What's up Mezzsoft. I'm already a big fan of your work and I only found it yesterday. I haven't played it because I only have a laptop with no mouse, but I do have a bunch of ideas that just flooded in when I saw your game. I read some of the other players' suggestions and expanded on them too. Game concept and design is my hobby and I thought, since my head was getting too full of ideas to rely on rote memory, I should write some of it down and why not share it with you while I'm at it. I hope you don't mind, but if you like my ideas I've got a lot more, I just don't want to overwhelm you. Here is a link PDF copy and pasted onto google docs.
I don't want to spoil too much, but a select few of these I've already had plans to implement for awhile now. Without being too specific, you can expect some of the features in section 3, 4.1, and 5!
Some of these you've come up with are very interesting - in particular having visible equipment strapped to the mech and the optical mast, but the scale is unfortunately quite small, so showing them in-game might be difficult. Instead of ammunition, I could see a pickup you need to return back to base with being visible on the rear of the turret though, that'd be cool to see.
The optical mast idea would require upscaling the in game environment, so I knew it was a bit ahead of your current focus. Also it would only be extended/deployed if the top-down data feed was disrupted, including the backup drone feed. I thought it would mix up the game experience and function as a difficulty challenge for an interval of a mission. Then the top-down image would be restored.
As for grabbing supplies I was thinking of a little more animation detail, the mech grabs, it removes the contents storing them internally, and then discards the empty container.
That's completely fair. I'd like to have some additional animations for the player's mech, but it requires swapping out the entire sprite for each frame due to the drawing method. I'll still see what I can do to add those details though.
By the way — I know you said you only have a laptop touchpad, but the game should be pretty friendly to play even without a mouse. I've actually played it quite extensively with my own laptop's touchpad for testing.
Thoroughly enjoyed my time playing all the missions available.
Favourite weapon was the Vulcan by far, you really nailed the sound design! I found it a bit jarring that the stationary turrents would move backwards on impact. It made them feel disconnected from the world in my opinion. I feel like the rail cannon should have a wider beam to make hitting multiple targets easier. I was struggling to rail multiple enemies even though it looked like it should of impacted.
Can't wait to purchase the full product on release :)
Got a crash on completing the first level for the first time, but can't recreate it. Also I feel it could do with a tutorial whenever you're getting closer to a bigger release.
Otherwise, this is really fun and I can't wait to see where you go with it
this game is amazing, perspective is top-down but the gameplay has the blend of intense speed and tactical depth which i can't remember since Gungriffon Blaze. sound design is even better than GG Blaze, the soundtrack is still a bit sparse, but the map select music is a real vibe. also im a sucker for quad-mechs and gorgeous pixelart lol. can't wait to see more missile varieties and customisation options for the engine and armour. thank you for making this game!
I had to close the demo almost immediately before it occupied time when I needed to be working. The style, the art, sound scoring and effects, the mechanics, all of it, I am thoroughly enjoying.
Missile idea: - Missile options that fire vertically to come straight down on intended targets, more direct (reduced splash damage) and over buildings, but you do not have the benefit of hitting multiple targets lined up (no line of fire).
Ideas on possible mission-specific parameters: - Hostiles appear on the map with the intent of destroying buildings and you're tasked with killing the enemies with the least amount of hostile and collateral damage. - Certain missions in a campaign come during times of attrition, if you ever progress to subcomponent destruction or replacements (maintaining inventory, repairs and battle damage), repairs must be conducted using the remains of enemy hulks. If you cause too much outright damage or continue to damage destroyed mechs, there is less to salvage or replacement parts.
I still play games like Ultima Online now and since release, and I can easily see myself playing something like this for as long as I have something that can run it. Keep up the work! If you ever get tired of it, please find a dedicated steward or open source or license it in the future. I'd love to see this with some kind of way for people to create campaigns/missions etc.
- Missile options that fire vertically to come straight down on intended targets, more direct (reduced splash damage) and over buildings, but you do not have the benefit of hitting multiple targets lined up (no line of fire).
Interesting idea. I'll see what I can do.
- Hostiles appear on the map with the intent of destroying buildings and you're tasked with killing the enemies with the least amount of hostile and collateral damage.
This has been planned for awhile, but I have yet to implement a mission where it happens. I think I'll need to have a meter on screen telling the player how much collateral damage they can cause before it's game over.
- Certain missions in a campaign come during times of attrition, if you ever progress to subcomponent destruction or replacements (maintaining inventory, repairs and battle damage), repairs must be conducted using the remains of enemy hulks. If you cause too much outright damage or continue to damage destroyed mechs, there is less to salvage or replacement parts.
That's a very novel idea. I've been working on adding wrecks to enemy tanks that the player can use as cover, but being able to salvage armor from them might be more interesting. I had also thought about the player's currency in the game being equipment salvaged from wrecks that you could sell as scrap to arms dealers in order to buy the weapons, but I'm not fully decided on that yet.
I still play games like Ultima Online now and since release, and I can easily see myself playing something like this for as long as I have something that can run it. Keep up the work! If you ever get tired of it, please find a dedicated steward or open source or license it in the future. I'd love to see this with some kind of way for people to create campaigns/missions etc.
Thank you! I hope to finish it myself, but if there ever comes a point where I really can't, I'll consider releasing the source code and some of the systems that I used for the engine.
Nicely done with the S ranks! Sorry about the AI getting stuck. I know their pathfinding can be quite poor depending on the level. It's one of the highest priority things right now to fix and improve.
this game deserves an award, had too much fun ion lie, please don't abandon this game bruv, something special here, everything's just so crisp and work like damn satisfaction is on point. love n support !
Was a lot of fun but I think the railgun might be too good! Just felt like I trivialized a lot of encounters by shooting through buildings. Maybe a smaller mag would or more charge time might help? Didn't feel like it had a lot of downside.
