[feedback req]Motorama game and website pre-release

[yanuart]

Hi all! My game motorama is finally near completion (99%) and I hope I can get a quick feedback from you guys before I release the game next week.

So, you can download the game here(16MB) (http://www.motoramagame.com/test/1AB092/motorama1build212.zip)
it's an archive file just extract it and run the .exe file. It's actually the whole thing (with software protection) but I haven't got the time to create an installer for it yet.
You can delete the whole thing after you finish using it as my game won't leave anything on your computer discretely.

The website for this game is : www.motoramagame.com, you can see the movie there if you don't feel like downloading the game.

Screenshots : 1 (http://www.motoramagame.com/images/scr1.jpg)
2 (http://www.motoramagame.com/images/scr2.jpg)
3 (http://www.motoramagame.com/images/scr3.jpg)
4 (http://www.motoramagame.com/images/scr4.jpg)
5 (http://www.motoramagame.com/images/scr5.jpg)
6 (http://www.motoramagame.com/images/scr6.jpg)

Any feedback, bug reports, writings error on the game or website is welcomed but for the website I gotta say that I haven't got the time to really write everything down correctly. Those text on the website just for the layout purpose so you might find the sentences weird and you won't be able to download from the website as I intended this to be a somewhat closed beta.

Thanks... n keep those feedbacks coming..

[Emmanuel]

Hi,

Here are some first remarks..

DRM screen: "play" rather than "close"? It wasn't immediately obvious to me, how I could get to play the demo.

Main menu: "options" rather than "option"

Tutorial 1: "the basics" rather than "the basic". Should be able to click on the picture rather than "play" as well.

I selected a bike that wasn't locked (honda mudbike something) and I got a screen telling me I couldn't play. Why?

As far as I can tell, the tutorial didn't explain anything to me. It's also insanely difficult -- I didn't manage to complete it in 20 attempts or so, at which point I got frustrated and gave up on the game.

The exhaust particles are off; they don't come out from the exhaust pipe. I don't know if this is on purpose.

The game tells me "gagal load function" or something like that semi-randomly.

Best regards,
Emmanuel

[yanuart]

thanks for the input emmanuel, yeah.. there are some glaring flaws at that build, I've fixed some of it and put a new file to download.
The message box appeared cause there are some mistakes I made with the software protection software I use. It should be fixed by now.

The bike is locked as a part of the software protection scheme. In this trial version you can only play with 2 riders and 2 bikes, others aren't locked but you need to register first to use them.
The one that actually has lock symbol on it means that you need to unlock it at a special level (I guess you don't even get there)

The most intriguing part is when you said that it's insanely difficult. What level/map are you playing at ? Don't tell me it's "the basics" level that made you frustated.. :)

[ggambett]

I'm downloading it now (says 5.3 MB, not 16 MB) and will test it as soon as I boot into Windows (still have to try Legend of Aladdin!). Preliminary feedback : looks very good, except for the terrain, which looks too polygonal. Maybe you can use a polygonal approximation for the collision and physics but render it a little smoother?

[yanuart]

ggambet : oops my bad, i just uploaded a new version (this one is a zip file) and found out that my ftp acting up on me again leaving me with a corrupt uncomplete file.
I just finished the upload, looks ok now(16MB+), please re-download if you want

[Emmanuel]

Yanuart, I couldn't complete the basics indeed. Maybe I'm not cut out for riding bikes :)

I understand some bikes are locked, but the honda whatever doesn't say "locked" even though it is. That's what threw me off.

Best regards,
Emmanuel

[Sharpfish]

I used to love KICKSTART2 On the zx spectrum.. reminds me of that (but obviously a lot more modern).. agree about the polygonal look to the course.

From the screens the UI and Menu look good.

Not actually played it yet, because I will wait for the next upload ;)

[jankoM]

Graphics seem very nice - I couldn't get pass 3. tutorial (boost)... that with really steep hill... will tell you more if I get above that about gameplay - but I am not optimistic, because that hill looks really steep.

