Zordak [NEW DEMO - 2022-04-23] [WINDOWS/LINUX]

Apapappa

Member
Weekly Report:
Added two new enemies.
Polished up the 'Pira' enemy.
Added a bunch of bubble particle effects when under water.
Added a new options menu - Accessibility.
The 'pseudo' auto aim feature is now disabled by default, called 'Aim Assist' and an option in said Accessibility menu.
Added multiple Color Blindness options in said Accessibility menu.
Re-organized menu button locations and such to reduce clutter.
Added a color effect to the in-game options menu to make it less bland.
Added a message if the player is trying to bind an action to a button that is already bound in the controls menu.
And fixed a bunch of bugs and issues.

Weekly Gif:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rp3fepdimxvdztm/Zordak_bubbles.gif?raw=1
Demonstration of said underwater bubble effects, they will probably get tweaked a bit later at some point.
And I will most likely add more watery effects as well.

So, now to the question:

Do any of these color blindness filters actually help at all?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5t4jjgzz0yo8hxx/color_blindness_collage.png?raw=1

I'm asking because I have no idea if these filters are correct or even if the names are correct.

I just wanted to add some kind of color blindness help/support and this is the easiest way to do it as far as I'm aware, even if it's just a small help.

I used this as a reference, so I assume it is correct:
http://web.archive.org/web/20081014161121/http://www.colorjack.com/labs/colormat...
(linking this for full disclosure)



I'm going to try and start posting the weekly devlogs in this format for now on, with the things that has been done at the top and then all the questions, images and such down here.

So that's it for this week.
 
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Apapappa

Member
Kinda pressed for time so a bit of an early post and no new gif this time, sorry.

Weekly Report:
Added more underwater bubble effects.
Added a glimmer/sparkle effect to spikes to help them stand out in some situations.
Made a bunch of changes and improvements to various things during the facility sequence.
Improved the jump buffer reducing the chance of a "bad jump".
You can now clear a keybind in the controls menu to have no key bound to that action.
Falling too far and getting a "hard landing" no longer drains oxygen or make it look like you took damage.
Increased the speed of certain parts of the intro cutscene.
Improved player kick animations. (will probably post gif later)
Added a map marking system so you can now add your own markings on the map. (will go over this more later as well)
And more fixes / minor changes.

Question:
It has come to my attention that doing color blindness assistance/help this way (as described in the previous post) is not really the best way but I'll ask this one more time so same question as last time.

Do any of these color blindness filters in my previous post help at all?
 
What I've done with all updates is if you don't have 1 set time to work on it, post the next update in a hidden spoiler of a previous update, so you can add to it as the week goes on. Then post it at the end of the week as a real post and delete the spoiler from the previous post. It also helps keep down the constant bumps that probably get ineffective after a while.

COLOR BLINDNESS

As I am not color blind, I can't truly tell, but I do know that red cannot be next to green as they will literally look like the same color. If you do have green next to red, you're supposed to make a different saturation. So players can tell the white-ish red isn't red, therefore it's something different.

In the grand scheme of things... Protanopia = bad. Everything looks green and there's barely any difference between green and red.

Deuteranopia too looks bad for the same reasons.
Achromatopsia looks bad because it's black and white, but good because I see the greens are white and the reds are grey.

Everything else falls to a middle category.
 

Apapappa

Member
I'll add this to the top here as I've got some new information:

So, I think I may have misunderstood these filters.
They might not actually be supposed to help with color blindness but are rather a simulation of color blindness.
So I will most likely remove them later as they are more then likely completely useless for color blind people.
Posting this in case anyone reads who already knows this and is about to tell me.



What I've done with all updates is if you don't have 1 set time to work on it, post the next update in a hidden spoiler of a previous update, so you can add to it as the week goes on. Then post it at the end of the week as a real post and delete the spoiler from the previous post. It also helps keep down the constant bumps that probably get ineffective after a while.

COLOR BLINDNESS

As I am not color blind, I can't truly tell, but I do know that red cannot be next to green as they will literally look like the same color. If you do have green next to red, you're supposed to make a different saturation. So players can tell the white-ish red isn't red, therefore it's something different.

In the grand scheme of things... Protanopia = bad. Everything looks green and there's barely any difference between green and red.

Deuteranopia too looks bad for the same reasons.
Achromatopsia looks bad because it's black and white, but good because I see the greens are white and the reds are grey.

