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Released Warcraze 1.0 Download and Presentation || New Update!

G

Gerald Tyler

Guest
Hey there! Thanks for putting out a demo =)

Trying to start the game was a bit of a pain, forces you through the screen to check for an update, then forces you to the shop before you can actually play. Why not have the "Play" button take me to the shop? Maybe consolidate that stuff into one screen and clean up the menu?
Some weapons are objectively FAR superior to the others
$100 Pistol : 20 rounds, 15 rounds required to kill. $75 per kill. 1 kill possible
$150 Pistol: 20 rounds, 13 rounds required to kill. $97.50 per kill. 1 kill possible
$300 Rifle: 100 rounds, 10 rounds required to kill. $30 per kill. 10 kills possible
$500 Rifle: 100 rounds, 5 rounds required to kill. $25 per kill. 20 kills possible <---Clearly the best weapon
$1300 Rifle: 50 rounds, 4 rounds required to kill. $104 per kill, 12 kills possible, most ammo packs don't work with this weapon
Also I noticed that killing the first zombie with the first pistol gives me 114 points, while killing it with the $500 rifle gives me 140 points. Consider inverting that to give the player a reason to use weaker weapons for say a score run.
No weapon variety, all weapons functionally the same with only difference is stats. You may consider a shotgun with spread so it's better at close range. You may also look at a long rifle which fires slower but pierces enemies, or a flame thrower with very high DPS but creates a flame hazard the player must avoid, or an RPG which deals massive splash damage but has the ability to flat out kill the player. Keep the lower DPS of the pistol but give it infinite ammo. Add in grenades that you can bounce around corners. And of course give the player the option to swap between weapons so they can make the conscious decision to choose the best tool for the job.
Managed to walk outside of the first "Room" you find the first NPC, there's no barriers
You can immediately go into the car and skip talking to the NPC, not sure if that's something you had wanted? I do think it's better that way though.
The NPC dialogue is never changing. A bit odd to see the same conversation over and over. Props on not artificially delaying text boxes though, can easily spam Space to blow through it. I do feel that you're doing the exposition in the right way. It's there if the player wants it, but if they just want to play they can get through it very quickly.
Make pausing the Escape key, also game should auto pause when tabbed out and it's not the active tab/window
Picking up the key makes a "cash" sound effect?
The way the game tries to get you to save/load is very weird. Should keep track of progress on it's own.
If I purchase a 2nd weapon, it should be added to my weapon pool, rather than becoming the only weapon I own. Or at the very least, the original weapon I purchased should have it's priced changed to "Owned" so that I can select it again later.
Shouldn't be able to "Waste" health/ammo packs by picking them up while full. At the very least, picking up a health pack while on full health should give you a good score bonus.
Confusing level design + darkness + having two locate two objectives (key + exit) + a VERY short timer = lots of failures not due to any lack of "Skill" on the player's part. Consider a mini map in the top corner which starts to kill up as the player progresses the level to help them keep track.
Game actually let me start the level without a weapon. I saw that I had $500 cash, so I assumed I still had the rifle I had previously purchased. The level loaded and the sprite indicated that I did have the rifle, except I didn't have anything. The screen even shook each time I left clicked, haha. Why didn't I simply keep the rifle I had already purchased?
Dialog boxes were small and very hard to read. Could just be my monitor / resolution? Also odd that they were forced to the bottom left corner instead of say center bottom.
Exits very poorly marked. I actually lost the 4th stage the first time because I mistakenly thought something else was the exit.
Include some feedback mechanisms. The zombies should make a pain sound every time they're shot, the player should make a pain sound when he's being attacked, and consider some flashing spites during this. The giant zombie should be immune to the knockback. I was able to stand in one spot and just spam the trigger until it died as it was "Stun locked" in place.
Finally realized that symbol above the zombie was an "Alert" icon. Switch it to yellow, and keep it orientated properly independent of the zombie
Give the zombies a "Chase" noise. Look at Minecraft zombies. They make noises while standing there, while chasing, being hit, and upon death. So as ironic as it is to say...make your zombies feel "Alive"
Differentiate the enemies. Size / color pallet / stats aren't enough. Yes you're limiting yourself by going with zombies, but look at Left 4 Dead for inspiration.
Sometimes zombies stand still, sometimes they hid behind the corner, and other times they just flat out run away.
Perhaps some "Double kill / triple kill" animations, sound effects, announcer etc when the player kills multiple enemies in a row.
I think even if you only removed the timer, the game would automatically become twice as fun.