Just one mini notice.. when you fall down it looks like you get epileptic attack, that doesn't feel to good :)

[yanuart]

Yanuart, I couldn't complete the basics indeed. Maybe I'm not cut out for riding bikes
did you use keyboard or mouse ? the mouse is abit tricky and I added just to add more challenge into the game but this game is best played using keyboard or gamepad.
"the basics" map is definitely a basic one, you just throtle (without have to rotate the bike or anything) all the way to the finish finish sign, well maybe a little yank/tilt on the bike and that's it.

I don't have time to redesign all the levels again if they're too hard.. hmm.. for those who have played this game : Is this game too hard for you ? cause sometimes on the early levels I think it's too easy :eek: .

Anyway, I didn't show the locked sign on the bike/racer because I want them to think they can play using it thus leading them to the nag screen. Is it a good strategy or this thing bothering you?
I see alot of games do this, they have features that'll direct you to the nag screen but don't necessarily told you that those features aren't available in the trial version.

Keep those feedback coming guys, I really appreciate it

[smiles]

Hi,

Nice game...very much like one of my favorite miniclip games:

http://miniclip.com/trialbike.htm

But there's definitely room for other games like this, and adding the turnarounds, bonuses, etc...will be cool.

I played through to the third tutorial track and after 10 tries gave up there. There seemed to be a bug with the turboboost because after you play the level, when the next one starts up it seems like the turbo is still on and you use up your gas right away.

On top of what others have said, the only improvements I would add would be to allow the user to click the space bar instead of Enter or the mouse button to move on to the next level.

Also, for some reason when I click Exit from the main page that window doesn't close out...I have to Alt+F4...

[yanuart]

There seemed to be a bug with the turboboost because after you play the level, when the next one starts up it seems like the turbo is still on and you use up your gas right away.
argh.. is that so ? hmm.. never had that problem before. I'll go look it up

Also, for some reason when I click Exit from the main page that window doesn't close out...I have to Alt+F4...
another ARGHHHH... but wait, when you altf4 the game closed normally right ? did you use full screen or windowed mode ?

[lakibuk]

Fun game. Plays a lot like Elastomania.
And yes, the game is hard. But you probably are not targetting casual gamers anyway.

[Emmanuel]

Yanuart, I played with the mouse. I didn't even realize you could play with the keyboard. I guess I've played too many color matching games :)

Some people find Atlantis insanely difficult as well, while I find it very easy. Balancing is an art and a science.. If your target audience is people that have played a lot of trial bike games before, you're fine. If you target people like me, you're in trouble.. Although I think that the players should never feel like the game designer is frustrating them on purpose. I'll try again with the keyboard.

Best regards,
Emmanuel

[yanuart]

And yes, the game is hard. But you probably are not targetting casual gamers anyway.
There are two kinds of hard. The fun, challenging hard and the one that makes you think you just waste your valuable time. Thre isn't anything I can do about those levels I made, I don't have time to redesign those levels so I hope I can say " Hehh.. whatcha gonna do about it ?"
I guess people see things differently and I hope my game categorize as the first kind of "hard" n I can get enough customers to meet ends.

Anyway i'm looking for a particular answer to these questions :
1. What do you think about my nag/reminder screens ? Are they good enough ? annoying or else ?
2. What do you think about the mouse input, should I turn it off by default or let it just like that ? Do you even realize that you can play using mouse?
3. Should my game use full screen as the default or windowed mode ?

thanks, keep those feedback coming.

[smiles]

Just got past the 3rd tutorial and got into it after a while. The turbo issue actually crops up on all of the levels for me. After a while, I just made sure to turn it off with a tap before I start the next level.

The turbo works, but I wish it was controlled by another button as I always end up turning it on or wasting gas.

The Exit problem is with full screen mode only...After I Alt+F4 the "buy now" screen is there waiting for me.

Fun game, and I like the graphics.

[Emmanuel]

How do you not have time to balance your game? Unless you have to meet a publisher's deadline of some sort, you should take the time to get it right.. I know the collective wisdom is that you can tweak games to no end until they start selling, but personally I never look at the same game twice if I got annoyed with it the first time so that bit of wisdom might come from '> 5 MB games don't sell'-land as well.

Best regards,
Emmanuel

[smiles]

I'd use full screen as the default.

I didn't realize I could play with the mouse at first, but I like playing with the keyboard anyway.

I didn't find the nag screens obtrusive. For me, the final "reminder" window is about an inch bigger on the right and bottom than the graphic is so there's some whitespace on the bottom and the right side...

