh, and I think if a Roid destroys you, it too should explode.
     
  17. theANMATOR2b

    theANMATOR2b

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2014
    Posts:
    7,790
    Naw - they gotta wrap. That's one of the throw backs to asteroids. It's part of it! You gotta have them wrap a little bit at least. @QFSW I didn't try it out again. Will tomorrow afternoon when things calm down again.
    I think the electric asteroid sounds interesting.
    Another thought - an indestructible asteroid. You can't blow it up at all with regular shots. Maybe adding a limited missile to the mix. One that only gives you 3 shots and then it's gone type upgrade. This could destroy the indestructible asteroid if you gained that upgrade. Maybe also this indestructible asteroid could be pushed by shooting it - pushed ever so slightly. Spawn two of these random placement at the same time and by shooting them you can change there trajectory and make them crash into each other causing a very large explosion that wrecks and destroys other less dense asteroids in the general area. That's kinda interesting.
    A also agree with kburkhart some added things would be nice also. Space debris - maybe a shooting fast comet made of ice which maybe could freeze the player ship for a short duration if you run into its very long trailing tail - kind of similar to the electric asteroid.

    This has some potential.

    Oh about exploding the asteroid that destroys you. In the original - didn't it drop the asteroid down to the next smaller size? So if it was a big one that hit you it would break into the medium sizes. If it was a small one it gets destroyed as the player does. I think that is still a good design.

    Nice work keep it up!
     
  18. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Thank you both @theANMATOR2b and @kburkhart84, I appreciate your guys input

    Yeah, I agree with @theANMATOR2b on the wrapping, for 3 reasons. The first is it would feel weird seeing everything come back on the other side, only to see your bullet disappear right after it appears. The second reason is it could cause some rage, imagine chasing an asteroid to the edge, you shoot a bullet. The asteroid goes over the edge and reappears, but the bullet just vanishes, ruining your perfect shot. And 3rd as you said, it's a throw back. I do agree that it needs to be shortened, because too many people are just spinning and shooting, and because of the wrap round they hit a lot.
    Is what you are implying some kind of strafe mechanic? So that the player can move whilst aiming in the same direction? If it is I probably wont do it for a few reasons. One of them being that I want the strafe to actually be a skill/technique rather than a feature (Because your velocity doesn't change with rotation, if you thrust in one direction, releases the thrust and rotate, you can aim in directions other than your velocity).
    Hmm, I believe you are suggesting a more open exploration style, rather than the contained chaos? Don't get me wrong its a brilliant idea which could make a really good idea, but I'm trying, for the most part, to keep the core mechanics similar to the original, and that would make it quite a bit different.
    Your spawn kill prevention does work but it has an issue for me. Bear with me. What it's essentially doing is creating a safe zone in the middle, where no asteroids will spawn, and then a zone of complete death around the edge, where they will spawn rapidly. The problem with this is that the player, for their sake of surviving and getting a higher score, will stay in the middle more and wont want to go near the edges, taking some fun out of it. If I have it a no spawn radius around the player, they still have a safe zone, but it's localised, so they can go wherever they want in the map and not get spawn killed.
    Yeah I agree, I'm probably gonna be adding a few enemies, and I'd like to add 3 bosses. They would appear at 50,000 100,000 and 200,000. When a boss is present, asteroids will stop spawning and a health bar will appear. Upon beating them you will be rewarded with a 1up, and another power up. You will also get a lot of EXP and cash
    @theANMATOR2b, the indestructible asteroids sounds quite interesting, I'll make a note. Currently I have 1UPs and Triple Shots, but I'll be adding more like shields, missiles and lasers. Maybe the missiles could be used? So you cannot destroy it until you get missiles, and then it will make your priority when you have missiles to destroy it
    Another asteroid I might add could be death asteroids, ones that are extremely rare, and don't split up, but if they hit you, it's game over
    Comets sound interesting, they could whizz through and leave a trail for a few seconds, if you fly into it, rather than disengaging controls, you get locked into the ice
    Thank you, I appreciate that
    Yes I believe so, if I make it die on contact, I'll just be calling the function that is called when you kill one with a score multiplier of 0, so it would split up if large, blow up if small
    Thanks! Now that I'm not busy with exams and revising I can actually get to work on this properly again!
     
  19. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Just getting some of the textures up so people can see them if they don't want to download it
    1UP.png TripleShot.png Spaceship.png Asteroid.png
     
  20. inko

    inko

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2013
    Posts:
    143
    SCORE: 64470

    Hey man, played it for about 10 minutes and I had a ton of fun. Soundeffects, music and controlls feel just right and destroying astroids has a nice kick to it. I also really liked the idea of random powerups and special astroids which force the player to move around and solve the age old problem of the player just sitting in the center of the screen all the time quite elegantly. I died once from an astroid spawning inside me which was kinda annoying but since you can see them coming I don't think it's too big of a deal.
    You may wanna rework the fire trail of the spaceship though. I think it looks a bit out of place.