Good game play is based on interesting decisions. Currently the only decision in your game is which weapon to choose, then you deal with every enemy in the exact same way by shooting it 5/10/20+ times. So there's no learning curve in the game. You pick the best stat based gun, and run the level on auto pilot, really no other decisions can be made by the player.
Don't give up though, there is potential with your game! As somebody earlier said, check out Extra Credits on YouTube. They're full of design philosophy and I think your game will be 10x better after checking out their videos. You're clearly somebody willing to put in the effort, so keep at it!
 

Gamerev147

Member
Hey there! Thanks for putting out a demo =)

Trying to start the game was a bit of a pain, forces you through the screen to check for an update, then forces you to the shop before you can actually play. Why not have the "Play" button take me to the shop? Maybe consolidate that stuff into one screen and clean up the menu?
Some weapons are objectively FAR superior to the others
$100 Pistol : 20 rounds, 15 rounds required to kill. $75 per kill. 1 kill possible
$150 Pistol: 20 rounds, 13 rounds required to kill. $97.50 per kill. 1 kill possible
$300 Rifle: 100 rounds, 10 rounds required to kill. $30 per kill. 10 kills possible
$500 Rifle: 100 rounds, 5 rounds required to kill. $25 per kill. 20 kills possible <---Clearly the best weapon
$1300 Rifle: 50 rounds, 4 rounds required to kill. $104 per kill, 12 kills possible, most ammo packs don't work with this weapon
Also I noticed that killing the first zombie with the first pistol gives me 114 points, while killing it with the $500 rifle gives me 140 points. Consider inverting that to give the player a reason to use weaker weapons for say a score run.
No weapon variety, all weapons functionally the same with only difference is stats. You may consider a shotgun with spread so it's better at close range. You may also look at a long rifle which fires slower but pierces enemies, or a flame thrower with very high DPS but creates a flame hazard the player must avoid, or an RPG which deals massive splash damage but has the ability to flat out kill the player. Keep the lower DPS of the pistol but give it infinite ammo. Add in grenades that you can bounce around corners. And of course give the player the option to swap between weapons so they can make the conscious decision to choose the best tool for the job.
Managed to walk outside of the first "Room" you find the first NPC, there's no barriers
You can immediately go into the car and skip talking to the NPC, not sure if that's something you had wanted? I do think it's better that way though.
The NPC dialogue is never changing. A bit odd to see the same conversation over and over. Props on not artificially delaying text boxes though, can easily spam Space to blow through it. I do feel that you're doing the exposition in the right way. It's there if the player wants it, but if they just want to play they can get through it very quickly.
Make pausing the Escape key, also game should auto pause when tabbed out and it's not the active tab/window
Picking up the key makes a "cash" sound effect?
The way the game tries to get you to save/load is very weird. Should keep track of progress on it's own.
If I purchase a 2nd weapon, it should be added to my weapon pool, rather than becoming the only weapon I own. Or at the very least, the original weapon I purchased should have it's priced changed to "Owned" so that I can select it again later.
Shouldn't be able to "Waste" health/ammo packs by picking them up while full. At the very least, picking up a health pack while on full health should give you a good score bonus.
Confusing level design + darkness + having two locate two objectives (key + exit) + a VERY short timer = lots of failures not due to any lack of "Skill" on the player's part. Consider a mini map in the top corner which starts to kill up as the player progresses the level to help them keep track.
Game actually let me start the level without a weapon. I saw that I had $500 cash, so I assumed I still had the rifle I had previously purchased. The level loaded and the sprite indicated that I did have the rifle, except I didn't have anything. The screen even shook each time I left clicked, haha. Why didn't I simply keep the rifle I had already purchased?
Dialog boxes were small and very hard to read. Could just be my monitor / resolution? Also odd that they were forced to the bottom left corner instead of say center bottom.
Exits very poorly marked. I actually lost the 4th stage the first time because I mistakenly thought something else was the exit.
Include some feedback mechanisms. The zombies should make a pain sound every time they're shot, the player should make a pain sound when he's being attacked, and consider some flashing spites during this. The giant zombie should be immune to the knockback. I was able to stand in one spot and just spam the trigger until it died as it was "Stun locked" in place.
Finally realized that symbol above the zombie was an "Alert" icon. Switch it to yellow, and keep it orientated properly independent of the zombie
Give the zombies a "Chase" noise. Look at Minecraft zombies. They make noises while standing there, while chasing, being hit, and upon death. So as ironic as it is to say...make your zombies feel "Alive"
Differentiate the enemies. Size / color pallet / stats aren't enough. Yes you're limiting yourself by going with zombies, but look at Left 4 Dead for inspiration.
Sometimes zombies stand still, sometimes they hid behind the corner, and other times they just flat out run away.
Perhaps some "Double kill / triple kill" animations, sound effects, announcer etc when the player kills multiple enemies in a row.
I think even if you only removed the timer, the game would automatically become twice as fun.