Everything else falls to a middle category.
Sure, that's one way to do it.
I usually just write a couple of "gif options" in my personal changelog to have an idea of what to post the next week.
I just didn't have time to make a gif or really think about this weeks post, sure, I could go and edit them up right now but I think I'm just gonna let this one be and it saves me one gif option for later usage. ;)

So yeah.. about the color blindness filters, as stated above I think I may have misunderstood the purpose of these filters, I think they are just supposed to be a simulation of color blindness so they are more than likely useless.
So probably going to remove them as stated previously.
It's just a bit weird though since I *THINK* even Doom 2016 has something like this, but they may also be wrong here.

The better way would be to change the actual art where there are problem areas but since this would probably take a lot of time, testing AND I'm not colorblind myself so it's hard to know where the issues are, I'm probably going to have to leave this one out.
I'm not actually sure there is a problem for colorblind people at all either since no one has mentioned it yet, I just went for what seemed like the easy way out and turns out it was completely wrong.
 

Apapappa

Member
Weekly Report:
The game page on itch now has a new design.
Removed the colorblindness options since it has become clear to me that I have misunderstood those filters as stated previously.
Removed the "uncrouch on jump/fall" option and it is now always enabled.
Added a new enemy.
Updated a bunch of rooms with changes and fixes.
Increased text speed of upgrade info popups and the robot companion.
Reduced the chance of things "popping in" when coming into the view when previously being outside it.
Separated Controller Stick Deadzone into horizontal and vertical to allow for a higher or lower deadzone for movement vs crouching.
Fixed controller issues causing it to not set last input to controller when using the right stick and not setting it to keyboard when disabling controller detection completely.
Reworked controller stick input, deadzones should work better now and sensitivity should feel better.
And fixed/changed other smaller things.

Also, in case I haven't mentioned this before:
The weekly report is not necessarily the full changelog but more like highlights of bigger changes which I deem mostly spoiler free.

Weekly Gif(s):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vllinq9vwg3vuhb/new_page_design.gif?raw=1
New Itch.io game page design comparison.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1g1iyktdxpfw3v5/Zordak_imp_kick.gif?raw=1
Improved kicking animations, still not perfect of course but they should feel less weak now.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ua9sp2u3bmaorwh/Zordak_map_improvements.gif?raw=1
Demonstration of map markers and other map improvements.
At this moment you can only choose between 3 icons but more will possibly be added later.

Question:
I don't really have any questions this time but feel free to ask me anything.


Anyway, hopefully this weeks devlog makes up for the last one. ;)
 
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CMAllen

Member
The standing kick is better now. But I'm thinking, for the crouching kick, you may need a more dramatic change in animation. It still isn't really working. Maybe a kick isn't even the right kind of attack? Perhaps it should be a punch or maybe a sliding kick? Because I'm trying to picture a stationary kick from a crouched position like that, and I'm just not seeing it. Which isn't to say that I can't see a kick from a lower position, but they're much more active and animated, involving more body to generate suitable force instead of just the knee.
 
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Apapappa

Member
The standing kick is better now. But I'm thinking, for the crouching kick, you may need a more dramatic change in animation. It still isn't really working. Maybe a kick isn't even the right kind of attack? Perhaps it should be a punch or maybe a sliding kick? Because I'm trying to picture a stationary kick from a crouched position like that, and I'm just not seeing it. Which isn't to say that I can't see a kick from a lower position, but they're much more active and animated, involving more body to generate suitable force instead of just the knee.
Yeah I know.. the crouching one is still not great, I've just been trying to take the easy way out by not remaking the whole thing to save time.
The animation is also only used for the first 20 min or so of the game so it has never seemed like such a priority to me.
But you're still right in that it could be better, might even change it into a punch as you said to save time once again since that would be far easier to do than a completely new animation.

I tried coming up with a concept animation and it turned out like this:
crouch_kick.png

Done in paint so obviously not that great, but I'm leaning more towards the punch idea at this moment anyway.

Crouching kick can be a sweep instead.
I contemplated making a concept animation for this as well but didn't go through with it, but yes, that is an option.
Probably going with the punch idea though since it is easier, as mentioned earlier.
 

CMAllen

Member
Yeah I know.. the crouching one is still not great, I've just been trying to take the easy way out by not remaking the whole thing to save time.
The animation is also only used for the first 20 min or so of the game so it has never seemed like such a priority to me.
But you're still right in that it could be better, might even change it into a punch as you said to save time once again since that would be far easier to do than a completely new animation.

I tried coming up with a concept animation and it turned out like this:
View attachment 26141

Done in paint so obviously not that great, but I'm leaning more towards the punch idea at this moment anyway.



