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This is a re-roll for some of the things I forgot to do in 1.2
v1.2.1
-BUFFED Everypony (smaller hitbox)
-fixed a glitch that caused the game to repeatedly spam the collision sounds if you died by Yamato Gun
-corrected fullscreen settings
-fixed Sentry movement speed for Derpy and Filly Modes
-edited some BattleCruiser shooting patterns
-missile pods shoot slower
v1.2.0
-BUFFED Rarity (range scales a bit higher to compensate for new difficulty levels)
-BUFFED Rainbow Dash (higher energy now shoots slightly faster)
-added difficulty levels
-derpy mode
-filly mode
-pony mode
-trollestia mode
-allocated more memory for more bullets due to the new difficulty modes
-attempted to fix an issue that caused most users to freeze after death or victory
-Carrier and interceptor bullets move differently
-fixed some typos
-lowered pony voice volume slightly
-added volume controls to pause menu
Make sure to check it out!
Also, the difficulty modes might not be balanced so I would love feedback on the new enemy shooting patterns
I challenge you all to try and complete Trollestia Mode!!!!!
It looks like the change in the initialization code fixed the crash-on-death error I was getting. Good job! I am enjoying the new bullet changes; especially the Zerg boss' initial attack going to the sides instead of straight forward. It feels a bit more hectic that way, and especially so on Trollestia Mode where they go in all three directions. Also, I like that the corsairs can attack now, instead of just using their shields and Disruption Webs. They feel like more than just a mere nuisance now. The wave effect that the Protoss Carrier boss has on its spread fire and Interceptors was also fun. It made it easier to find escape routes, but at the same time, could throw you off your pace if you weren't prepared for the shots' change in speed. Especially when you are dealing with the main spread and the Interceptors simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed an odd glitch that I could reliably cause on Pony Mode. On the 4th wave of Terrans, if all the ships line up and start firing before they are destroyed, a few of them will leave purple-ish boxes behind after their destruction. If you run into them, then you may pass through them, or you may take a hit and make the box disappear. The only pony I have not tested this with is AJ. Out of these test, the only time I didn't have a box appear was when I bull rushed them with Rarity, killing them before they got into position. On a subsequent attempt with Rarity, I was able to cause the glitch by waiting until they were in position and firing before I attacked. I also noticed that this ONLY happened on Pony Mode.
As a side note, I still find the Zerg boss to be the most challenging part of the game. I find that if I can get past that part, I'm pretty much assured a victory. With the advent of Trollestia Mode, the Protoss section is more challenging, but the end still feels easier than the middle. Just an observation I made and was wondering what everyone else thought.
@Damon
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your amazing feedback!!!
those purple squares are debug warnings that enemies are shooting more bullets of a certain type than I have allocated memory for. I guess I did not thoroughly test enough. Thanks for the warning. (I have it programmed so that if there are too many purple boxes, the game crashes. I should fix that)
I think this only happens in pony mode because in pony mode the wraiths shoot the slowest projectiles (the last bullet in the 3 round burst moves the slowest of any wraith shot) so that is why there are more on the screen at a single time compared to the other difficulties.
Yeah, I think even in the prior versions, the Swarm Guardian was tougher than the Carrier. Prepare for Carrier buff
@Damon
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am unable to replicate the purple box glitch on my machine. Can you please play that part again and count the number of wraiths that appeared in that wave?
There are 14 wraiths on the 4th terran wave for me.
I may have a flaw in my programming that could cause more enemies to spawn if you have a higher resolution..
The character balance is still really iffy. Especially on Trollestia mode. Applejack's shot is literally so bad that getting her on the Protoss stage tends to amount to game over in less than ten seconds against phoenixes and/or arbiters (if you're trapped in stasis). Rainbow Dash's bomb is so good that I was able to clear Trollestia Mode while barely taking any damage with her (plus her shot is one of the best as well, with only Rarity and Pinkie Pie even competing). Twilight's shot is also unusably bad against bosses due to being less focused in focus mode, and her bomb is so bad that it hurts you a LOT more than it helps since magic is linked to shot power and the ability to gain health.
ReplyDeleteThe whole Zerg stage before the boss remains a joke; I dunno if it's intentional, but literally the only way a scourge is ever going to do anything but feed you health is if you're unlucky enough to end up with Applejack. Maybe if they did a ton of damage, but still, the game needs more bullets (especially a lot more random bullets and aimed patterns like wraiths--homing isn't as interesting, especially the un-streamable phoenix lasers). The Zerg minibosses also can't hit you if you're point blank and slightly to the side.
Overall Trollestia mode is still really, really easy up until the Zerg boss (which is really well done actually--it's even possible to dodge all his attacks with tons of skill), and then the Protoss stage is just silly to the point where it's more of a test to see if you can avoid accidentally switching away from Rainbow Dash for the whole stage as she is the only one who can survive lasers well enough.
Maybe I found Trollestia easy just because I start out with a hypergraze and have max power by the time the first set of wraiths leave the screen, though.
@huod umop apisdn
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight. I run my default video at 1920x1200, and I also counted 14 enemies on wave 4. While counting the wraiths, I merely dodged their attacks, and as you mentioned, the game crashed.
It may be worth noting, however, that on a subsequent test, I waited just before the crash (again counting 14 ships) before I started taking them out. While I was attacking, they began their withdraw. I noticed that in roughly 3 places, 2 boxes appeared per enemy slain, one slightly higher and to the side. If the glitch you mentioned is occurring, it could be that the additional ships are being placed on top of the existing ships. However, after I made this observation, I was unable to duplicate it. So, take this note with a salt block.
Finally, knowing what causes the boxes to appear, I retested Trollestia mode. I found that while only dodging on wave 4 does not crash the game, it does leave behind boxes when the enemies withdraw. 8 boxes on the first two test runs, 5 on the third test. Hope that helps.
Yeah Im thinking it actually has to do with your resoulution size. My code was meant to run on 1280x800 and I didnt plan on doing it fullscreen (or even releasing it at all). Some of my code scales with your screen, but I suspect that the velocity of the bullets is constant, so since your screen is bigger, the bullets have to travel further before they leave the screen, thus they end up staying on the screen longer, causing too many to be on the screen which triggers the debug squares. I am not sure how XNA handles fullscreen (its basically a truefalse variable I can toggle whenever I want). in the next release, I will release both a windowed mode and a fullscreen mode and we will see if the windowed mode has problems for you.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I havent had much time to work on this the last couple weeks so progress has slowed. Thinkin up concepts for new enemies right now, hoping I have time to draw all the art. that takes the most time