[ALPHA] Re-Spawn...

Comments

• quintond

  5:24pm 15 Apr 2014

  In honour of the release, I printed some DVD Sleeves and Media ... very happy with the results.
  
  
  Time to spread the word.
  
  
  There are four different covers.
  
  Next stop is our custom trailer and then the Kickstarter Launch. 8-}
• quintond

  5:25pm 15 Apr 2014

  I am now working on v.0.0.5 which has some of the new features in it as well as the bug fixes for v1.0.0.4. A new video will be following shortly as well as a new blog explaining how I handle the stats and leaderboards.
  
  For a little Teaser, here are some initial shots of the Leaderboard and the Player and Bots stats for my main player. 8-}
  
  
  
  
  
  
• quintond

  1:19pm 17 Apr 2014

  I have also now started on the new website for the game ... the current one is terrible to say the least.
  
  
  
  Comments are always welcome ... although I think people are actually ignoring my posts ... *shrug*
• Tuism

  1:25pm 17 Apr 2014

  Heyyyya :)
  
  Well ok I'm not personally ignoring your posts, I see them, and I think Re-spawn looks impressive, though I've no idea how it plays, cos I'm personally tired of new shooters, and I suspect that most indie devs are similarly minded... It's a shooter... Yawn :P
  
  I'm not dissing your game, it may or may not enjoy commercial success (and gods know shooters do enjoy commercial success, that's also why there's billions of them), but it's just not my cup of tea.
  
  Good luck with it! :)
• dislekcia

  1:29pm 17 Apr 2014

  quintond said:

  Comments are always welcome ... although I think people are actually ignoring my posts ... *shrug*

  Not ignoring your posts, no. I just don't really see you taking my comments and feelings about Re-Spawn too well, that's all. Also, not hating on the game, more like questioning the goals you've established for it. Given how happy you seem to be with your progress, I don't think that questioning your goals and expectations is something that will leave you a happy person at the end of it... Or at least, you're likely to think I'm a tool ;)
• quintond

  1:40pm 17 Apr 2014

  Errrrr ... okay ... just let me clear something up. Been doing software development professionally for 17 years now ... I think I can handle criticism.
  
  Anyway ... each to their own I guess. Can't please everyone all the time and most of the time can't please anyone at all.
  
  Thanks though for the responses.
• raxter

  3:29pm 17 Apr 2014

  Hello! Something I found (cause I was convinced people were ignoring my posts too!) is that I was giving too much information at once. Like "here is everything!" here's what I did and here's the plan and this and that and all theeese pagepagepagepage.
  
  So I tried my next post with less info, just the core of what I wanted. It was still too long but I put the important stuff at the top (play HERE) and left the nitty gritty for later, or a blog post that I would link to in case people actually wanted to try out more. More people responded and I got the response I wanted. I guess I'm saying that maybe the barrier to entry is maybe a bit overwhelming and the call to action is fuzzy or non-existent. If there is no call, there'll be no action, I guess.
  
  I'm no expert, btw so you can take this with a pinch of salt, but I found myself similarly disappointed at the lack of response when I posted so I thought I'd share my experience. Reading over my old posts I can see I just put too much of what I wanted to see and not what someone browsing the forums wants to see. Don't want to see paragraphs of install instructions and future plans and this and etc etc , or in my case, loads of future plans and schedules and details of game features that aren't in, only a handful of people will actually read that. If I want to play a game I see on a post I guess I want to see: "Here's the game (link), one line description, installs in a few clicks, here's a vid, have screeny, please play I'd appreciate if you gave it 15 mins of your time. [optional: here's a dev blog if you want the nitty gritty of the UI system/lighting system and other interesting programmy things!] btw social things!" ... and even that is starting to get too long!
  
  I'm only saying that maybe it's just approaching something from the wrong angle? Like I said, I'm not a marketing expert but it makes sense that if there is a lack of responses that means there is something amiss (obv). I think (again, no expert here) it might be too much info for what you want (which I'm guessing is as many people to play your game as possible)? Just my perspective 'cause I found myself in a similar (ish... maybe) situation and these are how I've come to resolve them in my head.
  
  All this said maybe I'm missing the focus of your post, if it is just a "here's everything guys, you decide what to make of it" than that's totes chill B-)

  Thanked by 1Tuism
• quintond

  4:45pm 17 Apr 2014

  @raxter: Very insightful post. I will try what you said and see how it goes.
  
  I think you may be on to something about information overload ... I will dhange approach and see if it works.
  
