This is nice!
Especially for a first game. You, sir, have just earned yourself a 9!
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Author Comments
Hey, everybody! I've been a software engineer for 16 years, but this is my first game. I think it's pretty good for a first effort. I'll be making more, and they'll be getting better!
eschoell responds:
Thanks!
Fun, but...
This was a fun game, but the enemy are very hard to see when you're moving.
eschoell responds:
Your point is well-taken. The camouflage colors on the trucks work a little TOO well!
Good Potential here
Couple of things to note:
The bullets you fire are very hard to see, I would suggest making them more visible somehow.
The tutorial text goes by so slowly the game quickly loses my interest and there is no way to skip past them once you have gotten the hang of what it is suggesting.
The map is hard to read, and you are quickly overwhelmed with a sense of confusion of where to go.
The enemies blend into the background and are hard to tell apart from even the sand. Maybe add an in-range target highlighting around them?
Missiles should be able to be fired at any time maybe even with a targeting reticule , not just when theres an enemy nearby (gamers tend to like randomly firing off explosives and blowing up nothing and the alternative is very frustrating when you cant fire one)
The Heli flies very smoothly and responds to commands very well, but the turning radius could be tightened up to feel more like you have control over the craft and more skill would be involved in steering it exactly where you need it to be.
Everything else is fine
eschoell responds:
I understand your point about being to fire missiles just for the fun of it! I wanted to limit the number of missiles, and didn't want the player to waste them. I guess I could give the player more...
A few suggestions
A great game, but here are some suggestions that i would think could make this game a bit better.
The graphics and gameplay are very smooth and well layed-out
The old "spray and pray" method doesn't work so well for this game, due to the limited ammo of the machine gun. Therefore, I would suggest adding ammo chaches that appear when a foreign unit is destroyed, with the type of ammo appearing being the same type of ammo that the destroyed unit was using, to "make use" of their leftover ammo. Additionally, adding in an advanced maneuvering technique to avoid enemy fire could reduce the monotony of veering to either side to avoid getting pounded. techniques like a jink, or the ever-popular barrol roll would be a welcomed change.
Overall, the game is a lot of fun, but there are a couple of bits that could make it even better.
-ClockAssassin
eschoell responds:
I've never come close to running out of bullets. Even so, the ammo cache idea is not a bad one.
Not too Shabby for your First Game
Hey.
Nice game, but a bit rough around the edges.
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Gameplay / Design
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- There is a bit too much reading at the beginning of the game. Also, it probably isn't necessary to present the tutorial text, as, for the most part, the game is conceptually easy to figure out. Maybe present only the button used to access the help screen, and the rules about locking onto targets, and let the player figure the rest out. If you really want to do something more in-depth than that, consider making some kind of interactive tutorial.
- It's too hard to see the objects on the map.
- I'd like to be able to adjust the separately, for example, muting the music while keeping the sounds.
- It's a bit lacking in some sounds. There should be explosions when things blow up. If you have explosions, they're too light.
- The size of the game is 9.2 MB, and the content of this game doesn't seem to warrant that size. Consider optimizing and/or reducing your media (graphics and audio).
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Graphics
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- The environment looks fine, but the characters/entities (player helo, enemies, etc), are too small. Sometimes, enemies will be firing at me, and it takes me a few seconds to even find them on the screen. Same with bullets, they're too light/small. It's too hard to aim, and see what you're getting hit by.
- The graphics for the smoke needs improvement. They are a bit too blocky.
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Controls
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- Consider adding mouse support to player input. For example, use mouse to aim/turn, mouse button to fire cannon, W to move forward, S to move backward, A and D to move sideways, and whatever you want to fire missile. Might want to experiment here and allow multiple configs.
- I've always felt that the input used to enter help/menu UI should be the same input used to exit them. So, pressing H should be able to both enter and exit the help screen.
Other than those, it's a good start, however game & engine design is different than I.T., which I presume that's where your background is.
Good skill on your future games.
_________________________
- Ziro out.
eschoell responds:
I really felt constrained by screen size. I felt having the player/enemies larger would not work on a screen that size. But, clearly, our thought processes are similar on that matter.
I agree totally with you on the explosion sounds -- they simply do not come through well at all. That's something I will fix in subsequent games.
And yes, a game UI is not as "literal" as more traditional UI's are. Doing good game "workflow" and interface actions are probably the hardest part for me.