Feedback request: Starchon iteration 21! [Major Changes]

[Sean Doherty]

2006.5.26 - Starchon i21 Released!
Iteration 21 of Starchon is available for download

Summary:

Starchon is now a cross between a shooter and a real-time stategy. You can't directly decide where to place your units or which sectors to attack. However, you have a lot of indirect influence over the outcome of the game. The game is real-time, so if you take to long in a sector, you will probably be overrun by the Bio Race in the adjacent sectors. Please give the game a try, and offer your input, because the game play is still being shaped!

Note: [The SPACEBAR toggles between the sector and the galaxy map].

Known Issues:

- Some memory issues which cause the memory to increase every game.
- The weapons upgrade screen is not fully functional.
- High Score functionality is offline at this time.
- The first map is fully functional. However, there is no victory condition at this time.

Screenshots:

1 (http://www.FreelanceGames.com/screen_shots/SC21-a.png) 2 (http://www.FreelanceGames.com/screen_shots/SC21-b.png) 3 (http://www.FreelanceGames.com/screen_shots/SC21-c.png) 4 (http://www.FreelanceGames.com/screen_shots/SC21-d.png) 5 (http://www.FreelanceGames.com/screen_shots/SC21-e.png)

Download:

Starchon i21 (http://www.FreelanceGames.com/bin/Starchon_i21_Setup.exe)

Please select input device from the Option Menu (default Mouse).

Mouse Controls:

-Fire "selected" Energy Weapons - Left Mouse Button
-Fire "selected" Missile - Middle Mouse Button or Left Control Key.
-Thrust - Right Mouse Button or "W" key
-Direction - Mouse to Payers Avatar Vector
-Select Ice Blaster - "1" key
-Select Particle Blaster - "2" key
-Select Laser Blaster - "3" key (auto locks and only fires at Starship when in range; not the Sentinel)
-Select Particle Rail Gun - "4" key
-Select Sonic Blaster - "5" key
-Select Trident Missile - "6" key
-Select Carrier Killer Missile "7"
-Select Cluster Missile - "8" key
-Select Heat-Seeker Missile - "9" key
-Select Tactical Nuke - "0" key
-Toggle between Sector and Galaxy Map - Spacebar
-Enter Slipstream - Click a valid destination from the Galaxy Map

Keyboard Controls:

-Fire - Right Control Key
-Rotate Counter Clockwise - A or Left Arrow Key
-Rotate Clockwise - D or Right Arrow Key
-Thrust - W or Up Arrow Key

I would love some feedback on how to make the game better!:)

Thanks Everyone

[mpillit]

Interesting. Judging from the name and style of play Im assuming its loosely based on Archon?

[Narnach]

Interesting game.

It took me a bit to figure out how to play, but once I did I found it to be quite entertaining.

The first game I played, I cleared one system, hopped to the base to buy ammo and repeated it until my area was clear. Then I continued to clear their area and beat their starbase. Then I played again and lost 5 games in a row due to the enemies overwhelming me. Is there a random factor involved in how many/how often monsters spawn? That could explain my beginners' luck :)

Ok, back to try and beat the aliens again :)

[Sean Doherty]

Interesting. Judging from the name and style of play Im assuming its loosely based on Archon?

I could probably give you a list of games that inspired the creation of Starchon and Archon would not be on the list. Here is my list:

Lux
Pax Galaxia
Desperate Space
Flatspace
Gunstorm
Freelancer
Rise of Nation
WarCraft III

Even with this list, I think the concept is unique?

[dntoll]

Hi!

I love the graphics...:D

A bit hard to get how it works... :o some tooltips or tutorial is a must!

Gr8 work!

[Sean Doherty]

Hi!

I love the graphics...:D

A bit hard to get how it works... :o some tooltips or tutorial is a must!

Gr8 work!

Daniel,

As you can see, I'm trying to take a page out of the Time Breaker History books by asking for feedback at selected iterations. That said, it is hard to get feedback this time of year. I really like the direction the game is starting to take and I'm glad that a few people have commented positively.

I still have a lot of work to do in the area of polish and level design. Also, I'm hoping to bring in additional graphics to help explain the game better.