  Thanks again for the insightful post. 8-}
  

  Thanked by 1raxter
• dislekcia

  6:19pm 17 Apr 2014 edited 6:22pm 17 Apr 2014

  Sorry, I didn't mean to create a stir. I didn't mean that you can't handle crits, more like I don't feel like I can give useful crits.
  
  I simply meant that I don't understand why you're making this game. It's not something I would be spending my time making, usually this isn't weird at all because loads of people can do cool stuff I could never do, but I could make this. I don't want to make this, it doesn't feel like a rewarding thing for me to engage in building, so clearly we have different reward criteria... And that's totally cool too - if we all liked the same things, the world would be a boring place indeed.
  
  I'm not sure what it is you want to achieve, so when I see stuff like you posting about making F2P monetization decisions and that sort of thing doesn't make sense to me because you have no sizeable player base or viral reasons for players to talk about the game, I have no idea how you'd judge my feedback. I see a game that seems to exist merely to be a testament to effort spent, so it's designed to be "as good as" other games that already exist. Personally, I like games that shout their reasons to exist as unique entities and do new things to my headmeats, games that reach other people and make them want to play them with crazy intensity. Plus I have a lot of business evidence that those games work really well if you do X, Y and Z or think about them in a specific way... I have no idea how to think about Re Spawn. I just have lots of questions. Like why is the logo of an alien face, where are the aliens?
  
  It's cool that you're making this, but you don't seem to need my input to keep making it and enjoying yourself doing that, so why should I potentially risk being seen as mean to you? Especially when most of my advice is along the lines of "do something else entirely because that has a different learning profile".
  
  @Raxter's right that a good call to action/description of goals might help a ton. With DD we always framed any information with the things we were thinking about around that info, so players wouldn't critique the UI when we were messing with complex class balance (well, most players).

  Thanked by 1Tuism
• quintond

  6:53pm 17 Apr 2014

  @dislekcia: Okay cool. Thanks for the info.
• quintond

  9:37am 1 May 2014

  On April 25th 2014, we released Re-Spawn v1.0.0.5 which addressed some of the major issues we encountered. The turn around time for this release was about 2 weeks and I am quite happy with the fixes and changes we got done during that time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Release Notes:
  [FIXED] Defect #4 - Heartbeat Sounds Continues After Death
  [FIXED] Defect #5 - Proving Grounds Spawn Points
  [FIXED] Defect #6 - Bots Just Run Around
  [FIXED] Defect #7 - Updater Disable Buttons
  [FIXED] Defect #8 - Spawner Telefragging Not Working
  [FIXED] Defect #9 - Proving Grounds Map Name
  [FIXED] Defect #10 - Rank for Leaderboard Calculation
  [FIXED] Defect #11 - Server Ping Incorrect
  [FIXED] Defect #21 - Bots Seem to Randomly Crouch
  [FIXED] Defect #22 - Can't Get out of Credit Screen
  [FIXED] Defect #23 - KD Ratio Calculations Incorrect
  [FIXED] Defect #27 - Bots just stand around in Proving Grounds
  [FIXED] Defect #29 - Rocket Launcher blast
  [FIXED] Defect #30 - Mouse cursor disappears if chatting during death
  
  [ADDED] Player Statistics Display
  [ADDED] Top 100 Leaderboard on Home Page
  [ADDED] Client Version Check before joining a server
  [ADDED] 5 minutes left audio and visual alert
  [ADDED] 1 minute left audio and visual alert
  [ADDED] 30 seconds left audio and visual alert
  [ADDED] Server config file that allows various aspects of the server to be configured and controlled.
  [ADDED] Fail safe check if the servers are undergoing maintenance.
  [ADDED] Version number to the main menu screen for easier reference.
  
  [CHANGED] Player registration process to include Country, Birthday, Terms Acceptance, and Marketing Opt In values
  
  [FIXED] Bug where the game couldn't be run at a higher resolution.
  [FIXED] Bug where collision mesh material of the Turret was being rendered.
  
  Testers and Server Hosters
  The player uptake of the game hasn't been what I expected and I suspect this is due to the lack of servers in other areas (currently only have a South African server). So if any of you out there are willing to host a server for us, please get in touch and I will send you an Official Server License and Key. You will also get full credits in the game and a new server hoster page will be created on the website with your details.
  
  The server is extremely stable and requires no support or maintenance, we merely need locations and willing volunteers.
  
