Storm the Castle by MasterZenith
8 - 27 - 2015 UPDATE - Game has been hosted properly. Now, enjoy this piece of crap we made :P
I KNOW THIS WILL SOUND ODD, BUT WHEN YOU GIVE CRITICISM, COULD YOU PLEASE BE TRUTHFUL? I UNDERSTAND WE ALL LIKE TO BE TOUCHY / FEELY HERE WITH OUR WORDS BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS TO SEEM LIKE A DICK, BUT, WE WANT TO IMPROVE THIS CRAPPY DEMO INTO SOMETHING YOU'LL ENJOY, AND WE CAN ONLY DO THAT IF YOU ARE HONEST. WE NEED TO KNOW THE FAULTS SO WE CAN IMPROVE ON IT FOR A BETTER GAME! DON'T HOLD BACK!!!!
We couldn't get most of the features we wanted in it, but we will continue to work on this game over the following weeks or two :)
HOW TO PLAY
USING A MOUSE - Left click one of the seven dirt paths, then, left click on a unit to spawn that unit. Spawning a unit costs Monster Points.
USING A KEYBOARD - Use numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6 or 7 to highlight one of the seven dirt paths, then use the the left click on your mouse to pick a unit to spawn it into that lane.
OBJECTIVE
For each unit you get across the map, you score 1 point.
If the enemy gets 5 units past your tents, you lose.
For each enemy you kill, you gain Monster Points. Use Monster Points to summon your Units.
FIGURE OUT WHICH UNITS COUNTER WHICH UNITS FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY!!
Issues we didn't get to fix / Future fixes / Skipped content / Make time
- Many animations aren't working
- A few ranged units aren't attacking at range
- One unit was cut
- Sound effects were cut
- Multiple maps were cut
- Unit upgrades were cut
- Destructible walls were cut
- Proper use of portraits and stats were cut
- Not all unit portraits are working
KNOWN BUGS
-Game ends for no apparent reason.
-The Blazit_Mage (Red fire guy with top hat) is currently Over Powered. The best way to kill it is to summon a Rock Quarry Ludum(The big fat orange rock monster).
I KNOW THIS WILL SOUND ODD, BUT WHEN YOU GIVE CRITICISM, COULD YOU PLEASE BE TRUTHFUL? I UNDERSTAND WE ALL LIKE TO BE TOUCHY / FEELY HERE WITH OUR WORDS BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS TO SEEM LIKE A DICK, BUT, WE WANT TO IMPROVE THIS CRAPPY DEMO INTO SOMETHING YOU'LL ENJOY, AND WE CAN ONLY DO THAT IF YOU ARE HONEST. WE NEED TO KNOW THE FAULTS SO WE CAN IMPROVE ON IT FOR A BETTER GAME! DON'T HOLD BACK!!!!
We couldn't get most of the features we wanted in it, but we will continue to work on this game over the following weeks or two :)
HOW TO PLAY
USING A MOUSE - Left click one of the seven dirt paths, then, left click on a unit to spawn that unit. Spawning a unit costs Monster Points.
USING A KEYBOARD - Use numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6 or 7 to highlight one of the seven dirt paths, then use the the left click on your mouse to pick a unit to spawn it into that lane.
OBJECTIVE
For each unit you get across the map, you score 1 point.
If the enemy gets 5 units past your tents, you lose.
For each enemy you kill, you gain Monster Points. Use Monster Points to summon your Units.
FIGURE OUT WHICH UNITS COUNTER WHICH UNITS FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY!!
Issues we didn't get to fix / Future fixes / Skipped content / Make time
- Many animations aren't working
- A few ranged units aren't attacking at range
- One unit was cut
- Sound effects were cut
- Multiple maps were cut
- Unit upgrades were cut
- Destructible walls were cut
- Proper use of portraits and stats were cut
- Not all unit portraits are working
KNOWN BUGS
-Game ends for no apparent reason.
-The Blazit_Mage (Red fire guy with top hat) is currently Over Powered. The best way to kill it is to summon a Rock Quarry Ludum(The big fat orange rock monster).
| Web | http://hiddenshrimpgames.com/Release/ |
| Original URL | https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-33/?action=preview&uid=55484 |
Ratings
| Coolness | 30% | 1942 |
| Overall(Jam) | 2.69 | 953 |
| Fun(Jam) | 2.20 | 1051 |
| Graphics(Jam) | 2.87 | 759 |
| Innovation(Jam) | 2.47 | 904 |
| Theme(Jam) | 3.00 | 830 |
The game was created in such a way that it needs a host to play, but we don't have a way of hosting the game.
We messed up, and as such, you should all find our programmer and flog him repeatedly.
We do plan on finishing this game in the coming weeks.
:(
Game is now hosted properly and works. Well, works meaning what we had done in time for LD33... not works in the sense, well, that its close to finished ha.
We are working on finishing the game right now. When it is done, we'll update this post, and I'll send you a PM with the update.
Thank you for that feedback. I'll make the instructions easier to follow in the description above.
@QuestionableQuality
Thank you for pointing that out. I'm sorry that bug made out shitty game even shittier for you! :( We'll look into that!
As such, the game is unplayable. I did give u good ratings for gfx and theme tho :)
If you want a good reference on how a decent tug of war strategy feels like try "Warlords: Call to Arms" on Kongregate (flash game).
I wish you best of luck.
DC
Los Pixelados
@Los.oixelados - I am sorry for the bugs. I am only the art guy for this game, so I'll take your +1 compliments and pass the -1 Criticisms over to the coders :) Also, thank you for the game to reference for a tug of war kind of game play. Much appreciated!
@Dcolgan - You are 100% correct. The game moves way to fast. Information is too complex. You said exactly what I feared. In our new version of the game, there will be a tutorial level with less units so you can get a feel for the game before throwing you feet first into the fire.
Thank you two for your opinions! Not you, neoVictrix. Why you haven't died of HIV yet is beyond me.
But seriously, that black box thing is something that needs to be looked at, as well as being able to mostly zerg-spam a lane without worry (outside of running out of points to spend).
First off - way too many things happening way too fast. Your first order of business should be to work with the pacing and slowly introduce the player to the mechanics of the game, one by one and ideally explain how things work through a in game tutorial.
Second thing is readability in general is pretty bad. You have lots of units and options but it's really hard as a player to realize the difference between these units and why to use one over the other. Yes there is text there to explain but its hard to read it and especially when you have so much of it, you don't have time to figure out what all the UI elements are before you're dead.
Those are the two biggest issues.
My suggestion: scope down. A lot. try just having 1 or 2 units available, and 1 enemy type. Make them work really well. Create a proper UI where you can see, ideally with symbols or something that makes it obvious with a quick glance how much health, damage, cost etc. the unit has, the status of the game overall, where enemies are coming to attack etc. Work on introducing the player to how the game works slowly, give the player time to experiment and familiarize himself with the mechanics.
When you have a really strong, readable, playable and fun foundation, THEN you can think about adding more content. Now you have so much stuff in there, but the foundation isn't there - so it's all for nothing.
E.g. I had no idea about the whole monster points and summoning mechanics or even that I needed to get my units over to the other side. Yes you had a manual written down below the game but this isn't the 90s - noone reads that.
You are 100% correct on all points. I couldn't agree with you more. Thank you for being honest with us. That is what we wanted, and you show us respect by giving what we asked.
This will be all taken into account for the next LD!
:)
Thank you for the kind words. We are working on how the player gets information about the units better in the next iteration of the game.
Take care :)