Demo Citadel Stormer 2 | Action Platformer [UPDATED 2/12/22]

pixeltroid

Member
View attachment 32263

DEMO 1.1 has been released on 07/09/20

Project Background:

This is a follow up to a short platform game I made for the 34th GMC gamejam. I was quite happy with the way it turned out. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make it my main project for the next few months. I am hoping to build it into a full length game.

Game Story:
I'm still fleshing it out, but it's basically about stopping an evil AI that's wreaking havoc on the world with it's army of killer robots!

Current gameplay features:
- Simple straightforward old-school 2D platformer action.
- Fight using 3 different guns with varying attack damage. (More guns will be added!)
- Avoid hazards - instadeath spikes, electric bolts etc.
- Fight a variety of robot enemies.
- Game save and load.

Screenshots:


View attachment 34290



View attachment 34289



GIFS:







Demo notes 22/06/20: As of now, I have included most of the game's core mechanics in the demo. The demo contains the first level of the game in it's entirety. For the purpose of the demo, I have included all 3 weapons in the first level. This will change in the final version.
 
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pixeltroid

Member
Guys/gals of GMC, please check out the demo. It's less than 10 minutes of game play. I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions!
 
Ok, I had a go at it. Very nice little game with a lot of obvious love and polish put into it (I especially like that the bullet fire lights up your characters little pompadour). Here's my feedback:

- It would be nicer and easier to control the character if the vertical jump velocity was a little weaker, there were points when I was standing and trying to jump onto a ledge but kept shooting right up and hitting spikes on the ceiling (less vertical velocity combined with a lesser increase in gravity per step would achieve the same overall jump height, without the apparent rocket boots the character seems to have).
- O and L for shoot and interact are a little weird. Maybe Space for shoot and F for interact?
- I had no idea that the spikes would kill me, they looked very non-threatening even though they do technically come to a point, maybe work on the art for them a touch more to make it obvious that they are an instant-kill.
- I kept dying after the respawn section and basically got stuck there. The platform goes back up when you restart there, so you don't have a solid base to walk across (encountering another instant-kill death pit of spikes if you miss the now required jump) and the lasers on either side of the platform area are just an ammo soak with no "fun" in taking them out (making them feel like a needless time-waster). I ran out of ammo a few times at that point and, even though I got past there a few times, I died enough that I hit the game over screen.

Overall really nice presentation and, as I said above, obviously a lot of time spent polishing the small details which makes the game feel very cohesive and fun.
 
T

teamrocketboyz

Guest
I'm going to give this a go later. Just doing a spot of gardening at the minute to get my mind off programming lol.
 
T

teamrocketboyz

Guest
Gave it a go......... i thought it was brilliant. very well polished, only problem is that i feel the jump is a little too high. The music is addictive and all the mechanics seem there.
 

pixeltroid

Member
Ok, I had a go at it. Very nice little game with a lot of obvious love and polish put into it (I especially like that the bullet fire lights up your characters little pompadour). Here's my feedback:

- It would be nicer and easier to control the character if the vertical jump velocity was a little weaker, there were points when I was standing and trying to jump onto a ledge but kept shooting right up and hitting spikes on the ceiling (less vertical velocity combined with a lesser increase in gravity per step would achieve the same overall jump height, without the apparent rocket boots the character seems to have).
- O and L for shoot and interact are a little weird. Maybe Space for shoot and F for interact?
- I had no idea that the spikes would kill me, they looked very non-threatening even though they do technically come to a point, maybe work on the art for them a touch more to make it obvious that they are an instant-kill.
- I kept dying after the respawn section and basically got stuck there. The platform goes back up when you restart there, so you don't have a solid base to walk across (encountering another instant-kill death pit of spikes if you miss the now required jump) and the lasers on either side of the platform area are just an ammo soak with no "fun" in taking them out (making them feel like a needless time-waster). I ran out of ammo a few times at that point and, even though I got past there a few times, I died enough that I hit the game over screen.