[Darky]

Awesome, this is the same thing as Elastomania, except with more features and graphics. It brings oldies to the new age :)

[Sirrus]

I agree..
The game is insanely hard.

I atleast go about 10 levels into Elasto...

I couldn't pass the 2d level here...skipped it, and couldn't pass the 4th.

There is so many requirements to completing a level - having enough gas, getting all of the icons, and getting to the exit. Take out 'gas is gone' - this is really annoying...I should get as much driving time as I want.

The exit screen is bugged...if you hit the X to exit the nag screen, it comes up again - you need to do it twice.
I'd change the text to a button on those nags.

The guy freaks out and shakes when you fall of your bike.


Other than that, its shaping up to be a really nice game.

[Vectrex]

ARGH!!! Please, the millisecond you crash let me press enter to start again *instantly* :) I can't STAND waiting for the whole crash sequence and the 'ready set go', this is what I loved about elastomania. Also when you complete a course auto-select the NEXT one so I can just press enter. In other words there should be no pauses at all I the user wants to play by pressing enter. Plus the map selection screen should accept left/right to change map and enter to play it. Also when I got pissed off the escape key didn't respond until the whole crash sequence finished, which didn't help :D
But yeah, it is insanely hard but for the wrong reasons, I completed elastomania. I really think the left/right swing should be a bit faster and jerkier.
But it IS a cool game and it looks like you're going for that flash motorbike game more than elasto, so I was addicted to elasto, but that flash game frustrated the shit out me :)

[Doofer]

just finished all the levels under an hour. quite fun :)

I wouldn't have minded some more key shortcuts,
I'm impatient and like to say push 'r' to quickly retry a level.

The hint at the start of some maps would be cool to be able to see again without having to exit and re-enter that level


I got stuck on the 3rd level (flying over lots of stuff) for the longest, couldn't quite figure out how to get a good high jump, had to keep trying different speeds and angles and positions and got there eventually.

Rate of fuel consumption wouldn't be too much of a problem if turned down a little bit, but I guess you like it hard.

Also having completed a level I felt it should automatically go on to the next level in the level list in menu for me, but that's just my taste.

didn't play with mouse, I like using the keyboard, especially for racing motor games etc. Maybe user could get given option or told that there are alternatives.


and I think I got a User Data Corrupt error when I went to play it again, and I think my Player and his progress were gone. (time was up so didn't matter)

[Escapee]

Apa Khabar ?

I had a few laugh playing this game when seeing the biker crashed into sand and jerked his whole body before falling off the screen. It's a Fun PC Game but i think it's a little difficult for casual gamers.

I also did get the "Gagal load function" , which tranlaste to "fail to load function" . I guess you wouldnt want your potential buyer to see such a "foreign" message. hehe

[Sirrus]

ARGH!!! Please, the millisecond you crash let me press enter to start again *instantly* :) I can't STAND waiting for the whole crash sequence and the 'ready set go', this is what I loved about elastomania. Also when you complete a course auto-select the NEXT one so I can just press enter. In other words there should be no pauses at all I the user wants to play by pressing enter. Plus the map selection screen should accept left/right to change map and enter to play it. Also when I got pissed off the escape key didn't respond until the whole crash sequence finished, which didn't help :D
But yeah, it is insanely hard but for the wrong reasons, I completed elastomania. I really think the left/right swing should be a bit faster and jerkier.
But it IS a cool game and it looks like you're going for that flash motorbike game more than elasto, so I was addicted to elasto, but that flash game frustrated the shit out me :)

Yea I agree with all of the above as well, forgot to mention.

Needs a quick restart plus an auto select next level - I played level 1 three times before realizing I needed to move it forward!

[techbear]

I like it! I've registered Elastomania, so I'm a fan of the genre.