It will definitely be a late or even post game weapon since it's so excessively powerful. That said, I chose to include it in the demo anyway since it's too much fun not to play with. Maybe I'll cut the magazine down to just 20 shots.
The feeling of the movement and the aiming is slick, together with the way enemies move and projectiles fly is really smooth, it feels good. Overall, you've done sterling work with the physics. The look is great, unit design, explosions and the aesthetic, every bit is in sync from the HUD/UI, to the menus. It's really nice. The sounds too are excellent. I got nothing but praise for everything you've done.
If I can offer some feedback, which you can totally ignore and I'd still buy and love the game:
I saw that at the moment level score is determined by time and hits taken. I wonder if public damage will sometimes be a factor too? I don't know what your intention is yet with overall lore etc. but maybe depending on whether you'll go down a different factions path, and whether the missions become something akin to contracts one takes, and money won in order to buy equipment, where a fight is held could determine whether you need to be more careful with the collateral damage or will actually earn more the more damage you cause.
I saw that you intended to make the railgun a late game weapon because it's very powerful, which makes sense. I quite liked the need for perfect accuracy the gun required, maybe a heavy sniper rifle could be cool, one which fires instantly but has a slower reload. Maybe more semi-automatics or single shot weapons.
I'm not sure what else you've got planned but maybe a bit more intel going in regarding units could help you make the equipment choice.
I wonder if it would be cool to have different forms of boost. Like one where if you double tap a direction you do a sort of small power slide or shunt. Maybe there could be a slot for different evasive modules/equipment (when that helicopter's coming for me I'm terrified - love it).
The smoke grenade is excellent, also the spread and visualisation of the trajectory is just superb. I used it a lot to get the jump on a bunch of static heavy units often. That turret that shoots them out the sky is a pain in the ass, I love it, it forces different approaches, well done!
I really like the variety of the missions so far, the bug level was great, I really tried to not destroy the garden at first but things got desperate towards the end, and it's great to see the flame thrower shine (I liked the surprise of facing a different enemy species/group), and the last level where the speed with which one tries to eliminate the targets in order to not have reinforcements called in was great!
I really liked this one moment where I was caught amongst some parked cars, and I had full health so I can only imagine that that little grunt had hit the cars which blow me sky high. Great stuff.
I'm sorry, I got carried away.
Can't wait to see what you do, you've done excellent work so far. You're very talented.
I saw that at the moment level score is determined by time and hits taken. I wonder if public damage will sometimes be a factor too? I don't know what your intention is yet with overall lore etc. but maybe depending on whether you'll go down a different factions path, and whether the missions become something akin to contracts one takes, and money won in order to buy equipment, where a fight is held could determine whether you need to be more careful with the collateral damage or will actually earn more the more damage you cause.
I don't want to punish the player too hard for collateral damage since I find it fun to shoot through buildings, but there could definitely be a few missions where you're specifically instructed to keep below a certain threshold of collateral damage and not destroy some historical buildings.
I saw that you intended to make the railgun a late game weapon because it's very powerful, which makes sense. I quite liked the need for perfect accuracy the gun required, maybe a heavy sniper rifle could be cool, one which fires instantly but has a slower reload. Maybe more semi-automatics or single shot weapons.
That'd be a nice inbetween and way to balance another weapon like it, thanks for the suggestion.
I'm not sure what else you've got planned but maybe a bit more intel going in regarding units could help you make the equipment choice.
Noted. Maybe I'll put on the mission description a specific slot indicating whether or not there'll be things like enemy air support or heavy armor.
I wonder if it would be cool to have different forms of boost. Like one where if you double tap a direction you do a sort of small power slide or shunt. Maybe there could be a slot for different evasive modules/equipment (when that helicopter's coming for me I'm terrified - love it).
A lot of people have asked for a boost that damages enemies by charging. I like the idea of a dash-boost that goes through buildings, it could be a lot of fun. I plan on eventually adding an APS module you can select which will defend the player from incoming missiles and tank rounds.
The smoke grenade is excellent, also the spread and visualisation of the trajectory is just superb. I used it a lot to get the jump on a bunch of static heavy units often. That turret that shoots them out the sky is a pain in the ass, I love it, it forces different approaches, well done!
Nice! Glad to hear another smoke grenade user is happy with them. Those CIWS / C-RAM turrets are there specifically to stop players from always being able to snipe tanks with grenades, haha.
I really liked this one moment where I was caught amongst some parked cars, and I had full health so I can only imagine that that little grunt had hit the cars which blow me sky high. Great stuff.
Happened to me a few times as well!
Can't wait to see what you do, you've done excellent work so far. You're very talented.
Many thanks from the 1990's gamer for such a dynamic and interesting project. I look forward to the release of the full version on Steam or here. I wish you every success. It would be interesting to have a small PDF with a background, a description of the mech and its pilot.
Damn, this was such a good game, and I was hooked on getting those good scores. Though, I'd like to ask for advice on Mission 2. It is by far the hardest mission for me since the worms are homing on to me T-T what's the strategy there? Also, what's the highest score possible? I've only ever got A+.
In any case, this was a really fun game, and all the little details like sound and destruction animations are *chef's kiss*. Hope to see more of this!
I'd like to ask for advice on Mission 2. It is by far the hardest mission for me since the worms are homing on to me T-T what's the strategy there?
Typically I finish that mission with either the autocannon or thermal projector. You need to keep moving at all times and watch your surroundings so you don't get boxed-in. It's best to wait until there's a large amount of them swarming together so you can take them out with minimal ammo usage. Smoke grenades are also handy for slowing them down and making an escape when you're in a tight spot.