Good game play is based on interesting decisions. Currently the only decision in your game is which weapon to choose, then you deal with every enemy in the exact same way by shooting it 5/10/20+ times. So there's no learning curve in the game. You pick the best stat based gun, and run the level on auto pilot, really no other decisions can be made by the player.
Don't give up though, there is potential with your game! As somebody earlier said, check out Extra Credits on YouTube. They're full of design philosophy and I think your game will be 10x better after checking out their videos. You're clearly somebody willing to put in the effort, so keep at it!
That's more than enough feedback I was looking for! It seems like you were really upset with the shop. Keep in great consideration that in my DEMO, I decreased the prices of the guns and increased your initial starting amount so you have a chance to try almost all the weapons.
I left the NPC options open. If you want to just play the game mindlessly, then be my guest. But if you pay attention to the story line and see what's going on, the game will be much more fun.
I will take up your suggestion on making the exits more clear, as for I was already working on that.

Sound effects and better music are still being implemented. As I said before, the game is still very early in development. I will also take up your suggestion on the announcer and double / triple kill effects.
About the weapons and already owning them- The new "Safehouse" will allow you to choose from a gun you have already bought. You will also be able to do training missions, view extra stats, your personal game stats, and much more. I don't want to have secondary and tertiary weapons, as for it makes the game more unique, and you will have a chance to pick a new weapon at the end of each section.

I've mainly been focusing on the story line rather than mechanics in the last update. Check out the story line section in the post for more information.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback even though it may be all negatives. But also keep in mind that this is no where close to the finished product, and you'll see many changes from now until the game is fully developed and hopefully on Steam Greenlight. Thanks!
 

Gamerev147

Member
Hello everyone! This is just a bump to let you all know that Warcraze is finished. I will soon update the thread, create a professional marketing video, and hopefully get some feedback.
Thanks to everyone who input suggestions, feedback, and helpful tips! :) I'm really hoping that Warcraze will be a success!
 
S

Sunfish

Guest
Hii!

Just tried out your game, and it seems very well done given the gameplay mechanics. Something notable about your game is that it seems to flow fluidly from one location to the next, something most top down shooters don't seem to take into consideration. However, there's a very few things I wanted to suggest:
  • Is it possible to make the textbox larger? This may break the openness of the visuals, but I think it's well worth it considering there's very few places where the textbox being larger would hurt it. Making this an option to have larger text may be good, in my opinion.
  • The enemies, when aggro'd, display a '!' mark that rotates with them, which looks very unnatural. I think you can circumvent this by making the '!' it's own sprite, and draw it over the enemy's sprite whenever it's aggro'd so it doesn't rotate alongside them. Using a combination of draw_self() and draw_sprite_ext() should solve this.
  • Alongside the above, some things are sometimes hard to see given how dark some of the graphics are. You should make some of the important things, such as the enemy's '!' a different color from black so it's distinguishable. If you wish to keep it dark for reasons, such as a surprise element, I think it should be an off-black, maybe some degrees lighter than pure black.
  • When pressing "Play" even though no guns have been bought, you should lead the player automatically to the shop. I don't believe there was any sign you were supposed to visit the shop first, so it would be nice to automate that for the player.
  • Alongside the above, I think having the game save itself whenever changing rooms is more efficient than having a dedicated save button. This is just a very minor suggestion though, because I don't personally see a reason why an extra step is required to save the game.
I've also had some problems with the game itself:
  • My game seemed to lag somewhat when in areas with enemies. I can't tell if it's my pc's fault or not, so I'd suggest looking into gathering data on how other players had experienced it.
  • This may or may not be a bug, but when I press 'escape' the background does not seem to be centered properly:
Anyway, this was a fun game. It might be somewhat basic at times, but I think it being basic helps keep the game fluid, which in turn helps move the player along the game at a comfortable pace.
 

