Post by ArtificialOptimism in #DVLG009-NW-CHPT1:01 Chapter I is released! comments

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I'm currently part way through chapter 1 - major notes so far

The art is good, but the AI generated voices are hurting more than helping. I think you'd be better served switching to text only; and keep the option open to, if you manage to make some money off of the game, hire some actual voice actors.

I'd also personally add some information about the behavior of the different types of anomaly so players can strategize around their behavior: I've found one of the better ways to clear levels is to set up traps and separate the balls, but without knowing what each type of anomaly is going to do it's difficult to predict and plan for their movement.

Aquator227 days ago (1 edit)

This was a deliberate choice at my, but I see your point. I myself like Kairi’s voice, and listened to Hana so many times to get the most out of it she sounds like a friend as well 😂 but yeah, I guess you have a fair point, my only excuse is you can separately lower the speech volume to zero at settings, I suggest you to do it if the voice annoys you.

About the power drainers, the idea was to figure out the strategy as you go along. There are a handful of them, and some setups need different approach - spent a couple of hours beating all levels myself, there are some really nasty ones I admit :) They don’t have a complex pattern, and I hate the yellow the most.

Thanks for the feedback, appreciated!

ArtificialOptimism227 days ago

So my complaint isn't that I dislike the voices - you did a really good job fine tuning what each character sounds like.

The issue is that AI voice generation is really bad at actual line delivery. The way they speak doesn't really sound like an actual person; they have a very start and stop delivery as if they had to double check the script mid-sentence; resulting in a brief pause.

AI voice generators also lack the ability to project emotion properly. It was especially noticeable for me when I got to the first erotic scene and Kairi's reaction is identical to how she would address anything else; no shock, confusion, or embarrassment over what the other version of her is doing.

That's the point when I backed out of the level to turn the voice volume off, since it was hurting my immersion.

Aquator226 days ago

That is a perfectly valid concern, thanks. Will think about it.

Aquator220 days ago

Added a headsup that gives a hint on the new enemy type in the patch release, thanks for the suggestion!

ArtificialOptimism219 days ago

Glad the feedback was useful.

So, I've been stuck on the same level for about a week now and I'm noticing another thing that might be helpful - I'm not sure if the dialogue choice for an upgrade actually has a mechanical effect right now, but if it does being able to change which of them you have would be nice - unless it's possible to do that by replaying the stage where you choose one?

Just noticing that the longer thread upgrade doesn't help as much as it sounds like it would and wishing I'd made a different pick.

Aquator219 days ago (2 edits)

The upgrade is not immediate, it triggers later a bit, the thread gets +50% and it is noticable. Which level are you on? A week sounds too hard, maybe I was simply lucky with a playtest, I can look into it in case it needs a bit of nerfing.

Plan is to make those choices permanent though, thats a bit evil, the original idea is to add a New Game Plus when everything is done, where you can add more or different upgrades make it easier to finish with different dialog choices. Also thought about a gui where you can turn them on and off, but it is not yet completed. Adding a gui and a way to “rearrange skill points” is also an interesting idea though, a good choice for a specific level can help a lot.

ArtificialOptimism219 days ago

Last stage of scene 10. It is PUNISHINGLY difficult.

Aquator219 days ago (3 edits)

Thats the last cafeteria stage right? I think that is the hardest level, after it I introduced different kind of enemies as well since it was impossible to do anything with more/faster enemies, I already nerfed that one :D Your aim should be isolating the yellow, or maybe a yellow with another. I am gonna do some other test runs later today, and maybe nerf it a bit by making them a bit slower If I can't beat it. I must admit I only beat this one once, but I was also pretty tired playing levels for hours. I was so happy I made it it was "passed" - but rest assured, the next ones are not that hard, and also you will need some tactics for some levels. Oh, and that was the reason I came up with the "Hard Level" warning, it pissed me off so many times :D

Aquator219 days ago (4 edits)

Ok, so I gave it a few attempts today, I agree it is not easy, but doable. Definitely easier with the extra power, the longer thread helps less this case. (Ah, but you don't yet having it anyway...) Try to halve the screen horizontally, and make it "bumpy" so they have a chance to get stuck in the upper or the lower half of the screen for a longer period. Ideal is to isolate the yellow separately, but 2/2 is also fine. Then just make extra obstacles until you can keep them in a smallish block. You can chip away pieces, but likely will run out of time, so try to get a third of the free space or something like that. Maybe halving two times. Probably isolating all in separate blocks makes it hard to reveal enough, I usually succeed with 2 "groups" - the yellow and the others. Extra luck if the red gets a narrow range pattern, and just bounces up and down basically in the "tunnel"

ArtificialOptimism219 days ago

That's pretty much the strategy I've been going for, and I've almost gotten it probably a dozen times, only for the clock to run out just before I can clear the last section.

Aquator219 days ago

In that case it is just a matter of time I guess, but if you feel it overly frustrating I can do a quick nerf in the upcoming days. This is not a FromSoftware game after all :D But also wanted that good rush when you clear it. There are about 3 of these harder ones, I guess the previous, this one and the last scene are probably the hardest, and this is the most heavy one. Let me know if you are interested in a nerf, you are my number one independent playtester as well :)

ArtificialOptimism218 days ago

I think it would benefit from a minor nerf just to help get over the hill, like I said I keep ALMOST getting it but run out of time at the last moment. A small decrease in difficulty shouldn't impact the feeling of relief and victory when you finally clear the stage.

And I'm glad to be helpful any way I can. I can tell you're putting a lot of work into the game and not a lot of people are providing direct feedback, so I thought you might appreciate the input.

Aquator217 days ago

I absolutely do! Just released a bit of a nerf, adding an extra 30s on that level. That should be still challenging with the moving parts, but has a bit more breathing time to carefully move. Tested it, it does not feel exceptionally easier, but maybe less chance-based on favored moving paths as you have some extra seconds to waste.

itch.io

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