The tech demo released two weeks ago received some criticism and I felt it was right for the most part. The simplified control scheme resulted into an obstacle to enjoy the game for some players so that was the first thing I tried to fix.
More in depth, intervision mode is turned on using a separate key. Bot instances keep its yaw angles fixed, the ‘look at you' feature wasn't at all a design decision by the way. Switching bots doesn't involve aiming at all since once a bot is selected, it keeps selected until a new bot is sighted (or target gets behind something). The camera traveling during bot switch only happens if destination bot is in a different reality. And finally, slow-motion keeps working after bot switch if player holds the switch button instead tapping it. Video showing all of this:
The jumpad item was initially meant to be upgraded at some point, I also went after it since its implementation was rather glitchy. New jumpad simply sticks to the surface no matter its orientation, this opens up many more possibilities. Different properties can be used/combined to make possible multiple puzzles: fixed impulse, trampoline mode, 45 degrees output or simple plate usage. It isn't used extensively during the tech demo, but it will in a near future.
There are also some questions floating in the air. One is about difficulty; I believe there are no easy or hard puzzles in the end but more or less prepared players for a specific problem. Some players may need extra coaching, with adequate puzzle progression the frustration decreases up to minimal levels. The new demo should be better at this; I'd like to know what do you think. Remember the order: play first -> feedback later ;)
And just another, more general, question: mixing puzzles with exploration/action is the way to go or would you prefer it to stick only with puzzles? Thanks for your support, please share your thoughts, that's the only thing I ask in return for my work.
YEY! Awesome!
I will keep tracking, and Play the demo! =)
aw apparently my computer can't handle this mod. it crashes soon after start up :(
Hmm I'm just guessing this is an old CPU, without SSE instructions maybe?
I don't know This is a newer comp and it can't play this but a old one that I have can (its as old as windows xp.)
Apparently, this error is just low free space on the drive Steam is installed. Fix: remove unneeded stuff until the error disappears.
I like this new version alot more. Having dual view and switching between bots on different buttons made things alot smoother and easier to execute, and what you did with the trampolines was very intuitive and leaves alot more room for interesting things to do with them.
As for your question about difficulty I think currently the difficulty is pretty fair. Some puzzles might leave you stumped for a bit (one of the rooms shortly after the teleport bot was introduced definitely left me stumped) but are solvable if you have the patience to buckle down and puzzle it out.
With your other question though I really do prefer exploration/action with some puzzles mixed up over just room after room filled with puzzles. The way you showed off puzzles in the preview videos of this mod in its early days was absolutely amazing and it would be nice to see that aesthetic turned into a full fledged game.
All in all this tech demo is a vast improvement over the last. Heres hoping you can turn this into more than just a tech demo.
Thanks for the feedback, yeah the intention is to expand this concept in ways that make puzzle solving more rewarding, something that makes you go further not only for the sake of just solving more puzzles. It still requires a layer of stuff on top on it, let's speak technical yeah ^^
I haven't played the demo yet, but i wanted to answer your question about action and exploration. Personally, I think it would be good to make quite a distinct separating between action/exploration sections and puzzle sections. I find nothing more infuriating than a puzzle I have "solved", but cannot finish due to "action" pieces. I do not find it satisfying finishing a section after hundreds of failed tries.
Personally, i think you have an excellent *puzzle* concept, and should really focus on making sure it reaches it's potential before throwing in frustrating sections.
all i can say that Source Engine, is epic.
you can do miracles with it, haha. keep up the epic work guys. ^^