I contemplated making a concept animation for this as well but didn't go through with it, but yes, that is an option.
Probably going with the punch idea though since it is easier, as mentioned earlier.
Oddly, that's not far from a mock-up I did in blender. The problem is that it's difficult to show 'cross' motion (ie depth) in a 2d plane. The result just doesn't really convey much motion or impact, since the majority of said motion isn't on the 2d plane of the game.
 
The game's looking great so far! One thing I'd mention, though: I find that the protgonist's suit looks pretty bland, and doesn't really stand out from the rest of the game. She stands out a lot more when she's in her underwear because the flesh tone contrasts with the grey/blue background. Looking forward to more progress! :)
 

Apapappa

Member
Oddly, that's not far from a mock-up I did in blender. The problem is that it's difficult to show 'cross' motion (ie depth) in a 2d plane. The result just doesn't really convey much motion or impact, since the majority of said motion isn't on the 2d plane of the game.
Yep, another reason I'm strongly leaning towards just making it a punch since once again, it requires less work and will probably look better than if I attempted this type of kick animation.
So, thanks for taking the time to post and suggesting the punch idea, probably going with that.

The game's looking great so far! One thing I'd mention, though: I find that the protgonist's suit looks pretty bland, and doesn't really stand out from the rest of the game. She stands out a lot more when she's in her underwear because the flesh tone contrasts with the grey/blue background. Looking forward to more progress! :)
Yeah sure, I get what you mean with the contrast issue, it's less of an issue in motion though but could still be improved for sure.
I may play around with the colors a bit at some point but probably not in the near future, too many other things to focus on right now. (also importing all those sprites into GMS is quite painful)
Glad you like the game and thanks for the feedback. ;)
 

Apapappa

Member
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CMAllen

Member


This is probably as far as it's gonna get in terms of reach.
The GIF is also skipping one frame before the actual punch for some reason but this seems good enough to me.
Probably gonna call this basically done for now, hopefully it's better than the previous one.
That looks fine to me, for what it is. As you say, it's only a part of the game for a brief period.
 

Apapappa

Member
Weekly Report:
Improved map marker selection, you now select the one you want by holding a button and change selection with the arrow keys.
Added 3 new map marker icons.
Added various new sound cues for: oxygen draining indication, mapping a key to an already bound key and such.
Added a new upgrade list, now you don't have to memorize what each collected upgrade does.
Made multiple improvements to a certain boss fight.
Made some menu screens less bland by adding a fading color effect, this also adds movement to certain menu screens helping the player know that the game has not frozen on those screens.
Tweaked the speed of the intro cutscene a bit more.
Since the crouching kick animation had various issues it has now been converted into a punch instead.
Organized the menus a bit, they now has separators indicating categories as well.
Added a "reset to default controls" menu button.
Added a "controller stick sensitivity" setting.
Fixed misc things causing multiple controller related settings to not load upon game start.
Improved fluid reflections, it is now correctly offset from the fluid surface and not the view resulting in more correct reflections.
And finally, fixed/changed a bunch of smaller things as usual.

Weekly GIF:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jp3psoabbl20cvr/Zordak_upgrade_list_and_map_imp.gif?raw=1
Improved map marker selection + a few new icons and the new upgrade list.



Guess that's it for now, open to any kind of feedback as always. :)
 
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Apapappa

Member


The demo has been updated to more accurately represent the final product.
Some new things compared to the old demo but mostly the same content.

I have reduced the length of the demo a bit because the previous one felt a bit too long and this will also make it easier for me to maintain the demo version.

The demo is now also available on GameJolt for those who prefer that instead of Itch.io.


Weekly Report:
Added a minimap on/off setting in the options menu.
Increased the speed of certain player transition animations.
Made some improvements to map marker handling and wording of text.
You can no longer pause when an item upgrade popup is active.
Fixed some player kick/punch hit detection and animation issues.
Fixed some enemy damage immunity issues.

This week has been mostly fixes for the demo update (only a few are listed here) so a bit of a short list this time.

If you want to know more about the most notable changes since the last demo then you can take a look at my previous devlogs either here in this thread or at: https://apapappa.itch.io/zordak/devlog


Demo Links:
https://apapappa.itch.io/zordak
https://gamejolt.com/games/Zordak/348021


Anyway, hope you enjoy this new demo.
Please leave some feedback if you have anything to say and spread the word about the game if you want to support me. ;)
 

Apapappa

Member
Weekly Report:
Renamed the "controller enabled" option to "controller detection" as it seemed a more fitting name.
Tweaked the attack patterns of a certain boss a bit more.
Fixed some map related bugs.
Supposedly fixed a very old "sliding ledge grab" bug.
Updated various menu button description texts to be more compact.