However, I played a couple levels, then needed to go eat dinner. I left it running, and when I came back, your game wouldn't let me play more. I assume because your 1-hour time limit was exceeded. :(

[Vectrex]

Bug: The idle sound is always on for me and each time I restart it adds another one. Even if I go back to the menu and start a level again.
I'm on a laptop with ac97 sound (P-M)

[yanuart]

Bug: The idle sound is always on for me and each time I restart it adds another one. Even if I go back to the menu and start a level again.
I'm on a laptop with ac97 sound (P-M)
now, this is new.. you're the first one that mention it. Has anybody encountered the same bug ? Is the the idle bike machine sound ?

anyway, thanks for the inputs, so far I have fixed and change a few things :
1. After you finish a level, there'll be a menu saying wether you want to restart or continue to the next map (this isn't work for extra map). This way you can proceed more quickly to the next level.
2. There's a message each time you select a bike/racer that was locked in this trial version so you don't have to go to the nag screen.
3. fixed the DRM messages
4. fixed the "won't quit properly" on full screen mode
5. the mouse input is off by the default this way gamers will use keyboard by instinct.
6. Added a quick restart key, but how can I tell about this to gamers ? it's obvious no one reads the tutorial :)
7. finally manage to shrink everything down to just <10 MB.. yay !!!

any bugs, comments, suggestions, writing errors ? just post it here :D
thanks

[luggage]

It's good little game but too hard. 3 of us tried it here and all agreed it was too difficult. How difficult is it to make a few adjustments to levels? Some of them just need to be adjusted. Or add a batch of 'so easy it isn't true' levels to the front - just little jumps and things.

Particulary tough levels were...

* the one where you're taught how to boost. Just a simple gap would have done but there's this wall climbing lark and it's tricky enough to get up one wall without using all the fuel, let alone the second.

* the one where you jump over the trucks and things. It's hard enough making sure you collect the winged thing but then you have to do the somersault at the end.

* the first one where you have a time limit to get to the end. I have no idea how far I've got to go so can't judge how close to the end I am if you get me. Don't know whether I'm minutes away or the finish post is just about to appear.

The jumping trucks one needs the winged thing moved. At the moment the easiest way is to clip the front of a truck\container just before it to bounce you that bit higher.

Some of the levels can be made easier just by moving the odd point on the landscape or the odd flying thing. Even if you just added 5 really simple levels to the start would help, just doing simple things like driving, jumping, etc.

I agree about the fuel thing - it's frustrating to run out. If it's integral to the gameplay maybe make it go down much much slower. Some of the tutorial levels that you need to use the boost on you fail if you get it slightly wrong as there's no option to just carry on going.

It's really close to being a lovely little game, it's worth spending the extra month or so fine tuning everything.

It worked fine here. I did get the boost being on at the start of the next level.

[David De Candia]

Thre isn't anything I can do about those levels I made, I don't have time to redesign those levels so I hope I can say " Hehh.. whatcha gonna do about it ?"

I'm smiling as I read this, as I have made almost exactly the same comments when testers have claimed my games are too hard.

The problem being, of course, that the game designer is also an expert player of their game and quite unable to come to an objective evaluation of the real difficulty level. There is an enormous tendency in these instances to say: "You can't be serious! I can complete it wrong-handed, upside down with a rusty trackball" - particularly when the task of redesigning the intro levels seems like a mountain of unnecessary work.

You can guess where I’m heading here… the game, for me at least, gets far too hard, far too quickly. On the opening level, give me a long flat road, gentle inclines and a chance to feel the thrill of speed. Overall, the terrain gets too bumpy too soon. I’d love to see larger tutorial levels with a lot more opportunity to ride fast and a lot less places where it is easy to die, such as mountains and ditches.

Points jotted down as I went through the game:

1. Great graphics! Great sound! Great GUI! All very good looking and professional.

2. The opening window (“Buy Now” “Enter Key” etc), opened about 10% larger than the actual image. Meaning there was a white border on right and bottom of window. Intentional? (desktop res 1280x1024)

3. In the 2nd tutorial, the 2nd emblem is a little too hard to reach with so little prior practice. You haven’t quite won me over at this stage yet, so reward me by making me feel like I’m a natural-born motorama god. Which means making it almost impossible to fail! ;)

4. In the 3rd tutorial, the hill is too steep… too tough. Let me have fun by doing a long big jump instead.

There is not enough fuel in the tutorials.

5. In the 4th tutorial, it is too easy to die by missing the jump. Just clearing the buses would have been enough for me. The truck is just too high, especially when the gas seems to auto burn sometimes at the beginning of a level. The second truck is simply cruel… Too hard, skipped it.

