Block Dash - Version 1.2.0 Showcase & Changelog

[pyxledev]

Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since I posted anything about Block Dash to this forum and the game's been changed and improved ever since, so I wanted to post a topic here regarding all of the changes Version 1.1.0 and Version 1.2.0 brought.

blockdash.love

BlockDash 1.2

(829.11 KiB) Downloaded 170 times

I'll attach the .love file for anybody that wants to try it, but feel free to check out the other links as well.
https://github.com/zerpnord/blockdash
https://gamejolt.com/games/blockdash/773472
https://zerpnord.itch.io/blockdash

Version 1.1 Changelog:

• Added accessories and player skin customization.

• Enemy AI fixes.

• Fixed various framerate independency issues.

• Statistics at the death screen now sorts correctly.

• Balance fixes.

Version 1.2 Changelog:

• Added a score system alongside high scores.

• The background stars are now infinite (special thanks to Bigfoot71!)

• Added random accessories to enemies.

• Added a simulation of enemies fighting each other to the main menu.

• Dashing can now timeout if held for too long.

• Added screen shake for taking damage & firing.

[Bigfoot71]

Great job, nothing to complain about!

There was just one mistake I suppose, in enemy.lua on line 351 there was a `print("shhhe")` that printed in a loop in my terminal.
Also, as I have an AZERTY keyboard and couldn't change the controls, I replaced `love.keyboard.isDown` with `love.keyboard.isScancodeDown`.

Otherwise, great work and I really like the style it has, super cool!

[BrotSagtMist]

Yee, please honor different keyboard layouts.

Not a fan of using mouse and keyboard at the same time so i cant really play it anyway.

[pyxledev]

Oops, forgot the print lol

Should I add key binding support or replace isDown() functions with isScanCodeDown()? The second option seems cheaper and better to me.

[pyxledev]

Not a fan of using mouse and keyboard at the same time so i cant really play it anyway.

Well, I could add auto aim as a second way to play, but that could ruin the game, as aiming is also an important aspect.

What can I do to help you and people like you? Any ideas? I was thinking about adding gamepad support but that'll probably be harder to play than the current.

[knorke]

I played on medium.
The control scheme was okay for me, having played many 2D shooters with similar controls.
I had to disable "auto reload" because it would reload at worst possible moments.
It still felt super hard and I only got to wave 2 and 440 points or so.
Maybe I suck? I was basically running backwards with some strafing and sometimes dashing.
It felt a bit awkward because I was constantly running backways and then had to swing the mouse around to dash through the enemies. Sometimes dash was not ready yet and then I would just run into wrong direction.
There should be indicator when dash is ready. Gameplay might be more fun with better with better AI:
Currently they just run towards the player in a straight line. If the AI shows a little bit of self preservation instinct, sometimes staying at distance, strafing, etc then it might allow more tactics for the player.
Also enemies should not spawn near players, only outside the screen.

[pyxledev]

It still felt super hard and I only got to wave 2 and 440 points or so.
Maybe I suck? I was basically running backwards with some strafing and sometimes dashing.

My record is 910 in hard mode, you get better over time I guess

There should be indicator when dash is ready.

I'm thinking of adding a new notifier when the dash is ready, maybe a UI or simply a sound effect, because the only way to understand right now is to look at the bottom right of the screen.

Gameplay might be more fun with better with better AI:
Currently they just run towards the player in a straight line. If the AI shows a little bit of self preservation instinct, sometimes staying at distance, strafing, etc then it might allow more tactics for the player.

I suggest you try hard mode AI. Enemies tend to use the dashing ability more, with the things you mentioned up here. Easy and Normal mode have less AI features compared to Hard.

Also enemies should not spawn near players, only outside the screen.

It's kind of random at the moment, sometimes it spawns close and sometimes it spawns out of range. I'm planning on improving that.

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it!

[Bigfoot71]

Should I add key binding support or replace isDown() functions with isScanCodeDown()? The second option seems cheaper and better to me.

Personally I will use scancodes for a small game, if it's a big project with a lot of keys and/or which targets a very large audience it can be safer as well as more "open" to make a menu to leave freedom players to map their keys. Scancodes can pose problems in specific cases but there for a simple WASD displacement it should be enough, personally I would put `isScancodeDown` only for displacements if I were, after that it's up to you.

My record is 910 in hard mode, you get better over time I guess

Be careful not to fall into the trap of the old testers (80s/90s) who became so good at their games that once released they were almost impossible to finish them for ordinary mortals

[BrotSagtMist]

Yee, i am a sucker for gamepad support. This game screams for it.
I mean, its the same style as PewPew, and that really shines solely because of its gamepad support.

Be careful not to fall into the trap of the old testers (80s/90s) who became so good at their games that once released they were almost impossible to finish them for ordinary mortals

90s? thats like every homebrew game of today. And all of mine for that matter.
Shoutout to the time i asked someone in which level they are and they answered "THERE IS A SECOND LEVEL?"

[Bigfoot71]

That's true although we must not fall into this kind of wrong, let's put things in perspective, it's better than all the casual games that come out now