Added a message to the controls menu telling the player to disable controller detection if they are planning to use JoyToKey.

Added a new gameplay option, "Sticky Ledge Grab", when this is enabled pressing the left / right directional keys no longer lets go off ledge grab.

Added another new gameplay option, "Ledge Grab Extra Aiming" (probably needs a better name), enabling this makes the up / down directional keys aim diagonally instead of letting go off ledge grab.



I didn't get much done this week and just to give you all a heads up, Zordak development is going to slow down a bit for a while as I feel like I can't really concentrate that well right now.
I will be trying to work as much as I can of course but if I can't concentrate not much is going to get done.
So yeah, hope you all understand.
 

Apapappa

Member
Changes:
Added some more menu polish: fading menus, button offsets and such.
Supposedly fixed a crash related to certain projectiles colliding with other projectiles.
Updated a few room layouts.
The "Sticky Ledge Grab" option is now on by default. ie: left/right directional keys no longer let go off ledge grabbing.
Supposedly fixed an issue causing half the HUD and boss health bars to be invisible.
Tweaked player ledge grab jumping physics a bit, you now get a speed boost allowing you to jump further.

Tweaked the demo boss: reduced health slightly, increased fly enemy item drop chance, reworked the red blob attack, improved tentacle visuals a tiny bit, the boss fight now also triggers after a certain time has passed.

GIF:


This GIF demonstrates the new ledge grab jumping changes.


I've been slowly easing into working on the game again.
But I also have to admit I've got a bit addicted to a certain game, so that will certainly take away some dev time.
(this is one reason why I said I couldn't concentrate before)

Anyway, that's all I got this time.
 

Apapappa

Member
Great lighting and effects makes the atmosphere shine! The ledge grab looks good and like it will diversify gameplay and traversal.
Thanks, the ledge grab can still be improved though, I'm planning to hopefully add an extra animation like a wall kick or something similar for the jumping.
This will probably make it look better, right now it's a little bit lacking.
 

Apapappa

Member
Changes:
Increased room transition animation speed a tiny bit.
Fixed some issues with the new ledge grab jump changes.
Fixed an issue that caused breakable tiles to not break when shot point blank.
Added an extra jump momentum boost based on running speed to allow for a little bit further jumps.
Added a pulsing red rectangle behind the oxygen bar when oxygen is draining.
Reworked the robot companion tutorial sequence a bit.
Tweaked some enemies and upgrades.
Added a few new areas, updated some old areas and added a new area effect.

GIF:

(just a random room)

Other than what is listed above, I have also been experimenting with a new wall kick animation for ledge grab jumps.
It did not work out too well this time so I'll have to try again later.

That's it, open to any feedback as always.
 

Apapappa

Member
Changes:
Tweaked a certain upgrade a bit and fixed some issues with it.
Added a new area.
Fixed some minor general issues.



I got sick this week so as you can see, not much got done.
But any progress is better than no progress I guess.
Hopefully the next devlog will be better.
 
I played a previous demo a few months ago, but now I return after I played the latest demo. The game is still fantastic and with Halloween coming up it's great atmosphere even if it's not a horror game. It's good to have the suit and see how that game plays. It's fun and a lot of enjoyment until the end of the demo. Lots of good and unique enemy designs even if some like the bees out of a pipe feel familiar.
 
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Apapappa

Member
So, the game is not dead.
I posted an update on twitter a while ago but I'll explain a bit more here:

I've been a bit depressed for a while and that is not a good mindset to work on the game, I want it to be as good as possible but for that to happen I have to be in the correct mindset or else it will just turn out bad.
On top of that there has been some other real life stuff dumped on me which didn't exactly bring up the mood.

I just wanted to drop in and say that the game is not dead and I want to get back to it soon.
I'm probably going to finish updating a little side thing first so I can get that out of the way, been working on that on and off just to escape real life for a bit...

That's all I have to say right now.


I played a previous demo a few months ago, but now I return after I played the latest demo. The game is still fantastic and with Halloween coming up it's great atmosphere even if it's not a horror game. It's good to have the suit and see how that game plays. It's fun and a lot of enjoyment until the end of the demo. Lots of good and unique enemy designs even if some like the bees out of a pipe feel familiar.
Thanks for trying the demo again and the nice comment.
Glad you like what it is so far. :)
I've got lots of stuff planned so there is only more to come whenever I get around to it.

The game is really awesome, hope will come out soon!
Thanks, glad you like it. :)
Unfortunately I'm going to have to break your hopes and say that it will probably not come out soon.
It will be done when it is done, that's all I can say here.
 

