I have a new test version up and running, and would love to get some feedback.
There are still minor crashes, and for some reason there's a crash on the main menu, which I'm still sorting out. If the game crashes on the start up, just restart it and try again. Also, on the desert level the spawning co-ordinates are still wrong for the player's plane.
I've updated the flying mechanics, weapons, scoring and graphics.
Controls:
Left/right arrows : Turn the plane Z : Flips plane A: Shoot / Jump C: Shoot Special Weapon X: Eject
What you need to do is just change each menu item. For some reason its not reading the default variables. So cycle with the options and then try it again. Will try get a web build up by tuesday :)
Ok, I got it working! I also found if I hit Space on the home screen I immediately get into a game as well.
I was playing on Easy, just me and 1 enemy and after a short while the enemy plane just disappeared!?
The bullets are A LOT better to see in the different environments. The hit scores also make a confirmation that I'm doing something.
A problem I have though is I cannot see the scores and often I'm travelling fast enough that I can't read the scores on the blimp. I suggest setting up a HUD with the scores and doubling the size of the font on the blimp.
The weapon drops are also distinct and you quickly learn what image does what ability. I'm not sure about the shotgun blast though; it feels too short especially considering normal bullets fly across the whole screen.
I don't know if it's just me but I feel very sluggish when I take off and I would prefer almost a catapult into the sky and then slow down.
@Fengol: Awesome stuff, glad that you're enjoying it.
As for the issue with the pilot, I had that when I was playing on my phone this week. The arrow kept pointing towards the middle of the map, but I could not find the enemy player. I'll do a bit of digging and see what is happenning. I also found a bit where if you eject into the barn without the parachute deploying, it spawns you in a plane at the barn... very weird!
The biggest issue for me is the blimp, since the speed of the game is a little faster, I'll definitely have to keep the blimp as a background item, but place the scores on the HUD somewhere.
As for the shotgun, it does travel the same distance as the normal bullets. I just need to slow down the colour change. If you play on another map you will see it does go far.
And yes, as for the takeoff's, I do agree it's a bit sluggish. Ideally you'd want to get right back into the action without waiting for your plane to gather momentum. Maybe I should incorporate a badass rocket take off, where the plane is attached to rails and then gets thrown into the air :D
For those of you who havent tried it out yet, here are the latest builds:
I agree that the take off is faaaaar too slow. I have had enemies pick me off before I am even off the ground.
One of the big things for me is that when I land a hit it doesn't exactly feel rewarding. It can take quite a bit of work into getting into a nice position to score 3-5 hits, and a bunch of +1s popping up doesn't make me feel like I am 8)
Edit I thought that 8) was supposed to be the :cool: emoticon >.>
Lol yeah - the game itself works perfectly but now it's not loading. I'm not on my home machine so I can't fixit right away... will try as soon as I can.
Please give it a bash and let me know what you think! I need some feedback for the controls on the android device, so if anyone has one please try it out and let me know :)
Major changes: Launching mechanic - allows the player to get right back into the game. Use the arrows to move and shoot to launch Difficulty levels - the AI is now much more varied. Test them out and let me know what you think More visual feedback - Muzzle flashes, debris and stuff like that\
Major bugs I'm aware of: -Sometimes launching destroys the plane, need to fix error with collisions -Up can launch you from the launcher, but then you cannot crash on the ground
I'm playing on the PC and it feels like the plane is harder to control than before. I'm also very confused about what the different special weapons do and there's one, that seems to be a bomb of some sort, that seems useless because the chances of it hitting a plane seem slim.
Otherwise there seems to be a hell of a lot going on; it really feels like a battlefield!
I'm playing on the PC and it feels like the plane is harder to control than before.
That's strange, I haven't changed anything with the controls. Hmmm, perhaps for the bomb we make it more of a proximity bomb, so that if a plane flies within a certain range it detonates.