    A few things I'd like to see:

    - A couple more powerups
    - Some paralaxing background
    - online leaderboards :)

    Looking forward to the next version.
    Keep up the good work!

    [EDITT]
    Oh, and you should really edit the download link into your first post. I almost missed it ;)
     
  21. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hey @inko, I'm glad you liked it!
    Your score of 64470 is actually quite good, it's the second highest I know of (Mine being the highest)
    Thanks, I appreciate that, the music isn't mine, but getting feedback on it does give me feedback on what to make it like when I get round to it. Yeah I know the annoyance of spawn kills, I'm gonna make them relocate if they are too close to the player
    What do you suggest needs to be done with it? I quite like it and don't want to remove it, so if I could tweak it to improve it that would be good

    -The power ups will be coming, I know I will add shields, lasers, missiles. Maybe a flamethrower or an atom bomb
    -The problem is the camera is static, if I understand paralaxing correctly, it would only have any effect when the camera shakes on death, which doesn't really seem like it would be worth it
    -They are something I want to do, but how should I go around it? Should I use the system of the target platform? Eg. Android one uses google play, Kongregate would use their api, have steam using your steam user etc.

    Thanks! I'll post about it when I get something else done
     
  22. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Oh thanks for that bit of advice, I shall do ;)
     
  23. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    I've gotten a spawn kill prevention mechanic working, here's what it does
    If the asteroid's spawn position is within 2 units from the current players position at the current time, it will be relocated
    This means none will spawn on you
    You can still crash into them if you fly into them as they spawn, or the opposite
    Does that sound fair? I want the player to still have the element of caution and need to be ready to dodge, so I'm not creating a no death area, but I don't want them to loose unfairly
     
    theANMATOR2b likes this.
  24. theANMATOR2b

    theANMATOR2b

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2014
    Posts:
    7,790
    No inko has the highest score. Developer scores do not count towards high scores and should be stricken from the record!! :)
     
    QFSW likes this.
  25. theANMATOR2b

    theANMATOR2b

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2014
    Posts:
    7,790
    Regarding you first point about realistic visuals - you may consider changing the icons to something more aligned to that goal - maybe some floating triple shot attachment that actually changes the visual appearance of the ship when gained.
     
  26. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Haha yeah I agree with you, my score does not count ;)
    Hmm yeah I see what you are saying, I'll think about that
     
  27. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hi all, I've added something new :)
    When you are paused, the game in the back will be blurred, I think this and the vignette give it a nice out of focus feel, I personally like it, what do you guys think? (Builds have been updated)
    Blur.png
     
  28. kburkhart84

    kburkhart84

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2012
    Posts:
    910
    I like the idea. There should be a sort of fade effect too, as in instead of the effect happening instantly upon pause, have it creep in gradually.
     
  29. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hmm, yeah that could be nice, do you think I need to do that for the vignette as well or not?
     
  30. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    hmm, this is seeming more troublesome to implement than expected, because putting blur size at 0 doesn't remove the blur, its still quite blurred, I may have to put this on hold for a later date
     
  31. kburkhart84

    kburkhart84

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2012
    Posts:
    910
    I would say to do it for all the effects if you can. It isn't all that important, but polish is a good thing. Juice it or Lose it as they say on Youtube somewhere!
     
  32. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Yeah I get what you mean, I'd really like to implement it as it would look great, but it's just, try using the blur effects they give you and you'll see what I mean, theres no one master 'power' value or anything of the sort, so you cant go from 0 to designated blur smoothly, I think you might have to make your own custom scripts but I don't know
    Regardless I've put it in my to do for the hope I stumble across a solution or have a brainwave one day ;)
     
  33. kburkhart84

    kburkhart84

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2012
    Posts:
    910
    Yup, It is all in the scripts. They update shader variables, which are then used to control how much of something gets done, among other things.
     
  34. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hi all, got some news
    I realise this may sound like a really small tweak, something not worth mentioning, but considering how long it took me I have to tell you about it
    As you may know the score box in the HUD automatically changes the font size to work correctly
    The problem however is as your window gets, how do I put it, less widescreen, the amount of extra vertical space underneath the text increases, and it didn't look good
    So after many, many hours of experimentation and research, I believe I have come with a solution to fix it!
    So the next time you play, tell me how the score HUD looks ;)
    Builds now updated
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2015
  35. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Apologies for the lack of updates, been extremely busy
    Hope to be able to get back to development soon
     
  36. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hi all
    Haven't been updating because I'm just in the process of re writing and cleaning up masses of code, which obviously doesn't demand a public update
    I've decided to start making the next power up in parallel with the code clean up. and this I can update to you

    I present, the shield

    The idea I have for it now is that it protects you from one collision, on collision I might have it push away all nearby asteroids as well but I'm not sure, what do you guys think?

