"Mayaz", the first beta is ready.

dripple

  • Posts: 747
Okay, here we go. This is my first game using Stencyl (and also my first game after more then 10 years).

Mayaz
In 2012 the end was near but the world survived.
But only because you kept the totems assorted!


The game is work in progress!
- score bands need adjustments (available time, scoring, bonusing)
- sound effects are not complete
- global high score (arcade three letter-style) including server part is in progress
- some sprites need a major overhaul (bonus, score, game over)

http://www.stencyl.com/game/play/24094


The hardest part for me was to change my mindset from a java developer to Stencyl and how it works. Thanks to all of you who helped me with my <do every> problem and who have been so nice to have look at my code.

So here we go. Any feedback is appreciated.

/dripple

« Last Edit: February 05, 2014, 02:45:34 pm by dripple »
Sure, my games won't get better with all the new features of Stencyl.
But I do have more fun creating bad ones.


MayazCastle Keeper

henson802

  • Posts: 381
Nice.  Very original and simple.. took me about 5 seconds at first to get it but then it's gravy.

I also enjoy the music , it goes well with trying to place the puzzle pieces.

Timing is good, not too slow - not too quick…

I think this could translate well to ios/android cause of the dragging puzzle pieces can be kind of rhythmic and addicting, music did a good job of that.

I didn't get too far but my only real feedback is somehow mix it up more besides having to go faster.  Don't really know how you could but I still really enjoyed the subtle puzzle pieces shapes.  Perhaps have some start to rotate if you hold them too long so it becomes another piece sort of??  Maybe you did or plan to , I just didn't get that far.

Nice!

dripple

  • Posts: 747
Hi Henson.

Thanks for the feedback. Timing and scoring are under subject to change, I am still working on the tuning. I would like to see it more engaging, to put more pressure on the player in later stages.

In the beginning, there's plenty of time to get in touch with the game and the puzzle. It might take a couple of tries to figure out that is it a good idea to build 4 of a kinds as much as possible as they are activate the bonus totems that give you more points in later stages where time is limited and you might not have the time to build 4 of a kinds (3 seconds for a move is not that much then) and reach higher scores. There are a number of strategies to achieve this.

There's a second mode I want to implement, where the player has to get points as fast as possible to avoid a "Mana Level" dropping, so the high score would be [time in game] (and subsequent points and level reached). That's why theres some space below the score board.  :D

I like the idea with the puzzle piece changing, but I guess this won't work with alternate inputs like the cursor keys and simple clicks. I will investigate in that. On the other way round, it balanced the way that it always offer you a piece you need to complete (in term of the puzzle, not the color), but thats also easy to adapt.

Sure, my games won't get better with all the new features of Stencyl.
But I do have more fun creating bad ones.


MayazCastle Keeper

GeorgeN

  • Posts: 856
I like it. It will be a nice mobile game :)

-It needs a mute button.
-I don't like the placement of the points and level on the left side. Maybe find a better way to design/place the HUD. An exp bar to know how many points do you need to advance on the next level.
-Some visual candy when you get points like a +10 appearing and fading/moving away.
-Offer more points. I enjoy more to get 100 points rather than 1 or 5.

PS: make it for android and I will be your biggest fan :D

dripple

  • Posts: 747
Thanks, George. I really appreciate your feedback.

I totally agree with the mute button. I think I will implement a settings screen to adjust the volume of music and effects and a mute button on the game board.

With the score board to the left, I would like to do something better. I have plenty of ideas and paper drawn drafts, but my graphic skills are, as you can see, very limited. I was thinking of somthing with a Maya temple on the bottom and the board sitting above, more looking like build from stone and not the paper scroll. And some little Maya sprites running around to make the whole game more appealing...

Scoring is the next issue I will solve. Scores, bonusing and level multiplier are not adjusted yet. It's not easy to find the right balance. The Scull, board cleared and bonus animations are still left overs from the initial "Jewelz"-Theme i started with. They need to get replaced with new ones. I was also thinking of fading scores, like you suggested. So it might be a good idea to implement this :)

At the moment I am working on the game ending, i.e. the Game Over-celebration, sound and a Highscore screen. I want to implement a arcade style 3-Letter Highscore that is stored on a server. The server part is already written and ready to go.

Btw. I went through my Instagram account and it is funny to see how the game has developed :) 
Sure, my games won't get better with all the new features of Stencyl.
But I do have more fun creating bad ones.


MayazCastle Keeper

Xaviien

  • Posts: 12
Nice game dripple, I left a short review on the game page, but I did find a bug, and thought it best to post that here, rather than there.

When I tried to place a piece on an already placed corner piece, and lost a life, I tried to place the piece in the correct place, and it placed fine, but didn't remove the piece from my "hand" and since it was the fourth piece of the same corner, I couldn't do anything but try to place it again, which would lose me a life, or let time run out, again, losing me a life.

Not a very good description I guess, but I was too frustrated to get a screenshot.
I will try to recreate the bug and catch one if I can.

EDIT: Funnily enough, it's fairly easy to reproduce this bug. Will do some more testing to try and see if it only happens when it is the fourth piece of a particular type (corner, not colour).

EDIT 2: It seems to happen any time I break this rule:
- If you try to place the a corner piece on a already set corner piece, you loose a life (By the way, it should be an already set corner piece, and lose a life...)
When you put down the piece you broke the rule with, it duplicates. It ends up on the board, and also still in your hand.

If you need further info, let me know, I might be able to catch it on FRAPS or something for you. Or maybe just explain it a little better.

« Last Edit: March 07, 2014, 12:06:30 am by Xaviien »

dripple

  • Posts: 747
Hi Xaviien.

Thanks for the feedback, also on my grammar. As I am non-native (I'm german), I really appreciate any feedback on this, especially if it's exposed to the public.


The bug is wierd, thanks for the report.

Technically, the game engine chooses a random corner piece and checks if that corner is still available, if not, it randomly selects a new piece and looks again. This is repeated untill a free corner piece is found. This makes sure that you always get a piece that you need. The color is then selected afterwards.

I will investigate, thanks for the report!
Sure, my games won't get better with all the new features of Stencyl.
But I do have more fun creating bad ones.


MayazCastle Keeper

Xaviien

  • Posts: 12
It sounds like a line of code may be getting skipped after you lose a life for trying to place the piece on an already set piece.
It allows you to set the piece, but then you need to set that same piece again, it doesn't select a new piece for you. This causes a problem when you already have that corner set in all 4 sections.

It's fairly easy to recreate, you just need to play really badly!
As for finding the underlying cause of the issue, all I can say is good luck!