Beat the boss and completed the demo. Wasn't able to find all the armor pieces (only found the helmet). Have to say I throughly enjoyed this.
As for the demo experience: initially the game was very difficult, but after learning how to use the grab properly and the hunger mechanic I started to get into the groove of things more. I have to say that the combat is very well designed and fun to engage with. I also appreciate the Hawaii theme. I saw the citations you left in the credits, you clearly put a lot of thought into this.
Here are some notes I took while playing:
Was a bit confused by the icon used for the "Punch attack" and "Grab attack" in the tutorial. It looks like the trigger button but I'm not quite sure.
I like how everything is themed around Hawaiian culture. Like how the opening is on a cruise ship, the items being local things you could find, and the pamphlets. Very unique setting and idea.
Should indicate with a signpost that the tent (sleeping) is how you save.
Sign should also indicate that running out of stamina in water will drown you. (I did find the pamphlet later, but I think this is important enough to be put on a sign.)
Holding down left stick to run is a bit unintuitive. Maybe use a face button?
On one screen the falling sound kept repeating, but I wasn't falling nor did I see anyone else fall. Probably an enemy out of view that keeps falling? Maybe you should make falling sound distance based?
Platforming would be easier if the player had a shadow that you could use to see where you would fall after a dash.
Once an enemy falls they have trouble returning and thus keep falling. Very annoying sound.
Enemy went into the water, then got pushed into another screen, so I followed them there, but their stats (stamina) stayed the same, so they kept swimming without drowning.
Enemies too willing to drown.
Enemy grab attacks are a fantastic addition. Very cool.
There seems to be some kind of parry system? I'm not sure how to use it. (At least I think I saw something like that)
Hunger/food should also be directly explained to players, preferably through signposts. I was confused as to why my stamina was decreasing all the time until I read the stats menu.
Grab attacks are really fun.
Somehow had a chicken of 0 count stuck in my item use wheel. It stayed even when I added a 10 stack of chicken.
Somehow able to overload bag space (like 21/16) I don't remember how I did it, but I remember it happening accidentally.
Hey, thanks for playing as much as you did! That's great to hear.
Was a bit confused by the icon used for the "Punch attack" and "Grab attack" in the tutorial. It looks like the trigger button but I'm not quite sure.
Yeah, those icons aren't great. You're correct on what they were.
I like how everything is themed around Hawaiian culture. Like how the opening is on a cruise ship, the items being local things you could find, and the pamphlets. Very unique setting and idea.
Thank you. I've had fun with it.
Should indicate with a signpost that the tent (sleeping) is how you save.
Yeah you're right.
Holding down left stick to run is a bit unintuitive. Maybe use a face button?
For a long the dodge button did double duty, but I needed to add the variable dodge distances. I need to make it clearer that you just need to tap it, not hold it.
On one screen the falling sound kept repeating, but I wasn't falling nor did I see anyone else fall. Probably an enemy out of view that keeps falling? Maybe you should make falling sound distance based?
Hopefully that bug's been fixed after demo day.
Platforming would be easier if the player had a shadow that you could use to see where you would fall after a dash.
Possibly? The player sprite never rises or falls, but adding both could definitely be helpful.
Enemy went into the water, then got pushed into another screen, so I followed them there, but their stats (stamina) stayed the same, so they kept swimming without drowning.
The anti-cheese thing I have that makes it so enemies heal real fast when they're unaware of the player might be way too aggressive. I'll look into it.
Enemies too willing to drown.
Yeah I need to figure that out in general. They're supposed to avoid trying to walk into water and holes but they still do now and then.
Enemy grab attacks are a fantastic addition. Very cool.
Thank you!
There seems to be some kind of parry system? I'm not sure how to use it. (At least I think I saw something like that)
Well I'm curious what you saw. The closest thing to parrys that the game has is grab teching which is a fighting game mechanic. If you and an enemy attempt to grab each other at the same time, it'll bounce.
Hunger/food should also be directly explained to players, preferably through signposts. I was confused as to why my stamina was decreasing all the time until I read the stats menu.
Yeah, I could make that one clearer early on.
Grab attacks are really fun.
I'm glad!