Overall really nice presentation and, as I said above, obviously a lot of time spent polishing the small details which makes the game feel very cohesive and fun.
thanks for your feedback! Happy to see that the little details I put time into creating are being noticed. :D

- Yes. I will refine the jump.
- regarding keyboard controls, I wanted the move buttons mapped on the left side of the keyboard and action buttons (shoot, interact and dash) on the right....similar to the layout of game controllers. But I will see if I can add alternate buttons.
- regarding the spikes, I'll see if I can make them more intimidating and pointy I guess.
- the spike pits and jumping challenges were part of the level design. It requires the player to execute perfect jumps from the edge of the platform. But I'll probably have to get the player used to making edge-jumps (?) without the risk of dying -- before introducing the spike pits. Will do that in a training level or something.

Thanks for the feedback again!
 

pixeltroid

Member
Gave it a go......... i thought it was brilliant. very well polished, only problem is that i feel the jump is a little too high. The music is addictive and all the mechanics seem there.
thanks for your input and comments. I'm still refining things right now. The player jumps around 3 times his height...similar to Mario. It's not very realistic but IMO, it will be required for jumping challenges that appear in later levels.
 

Mk.2

Member
- Movement with WASD and other actions on the right side is actually my preferred control scheme for action platformers, but it's common to have the main action keys aligned horizontally.

- Regarding movement and jumping, some coyote time would improve it. That section where you have to jump up through opposing ledges often led to mistiming the jump and falling down. It didn't feel like that was part of a platforming challenge, it just felt like I could move a bit further before jumping, which is the reason many games implement coyote time. It makes a huge difference.

- Are there plans to add an attack for when the player runs out of ammo? Being entirely unable to fight enemies once ammo is depleted might lead to enemies acting as obstacles which the player can't pass, unless this is considered in the level design.

- One of the first things the player does in the game is drop into a pit without knowing what is below. This teaches the player that it's safe to drop into pits, until they discover there are insta-kill spikes in the game, and from then on might be hesitant to drop into pits because there's no way to know whether it's safe or not.

I captured some footage showing a couple of bugs which can be consistantly recreated. The round flying enemies sometimes don't cause damage on collision with the player, and the player can stick to the sides of the electric obstacles.

 
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pixeltroid

Member
- Movement with WASD and other actions on the right side is actually my preferred control scheme for action platformers, but it's common to have the main action keys aligned horizontally.

- Regarding movement and jumping, some coyote time would improve it. That section where you have to jump up through opposing ledges often led to mistiming the jump and falling down. It didn't feel like that was part of a platforming challenge, it just felt like I could move a bit further before jumping, which is the reason many games implement coyote time. It makes a huge difference.

- Are there plans to add an attack for when the player runs out of ammo? Being entirely unable to fight enemies once ammo is depleted might lead to enemies acting as obstacles which the player can't pass, unless this is considered in the level design.

- One of the first things the player does in the game is drop into a pit without knowing what is below. This teaches the player that it's safe to drop into pits, until they discover there are insta-kill spikes in the game, and from then on might be hesitant to drop into pits because there's no way to know whether it's safe or not.

I captured some footage showing a couple of bugs which can be consistantly recreated. The round flying enemies sometimes don't cause damage on collision with the player, and the player can stick to the sides of the electric obstacles.

hey thanks for playing and providing me your valuable feedback.

1. The main action keys will also include "P" for dashing. So the O and P buttons are taken up. So I had to use "L" which is below O for interaction.
2. I will refine jumps. I am currently looking into coyote time (hadn't heard of that term and mechanic until now)
3. I actually thought the ammo provided (as pick ups and enemy drops), for 3 weapons would have been more enough for the player. I'll greatly increase the number of pick-ups scattered on the map but I want players to manage their ammo.
4. Yeah, I will need to fix that issue as well. Perhaps I can come up with something to make it clear that there are spikes around the player, perhaps some tiles that are used only around spike pits.
5. Great find! Thanks for reporting those errors. I forgot to code in damage for contact with those round enemies. With the electric obstacle, it was an issue with collision. I've fixed both the issues.

Once again, thank you for playing the demo!
 

Mk.2

Member
No problem, will be happy to play the next update and give more feedback.

Regarding ammo, I'd say there definitely was enough ammo to deal with the enemies in the level, but the scenario of the player running out (for whatever reason) should still be considered. I think having to reset the level because you ran out of ammo and there's an enemy blocking the path is something that should be avoided in the design, rather than leaving it up to the player to anticipate that.

Good luck with the next update!
 

pixeltroid

Member
Devlog #2 (29/06/20)

Updates.

