How do I make my platform game work in 3Dvision?
  4 / 4    
Looks great so far, I've backed! :) Just a quick feedback note, the "squish" noises for contacting platforms (seen at 2.45) feel a bit too lengthy to me, and might have the effect of making the platforming feel slightly less snappy than it looks to be. The concept of the sound itself is fine, I'd just suggest speeding it up, or picking a slightly "snappier" sounding one.
Looks great so far, I've backed! :)

Just a quick feedback note, the "squish" noises for contacting platforms (seen at 2.45) feel a bit too lengthy to me, and might have the effect of making the platforming feel slightly less snappy than it looks to be. The concept of the sound itself is fine, I'd just suggest speeding it up, or picking a slightly "snappier" sounding one.

#46
Posted 10/15/2016 04:01 AM   
Hmm. I've never thought of that, but even without looking at it I know what you mean, and I think you're probably right! I'll let my audio guys know. The sound effects are still in a rough state at the moment - little more than placeholder (they've put much more effort into the music at this stage). But I'll pass that on and make sure they make a snappier version in time for my show at PAX Aus in Nov! Thanks and thanks, Pirateguybrush! :)
Hmm. I've never thought of that, but even without looking at it I know what you mean, and I think you're probably right!

I'll let my audio guys know. The sound effects are still in a rough state at the moment - little more than placeholder (they've put much more effort into the music at this stage). But I'll pass that on and make sure they make a snappier version in time for my show at PAX Aus in Nov!

Thanks and thanks, Pirateguybrush! :)

ImageVolnaPC.com - Tips, tweaks, performance comparisons (PhysX card, SLI scaling, etc)

#47
Posted 10/15/2016 09:44 AM   
I wrote an article about animation that was chosen as a "featured post" on gamasutra: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DaveBleja/20161018/283440/5_tips_to_make_your_game_animations_better.php Also, a really lovely writeup from Cliqist - I couldn't have wished for a better headline: [color="orange"][b]Spryke deserves to be the next iconic platforming star![/b][/color] :D http://cliqist.com/2016/10/18/spryke-deserves-to-be-the-next-iconic-platforming-star/
I wrote an article about animation that was chosen as a "featured post" on gamasutra:

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DaveBleja/20161018/283440/5_tips_to_make_your_game_animations_better.php


Also, a really lovely writeup from Cliqist - I couldn't have wished for a better headline: Spryke deserves to be the next iconic platforming star! :D


http://cliqist.com/2016/10/18/spryke-deserves-to-be-the-next-iconic-platforming-star/

ImageVolnaPC.com - Tips, tweaks, performance comparisons (PhysX card, SLI scaling, etc)

#48
Posted 10/19/2016 01:34 AM   
I might be a bit late to the party but now I've backed. I'm happy I'm retired as that brings a steady income. Without all that spare time I would have never even considered writing a proxy dll for DirectX 9, 10, 11. Read your post on gamasutra and it was good. I wish you the best of luck as your passionate game needs to find a bigger audience. The bad part of being retired is that you have very little income so my pledge was pretty minor. You're animating for both 60hz and 120hz while 144 is more of an odd number requiring different animations. Animating offline at 3 different speed, I don't envy you. Multiple resolutions like 4k, 1050p, 720p and aspect ratios like 4:3 and 16:10 complicates things. It has been covered before but it is not viable to get enough cash from this community. Chiri tried but failed due to multiple reasons. It's hard to beat free and HeliX never asked for any money but had limited spare time. He also decided to leave never to be heard from again. Good luck with spryke Ulf "Flugan" Jälmbrant I don't know what to say but I know nobody in real life that has a 3D capable display. From what I can tell only a tiny fraction of TVs have 3D these days and 3D Vision monitors don't grow on trees either.
I might be a bit late to the party but now I've backed.

I'm happy I'm retired as that brings a steady income.

Without all that spare time I would have never even considered writing a proxy dll for DirectX 9, 10, 11.

Read your post on gamasutra and it was good.

I wish you the best of luck as your passionate game needs to find a bigger audience.

The bad part of being retired is that you have very little income so my pledge was pretty minor.

You're animating for both 60hz and 120hz while 144 is more of an odd number requiring different animations. Animating offline at 3 different speed, I don't envy you.

Multiple resolutions like 4k, 1050p, 720p and aspect ratios like 4:3 and 16:10 complicates things.