Somehow had a chicken of 0 count stuck in my item use wheel. It stayed even when I added a 10 stack of chicken.
Oh that's super weird. I am not sure what to make of that. Hopefully I'll figure out what caused such a bug.
Somehow able to overload bag space (like 21/16) I don't remember how I did it, but I remember it happening accidentally.
Likely related to the bug that caused the other thing. Hrm.
I really like the idea of a Hawaiian ARPG and you have a lot of interesting mechanics. I find some elements of the game way too punishing in a way that seems almost Souls inspired.
My base character felt very weak against the Axe enemy who would often two-touch me while I had to juggle a slow stamina recovery and weapon speed. It got slightly more manageable when I ate the food that buffed those stats but it became the routine to always eat the attack speed food since I didn't engage with that many of the other effects.
The status effects feel extremely oppressive with little counter play beyond just eating the anti-poison consumable or jumping in water with how long they last. I think it would be interesting to borrow from Monster Hunter and use stamina intensive movement to cure certain statuses in battle (e.g. dodge rolling to put out fires/dry off wetness, standing in place to staunch bleeding, etc.)
I only got as far as Smithy since the lava one shots discouraged me from trying to navigate. I think the enemies should die if they get knocked off cliffs since they just fall endlessly anyways.
I find some elements of the game way too punishing in a way that seems almost Souls inspired.
It's very Souls inspired. I can admit that.
My base character felt very weak against the Axe enemy who would often two-touch me while I had to juggle a slow stamina recovery and weapon speed. It got slightly more manageable when I ate the food that buffed those stats but it became the routine to always eat the attack speed food since I didn't engage with that many of the other effects.
It is a hard game. I don't know if guys as difficult as the axe guys will always be in such an early area. At one point it was used as a boss for the tutorial.
The status effects feel extremely oppressive with little counter play beyond just eating the anti-poison consumable or jumping in water with how long they last. I think it would be interesting to borrow from Monster Hunter and use stamina intensive movement to cure certain statuses in battle (e.g. dodge rolling to put out fires/dry off wetness, standing in place to staunch bleeding, etc.)
Stealing the way Monster Hunter handles bleed isn't a bad idea (though Moku doesn't have a crouch.) That being said, dodging DOES get rid of fire, and if you dodge while running you'll jump on the ground (also much like Monster Hunter when running away from a monster), which will reduce it a whole lot. This stuff isn't explained in the game yet, but I could imagine putting fire safety stuff in a pamphlet.
I think the enemies should die if they get knocked off cliffs since they just fall endlessly anyways.
Y'know, I keep thinking I fixed that bug, and it keeps coming back.
Comments
Beat the boss and completed the demo. Wasn't able to find all the armor pieces (only found the helmet). Have to say I throughly enjoyed this.
As for the demo experience: initially the game was very difficult, but after learning how to use the grab properly and the hunger mechanic I started to get into the groove of things more. I have to say that the combat is very well designed and fun to engage with. I also appreciate the Hawaii theme. I saw the citations you left in the credits, you clearly put a lot of thought into this.
Here are some notes I took while playing:
Overall, good job.
Hey, thanks for playing as much as you did! That's great to hear.
Was a bit confused by the icon used for the "Punch attack" and "Grab attack" in the tutorial. It looks like the trigger button but I'm not quite sure.
Yeah, those icons aren't great. You're correct on what they were.
I like how everything is themed around Hawaiian culture. Like how the opening is on a cruise ship, the items being local things you could find, and the pamphlets. Very unique setting and idea.
Thank you. I've had fun with it.
Should indicate with a signpost that the tent (sleeping) is how you save.
Yeah you're right.
Holding down left stick to run is a bit unintuitive. Maybe use a face button?
For a long the dodge button did double duty, but I needed to add the variable dodge distances. I need to make it clearer that you just need to tap it, not hold it.
On one screen the falling sound kept repeating, but I wasn't falling nor did I see anyone else fall. Probably an enemy out of view that keeps falling? Maybe you should make falling sound distance based?
Hopefully that bug's been fixed after demo day.
Platforming would be easier if the player had a shadow that you could use to see where you would fall after a dash.