    To stop it from being over powered, the shield will decay away after 10 seconds, too long? too short?

    this is the graphic I have for the power up right now
    Shield.png
    What do you guys think of it?

    I am also going to add a kinda purple aura sphere around the player when they have it, sound like a good idea?
     
    theANMATOR2b likes this.
  37. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Have made some considerable process with the shield, it is almost complete :)

    Now as for what happens when you hit an asteroid, do you think deflecting the asteroid would be appropriate?

    Here is a frame from the aura, it's animated :)
     

    Attached Files:

  38. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Shield is done and working!
    Builds have been updated

    What do you guys think of the shield? Balanced?

    I will be replacing some of the sound and adding more effects
     
  39. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hi all, big new update.

    I have now added money, EXP and Levels!

    So far you can't do anything with them ;) but I need your guys opinions on the level curve. I've tried my best to do it well but It's just one of those things you can't do without testing and feedback, and lots and lots of it.

    Hope you all enjoy, builds have been updated :)
     
  40. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    For anyone interested, the following implemented mechanics for money and EXP so far are as follows

    On destroying these objects you get:
    Asteroid: $4+4EXP
    Mini Asteroid: $1+1EXP
    Dark Asteroid: $12+12EXP
    Mini Dark Asteroid: $3+3EXP
    Fire Asteroid: $30+30EXP
    Mini Fire: $6+6EXP

    The amount of EXP needed to reach the next level is as follows:
    420^(1+0.02*Level)
    Upon levelling up the required EXP will be subtracted from your total
     
  41. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hi all, new shield mechanics!
    The shield now lasts for 15 seconds, when asteroids collide instead of being deflected they are blown up, giving you half the score they normally would, but don't split up.
    Now when you hit an asteroid, instead of loosing your shield, a certain amount of time (different for the different types) is subtracted from your 15 seconds, shortening your timer
     
  42. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hey all, big new update
    Levelling up now unlocks stuff gasp!
    Now the only power up that can drop is the 1UP
    Lv2: The triple shot power up can now also drop
    Lv3: The boost mechanic is unlocked (see more below)
    Lv4: The shield power up can also drop
    Thats all I have for now in terms of level unlocks

    Now, the next big thing, the boost mechanic
    On the left of the screen once you reach Lv3 there will be a blue gauge (this took a painfully and embarrassingly long time to get working at different aspect ratios), this will slowly fill up over time. When full you can boost for 5 seconds, and it fills at a rate of 15 seconds to 1 second of boost (thus 75 seconds from 0% to 100%). I will most likely add upgrades to these (higher capacity, quicker fill rate) that are unlocked at certain levels. Now how it works, if you hold down shift (default key) while accelerating, a large blue flame will come out the back, it will be depleting your boost and you will accelerate twice as fast. The main point of this is to build up your boost and use it in tight situations (like a dark asteroid exploding later in the game can easily result in 10+ fast asteroids) to quickly boost out of the way.
     
  43. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hi all, quick little thing, but I think it makes it look nicer, and a lot less cluttered.
    The HUD elements now also blur when you pause!
    Builds have been updated
    qwhv.png
     
  44. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hi all, new little update

    Added a little arrow to the side of the screen that lines up with your player, it's only visible if you manage to go off screen but not far enough to warp onto the other side, its a very small zone but this is done so that if you manage to do this by accident, you actually know where you are :)
     
  45. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hey guys, been doing some work

    The user data is now encrypted before stored in PlayerPrefs, this means people cant open up the file and easily change their Level etc. However this does mean everyone will loose their data, sorry for the inconvenience

    Im getting an instructions menu in place, it's gonna be a slow road but it's getting there code wise, so I've decided to enable it for public builds, there isn't much though

    Hope you all enjoy

    (Builds updated)
     
  46. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    I've completely written the asteroid code and system, and with that comes...
    ...a new asteroid!

    The Ghost Asteroid!
    Ghost Asteroid.png
    This new asteroid will pass through everything other than you and your bullets without collisions, what do you guys think?
    (Builds have been updated, bar the android version which is kinda unsupported for the time being)
     
    theANMATOR2b likes this.
  47. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    For any body wondering what the ghost asteroid looks like and doesn't want to download a build
    rwj.png
     
  48. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Hi all, just a heads up to what I've been working on
    A lot of the difficulty curve has been rebalanced
    The instructions menu is coming along nicely, it has animated transitions to sub menus and as you play entries get added to it as you discover them (all entries atm are placeholders)
     
  49. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Done some of the entries for the 'log book' :) (need a name for it) awfa.png awfnjw.png beuve.png vejn.png What do you guys think? (Builds have been updated)
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2015
    Patico and theANMATOR2b like this.
  50. QFSW

    QFSW

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Posts:
    2,906
    Quick update, just realised I forgot to add in the EXP/Money rewarded in the entries
    Thats been added now too :)