It has been covered before but it is not viable to get enough cash from this community. Chiri tried but failed due to multiple reasons. It's hard to beat free and HeliX never asked for any money but had limited spare time. He also decided to leave never to be heard from again.

Good luck with spryke
Ulf "Flugan" Jälmbrant

I don't know what to say but I know nobody in real life that has a 3D capable display.
From what I can tell only a tiny fraction of TVs have 3D these days and 3D Vision monitors don't grow on trees either.

Thanks to everybody using my assembler it warms my heart.
To have a critical piece of code that everyone can enjoy!
What more can you ask for?

donations: ulfjalmbrant@hotmail.com

#49
Posted 10/19/2016 07:24 AM   
There's a new playable demo of Spryke available now. You can download it on [url="http://gamejolt.com/games/spryke/189140"]gamejolt[/url] [img]http://i.giphy.com/l0MYsgCQk9KgVNBqo.gif[/img] Also, thanks Flugan :)
There's a new playable demo of Spryke available now. You can download it on gamejolt

Image


Also, thanks Flugan :)

ImageVolnaPC.com - Tips, tweaks, performance comparisons (PhysX card, SLI scaling, etc)

#50
Posted 10/30/2016 04:04 AM   
Checking it out now, you've got some great stuff here. A few notes as I play. -Animation and movement is really responsive and feels great -Great range of mechanics -The flip animation when Spryke does an upside down run feels like it might not need the inbetween frame (or are there 2?). Dropping a frame from that might make it feel snappier. -There's an animation pop on Spryke's back fin when he lands on a wall. -You've got great music, but it's a little too loud for the sound effects to push through -The difficulty curve feels pretty inconsistent to me -Demo is probably a little long. I enjoyed it, but I think you need to strike more of a balance between building anticipation and satisfying people's appetites -Levels play well for the most part, however it's often unclear which way you're headed, and it can be difficult to read the level ahead of you quickly enough to respond to what's coming. This often resulted in quite a lot of trial and error before I actually worked out where I was trying to get to, and where the bonus collectable was. Perhaps a zoomed out camera before the level begins would help with this, so you can mentally plan an approach first. -Traps felt a little too aggressively placed. Perhaps these were later levels, but it feels like there's very little margin for error most of the time - when combined with the trial and error process I mentioned above, this can make it feel a bit unfair and frustrating at times. -Timed traps didn't seem 100% consistent. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but bullets and wind didn't seem to operate on a predictable time. By which I mean, sometimes I'd make a jump towards the first windsock, right at the start of the level, and it would trigger wind and kill me. Sometimes it didn't. It felt like I was jumping at the same time after the level began each time. -Loving the organic design elements - Spryke himself, and the enemy plants/creatures. -Great background art, particularly in the caves -The sharpness of the foreground level elements feels a bit too much of a contrast to the characters and backgrounds. I'm not sure if this stuff is placeholder or not, but I feel like it would look a lot better with a more organic feel to match the character and background art (though sharper, more industrial areas would work just fine in "zones" with that theme).
Checking it out now, you've got some great stuff here. A few notes as I play.

-Animation and movement is really responsive and feels great

-Great range of mechanics

-The flip animation when Spryke does an upside down run feels like it might not need the inbetween frame (or are there 2?). Dropping a frame from that might make it feel snappier.

-There's an animation pop on Spryke's back fin when he lands on a wall.

-You've got great music, but it's a little too loud for the sound effects to push through

-The difficulty curve feels pretty inconsistent to me

-Demo is probably a little long. I enjoyed it, but I think you need to strike more of a balance between building anticipation and satisfying people's appetites

-Levels play well for the most part, however it's often unclear which way you're headed, and it can be difficult to read the level ahead of you quickly enough to respond to what's coming. This often resulted in quite a lot of trial and error before I actually worked out where I was trying to get to, and where the bonus collectable was. Perhaps a zoomed out camera before the level begins would help with this, so you can mentally plan an approach first.

-Traps felt a little too aggressively placed. Perhaps these were later levels, but it feels like there's very little margin for error most of the time - when combined with the trial and error process I mentioned above, this can make it feel a bit unfair and frustrating at times.

-Timed traps didn't seem 100% consistent. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but bullets and wind didn't seem to operate on a predictable time. By which I mean, sometimes I'd make a jump towards the first windsock, right at the start of the level, and it would trigger wind and kill me. Sometimes it didn't. It felt like I was jumping at the same time after the level began each time.