Okay. Time to present some updates on the game.


1. New backgrounds. These have an "outdoor" feel. I quite like how it turned out. :)



2. Backup weapon. Players complained of running out of ammo. So I made a Tazer gun that is useful in close range and can be used without an ammo limit.



3. Gold coins! If you collect a certain amount you get an extra life.



4. Show case of existing weapons: Tazer, Submachine gun, Assault Rifle and Shotgun.




I will add these to the next version of the Demo.


You can download the previous version at these locations:

DOWNLOAD FROM GAMEJOLT.COM
DOWNLOAD FROM ITCH.IO
 
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Ladi_Pix3l

Member
Hi there,

Small feedback but first. I'd like to say that I'm also working on a platformer shooter as well so I was interested on the approach you took.

Everything was fine and the control was... fine. Not a fan of 'W' being jump due to the nature of this mega man like style. I find myself wanting to press 'L' or 'O' for this but I understand why. Also there's a real heavy spark in gravity when letting go of 'W' (or jump in this case). Feels off a bit.

Other than that, it's a fine game with a high potential.
 

pixeltroid

Member
Hi there,

Small feedback but first. I'd like to say that I'm also working on a platformer shooter as well so I was interested on the approach you took.

Everything was fine and the control was... fine. Not a fan of 'W' being jump due to the nature of this mega man like style. I find myself wanting to press 'L' or 'O' for this but I understand why. Also there's a real heavy spark in gravity when letting go of 'W' (or jump in this case). Feels off a bit.

Other than that, it's a fine game with a high potential.
hi! thanks for taking the time to give feedback.

I've heard from some other players that the jumps feel "off" or that there are some issues with gravity. I'm still trying to figure out what I can do to improve the jump. :)

That said, I will add an alternate jump button on the right side of the keyboard.
 

pixeltroid

Member
Devlog #3 (27/07/20)

It's been nearly a month since the last update. I'm proud to say that I got a LOT done in that time and met most of the goals I had set for myself. Here are the highlights:

1. World 1 has been COMPLETED! I finished designing all the levels for World 1. I could keep polishing it but I've decided it's good enough and have moved on to other tasks. Currently World 1 has a total of 3 levels and 1 boss fight and adds up to (approximately) around 30 minutes to beat it. IMO it is a pretty solid amount of time for one world!
GOAL.png



2. BOSS BATTLE!
I made the very first boss for the game. This big yellow floating robot shows up at the end of World 1. He attacks by shooting projectiles from his arm cannons and can also inflict massive touch damage. I quite like how it's animation turned out, although the actual sprites need more polishing in terms of shading and detail. I'm thinking it needs an jet pack like device to convey how he's actually flying, because right now he's just floating about in mid-air.




3. Thwomp-like enemy! I made a bunch of new enemies for World 2. Among them is a thwomp-like enemy. Insta-death if one of them lands on you!




4. Deadly Drone! Another enemy I made is this drone that shoots at you at an angle. It's bullets destroy crates you might hide behind. And when defeated, it will dive towards you! I like this design so much that I plan on recycling it to create more variants. I'm thinking that other models will shoot heat-seeking missiles or even generate a flame. Maybe I will create a "good" version of this drone and have it follow the player. Ideas welcome!



Other tasks completed:
- New tilesets and backgrounds (as seen in the gif above).
- Level designs for World 2. The basic rooms are done, but I'm still tinkering around with enemy and trap placements.
- Fine tuning of enemy behaviors. Some enemies were too difficult (or too easy). Those issues have been ironed out for the most part.
- Balancing difficulty. Added more health and ammo pick ups, deleted some enemies from the maps.

I will be releasing a new, more polished Demo soon and that will include most of the objects showcased in this thread so far. But if you haven't played Citadel Stormer 2 yet you can download the existing version (1.0) at these locations!

DOWNLOAD FROM GAMEJOLT.COM
DOWNLOAD FROM ITCH.IO

It contains the full first level and takes around 10 minutes to beat. It also demonstrates the controls and the basic structure of the level design!

Thank you for reading!
 

pixeltroid

Member
I think I was able to go through the electricity itself, unless I was positioned near the middle of it, in which case it damaged the player.
Hmm. That thing isn't supposed to hurt the player. It just acts as a solid wall. Let me check the object and get back.
 

