CodeName:Interceptor ALPHA DEMO (2 MB)

[Leper]

Here's the latest demo of my project. I know I still have a lot to do, but I'm getting anxious so I thought I'd share it with you guys and get some feedback.

Screenshots:
http://www.shmup-dev.com/ss1.jpg
http://www.shmup-dev.com/ss2.jpg

You can download it here:
http://www.shmup-dev.com/CNI.zip (2 MB)

Use the mouse to control your ship. The sound engine still needs tweaking (I have overlapping problems for some reason)

The game is too easy right now, but I have a lot more in store to increase difficulty level!!

[Anlino]

Really nice game you got there, Leper! Great Gfx, nice and smooth movement on the enemies, good sounds and so on. The only thing was that it was too easy for my taste. This is already a real blast, but i'm sure you could improve it. BTW, was there the same "intro" movement on the enemies for each level? Keep working on this, it is damn fun!

[Shaz]

REALLY nice game! I found it hard to understand what was being said (had to listen really closely and still struggled), and got confused about the powerups (which were good, which were bad?) - hopefully there'll be a tutorial screen showing how to tell. I take it the missiles had to be expended (hit their target) before you could fire again? I was clicking away and only every 2 or 3 clicks would I actually fire something. Graphics are terrific!

[Anlino]

Small tip: Hold the mousebutton pressed to fire constantly.

[Leper]

Thanks guys, how do you feel about the scrolling backround? Is it too much? Should I remove the panel on the right? Should I shrink the backround? or is it good like it is?

There was the same intro movement, but this is expected to change later. Do you guys think it should fire more bullets in the beginning? Say 2 or 3?

Is the enemy armor too much? should they all be one hit at first?

[Grey Alien]

hey those points sound familiar ;-) You don't have to remove the panel, just make it look nice!

[Shaz]

I think the panel on the right is ok WHERE it is, but not the WAY it is - I assumed you were going to revamp that - text/background/frame to suit the theme - hard to read as-is.

Armor was a bit hard to break through, but I need to go try the "hold the mouse button down to fire constantly" (thanks Anlino) and might find it easier.

No probs with the scrolling background - it's awesome!

[Leper]

hey those points sound familiar ;-) You don't have to remove the panel, just make it look nice!

Well, I was thinking of removing it and putting a HUD so the background wouldn't scroll so much! Or I could just scale the background down a bit.

ALSO: I do plan on having a nice looking sidepanel (its just not nearby on the roadmap! Still many other things to do first)

Well I'm torn on a few issues. Some say that the background shouldn't scroll at all, some say half speed, some like it as it is. Some say more bullets, some say less enemy armor, heh. One person said the game was too boring or not fast enough. One said the ship should drift more move slower to a stop then it does... I'm going to take everyones suggestions into great consideration, but I'm not sure what direction I'll take just yet.

Has anyone got their ship captured yet? You can get your ship captured by enemy tractor beams and then rescue it and use it for 2x firepower!!

[Anlino]

Mine was hijacked several times - until i realised that i should avoid them I think the scrolling background is nice. It adds a feeling that the ships are really moving. I think it was a smart move to give the objects different amount of armor. Maybe you should make it more obvious that they are hit though, like small sparks flying. Like i said before, the graphics looks great.

[Kestral]

Great start! I like the scrolling background. The sounds are great. I didn't like the "negative powerup", i.e. I got two bullets and then the next powerup I picked up took the extra bullet away?

[Leper]

Mine was hijacked several times - until i realised that i should avoid them I think the scrolling background is nice. It adds a feeling that the ships are really moving. I think it was a smart move to give the objects different amount of armor. Maybe you should make it more obvious that they are hit though, like small sparks flying. Like i said before, the graphics looks great.

Thanks! About the armor, well, when you hit them sparks do fliy and they flash white. You didn't notice that? Should I make it more noticable? (more sparks? longer flash time?)

Kestral: If you collect the same powerup type (like single bullets) your bullet delay goes down. If you pwerup to like double from single your delay goes back down and vice versa. Is that a bad idea?

[RohoMech]

wow, that was fun!
The scrolling left/right was a pretty nice touch...very well done

[Leper]

Thanks Robo..

Ok here's what I am planning for next update..

1) Change firing mechanism completely. Instead of a delay, we'll work on how many bullets are on the screen. So you can tap the button and shoot more, or hold it and shoot steady. The bullets max will be set to 3.

2) Slow down the scrolling to half speed it is now (this might limit the scope!)

3) Make guys one hit instead of many, although later in the game this wont be the case.

If there's anything else that should be changed for now, do let me know. I think that this covers what most people had talked about though.

[Anlino]

No, i didn't, but then i have a monitor(temporary) that sucks really bad - it is an 15 inch monitor from 93-94 something - hardly anything that would do anything but Tetris justice. I am buying a new Computer soon, and a monitor with it. Cant wait

[Anlino]

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Anlino/CIN.jpg

Anyone up to the challenge?

[Grey Alien]

yeah, if I didn't have any work to do ;-p

[Anlino]

I know, i am too easily distracted from real work

[revve]

Leper - very nice game. I love the scrolling and constantly moving and twisting of the game - it's a lot more dynamic than you normally expect this type of game to be. The side panel should stay, but it should be made to be more usefull (and better looking) - maybe a graphical view of how many lives you have left (count the icons), how many and which powerups you have, etc.

My only major crit of the game is that it should be sped up just a tad (maybe add an option to change the speed). In general it's good, but just a little bit too slow. Oh, and before I forget - the sound and graphics style really gives it and edge. Well done all around!

[Sharpfish]

I gave it a quick try, the only tip maybe is to use acceleration on the background scrolling (if you keep it) as it seems directly locked to the mouse which feels jarring and a bit too immediate. A nice smooth scroll left right with damping and coming to rest should feel nicer than a direct scroll per mouse move.. if you understand me?

other than that nice looking sprites etc, side panel needs some work (it is also off by one pixel on top edge which is more noticable on a laptop or screen which shows the edges).

Good luck!

[Leper]

Thanks guys! Well, the side-panel is just a placeholder. I assure you teh entire thing will be completely different in the final version

Here is what I've done since the version available:

1) I changed the bullets a bit, you can fire more rapidly if you tap the fire button with a max of 2 bullets on the screen. If you hold the button you still fire at a slower pace (although it is a lot faster now)

2) I slowed the scrolling down a bit, it seems better now. I'm getting mixed reviews about the scrolling, but I just cant help but to think it looks cool.

3) You now can dodge enemy bullets by hitting the Right Mouse button. Your ship does a spin and goes downward and dodges whatever may be in your way (like 1942)

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Also, please do note you're playing level 1 over and over again in this alpha version. The full version is going to be much different in terms of game play. Every level will be dynamically different from the other. Also, the enemies will have different attacks that you haven't seen yet.

The game is going to feature player profiles, Online high scores, with a fully featured GUI that includes sound, video, and control configurations. Players will eb able to select different sectors to play in, and level select inside them. There will be 4 or 5 different bonus games (as well as a match 3 bonus game) that you can unlock and compete for high scores.

You will also be awarded medals for doing different things in the game. like beating a sector in X time, or not dying. or dying too many times. etc.. Medals will be assigned to each sector in your profile.

I would love to keep posting my updates but cant! I will post a new thread when the BETA version is up (this should take a month or so)

Thanks for your input, if you have any other suggestions please let me know so I can install them into the game!

Best Regards,
Matt