Sunday 9 March 2014

2014 March Update - Release v0.5

EDIT#1:Uploaded v0.5b. Check release notes below for changes and bug fixes. Main fix was escaping grapples being too tough.

So many months have past since v0.4, apologies for keeping you waiting for v0.5. I swear I could've given up, but I know nothing good will ever come out of that. Release v0.5 is not a big update, but most of the changes required me to do some refreshing on my codes after being away from Gamemaker for awhile. I hope v0.5 can help tide you fellas over until v0.6.

In a pinch
Labcoax - Alpha v0.5
Labcoax - Alpha v0.5b
Download links (est. size 7.0 MB)
Password:- dtny (パスワード)
[Mega]
[Rapidshare]
[Depositfiles]
Links are also added under the 'Downloads' section.


Release Notes for v0.5b:
  • Slight change in code handling jump-through platforms. Fixed bug of being unable to jump when in contact with jump-through platforms.
  • Aerial enemy 'Poltergeist'.
  • Grapple mechanics changed; now damages-on-struggle-input and loops until player breaks animation.
  • Breaking grapple becomes increasingly harder further into a single loop. Breaking grapple only becomes harder following player inputs for the loop, to encourage attempting escape in one-fell-swoop. New loop resets the escape bar drop rate.
  • Introduced ammo drop and ammo alternate attack. Obtained via lockers.
  • A fresh labcoat has 3 hitpoints, gives 20% damage reduction, is finally useful. Obtained via lockers.
  • Two sets of player sprites: Sprite with labcoat equipped & the other without.
  • Save-point now interactable but save function is not done, serving only as placeholder.
  • Zoom-in/out now for more close-up pixel fun! Just press the  'space' key.
  • Press F3 to cycle through a few window sizes when not under full-screen.
  • Skill list now visible in pause menu.
  • I think pause menu is now prettier.

As usual, couple of notes:
  • When equipped labcoat destroyed, chance to respawn as a new labcoat.
  • Both shotgun shots are the same. They're to tell me I got the functions working.
  • New game & continue game starts the player in the usual test room. Both options are no different for now.
  • Choosing difficulty still makes no difference.
  • Tell me if v0.5 is working for you by voting in the poll to the right (not visible on mobile view)!
  • If you found a bug, tell me in the comment section below!

...
I'll start putting up projected work that I should aim for the next release so I can look back and be reminded what the hell I was actually suppose to do.

Projected v0.6 release:
[Primary]
> New game intro using timeline.
> Continue building actual levels.
> Event triggers.
> ...
[Secondary]
> At least one new enemy.
> Environmental hazards.
> ...

60 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Whenever I do, it takes 4 months for the next release. D':

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  2. Well isn't this fantastic, and the only issue I found was being unable to us F3 to change window size on the menu screen. It only started working after in game.

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    1. Ah a controller that controls that function is only created upon starting a game. I'll add it to the start menu then.

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    2. Not a problem. Quick fix

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  3. Cool! Here's some random thoughts
    _________________

    The save capsule animation looks really good.

    I don't like how difficult it is to get out of grapples now. It strongly deters getting caught but not because they're dangerous but because they're obnoxious. The player is already penalized by taking damage from trying to escape, why go further than that?

    When you push tab a window pops up saying a map key has been pressed.

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    1. Hold on, I misunderstood how the escape mechanic worked. I thought it just endlessly got harder. It's works fine actually, although I can see someone misunderstanding it getting frustrated like I did.

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    2. Darn I forgot to remove the message. Why would you press tab??
      I see your point on the escape mechanics, I will have to revisit.

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    3. ALT+TAB is the traditional Windows task switching shortcut. A quick and easy way to get out of and minimize most fullscreen games to boot. You didn't know about this?

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    4. Actually that completely slipped my mind. Kill me.

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  4. Very good job, this is always fun to see new things. Otherwise I noticed that into / from a room freshened bonus item in lockers.
    Otherwise the enemies do not react to shooting long range, it makes the game a little too easy if the player is in height and distance.

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    1. Locker refreshing is intended for testing, won't happen in actual game.

      I see 2 ways to deal with players shooting from edge of screen: one being syringe loses velocity and bounces off distant enemies dealing no damage, or individually smarten up each monster.

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    2. Why not coded as enemies begin to move when they subjected to damage?

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  5. Bug: Sporadically, when your labcoat is destroyed, it doesn't disappear but instead turns into a labcoat powerup which you can just pick up again.

    IMO, the grapple escape is way too difficult the way it's implemented. I honestly have a hard time getting the gauge up before the decrease outstrips my button presses. And I've grown quite good at mashing the arrow keys, might I add? I'm hitting them so fast that my computer is beeping at me, and they don't always seem to register the inputs. Maybe it's just my computer, but...

