Sanctuary? And a couple of issues. Thread - Alpha Squad

Hi DragonDivide Dev team!

First of all, let me start by complimenting you guys on the game. The artwork is UNBELIEVABLE! Probably THE best looking indie game on XBLA - so kudos on that. The soundtrack is awesome too, seriously who wrote these tracks? they're epic. The overall concept of the game and the gameplay itself are also brilliant, i've been looking forward to this game for a very long time!
The game has massive potential but i can't help but think it's being hindered by a few fundamental problems that are hard to overlook as an end-user.

1. The networking issue whereby it occasionally drops you from your own game. - Now i've read the forum and have since changed my settings to invite only and the problem hasn't persisted so this is fine for me as i'm only playing it locally with a friend.

2. The difficulty level seems far too extreme, as soon as the enemies with guns appear they have the ability to drop you within a couple of shots.

3. The shotgun (and many other weapons) seem completely redundant. You spend your hard earned cash on an 'upgrade' and the shotgun has a terrible rate of fire and doesn't seem to offer much benefit (Perhaps if the shot spread somewhat this would compensate this?) and also it only has 8 bullets, which means once it runs out i have to pause to go to the armory and buy another one, thus breaking up the flow of gameplay drastically. Leading me on to my next point...

4. Stackability. Why can't we stack ammo? the ability to stack ammo would be extremely useful for maintaining the flow of the game, as currently i'm interrupting play for myself and others by having to trawl through the menus to the armory to keep buying guns. More importantly, the ability to alternate between weapons would be extremely useful! As often some guns you pick up are somewhat of a hindrance, and i find myself using up all the ammo on purpose before moving on to the next area purely because i'm better off with the default machine gun, also i would like to be able to find/purchase a good weapon and keep it tucked away for a sticky situation that may occur later in the level (such as the 1st level boss who's rockets are so overpowered and unavoidable that, if by yourself, he kills you within a matter of seconds if you dont have the money to keep stopping and buying health kits)

And last, but by no means least, and i CANNOT believe this hasn't been asked yet (so apologies if this is a stupid question) but WHAT THE F is the sanctuary!? what does it do? why is it there? taunting me with it's beautifully drawn chair and bed that entice me to believe they have some mystical power that once figured out will aid me in my quest?? I feel like i'm being really stupid here, but there's no explanation of it anywhere. It leaves me dazed and confused.

Other than that, this game is a great offering to xbla indie marketplace. With a bit of polishing, this definitely rivals games that are available on XBLA at a much steeper price being created by teams at big name development companies.
Big love for the game overall, i know with a couple of patches this game is going to be everything i wanted and more

Barkers87

Edited by: Barkers87

Hi Barkers87!

1. Network issue came by surprise. There will be a patch out next Wednesday to Thursday when it passes review. That will be the end of it.

2. I am experimenting with raising the default player health and increasing the amount of health the normal health boxes give. I think that the frequency of the drops are fine, but they just need to heal more.

3. I have heard this as well. I have raised the amount of ammo slightly and have increased the spread. Its main benefit is to take out a group of three or more guys who are surrounding you and it works better than the machine gun if you are surrounded.

4. When I was designing the layout I wanted to make things as simple as posible with few button interactions and inventory upkeep. I was thinking of some point porting the game to different platforms such as Windows 7 Phones and wanted a somewhat unified interface. Weapon switching is on the wish-list but it won't be on the next patch that deals with more immediate concerns.

5. The girls who you rescue or fulfill requirements for, will appear in the Sanctuary. Basically each girl becomes a peice of the puzzle, putting together a complete picture.

Thank you for your support! We will not be able to make games like this without getting the word out, so let your friends know about Alpha Squad!

Edited by: DragonDivide