HighlandCoo

Member
Cngratulations on finishing your game, it's _very_ rare that people actually finish something :) So be proud of yourself!

Remember, making games does not make money. _shipping_ games makes money. :)
 

Gamerev147

Member
Hii!

Just tried out your game, and it seems very well done given the gameplay mechanics. Something notable about your game is that it seems to flow fluidly from one location to the next, something most top down shooters don't seem to take into consideration. However, there's a very few things I wanted to suggest:
  • Is it possible to make the textbox larger? This may break the openness of the visuals, but I think it's well worth it considering there's very few places where the textbox being larger would hurt it. Making this an option to have larger text may be good, in my opinion.
  • The enemies, when aggro'd, display a '!' mark that rotates with them, which looks very unnatural. I think you can circumvent this by making the '!' it's own sprite, and draw it over the enemy's sprite whenever it's aggro'd so it doesn't rotate alongside them. Using a combination of draw_self() and draw_sprite_ext() should solve this.
  • Alongside the above, some things are sometimes hard to see given how dark some of the graphics are. You should make some of the important things, such as the enemy's '!' a different color from black so it's distinguishable. If you wish to keep it dark for reasons, such as a surprise element, I think it should be an off-black, maybe some degrees lighter than pure black.
  • When pressing "Play" even though no guns have been bought, you should lead the player automatically to the shop. I don't believe there was any sign you were supposed to visit the shop first, so it would be nice to automate that for the player.
  • Alongside the above, I think having the game save itself whenever changing rooms is more efficient than having a dedicated save button. This is just a very minor suggestion though, because I don't personally see a reason why an extra step is required to save the game.
I've also had some problems with the game itself:
  • My game seemed to lag somewhat when in areas with enemies. I can't tell if it's my pc's fault or not, so I'd suggest looking into gathering data on how other players had experienced it.
  • This may or may not be a bug, but when I press 'escape' the background does not seem to be centered properly:
Anyway, this was a fun game. It might be somewhat basic at times, but I think it being basic helps keep the game fluid, which in turn helps move the player along the game at a comfortable pace.
Awesome! Thanks so much for the feedback. I'll be sure to fix most of the issues you are having in the next update.
I've been having issues with performance, so I've been trying to change that. Thanks!
 

Xer0botXer0

Senpai
Alright so based on the video.

I dont see depth with the zombies, I see them spawning in right infront of you, and walking towards you. and dying or doing damage.

If a zombie appears, I wouldn't want to see it spawn, I want to feel engaged in the game, maybe have groups of zombies around a corpse feasting on it, zombies crawling out under vehicles, zombies climbing out of sewerage drains, zombies leaping off of buildings, breaking limbs then limping towards you.

Does the players have unlimited ammo ? is it some kind of futuristic magazine that generates ammo out of particles in the air we have not yet discovered ? you counterattack the bullets/missiles the boss shoots at you, and they just vanish, can they not hurdle to the floor and cause damage to the terrain when you counterattack, or explode on impact.

Maybe let zombies lose limbs when you shoot them, if you shoot at their legs they lose their legs an crawl, if you shoot their heads they die, you gotta aim properly if you wanna survive.

What types of zombies are there, just mindless wanderers interested in brains ? do they all move at the same pace ? if not why is this one zombie moving faster then the rest ?

Hope that helps.
 
B

BeardyElf

Guest
Tried the game but it crashes when I press play at the shop.

___________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of Create Event
for object obj_Player:

Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [0,2] out of range [8,0] - -5.weaponArray(100013,2)
at gml_Object_obj_Player_Create_0
############################################################################################
 

Gamerev147

Member
Tried the game but it crashes when I press play at the shop.

___________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of Create Event
for object obj_Player:

Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [0,2] out of range [8,0] - -5.weaponArray(100013,2)
at gml_Object_obj_Player_Create_0
############################################################################################
Did you buy a weapon. You have to buy a weapon.
 
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