Also, what's the highest score possible? I've only ever got A+.
The highest score you can get is an S rank. For now the score is calculated by number of hits taken and your mission time. If you finish it under 2 minutes with just one hit taken you should be able to get an S, once you go over five or sustain more than a couple hits it will start to detract from your end score. Eventually the mission objectives will vary from just destroying all enemies so there'll be other things affecting the score result, but for now it's just those two things.
In any case, this was a really fun game, and all the little details like sound and destruction animations are *chef's kiss*. Hope to see more of this!
I also have some feedback and things that i REALLY love about this game!
First with what i love:
-this game gives so much soundgasm, it's amazing
-the visuals and details like fish, boats, car alarms, and buildings are just perfect!
-i love the idea of mission select being a map you can move on and draw patterns on (i drew an amogus), it makes it so much better so PLEASE don't change this!
-from the reactor thing and armor i can tell there's going to be SO much progress and potential for it
-i love the fact that we can see (who i assume) is our pilot character in the hangar (the redhead girl) is pretty cool
My feedback:
-the font is a bit small and thin (maybe it's just for me) so if it could be bolder and if we had the ability to change it by ourselves would be a cool thing
-some ammo boxes can glitch into buildings but they glitch out again, it doesn't bother me at all i just thought you might want to know
-if we could collect stuff and get some lore would be pretty cool
-one idea i had was that buildings serve little purpose even though there's urban warfare, so if there were some kind of anti-tank weapons hidden in them that would target you stealthily would make it more challenging
-the addition of stealth capabilities or going slower and night missions would be perfect
This is one of the most fun games I've ever played, keep cooking
-the font is a bit small and thin (maybe it's just for me) so if it could be bolder and if we had the ability to change it by ourselves would be a cool thing
I assume you mean the description text for the items in the hangar? I'm working on some new fonts to replace that, I realize it can be hard to read on a smaller display too.
-some ammo boxes can glitch into buildings but they glitch out again, it doesn't bother me at all i just thought you might want to know
This is a problem that I have yet to solve with the faux-3D physics of the game, so for now they just find the nearest building they're stuck in and eject by pushing away. I simply didn't have enough time to come up with a solution in this build.
-if we could collect stuff and get some lore would be pretty cool
You will!
-one idea i had was that buildings serve little purpose even though there's urban warfare, so if there were some kind of anti-tank weapons hidden in them that would target you stealthily would make it more challenging
That's a cool idea. I could see some enemies having urban camo which would just be straight up a roof or walls of a house put onto their vehicle.
-the addition of stealth capabilities or going slower and night missions would be perfect
I'm working on adding more stealth elements right now, I realize that aspect is quite lacking in the game despite it being in the description. Night missions are planned as well, there's just some optimization needed to be done with the drawing systems first.
This is one of the most fun games I've ever played, keep cooking
Really awesome! Beautifully done. I really love the smoke grenades, they feel really cool to use and I love that little crackle sound they make. Once I found the rail gun it was all over.
Glad you like the smoke grenades, they seem to be hit or miss for some people. The railgun is probably going to be a late game weapon since it's so over-powered, but it really is fun to vaporize anything standing in your way.
Fantastic, really happy to hear that. I've heard from a few people it might not even be necessary to make a Linux build since Proton is so good at emulating Windows, but I'll still see if I can squeeze out a build at some point via a VM, at least to compare if there's any performance boost.
Gotta be honest, i don't understand how you can call this a "work in progress". The only progress it really needs are new missions and a soundtrack. This game has style, terrific sound design and feeling to the guns. Arcade in the right way. There seems to already be a story behind the missions, even though there are only 5 for now. and for some reason it reminded me of Ace combat 3. Great game, would recommend anyone to pay for this.
Thank you kindly! There is still a lot of things that I want to add in addition to just new missions and music, particularly fleshing out a story similar to the likes of AC3 as you said as well as some more game mechanics; but for now I'm happy to see people find the core gameplay fun.
Please note, I'm using DeepL to translate this text. I apologize if your tone or translation is inaccurate.
Зверніть увагу, що для перекладу цього тексту я використовую DeepL. Я перепрошую, якщо ваш тон або переклад неточний.
Не бачу змін в порівнянні з тим що було два роки тому і що є зараз. I don't see any changes compared to two years ago and now. Так як два роки тому було всьго дві мапи. Because two years ago there were only two maps.
You played the entire game without ever once visiting the hangar to change your weapons. Click the button labelled "Hangar" next to deploy before starting.
Ви пройшли всю гру, жодного разу не відвідавши ангар, щоб змінити зброю. Перед початком гри натисніть кнопку з написом «HANGAR» поруч з пунктом розгортання.
This game has been in development for just short of a year, not two. You played the very first version which had far worse readability, only the first two maps, two weapons, and just the two kinds of enemies. This is a solo project, so slow development time should be expected. A lot was changed and added that is not immediately visible, but if you read through my development logs you can see a list of all the progress that has been made between builds.
Ця гра була в розробці трохи менше року, а не двох. Ви грали в найпершу версію, яка мала набагато гіршу читабельність, лише перші дві карти, дві зброї і лише два види ворогів. Це соло-проект, тому слід очікувати повільної розробки. Багато чого було змінено і додано, що не одразу помітно, але якщо ви захочете почитати мої журнали розробки, то зможете побачити список всього прогресу, який був досягнутий між білдами.
Але це мало за два роки і насправді нові мапи в плані дизайну жахливі та схожі одна на одну. But it's not enough for two years and in fact, the new maps are terrible in terms of design and look similar to each other.
Again - it has not been two years.
Знову ж таки, минуло менше двох років.