Menu/UI *I assume the main menu look you have now is placeholder, but just in case it isn't you really need something prettier in there :) *The game needs a pause button-even if it just shows a shade over the gameplay with a resume button. Also this needs to come up when the phone sleeps or the app otherwise loses focus. *The blimp is really tiny, so the score UI doesn't really work so well on mobile IMO. Might be worth having a simple UI text score. *Totally minor, but I'd suggest replacing the eject button with a parachute and the star with a bomb to give a more immediate idea of what they do
Controls *My initial reaction to the virtual buttons was eeeew, just because.. but really they work beautifully and control feels very tight. Well done :) *It might be worth spreading the buttons just a bit, and extending their touch areas just a few pixels outside of their visible area. I find on occasion my fingers do end up sliding just a bit too far and losing them. *I'm playing on a pretty large device (5" screen) and the buttons are just about right, I don't know how you're scaling them, but if they're smaller on smaller screens instead of maintaining absolute size I think you're likely to run into control issues on those devices.
Visuals *Even on my large device, the sprites are really quite small. Certainly not to the point of making the game unplayable, but it definitely feels like all sprites would benefit from a good 50% increase in scale on mobile, and the blimp could easily double or more in size. This would mean a lot more vertical viewport movement, but I really think it would be worth it.
Gameplay *Overall, as with the PC version, far more fun than it has any right to be :) *I definitely would like some kind of objective-number of planes to destroy, without losing a set number of mine, something along those lines. I assume that's just not in this build yet? *I'm torn between the old takeoff and the new launcher, but the launcher probably does make way more sense on the small screen at least. The launcher pop in and out is kind of ugly, maybe have it raise up as if it was underground?
Bugs *I had occasional cases where my (undamaged) plane stopped responding to input, causing me to crash. I've tried to get a reliable repro but I just can't. *The crash in launcher you already mentioned-though it seems to only happen in the snow level if that helps?
@mattbenic - Thanks for the feedback. Just some small things from my side:
Menu: A full on menu system is busy being done at the moment, but thanks for flagging it. Blimp is going to be changed for something that will stick to the UI all the time.
Controls: Yeah I wasn't sold on the controls at first, but that layout seems to be the most functional way to control. I tried a slider option but it was very difficult to get the sensitivity right. The button style seemed to work better and is easier to control. I haven't had a chance to test it on smaller screens but I will have to adjust for that.
Other notes: I'm still in the process of correcting the start positions and other small bugs, but I've left those for last since they don't affect the core mechanics.
*I had occasional cases where my (undamaged) plane stopped responding to input, causing me to crash. I've tried to get a reliable repro but I just can't.
Are you sure you were not hit with an EMP blast? The AI uses special weapons so you might have been hit and would be unable to steer your plane?
Thanks again for the feedback. I'm hoping to wrap this up by the end of the month and get it out there :)
I've got a new build up and running, and I'm looking for anyone who has an android device to test it out.
You can jump straight into a custom game through the skirmish option, as the campaign isn't set up yet.
I'm looking for feedback with regards to the menu system. Currently the main menu landing page seems to be working across most devices, so I'm asking if anyone has an issue with the main menu to please let me know.
I've got a new version of the game ready for testing.
I need testers with Android devices to help me iron out bugs please. If you're interested, please give me a shout and I can add you as a team member on the Testflight database.
It plays great on my Samsung Galaxy S3. Well done!
I would like to see some kind of goal driven gameplay happening. It all feels a bit random? Maybe a paragraph of text explaining where I am, what is happening etc? (Edit: ah i see this in the campaign). Would also like to see a basic tutorial in game. E.g. "Hitlers Luftwaffe are probing our (England) air defenses. You have to shoot down the enemy squadron. We're relying on you pilot..."
Also the cannon shooting out the aeroplane when you restart feels misplaced? Doesn't work for me?
Spelling error in campaign: win condition says *Fist to 500 points* hehe...
Graphics is sharp even on my small screen. Like how you've improved the game over time. Stick with it. I still have an early beta for the pc somewhere. :-D Collectors item...
So we're still missing the storyline, as well as the briefing per stage. I have a storywriter and an illustrator on board to help me with that. You'll be playing as one of the most biplane fighters that ever lived. We're still sorting out the details but the story will be translated through comic styled frames and tidbits of info per stage :)
The game will also include a tutorial, as well as simplifying the on screen controls to be more contextual. So for example, you will not be able to use the eject, special weapon or flip plane buttons when the plane is still in the launcher.
With regards to the cannon, what seems to be the problem? Misplaced how? Do you mean it doesnt fit in?
