- at one point in the tutorial it seems I clicked (placed) through the menu
- tutorial doesn’t convey the point (or anti-point) of raptor flight; that level would be the same without flight
- the 'stalemate' level in tutorial is unclear, I was thinking at first I have to take out the two specific animals (that are present at start), then thought I have to take out *all* animals of that kind -- in the end it was simply that I needed to take the specific intended line
- sometimes annoying having to wait for animation until you can take next action
- thunderstorm can clear grass, idk if that’s intended, gave a lot more breathing room once I had noticed
In general, I feel that the balance between placement actions and other actions is off. The game concept on top level implies that it’s like Tetris with animals, let’s say. But in reality half the actions are "weird" meta-actions that interrupt the flow a bit. Because whenever I get one of those "turning" actions, I don’t want to waste it, so I consider a lot whether it’s useful anywhere. Often it’s really not useful at all. The impact is usually much lower than placement actions, yet the thought process is more complicated. But it does feel good landing an impactful turnaround, and obviously the action is somewhat needed for animals not to get stuck in corners. So I’m thinking one thing to try is maybe have the turnarounds be a separate queue, or an 'inventory' where actions are unlocked via scoring and then expire after a while or so. The death action also feels off, because it’s so immediate. Maybe it could also be sth. you place on the map and that has impact only eventually, playing with the chaining?
God damn, impressive. I really appreciate the long playtest, and you finding the issue with the stalemate tutorial. I will look into making it more clear.
- sometimes annoying having to wait for animation until you can take next action
I've thought about a setting like this, but need to look into it more.
- thunderstorm can clear grass, idk if that’s intended, gave a lot more breathing room once I had noticed
Yes this is intended. Otherwise between storm + death you have to kill off creatures too much.
- In general, I feel that the balance between placement actions and other actions is off. The game concept on top level implies that it’s like Tetris with animals, let’s say. But in reality half the actions are "weird" meta-actions that interrupt the flow a bit.
I get what you mean, and these sadly are needed for the reasons you state (getting out of corners, etc) but I have though about turning the turn action into a single move with 3 options (u-turn, 90 degrees etc.). That could possibly help, or just make players deliberate over moves longer...
- The death action also feels off, because it’s so immediate. Maybe it could also be sth. you place on the map and that has impact only eventually, playing with the chaining?
Having this be placed would be very interesting, I'd have to mess around with it and see how it feels.
Anyways, thanks, really appreciate the footage! It's really helpful.
the only strange thing i saw was that sometimes the red bird would not eat its designated prey right next to it while pointed at it. maybe i'm just not getting the rules to the fullets.
The web version works for me too. The tutorial explains everything now and there's SFX and music, so that's neat, the only improvement after a tutorial to help explain things would be to have a preview of what each action will do before you place it so you can play faster without having to imagine which way the rotational block will rotate a creature.
Comments
Quick topping the leaderboard https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2191349085
I noticed
- at one point in the tutorial it seems I clicked (placed) through the menu
- tutorial doesn’t convey the point (or anti-point) of raptor flight; that level would be the same without flight
- the 'stalemate' level in tutorial is unclear, I was thinking at first I have to take out the two specific animals (that are present at start), then thought I have to take out *all* animals of that kind -- in the end it was simply that I needed to take the specific intended line
- sometimes annoying having to wait for animation until you can take next action
- thunderstorm can clear grass, idk if that’s intended, gave a lot more breathing room once I had noticed
In general, I feel that the balance between placement actions and other actions is off. The game concept on top level implies that it’s like Tetris with animals, let’s say. But in reality half the actions are "weird" meta-actions that interrupt the flow a bit. Because whenever I get one of those "turning" actions, I don’t want to waste it, so I consider a lot whether it’s useful anywhere. Often it’s really not useful at all. The impact is usually much lower than placement actions, yet the thought process is more complicated. But it does feel good landing an impactful turnaround, and obviously the action is somewhat needed for animals not to get stuck in corners. So I’m thinking one thing to try is maybe have the turnarounds be a separate queue, or an 'inventory' where actions are unlocked via scoring and then expire after a while or so. The death action also feels off, because it’s so immediate. Maybe it could also be sth. you place on the map and that has impact only eventually, playing with the chaining?
>14300
God damn, impressive. I really appreciate the long playtest, and you finding the issue with the stalemate tutorial. I will look into making it more clear.
- sometimes annoying having to wait for animation until you can take next action
I've thought about a setting like this, but need to look into it more.
- thunderstorm can clear grass, idk if that’s intended, gave a lot more breathing room once I had noticed
Yes this is intended. Otherwise between storm + death you have to kill off creatures too much.
- In general, I feel that the balance between placement actions and other actions is off. The game concept on top level implies that it’s like Tetris with animals, let’s say. But in reality half the actions are "weird" meta-actions that interrupt the flow a bit.
I get what you mean, and these sadly are needed for the reasons you state (getting out of corners, etc) but I have though about turning the turn action into a single move with 3 options (u-turn, 90 degrees etc.). That could possibly help, or just make players deliberate over moves longer...- The death action also feels off, because it’s so immediate. Maybe it could also be sth. you place on the map and that has impact only eventually, playing with the chaining?
Having this be placed would be very interesting, I'd have to mess around with it and see how it feels.
Anyways, thanks, really appreciate the footage! It's really helpful.
the only strange thing i saw was that sometimes the red bird would not eat its designated prey right next to it while pointed at it. maybe i'm just not getting the rules to the fullets.
The web version works for me too.
The tutorial explains everything now and there's SFX and music, so that's neat, the only improvement after a tutorial to help explain things would be to have a preview of what each action will do before you place it so you can play faster without having to imagine which way the rotational block will rotate a creature.
This is a good idea, to show the creature preview instead of the rotation mark. Will look into it, thanks for playing!
It won't load saying a PCK file is missing with the web version. I like the models.
Strange, it works on my PC... any other details on the error?