  We are also looking for more testers, so please download the game from here, or spread the word if the game is not your type of game and get fragging. :)
  
  Indie DB
  We decided to take the plunge and list the game on IndieDB, we will monitor the popularity here and hopefully will be able to engage more players.
  
  
  
  Please join us on the official forums or on Indie DB and help us promote the game.
  
  Next Release
  The next release of Re-Spawn (v1.0.0.6) is currently underway and will include 2 new maps and a host of new features that didn't make it in to v1.0.0.5. We plan on releasing new versions every 2 to 3 weeks and are optimistic that we can hit these deadlines now that the base game is complete.
  
  Re-Spawn Marketing:
  Website
  Forums
  Blogs
  Wiki
  
  Facebook
  Google+
  Twitter
  
  Gobbo Games Marketing:
  Website
  
  Facebook
  Google+
  Twitter
  
  Skype: gobbogamessa
  G-Talk: webmaster@gobbogames.co
  E-mail: [email]webmaster@gobbogames.co[/email]
  
  Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you in game real soon.
• quintond

  9:41am 1 May 2014

  Two new videos have been released.
  
  
  This is the new updated version of Re-Spawn and the Proving Grounds map.
  
  
  This is the new updated version of Re-Spawn and the Factory map
• quintond

  9:53am 1 May 2014

  Some questions were raised about the Alien Skull in the logo, I have added the background to the Wiki.
  
  Re-Spawn Background
  Yucatani Industries
  
  Hopefully it clears things up ... *shrug*
• quintond

  7:35am 4 May 2014 edited 6:25pm 4 May 2014

  This is the high resolution official trailer for Re-Spawn.
  
  
• Tuism

  9:25am 4 May 2014

  Hey, cool trailer - the pacing is just a bit off, I feel... I got quite bored reading the really short quote for a really long time. And don't yo have footage? With something like this showing a bunch of stills with irritating flickers that obscure the still even further is a bit irritating, while the bleeping's repetition becomes really stand-out.
  
  Besides those the mood and the music is good. It just really needs a lot more substance to attract interest.
• quintond

  10:52am 12 May 2014 edited 11:23am 12 May 2014

  We just got tweeted by IndieDB -- https://twitter.com/IndieDB/status/465768696682905600
  
  Our rank now sits at 7 out of 16 559 on IndieDB ... we have been sitting consistently in the top 500 and most days we finish in the top 150 ... very excited now.
  
  
• quintond

  7:25am 13 May 2014

  This morning I received an e-mail from Softpedia who has listed the game on their site and given it a 100% clean rating.
  
  http://games.softpedia.com/get/Freeware-Games/Re-Spawn.shtml
  
  
  
  
  
  
• karl182

  7:56am 13 May 2014

  Awesome well done man!
• Tuism

  10:20am 13 May 2014

  Well done :)
• quintond

  12:48pm 13 May 2014

  @karl182: Thanks.
  
  @tuism: Thanks. And thanks for the feedback on the video, I am going to rectify it as soon as possible. Thank you again for the time.
  
  @all others: I have taken in to account all the feedback and comments and criticism and I am going to fix what I can.
• quintond

  8:55am 18 May 2014 edited 8:56am 18 May 2014

  Yesterday saw the completion of the last few bugs on the list for Re-Spawn and except for a few very minor issues, I am happy to announce that v1.0.0.7 is now a foundation release. It is off this foundation release that we will now start to develop Re-Spawn more and start adding the features and content that have been lacking from the previous releases.
  
  What does the game currently have?
  The foundation releases was always focussed on getting a solid base to build off and so I resisted the urge (that cropped up more often than you think) to add fancy shiny features in lieu of game play or functionality.
  
  As of the v1.0.0.7 we have the following base features in place:

  • Web Based GUI System
    
  • Game Update System
    
  • Player Registration, Activation, and Authentication System
    
  • Stats Tracking and Leaderboard System (Game Flow)
    
  • Server Tracking and Licensing System (Game Changer)
    
  • Bots using Navmesh and Coverpoints
    
  • Player and Weapon Skins
    
  • Wide Assortment of Weapons

  Now this may not seem like a lot for the time it has taken me to develop, but I have had to rewrite the entire backend system and replace it with the new Game Flow and Game Changer system. This ultimately introduced new bugs and challenges that had to be addressed, which have now been resolved.
  
  [/url]
  Click on the thumbnails to get larger images.
  
