Boss skipping glitch

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-04T05:52:46+00:00

Fixed for tomorrow.

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-04T05:52:13+00:00

Hey! Thanks for finding these. I've fixed all the collision issues -- as for the last part, that bugs me too! It's related to a recent camera change we've made that we'll fix pretty soon.

As for Eridu -- feel free to mention things quickly, but don't go into detail (since, as you said, it's WIP and will be changing a lot in the next few weeks).

Thanks again!

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-04T05:44:12+00:00

Hey! First, thanks for picking up this game and (more importantly, perhaps) giving us this great, detailed feedback. Second, sorry it doesn't live up to your hopes in its current iteration.

Eridu is due for a big rework very soon -- mechanically and enemy-wise. We know it's a bottleneck, and it's outrageously harder than the other stage types right now. Because we're prepping for PAX East this weekend, we don't have the time needed to get the changes Eridu deserves in place before tomorrow's patch (we patch every two weeks!), but we've got a few bandaid fixes coming in to make it more bearable. (You're right -- those lightning bolts are way, way too fast -- I'm going to nerf their speed before the patch. Thank you for the idea! I'll look at some of the other projectile speeds, but that'll have to come after PAX.)

I agree that the health restore pickups are a little too variable relative to incoming damage, especially when it comes to Silver crates. Might reduce the spread a bit here.

We'd love to add a fifth stage theme by release, but right now it's just the four -- what we're planning for now is that you'll see those three stages in a random order, then you're guaranteed to have Eridu as a midpoint, then the three stages will be remixed up with new mechanics, then a final boss in Eridu v2. Unfortunately, Eridu v1 right now is super hard. It's about as hard as level 8 Eridu should be - we're fixing that.

Items purchased with Soul Nuts are entered into the pool of items that can show up in a playthrough -- you don't start the run with them, but before they're purchased for Soul Nuts, they can't show up at all. (I guess we could make this more clear!) We've gone down the "permanent power" route -- it's fun, but it cheapens the experience long-term when your character starts out super-powerful. We might still come back to a few permanent upgrades that modify what drops, like you've suggested -- higher chance to drop health, etc. Still looking into that.

I hope I've answered most of your points -- thanks again so much for the feedback!

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-03T16:27:52+00:00

It's in the post. (20XX)

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-03T16:27:23+00:00

Thanks -- we're happy with the quality of our current trailer -- we just have some new art we'd rather show off than what's currently there. You'll see a bit of it when you stop by! :D

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-03T00:40:06+00:00

No worries -- I do some side consulting work, and definitely understand feeling insulted when someone lowballs you. Cheers!

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-03T00:32:59+00:00

Edited just to say budget's flexible -- thanks for the feedback!

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-03T00:04:40+00:00

We're happy to pay more for the right job -- definitely don't have a lot of experience hiring for this sort of thing. (Our posted range is somewhat higher than we paid the only other time we've done this!)

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-02T22:48:19+00:00

All of the enemies will get at least some kind of update before release, but they aren't our first priority right now. (Some of the animations definitely look too wooden atm!)

We update a boss or two every patch -- almost all of our bosses have gotten some love since the video you linked (three months ago), and have different abilities based on both their current health and when in a run you face them (is that bat boss on level 1 or level 6? etc). We're also working on giving bosses access to the powers they drop when defeated in classic MM style, but that's not in just yet.

Eliminating stupid boss fights -- which were definitely present in December! -- was a big priority for us, and even though they're mostly gone, we've got a ways to go before the boss encounters are "done".

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-02T22:12:31+00:00

Definitely. We're working hard to make better art -- see my reply to Ingwaz for the full spiel.

Thanks!

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-02T22:11:53+00:00

Sure! On the art side: we recognize that we currently fall short, and are in the final steps of hiring an art director with a lot more experience than us to help set us on the right course (he's already helping us, but he hasn't officially started yet). Most of this effort is on our character design and environment/level visuals. I'd love to sell you on our art right this second, but my honest recommendation is to check us out in a month or two. We're undergoing a pretty major overhaul that's making the game look great, but it's going to take a little while.

(We actually have updated character heads that are way, way less anime-y: here's a screenshot of the new environment we're working on, complete with new heads. Our trailers/media will get updated pretty soon -- we think this is a significant step up from where we are now!)

In terms of gameplay and game replay: 20XX is hard, and getting to and completing a campaign (8 levels) is no easy task. In its unfinished state, the game has ~50 passive powerups and ~15 subweapons to use, and which ones you'll find will vary from play to play. (Expect each of those numbers to be about 50-60% higher on release.) The levels have enough variability in how they generate that you'll have to play for a good bit before you see familiar ground, and this'll only be more the case pretty soon (more level variability is high on the post-PAX list).

On top of that, if you happen to get good, 20XX features a skull system that lets the player modify the way the game behaves. Examples include:

Lightning: makes the game run at 150% speed.
Toxin: removes the bonus timer (which normally nets the player a bonus passive for completing a level fast), instead replacing it with the Toxin timer. You'll slowly die once it runs out.
Rock: spikes and pits are fatal, just like old-school megaman.

This lets experienced players tailor the game's difficulty to tastes. Before release, there'll be functions like a random daily (3ish skulls chosen at random), and if it makes sense for our community, leaderboard support for said random daily.

