10 replies to this topic

[ole_92]

Hey guys, I've made some major changes in the game, and I'd appreciate it if you could play it and tell me what you think.
Most of the issues, that were noticed in the previous topic, have been solved.
I need to know whether I should alter anything before I start adding sound, textures and improving models and geometry.

Thanks

Attached Files

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[lonewolff]

Nice job.

Only things I found were - if an object is picked up and dropped it can sometimes pass through the floor and the object is gone for good. I lost the key this way first time round and the plank of wood in the other room could be lost this way too.

The only other thing that I noticed is the doors are slightly not wide enough (probably need another 3-4 cm - in real world scale). You can see into the rooms from certain angles.

Other than that, looking good.

Funnily enough I instincively pressed shift while moving and the main character speed up. Nice touch! I didn't expect that.

[edit]
With the previous statement - That is exactly what I meant by the difference between something thrown together and something polished. So, excellent work on that!

Thinking deeper on that, I guess it is a subconcious thing. People will pick on the things they know are not right. But, it takes effort for a user to recoginse what is right about something. Take away the fuel that is the bad, buggy, or incomplete and you are destined to make something great, that people enjoy playing.

[ole_92]

Yep, I'm (now) aware of the first 2 issues, they will definitely be fixed before the next update.
Don't worry, I will keep polishing it up until it's perfect. Thanks for the input!

[Heaven]

Sweet! Nice job, man. Couple things...

I'm also a little dissatisfied with the eye height. It feels like I'm a 3 year old child, since my eye height is even with the door knob. If your intent was to have doors that are 12 feet tall or I am in fact a child then nevermind.

Jumping. It feels like I'm on the moon, but when I throw an object it appears to behave as if gravity was closer to reality. Can you make the jumps faster?

Was I supposed to be able to exit the building via the missing wall by the elevator? And then fall forever? Heh. Just wondering.

I'm sure you're aware but textures and especially sound effects would immeasurably increase immersion.

Oh, one more thing. This is just IMHO, but it would be more intuitive if the door opened when you are holding the key in your "hand" and you stick it "into" the keyhole. That was the first thing I tried (before I read instructions). I then realized I had to have it in my inventory and press E.

Again, nice job!

Take care.

[ole_92]

The eye height appears to be a bug, I'll fix that, thanks! Also, all other notes - will all be done. This is just a very quick show off, not a proper game yet. I will start on textures and sound next week, after I fix everything that was mentioned in this topic.

Thanks, I'll attempt to implement "key sticking into keyhole" thing - it sounds difficult, but anyway.

[lonewolff]

Also as Heaven said about the key. I was a bit confused as to how it worked.

I think is would be more intuitive to 'equip' it first (and have it become the mouse cursor).

The method in opening the doors with th 'E' key seems a bit counter intuitive as well. It it were me, I would equip the key, cursor turns to a key image, and then left click on the door. Doors that are unlocked allready, maybe have the cursor turn to an image of the door when in range and then lift click on the door to open.

Basic actions should be extremely simple, not a challenge. Remember if the user interface gets in the way, it needs revising. Walking things through doors should not be a challenge. Keep the challenges / puzzles for later on.

You have a great idea with getting out of the first room. Just make the UI easier, and the puzzles increasingly more challenging.

When I wear my 'gamer hat', I rarely read any instructions at all. I just jump in and see how the world reacts. If I can navigate around the world without pulling up the help screen, then I consider the UI great.

[ole_92]

It it were me, I would equip the key, cursor turns to a key image, and then left click on the door. Doors that are unlocked allready, maybe have the cursor turn to an image of the door when in range and then lift click on the door to open.

Yep, that sounds great. Except, I will make it possible to left click OR press E. I'm more used to E, so that'll be the best of 2 worlds!

[Postie]

Pretty good start. Here are my opinions/suggestions summarised as bullet points:

• When exiting the Settings screen its normal to simply return to whatever state you were in before you activated it. Ie, if you were at the menu, you'd get the menu when you exit, or if you were in game, you'd go back to the game. Currently you can start the application, go to the settings screen and choose "return to game" and you end up in a brand new game.
• The size of the objects in the world seem a bit small considering how big the doors are. The chair in the first room for instance seems like a toy. (Perhaps that is intentional).
• You probably need a way of inspecting what an item is (either in the world, or in the inventory) A simple mouse over label would make a big difference. It's pretty obvious what the key is, but some of the other items are a bit cryptic.
• A few times I found I got stuck trying to get through an open door, but backing up and heading back through worked fine. (possible bug?)
• Similarly going up the stairs I got stuck briefly and had to back up.
• It seems odd that you have an inventory option on the main screen.
• The pillow and bible don't seem to have an inventory screen representation, I get a green box.
• The player's height vs their eye position doesn't seem quite right. The player can't fit under the stairs, though it seems like they should be able to based on the eye position.
• I dropped an item in the elevator and couldn't pick it up again. I had to kick it out onto the ground, then I was able to pick it up.

General thoughts:
The physics seems pretty tight. I tried to do stupid stuff like pushing items through walls but didn't manage it once. I also thought I'd gotten myself stuck in the corner behind the bed, but managed to jump out ok. I did manage to throw the chair into the air and balance it on the player's head though, which was pretty fun. Using a proper physics engine was definitely a good idea.

Keep up the good work!

[ATC]

I tried your game, and most of the issues were pretty small and other people already mentioned them. Some of the major things I noticed were:

1) Jumping is very unrealistic because you float like a feather; other objects fall normally

2) When you pick up an object, swing the camera around and let go it falls straight down! Add the momentum of the object before it is released the object's falling velocity! It will make things a lot more interesting and realistic

3) Throwing things seems pretty weak-armed, and doesn't seem to account for the mass of the object you're throwing

4) You get hung up in doorways and where you cross from one floor-block to another unless you back up and sprint over it

5) The lack of textures is disorienting

6) Don't force download and installation of XNA, or check to see if it's already there... I already had it and the game made me install it again

7) You need some sort of mouse-smoothing for camera controls. You're currently (apparently) directly taking in the mouse's input values and transforming the view matrix with it. This creates jerky (sometimes nauseating) camera movement. If you need help with that just pm me.

This being said, your game is showing some programming competence and definite progress in learning to use XNA effectively. I hope to see further updates!

Edited by ATC, 06 September 2012 - 02:29 PM.

[riuthamus]

Impressive, the jumping needs work but for the most part very nice.

[6677]

damn gravity is low, by my reckoning about 2m/s/s, earth normal is about 9.81