Apapappa

Member
So here's an update on why I've been away for a while:

So.. I guess it started with the usual problem, getting tired of working on the same thing every day.

Game Dev is pretty much the only thing I do, I basically wake up and then sit here the entire day until I almost fall asleep while sitting,

I probably have all kinds of problems since I've been doing it like this for many years now but I got nothing else so what am I to do.

Anyway, back to the original topic:

So, I got tired of working on the same thing every day over and over again which then spiraled into depression (more than I already have) because I knew I had to work on the game and then I feel worse because I'm not working on the game and so on.

Then I got into working on my side project and basically put Zordak on the backburner for a while.

And then just as I was starting to feel a bit better, I woke up one day and after a few minutes, barely got to eat breakfast, my cat which I've had for 18 years just up and died, which obviously didn't improve the mood.

So yeah, that's the short version I guess.

I'm trying to get back into working on Zordak again, I've done a bit of work since my last tweet about me being back on Zordak but I'll save that until saturday when I usually post devlogs.

So, Zordak is not dead, I've got a lot of things a want to do with it, it's just going to take time.

Thank you all for staying with me so far, hopefully most of you will still be here when the game is done but it's fine if that is not the case.

I'll be trying to get a proper devlog up on saturday.

Anyway, thanks for reading and hopefully now understanding why I've not been posting much.
 
That sucks, dude! Losing a pet can be really hard. Got to remember that you don't owe us anything. If you don't want to work on your games, take a break. Side projects are also good, but sometimes it's good to just completely remove yourself and either relax, spend time with friends/family, or take up another hobby for a while. I know I'd go crazy if I didn't have other things to jump to.
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 29
(starting to number these now to keep them more consistent across platforms)


Changes:

Removed the green lights that spawn during the facility escape sequence and when you break door controls, they felt out of place and didn't really add much to the game other than making it slightly easier.

Improved the scanline effect, should hopefully work better for different resolutions now.

Added an option in the display settings to disable the scanline effect.

The game window can now be resized manually by dragging the borders instead of only relying on the window scale option. (probably needs more testing)

The "keep aspect ratio vs stretch" display option is no longer locked to fullscreen mode with this new window resize change.

Improved the broken vizor screen effect, better visuals and performance, most likely fixes the "half hud" bug as well.

The HUD is no longer shown until you get the broken helmet. (since the helmet is supposed to be the HUD)

The oxygen draining ticking sound now only happens every 10% when above 25% oxygen, otherwise it's every 1%.

Fixed the game not showing up on the taskbar when starting in fullscreen mode.

Removed the hit freeze effect from bosses so they can no longer be stunlocked.

Removed the PostFX option since it is built into other effects now.

Improved the lighting shader performance and visuals, also added a higher quality version that is now used for the highest lighting quality setting. (worse performance on highest but better visuals)

Made numerous changes to the demo boss in attempt to shorten the fight, make it more interactive and maybe more challenging.


GIF:

Some of the boss changes are shown here in this GIF.
(slightly sped up for some reason)

Didn't think I was gonna get much info into this devlog but it actually had more content than I thought so maybe it is interesting after all.

Anyway, that's it, open to any feedback as always.


That sucks, dude! Losing a pet can be really hard. Got to remember that you don't owe us anything. If you don't want to work on your games, take a break. Side projects are also good, but sometimes it's good to just completely remove yourself and either relax, spend time with friends/family, or take up another hobby for a while. I know I'd go crazy if I didn't have other things to jump to.
Yeah.. there's nothing you can do about it, it's just life.
Sure, I may not owe you all anything, even though it feels like I do, I just don't really want to disappoint anyone.
One thing is for sure though, I pretty much owe it to myself to finish this game at this point, considering how much time I've spent on it. (way longer than this thread have existed)
Yeah I know I need to take breaks and do other things, it's just hard most of the time since I don't really have anything else to fall back on.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to comment and sorry for the somewhat late reply.
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 30

Changes:

Made numerous changes to the boss again, including:

Player projectiles no longer collide with the red blobs.
Added more screenshake to things, increasing impact of certain moves.

Sped up all of the boss attacks and reduced waiting time between them, an attempt to reduce fight length more and increase interactivity.

Made multiple improvements to the water splashing effects, again, to increase impact of certain moves.
Removed the part of the intro phase where the boss peeks up and then goes down again.
In general the fight should feel more violent / intense now.

Fixed player charging particles not spawning in the correct position when in the "hard landing" state.
Fixed some minor robot companion issues.
The low oxygen ticking sound effect now happens more frequently when under 10% oxygen.
The low oxygen overlay effect now fades to a light shade of red, instead of just white.

