That's 5 updated levels, and 5 new levels. go play it here: [link]
please let me know what you think of it
also, if you want to stay informed about the big announcements, such as when pre-orders will be available, make sure to sign up to the mailing list [link]
i just finished a games course at uni, and i'm still in the zone, so forgive me if i'm getting a little in-depth for a preview.
learning curve was really nicely balanced, though the instuctions on the walls for solving individual puzzles were kind of annoying...more than once i'd be in a position to solve the puzzle, stop to read the sign (upside down, or on an angle, making it difficult to read), and then run out of juice for the warp boots. i think you might have more luck with a sign that just says 'jump here' or even just a flashing green arrow. after the first few levels, the player won't need them anymore.
death lacks weight. like, even compared to other platformers. it's just a frustration, rather than something we actually want to prevent happening...in mario we had that music and a drop off the screen, combined with a lives system. maybe a recorded level timer (no time limit) and a two second animation of sarah getting zapped or some kind of sound being played would help this. what kind of sound? something we don't want to hear, like a blackboard, or a dark organ note, or something. ("dark organ note" is not meant to be a fart joke)
in the larger levels, sarah seemed a little slow. the puzzles worked great, stretching the limit of those warp-boots, but moving around trying to figure them out was a pain.
would like to see more lazerbeam puzzles, and more of that 'power-drain-wall' thing. they were the most interesting elements for me.
Victory! Although I'm not sure I beat level 10 as it was intended, but I should get bonus points for that.
It's possible to exploit some of the ramps in order to attach to walls that otherwise you can't; granted I never used that in an advantageous way, but it might be possible to 'cheat' on a level like that. Also, if you manage to stand on a door while it's opening, it will pull you through the level. /bugnagbug
Taken 1/2h for the whole preview, would probably have taken at least 1h if I didn't already knew 5 stages.
I love the new textures and the new lights effect gives very good results. I see you've replaced the previous ice by oil.
Don't know why, but i don't like the new sound on your Bounce blocks. It seems... off.
I've meet a bug on the level 6 : the door has opened itself at the start of the level. Here's for a Screenshot I don't known why, I've tried to determine the action needed to do it, but sometimes it happen, sometimes not. Apparently, however, it appear every time when I go directly to level 6 without doing levels1-5 before. If it can help, I'm on Firefox 3.6.3 Gecko With Unity Player 2.6.1.31223
I think I'm the only one who likes the step sound. Though I still want running as default! (Also, I'd lock the controls on the 2.5D level - Sarah shouldn't run diagonally towards us when the camera tries to get a better look. Just one more thing for the to-do list.)
so glad that the camera problems aren't happening as much anymore
level 9 automatically lets me out for some reason, but other than that the game is fine. i'm still stuck on level 10, but as soon as i beat that i'll update again
i just finished a games course at uni, and i'm still in the zone, so forgive me if i'm getting a little in-depth for a preview.
learning curve was really nicely balanced, though the instuctions on the walls for solving individual puzzles were kind of annoying...more than once i'd be in a position to solve the puzzle, stop to read the sign (upside down, or on an angle, making it difficult to read), and then run out of juice for the warp boots. i think you might have more luck with a sign that just says 'jump here' or even just a flashing green arrow. after the first few levels, the player won't need them anymore.
death lacks weight. like, even compared to other platformers. it's just a frustration, rather than something we actually want to prevent happening...in mario we had that music and a drop off the screen, combined with a lives system. maybe a recorded level timer (no time limit) and a two second animation of sarah getting zapped or some kind of sound being played would help this. what kind of sound? something we don't want to hear, like a blackboard, or a dark organ note, or something. ("dark organ note" is not meant to be a fart joke)
in the larger levels, sarah seemed a little slow. the puzzles worked great, stretching the limit of those warp-boots, but moving around trying to figure them out was a pain.
would like to see more lazerbeam puzzles, and more of that 'power-drain-wall' thing. they were the most interesting elements for me.
It's possible to exploit some of the ramps in order to attach to walls that otherwise you can't; granted I never used that in an advantageous way, but it might be possible to 'cheat' on a level like that. Also, if you manage to stand on a door while it's opening, it will pull you through the level. /bugnagbug
I love the new textures and the new lights effect gives very good results.
I see you've replaced the previous ice by oil.
Don't know why, but i don't like the new sound on your Bounce blocks. It seems... off.
I've meet a bug on the level 6 : the door has opened itself at the start of the level. Here's for a Screenshot I don't known why, I've tried to determine the action needed to do it, but sometimes it happen, sometimes not. Apparently, however, it appear every time when I go directly to level 6 without doing levels1-5 before.
If it can help, I'm on Firefox 3.6.3 Gecko With Unity Player 2.6.1.31223
(Also, I'd lock the controls on the 2.5D level - Sarah shouldn't run diagonally towards us when the camera tries to get a better look. Just one more thing for the to-do list.)
level 9 automatically lets me out for some reason, but other than that the game is fine. i'm still stuck on level 10, but as soon as i beat that i'll update again