Yrbiax

Member
Hey, i tried your demo.

Combat was pretty fun. I liked enemy designs. :)

I think that pixel perfect jump that you had to make after save point was bit annoing, died many times there.
Also elevator wasnt there when i loaded.

Finally made it bit further, but then i got this error:
___________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
at time step215
of time line tl_hopper_ai1:

Unable to find any instance for object index '38' name 'obj_target1'
at gml_Script_scr_chase_target
############################################################################################
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
stack frame is
gml_Script_scr_chase_target (line 0)
Timeline_tl_hopper_ai1_9
 

pixeltroid

Member
Hey, i tried your demo.

Combat was pretty fun. I liked enemy designs. :)

I think that pixel perfect jump that you had to make after save point was bit annoing, died many times there.
Also elevator wasnt there when i loaded.

Finally made it bit further, but then i got this error:
___________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
at time step215
of time line tl_hopper_ai1:

Unable to find any instance for object index '38' name 'obj_target1'
at gml_Script_scr_chase_target
############################################################################################
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
stack frame is
gml_Script_scr_chase_target (line 0)
Timeline_tl_hopper_ai1_9
Hi. Thanks for trying out the demo. Also thanks for spotting that error. I'll fix it asap. And I guess it's time to release a new demo.
 
R

Red Phantom

Guest
Here is my gameplay video of your game:

Really love the graphics, they are cool and very clean.

Got stuck after the first save-point, maybe you could make that jump a little easier.
 

pixeltroid

Member
Here is my gameplay video of your game:

Really love the graphics, they are cool and very clean.

Got stuck after the first save-point, maybe you could make that jump a little easier.
Hey thanks for the playthrough!

You can actually destroy those maroon electric field generators that's hindering your path after the first save point.

In the current build, I've made that clear via NPC dialogue (although I should have done so earlier).
 

pixeltroid

Member
Devlog #4 (07/09/20)

Hi! It's been more than a month since the last update, and I thought it's high time I posted something!

First, I'd like to say that due to personal issues, I was unable to do any meaningful work on the game for a few weeks since the last update. But those matters have been sorted out (mostly), and as of now I'm back on the project, and fully determined to finish it as per my original schedule.

Anyway, a small announcement: At this point, I've decided to release a new demo (version 1.1). The demo contains the first 3 levels and a boss battle (around 30-45 minutes of play) and should give you a solid idea about the gameplay style and mechanics you can expect in the final game.

Here's the "official" faux packaging + promo art for it! :p


CS2v1_1_boxart_layout720.png


Demo features:

1. Take on 3 levels of intense platforming action.
2. Fight past hordes of robot enemies and deadly traps. If you make it to the end, a giant boss awaits you!
3. Collect and use 4 weapons with varying attack damage.
4. Game save/load system lets you save your progress and come back to it later.
5. Brand new soundtrack composed for this game!

You can download the Citadel Stormer 2 | Demo v1.1 at these locations:

DOWNLOAD FROM GAMEJOLT.COM

DOWNLOAD FROM ITCH.IO

Anyway, that's it for this update. I'm getting back to creating new levels and content for the game and will update this thread as and when I create stuff.
So I hope you enjoy the Citadel Stormer 2 demo. Looking forward to see what you all think of it. Any and all feedback is welcome!

Here are some screens:

CS2_screen6.png

CS2_screen10.png

CS2_screen2.png

CS2_screen5.png
 
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I'll give the new demo a playthrough sometime in the next week or so when I have some spare time, but glad to hear that you're "back on the project". It's super easy for RL to shunt stuff aside.
 

Ladi_Pix3l

Member
I'm mad for two reasons captain.

1) No controller support. I get it, "it's on PC so why use a controller." Honestly as a platformer game, it's almost required to have the use of a controller. Since the NES days (or further back), most people relate to controlling a character via D-pad so using WASD as a PC compromise is a little rough. Probably just me. At least for this type of game and the way you control the character, it might benefit from it IMO.

2)W as jump. This goes back to my controller argument. Having up as jump (IMO) works better for fighting games, not platformers. So often enough I find myself pressing L to jump. This I'm sure is a personal problem but it's what hindered my experience from progressing further than expected.