-Loving the organic design elements - Spryke himself, and the enemy plants/creatures.

-Great background art, particularly in the caves

-The sharpness of the foreground level elements feels a bit too much of a contrast to the characters and backgrounds. I'm not sure if this stuff is placeholder or not, but I feel like it would look a lot better with a more organic feel to match the character and background art (though sharper, more industrial areas would work just fine in "zones" with that theme).

#51
Posted 10/30/2016 07:50 AM   
That's great feedback, Pirate. Some of it I'm aware of (and is sitting on my to-do-list), while other bits were new feedback, so I've taken note. How many levels do you think would be good for the demo? I'm just preparing the build for PAX Aus this weekend, and I'm trying to figure out what the best length would be. I'm also thinking of having some sort of contest where you can win Spryke merch. There are cheap prizes, like slapbands, and an expensive prize, like a custom Spryke Xbox Elite gamepad worth a few hundred bucks. So, I was thinking that maybe you have to try and get the best time in a certain level. If you best xx:xx time, you get a slapband. If you get the fastest time of the whole con, you win the gamepad. But that might encourage people to sit there for 30 minutes grinding the same level, which would be bad (would occupy a seat, and would be boring for onlookers). Any ideas?
That's great feedback, Pirate. Some of it I'm aware of (and is sitting on my to-do-list), while other bits were new feedback, so I've taken note.

How many levels do you think would be good for the demo? I'm just preparing the build for PAX Aus this weekend, and I'm trying to figure out what the best length would be.

I'm also thinking of having some sort of contest where you can win Spryke merch. There are cheap prizes, like slapbands, and an expensive prize, like a custom Spryke Xbox Elite gamepad worth a few hundred bucks.

So, I was thinking that maybe you have to try and get the best time in a certain level. If you best xx:xx time, you get a slapband. If you get the fastest time of the whole con, you win the gamepad. But that might encourage people to sit there for 30 minutes grinding the same level, which would be bad (would occupy a seat, and would be boring for onlookers). Any ideas?

ImageVolnaPC.com - Tips, tweaks, performance comparisons (PhysX card, SLI scaling, etc)

#52
Posted 10/31/2016 07:19 AM   
I'm not a game developer by any stretch (I have studied animation though), so don't take me too seriously. The tutorial stages are important, after those I'd probably keep it down to somewhere between 5-8 levels. 4-5 easy/medium difficulty, and 1-3 harder ones. I think the caves levels were strongest (though the one that starts you off above the moving platform had me stuck for a few moments, as after I jumped up to collect the pink thing I was looking for a way to go up. I'd discounted the right hand path as it looked like it didn't go anywhere at first glance. I found "Porcupine" frustrating. The combination of a tricky obstacle right at the start, followed by tricky stuff immediately afterwards means I rarely got a look at the middle/end of that level. If you've only got one Spryke controller, maybe it would be better to use that for the demonstrations, and give away something else as the prize? It might be more valuable as a promotional demo gimmick.
I'm not a game developer by any stretch (I have studied animation though), so don't take me too seriously.

The tutorial stages are important, after those I'd probably keep it down to somewhere between 5-8 levels. 4-5 easy/medium difficulty, and 1-3 harder ones.

I think the caves levels were strongest (though the one that starts you off above the moving platform had me stuck for a few moments, as after I jumped up to collect the pink thing I was looking for a way to go up. I'd discounted the right hand path as it looked like it didn't go anywhere at first glance.

I found "Porcupine" frustrating. The combination of a tricky obstacle right at the start, followed by tricky stuff immediately afterwards means I rarely got a look at the middle/end of that level.

If you've only got one Spryke controller, maybe it would be better to use that for the demonstrations, and give away something else as the prize? It might be more valuable as a promotional demo gimmick.

