Droid themed flashed. Graphics have that robotic theme but could be more dynamic. Gameplay is stalled out by flaws. Since this is just a beta, it could be better once finished.
This was made on 2/9/11, and I am only the twelfth person to review it.
Author Comments
SURVIVAL MODE (gameplay):
You (upto 2 players) must defend yourself against an army of malevolent droids, which can find you no matter where you hide on the map (though your cloaking ability will temporarily confuse them). The game is divided into a system of waves and rounds.
Each wave brings a new squads of enemies, there are currently 3 waves per round but this will change in the future, when I add more enemy types.
Each round enemies become more aggressive, numerous and sometimes more powerful (speed, firepower etc.).
Round 1 (on beginner difficulty) sees you start with dual weilded pistols and grenades, but you'll get access to more powerful weapons as you progress.
You are equipped with:
* A regenerating shield
* armour
* A special ability (Currently cloaking but more will be added in the future)
* Plenty of cool weapons
* Support from Automated Turrets (You can purchase these at pre-defined ports).
Your shield regenerates over time whilst your armour does not.
The rate of shield recovery depends upon state of your armour, so remember to take cover when nesscesary.
The game ends once all your lives are depleted, in Co-op mode you share the same pool of lives.
UPDATES SINCE BETA 0.17.6 and BETA 0.18.3
Quite alot, see the Updates section of the game file
EQUIPMENT includes:
* Nano bot med kits (rapidly recharge shields and repair armour)
* Ammunition packs
* Automated Turrets (currently these respawn after a fixed delay, but this will change in future versions)
different WEAPONS are unlocked each round and Include:
* Dual weilded pistols (Available at start)
* Shotgun
* Plasma SMG
* Flamethrower
* Frag Grenades (Available at start)
* Camo mines (just remember where you dropped these, or you'll get a nasty surprise)
* Rocket Launcher (new)!
* More to come...
ENEMIES:
* Droid minor: Armed with light plasma weaponary, melee attacks and occasionally equipped with shield gauntlets, they form the backbone of the army.
* Sprinter Droids: These pests, like to get up close and personal, meleeing you with their shock gloves
* Hover mines: Can hover over pits, and will home in and explode on their targets. Try and destroy these whilst they're still nearby other enemies.
* Droid Majors: These are the avant gaurde of the army, not only do they have regenerating shields like the player but weapons to match...
* More to come...
TERRAIN OBJECTS:
* Barrels filled with explosive radioactive material
* Void Tiles (pits)
* Panel switches
* Forcefield bridges (Can be activated with panel switches).
* More to come...
Miscellaneous Features:
* Different control schemes, which you can customize to your liking
* An armour ability system (Currently only cloaking is available)
* Split screen co-op mode
* Credit System for purchasing turrets (later to be used on upgrading weapons)
* An effective targeting and pathfinding system that can deal with hordes of enemies.
* A Credits System: Credits are earnt by slaying enemies and can be spent on unlocking/reviving turrets (in future versions you'll be able to purchase weapon upgrades/armour permutations too).
FEATURES UPCOMING:
This game, is still WIP, but with this SWF, I hope to demonstrate the potential of my game engine.
There are many, more features and gameplay modes to come:
* More Weapons/weapon upgrades
* More special Abilities
* Civilian Escourt mode
* Reactor Defense mode
* Mid range snipers
* Tank units
* Dropships
* Better Graphics
Awsome game
~~REVIEW~~
Hmmm wow this was actaully a pretty fun game there was alot going on the grids actually looked pretty good and the overall gameplay was even better i had fun with this one, i do however wish there was more {ENHANCED} visuals you did have some ok ones but maybe more detailed but i guess that would just bog down the flash itself, but for the mostaprt this was a great game and i really had fun playing it, there was lots to think on and do and thats what kept me interested and not bored so props to you on that aspect of things, it has a good {REPLAY} value wich i really liked, but anyways more enhanced visuals would be my only suggestion of improving for the most part it was fun and entertaining with lots of replay value.
~~THINGS TO IMPROVE ON~~
As above review just some enhanced visuals and you are good to go.
~~OVERALL~~
Fun and entertaining lots of replay value
~X~
glider521al responds:
Thanks for trying and reviewing my game!
The visuals will be improved. When I have time, I'll try and make better backgrounds/tilesets/particles effects.
Sooner or later I'll be looking to find a willing isometric artist who can help me with the spriting...
However the priority for now is engine optimization and adding in the other half of the core gameplay elements.
P.s.
Updates will be occuring a bit less frequent, as I'm bogged down with Uni work at the moment:
e.g. Software processes and Design 1500 word Essay :(
Rest assured though that I'll never abandon this project, thanks to the constructive feedback from people like you.