Now for my actual critiques:
- Checkpoints: Although you have them, there not in places I feel need them. Like spots where Spikes can one shot you making you restart the entire section.
- The Shock Gun: You can easily run through the game with just that with no problem. Basically making the machine guns useless. Maybe nerf the gun a bit.
- Extra Lives: The 10 coins per life is fine. but then you have an extra live "Pick up." Since the 10 coins is extremely easy to obtain. this makes this item useless.

Good Stuff:
- Music: It kept me playing and involved to what I was doing in game.
- Art: Very nice background art nd sprites. My eyes weren't sick of is what I'm saying XD
- Level Design: I had no problem moving throughout the level and unlocking pathways felt natural.

Good game!!!
Keep up the good work.
 

pixeltroid

Member
I'm mad for two reasons captain.

1) No controller support. I get it, "it's on PC so why use a controller." Honestly as a platformer game, it's almost required to have the use of a controller. Since the NES days (or further back), most people relate to controlling a character via D-pad so using WASD as a PC compromise is a little rough. Probably just me. At least for this type of game and the way you control the character, it might benefit from it IMO.

2)W as jump. This goes back to my controller argument. Having up as jump (IMO) works better for fighting games, not platformers. So often enough I find myself pressing L to jump. This I'm sure is a personal problem but it's what hindered my experience from progressing further than expected.

Now for my actual critiques:
- Checkpoints: Although you have them, there not in places I feel need them. Like spots where Spikes can one shot you making you restart the entire section.
- The Shock Gun: You can easily run through the game with just that with no problem. Basically making the machine guns useless. Maybe nerf the gun a bit.
- Extra Lives: The 10 coins per life is fine. but then you have an extra live "Pick up." Since the 10 coins is extremely easy to obtain. this makes this item useless.

Good Stuff:
- Music: It kept me playing and involved to what I was doing in game.
- Art: Very nice background art nd sprites. My eyes weren't sick of is what I'm saying XD
- Level Design: I had no problem moving throughout the level and unlocking pathways felt natural.

Good game!!!
Keep up the good work.
Hi thanks for your feedback.

1. There will be controller support for the final version of the game. I fully get that platformers should be ideally played with a control and that the keyboard controls are secondary.
2. Ok. I will add an alternate button for jump.
3. I was thinking about the savepoints issue. Right now, I have placed a savepoint near the center of the map. And the insta-death spikes were meant to add an element of deadliness. I did not want the player to be able to easily walk through the level. But now, I think it's better to make the game player friendly, even if means adding more save points.
4. In later levels, the enemies get stronger and attack you from a distance. Some will be immune to the shock-gun. I will reduce it's power levels a bit though.
5. The extra life pick up will be rare. I don't mind that there are extra coins because I want the player to be able to collect as many lives as possible. Because once it's "game over" its really over and you go back to level 1!

I am glad you liked the game art and that you were comfortable with the level design and music.

And many thanks for your kind words at the end! :D
 
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Mk.2

Member
The enemies blowing up into pieces when you destroy them is satisfying. I like the music, it makes the game feel a bit darker.

Some things I think would improve the game:

- I already suggested adding some coyote time, and I'm suggesting it again. It makes a HUGE difference to a game like this, where there's a lot of platforming and often the potential to be killed by 1 hit death spikes. A few of the old jam games I have on itch.io are from before I started implementing coyote time, and if were to revisit them to make improvements, that would be the number one priority.

- The movement feels a bit too slidy. Acceleration/deceleration is good, but the problem is when you're moving at full speed and turn the opposite direction, it feels like you're on ice.

- Adding bullet impact effects, both visual and audio, when shooting enemies. Also, a more noticable effect for when the player takes a hit.

- This isn't a huge deal, but I would give the shock gun the ability to destroy crates. There's actually an area where the player would get stuck right at the start of the game (after picking up the SMG) if they had no ammo to smash a crate. Obviously, it's unlikely to happen in this particular area since they just acquired the weapon and will have ammo for it, but it's something to keep in mind when designing the levels if you don't add that ability to the shock gun.

I didn't find any bugs this time around, and the new levels are well designed. It feels a lot more polished than the previous demo. Keep it up!
 

pixeltroid

Member
The enemies blowing up into pieces when you destroy them is satisfying. I like the music, it makes the game feel a bit darker.