Also, I have been thinking about releasing the game, as a pre-release, for a discounted price? Any thoughts? Do you think this is the type of game that anyone might consider publishing; it is not casual?

Thanks

[dntoll]

:cool: Feedback rocks! I think it is the very reason I want to make games, to get feedback on my creativity... It might sometimes hurt abit to get feedback, We got very tough feedback on TB the first couple of times we tried to pitch it... :o

I think it is wise to make the game as easily accessible as possible... This does not mean it cannot have advanced features or gameplay... I think that might be the key to casual gaming audience... When I download games I dont want to read manuals or play dull tutorials, I want to play directly without having to feel stupid or lost in the controls... :rolleyes:

I think if you polish the game enough and make it accessible, you can probably pitch it to publishers... And while you pitch and iterate you sell it yourself :D

[Nexic]

It's getting better each time I see it and I think it's taking a really nice direction with the campaign map etc, reminds me of Starscape in that sense.

Here is a shortlist of the main things I think need improving:

- Ship control still feels pretty sluggish too me, I would personally like it to be a lot more responsive.

- The ships feel too big to me, as if my camera is zoomed in really close. I would prefer being able to see more in each screen. (ie. zoom the camera out)

- Menu needs polishing, some buttons seem to dissappear when changing screens etc.

- Map interface could do with some clarification, maybe increasing the size of the elements and allow it to scroll? Finding things a little small and crowded.

- Think the player needs some hand holding to start with, aside from the main controls I felt lost to begin with.

It's coming along really nicely, and I especially like the ship graphics.

[Sean Doherty]

@Narnach,

Thanks. The difficulty is not really random. Fleet movement are dependent on how and when you destroy the enemies in the sector. The next release will be easier because there will be multiple maps.

@Nexic,

Thanks, I think the big thing here is the game still has additional functionality to be added (especially in the are of back-story and level description). As for the buttons disappearing, I used a purchased library and I have regretted it ever since. The next release will be better.

[Sillysoft]

Hey Sean,
I tried out Starchon, and here's some feedback:

- It was pretty unclear what to do at first. When I clicked New Game I see the nice map screen. There's lots of open space at the corners, I think it could use some simple text there saying what I should do. You'll definately need something like this in the final game, so you might as well start planning for it now. It also might help you get more feedback from people. Clicking around on everything didn't do anything or give me any feedback. I had to check back to this post to see what to do.

- I press the space bar and get taken to the battle screen. I like this mode, flying around and shooting. It ran pretty slow on my (old and crappy) PC though. Switching detail to low helped somewhat, but it still slowed down when there were lots of ships around.

20 or so enemy ships always appears to the right side, and I am unable to kill them no matter how many times I try. Maybe I'm just bad, or I'm missing something, but I think the first level should be an easy one to let people ease their way into the game.

- The graphics are sweet.

[Chris Evans]

My experience mirrored Sillysoft's. I was on the map screen for about a minute clicking everything trying to get some response or feedback. I finally started button mashing the keyboard and eventually started the game.

It seems interesting but I must be doing something wrong because I'm dying within 30 seconds every single time. If there was a strategy to beat the 20 something enemies, I couldn't figure it out. As soon as I ran into the mob, I died almost instantly.

You definitely need to do a little more hand holding to get people up to speed with the game. The first level should be a lot more easy or add some on-instructions/objectives so I know what I'm suppose to accomplish.

I'd like to see how this game comes along but right now it's a little too cryptic. Make it clearer for some of us dummies and you'll increase your audience. :)

[Sean Doherty]

Hey Sean,
I tried out Starchon, and here's some feedback:

- It was pretty unclear what to do at first. When I clicked New Game I see the nice map screen. There's lots of open space at the corners, I think it could use some simple text there saying what I should do. You'll definately need something like this in the final game, so you might as well start planning for it now. It also might help you get more feedback from people. Clicking around on everything didn't do anything or give me any feedback. I had to check back to this post to see what to do.

- I press the space bar and get taken to the battle screen. I like this mode, flying around and shooting. It ran pretty slow on my (old and crappy) PC though. Switching detail to low helped somewhat, but it still slowed down when there were lots of ships around.

20 or so enemy ships always appears to the right side, and I am unable to kill them no matter how many times I try. Maybe I'm just bad, or I'm missing something, but I think the first level should be an easy one to let people ease their way into the game.