Improved
I would say this is a pretty good improvement since your older version actually. I do still have a problem here that is somewhat different from the previous. The blue guys still gang up on me if I become unlucky enough but this time they can start shooting at me before I can even see them now. What happened in the coding?
The bullet sounds are still good anyway and the hit box for when you die is still good as to go too. The graphics are still a bit dull though. Should try a bit of the boxhead method when the opponent dies, they stay there in a small blood pile for a bit before fading away.
Aside from that stuff, this game has some good potential. Just keep updating and removing the parts people still have issues with and this could go quite well.
Review Request Club
glider521al responds:
Thanks for taking the time to follow the game, as it's being developed.
EDIT: I've fix the enemies shooting at you, before you see them by adding the delay timer back in (amongst other things)
The ganging only really occasionally happens near the borders/if the player spawns next to a large group of enemies; for the most part only a certain number of enemies can stalk a target around the map for at a time.
I was thinking of adding in decoy beacons to ensure idle enemies don't group together...
I like the idea of a splash of blood, surrounding your character as he dies, but I need proper isometric graphics to go by first.
Updates will be a bit slower with the main semester of Uni Starting back up.
However with so many people taking an interest in this project's development,
I'm going to prioritize giving it the best I can.
:)
EDIT: To prove my loyalty I just posted another update in response to all the recent feedback:
BETA 0.18.7:
[*]Reduced Lag
[*]Fixed fire delay with enemies at the border
[*]Reloading Sound.
[*]Fixed glitch with rocket launcher sound.
[*]Bigger and fancier radar
[*]Game automatically pauses when not in focus.
[*]& more
Has potential
I can tell a lot of hard work has went into this project already and this hard work really shows in the game. The controls are very good, very responsive and I found no flaws here while I was playing.
The hit detection seems to work pretty good as well (wheter it be objects I'm running into or if I'm trying to shoot my opponents).
Also while the graphics look pretty basic right now (everything has geometrical forms) it is very easy to navigate on the map and it's very easy to orientate myself. I also can distinguish very easily between the objects shown on the map.
The only thing that annoys me is that the blue guys can shoot at me from just outside the screen, so they can start shooting before I can even see them. Sure, the arrows help me to locate my enemies, but I think my shots have a range only to the border of the game window. At least I was shooting like crazy in the direction of the enemy, but he still could shoot at me and I could only kill him when he was on screen.
{ Review Request Club }
glider521al responds:
Wow, another guy from the review request club :)
Thanks for taking the time to give me feedback.
I can easily fix the enemies shooting at you from offscreen, by adding in a delay before they can open fire.
If you have any other suggestions be sure to PM me :)
Not too bad, but still has issues
This isn't a bad game, but there are still issues with the piece itself - I think that while the mechanics are improved and the game seems to flow better, it still lacks a basic tutorial and perhaps even a plot-based explanation of why you're fighting. Is it training, fighting off some sort of rebellion or revolution or something similar? With a plot in place, you might get a situation that people to gain an affinity for our main character, so that they try to keep him alive.
The graphics need some work on making it look less "chunky" and block-like. Robots these days don't have all that much in the way of square and cubic parts, where the aesthetics are more favoured.
I think that you've got a good setup for the game and it is developing, though I would urge you not to keep deleting the games as you release a new one - it just looks like a resubmission, as the changes are largely minor. Sure, when you come to the alpha phase, you might want to bin the old projects, but why not have a large showcase of where you've come from?
[Review Request Club]
glider521al responds:
Hey Coop, thanks once again for posting an awesome review.
TUTORIAL/PLOT:
Yeah I agree that in game text messages are no substitute for an actual interactive tutorial.
The tutorial will come later once, once I've added in some more gameplay features and polished the graphics. For now I'll be trying to make the gameplay as intuitive, challenging and fun as possible.
I've been thinking of adding a campaign mode to explain the story of why you're fighting, but this will probably happen towards the
end of the development cycle.
SPRITING: In a few updates time I hope to enlist the help of a 3D modeller/Isometric artist, to help me make appropriate images for the robots.
DEVELOPMENT: Don't worry, I've learnt my lesson, I won't be binning my old submissions from this point on (especially as newgrounds have the same default page for manually deleted submissions as blammed submissions).
I particularly like the idea of showing people the development cycle.
A reviewer, posted to my profile to suggest I make a new submission for every significant set of updates.
Also, this way I can quickly get feedback of what new features people liked/hated, and adjust the game accordingly. I've taken his advice.
Next major update (aside from the minor changes to this submission), will have a focus on adding in an armoury and later 2 other enemy types...