Some things I think would improve the game:

- I already suggested adding some coyote time, and I'm suggesting it again. It makes a HUGE difference to a game like this, where there's a lot of platforming and often the potential to be killed by 1 hit death spikes. A few of the old jam games I have on itch.io are from before I started implementing coyote time, and if were to revisit them to make improvements, that would be the number one priority.

- The movement feels a bit too slidy. Acceleration/deceleration is good, but the problem is when you're moving at full speed and turn the opposite direction, it feels like you're on ice.

- Adding bullet impact effects, both visual and audio, when shooting enemies. Also, a more noticable effect for when the player takes a hit.

- This isn't a huge deal, but I would give the shock gun the ability to destroy crates. There's actually an area where the player would get stuck right at the start of the game (after picking up the SMG) if they had no ammo to smash a crate. Obviously, it's unlikely to happen in this particular area since they just acquired the weapon and will have ammo for it, but it's something to keep in mind when designing the levels if you don't add that ability to the shock gun.

I didn't find any bugs this time around, and the new levels are well designed. It feels a lot more polished than the previous demo. Keep it up!

hey thanks for your input! I really appreciate it.

- I'm looking into coyote time and how I can add it to my existing movement code. I'm a novice at coding but I'll still take a shot at it. Although my priority right now is to finish off all the levels and enemy types I have planned for the game.
- The movement felt normal to me but I'll tweak some of the settings. Did the slightly slidey controls hinder your movement in any way?
- the enemies flash when hit. That indicates that it's taking hits, Some special enemies emit electricity when shot at. I will add some kind of effect when the player takes a hit though.
- When I first made that level, I did consider a scenario where the player wastes all his ammo and becomes unable to break the crates blocking his path and thus unable to leave that area. But then that would be entirely his fault for wasting all the ammo. So I'm thinking of adding a single spike block, so he can kill himself and re-spawn with extra bullets in the Uzi (Because if you die with 0 bullets, you re-spawn with 50 bullets) and can then break the crates. The purpose of that area was to teach the player that he can break crates by shooting at it. The shock-gun is a back-up for when player completely runs out ammo but I don't think it will occur too frequently. I'm thinking of giving the shock gun other uses, such as activating certain machines.
- I'm happy to hear that there are no bugs (so far).

I'm also glad you thought the demo looks polished! Just out of curiosity, how far did you make it into the demo?
 

pixeltroid

Member
A YouTuber "ASWhaler Gamer" does playthroughs of indie games. He covered Citadel Stormer 2.

Just thought I'd share!

 

pixeltroid

Member
Devlog #5 (16/10/20)

Hey, it's been a while and I just wanted to update this thread with a short note about the game's progress. A lot has been done, but I'd like to focus on the stuff that's exciting to me.

1. New humanoid enemies: I felt the game needed some humanoid enemies so I created a set of "elite soldiers" -- complete with tacticool gear and gas masks. They have pretty much the same weapons as the hero and can deal severe damage if you're not careful around them. I liked these so much I'm planning on adding new variants with deadlier weapons!

Citadel_security.png


2. New levels: Made a number of new levels, all of it carefully planned and laid out by hand! Below is a sample of the many levels that have been created!

map.png

3. Other tasks:

- Refined the code.
- Fixed some collision issues. I noticed that I wasn't taking damage from some enemies.
- Created several background tracks.
- Re-worked enemy and trap placements.
- Lot's of planning and sketching on paper that I hope to implement.

BTW, there's a demo available and it includes the first 3 levels. You can download the latest demo at these locations:

DOWNLOAD FROM GAMEJOLT.COM
DOWNLOAD FROM ITCH.IO

Thanks for reading!
 

pixeltroid

Member
Devlog #6 (05/12/20)

Alright! Time to share a few exciting updates! These were created since the time of the last devlog.

1. New Boss: It's a big purple robot with an elongated head like a xenomorph! Its projectiles follow you around so you'll need to dash around to avoid getting hit. It also frequently generates a force field that protects it from your bullets! So your attacks need to be correctly timed! While it's modelled off the yellow boss I made earlier, it's been heavily refined. I've worked out how it needs to be animated and structured code-wise. I believe I've got something that works for me and I'll be using this as a template to create more bosses and enemies!



2. Dashing: You'll receive the ability to dash at the end of the first world. You can now dash and jump dash. It's very useful to escape enemies, projectiles and hazards! I had actually implemented this during the time of the last devlog but I forgot to include it, so here it is now!