I admit for now the game maps are loosely put together. I'd like them to be more varied, but making new assets takes a lot of time. For now I'm still focusing on getting down some core game systems and trying to improve things like the enemy AI before I begin to work on improving the maps. Most of them in the game right now are placeholders and will likely not make it into the final product.
Я визнаю, що поки що карти гри не дуже добре складені. Мені б хотілося, щоб вони були більш різноманітними, але створення нових ресурсів займає багато часу. Наразі я все ще зосереджений на створенні деяких основних ігрових систем і намагаюся покращити такі речі, як ворожий ШІ, перш ніж почну працювати над покращенням мап. Більшість з них у грі зараз є лише заповнювачами і, скоріш за все, не потраплять до фінального продукту.
Як на мене краще орієнтуйтесь в плані будування мап на таку серію як "Urban Strike" As for me, it is better to focus on such a series as “Urban Strike” in terms of map building.
It's great, but it's not exactly what I want to do with my game.
Це чудово, але це не зовсім те, що я хочу зробити зі своєю грою.
Maybe I was really mistaken about the bullet time, I played the game for the first time.I just play a lot.
I understood everything.Thanks for the answer.
I also want to add ... about the AI. It's very good I liked how the enemies react to shots and that they can be distracted by shots.And of course, the fact that they have a field of view. Also, the general behavior on the map is very good.If you try to improve it.. then it will probably be just a bomb.
about Urban Chaos ... I didn't mean the concept of the game.I meant the design of the maps.Structurally.
I've sunk hundreds of hours into Brigador (not exaggerating!), and I've always wondered if there's another game that can satisfy my vehicular combat itch. Imagine my joy when I find this page!
Kickass vibes, baller gameplay. Loving what I'm seeing so far. Railgun and smartgun are my faves <3
This game really gives me a great feeling, the pace may not be too fast but the sound effects and images are very pleasing to the eye (this is my real feeling, no joke) and since the game is still in development, I also hope it will be your (or your team's) heart product
Holy fuck, the Railgun! I didnt know what to expect the first time I charged it, but it short of calamity! God grief, man, good game you ve made here. This shit is underrated!
Let me know if you still need music by the way. I'm a hobbyist composer and I work for free so would be happy to lend a hand if you think it would work. I have a portfolio linked below with various styles.
The C-RAM turrets can shoot down your grenades, but you can shoot down enemy missiles with all of the primary weapons (excluding the thermal projector)
- Garage is cassette futurism coded, at least the interface is. Wonderful.
- Holy shit MLAA missiles!
QOL STUFF:
- Keybinds. Probably been said by other people.
- Numbers in the menu as an option in settings?
- Turret direction vs reticle position indicator. Maybe a line?
- Maybe make it a bit clearer what environmentals will explode and damage you? Or give a list and images somewhere..
IDEASGUY DRABBLES:
It'd be nice to have something between Death By A Thousand Small Cuts Of 20mm, and Postal Code Killing Cannon. Maybe a nice 50mm stutter, or resurrect the HSTVL's cannon from the dead.
...and perhaps, a straight up 105mm Cannon? :P
As well, what about a couple missile types? HEAT and KE variants. HEAT trades most blast and destruction for single target impact. KE requires precision and timing, gaining damage over distance traveled.
An unfortunately realistic plasma cannon? Exceptional against soft targets. Worthless against armor. The plasma superheats things with water in them to the point of exploding.
They should've been added by now, but due to some unplanned delays I wasn't able to get them in this build. Next one should have the menus redone finally with rebinding functions implemented.
- Numbers in the menu as an option in settings?
Could you clarify what you mean by this?
- Turret direction vs reticle position indicator. Maybe a line?
Someone else requested an aim assist/laser line awhile ago. I'll see if I can have that as an option in the settings once they're redone.
- Maybe make it a bit clearer what environmentals will explode and damage you? Or give a list and images somewhere..
Noted.
It'd be nice to have something between Death By A Thousand Small Cuts Of 20mm, and Postal Code Killing Cannon. Maybe a nice 50mm stutter, or resurrect the HSTVL's cannon from the dead....and perhaps, a straight up 105mm Cannon? :P
I felt a basic tank gun might be boring but other people have asked for it too, so it's definitely going to make it in. Some intermediate burst fire weapons will probably be needed to space out the more heavy hitters too.
An unfortunately realistic plasma cannon? Exceptional against soft targets. Worthless against armor. The plasma superheats things with water in them to the point of exploding.
I like the idea of seeing the enemies burst into steam and smoke instead of just burning with the flamethrower. Sounds like it would have some pretty satisfying sound design.
Damn it! It was just amazing! I apologize for my English, I have badly own it. How long I have not played something like that. Sensation - as if I had returned back to childhood when I was 10 years old! Stylistics resembles something Metal Gear Solid the first games. Not by gameplay. You can even work a little in this direction.
Play people's nostalgia.
I would be glad if a full version of this game comes out. I was impressed by the passage with different weapons. Especially the second mission with worms. Exploring ammunition and first-aid kits are something. Especially when this happens behind the screen. You need to think before shooting.
Which did not please, especially for the first mission.
Opponents merge with the environment. It is often impossible to track where they are. Problems with color.
Tell us about the engine. Is this your own development? Interesting graphics. What is it based on. The movements seem very smooth. Which is not typical for 2D. What technology is based on?
Sorry about the readability issues on the first mission, I know the enemies can sometimes blend in. I'll see about changing the palette and colors slightly to be more readable.
This game is being made in Game Maker: Studio. I've come up with some methods of procedural animation and little tricks to make the game appear 3D, but in actuality it's entirely 2D.