@duncanbellsa The cannon doesn't fit for me somehow? I feels like you are trying to solve a problem of some kind? Why not have a runaway or an aircraft carrier? Where player has to take off. Like in Sopwith? The cannon shooting out the aeroplane just feels wrong. Sorry just my honest opinion...
Great news regarding tutorial and story. The comic styled briefings sound spot-on :)
@konman - To be honest it was to solve a problem, much of the feedback I had with regards to having the planes takeoff is that it's too slow, it was a break in the action.
I tried to have it that the player "spawned" above the game screen, and coasted down to the game level, but it felt a bit weird. The cannon seemed to be the best way to get the player back into the action as quick a possible.
@duncanbellsa Ah I see. Could it not be possible to script a fast takeoff from a landing strip and get the plane to safe altitude quickly before handing over control again?
To be honest it was to solve a problem, much of the feedback I had with regards to having the planes takeoff is that it's too slow, it was a break in the action.
I also find the launcher a bit out of place, and honestly didn't feel the takeoff was too much of a gameplay break. @konman's suggestion sounds like a good one but it's not such a big deal either way that it should be high priority IMO.
I feel like the planes are much clearer in this one, is it just colour changes or did you end up scaling them up?
The new gun overheating and cooldown is interesting and makes the game much more strategic, but it's maybe a bit too restrictive. It feels like it should take just a little longer to overheat. Nice job on communicating the overheating, though with a single pixel black border, that UI element would fit in better with other elements.
I'd suggest changing your default skirmish settings to something a bit more entertaining/challenging that shows off more features and leads to a shorter game. Maybe 2 opponents, 1 ally, powerups on and 30-50 points. Also should save skirmish settings between runs.
I'm still having cases where it feels like i'm losing all control over my plane, and I'm sure it's not the EMP. I think it might just be that the button contact areas need to be enlarged a bit, remember this is a touch device with no physical cue as to whether the player's fingers are on the button.
The menu look & feel is great, and the animations in it are cool. Bouncing elements in is great, but aim for 0.5-1s between interactions, the current 2s is way too long.
@duncanbellsa Hehe, that's impressive. Don't you hate how you have to fork out a million bucks on all the platform devices to be able to test your game properly?
Emulators just don't cut it, right? Is there somewhere we can go to test a game on multiple platforms without having to purchase ALL those devices?
I paid over R5K for a Win8 tablet that I only use occasionally for testing and thats just for one platform. Grrrrr.
Maybe as indie devs we need to "pick a lane" and choose 1 platform to fund the others? So not try to go Android, iOS, Linux, WIN8, WP8, Rasberry something, PS4,XBOX etc etc etc all at once to start with? Or maybe being ambitious is the way to go and carpet bomb all platforms?
Obviously Duncan was born with a golden spoon :-) (Jealousy makes you nasty konman)
Yeah it is a bit of a mission, but I feel if the tools support the multiple export, then why the hell not? Luck for me, my girlfriend owns a few iOS devices. I have my phone and (old) tablet.
The game had been modified to fit for all screen sizes, so making the shift from Android to iOS was relatively simple. Ideally I'd like to support all mobile platforms a launch, but we'll see what happens.
I've been doing plenty of beta testing to get the game working, so I hope once the bigger issues are sorted it will make the smaller ones a breeze to fix :)
@duncanbellsa Great thing that your game scales to all screen sizes. It took me a while to get it working as well, but it is well worth the effort. Cool, give a shout if you need another tester for Android or desktop... or Win8 metro ;-P
@tbulford... Interesting. So there is an historical example of the mechanism Duncan implemented to solve a problem. Nice.
@konman Thanks dude. Had a friend get the flow of it right, and another friend create the track for it. So now I'm busy making tweaks and stuff :). Managed to learn After Effects in about to week which isn't too bad :)
@duncanbellsa That trailer looks amazing. There is nothing more I can think of that would improve it any further. It really makes one want to try this game.
When the game launches, I'm going to direct all traffic to blazinacesgame.com - it's easier to remember and at least there's one location that it can be.
I'm planning on selling it for $1 on the store. If I get 5000 sales I've made the money I spent on it back. So yeah, thats my target.