6. 5th level “time trial” seemed too hard as well. At this point I gave up.

7. I didn’t like how the motorbike idle sound kept running when app is minimized.

Overall – this looks like it is going to be a great game. It just needs tweaking here and there – particularly regarding the difficulty level early on.

Well done! :)

David

[yanuart]

Thanks for the valuable inputs guys, I'll address those matter immediately before the release.

So far, I'm quite suprised that you think the game was too hard for you. A further inspection found out that some of the testers I asked didn't even have a clue on what to do or to solve a level.

The idea of this game is to make you to become a good bike rider, it means that if you allready knew how to ride a bike you can appreciate the level of realism I'm trying to bring in this game.

For. ex : a tester asked me why he keeps flipping over when he boost. Well, if you ever ride a bike you'll know that it's the torque/force that comes from the rear wheel. That's why you need to shift your weight upfront to maintain balance, that's why if you ever watch Rossi doing wheelie, he always stands up or still in a "racing" position. There's also a "skid" factor, you need to make sure your rear wheel is on the ground when you boost the get the most of it.

Another example is the jump. You need to build a momentum before the jump that's why it's important to have the correct speed and place your body weight. Shift your weight to the back will make the bike leap off at the greater angle thus giving you a high jump. Experimenting at the speed and your body weight placement will give you a variety of results which I hope you can learn quickly. There's no memorized action here, just like in real sports.
It really does suprise me, that there are few people who still can't finish my "jump" tutorial.

This game is about precision, the one that I had in mind when I design this game. It really breaks my heart to "soften" some levels. I even, on the earlier design, add some freestyle action in which you must do manually (the idea is that there's no pre-defined freestyling like THPS and you can make your own style). Good thing I don't include that too.

Well, I guess carmack was right, physics really does overrated. Too much of it and people won't understand. I allready soften some tutorial levels, hopefully it'll attract greater audience but still giving some serious gamer enough challenge.

There'll be a new build coming up today, so I'll really appreciate it if you still want to give this game a second chance.

thanks

[jankoM]

I did manage to pass tutorial 3 (boost) yesterday but it was 90% luck and if I tried again I would need another day again probably.

For. ex : a tester asked me why he keeps flipping over when he boost. Well, if you ever ride a bike you'll know that it's the torque/force that comes from the rear wheel. That's why you need to shift your weight upfront to maintain balance, that's why if you ever watch Rossi doing wheelie, he always stands up or still in a "racing" position. There's also a "skid" factor, you need to make sure your rear wheel is on the ground when you boost the get the most of it.

I did have enduro motobike so I know "why do I flip ower??" and I think most people here know so much about physics too and still think it's too hard.

Ok, I could cope it's hard, but these two things are making it "hard to play":

** boost.... I still don't 100% understand how to get boos active and how to make it stop... I get boost when I don't want it (I tap the keyboard normally, because I wan't to adjust the speed)and not get it when I want it all the time - I want it to stop because my fuel will run out and it seems I need to release speed for so long that I have the same speed as without using boost at all. I don't know if this has any other meaning but if boost would be another key it would make it 300% more usefull to me. Now it's just distraction.

** fuel... I am just asking myself... is this realistic? If I don't use boost I can drive around fol "half an hour" to use all fuel. With boost I "at least sometimes" ise it all in "4 seconds". Tutorial 4 (jump) If I use boost to gain speed to jump I loose it all in the middle of the air. This with combination to not be able to preciselly controll the boost makes it unusable to me.

I am so strong at critics just because I would otherwise really really love this game!

[Nexic]

If in doubt make it easier... always!

[yanuart]

no body commented on the gamepad. Has anyone try to play this game using gamepad ?
I could use some feedback on the use of gamepad, I've tried it with common gamepad (creative, logitech) I wonder if other gamepad cause trouble.

stay tuned for the final beta build and thanks again for the strong critics. It really opens my mind to make my game better.

Oh, one more thing, the instruction to use boost as written in the tutorial is this :
Tap the gas key twice (quickly) to use turbo boost.|Keep pressing the gas key while using turbo boost|will make the boost keep on going.|This might be useful to gain more speed |or to climb steep obstacle/terrain.|Beware as this will drain your fuel quickly, so use it wisely!
The way I see it, is to use boost you must tap the gas key twice (tap tap) and if you keep on pressing the gas key and the end of the tap, the boost will keep on going.
Have any of you failed to understand this ? Is the instruction too hard to understand ?