    The grapple mechanic must be difficult to get conceptually right, but I don't think the current implementation is a good system now that we've seen it in action. Maybe if it took longer for enemies to climax (thus giving you more time to build up your gauge before it becomes too late) it would be more feasable, but the concept itself... it's just not doing it for me.

    The fact that doing nothing prevents you from taking damage, makes submitting and enduring the rape an option. But it's only a half-measure, since you'll need to escape anyway. All it does is let you get (in theory) timing to minimize the damage next loop. All it is, is delaying the inevitable escape (or death, if you just plain don't have enough health I guess). And even then...

    What I suggest is making the time between the enemy's climax and when he starts up again a window of opportunity to where you can struggle without taking damage and potentially escape, taking advantage of the enemy's momentary lapse of strength to get away unharmed. You could also extend upon that and add some consequence of the enemy finishing; maybe you take a penalty to attack power for a little while or your walk speed is slowed. Maybe the game keeps track of how many times your enemies have finished, and keeping that count low (or even zero) can have some effects (or simply be bragging rights). Or maybe it's the opposite, and if you break out of a grapple _before_ the enemy climaxes the enemy is stunned for a few? There's a lot of ways you could take this, but the main point is that you have a _reasonable choice_ in whether to try and get away before the enemy climaxes or not, with both options having their merits.

    Because the way it's implemented right now, the grapple system is practically a quick-time button mashing event that you have to keep doing over and over again until you get it right. And one that punishes you for _trying_, but says _you have to try anyway_. That's not a gameplay mechanic, that's psychological abuse. (Which is actually kind of ironic.)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Labcoat having a chance of recovery is intended. I should write that down actually.

      I will revisit the grapple mechanics later today, you're right that it may be a little too tough now but it will take a few tweaks to make it decent.

      I've thought about the penalties, they will appear later in the development but for now I will concentrate on other game aspects. As for grapple damage, players can opt to enable/disable them in the future.

      Thanks for the detailed input. Any other bugs?

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    2. Nothing I could find right off the bat. Your programming seems pretty solid. Also, I assume the alt-fire is to be changed later on, since the ammo-consuming alt-fire of your main weapon is exactly equal to the free second weapon (both attacks are shotgun blasts that deal the same damage, it's just one of them consumes ammo and the other doesn't).

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    3. I was going to mention that from a gameplay perspective the new grapple system really doesnt make sense. Maybe from a porn one if I think hard about it but i just think it needs rethinking. I would comment more about ideas but im too tired right now. maybe tomorrow -_- zzzz

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    4. Oh and before i forget cuz i will tomorrow lol i wanted to mention some other things.
      1 someone mentioned the zoom being too much. Im fine with how it looks, maybe if its a possible option to choose your zoom level?

      2 When walking from one room to the next, if youre holding the walk key down, you walk a step or two and stop. You have to release the walk key and press again to start walking.

      3 whats with the kanji looking text that shoots out during climax? Is it a placeholder thing for a later effect 0_o?

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    5. 1. I will look into it.
      2. Somehow walking into a new room makes it forget the button being pressed. I have yet to find out why.
      3. Actually its application doesn't seem appropriate in the game. I'll likely take it out in the next release.

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  6. This may just be personal preference, but I'd like to hear more "pumping" noises during climax. I've always disliked when climax sounds are just SQLCH or SQUISH or whatever, like you are squeezing a sudsy sponge.

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  7. He has returned! This is probably my favorite h-game project currently happening.

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  8. Allright pretty good i would say, working fine and its fun
    I like the detail that there are multiple phases for standing up after a knockdown <3
    and the Z+Up backward jump looks fucking fancy with the the coat!

    I have 1 suggestion: You probably could remove the knockback from the second ammo type (shotgun-ish) when she is kneeling on the ground ^.^
    (just an idea, might be tooo much work for a small detail but i wanted to share it :P )

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    1. The animations don't transition well IMO. If I ever finish the more important parts, I'll rework them.

      Not worried about shot behaviours. They will change.

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  9. You should decrease the zoom slightly upon being grappled. Right now, it zooms in so much that, for me at least, it makes me very aware of the fact that the girl is composed of very few pixels.

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  10. Possessed flying lab coats ? Damn, there's potential there.

    It would be nice if (eventually, of course) we could remap controls or use a pad. Or just shift one column to the right, for a temporary fix (X,C,V,B). Temporary because noone thinks of the poor, poor dvorak people.

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    1. Okay I'll look into adding gamepad support. Just another to-do on the list. Would be heartless to deny Dvorak'ers of the fun.

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    2. Awesome. Much appreciated.