And a not so relevant change for anyone else but me: added a room selection menu so I no longer have to type the whole name each time. (yay)


GIF:

(again, this gif tries to showcase some of the boss changes)


Didn't get that much work done this week and most of it was spent on the boss once again.

There are several reasons why I didn't get much work done and it's not because I didn't want to work on the game, there's just so many things you can do before time runs out you know.

I guess I can tell you some of what I did this week to be more transparent or whatever, so this is probably not something most of you care about though but here it is:
Worked on Zordak. (ofc)
Worked on an updated version of my #GM20 Jam game (https://apapappa.itch.io/birthday-boy).
Downloaded, played and rated almost all of the #GM20 Jam submissions. (107 entries, still got some left)
Got back into making non-game related music again so spent a lot of time on that.
Finally finished my playthrough of a game I was trying to complete. (not a jam game)
And since it is/was black friday sale I spent a lot of time trying to decide what / if I'm going to buy something. (this has taken hours so far)

So yeah, maybe that information was a bit pointless but now you know.
(I'll probably not post that stuff again unless people actually want to know)

That's it, maybe we'll see something different next week.
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 31

Changes:

Made more changes to the boss, including:

The tentacles that rise from the goop now actually do something, forcing you to destroy them.
Increased tentacle damage.
Increased fly item drop chance since this attack should be somewhat "rare" at this point.


Sound effects, ambiance and music now actually stop playing when muting or setting any of the audio sliders to 0%, this should increase performance if any sound is muted.

Updated the sprite for a certain enemy in attempt to make it more noticeable.

Added another frame skip option: dynamic, when this is enabled the game will skip frames when going under a certain fps threshold, this is an attempt to reduce the chances of the game running in "slow motion", this option is enabled by default for now. Will have to wait until I update the demo again and see if this option should be enabled by default or not.

Added menu buttons for adjusting dynamic frame skip fps threshold and timer (how many seconds the game will wait before turning off frame skip again).

GIF:

(didn't really get around to making a new gif so this is an old one)


Once again, not much work got done this week either, in fact.. this was the only game dev related stuff that got done this week.
I've not exactly gotten back into "the zone" yet but I'm trying so hopefully next week will be better.
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 32

Changes:
Added a new accessibility option: "Large Font" , this is an attempt at a more readable font for anyone having trouble with the standard font.

Added a "Do you want to enable tutorials?" message when starting a new game (or loading an old save), if "No" is selected then the robot companion will not start up and you're on your own.

Replaced the crouching animations with new crawl animations. (you can now actually hit enemies when crawling, yay)

Added a "series of explosions" effect for use with relevant enemies and things. (such as the O.R.B enemy in the new gif)

Improved the non-suit ledge grab animations a little bit.

Tweaked the "Rock Diver" enemy AI a bit so it is no longer "homing" towards the player and is now much easier to avoid.

Improved the "Rock Diver" enemy sprite making it easier to see. (not sure if I've already mentioned this one)

Audio options no longer go to 200% as this felt a bit strange.

Sped up the save station animation and improved the sound effect.

Improved the energy beam sound effects. (more punch, less pew)

Added a special icon on the fullscreen map where your current save location is.

Items no longer move towards you automatically. (now an additional feature of an upgrade)

Removed the additional button to remove map markers since this was redundant, you can just press the place marker button and it defaults to no marker.

Fixed some alt+enter issues, this should now work to toggle fullscreen on/off again.

Fixed doors being locked in the room before the facility escape sequence starts, preventing people to save, they should not have been locked unless the escape had started.

And.. fixed a bunch of other minor issues.

GIF:

(showcase of misc changes, the gif also runs a bit fast for some reason)


Sorry for the lack of updates, it is what it is.
Maybe I can keep this going for a while now, I don't know, I'll be trying at least.

Anyway, I'm hoping to update the demo maybe next week so new people don't have to continue experience all the current issues.

I guess that's all I got this time.
I appreciate you all sticking with me and I hope that, in the end, I can make this game as good as I and everyone else wants it to be.
 
Last edited:

Apapappa

Member

Demo Update:

The demo has been updated to more accurately reflect the final product.

Still the same content but including all the changes/additions since the last demo.

There's been way to many changes since the last demo so you're just going to have to try the new demo and take a look for yourself.

I'm open to any and all feedback as always!

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
Itch: https://apapappa.itch.io/zordak
Game Jolt: https://gamejolt.com/games/Zordak/348021



Devlog - 33 - Changes:
Fixed some issues with the new crawling mechanic.