[jankoM]

The way I see it, is to use boost you must tap the gas key twice (tap tap) and if you keep on pressing the gas key and the end of the tap, the boost will keep on going.
Have any of you failed to understand this ? Is the instruction too hard to understand ?

But if I release it for a moment and press again I still have boost (I tried it many times and it is repetive - I can do it twice, but then run out of gas). It's hard for me to judge for how many moments I have to have it released to stop this. If it would work as you said I think it would be a little easyer to use.

What is the point of having boost on same key - is this how cross bikes work in reall?

[yanuart]

hmm.. i use the same gas key to boost is actually comes from the real motorbike. it's like when you throtle twice quickly just to get a kick torque or some cool roaring sound (imagine brumm brumm sound :) ), well actually in real bike there's a shift gear factor and the throtle is analog. It's not like nitro boost in racing car, maybe I was wrong to use the word boost.

Since keyboard isn't analog i try to modify this by tapping the gas twice (this to simulate releasing gas and shifting gear) and if you hold the gas button it means you throtling down as hard as you can.

well.. that's just my idea of the simulation, maybe different people have different ideas.
Anyway, I've fixed the boost system to be more responsive and hopefully people can understand how to operate it. There's a bug on this beta, JankoM, please try my new beta (when I finished uploaded it) and see wether it's good enough.

I just need to finish fixing these few levels and then I'm ready for a new beta.
thanks

[David De Candia]

I don't know if this has any other meaning but if boost would be another key it would make it 300% more usefull to me.

Yes, I had the same problems with the double tap boost system.

[jankoM]

I can't download. http://www.motoramagame.com/test/1AB092/motorama1build212.zip says no file.

[Sharkbait]

I tried downloading the file yesterday but the link was already invalid. However, I did play the first prototype a couple of months ago and I found it quite interesting. Since I cannot try the latest version I can only comment on the aesthetics and I'm basically repeating what I said for the prototype: the polygonal terrain looks too simplistic and would benefit if it had a 'skin' to look more realistic. I think it could be done with some texture UV manipulation.

[yanuart]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jankoM
I don't know if this has any other meaning but if boost would be another key it would make it 300% more usefull to me.

Yes, I had the same problems with the double tap boost system.
does anyone feel the same way too ?

I've allready used up all the keys available (space for flipping the bike), what do you think will be the right key for it ?
If boost is on another key, then the whole input system won't be compatible with the mouse since mouse only provide two buttons and I've allready used up L+R button for flipping.

[ggambett]

I finally booted into Windows and tried your game. It GPFs before starting, and then I get a couple of blue screens. Bottom line, I can't play at all. This is Windows 98 SE. The log file didn't say anything unusual (OS version, free and total memory)

Feel free to PM me if you want to send a new EXE or something.

[jankoM]

still (or again) donwnload doesn't work

[yanuart]

Hi, everyone especially jankoM, emmanuel and others who think that the first few levels of my game was too hard (and the boost is crappy). There's a new build for Motorama (this one has come a long way since the first one) here (http://www.motoramagame.com/test/1BFF21/motoramasetup.exe)

Anyway, it's almost the final version before release, so if you care enough to give it a try please test it to the max and see what you think of it now.

Few highlights on the new build :
* I have tweak the mouse input and the boost system (yes, still double tap) so you can actually play it with mouse and still having a fun time. I even take it to the limit by actually played the first few levels using touchpad on my notebook :D

* The time trial level now has a distance indicator to see how far are you from the finish line that way you can manage your fuel consumption better.

* The tutorial levels are now easier and hopefully can still draw attention on how the game will progress.

* I've also manage to obey the <10MB rule... yay !

Again, thanks so much for the inputs guys, I really want to make this game good before I put it for sale and your thoughts helps alot

[jankoM]

I am sorry to complicate again, I installed the new version but the DRM window said "key expired" in title and no images were show in html.