Possibly? The player sprite never rises or falls, but adding both could definitely be helpful.
Enemy went into the water, then got pushed into another screen, so I followed them there, but their stats (stamina) stayed the same, so they kept swimming without drowning.
The anti-cheese thing I have that makes it so enemies heal real fast when they're unaware of the player might be way too aggressive. I'll look into it.
Enemies too willing to drown.
Yeah I need to figure that out in general. They're supposed to avoid trying to walk into water and holes but they still do now and then.
Enemy grab attacks are a fantastic addition. Very cool.
Thank you!
There seems to be some kind of parry system? I'm not sure how to use it. (At least I think I saw something like that)
Well I'm curious what you saw. The closest thing to parrys that the game has is grab teching which is a fighting game mechanic. If you and an enemy attempt to grab each other at the same time, it'll bounce.
Hunger/food should also be directly explained to players, preferably through signposts. I was confused as to why my stamina was decreasing all the time until I read the stats menu.
Yeah, I could make that one clearer early on.
Grab attacks are really fun.
I'm glad!
Somehow had a chicken of 0 count stuck in my item use wheel. It stayed even when I added a 10 stack of chicken.
Oh that's super weird. I am not sure what to make of that. Hopefully I'll figure out what caused such a bug.
Somehow able to overload bag space (like 21/16) I don't remember how I did it, but I remember it happening accidentally.
Likely related to the bug that caused the other thing. Hrm.
You know how it is. I am linking the DD52 folder to everyone who got a video, so here it is
https://mega.nz/folder/WQ91HBxL#X4-j8Mj7H30Ai3aevWFEmA
I really like the idea of a Hawaiian ARPG and you have a lot of interesting mechanics. I find some elements of the game way too punishing in a way that seems almost Souls inspired.
My base character felt very weak against the Axe enemy who would often two-touch me while I had to juggle a slow stamina recovery and weapon speed. It got slightly more manageable when I ate the food that buffed those stats but it became the routine to always eat the attack speed food since I didn't engage with that many of the other effects.
The status effects feel extremely oppressive with little counter play beyond just eating the anti-poison consumable or jumping in water with how long they last. I think it would be interesting to borrow from Monster Hunter and use stamina intensive movement to cure certain statuses in battle (e.g. dodge rolling to put out fires/dry off wetness, standing in place to staunch bleeding, etc.)
I only got as far as Smithy since the lava one shots discouraged me from trying to navigate. I think the enemies should die if they get knocked off cliffs since they just fall endlessly anyways.
I liked using the grab attack the most.
Hey, thanks for playing as much as you did.
I find some elements of the game way too punishing in a way that seems almost Souls inspired.
It's very Souls inspired. I can admit that.
My base character felt very weak against the Axe enemy who would often two-touch me while I had to juggle a slow stamina recovery and weapon speed. It got slightly more manageable when I ate the food that buffed those stats but it became the routine to always eat the attack speed food since I didn't engage with that many of the other effects.
It is a hard game. I don't know if guys as difficult as the axe guys will always be in such an early area. At one point it was used as a boss for the tutorial.
The status effects feel extremely oppressive with little counter play beyond just eating the anti-poison consumable or jumping in water with how long they last. I think it would be interesting to borrow from Monster Hunter and use stamina intensive movement to cure certain statuses in battle (e.g. dodge rolling to put out fires/dry off wetness, standing in place to staunch bleeding, etc.)
Stealing the way Monster Hunter handles bleed isn't a bad idea (though Moku doesn't have a crouch.) That being said, dodging DOES get rid of fire, and if you dodge while running you'll jump on the ground (also much like Monster Hunter when running away from a monster), which will reduce it a whole lot. This stuff isn't explained in the game yet, but I could imagine putting fire safety stuff in a pamphlet.
I think the enemies should die if they get knocked off cliffs since they just fall endlessly anyways.
Y'know, I keep thinking I fixed that bug, and it keeps coming back.
I liked using the grab attack the most.
Good. It's a fun move.
How do you exit from the menu once you have gotten the sword?
The controls are shown for most menus while you're in them.
Guess I was just being stupid, I will be sure to take a closer look next time I play.