Fixed some cases of being able to shoot through walls.

Disabled the "apapappa games intro movie" thing for now so the game will start up faster, it didn't really add anything to the game anyway.

Improved player shooting offsets which in turn mostly fixes "aim straight up shooting into wall" issues.

Disabled the screenshot button for now, this can be done in so many other ways anyway.

Vertical Sync is now disabled by default (still available as an option) in an attempt to reduce the chance of "slow motion" issues which I've seen in a couple of gameplay videos.

Windows only setting buttons are now disabled on Linux.

The "scale method" button is now disabled if the game is in windowed mode.

Frame Skip is now only allowed with Vertical Sync turned off and vice versa. (fixes some flickering issues on Linux)

Updated the Linux dependency script, added two more things that may or may not have been needed for the game to work.

Supposedly fixed the old "player starts in top right corner of the first room" issue.

Lowered the facility escape timer from 3 minutes to 2 minutes.

Fixed an issue with sounds on game start up that caused them to play at full volume and not the specified setting.

Fixed "black screen" issue on Linux when a room was completely submerged in water.

Fixed "the game not showing up on taskbar" issue.

And moved some HUD elements around + fixed some more minor issues.



Now, a question:
Do you think Achievements is going to be worth having in the game?

I'm only asking because - if this is something people don't really care about then I can remove some unnecessary workload and clean up the menus a bit. (both very much needed)



Anyway, that's it, if you decide to try the new demo, please feel free to leave any kind of feedback!
 
Wow, impressive :O

I really, really love the atmosphere and the "lore" of the game.
Also, the attention to detail and right amount of effects you put in it...

Very pleasant to play and kinda hard, like a good metroidvania :)

Keep up the good work, eager to see the release and what's next in the full game!
 

Joe Ellis

Member
I wouldn't care about achievements, more about surviving, making it to the next level. It's that atmospheric where it doesn't seem like a game where you keep scores and try to beat them
 

Apapappa

Member
Wow, impressive :O

I really, really love the atmosphere and the "lore" of the game.
Also, the attention to detail and right amount of effects you put in it...

Very pleasant to play and kinda hard, like a good metroidvania :)

Keep up the good work, eager to see the release and what's next in the full game!
Yeah, I'm pretty much going all in on atmosphere/details so I'm glad you like it.
Hopefully it's not too difficult, I have an issue with making things too hard sometimes.
Thanks for the feedback! :)

I wouldn't care about achievements, more about surviving, making it to the next level. It's that atmospheric where it doesn't seem like a game where you keep scores and try to beat them
I usually don't care much for achievements either but seems like a lot of people think they are worth having.
So they are probably going to stay based on feedback. (mostly from twitter)
Thanks for the input though. :)
 
Yeah, I'm pretty much going all in on atmosphere/details so I'm glad you like it.
Hopefully it's not too difficult, I have an issue with making things too hard sometimes.
Thanks for the feedback! :)
Depends on what players are looking for and if you're trying to make your game for everyone or not I would say.
IMHO it fits the genre and it's just hard enough so it's rewarding at the end :)
What could be frustrating (but again, much more rewarding) is all the low-oxygen part (the one you intended at least) but then you put checkpoints in a fair distance so it's alright.
I'll keep on playing but for now it's pretty well balanced !

Also, the lightning is really well-done.
Did you do it all by yourself or did you use any marketplace extensions?
 
Last edited:

Apapappa

Member
Depends on what players are looking for and if you're trying to make your game for everyone or not I would say.
IMHO it fits the genre and it's just hard enough so it's rewarding at the end :)
What could be frustrating (but again, much more rewarding) is all the low-oxygen part (the one you intended at least) but then you put checkpoints in a fair distance so it's alright.
I'll keep on playing but for now it's pretty well balanced !

Also, the lightning is really well-done.
Did you do it all by yourself or did you use any marketplace extensions?
Well, I guess I'm trying to make the game for everyone, maybe not younger kids but mostly everyone.
And by everyone, I guess I mean people who like and understand games like these.

So, the oxygen draining parts can and will definitely be improved upon, I've already added some to the to-do list since the new demo released.
I also have a lot of planned stuff for this mechanic, it just hasn't got much use in the demo yet.

As for the lighting/extensions:
Everything in the game has been made by me so I use no extensions.
And the lighting is actually pretty simple (if one has some shader knowledge), it's basically just a modified "godray" shader.

Anyway, thanks again for the feedback. :)
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 34

Reminder that the demo was updated last week for those who missed it!