3. Force Field: With a specific power up you can generate your own force field that will protect you from enemy bullets! The duration of its use is limited so you'll have to switch it off when you don't need it. The frame rate of the .gif is too low, but I think it demonstrates what I'm talking about! BTW, I like how the ammo magazine the baddie drops is big as him. RIP Sizes and proportions, I guess!



4. Currently working on:
- New levels with new mechanics.
- New tilesets and backgrounds.
- Lots of new ideas that will be revealed later.
- Fleshing out the story, dialogues and all the fun stuff!

BTW, there's an older demo available and it includes the first 3 levels (Does not include the updates shown in this post). If you haven't already you can download it at these locations:

DOWNLOAD FROM GAMEJOLT.COM
DOWNLOAD FROM ITCH.IO

Thanks for reading!
 

pixeltroid

Member
No devlog, but just wanted to bump this thread to celebrate the arrival of new year as well as remember 2020 as a productive year. Looking forward, I hope to achieve my goals in 2021, i.e., finish, polish and release my game! A BIG THANK YOU to everyone on GMC who has helped me and/or been part of my game dev journey! :)

 

dannerz

Member
I was playing the first level, when i jumped up and found a door after the new gun.
The door didn't seem to open for me. I didn't know what to do next so i closed the program.
I liked the game though.
 

pixeltroid

Member
I was playing the first level, when i jumped up and found a door after the new gun.
The door didn't seem to open for me. I didn't know what to do next so i closed the program.
I liked the game though.
errr...did you try shooting the crates 🤔
 

dannerz

Member
I didn't realize the new gun could hurt wooden crates.
I'm not very good at this game. Died on the spikes.
 

pixeltroid

Member
Devlog #7 (05/01/21)

Alright! Time for the first devlog of 2021. These updates were made since the time of the last devlog, i.e. mid December onwards!

The summary is that over the last month or so, I've been working on ways to tighten the game. By this I mean, I wanted to increase the challenges the player will face -- by means of enemies or special mechanics intended to hinder the player's progress through the game.

1. Magnetic fields : These purple blocks generate magnetic fields that will pull the player towards them if he's standing close enough. While the magnetic fields do not directly damage the player, they still pose a serious threat as they can pull the player off a platform and cause him to fall down, usually onto spikes. Right now, they only work sideways, but I will create variations where they will pull the player upwards and downwards. In future levels, the hero will need to use these magnetic fields to access areas that the he cannot reach by normal means. I feel this little addition has opened up several new design possibilities.




2. New enemy type[ Seeker] : This enemy with a high HP is another menace that appears in spike pit sections. While it avoids direct contact with the player, it will try and knock him off the platform by firing projectiles at him. Very tough. Very difficult to beat. Still being balanced. But I'm generally pleased with how it turned out.



3. New enemy type [Spider robot] : This is a more advanced type of enemy that will appear in the later levels. It protects itself with force field that stop your bullets and will lob explosive projectiles at the player. Other variants of this enemy will launch different types of projectiles. Love this character!



4. New enemy type [Orb variant] : This is a variant of the many egg-shaped enemies that appear commonly throughout the game. It follows the player even through walls, dashes very fast and then changes position. They will appear in groups of two or three. Very annoying! Destroy them upon sight!



5. New world theme: I've decided that the newest world in the game will be set in this rainy hi-tech neon lit city. I know it's very, very cliched but I thought it would add spice things up visually! Plus that look is trending in current year so why not make the most of it!



5. Currently working on:
- New levels!
- Story screen and "cut scenes".
- Illustrations for promo purposes.
- Aesthetically pleasing re-design of Citadel Stormer 2 itch.io page!! This will be revealed very soon!

Anyway, that's it for now!

BTW, there's an older demo available and it includes the first 3 levels (Does not include the updates shown in this post). If you haven't already you can download it at these locations:

DOWNLOAD FROM GAMEJOLT.COM
DOWNLOAD FROM ITCH.IO

Thanks for reading!
 
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Zizka

Member
I think this looks interesting. I find a running/walking animation would work wonders at this point. Is this something you’ve considered. The pixel art is straightforward so you wouldn’t have to worry too much about subpixels in the actual character.