#53
Posted 10/31/2016 07:27 AM   
-double post-
-double post-

#54
Posted 10/31/2016 07:52 AM   
[quote="Volnaiskra"]That's great feedback, Pirate. Some of it I'm aware of (and is sitting on my to-do-list), while other bits were new feedback, so I've taken note. How many levels do you think would be good for the demo? I'm just preparing the build for PAX Aus this weekend, and I'm trying to figure out what the best length would be. I'm also thinking of having some sort of contest where you can win Spryke merch. There are cheap prizes, like slapbands, and an expensive prize, like a custom Spryke Xbox Elite gamepad worth a few hundred bucks. So, I was thinking that maybe you have to try and get the best time in a certain level. If you best xx:xx time, you get a slapband. If you get the fastest time of the whole con, you win the gamepad. But that might encourage people to sit there for 30 minutes grinding the same level, which would be bad (would occupy a seat, and would be boring for onlookers). Any ideas?[/quote] Seems to me that at present you need more word of mouth and more advertising than anything else, in order to get traffic to Kickstarter. Not an expert here- but it seems like maybe your merch ought to drive traffic to people playing the game. Like if you bring one other person to demo/try at the booth, you get a free slapband. Whoever gets the most people to come by your booth wins the gamepad. Track them by personal promo numbers or name or something.
Volnaiskra said:That's great feedback, Pirate. Some of it I'm aware of (and is sitting on my to-do-list), while other bits were new feedback, so I've taken note.

How many levels do you think would be good for the demo? I'm just preparing the build for PAX Aus this weekend, and I'm trying to figure out what the best length would be.

I'm also thinking of having some sort of contest where you can win Spryke merch. There are cheap prizes, like slapbands, and an expensive prize, like a custom Spryke Xbox Elite gamepad worth a few hundred bucks.

So, I was thinking that maybe you have to try and get the best time in a certain level. If you best xx:xx time, you get a slapband. If you get the fastest time of the whole con, you win the gamepad. But that might encourage people to sit there for 30 minutes grinding the same level, which would be bad (would occupy a seat, and would be boring for onlookers). Any ideas?

Seems to me that at present you need more word of mouth and more advertising than anything else, in order to get traffic to Kickstarter.

Not an expert here- but it seems like maybe your merch ought to drive traffic to people playing the game. Like if you bring one other person to demo/try at the booth, you get a free slapband. Whoever gets the most people to come by your booth wins the gamepad. Track them by personal promo numbers or name or something.

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#55
Posted 10/31/2016 10:18 AM   
There's a new version of the demo out now: http://gamejolt.com/games/spryke/189140 I've implemented some of your feedback, Pirate (not all yet). I'd be interested to see what you think of the level progression and the "Understanding" level now.
There's a new version of the demo out now: http://gamejolt.com/games/spryke/189140


I've implemented some of your feedback, Pirate (not all yet). I'd be interested to see what you think of the level progression and the "Understanding" level now.

ImageVolnaPC.com - Tips, tweaks, performance comparisons (PhysX card, SLI scaling, etc)

#56
Posted 11/02/2016 12:18 PM   
Understanding is much more readable like this, and the new secret location is pretty cool. The player isn't taught to climb a single wall by jumping into it before this though. I assume most gamers would pick it up, but it's a possible stumbling block. I found the platform you need to drop to before roof-running the moving platform to be very frustrating. I'd suggest elongating it a bit more, so you've got a bit more time to get onto it, figure out the next step, and execute it. A few more notes - I'd suggest looking at each obstacle you place as not just a trap for the player, but a way to guide them into pulling off cool manoeuvres. It may help to closely look at each section and ask what exactly you're asking of the player. Right now it still feels a bit like some of the traps are there simply to punish mistakes before or after the "main event" of a section - which either frustrates by gating the fun-tricky part behind an annoying entry into it (I'm thinking of porcupine), or punishing them for carelessness after the main event of the section is done. For example, the goal in Understanding seems to be to get the player to do a cool roof run over some spikes. That works, and it does feel good to pull it off. But to get to that section, the player needs to nail a landing on a small platform with only one way to get to it (falling off the back of a moving platform at just the right time). This means they're likely to die multiple times before they even get to attempt the cool roof run. Obviously this doesn't mean everything should be a cakewalk, but the more a player dies at the start of a level, the less they'll see (and get to practice) the later parts. Verxic gauntlet has another example of this, and of flow in general. After riding the platform over the spikes and doing a roof-run over the buzzsaw, you'll be killed by the spikes on the opposite wall if you're not careful about the landing. In my view, that spot works well as a brief respite from the trap you just overcome, and those wall spikes at the end feel unfair. I think you removed a cyote in cyote canyon, next to the collectable - I like that change. It's much less frustrating to grab that now, but still dangerous. The second cyote on that platform is a little redundant though. Maybe try placing one on each side, but with the platform slightly wider to allow some margin for error. I quite like heat seekers. I'd like it more if the section where you jump over multiple cacti didn't force you to stop, but instead allowed you to take it at full speed but with some precise jumping. The reduced level count feels tighter, and the difficulty progression feels a bit better as well. It might be worth adding one longer, more complex level at the end to leave players wanting more. That way they can test the skills built up over the other levels, and walk away with a sense of achievement. I'm not certain, but I think you might have pulled a frame out of the roof-run transition like I suggested? It might actually feel better with no inbetween frame for the rotation, but a squash extreme on contact. Just a thought. Hope that's useful.
Understanding is much more readable like this, and the new secret location is pretty cool. The player isn't taught to climb a single wall by jumping into it before this though. I assume most gamers would pick it up, but it's a possible stumbling block.