  So where to from here?
  Well now that I have the foundation the next step is to start adding all the bells and whistles and making the game more polished. We will also start adding all the game modes that we have planned, some of these game modes are the old favourites like Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch, but we also have a few new ones or changes on existing ones that we are keen to add.
  
  The Player Profile system will now also be implemented and with this comes the inevitable Player Achievements and Player Customisation system.
  
  With the Player Profile system we will start adding in the Clone Bank, which is the amount of clones you have available to you as well as the Game Winnings and Game Betting Systems. These systems will allow you to top up your Clone Bank or buy Visual Upgrades for your Clones and their Weapons.
  
  The list goes on and on ... but to summarise, these are the features that we will be implementing ... of course there are a lot more of implied features but I will save that for another blog.

  • Weapons - Re-Spawn has a wide array of weapons that will allow you to dominate your opponents. Each weapon has been designed and balanced for different scenarios so you will have to use them tactically to gain the advantage.
    
  • eSports - The primary focus of Re-Spawn is to provide an eSports centric environment where players and spectators can place bets and earn in-game credits in order to purchase visual upgrades and extra clones.
    
  • Clones - Clones are the player's lifeblood and if you don't have enough clones you won't be able to compete in events. Gain clones by betting on or winning matches to earn credits, spend these credits on new clones. If you run out of clones, your match ends.
    
  • Autonomous Clones - Re-Spawn has been built to primarily be a multi-player shooter. However servers can be configured to allow players to fight autonomous bots. This has been designed to help players through a gradual learning curve that will ease players into the faster paced game play.
    
  • Competitive Play - Re-Spawn has been designed as an arena FPS, with head-to-head multi-player deathmatches being the primary focus of the game. For team matches, bots are used to fill the roles of the player's team mates. Even on dedicated multi-player servers, bots are sometimes used to pad out teams that are short on players.
    
  • Game Modes - Re-Spawn supports many game modes and we are planning new game modes through updates and continuous development of the title. Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Domination, Assault, White Rabbit, Duel and many more ...
    
  • Handicap System - Re-Spawn features a unique handicap system that will allow players to compete against higher ranked players without being completely dominated. The handicap system revolves around the number of clones a player is allowed in a match.
    
  • Clans - In Re-Spawn clans have a very big role in the game, a portion of your match winnings in individual matches goes towards your clan and all winnings from clan matches goes to the clan. Clans can challenge other clans to ranked matches and can even run ranked tournaments. You don't have to join a clan however, you can remain a free agent and still take part in clan matches and team matches, once again the choice is yours.

  So how long?
  How long is a piece of string? I really don't have an answer to this question, some features might seem to complicated to implement and take less time to put in place while others might be the other way around ... ultimately it will take as long as it has to.
  
  What I will say is that I am committed to doing a 2 week release cycle or a 4 week release cycle if there are no major updates available to be done in those 2 weeks. This should allow us to get new features in place and tested as quickly as possible and keep the current (somewhat small) player base interested and playing Re-Spawn.
  
  
  Click on the thumbnails to get larger images.
  
  How can I get involved?
  Although I have never made a call for assistance before, I have always been willing to take on new team members as and when they felt inspired to get involved. The offer is an open-ended one and I am open to negotiations, feel free to contact me on [email]respawn@gobbogames.co[/email] if you wish to get involved.
  
  Or join our growing community by registering on the forums (WIP) and joining in on the discussions. Stay in touch and up to date by following us on Twitter.
  
  Visit us on Facebook and Google+ or even get involved on the wiki. Finally you can help us get to the top 100 games on IndieDB.
  
  Enough blabbering, I just want to play!
  Re-Spawn is currently still under development and is now currently in Alpha, so please download the game to get involved with testing. The game is Free, free as in beer. If you want to contribute to the development of the game then please make a donation using this donation link. Ultimately the game is Free-to-Play and only Pay-to-look-Cool, it will never be Pay-to-Win.
  
  Your Honour, I rest my case.
  Re-Spawn is far from finished and I still have a far ways to go, but with this milestone I am just that one step closer to ultimately releasing the game.
  
  The marketing I have done is merely the groundwork and is not active marketing at all, all I have been doing is keeping the small player base informed and ensuring that the systems work before I release them to my marketing guru ... this will be done when we get closer to the Beta stage and not before.
  
  And that is it, this is the start of the next chapter of Re-Spawn and the blogs that follow will be more focussed on new features and showcasing them where I am able to. I will also start doing more tutorial based videos that will be tied in to the wiki, this will become the online manual.
  
  Thank you for your time and I look forward to all comments, questions, and suggestions.