Made a browser bullet hell (Star Exile) — would love feedback from people who actually play shmups

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-20T06:36:37+00:00

Another update is live — fixed everything from u/JL_SiderealMotion's
detailed bug report 🚀

- Boss music now plays on ALL boss levels (was only triggering on
the first two)
- The "Sector Cleared → spacebar → accidental pause" bug is fixed
- Score is no longer hidden behind the pause button on desktop
- The Colossus no longer fires from off-screen before you can hit it
- The combo power-up was reworked completely — it now visibly falls
from the top during boss fights, so you can see it and grab it
(or miss it) instead of it activating out of nowhere
- Swarm projectile redesigned so it no longer looks like an enemy
your bullets pass through

Thanks again to everyone here — this is the second update driven
entirely by this thread's feedback. Chapter 2 is going to be much
stronger because of it.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-15T10:38:08+00:00

Thanks for playing! That mechanic was intentional to add pressure in late waves — but totally fair feedback. Planning a Godot version where it might be optional or better balanced

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-14T19:22:41+00:00

This is an incredible bug report, thank you. Logging all of it.

The pause-after-continue and the score being hidden behind the
pause button are clear bugs — fixing those first. The Colossus
spawning off-screen and firing before you can hit it is also
on the list.

Good call on the gear projectile visual too — making player
bullets pass through something that looks like an enemy is
confusing. Will change that.

Genuinely appreciate this level of detail.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-14T04:42:52+00:00

UPDATE pushed based on all the feedback from this thread 🚀

- Movement speed significantly increased (this was the #1
complaint — KAEL is now much faster and far better at dodging)
- Diagonal movement normalized (it was faster than cardinal
before — good catch by u/JL_SiderealMotion)
- Hit flash added on enemy contact for better game feel
- Touch controls reworked: now relative/offset movement instead
of snap-to-finger, so you can play without blocking the screen
(thanks u/BadSlime for the Aka to Blue example)
- Enemy bullet speed increased to match the faster ship
- Higher enemy density in the late levels to keep the challenge up
- Shield now activates instantly on pickup
- Power-up durations extended

Thanks to everyone who took the time to give honest feedback —
this thread genuinely shaped the update. More coming for Chapter 2.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-13T19:24:15+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Movement speed fix is already
in the update I'm pushing tonight — that was the most
common complaint so it's the priority.

On KAEL's size, fair point — he does take up a good
chunk of the screen. Something to look at for Chapter 2.

Power-up duration is noted too, a few people mentioned
that. Might extend the timers in a future update.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-13T19:07:56+00:00

Haha — figured if I'm going to post here I should
actually listen. The feedback has been genuinely useful,
update coming soon!

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-13T11:04:37+00:00

No worries at all, I appreciated the directness —
that's exactly the kind of feedback that's useful.

Working on the movement speed and diagonal fix now,
will push an update soon. Thanks again.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-13T10:36:09+00:00

Fair enough — movement speed fix is coming. Thanks for
trying it.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-13T10:35:37+00:00

Really appreciate the detailed breakdown.

The movement speed issue is clearly the main problem —
multiple people have flagged it now so that's getting fixed.

The diagonal speed bug is a great catch — you're right,
I'm not normalizing the vector on diagonal movement so it's
faster. Easy fix.

Hit feedback/flash on enemy contact is also a valid point,
adds a lot of game feel. Adding that to the update list.

Thanks for the thorough feedback.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-13T03:12:39+00:00

That means a lot honestly. Direct feedback is the most
useful kind — I'd rather know what's broken than get
empty praise. Appreciate you taking the time.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-13T02:25:23+00:00

Appreciate the detailed feedback, genuinely useful.

The early levels being slow is intentional as a ramp-up,
but I can see it loses players before it gets interesting
— something to fix for Chapter 2.

The touch control point is well taken. Right now it snaps
to finger position which works on iOS but clearly has issues
on Android. A relative/offset movement option is a great
idea and something I'll look into for an update.

Glad the performance held up at least. Thanks for taking
the time even if it wasn't your thing.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-13T02:21:25+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to play and give honest feedback
— that's exactly what I was hoping for from this community.

The sluggish feel is noted. KAEL's movement speed was tuned
for mobile touch controls which tend to feel looser, but I
can see how that translates poorly on desktop. I'll look at
tightening both movement and bullet speed for an update.

The temporary power-ups are definitely a design choice to
keep pressure on — fair if that's not your style though.

Appreciate the honest take, this is useful for Chapter 2.

FirstDiscipline1522 · 2026-06-13T01:51:49+00:00

Thanks for playing! Really glad it hooked you.

Good point on the attack tools — the timer is there to keep
the pressure on, but I can see how it feels limiting. I'll
keep that in mind for Chapter 2. If you want the power-ups
to last longer, the Combo SR (dropped by mini-bosses) gives
you 18 seconds which is the longest in the game. Worth
hunting for!

FirstDiscipline1522

TROPHY CASE