I found the platform you need to drop to before roof-running the moving platform to be very frustrating. I'd suggest elongating it a bit more, so you've got a bit more time to get onto it, figure out the next step, and execute it.

A few more notes - I'd suggest looking at each obstacle you place as not just a trap for the player, but a way to guide them into pulling off cool manoeuvres. It may help to closely look at each section and ask what exactly you're asking of the player. Right now it still feels a bit like some of the traps are there simply to punish mistakes before or after the "main event" of a section - which either frustrates by gating the fun-tricky part behind an annoying entry into it (I'm thinking of porcupine), or punishing them for carelessness after the main event of the section is done.

For example, the goal in Understanding seems to be to get the player to do a cool roof run over some spikes. That works, and it does feel good to pull it off. But to get to that section, the player needs to nail a landing on a small platform with only one way to get to it (falling off the back of a moving platform at just the right time). This means they're likely to die multiple times before they even get to attempt the cool roof run. Obviously this doesn't mean everything should be a cakewalk, but the more a player dies at the start of a level, the less they'll see (and get to practice) the later parts.

Verxic gauntlet has another example of this, and of flow in general. After riding the platform over the spikes and doing a roof-run over the buzzsaw, you'll be killed by the spikes on the opposite wall if you're not careful about the landing. In my view, that spot works well as a brief respite from the trap you just overcome, and those wall spikes at the end feel unfair.

I think you removed a cyote in cyote canyon, next to the collectable - I like that change. It's much less frustrating to grab that now, but still dangerous. The second cyote on that platform is a little redundant though. Maybe try placing one on each side, but with the platform slightly wider to allow some margin for error.

I quite like heat seekers. I'd like it more if the section where you jump over multiple cacti didn't force you to stop, but instead allowed you to take it at full speed but with some precise jumping.

The reduced level count feels tighter, and the difficulty progression feels a bit better as well. It might be worth adding one longer, more complex level at the end to leave players wanting more. That way they can test the skills built up over the other levels, and walk away with a sense of achievement.

I'm not certain, but I think you might have pulled a frame out of the roof-run transition like I suggested? It might actually feel better with no inbetween frame for the rotation, but a squash extreme on contact. Just a thought.

Hope that's useful.

#57
Posted 11/02/2016 03:54 PM   
Is this legit? http://www.dawidbleja.com/volnaiskra/presskit/sheet.php?p=Spryke dawid? not David If it is legit, it seems that you need to update it. "Request Press Copy We are afraid this developer has not upgraded their presskit() to use distribute(). For security purposes, this form has been disabled."
Is this legit?


http://www.dawidbleja.com/volnaiskra/presskit/sheet.php?p=Spryke


dawid? not David

If it is legit, it seems that you need to update it.

"Request Press Copy

We are afraid this developer has not upgraded their presskit() to use distribute(). For security purposes, this form has been disabled."

#58
Posted 12/27/2016 02:33 PM   
So it seems that the Kickstarter failed https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/volnaiskra/spryke-an-immersive-meticulously-crafted-platform But it has been approved on Steam GreenLight http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=776430058 <-------- add it to your wishlist :P Spryke - Steam Greenlight Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvNNG0tExhQ How deeply crafted can a platformer get? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KajlLPXLlOs
So it seems that the Kickstarter failed

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/volnaiskra/spryke-an-immersive-meticulously-crafted-platform

But it has been approved on Steam GreenLight

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=776430058
<-------- add it to your wishlist :P




Spryke - Steam Greenlight Trailer






How deeply crafted can a platformer get?

#59
Posted 05/16/2017 04:37 AM   
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