Version .93

An upcoming game about Electricity, Magnetism, and Cephalopods
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testtubegames
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Version .93

Post by testtubegames »

Wait. What happened to .92? Who cares! I call 'em as I see 'em, folks.

--Version .93--

New:
-Responded to a bunch of the level suggestions
-Went through and removed a lot of too-easy stars, and added in more challenging stars (especially in Acts 2 & 3)
-Changed the Hint text that appears on the screen... so now it's written on sign posts that you can choose to read.
-With all the extra space on the screen (with hints gone), I was able to add more interesting parts to some of the levels.
-Fixed the Shocktopus starting-point glitch. He'll still move if you put a door on him, but just a square or two to the side. Not off-screen.
-Added stars to the final boss fight.
-Stars can now be added to switches, or used as timed blocks
-Text pops up to tell you when you've entered acts 2 and 3

To Do:
Hmm... not too much, as far as the game is concerned
-Add in a button that let's you reset the game's controls
-Add in a volume slider for the music/sfx
-(When I get the chance) Make it so all blocks (crates, sand, etc) can be added to switches, just like stars
-Optimize it so it runs faster, has a smaller file size, etc.
-Prepping it for the real world: new thumbnail, text description, finalize the trailer
-Beyond those -- I'm sure I'll get a bunch of stuff on my to-do list from your ever-helpful suggestions

----

The big change that has happened with this version, you'll notice, is the sign posts. That way there's no annoying text that distracts you from the level... and I don't have to worry about making the font of the hint text readable yet subtle. It really cleaned up the look of the levels, I think. And I also used it to have some fun (see level 21, for instance). And I could expand the complexity of the levels without any text getting in the way, too. All in all, a change that seemed to fix more than I expected it to. So thanks for that suggestion, in particular.
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robly18
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Re: Version .93

Post by robly18 »

I have a suggestion.
Easter eggs.
This is one of those things that doesn't concern your average player, but for people who like it a lot, it's one of those things that makes you smile.
So, please, do try to add something.
Like, say, if you get all stars in a certain act, you unlock a secret level or something.
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exfret
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Re: Version .93

Post by exfret »

I am 1 in agreement w/ robly. (1 = 100%).
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testtubegames
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Re: Version .93

Post by testtubegames »

robly18 wrote:Easter eggs.
You're absolutely right. I'd been putting those off until the game got close to finished... but, hey, it's close to finished! I'll throw in some surprises (though for obvious reasons, I won't be able to tell you all what they are, of course ;) ).
exfret
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Re: Version .93

Post by exfret »

Here's a list of exfreaster eggs:

-Hyperbowic geometry if you do some thing.

-TES turns into planet and charges turn into stationary stars if you make a level w/ just charges.

-Bonus levels for all stars in each act.

-Festive hat for TES when you rewatch the beginning video.

-*Temporary Mario invincibility after getting a fourth star in a user-created level.

-*Band-aid for TES after enough deaths

-*Mushroom (or coin) comes out if you repeatedly hit your head on a sand block enough.

-*No gravity option that appears in options one you fly TES above level's top.

-*TES explodes if you click on him/it/her


*'s are the ideas I like the most. My suggestion: If you like any of the ideas I've thrown out here, change them around a little so this doesn't just become a list of easter eggs in the game, keeping the general idea behind it. Basically players will not really pay attention to (you probably already know these of course):

-small details
-options pages
-things they can do that they weren't explained in the levels
-anything that seems like it wouldn't be allowed even though it is (like going beyond the ceiling or pressing a button from any side)
-redoing things a second time
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testtubegames
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Re: Version .93

Post by testtubegames »

Okay, just threw together what (I think) will become an easter egg. The thing is actually a pretty fun diversion for a few minutes. So, heck, I figured I'd break the radio silence and share it :)

Bouncy Charges

Open-ended little toy.
exfret
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Re: Version .93

Post by exfret »

Wait, so if you do something in the game, you get bouncy charges?


Edit 1: Just played it a little, and let me just say I greatly approve of what you did. I would like to suggest that you make the beginning entrance sound less like the star sound (I get excited whenever it sounds, but then I realize it was just an entrance), but that's more of an issue for veteran Shocktopus playtesters (new people will just discern the different sounds from the start). Awesome work!!

Edit 2: Level 20. :shock:

Edit 3: The sign on level 21 needs to be moved to a spot where it can be read (the bullets are inhibiting this from happening in the current version). Edit 1 to Edit 3: Okay, I read it. I half expected it to be this way. I think it would make a good easter egg troll actually. Just make the text shorter so you can read it quickly before you die, and make it so you can't move while reading it. :twisted:

Edit 4: There's a glitch when you try to go on past level 29. It's really strange, mostly in that you didn't notice it somehow. The next levels past level 29 aren't unlocked, and when I pressed space to go on to the next level, it just got rid of the menu screen and showed the level w/o the Shocktopus. Pressing 'r' didn't do anything, but the home button still worked. I was playing the game in chrome Version 31.0.1650.63 (that's what I got when I clicked "About Google Chrome" under the drop-down).

