23: Onslaught of the Electric Zombies

[F1ak3r]

Evidence you're getting the word out.

[Karuji]

Finally got to cybergod. and this had to be one of my most interesting play throughs.

Took tough level one and ran into source code(so I thought this would be a good game).

Level two was snipers and no diagnostic tool :( so I took track but I didn't get them all.

Because I deviated from my normal build I ended up taking a lot of damage.

So it comes to the last level i have 30 energy and the zombie king around. Fortuneately I can clean one tile. So I take the second level of track, and wouldn't ye know I got lucky and hit the right tile :D Then I retired.

Just out of curiosity how would volatile file and looping code work together?

Edit: Just broke my own personal score, and the 30k mark. And am also a few points short of HT's best :(

picy

This is starting to boarder on obsession :P . It's line wars all over again >.>

[dammit]

If you press F1 during full screen game mode you get a blank white screen. Just thought you'd like to know ;) Quite addictive this, though I seem to have missed the point as I'm getting worse instead of better.

[Nandrew]

Evidence you're getting the word out.

That's awesome! But I have mixed feelings about them finding it *right now*. I didn't want to send this to the IndieGames blog until after it was complete: I doubt I'll get a re-feature for the finished version.

Though, for the purpose of this competition, that should still be pretty sweet. I think it's also a valuable reminder to entrants that web coverage is ... well ... easy! I didn't even send the game to these guys, they just managed to hunt it down.

I think I'm going to revise my goals for game content: I'll have to have it down and final very soon. Expect massive changes when I get the next version out.

[dammit]

Cybergod! 27290 \o/

[Aequitas]

Got to CyberGod on my second try ^_^

Gotta say ... great game nandrew :D

[vii]

Got to CyberGod on my second try ^_^

Gotta say ... great game nandrew :D

</3
Im still at tech wizard after like... 10 games ;_;

[Nandrew]

Umm, okay. I've struggled with Internet this past week. Much hair has been lost, and much game commenting needs to be caught up on.

First of all: REALLY stoked that you guys are continuing to enjoy the game! :D Every new post I see fills me with:

(1) Bunnies
(2) Sunshine
(3) Hax!

The latest proto is a bit late in coming out because I'm keen to make the next release the FINAL one. I'm cutting out a few features, trimming a few corners and generally working on tightening up what I've devved so far instead of adding anything new. The clamps are on, so to speak, and hopefully the next game thingie you see on these frumz will be a full-blown product.

If anybody is interested in playtesting a closed beta of the game just before release, please let me know and I'll organise getting a copy to you. I know this sounds a bit silly and fancy, but if I release a buggy version openly and the press somehow gets their hands on it, I'll just, like, die or something.

Also, I got a rather interesting email today from my FILE HOST regarding the Gears of War Minesweeper. I'd like to submit the transcript for consideration in the marketing comp. It gave me a fright, I'll tell you, but I might as well post for great Comp 23 justice and as a bit of a pointer for fellow entrants:

To whom it may concern,

We have recently received a complaint regarding the following file(s), which you have been sharing through your Box.net account, and infringe on a previously-held copyright:

MyBox/GearsSweeper_v01.exe

We have deleted the above file(s) from your account. Please delete any other files from your account that may infringe on any previously-held copyrights, as these go against the Box.net Terms of Service. Be aware that further infractions may result in account termination.

Sincerely,
The Box.net team

Between the Dev.Mag article and, surprisingly, an IndieGames review (yep, both GOW and Electric Zombies are on there now), I seem to have garnered enough attention to make somebody sit up, take notice and slap me on the wrist.

Ooer. So yeah. If you're marketing something from Comp 22 and are using Box.net as a host, please take this as a warning.

[dislekcia]

I bet you it was a single complainant who didn't even play the game and rated it based entirely on the title/description in one of those reviews.

[dammit]

Bummer about GOW Minesweeper. Box.net has yet to decide that TF2puzzler is a copyright infringement so I guess I'm not getting the word out as much as I should ;)

Also, I have to agree with dislekcia. It would seem more reasonable to give the first Track to the player. Also, is there some way you can indicate what level you are on with any one of those...erm, items? I realise that you've worded the descriptions to indicate this, but it might be easier to have a colour code with, say, a darker colour indicating you're on a higher level (of "Move" for example). Just a thought because I'm too lazy to read and I forget what I already have :P

Also, does this mean I get a cookie now?

[Nandrew]

Neato! With changes in the next version, the score system may differ somewhat, so be prepared for a new take on the challenges. :P

[Nandrew]

Oh, also, found this on Gamasutra. I include this link for more Competition 23 great justice-ness:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=25207

My game was featured in the Best of Indie Games weekly roundup. Yay. \:D/

[Bonezmann]

This had a play, awesome 'variant' on the whole minesweeper thing. I chuckled at a few of those tutorial messages...

[Nandrew]

Received this message a little earlier:

Hey,

just wanted to say I enjoyed the game. I'd have posted but I guess I don't have permissions. I followed the link from over at gamasutra.

Pulled off scores of 30k+ a couple times and 25k+ consistently. 30k scores were from the swarm finale, not killing the king.

Pretty good balance between the different strategies.

