Sometimes it's the little things that take the longest to get right. Recent changes in dev builds include: - 'tap' while an opponent is in a headlock is no longer mapped to body slam. I'd observed players spamming with taps leading to inadvertent slam attempts - unfortunately if you don't have any stars, the technique fails and you get reversed. All slams are now mapped to swipes, which eliminates this type of frustration. - the beginnings of a proper HUD, with health bars that show damage absorbed synced with the time of impact. - visual representation of rage meter, used to give a player (computer or otherwise) that's received a particularly harsh beating a temporary reprieve and chance of comeback - gameplay inside the ring is now constrained to a single dimension. I was torn on this, and it remains a compile time option. The arcade game that largely has been inspiring this effort used double-dragon mechanic, where you could walk sideways in the z-plane. For iOS, this unnecessarily complicates the gameplay, but also makes it way too hard to corner a human opponent. - there's no longer any left/right asymmetry with controls; you can use either side of the screen to tap, drag, or swipe, with no need for a 'left handed' or 'right handed' setting; as a bonus, control is now working perfectly with Siri remote in the Apple TV port. - incorporated a new "How to Play" mode, showing a sample match with visual representation of all the associated gestures as it plays out. Should make it more obvious how to leap of the ropes, get back in the ring (after being tossed out), etc. Still a lot potentially to do. We're looking into revamping art among other things. If any artist/animator stumbles across this thread, feel free to shoot me a PM with link to your portfolio.
I'd love to test this game out, if you are still accepting beta testers. I will PM you my e-mail address.
An additional bit of core art being prepared - the ubiquitous announcer seen between matches. Some concept art: On unrelated note, Game Center leaderboards were only added recently, but it's a bit lonely there - only 4 players - all people I know locally have managed to beat the first opponent, Jobber Joe. He's not that hard... or is he? I would encourage anyone that's kindly agreed to try the beta to please make sure to sign in with Game Center before playing. If the first match is too hard or gameplay is too confusing, please post here or shoot me a PM. fr0n1k if you're still interested please shoot me a PM with an email address.
Just added a new batch of TA users to testflight - thanks! Some quick notes: 1. the game doesn't include a proper tutorial yet, but hopefully it's enough to get by 2. "how to play" is currently just a little non-interactive movie showing a sample demo match. It's well worth watching though, as it gives a quick demo of most of the techniques/tactics available. The bottom of the screen shows a representation of the tap/swipe gestures that were used while capturing it. 3. the first character in 'vs' mode will fight back, but he's not very aggressive. For example, if you end up in a headlock, he'll simply hold it for a while, giving you plenty of time to counter (swipe away) and escape. 4. don't bother trying online play yet - it's based on GGPO protocol, but there's a bug in the current beta that I need to work through
Whoot! First draft inclusion of new announcer animations: Full steam ahead on adding a proper tutorial and tightening up player-vs-player mode...
Congrats! There will be many more game modes and challenges in the final version. I've been tweaking the difficulty of the current 6 opponents. AI in fighting games is a unique challenge in that it's generally straightforward to create an unstoppable AI monster with perfect reflexes/defense/timing but much harder to make an AI opponent that feels vaguely like a human, is fun to battle, and still a reasonable challenge. Currently, there does appear to be a bit of a lurch in difficulty starting with Mad Moose (3rd opponent). An interesting data point: in development I have a setting where I can make computer-controlled fighters battle each other. Kid Turbo (5th opponent) usually dominates everyone, even the champ.
I have no clue if anyone is still using iCade, but took a detour yesterday to add support. My daughter so loved the form factor of the iCade cabinet that she's begun watching her favorite YouTube videos with iPad housed there.
another week, another update It's critically important in a game like this that it's obvious what's going on, and why. The best way to do this is not with text or icons, but with animations that are intuitively obvious. Towards this end, as one example I'm taking a friend up on an idea he proposed, to make the "run" and "flung" animations distinct. The functional difference is that if you initiate a run, you remain in full control of the player character - you can switch to a drop kick or running lariat, or even skid to a stop. But if you're flung by the opponent your character will run helplessly in that silly pro-wrestling way until they've bounced off the ropes and return. So without further adieu, here's the mockup that will be guiding new animations:
I was added to beta about a year ago it seems like and it looks like so much has been added. I'm going to reinstall and check out all the new stuff and controls . Looks amazing and progress sounds like it's come along way. The adding of the announcer title fight screen adds so much more to the overall look and feel of the game. I would like to throw suggestions out there if your open to any
Hi Jay, Would love to hear any suggestions for changes that you or other players have. I'm still waiting for a new batch of audio/graphic resources but went ahead and refreshed the beta with some modest changes while adding some new testers. Changes include: - first round opponent ("Jobber Joe") is a bit easier. He recovers from getting struck more slowly, making it easier to dizzy him in punch exchanges without having to do anything fancy defensively. - one player had confessed to being confused by the "how to play" video and tried to interact with it. Now any touch while that video is presenting now returns to main menu. - made the (still placeholder) main menu a bit less ugly - refactored the in-game hints shown in first match - animated announcer added Take care, Phil
Slam Mania beta has been refreshed with a handful of changes including: - outline added to 3d ring - run and fling animations are now distinct - jump spin kick is now a hold-and-release move, instead of a contextual action - added in-game character portraits - and perhaps most importantly, the required timing to hit a flung opponent with a standing elbow smash or face kick is now relaxed; previously, you had to hit them with the first frame of your extended elbow, but now a dashing opponent will still impact if they run into it a bit later; will likely introduce a damage bonus for a perfectly-timed hit.
No release date yet, but will be providing one soon. Two quick updates: Working with the composer to incorporate opponent-specific theme music, which is one of the things I fondly remember from the old arcade game Matt Mania. I've been been exploring a new game mode, "Streets of Wrestling" where you battle your way past gangs of masked jobbers interspersed with boss-style fights and of course the occasional canned ham/turkey to eat and recharge your heath. I'm sorry to say this is probably a bit too ambitious to make the initial release - not worth doing unless it can be done well, but we'll see!
Refreshed beta with a handful of changes: - opponent-specific music interludes added during the announcer interstitials; pretty jazzed with how these came out - AI: added opponent-specific ring-out behavior - AI: basic opponent drop kick defense (starting with advanced matches), which had originally been coded to sidestep, and so didn't work with z-axis removal simplification - new "win summary" screen enumerating the moves & count player use following a win - 'title defense' mode - game no longer abruptly ends after defeating the champion, Beardo, but continues with more challenging matches Game still badly needs a proper tutorial. In the meantime there's a 'demo' match (pre-recorded) baked in accessible from the splash screen, hints in the first match (vs. Jobber Joe), and in-game you can pause and browse the move list. Beyond that, planning to add a ton of achievements and some additional leaderboards. One thing under consideration is a complete reskinning of the game/animations. Might save that for a "Streets of Wrestling" sequel - we'll see.