- The graphics are sweet.

Dustin,

You are correct, I need to add a lot more in the way of in game help for people. I found out that there is some kind of bug on the galaxy map that makes it difficult for some people to click on the destination gates. This is likely the reason why some people have trouble figuring out what to do.

That said, I'm adding a lot of prompts to hopefully help people. Also, this release only had the one map so it was the first and last level. It was to hard for the first level but its to easy for a last level. The next iteration will have multiple maps. I'm thinking the trial will have two or three maps.

The final version will be a campaign with multiple maps. Each map will have one or more sub-maps. Lastly, you will be able to create your own levels using by altering the XML files. I don't expect to have a map editor at the time of the initial release (lets see how it Starchon sells).:)

Thanks

[jeb_]

The graphics are great, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to do. First three attempts I died on the first map (I always selected the node to the north). The fourth attempt I was able to defeat all enemies, but then nothing happened... not sure if that's intentional.

Also, I think the ships would feel more "real" if they collided with each other, but maybe that's just me... :)

[RohoMech]

hey Sean, I must say, the game has come along quite a bit since I last saw it...my feedback would be the same as what others are saying, about instructions etc...

I had two issues, first, you can hide offscreen and enemies don't come at you, but you can still shoot them...

Second, I killed everything, and the level didn't end, I sat and waited for a few seconds...but still nothing.

[Sean Doherty]

The graphics are great, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to do. First three attempts I died on the first map (I always selected the node to the north). The fourth attempt I was able to defeat all enemies, but then nothing happened... not sure if that's intentional.

Also, I think the ships would feel more "real" if they collided with each other, but maybe that's just me... :)

Thanks: for the feedback!)

Selecting the Stargate to teh North is a good start. Just make sure you press the space bar and select and select a different star gate before you die. I recommend weapon 4. Once you have some energy recharged return to the sector you just left (buy more missiles) and defend your sentinel before it is destroyed.

The game only has one level and there is no victory condition, its in the release notes but I don't even read them. The next iteration will have multiple maps and victory conditions...

The genre of the game is basically a Hero based Real-Time Strategy where it is your goal to destroy the enemy. I'm not planning to implement ship to ship collision because it would totally alter the game play. Lots of other games don't have ships to ship collision:

- Desperate Space
- Space Fleet Command 1-3
- Starchon - First Counter "Preqwuel to Starchon":)

That said, if you want collision, one of the sectors has an asteroid; go run into it.:)

Awe, its getting late!

[Sean Doherty]

hey Sean, I must say, the game has come along quite a bit since I last saw it...my feedback would be the same as what others are saying, about instructions etc...

I had two issues, first, you can hide offscreen and enemies don't come at you, but you can still shoot them...

Second, I killed everything, and the level didn't end, I sat and waited for a few seconds...but still nothing.

Thanks for the feedback:)

The next release will have multiple maps and victory conditions. Keep in mind that the game is still and alpha (pretty good one I think)? I can really use Beta testers so if your interested, please message me with your email address.

Death to the Evil Bio Race! Bring on the Zaktoy! Zaktoy, who are they? Better join the Beta list.

[Sean Doherty]

My experience mirrored Sillysoft's. I was on the map screen for about a minute clicking everything trying to get some response or feedback. I finally started button mashing the keyboard and eventually started the game.

It seems interesting but I must be doing something wrong because I'm dying within 30 seconds every single time. If there was a strategy to beat the 20 something enemies, I couldn't figure it out. As soon as I ran into the mob, I died almost instantly.

You definitely need to do a little more hand holding to get people up to speed with the game. The first level should be a lot more easy or add some on-instructions/objectives so I know what I'm suppose to accomplish.

I'd like to see how this game comes along but right now it's a little too cryptic. Make it clearer for some of us dummies and you'll increase your audience. :)

Will do! I'm not going to commend because I think I has said the same thing 3 times now. Next release will rock! Chris, would you like to be part of the Beta?

[Sean Doherty]

Does any think it would be a viable option to allow people to buy the Beta release at a 50% discount with a free upgrade to the final release? I was thinking of charging $19.95 for the final release?

Any thought?