Something like this:

(By Orkimides)
 

pixeltroid

Member
I think this looks interesting. I find a running/walking animation would work wonders at this point. Is this something you’ve considered. The pixel art is straightforward so you wouldn’t have to worry too much about subpixels in the actual character.

Something like this:

(By Orkimides)
Yeah, I was refine the players walk animation a bit. But it will be part of the spit and polish phase of the game development process,
 

Zizka

Member
I understand. I hope you go for it as fancy animations can sometimes promote your game quite a bit on their own.

I took the liberty of checking the character a bit and it's currently at 475 which is about 470 too many. Limiting your palette to essential colors in pixel art is generally a good idea especially considering you are going for a straightforward representation of things.

I've done a quick edit with some suggestions. I've moved the ears around as they're generally more level with the eyes than with the mouth.

I like your character, there's something to be done here for sure. I think you could exaggerate some of his features to give him more personality. I toyed around with it to give you some suggestions. You could animate his hair for the idle animation for example:

Chara_edit.png
 

pixeltroid

Member
I understand. I hope you go for it as fancy animations can sometimes promote your game quite a bit on their own.

I took the liberty of checking the character a bit and it's currently at 475 which is about 470 too many. Limiting your palette to essential colors in pixel art is generally a good idea especially considering you are going for a straightforward representation of things.

I've done a quick edit with some suggestions. I've moved the ears around as they're generally more level with the eyes than with the mouth.

I like your character, there's something to be done here for sure. I think you could exaggerate some of his features to give him more personality. I toyed around with it to give you some suggestions. You could animate his hair for the idle animation for example:

View attachment 36871
Amazing! I love how it looks like something from a SNES game.

But I'm not so sure about going for that look. Because if I were to redesign the player, then for the sake of consistency, I'll also have to redo all the sprites for the other characters and that will take me a very, very long time. Right now, I'm going for a simple "flat" looking artstyle that is limited to a few colors. But I will tweak the sprite to show more detail on his hair since that's the most prominent detail of him.

I don't understand what you mean by the character being "currently at 475". Could you clarify?

I don't know what you mean by fancy animations but I will certainly tweak his run animation a little. As other people have also told me it needs a proper run cycle.

Also, I imagined the hero as a rugged soldier, like doom guy, and will show him as such on the box art and the story scenes. But his in-game sprite is just a "chibi" representation. This contrast is akin to the old Megaman games, where on the box art Megaman is a tough looking adult while his in-game sprite is "cute" and looks like a kid!
 

Zizka

Member
I'll also have to redo all the sprites for the other characters and that will take me a very, very long time.
That's a good point. I guess I went a little overboard. I am a big fan of Jamie Hewlett and Earth Worm Jim-esque animations so I tend to exaggerate features a lot. Kind of like this:
200.gif

or Battletoads:


Right now, I'm going for a simple "flat" looking artstyle that is limited to a few colors.
I don't understand what you mean by the character being "currently at 475". Could you clarify?
Well, that's the thing, your current character has 475 different colors according to Graphics Gale color count while you could probably limit it to 4 to 7.

mm01.png
I think Mega Man has 5 or 6?

Using less colors will also make your life a lot easier when creating sprites. You'll take more time to make up your palette but then it'll be easier as you want fuss over the colors so much.

EDIT: Actually, it's 700 different colors, I just checked:
image_2021-01-08_084052.png

I don't know what you mean by fancy animations but I will certainly tweak his run animation a little.
Well, in my edit you'll notice I've established a fore leg and a back leg. It would help you in doing a run cycle as of right now they're on the same axis so to speak.


(by tehwexxl0rdz)

Notice how the front leg and back leg help in conveying the movement of the legs as opposed to:


You'll notice Link's movement is not very convincing because of this issue. This was likely due to limitations of the NES though.
 

Attachments

pixeltroid

Member
Well, that's the thing, your current character has 475 different colors according to Graphics Gale color count while you could probably limit it to 4 to 7.


Using less colors will also make your life a lot easier when creating sprites. You'll take more time to make up your palette but then it'll be easier as you want fuss over the colors so much.

EDIT: Actually, it's 700 different colors, I just checked:
View attachment 36896

The image in my avatar is a low res jpeg. It has a lot of extra colors because of the compression or whatever. The in-game sprite has only 16 colors. :)
 
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