Edit 5: There's no Act 5 text. Also, level 33 is really exciting, but level 34 is really boring for some reason. Also, I like the difficulty you added to many of the stars (I keep on thinking 'How would I possibly ever get to that star????').

Edit 6: Maybe you should place the word BOSS instead of 45 on the boss level, and I think you should also require all levels to be passed or a certain number of stars to be gotten before being able to challenge the yeti (this way, you can't just skip the last few levels).

Edit 7: I also see you changed the collision code. I don't like this too much, as it makes my invisible blocks act stranger, but it's kind of good in that I can't fall through the ground now. Eh, it doesn't matter. As long as I still have my invisible blocks, it's okay. :ugeek: Also, the way you attach stuff to levers is messed up. Sometimes, I have the lever selected, but it doesn't add the things I'm making to the lever. Also, I should be able to delete stuff added to a lever without having deleting the lever (and then everything it's attached to), but I'm not able to do this. Too bad I can't add levers to cannons anymore. Oops, I meant the converse. Anyways, I wish you'd add that back in (it makes a great sort-ish of easter egg). Maybe you could even make the cannons work!!!

Edit 8: A weird glitch occurred (maybe I should stop using words like weird, strange, etc. to describe things that are inherently weird in their nature...) where I was adding in a button, so then I pressed on its bottom w/ ~TES~, and all was well. I returned to the level editor and added a button below ~TES~, but then I couldn't get rid of the level editor (pressing the 'x' button or 'tab' didn't work).

Edit 9: I see you changed the icon. And upped the percentage complete to 99%...

Edit 10: When you collect stars attached to a lever then die, only the square signaling that the block is attached to a lever appears the next time.
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testtubegames
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Re: Version .93

Post by testtubegames »

exfret wrote:Wait, so if you do something in the game, you get bouncy charges?
Originally was thinking about it as a "while you wait for the game to load" thing. But then, frankly, the game is only ~7MB now... so I might incorporate it into the game somehow instead. (Like you go to a secret area and access that mini-game/toy) We'll see.
exfret wrote:There's a glitch when you try to go on past level 29.
Hrm... does this happen every time you do it, or was it only the first time?
exfret wrote:There's no Act 5 text.
Act 3? Hmm... it should appear in the upper left corner when level 31 loads. It doesn't?
exfret wrote:place the word BOSS ... I also see you changed the collision code... Also, I should be able to delete stuff added to a lever without having deleting the lever (and then everything it's attached to), but I'm not able to do this.
Yes to the 'BOSS', that's so obvious once you mention it. I still think I'll leave 3 levels open at a time, even for the boss, for consistency. If the levels you need to skip are the last couple, so be it. Collision code was changed, yes, since I noticed that you could stand *within* flashing spikes, and as long as you didn't move, you were fine. Had to fix that. And I'll make deleting from levers easier. Right now, it only deletes the tile if it is active (so you have to switch the lever on within the edit screen, so that the tile you're trying to delete is outlined in white). But I agree that's tough/counter intuitive, so I will make it easier to delete.
exfret wrote:I returned to the level editor and added a button below ~TES~, but then I couldn't get rid of the level editor (pressing the 'x' button or 'tab' didn't work).
Was it a particularly complex level? If there were tons of switches, say, it may have been lagging on the calculations. Otherwise, yeah, this points to a mysterious bug.
exfret wrote:When you collect stars attached to a lever then die, only the square signaling that the block is attached to a lever appears the next time.
Really? Even once you flip the switch, the star is nowhere to be seen? Puzzling
MishaTheMighty
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Re: Version .93

Post by MishaTheMighty »

I really like the new icon of TES, it looks much more platformish.

Just a few suggestions/comments:
  • I love the idea of boards which can be read or not.
  • ...And new stars positions are lovely. I need to admit that some of them made me think for a moment.
  • I didn't notice any problem with missing stars after collecting them and dying. Maybe it's due to using other flash version?...
  • Could you make it so that a switch mark (that little square thing) of a star vanishes once it's collected? It will be more intuitive when using one switch more than once.
  • 21 was a nice troll. :D But to tell you the truth, I just kept jumping after reading each line. Sorry. :roll:
  • Well... I don't know why, but level 33 seems easier now... Or is it just an illusion?
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testtubegames
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Re: Version .93

Post by testtubegames »

MishaTheMighty wrote:Could you make it so that a switch mark (that little square thing) of a star vanishes once it's collected?
Well... I don't know why, but level 33 seems easier now... Or is it just an illusion?
Thanks for the feedback, Misha! Yeah, I can fix it so the little box disappears. And I didn't make any changes to level 33 (aside from adding signposts)... maybe it just seems easier compared to all those ultra-challenging levels you and exfret have been making :)
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