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A jam submission

The Hidden AxisView game page

Submitted by Lochraleon — 1 day, 11 hours before the deadline
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The Hidden Axis's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Overall#33.9233.923

Ranked from 13 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

Host(+2)

Very cool! I love how the message highlights the savagery of aggression.  Defend yes, but offend, well now you're just as bad eh? Very cool system, I found it a bit challenging but was able to get to the end fairly easily too. I kinda wished the archers were more clear I guess, I kept missing shots because I didn't get the system for a long time haha. Maybe a greyed out button until they're in range or something.

Developer(+2)

Thanks so much Tea! 

Yes on the message :) I'm really glad you saw that layer! I really wanted to play with the Hidden Dimensions theme a bit. Although the player's fight actually traveled to another surprise dimension (that's the obvious theme), the more obscure theme I wanted the portal to represet in The Hidden Axis entry was the idea that war comes with misbeliefs, misconceptions, and hidden layers or "hidden dimensions". So exactly like what you said, it was through aggression here that by the end of the game they weren't that different from their enemy.

 A big thanks to you and Drifty for running the Jam. It was a lot of fun. Great idea to improve on the clarity of the archer!  :)

Submitted(+1)

Loved both the idea and the graphics!
I found the recruiting and combat system to be quite satisfying, maybe the combat is a little confusing, but I still enjoyed it. Really GJ!

Developer(+1)

Thanks a lot Felpat! :) 

Submitted

This game is much better than the pre-submission version I saw earlier. The tips at the beginning really help explain the intended game flow on the map.

That said, I'm still a bit confused by the battles themselves. I get that you should attack with your archers as soon as possible for early kills and that their ammo eventually runs out, but the melee attack prompts seem to come up at random (and since the soldiers seem to attack automatically, I'm not sure what the point of the attack prompt is in the first place), and heals are often not available when I actually need them. I played a few times and died after a few stages (the last time I was on the second-to-last battle). Game overs still seem pretty random and are frustrating because I start out strong but suddenly die for reasons I don't understand.

In summary: cool concept, good improvement, still needs more polish.

Submitted(+1)

Another thing that crossed my mind: Since you're supposed to recruit more troops after every battle and there's rarely ever a reason you would NOT want to do so, why not open the unit recruitment menu automatically after every battle? That way a player can't accidentally cruise on to a new battle without getting new units, and if they do, it's more on them because they had to proactively decide not to.

Developer

Thanks for playing the jam version too KV! I definitely think more impact in the moves or "feels" will make it a lot more clear instead of just the subtle animation (especially when lots of Warriors are packed in a small area) so the player gets a better sense of the special attack the Warriors are doing and how it is different from unit auto attacks. Good idea for the army hiring UI too :)

(+1)

Satisfying game to run through! Overall the game progression made sense. Buy units, kill more than you die, don't challenge the super hard places early. The actual keys were a little confusing and could have used some feedback to give the player more information. Healing and magic for example, I couldn't quite tell if I was actually using them. Mashing attack during melee. . . did damage? The OP archers I could at least see instant motion so that made sense. 

I enjoyed my time! Love those pithy quotes and quick endings. You capture some intense emotions and ideas even with your very brief bits of storytelling.

Developer

Thanks so much for playing and taking the time to provide feedback! Great points on the specials, I should definitely take one out of the action sequence book and give some impact to the buttons, spells, and attacks so they give more feels and feedback to the player. I really appreciate it Human!

Submitted(+1)

Wow, this is great. There is a real sense of progression through the game with a clear loop of fighting-> earn money -> recruit more units -> fighting. Always leaves you curious to see how your new army will perform. Maybe there could even be ways for non-linear progression for instance by choosing to side with either fire witches or ice witches. Just a random thought. But there's just a lot for a gamer to enjoy here. ;)

Developer

I love that idea! Thanks so much for the feedback.

Submitted(+1)

Very fun! There doesn't seem to be a "better" build up until the end, and at that point you're wiping the floor with or without mages either way :)

A bit disappointed with the background being repeated every time, and the button layout was wonky, but these were great 10 minutes.

Developer(+1)

Thanks for playing and the feedback Nate! Based on your feedback, I just made the background a variable.. so, if I can find some more cool and suitable art.. I just need to drag and drop the file in the level settings and... Budabing budaboom! :) Same with tilemap too! 

Submitted(+1)

That opening quote is both cool and a sweet pun. Love it. Okay, the game was pretty badass. It needs a save. I got kinda wrecked in the last battle cause my healer died and I was out of money. Pretty sweet game though. I love those archers and the AoE girl. They would thin that herd right away.

Developer

Thanks Nova! I really appreciate the feedback. I'll for sure add a save and more levels :)

Submitted(+1)

really fun game, I died a lot at first, then I got a bunch of archers and mowed them down. I would like to see more, and wish this was longer. This is a good base to start with just add more maps maybe add troop upgrades that affect the whole troop type. Capturing buildings could unlock some troops or anything really, so many ways to expand. Anyways good luck with the game jammin.

 

Developer

Thanks Wrath! Those are great suggestions! The game is very easy to expand so I am definitely planning too based on this type of feedback :) I set it up so making a new levels and enemy armies is all drag and drop stuff. I will add a save system and with that I can make a longer campaign and incorporate people's suggestions like upgrades etc :) thanks so much for trying the game!

Submitted(+1)

I love the twist at the end.

Developer(+1)

Thanks so much :) I really appreciate the comment and thanks for playing!

Submitted(+1)

Neat gameplay, would of loved for the troops to act on their own, with more selections 

Developer

Thank you and thanks for playing :) I think there could be times where priest could really benefit from that mechanic... even in the current version.

 Originally I had it so you could attack with an individual unit or the group... I think if you press tab or click on a unit the selected unit icon will still activate haha (maybe the Q hotkey will still work to attack individually too now that you mention it lol I never tested the Q and may have just removed the UI button). I removed (or at least hid it)  for the jam, as it was making it a bit too complex and the testers were finding it difficult to win via selecting individual units. It would be cool to find a way to balance it out more... Like have totally different individual attack vs group attack or different battle stances or something :) thanks for the feedback, definately makes me want to revisit it more.