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
What's up Mezzsoft. I'm already a big fan of your work and I only found it yesterday. I haven't played it because I only have a laptop with no mouse, but I do have a bunch of ideas that just flooded in when I saw your game. I read some of the other players' suggestions and expanded on them too. Game concept and design is my hobby and I thought, since my head was getting too full of ideas to rely on rote memory, I should write some of it down and why not share it with you while I'm at it. I hope you don't mind, but if you like my ideas I've got a lot more, I just don't want to overwhelm you. Here is a link PDF copy and pasted onto google docs.
Thank you for the ideas; unfortunately it seems your Google doc is restricted.
Oops sorry. Is it open now?
It's opened now. Thanks!
I don't want to spoil too much, but a select few of these I've already had plans to implement for awhile now. Without being too specific, you can expect some of the features in section 3, 4.1, and 5!
Some of these you've come up with are very interesting - in particular having visible equipment strapped to the mech and the optical mast, but the scale is unfortunately quite small, so showing them in-game might be difficult. Instead of ammunition, I could see a pickup you need to return back to base with being visible on the rear of the turret though, that'd be cool to see.
I'm glad to see you read through it.
The optical mast idea would require upscaling the in game environment, so I knew it was a bit ahead of your current focus. Also it would only be extended/deployed if the top-down data feed was disrupted, including the backup drone feed. I thought it would mix up the game experience and function as a difficulty challenge for an interval of a mission. Then the top-down image would be restored.
As for grabbing supplies I was thinking of a little more animation detail, the mech grabs, it removes the contents storing them internally, and then discards the empty container.
That's completely fair. I'd like to have some additional animations for the player's mech, but it requires swapping out the entire sprite for each frame due to the drawing method. I'll still see what I can do to add those details though.
By the way — I know you said you only have a laptop touchpad, but the game should be pretty friendly to play even without a mouse. I've actually played it quite extensively with my own laptop's touchpad for testing.
Thoroughly enjoyed my time playing all the missions available.
Favourite weapon was the Vulcan by far, you really nailed the sound design!
I found it a bit jarring that the stationary turrents would move backwards on impact.
It made them feel disconnected from the world in my opinion.
I feel like the rail cannon should have a wider beam to make hitting multiple targets easier. I was struggling to rail multiple enemies even though it looked like it should of impacted.
Can't wait to purchase the full product on release :)
Got a crash on completing the first level for the first time, but can't recreate it. Also I feel it could do with a tutorial whenever you're getting closer to a bigger release.
Otherwise, this is really fun and I can't wait to see where you go with it
My apologies. Do you recall if there was an error message displayed before it closed?
Tutorial going over all the controls and systems is planned, thanks for playing!
There was, but I forget exactly what it said. Something about an error displaying something? Wish I could be more help with that
looks like brigador
Absolute cinema, will be waiting for the full release
Thank you for playing!
It was SO ENTERTAINING ! I made a little video of it in french quickly to show to my friends, (hope it reaches others).
I've shared this game page with others too. Hope your project will get farther !!
Thank you for making a video! I chuckled whenever you did the voice saying the name of the game and mission complete, haha
Much appreciated for sharing it too!
this game is amazing, perspective is top-down but the gameplay has the blend of intense speed and tactical depth which i can't remember since Gungriffon Blaze. sound design is even better than GG Blaze, the soundtrack is still a bit sparse, but the map select music is a real vibe. also im a sucker for quad-mechs and gorgeous pixelart lol. can't wait to see more missile varieties and customisation options for the engine and armour. thank you for making this game!
Nice to see another Gungriffon fan! There was definitely some inspiration with the UI and other design elements from that classic series.
Thank you for playing!
I had to close the demo almost immediately before it occupied time when I needed to be working. The style, the art, sound scoring and effects, the mechanics, all of it, I am thoroughly enjoying.
Missile idea:
- Missile options that fire vertically to come straight down on intended targets, more direct (reduced splash damage) and over buildings, but you do not have the benefit of hitting multiple targets lined up (no line of fire).
Ideas on possible mission-specific parameters:
- Hostiles appear on the map with the intent of destroying buildings and you're tasked with killing the enemies with the least amount of hostile and collateral damage.
- Certain missions in a campaign come during times of attrition, if you ever progress to subcomponent destruction or replacements (maintaining inventory, repairs and battle damage), repairs must be conducted using the remains of enemy hulks. If you cause too much outright damage or continue to damage destroyed mechs, there is less to salvage or replacement parts.
I still play games like Ultima Online now and since release, and I can easily see myself playing something like this for as long as I have something that can run it. Keep up the work! If you ever get tired of it, please find a dedicated steward or open source or license it in the future. I'd love to see this with some kind of way for people to create campaigns/missions etc.
Cheers!
Cheers for playing and the ideas!
Interesting idea. I'll see what I can do.
This has been planned for awhile, but I have yet to implement a mission where it happens. I think I'll need to have a meter on screen telling the player how much collateral damage they can cause before it's game over.
That's a very novel idea. I've been working on adding wrecks to enemy tanks that the player can use as cover, but being able to salvage armor from them might be more interesting. I had also thought about the player's currency in the game being equipment salvaged from wrecks that you could sell as scrap to arms dealers in order to buy the weapons, but I'm not fully decided on that yet.
Thank you! I hope to finish it myself, but if there ever comes a point where I really can't, I'll consider releasing the source code and some of the systems that I used for the engine.
This game is great, got S on all missions, 0 hits. The only bug I saw is the AI getting stuck on buildings. The art style is really cool.
Nicely done with the S ranks! Sorry about the AI getting stuck. I know their pathfinding can be quite poor depending on the level. It's one of the highest priority things right now to fix and improve.
this game deserves an award, had too much fun ion lie, please don't abandon this game bruv, something special here, everything's just so crisp and work like damn satisfaction is on point. love n support !
Thank you for your kind words and support!
Was a lot of fun but I think the railgun might be too good!
