Feedback Request: RomanBowl Beta 2

[mcopley]

Hello again everyone,

I'm back with an update to my Roman Bowl arcadey style football game. I've went ahead and incorporated a lot of the feedback provided here after my last version and I think that there is a big difference. I appreciate everyone that checked it out last time and was hoping to get another round of feedback with the new version.

What's different between this version and last you ask?

+ The game is more American style football making the gameplay and rules more intuitive and clearer to grasp for those familiar with the game
+ Incomplete passes result in the ball returning to the line of scrimmage
+ A line of scrimmage indicator
+ Forward passes are only allowed behind the line of scrimmage, but laterals can be done anywhere on the field
+ Real plays with running back and receiver routes rather than just formations
+ The controls have been steamlined and simplified -- the player automatically runs toward the cursor, and left click to pass or tackle
+ Hold down left shift to pass 'on the run'
+ Tackling has been made much tighter and more satisfying to pull off
+ The camera does a better job of keeping focused on all the action
+ A greatly reduced file size thanks to switching from PNGs to my own internal sprite image format

Now the version I am providing here is a demo version so certain features are not accessible, but the core gameplay is all there for everyone to freely try out and let me know what you think. Here is the link which weighs in at around 10 MB:

Link to RomanBowl Beta 2 DEMO (http://www.nwlink.com/~copley/RB.zip)

System Requirements are as follows:

+ PC
+ 256 MB RAM
+ Windows 98 or higher OS
+ Mouse and keyboard
+ OpenGL 1.1 capable card or better ( if you can run Torque, you can run this )
+ 10 MB of hard disk space

.. and here are some screenshots ( although these are a tad old but are still pretty indicative of the way the game looks ):

Shot 1 (http://www.nwlink.com/~copley/shot_01.jpg)
Shot 2 (http://www.nwlink.com/~copley/shot_02.jpg)
Shot 3 (http://www.nwlink.com/~copley/shot_03.jpg)
Shot 4 (http://www.nwlink.com/~copley/shot_04.jpg)
Shot 5 (http://www.nwlink.com/~copley/shot_05.jpg)
Shot 6 (http://www.nwlink.com/~copley/shot_06.jpg)

This demonstration version does not include the following ( which of course is available in the full version ):

+ The kicking mini-game for extra points and field goals
+ Fullscreen
+ High resolution sprite images and animations
+ AI difficulty, time, team, and gameplay options
+ Spectator mode
+ Up to 14 defensive formations and 20 offensive plays
+ Highscore tracking

Thanks again in advance to anyone who gives the game a try :)

[Sybixsus]

This is so much better! The graphics, the concept, the setting, all of that was already great, but the play mechanics just needed tweaking and you've done it. Tackling works, I made some great crunching tackles and also a couple of TD-saving last-ditch tackles. Not punishing so hard for an incomplete pass helps a lot, and automatic moving really feels better.

I can't think of anything else to suggest at this point, but I'm sure to be playing this some more, so I'll come back if I find anything.

[AtmaVegeta]

Ok, I must say I loved this game. I really enjoyed playing it and can't wait for the full version. My main problem with the demo was clicking off the screen when I get a little excited. I did it like 6 times, it was very annoying.

Extra points and field goals would be fun also, was wonder why not in it (then read rest of your post).

I have question. Will the final version include a "season"? That would make it complete, and replay value very high (for me at least, I love any game with Win, Loss, Tie against other teams).

There was only two thing I disliked: The down's and hiking the ball. On the screen it displays them in Roman Numeral, which is a little hard to distinguish. I feel making them, 1, 2 ,3 ,4 would make it easier too read. Also, I thought since so similar to American Football (pretty much it), I was a little suprised to find 5 downs to score and no first downs. Also, hiking the bowl I would much rather press a button to hike. I'm used to other football games, so I always forget and sometimes spike the ball trying to hike it.

But looking forward to release, loved the demo.

[Sybixsus]

Ok, I didn't mention me managing to spike the ball trying to hike before because I thought that was just me being a yutz, but since someone else has said it now, I did do that a few times, so it might be nice to have to click to hike.

[mcopley]

Hey Guys,

I am glad to hear that you guys have been enjoying it and consider it an improvement over the last version. In my design I actually had planned on having a snap button and it looks like it is something that should go in -- I'm all for it. As for clicking off the edge, yeah that's a tough one for a windowed game in general -- but maybe I should try clipping the cursor to the window since I agree that it can be annoying to have the game pause on you.

I've thought about having things like a season of play, expanded teams, different team characteristics, turnovers [ like interceptions and fumbles ], etc. But all of those have pretty much fallen outside the scope of a simple casual game like what I wanted to make with this version. Perhaps I'll take it further if I decide to make a 2.0 version :)

Mike

[TimS]

I also keep clicking off the window... You've got to give us a version with fullscreen available!

And with more than one period available too... There are basically two possessions in each game... not nearly enough to satisfy a football fan...

And 5 downs? What is that about?

Cool stuff so far... keep up the good work and keep us posted!

and Go Bears...

-Tim

[jeb_]

I liked this game :)

I didn't understand the difference between the circle- and square-marked players though, and sometimes I wasn't able to pass the ball. Maybe it's because of some football rules? I don't know the rules, so in the final version you should have some kind of explanation for those of us who doesn't watch football :)

EDIT: Aha, I read your post more carefully. Now I see why I wasn't able to pass :)

[Dan MacDonald]

The circle square thing messed me up too for a bit, once i figured it out it was fun.

[mcopley]

Yeah, the different shapes which represent how the different players behave -- is trying to mimic what traditional football players represent in plays. I'll remember to try and make that clear in my 'how to play' section.

[cyrus_zuo]

Much better game this time around...
...however, the more I try it the more I want it to be Cyberball (easy arcade action)

Couple of things that I think might help...
- With receivers, show the route after the snap so I can make a more intelligent pass (cyberball does a great job of this)
- My own team mates end up being obstacles too much
- would be interesting to play a longer game...my arm hurts after a few, which makes me wonder...

[mcopley]

Hey, thanks for trying it out cyrus_zuo, and thanks for the comments. I'll have to check out Cyberball since I'm not entirely familiar with it. Showing the routes might be a good idea, perhaps I'll give that a try. About the teammates, yeah they try to act as blockers and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and its preferable to go around them I guess.

BTW, I'm not entirely sure why your arm hurts after a few plays since there isn't a whole lot of mouse clicking involved, and most of the time it's just a matter of moving the mouse cursor. As you can imagine I've played the game literally hundreds of times and not encountered that -- any ideas on why that may be happening for you let me know.

Thanks again :)

[Vincent033]

Plays great on my laptop with just the stock pressure sentivitve mouse. Having a single mouse button to control gameplay and the restricted number of plays is great for a casual audience. The team introduction running out of the gates is a nice touch too. Have you considered a coin toss? My only thought to make the game more gratifying would be to use more random sound bytes and/or animations on tackles, sacks, and touchdowns. But all things considered congratulations on a great product and good luck!