The "Tough" strategy:
using toughness to make yourself able to gain score by killing enemies and clearing levels

The "Item" strategy: (little bit weaker)
increasing slots to be able to maximize score on final level (whether boss or swarm)

The "move" strategy: increasing movement score instantly to maximize your exploration score

The biggest issue I have is the marauders. With toughness, I'm able to withstand the drain (unless they swarmed with -5/round), but any other strategy is rather weak. Simply skipping the level (by finding the exit out of necessity), will often kill any chance of a non-toughness character getting the high scores. I really don't see any downfall of NOT taking the toughness strategy, especially if you find the defender early. I think for the marauders, you need to do something you do with snipers or the bomb - give them some kind of count down while they 'find' you before they begin sucking energy. That would put everyone on a bit more equal footing.

Additionally, I really couldn't find a use for the energy regen. There was nothing I could do where I couldn't maximize my score MORE by picking something else. If the increase were to be doubled, or maybe an increase per monster killed, or something like that, it might make more sense.

Anyway, sorry for the unsolicited feedback, but I enjoyed the game and wanted to give you my opinions. Everyone has some. Take of them what you will.

-B

Thanks a bunch, Brackard! I don't know many people who would go to this effort to provide feedback to the dev. It's greatly appreciated and I've responded to your comment via PM. ;)

I'd like to know from the other peeps here: does anything in this feedback ring any bells with you guys? Anything you'd like to reinforce or suggest based on this statement? The game is nearing completion, but it's still pretty malleable in terms of game balance and the like. I've been a bit slow on dev over the past week (no end of grief with the computer, for some reason) so there's still a reasonable window for any last-minute feedback before I lock features down.

[dammit]

The marauders issue rings a bell. Without a defender or toughness upgrade, you often just lose trying to find the exit.

One strategy i found that works well is to not take your advice about killing everything on the first level to get the bonus for that level. Simply clear all the empty blocks and then move to the next level where you can actually pick something up to help with the zombie horde fighting. You're also then still on full health and no longer need to be concerned about getting a regen upgrade.

Funnily enough, I got my highest scores on the zombie king finals and not the horde finals, but i haven't got over 30K :P

[herman.tulleken]

Yes, this sounds right to me too. I found myself running out of energy a lot, so I tried versions of the "Regen" strategy without success. The tough strategy works very well, especially if you increase items slots with one early on. Toughness is also indespensible to withstanding poison.

But I think the track strategy is the weakest (as cool as it is).

Have you tried out the distance-dependent energy sucking marauders Dis suggested yet? Thought that was a very cool idea.

ht

[dammit]

Oh, one more thing, I think you need to explain the "poison" and what it does early one. The first time I got a message mentioning poison I didn't really understand what you were going on about.

[Nandrew]

There's a lot of game balance tweaks going on, so I thought I'd update you guys with a few of 'em (since they're relevant to what's being said right now):

- Marauders can no longer attack you from anywhere in the level. They have a square radius of influence, so you'll get hurt if you get close enough, and can use that information (sorta) to work out where the bastards are hiding. At the very least, they'll not hit you quite so hard.

- Spiders and poison are going to ease off more on earlier levels, and will probably be inserted later instead. They're now unofficially classified as "advanced" enemies, and player mentality should be adjusted accordingly. I've added a note for toughness: namely that it's useful against spider poison. Hopefully players will get the point without me having to blare a "YOU HAVE BEEN POISONED!" message every time they stumble across one of these buggers.

- Regeneration has been buffed slightly. Now, instead of simply increasing energy regain, it also increases your maximum health. Somebody who is suitably souped up on regen should be able to go toe-to-toe with the zombie king and live through the encounter without any item assistance.

- Tracking is still the same, but I've increased its power indirectly with some new enemy designs. In the upcoming version of the game, knowing exactly which enemy you're about to face can make the difference between a huge score bonus and certain death. The order in which you fight enemies will also become a lot more important. This promotes the idea of levelling up the skill fully.

- ALL skills have been more liberally showered onto players now. You get one new skill point for EVERY SINGLE STAGE. Yay! \:D/ I think this should change the game dynamic considerably: now it's not a matter of choosing which skills you'll use, but more which skills you'll get FIRST.

--------

Overall, actual game content has been finalised. Now I'm working on stuff like balance, polish, bugfixes and ... eugh ... the UI.

I see the end in sight, and it smells delicious.

[Karuji]

Well I'll throw in my 2c here since I'm rather the addict.

I always take tough first level to clear and get the bonus. I hope I get zombie source code or the take one less damage item this generally points to having a good start.

Second level is where things start to come down to choice. Depending on the item I got on the first level I will either take regen tough or slot. In general the tough was my choice if I lacked a good item. But an extra 10 points per level does come in handy, but you have to weigh it against poison damage and items.

By the end. I generally get 2 level of track (the second level being on the final level, and the first to deal with snipers if I don't have a map reveal). this is my strat that got me over 30k, double track allow me to locate the king then I use an item to kill him and retire to get that sweet 30% bonus, I've never beat the swarm

[Nandrew]

Thanks for the additional feedback! You guys may find that a lot of your tactics will collapse in this next release: a LOT of balance tweaks and gameplay changes mean that you'll probably need to rethink your game experience. I hope that this proves to be both exciting and refreshing -- and ideally, can promote a game where different players use a variety of tactics to reach the same goal. :)