Just felt like I trivialized a lot of encounters by shooting through buildings.
Maybe a smaller mag would or more charge time might help? Didn't feel like it had a lot of downside.
It will definitely be a late or even post game weapon since it's so excessively powerful. That said, I chose to include it in the demo anyway since it's too much fun not to play with. Maybe I'll cut the magazine down to just 20 shots.
i love it
<3
This is a brilliant game!
The feeling of the movement and the aiming is slick, together with the way enemies move and projectiles fly is really smooth, it feels good. Overall, you've done sterling work with the physics. The look is great, unit design, explosions and the aesthetic, every bit is in sync from the HUD/UI, to the menus. It's really nice. The sounds too are excellent. I got nothing but praise for everything you've done.
If I can offer some feedback, which you can totally ignore and I'd still buy and love the game:
I saw that at the moment level score is determined by time and hits taken. I wonder if public damage will sometimes be a factor too? I don't know what your intention is yet with overall lore etc. but maybe depending on whether you'll go down a different factions path, and whether the missions become something akin to contracts one takes, and money won in order to buy equipment, where a fight is held could determine whether you need to be more careful with the collateral damage or will actually earn more the more damage you cause.
I saw that you intended to make the railgun a late game weapon because it's very powerful, which makes sense. I quite liked the need for perfect accuracy the gun required, maybe a heavy sniper rifle could be cool, one which fires instantly but has a slower reload. Maybe more semi-automatics or single shot weapons.
I'm not sure what else you've got planned but maybe a bit more intel going in regarding units could help you make the equipment choice.
I wonder if it would be cool to have different forms of boost. Like one where if you double tap a direction you do a sort of small power slide or shunt. Maybe there could be a slot for different evasive modules/equipment (when that helicopter's coming for me I'm terrified - love it).
The smoke grenade is excellent, also the spread and visualisation of the trajectory is just superb. I used it a lot to get the jump on a bunch of static heavy units often. That turret that shoots them out the sky is a pain in the ass, I love it, it forces different approaches, well done!
I really like the variety of the missions so far, the bug level was great, I really tried to not destroy the garden at first but things got desperate towards the end, and it's great to see the flame thrower shine (I liked the surprise of facing a different enemy species/group), and the last level where the speed with which one tries to eliminate the targets in order to not have reinforcements called in was great!
I really liked this one moment where I was caught amongst some parked cars, and I had full health so I can only imagine that that little grunt had hit the cars which blow me sky high. Great stuff.
I'm sorry, I got carried away.
Can't wait to see what you do, you've done excellent work so far. You're very talented.
Thank you for the kind words and feedback!
I don't want to punish the player too hard for collateral damage since I find it fun to shoot through buildings, but there could definitely be a few missions where you're specifically instructed to keep below a certain threshold of collateral damage and not destroy some historical buildings.
That'd be a nice inbetween and way to balance another weapon like it, thanks for the suggestion.
Noted. Maybe I'll put on the mission description a specific slot indicating whether or not there'll be things like enemy air support or heavy armor.
A lot of people have asked for a boost that damages enemies by charging. I like the idea of a dash-boost that goes through buildings, it could be a lot of fun. I plan on eventually adding an APS module you can select which will defend the player from incoming missiles and tank rounds.
Nice! Glad to hear another smoke grenade user is happy with them. Those CIWS / C-RAM turrets are there specifically to stop players from always being able to snipe tanks with grenades, haha.
Happened to me a few times as well!
You're too kind! Thank you.
this realy good feels like im playing hotline miami but with mech
Hotline Mech-ami!
Gameplay is fun, style is nice, the way how everything blows is awesome. I'll be waiting for full release
Cheers, I'm glad you like it!
Many thanks from the 1990's gamer for such a dynamic and interesting project. I look forward to the release of the full version on Steam or here.
I wish you every success.
It would be interesting to have a small PDF with a background, a description of the mech and its pilot.
Thank you! It'll be some time, but a Steam release is planned.
Eventually there will also be some supporting material illustrating things like the mechs and characters, hopefully.
Thanks for playing and making a video!
Some people said you should make this game on Steam, it might blow up
Eventually!
Thanks for the walkthrough, thanks to it I learned about this game.
Damn, this was such a good game, and I was hooked on getting those good scores. Though, I'd like to ask for advice on Mission 2. It is by far the hardest mission for me since the worms are homing on to me T-T what's the strategy there? Also, what's the highest score possible? I've only ever got A+.
In any case, this was a really fun game, and all the little details like sound and destruction animations are *chef's kiss*. Hope to see more of this!
Typically I finish that mission with either the autocannon or thermal projector. You need to keep moving at all times and watch your surroundings so you don't get boxed-in. It's best to wait until there's a large amount of them swarming together so you can take them out with minimal ammo usage. Smoke grenades are also handy for slowing them down and making an escape when you're in a tight spot.
The highest score you can get is an S rank. For now the score is calculated by number of hits taken and your mission time. If you finish it under 2 minutes with just one hit taken you should be able to get an S, once you go over five or sustain more than a couple hits it will start to detract from your end score. Eventually the mission objectives will vary from just destroying all enemies so there'll be other things affecting the score result, but for now it's just those two things.
Thank you! More to come.
This is an AMAZING game!
Please don't abandon it, it's so good
I also have some feedback and things that i REALLY love about this game!
First with what i love:
-this game gives so much soundgasm, it's amazing
-the visuals and details like fish, boats, car alarms, and buildings are just perfect!
-i love the idea of mission select being a map you can move on and draw patterns on (i drew an amogus), it makes it so much better so PLEASE don't change this!