Haha yeah I'm going to remove the recommended quotes until I get real reviews :)
Comments
I have a new test version up and running, and would love to get some feedback.
There are still minor crashes, and for some reason there's a crash on the main menu, which I'm still sorting out. If the game crashes on the start up, just restart it and try again. Also, on the desert level the spawning co-ordinates are still wrong for the player's plane.
I've updated the flying mechanics, weapons, scoring and graphics.
Controls:
Left/right arrows : Turn the plane
Z : Flips plane
A: Shoot / Jump
C: Shoot Special Weapon
X: Eject
P: Cycles through environments
R: Restarts the game
Let me know what you guys think:
Android Build:
http://www.reddotlab.com/blazinaces/BlazinAcesHD_v06-Default-1.0.3.apk
Windows Build:
http://www.reddotlab.com/blazinaces/BA_v06.zip
What you need to do is just change each menu item. For some reason its not reading the default variables. So cycle with the options and then try it again. Will try get a web build up by tuesday :)
I was playing on Easy, just me and 1 enemy and after a short while the enemy plane just disappeared!?
The bullets are A LOT better to see in the different environments. The hit scores also make a confirmation that I'm doing something.
A problem I have though is I cannot see the scores and often I'm travelling fast enough that I can't read the scores on the blimp. I suggest setting up a HUD with the scores and doubling the size of the font on the blimp.
The weapon drops are also distinct and you quickly learn what image does what ability. I'm not sure about the shotgun blast though; it feels too short especially considering normal bullets fly across the whole screen.
I don't know if it's just me but I feel very sluggish when I take off and I would prefer almost a catapult into the sky and then slow down.
Very awesome so far!
Awesome stuff, glad that you're enjoying it.
As for the issue with the pilot, I had that when I was playing on my phone this week. The arrow kept pointing towards the middle of the map, but I could not find the enemy player. I'll do a bit of digging and see what is happenning. I also found a bit where if you eject into the barn without the parachute deploying, it spawns you in a plane at the barn... very weird!
The biggest issue for me is the blimp, since the speed of the game is a little faster, I'll definitely have to keep the blimp as a background item, but place the scores on the HUD somewhere.
As for the shotgun, it does travel the same distance as the normal bullets. I just need to slow down the colour change. If you play on another map you will see it does go far.
And yes, as for the takeoff's, I do agree it's a bit sluggish. Ideally you'd want to get right back into the action without waiting for your plane to gather momentum. Maybe I should incorporate a badass rocket take off, where the plane is attached to rails and then gets thrown into the air :D
For those of you who havent tried it out yet, here are the latest builds:
Android Build:
http://www.reddotlab.com/blazinaces/BlazinAcesHD_v06-Default-1.0.3.apk
Windows Build:
http://www.reddotlab.com/blazinaces/BA_v06.zip
Web Build:
Currently not functioning
Controls:
Left/right arrows : Turn the plane
Z : Flips plane
A: Shoot / Jump
C: Shoot Special Weapon
X: Eject
P: Cycles through environments
R: Restarts the game
Let me know what you guys think!
I agree that the take off is faaaaar too slow. I have had enemies pick me off before I am even off the ground.
One of the big things for me is that when I land a hit it doesn't exactly feel rewarding. It can take quite a bit of work into getting into a nice position to score 3-5 hits, and a bunch of +1s popping up doesn't make me feel like I am 8)
Edit I thought that 8) was supposed to be the :cool: emoticon >.>
Please give it a bash and let me know what you think!
I need some feedback for the controls on the android device, so if anyone has one please try it out and let me know :)
Major changes:
Launching mechanic - allows the player to get right back into the game. Use the arrows to move and shoot to launch
Difficulty levels - the AI is now much more varied. Test them out and let me know what you think
More visual feedback - Muzzle flashes, debris and stuff like that\
Windows Build:
http://www.reddotlab.com/blazinaces/BA_Beta/BlazinAcesHD_v07.zip
Android Build:
http://www.reddotlab.com/blazinaces/BA_Beta/BlazinAcesHD_v07.apk
Major bugs I'm aware of:
-Sometimes launching destroys the plane, need to fix error with collisions
-Up can launch you from the launcher, but then you cannot crash on the ground
Otherwise there seems to be a hell of a lot going on; it really feels like a battlefield!