Changes:
Updated a bunch of rooms to make better use of the oxygen mechanic and fixed a tiny issue regarding this mechanic.

Added ability to enable or disable in-game achievement popups, also fixed another tiny issue regarding achievements.

Removed the projectile limit for standard player projectiles for now to test it out long term.

Supposedly fixed most "player can shoot through walls" issues.

Dropped items (energy, ammo, etc) now stay for 5 seconds then start blinking, explode and disappear.

All dropped items now flash white. (only missiles did before)

Fixed player projectile collision issue with special tiles.

Shooting a charged beam at special tiles now reveal their true form if it doesn't break.

Added two new special tile types.

Created a new tileset for use in a new zone and began work on that new zone, also updated the world map with new areas.

Fixed some minor issues related to particles.



And as a final footnote, just to let everyone know:

Achievements will be staying in the game based on feedback and more of them will be added later.

Also, I've had a headache all day so I can't be bothered making a new gif to showcase (also why I'm posting this a bit early), so I put some of the new updated screenshots here instead.

That's it for now.
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 35


(might have made a gif of this room before, can't remember)

Changes:
Added three new enemies.

Almost added an entire new zone. (a few rooms still left)

Added a new type of special tile. (game mechanic)

Updated some old tile graphics a tiny bit.

Holding down while crouching now causes the camera to pan down a little bit extra allowing you to see more.

Holding up while standing does the same but upwards.

May or may not have fixed an issue causing crawler enemy types to freeze in place after being shot down by a missile.

----------------------------------------------------------

The changes list may be a bit short this week since I spent 90% of the time creating new rooms.

One of these rooms took around 7 hours just to put the tiles in, so this would be the largest room in the game so far, and this is just the first version of it.

Just thought I'd mention that because it might be interesting for someone.

Anyway that's it, this week was very productive and I doubt the next week will be the same, but one can hope.
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 36





Changes:


Added more rooms to the new zone mentioned in the previous devlog.

Added some effects specific to said zone.

Added a new enemy.

------------------------------------------

Since last week was a good week it only makes sense to have a bad week.

Didn't get much done as displayed in the changes list.

I guess I went a bit too hard last week as I quickly lost motivation shortly after and then got lost in a side project a bit.

Didn't really get around to making a gif or anything this week either so I'll just insert some screenshots again.

We'll see how next week goes.
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 37



Changes:

Added door unlocking system to the map, unlocking a door will now change it's color to the standard door color on the fullscreen/mini map.

Updated some old rooms.

Reworked an upgrade so that it has more features now.

Did some more work on the previously mentioned new zone.

Almost finalized one of the new mechanics related to that zone.

Optimized a few things which affected large rooms.

Fixed a very old room transition issue.. and of course, the issue was the simplest of things.

Updated some old sprites and tiles.

Brainstormed a few new upgrades and added a sprite for one of them.

------------------------------------------

This week was way better than the previous one, not the greatest, but good enough I guess.
I don't really have anything else to say right now so, until next time.
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 38


(WIP of that new area)

Changes:

Added support for animated tiles, more of these will be put in the game later for more atmospheric effects and such.

Worked some more on that new area, a tiny bit of it shown in the new gif above.

Pretty much finalized the previously talked about new mechanic related to that area.

Added two new upgrades.

Added a new special tile type.

Reworked an old existing upgrade so that it has more features.

Tweaked player physics a bit.

Added a few new player sprites.

Reworked player room transfer, you now retain your x/y position from the previous door entrance instead of being placed at a predetermined location.

Had to update every single room in the game thanks to the change above, but it was worth it considering how this can be used as a gameplay mechanic.

Fixed issue with jumping when "too close" to the ceiling, this distance check was way too large.

Fixed the "take damage" chromatic aberration effect showing up on the death screen making everything hard to read.

Fixed some enemies being behind tiles when they really shouldn't have been.

Reworked a bunch of old areas to make them more interesting and added some new challenges/puzzles.

------------------------------------------

This devlog would have been a lot longer, but to avoid spoiling upgrades and such, I decided to leave it out.

I guess I don't have much else to say this week either.

But feel free to leave a comment with some feedback or something!

Anyway, that's all I got this time.
 

Apapappa

Member
Devlog - 39



Changes:

Added two new upgrades.

Added a new feature to an old existing upgrade.

Fixed an issue with an enemy causing it to not deal damage to the player on contact.

Reworked / updated some old rooms.

Updated the world layout a bit.

------------------------------------------

Short devlog this week, didn't really have much focus so not much got done.

At least you all get two new WIP area screenshots.

Anyway, as usual, feel free to leave any kind of feedback.
 
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