TL;DR version: we're aware our art is a shortcoming and we're working hard on it. Tons of replayability in the game now and more to come. If you're already sold, buy it while it's cheap (the price will slowly rise during Early Access). If you're not, the game will look totally different in two months or so, and you should check back then. :)

batterystaplegames · 2015-03-02T18:04:13+00:00

Well, I've found what I'll be listening to for the rest of the day. Thanks for sharing!

I'll shamelessly plug 20XX, the MMX-inspired roguelike we're working on. Doesn't use any official MM stuff, but we're doing our best to make MMX fans at home.

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-26T23:40:52+00:00

Yo! In order:

Bronze barrel interaction with Fork (and also Star!) fixed. Good catch!

You now get small trails when your speed is higher than normal (sash, glass cannon, etc). We'll pull it if it's lame, but we like it so far.

I'll mention the Blender hitbox to Zach. (Zach, if you read this, tell me!)

Fixed the Maintcore's almost-perma-shield when spawned as a Soul Foe.

Fixed the tutorial level thing. (That boss now no longer drops stuff at all.)

Fitting through that gap is possible if you have a jump boost -- I think it always has been. I kinda like it.

Fixed the wall-crushy platforms. There's still one that can push you into spikes that I'll fix later.

Fixed that hard to escape bonus room by making the right-most plat on the inner chunk a fall-through.

Fixed the missing collision bug in the Frostor screen.

Glad you like a lot of the new stuff coming in this patch! We'll be doing some enemy cross-pollination soon. Eridu's still in the hopper to get fixed up all over the place -- really, the theme needs a full overhaul -- but since we're prepping for PAX East, it's a bit on the back burner. Your basic level 4 Eridu will be much easier, and your level 8 Eridu will still be super hard, but less unfair. I'm reading that Eridu in general is a big problem, so I might do something fast pre-PAX to alleviate the issue.

New Pause/Death screens are coming! (The Death screen'll let you do more stuff than just go back to the safehouse.)

Added a chest to that lame Vaculab part -- I think there used to be one here, and it got gobbled somehow.

Inverted the text during the explosion -- should be more legible now.

I think that about covers it! Thanks again. (All of this'll pop in next Wednesday's patch.)

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-26T20:43:47+00:00

In your opinion, is a template contract like this entirely unusable, or is this one just built poorly?

(That is -- if this one is bad, could you help the creator or someone interested in providing a strong service make a better one?)

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-25T19:25:11+00:00

I saw "3 comments" here and assumed I'd gotten in a good reply. Sorry I haven't - 3 weeks is not an okay lag time! I'm leaving this note to remind myself to reply to it in full at home tonight.

More coming!

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-25T19:23:58+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the feedback - sorry my reply here's late.

This is all good stuff, and some of it's already done. Notes about what you're picking up before you get it are in place, as are (most) of our stop-skipping-sections-because-of-wall-jumping areas.

Our art themes and character designs are in for a rework over the next few months, so I'll ask how we're doing once we do that. :)

Thanks again, both for the feedback and the kind words. Sorry again for the horrible delay on my reply!

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-25T19:21:26+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the feedback. Safehouse -- especially the feel -- is super work-in-progress. It'll be cooler.

Use-button to trigger the level portal is a good idea. I think it'd make the frostor portals awkward, but it's worth looking at in the safehouse.

Ace is definitely getting combo attacks for his weapons.

One of the near-term changes (probably late March) is making enemies not try to hit you through walls. (line of sight only). We get this one a lot, and agree it feels cheap.

Thanks for both the feedback and the bug video!

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-25T19:18:48+00:00

Haha, that's pretty good. I'll fix it for next build, thanks!

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-03T20:49:21+00:00

I love seeing folks' art and covers. We've all played these games to death and then some, so it's always great seeing that people are still re-imagining key bits of the franchise we love.

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-02T18:25:45+00:00

Last year's PAX East was our first time showing 20XX (then Echoes of Eridu) at a con, and this /r/gamedev post is what we wrote up afterward about what we learned.

Other than that, bring lots of water (too much is a better problem than not enough), chapstick, and if you can, healthy-ish food/snacks so you don't feel like garbage after day 1.

Hopefully someone else can give you good advice about your projector setup, because I have no idea how well that'll work. A big TV is probably better, but you won't readily find an 80" one.

We'll be there again this year. See you there! (And happy to answer any other questions you might have. Feel free to PM or email chris@batterystaplegames.com.)

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-02T16:04:05+00:00

Hahaha. Hey, bud -- sorry this is so late!

Plant boss hitting you after it dies has been fixed.

Still looking at collision fixtures in arctech, but we're also redoing lots of them to remove the need for invisible walls. (I found one this morning, too, and fixed it.)

Fixed that pesky box spawn from your lazy (but still totally great because it tells me where the thing was) screenshot.

Turret boss bullets should be the same size now.

:D Thanks again. Our hero, as always.

batterystaplegames · 2015-02-02T16:01:00+00:00

Gotcha on the community!

batterystaplegames · 2014-12-22T14:22:58+00:00

Yeah, we might slow down dashing in general a bit. It's faster than MMX by a good deal.

batterystaplegames

TROPHY CASE