Hmmm, perhaps for the bomb we make it more of a proximity bomb, so that if a plane flies within a certain range it detonates.
I think you upped the RoF which feels really nice as far as the shooting goes.
I think you need to upscale the blimp: it feels like it's getting lost in the bg.
Menu/UI
*I assume the main menu look you have now is placeholder, but just in case it isn't you really need something prettier in there :)
*The game needs a pause button-even if it just shows a shade over the gameplay with a resume button. Also this needs to come up when the phone sleeps or the app otherwise loses focus.
*The blimp is really tiny, so the score UI doesn't really work so well on mobile IMO. Might be worth having a simple UI text score.
*Totally minor, but I'd suggest replacing the eject button with a parachute and the star with a bomb to give a more immediate idea of what they do
Controls
*My initial reaction to the virtual buttons was eeeew, just because.. but really they work beautifully and control feels very tight. Well done :)
*It might be worth spreading the buttons just a bit, and extending their touch areas just a few pixels outside of their visible area. I find on occasion my fingers do end up sliding just a bit too far and losing them.
*I'm playing on a pretty large device (5" screen) and the buttons are just about right, I don't know how you're scaling them, but if they're smaller on smaller screens instead of maintaining absolute size I think you're likely to run into control issues on those devices.
Visuals
*Even on my large device, the sprites are really quite small. Certainly not to the point of making the game unplayable, but it definitely feels like all sprites would benefit from a good 50% increase in scale on mobile, and the blimp could easily double or more in size. This would mean a lot more vertical viewport movement, but I really think it would be worth it.
Gameplay
*Overall, as with the PC version, far more fun than it has any right to be :)
*I definitely would like some kind of objective-number of planes to destroy, without losing a set number of mine, something along those lines. I assume that's just not in this build yet?
*I'm torn between the old takeoff and the new launcher, but the launcher probably does make way more sense on the small screen at least. The launcher pop in and out is kind of ugly, maybe have it raise up as if it was underground?
Bugs
*I had occasional cases where my (undamaged) plane stopped responding to input, causing me to crash. I've tried to get a reliable repro but I just can't.
*The crash in launcher you already mentioned-though it seems to only happen in the snow level if that helps?
Menu:
A full on menu system is busy being done at the moment, but thanks for flagging it. Blimp is going to be changed for something that will stick to the UI all the time.
Controls:
Yeah I wasn't sold on the controls at first, but that layout seems to be the most functional way to control. I tried a slider option but it was very difficult to get the sensitivity right. The button style seemed to work better and is easier to control. I haven't had a chance to test it on smaller screens but I will have to adjust for that.
Other notes:
I'm still in the process of correcting the start positions and other small bugs, but I've left those for last since they don't affect the core mechanics. Are you sure you were not hit with an EMP blast? The AI uses special weapons so you might have been hit and would be unable to steer your plane?
Thanks again for the feedback. I'm hoping to wrap this up by the end of the month and get it out there :)
I've got a new build up and running, and I'm looking for anyone who has an android device to test it out.
You can jump straight into a custom game through the skirmish option, as the campaign isn't set up yet.
I'm looking for feedback with regards to the menu system. Currently the main menu landing page seems to be working across most devices, so I'm asking if anyone has an issue with the main menu to please let me know.
Thanks in advance:
New build can be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ntmjpgcsful1u3f/BlazinAcesHD_v075.apk
I've got a new version of the game ready for testing.
I need testers with Android devices to help me iron out bugs please. If you're interested, please give me a shout and I can add you as a team member on the Testflight database.
It plays great on my Samsung Galaxy S3. Well done!
I would like to see some kind of goal driven gameplay happening. It all feels a bit random? Maybe a paragraph of text explaining where I am, what is happening etc? (Edit: ah i see this in the campaign). Would also like to see a basic tutorial in game.
E.g. "Hitlers Luftwaffe are probing our (England) air defenses. You have to shoot down the enemy squadron. We're relying on you pilot..."
Also the cannon shooting out the aeroplane when you restart feels misplaced? Doesn't work for me?
Spelling error in campaign: win condition says *Fist to 500 points* hehe...
Graphics is sharp even on my small screen. Like how you've improved the game over time. Stick with it. I still have an early beta for the pc somewhere. :-D Collectors item...