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    3. Actually, keymapping is incredibly important for any PC game, as is controller support. It's like with first/third person games and axis-inversion - the more options you give the player to allow them to control the game more comfortably, the better. You've got no idea how much I'm absolutely sick of games using the ASDZXC +arrow keys control setup, and how nearly none of them allow for keymapping to some decent keys.

      I wish more of them would pay a bit more attention to proper game design practices. :/

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  11. Problems with start a exe file:
    "Extracting file failed. It is most likely cause by low memory(low disc space or swapping file) or corrupted Cabinet file."

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    Replies
    1. Maybe try the other mirrors? Which did you download from? Mega/RS/DepFiles?

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. I found the solution. My Sandbox block this application, and I still have no idea why;/

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  12. I'm loving this demo, I kinda preferred the grapple break in the first .5 but it's still good. Well you add multiple monsters on the girl? Like 2 blobs 2 coats x or 2 - 3 blob men. Another cool idea trap coats looks like a regular lab coat but one you put it on it kinda traps you for some kinda bondage or S&M type of thing. It could attack you instantly or randomly in the stage after you put it on. You can color it off white or mother of pearl to tell the difference between it and a normal coat.

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    Replies
    1. I think I can ..but it'll be severely limited. Like limited only to multiples of the same enemy. This isn't something necessary for the game, just nice to have.

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    2. That would still be cool because it looks weird when you have 3 blobs sitting there waiting to get it's turn when there are other open holes to be used.

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  13. I know probably sound really dumb, but at the beginning of the game it explains to you that to increase and decrease your health you have to press the keys +/- ; and I just can't locate these keys; being pressing everything as well as the seemingly - and + keys and nothing works. May I please get some help on this?

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    Replies
    1. Use numpad's +/- to manipulate HP as mirai pointed out.

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    2. Yes, numpad. Highly inconvenient for us tenkeyless folks.

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  14. I use the keys on the numeric pad that

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  15. I need a version of this for my cellphone :-)

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  16. *kkkzzzzt!* Never give up! Trust your instincts!

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  17. Good to hear you still live and the game is still going!!

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  18. Question what process did you use to make the charger sprite?

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    1. All done with the gm:studio sprite editor because I develop labcoax using it, though I think you can use other 3rd party editors to make it.

      From my searches, there's for windows: graphicsGale, aseprite, Spriter, EDGE.
      Mac: pixen

      But I know nothing of compatibility though.

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  19. Thanks because I plan on making a game myself, im only in the character design stage since I can't program and I have the main characters design done. But you and kyreiru inspire me

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    1. I got sand in my eyes.

      If you plan on using GM:Studio and making a platformer, kyrieru has a basic platformer template on his site that you can use. Good luck

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    2. You only get to see people's response to games like these, as little text boxes saying "ya i liked it" on the internet, but don't let self-consciousness fool you into thinking that's all they are. There are people out there who care. You have no idea who I am, and I've literally checked your blog every day for over a year (or however long it's been). Yes, even during the long span where you had real life shit, and didn't update the blog.

      I mean, if 500 people buy your game, that's enough people to fill a fucking auditorium. And that's only looking at the people who had the means to actually purchase the game, so you can probably more than double that number (I'm guessing).

      Very, VERY few people ever do anything interesting enough that they can measure the number of people that show up to check it out, in the fucking THOUSANDS.

      You shouldn't hope that you might one day make a huge game and inspire someone. Success isn't what really inspires people. Success entices people. Seeing someone who is motivated enough to actually go forth and try to do something, something that tons of people think about every day but almost all will neglect out of fear or apathy... You're already inspiring.

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    3. Yeah, Kurovadis sold 10,000 copies. Assuming the same amount pirated it, that's 20,000 copies. That's enough to fill some STADIUMS.

      Started by doing the same thing you're doing.

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    4. Thank you textbook of motivational speeches. It puts me a step in the proper direction.

      Also, your avatar the spitting cat?

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    5. Yeah, it's barfing, haha. I thought it was funny.

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  20. Sweet i downloaded it, I'll give it a try on my day off. I couldn't find the sprite maker in GM so im using Photoshop to practice making sprites.

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    1. right click sprites on teh left and click create sprite...

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  21. Aww, no April update. ;_;

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    1. I apologize. I'll make it up with a random post

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  22. Progress report?

    Even if the progress report is "I've been busy, sorry no progress", people (or at least I) like to hear that you are alive and haven't burnt out.

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    Replies
    1. I keep putting off an update post. I'll post something tonight fo'shure.

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  23. Mr. Data is it appropriate to send you e-mails for longer suggestions, or do you prefer that they are made here?

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    1. Anyhow really. After all I did publicly display my email.
      Though if you don't mind sharing with the masses, they can contribute to the ideas you have.

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