-from the reactor thing and armor i can tell there's going to be SO much progress and potential for it
-i love the fact that we can see (who i assume) is our pilot character in the hangar (the redhead girl) is pretty cool
My feedback:
-the font is a bit small and thin (maybe it's just for me) so if it could be bolder and if we had the ability to change it by ourselves would be a cool thing
-some ammo boxes can glitch into buildings but they glitch out again, it doesn't bother me at all i just thought you might want to know
-if we could collect stuff and get some lore would be pretty cool
-one idea i had was that buildings serve little purpose even though there's urban warfare, so if there were some kind of anti-tank weapons hidden in them that would target you stealthily would make it more challenging
-the addition of stealth capabilities or going slower and night missions would be perfect
This is one of the most fun games I've ever played, keep cooking
Thank you for playing and the kind words!
I assume you mean the description text for the items in the hangar? I'm working on some new fonts to replace that, I realize it can be hard to read on a smaller display too.
This is a problem that I have yet to solve with the faux-3D physics of the game, so for now they just find the nearest building they're stuck in and eject by pushing away. I simply didn't have enough time to come up with a solution in this build.
You will!
That's a cool idea. I could see some enemies having urban camo which would just be straight up a roof or walls of a house put onto their vehicle.
I'm working on adding more stealth elements right now, I realize that aspect is quite lacking in the game despite it being in the description. Night missions are planned as well, there's just some optimization needed to be done with the drawing systems first.
Thanks! I'm trying, haha.
Thank you so much for the effort put into the game and the detailed reply.
I just wanted to ask if you had any official discord channel or subreddit for the game?
Would buy it, soundgasm level audio.
Thank you!
Really awesome! Beautifully done. I really love the smoke grenades, they feel really cool to use and I love that little crackle sound they make. Once I found the rail gun it was all over.
Glad you like the smoke grenades, they seem to be hit or miss for some people. The railgun is probably going to be a late game weapon since it's so over-powered, but it really is fun to vaporize anything standing in your way.
Really this game just needs more missions, a soundtrack and a progression system and its golden (why is the pilot a baddie 😭)
Thanks for playing! Each of those things are being slowly worked on.
A heavy dose of gene-editing and a healthy diet!
Unfortunately I'm getting this error right after clicking DEPLOY:
"FATAL ERROR in Vertex Shader compilation
ShaderName: shd_outline_old
D3DXCompile failed - result
at gml_Object_o_player_Draw_0"
It looks amazing, but I can't play it yet
Please try downloading the DirectX9 patch from the Microsoft website, it should work on any Windows version. If you're using Linux, please use Winetricks to install it. https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=35
That worked for me, thank you! this was such a fun game
Can confirm this can be added to Steam and run on Proton in Linux with no extra fiddling.
It's awesome. The guns are full safeties-off madness. A visual treat.
Fantastic, really happy to hear that. I've heard from a few people it might not even be necessary to make a Linux build since Proton is so good at emulating Windows, but I'll still see if I can squeeze out a build at some point via a VM, at least to compare if there's any performance boost.
Always appreciated!
Gotta be honest, i don't understand how you can call this a "work in progress". The only progress it really needs are new missions and a soundtrack. This game has style, terrific sound design and feeling to the guns. Arcade in the right way. There seems to already be a story behind the missions, even though there are only 5 for now. and for some reason it reminded me of Ace combat 3. Great game, would recommend anyone to pay for this.
Thank you kindly! There is still a lot of things that I want to add in addition to just new missions and music, particularly fleshing out a story similar to the likes of AC3 as you said as well as some more game mechanics; but for now I'm happy to see people find the core gameplay fun.
Try chucking some grenades in the water, you should see some fish come flying out too.
i love this so much! the mech designs are PRISTINE..i would love to see a blueprint of the main mech.
Thanks! There'll be a lot of ways to see the designs up close including the player's mech!
Не бачу змін в порівнянні з тим що було два роки тому і що є зараз.
Хоча звісно додали нових мап
Так як два роки тому було всьго дві мапи.
Але це мало за два роки і насправді нові мапи в плані дизайну жахливі та схожі одна на одну.
Як на мене краще орієнтуйтесь в плані будування мап на таку серію як "Urban Strike"
Please note, I'm using DeepL to translate this text. I apologize if your tone or translation is inaccurate.
Зверніть увагу, що для перекладу цього тексту я використовую DeepL. Я перепрошую, якщо ваш тон або переклад неточний.
You played the entire game without ever once visiting the hangar to change your weapons. Click the button labelled "Hangar" next to deploy before starting.
Ви пройшли всю гру, жодного разу не відвідавши ангар, щоб змінити зброю. Перед початком гри натисніть кнопку з написом «HANGAR» поруч з пунктом розгортання.
This game has been in development for just short of a year, not two. You played the very first version which had far worse readability, only the first two maps, two weapons, and just the two kinds of enemies. This is a solo project, so slow development time should be expected. A lot was changed and added that is not immediately visible, but if you read through my development logs you can see a list of all the progress that has been made between builds.
Ця гра була в розробці трохи менше року, а не двох. Ви грали в найпершу версію, яка мала набагато гіршу читабельність, лише перші дві карти, дві зброї і лише два види ворогів. Це соло-проект, тому слід очікувати повільної розробки. Багато чого було змінено і додано, що не одразу помітно, але якщо ви захочете почитати мої журнали розробки, то зможете побачити список всього прогресу, який був досягнутий між білдами.
Again - it has not been two years.
Знову ж таки, минуло менше двох років.
I admit for now the game maps are loosely put together. I'd like them to be more varied, but making new assets takes a lot of time. For now I'm still focusing on getting down some core game systems and trying to improve things like the enemy AI before I begin to work on improving the maps. Most of them in the game right now are placeholders and will likely not make it into the final product.