[yanuart]

okay, so no more critics ? is that mean my game is ready for launch ? :D

[smiles]

I downloaded that latest version, and in level 4 (jumping over the busses) the sign (or whatever it is) for ending the level on the platform is missing - you can't finish it!

[yanuart]

you need to collect all the emblems/medals to finish it. There are two of them now. It's shown at the top right corner of the screen how many medals are there and how much you got.
If it says 2/2 that it means you have completed the task needed to complete the level.

Don't you see the finish sign ? I change the position of the finish sign not on the platform anymore.
The idea of the tutorial is to let you try several jumps to get all the emblems (you can jump back and forth )

Don't gamers read tutorial anymore ? Is this what I may get from my customers ? It's explained in tutorial 2. Anybody having the same problem ?

[Vectrex]

it's better. A few things still remain. I still get constant idle sounds regardless of the speed (there are the rev sounds as well though). You still have to wait for the full crash sequence! AEII!! :) Enter to skip it and restart.
Also the play next menu option when you complete a level should be at the top so quickly pressing enter a few times gets you on to the next. Escape doesn't work in menu, ie if I want to quit really quick I should be able to stab escape a bunch of times quickly to quit the game.
I like the little progress thing.
In regards to the icon grabbing, maybe when you are near them a sticky arrow appears on the edges of the screen to point and indicate they are near (and if you just missed one).
Skip should let you play the next level, or at least move the level menu onto the next one so a single enter key plays it

edit: Also the trial lets me select levels that don't exist, so a windows dialogue pops up behind saying eg 'trial10.xml' doesn't exist (which it doesn't), so in fullscreen it appears the prog is frozen

[Emmanuel]

Hi,

Just tried the new build. There are a lot of notable improvements in my opinion. I still ran into the "bike isn't locked but can't play" issue with the psychedelic bike, though: it doesn't say "locked" but still, when you try to play, you can't. I still find the game insanely hard but I must not be the target audience.

Also, when's the last time you actually read a tutorial? Well, same for us. Don't expect people don't devote full attention to your game; it should be self-explanatory even if you ignore the tutorial, and bring things to the gamer's attention if they are critical to completing a level; put up a 'completed' thing that graphically shows how many medals have been collected (lit up) and how many remain (dark) for example.

Best regards,
Emmanuel

[jankoM]

It's much more playable to me now. I intend to play some more tonight (just to give you feedback of course) and then tell you more - but some quick notes:
- In level with a jump - I really couldn't jump that high to pick up second (higher) emblem. maybe you should pu one on than platform - jumping up there is really cool :) - so I had to skip it (and I could finish many latter levels).
- the boost is much more controllable now and that changes the whole thing a lot IMO

[Robert Cummings]

Your movies suck: they don't show excitement like jumping over cars or anything inspiring.

Instead they promise fustration and boredom, ie... the very easy way it flips onto it's back and you have to do it all over again sort of thing.

You want to show a video without failures, and if there is a failure, make it look pretty spectacular.

[yanuart]

I still ran into the "bike isn't locked but can't play" issue with the psychedelic bike,
isn't there a big message written on the right when you select a bike that is locked due to the trial version ? I use the lock symbol only for bike that's actually locked so there won't be any confusion.

@Robert Cummings:
thanks for the input about the movie.. i did put an interesting movie in movie #2. I took inputs from other people too and I kind a come into conclusion that my game is either you like it or hate it and nothing in between.
I try to embrace the best of the two worlds but I guess for now I kinda stick to what I have for a moment.

[jankoM]

Hi,

I have played your game a lot and I like it A LOT. Your changes did a great job and game is much more playable to me now. I really like the levels like Fun warehouse because there is so much stunts you can do and so many ways to do it - but I like more drivig in nature ones too.

The only thing that is bugging me a little is that my boost takes so much gas so quickly. I would rather totally concentrate on the jumps/rotations/landigs/not hitting the wall (which is enougth difficult) than having the gasoline as the biggest concern. I don't say this is urgent, just a thougth.

It's becoming a great game!

And for those who say it's elastomania... I think it's not. Only thing in common is motobike and use of physics (but there isn't much point in making a jumping motobyke game without the physics is it?)

regards,
Janko M.

[mahlzeit]

I too think that Motorama is not like Elastomania, but it does appear so from the screenshots, so there will always be people comparing it to that.