Awesome, great to know!
So we're still missing the storyline, as well as the briefing per stage. I have a storywriter and an illustrator on board to help me with that. You'll be playing as one of the most biplane fighters that ever lived. We're still sorting out the details but the story will be translated through comic styled frames and tidbits of info per stage :)
The game will also include a tutorial, as well as simplifying the on screen controls to be more contextual. So for example, you will not be able to use the eject, special weapon or flip plane buttons when the plane is still in the launcher.
With regards to the cannon, what seems to be the problem? Misplaced how? Do you mean it doesnt fit in?
And as for the beta, you can still download my original prototype from 2010 :D
Great news regarding tutorial and story. The comic styled briefings sound spot-on :)
I tried to have it that the player "spawned" above the game screen, and coasted down to the game level, but it felt a bit weird. The cannon seemed to be the best way to get the player back into the action as quick a possible.
I feel like the planes are much clearer in this one, is it just colour changes or did you end up scaling them up?
The new gun overheating and cooldown is interesting and makes the game much more strategic, but it's maybe a bit too restrictive. It feels like it should take just a little longer to overheat. Nice job on communicating the overheating, though with a single pixel black border, that UI element would fit in better with other elements.
I'd suggest changing your default skirmish settings to something a bit more entertaining/challenging that shows off more features and leads to a shorter game. Maybe 2 opponents, 1 ally, powerups on and 30-50 points. Also should save skirmish settings between runs.
I'm still having cases where it feels like i'm losing all control over my plane, and I'm sure it's not the EMP. I think it might just be that the button contact areas need to be enlarged a bit, remember this is a touch device with no physical cue as to whether the player's fingers are on the button.
The menu look & feel is great, and the animations in it are cool. Bouncing elements in is great, but aim for 0.5-1s between interactions, the current 2s is way too long.
Emulators just don't cut it, right? Is there somewhere we can go to test a game on multiple platforms without having to purchase ALL those devices?
I paid over R5K for a Win8 tablet that I only use occasionally for testing and thats just for one platform. Grrrrr.
Maybe as indie devs we need to "pick a lane" and choose 1 platform to fund the others? So not try to go Android, iOS, Linux, WIN8, WP8, Rasberry something, PS4,XBOX etc etc etc all at once to start with? Or maybe being ambitious is the way to go and carpet bomb all platforms?
Obviously Duncan was born with a golden spoon :-) (Jealousy makes you nasty konman)
Yeah it is a bit of a mission, but I feel if the tools support the multiple export, then why the hell not? Luck for me, my girlfriend owns a few iOS devices. I have my phone and (old) tablet.
The game had been modified to fit for all screen sizes, so making the shift from Android to iOS was relatively simple. Ideally I'd like to support all mobile platforms a launch, but we'll see what happens.
I've been doing plenty of beta testing to get the game working, so I hope once the bigger issues are sorted it will make the smaller ones a breeze to fix :)
@tbulford... Interesting. So there is an historical example of the mechanism Duncan implemented to solve a problem. Nice.
Getting close to releasing - busy working on my press kit and trailer at the moment.
Was hoping I could get some feedback for the WIP of my trailer:
http://makegamessa.com/discussion/1841/proposal-for-f-presskit-jam#Item_1
Anyone else got any feedback for me :) ?
http://blazinacesgame.com/press/
As for the press kit...looks good too. Is there a reason why there's 2 web locations? http://blazinacesgame.com/press/ versus the orginal http://www.reddotlab.com/blazinaces/ ? I guess you'd want it to stand on its own as a separate entity?
Anyways good work. It's been a long road eh? Now launch it ;) What monetization models are you planning to use in the various stores?
PS: That latin dude in the Selected Articles section has no idea what he's talking about. I think it is a great game.
When the game launches, I'm going to direct all traffic to blazinacesgame.com - it's easier to remember and at least there's one location that it can be.
I'm planning on selling it for $1 on the store. If I get 5000 sales I've made the money I spent on it back. So yeah, thats my target.
Haha yeah I'm going to remove the recommended quotes until I get real reviews :)
Blazin' Aces has been approved and is ready for sale :D
Keep posted for trailer and release date :)