Я визнаю, що поки що карти гри не дуже добре складені. Мені б хотілося, щоб вони були більш різноманітними, але створення нових ресурсів займає багато часу. Наразі я все ще зосереджений на створенні деяких основних ігрових систем і намагаюся покращити такі речі, як ворожий ШІ, перш ніж почну працювати над покращенням мап. Більшість з них у грі зараз є лише заповнювачами і, скоріш за все, не потраплять до фінального продукту.
It's great, but it's not exactly what I want to do with my game.
Це чудово, але це не зовсім те, що я хочу зробити зі своєю грою.
I didn't expect such a detailed answer.
Maybe I was really mistaken about the bullet time, I played the game for the first time. I just play a lot.
I understood everything. Thanks for the answer.
I also want to add ... about the AI. It's very good I liked how the enemies react to shots and that they can be distracted by shots. And of course, the fact that they have a field of view. Also, the general behavior on the map is very good. If you try to improve it.. then it will probably be just a bomb.
about Urban Chaos ... I didn't mean the concept of the game. I meant the design of the maps. Structurally.
Fucking incredible.
Glad you like it!
The UI of the game is really amazing and fits well with the themeing of the game, keep going with what you're doing. Amazing!
Thanks! Expect more of it, some overhauled UI elements should be coming soon.
I've sunk hundreds of hours into Brigador (not exaggerating!), and I've always wondered if there's another game that can satisfy my vehicular combat itch. Imagine my joy when I find this page!
Kickass vibes, baller gameplay. Loving what I'm seeing so far. Railgun and smartgun are my faves <3
Awesome! Glad to hear that it can stand with that classic.
Railgun and smartgun are my go-to weapons as well!
This game really gives me a great feeling, the pace may not be too fast but the sound effects and images are very pleasing to the eye (this is my real feeling, no joke) and since the game is still in development, I also hope it will be your (or your team's) heart product
Cheers!
this game is sooo cool and very awesome dude, high quality games
Holy fuck, the Railgun! I didnt know what to expect the first time I charged it, but it short of calamity! God grief, man, good game you ve made here. This shit is underrated!
Glad you like it! The railgun is a favorite of mine as well.
I like the direction you're taking this game in.
Let me know if you still need music by the way. I'm a hobbyist composer and I work for free so would be happy to lend a hand if you think it would work. I have a portfolio linked below with various styles.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8KB94rr0WMuSPkls7cxwWOMdOt5gtu0Q&si=sXiaCsPR...
Thanks for the offer, I'll let you know.
no problem
Весело
Спасибо
...wait, you can intercept the grenades? holy shit.
The C-RAM turrets can shoot down your grenades, but you can shoot down enemy missiles with all of the primary weapons (excluding the thermal projector)
i love you.
NOISES:
- This game is wonderfully rendered.
- Vibes are immaculate
- Garage is cassette futurism coded, at least the interface is. Wonderful.
- Holy shit MLAA missiles!
QOL STUFF:
- Keybinds. Probably been said by other people.
- Numbers in the menu as an option in settings?
- Turret direction vs reticle position indicator. Maybe a line?
- Maybe make it a bit clearer what environmentals will explode and damage you? Or give a list and images somewhere..
IDEASGUY DRABBLES:
It'd be nice to have something between Death By A Thousand Small Cuts Of 20mm, and Postal Code Killing Cannon. Maybe a nice 50mm stutter, or resurrect the HSTVL's cannon from the dead.
...and perhaps, a straight up 105mm Cannon? :P
As well, what about a couple missile types? HEAT and KE variants. HEAT trades most blast and destruction for single target impact. KE requires precision and timing, gaining damage over distance traveled.
An unfortunately realistic plasma cannon? Exceptional against soft targets. Worthless against armor. The plasma superheats things with water in them to the point of exploding.
Cheers for playing!
They should've been added by now, but due to some unplanned delays I wasn't able to get them in this build. Next one should have the menus redone finally with rebinding functions implemented.
Could you clarify what you mean by this?
Someone else requested an aim assist/laser line awhile ago. I'll see if I can have that as an option in the settings once they're redone.
Noted.
I felt a basic tank gun might be boring but other people have asked for it too, so it's definitely going to make it in. Some intermediate burst fire weapons will probably be needed to space out the more heavy hitters too.
I like the idea of seeing the enemies burst into steam and smoke instead of just burning with the flamethrower. Sounds like it would have some pretty satisfying sound design.
Thanks again!
Dropping a comment as a friend shared this to me, truly a nostalgic feeling this game is giving.
Gives a Brigador feeling with warm colors for its palette!
The bird's eye view also give an additional vibe to it.
Really looking forward for this game to fully develop!
Thanks for playing!
I hope to turn up the vibes even further.
Damn it! It was just amazing! I apologize for my English, I have badly own it. How long I have not played something like that. Sensation - as if I had returned back to childhood when I was 10 years old! Stylistics resembles something Metal Gear Solid the first games. Not by gameplay. You can even work a little in this direction.
Play people's nostalgia.
I would be glad if a full version of this game comes out. I was impressed by the passage with different weapons. Especially the second mission with worms. Exploring ammunition and first-aid kits are something. Especially when this happens behind the screen. You need to think before shooting.
Which did not please, especially for the first mission.
Opponents merge with the environment. It is often impossible to track where they are. Problems with color.
Tell us about the engine. Is this your own development? Interesting graphics. What is it based on. The movements seem very smooth. Which is not typical for 2D. What technology is based on?
Thanks for playing!
Sorry about the readability issues on the first mission, I know the enemies can sometimes blend in. I'll see about changing the palette and colors slightly to be more readable.
This game is being made in Game Maker: Studio. I've come up with some methods of procedural animation and little tricks to make the game appear 3D, but in actuality it's entirely 2D.