Stranded by theCrancher 2016-09-03T23:07:00
As one of the developers on this game I wanted to make a post here. Unfortunately we are aware that the game has insane lag issues (mainly due to inefficient programming on my end) this is something we plan to fix in the very near future. We also have plans to improve on the level and add more content for a non-jam version. I would like to thank everyone for the comments and support they have given.
LD37 — One room (1)
Ants in the Kitchen by theCrancher 2016-12-16T06:29:00
Hello to everyone that has played the game and commented thus far. As one of the developers behind the game I wanted to take the time to address some of the more common things we have heard.
First and foremost we want to thank everyone that has played the game, with so many Ludum Dare entries it is easy for a game to go overlooked. For the people that have left feedback we would also like to say a special thanks for helping us to improve the game. So as far as the comments go I think it boils down to a few common issues: controls, balance issues, audio, and general gameplay. So I will give a quick comment on each area to talk about why it is in it's current state, and what plans we have in the near future.
So for controls we seem to be hearing alot that the right mouse to shoot is awkward at best, also some people have had problems figuring out some of the buttons. Unfortunately we didn't actually get to get started until almost 24hrs into the jam so time became a factor for us very quickly. The right mouse is a leftover from development (TheCrancher likes to use right mouse so he doesn't unwittingly shoot when trying to manipulate the editor), towards the end we simply left it as it stands and hoped people would be ok with it. As far as the rest of the controls there was no real reason behind the selections, we were just trying to get them done quickly. We are currently working on a simple input manager that will allow players to map the controls however they wish. We are also heavily considering the idea of making a touch screen compatable version for mobile devices.
In regards to balance issues, for the same reasons as controls we were simply more concerned with getting a submission finished in a playable state than polishing up the rough edges. Unfortunately this lead to the ants being assigned mostly random values that seemed to work, this was also the approach to the guns as far as cost and number of rounds. As a result of this the shotgun is beyond overpowered and the machine gun is all but useless. In the near future we plan to rebalance these mechanics by reworking the ants, possible changes include how they detect and track the player, thier spawning, and thier score values. We will also be reworking the weapons with a focus on thier fire rates, ranges, costs, and ammunition counts. We are also planning to add more types of weapons and ants in the future.
Audio gets a short entry. At the moment we are rather disappointed to say that audio got put on the back burner, we certianly want to add audio to the game and hope to have something in soon.
Now for the final section to address gameplay. This area is rather broad but here goes.
For those of you commenting on the camera, we certianly see room to make some impovements here. The camera was put in rather early and just never really got any more attention. It does feel a little jerky and so needs to be smoothed out some. Overall we are happy with the concept just need a little more work on the execution. We will be considering an idea to turn off the camera advancement, so it simply keeps the player centered, this should resolve complaints of the camera being disorienting.
In the UI department we do want to add just a few more elements to provide the player with some more information without overloading them. The clean look is really nice but needs some more work to make sure the player is not left in the dark about anything.
As far as concerns about the speed of the game, it does seem to start up a little slow. We are happy that the game ramps up the difficulty as you play, this almost got cut due to time constraints but was able to get in just under the wire. Fortunately the increase worked right out of the box because we didn't have any time to test it. In fact it was being coded and debugged as TheCrancher was getting screenshots together and filling out the webpage. So of course this means we want to take the time to polish this feature out so it ramps in a much more smooth manner, and without feeling too boring in the early game.
For a bonus entry, and because someone mentioned that they wondered why they were fighting these pesky ants, I will explain what we had in mind. The basic idea is that you are a scientist that has been dealing with infestation. Fed up with the exterminators (who are useless by the way, never trust CranchKillem), you decide to take matters into your own hands. After having seen most of the ants in the kitchen you figure the hive must be in there. So you shrink down some weapons and strategically place them before shrinking yourself. However you must have miscalculated because you are much smaller than you planned and the ants are coming for you. Lets just hope you can hold them off long enough to figure out a way back out of this.
Finnaly like many early versions of games that are out there, this game is a work in progress and subject to change at any point. Once again thank you for your feedback and for taking the time to try out our game. Feel free to throw any other ideas you have out there and we will be more than happy to consider them.