itch.io

• How many enemies is appropriate per level?

Maybe 5ish depending on how powerful they are?  This is really just a guess

• Would you prefer a HUD?

Yes I would like to know how much ectoplasm I have until it's all gone

• How strong should the enemy attack the player? 

I think they should be dangerous, whether in harming the player or stealing ectoplasm, but they should drop the stolen ectoplasm when dispatched

• How should the player attack? Would you like mouse click combat or full keyboard combat?

I'd go for mouse clicking 

• How do you feel about the jump height/power? Should it be lowered?

I would like the jump to be a little higher and last a little bit longer

• What types of cards or upgrades would you like to see? 

I would like to see unique decks for unique enemies, and maybe when you defeat them you can learn from them and unlock their deck to use

• What types of enemies would you like to see added to the game?

I really like the characters that appear in the lobby, so hopefully they can be added

• Does the overall movement of the affection slider feel good?

I think it's a lot more satisfying, especially with the current balance of the cards

• Is there any other additions you would like to see?

I think that the lose message might actually be displaying the win message

I love the addition of the lobby and the characters you see in it!

• What about the current world do you like/don't like?

I think the shadows are a bit too dark, it's hard to see the details of anything that isn't in the direct sunlight

• How do the controls feel? 

They are pretty good.  I'd argue that the sensitivity of the camera is a little to low though

• Given the game is focused around magical crafting, do you have any suggestions for recipes or items that would fit the theme? 

How about potions to enhance physical abilities, like running speed, or jump height?  Maybe you could make health potions for villagers?

• Is there anything you hope to do in the game that has not yet been implemented? 

I guess being able to talk to the wizard would be nice

• Any other general C&C.

There doesn't seem to be a range limit at which I can no longer enter the tower.  I was able to teleport in even from the forest.

Are there any specific puzzles/mechanics you would like to see?

I would like to see something where you use one of the broomsticks found on the station

-Does these room look like a spaceship room?

Yes, the new rooms especially look much more detailed and convincing as a spaceship

-Does the walking seem intuitive?

it is, but I would ask for some kind of marker to let you know what the current move target is

-Does the spell usage seem intuitive?

it is for the most part, but i wish there was a little more feedback than just a quick message in the text box

-Does the information in the text box help?

yes, but I don't think the find goal works in the other levels, or maybe it's just not implemented yet.

-how does camera movement feel?

I like the speed of the horizontal movement, but the vertical movement feels too slow to me.  Also, if you turn horizontally too far, you get stuck, and also the rotation to the right does not work.

-what do you think about the levels size/decor/ect.

I think that they were of a pretty good size.  I really like the environment that you guys have crafted, it really feels like a lived in space station

• What types of cards or upgrades would you like to see? 

I would like to see more tricks added, there's all kinds of tricks out there

• What types of enemies would you like to see added to the game?
• Maybe the different opponents could favor different styles of magic, like cardistry, mentalists and more

• Does the overall movement of the affection slider feel good?

It's alright.  I think that if I select cards to fast it makes my cards negative?  I'm not sure though.

• Is there any other additions you would like to see?

I would like a bit of ambient music, maybe the occasional noise from the audience for atmosphere.  Having the tricks visualized would be nice as well.

• How does movement feel?

So far I like the movement.  Maybe the jumping could be higher.

• How does the camera feel?

The camera is very nice

• How does the level feel so far?

It looks really nice.  It's a little like Bowser's castles  The ghost looks cool too.

• How do the controls feel?

They feel good.  I did notice that I was sliding off of the slightly tilted chunks of debris, so maybe more friction is needed?

Does the game provide too much or not enough assistance to the player in terms of solving puzzles?

I think the information is good so far, but presented a little to obviously

-Are there any specific puzzles/mechanics you would like to see?

Maybe something with more manipulation of the environment?  Like moving boxes around or something with a spell?

-Does this room look like a spaceship room?

Yes.  This is a believable ship

-Does the walking seem intuitive?

It is intuitive, but please make the walk speed faster and the camera rotation slower.

-Does the spell usage seem intuitive?

it makes sense, but sometimes it takes 2 clicks for the spell to be used.

-Does the information in the text box help?

Yes it does, also the extra joke texts were funny and creative.

• What about the current world do you like/don't like?

I like the overall look of the game.  The interior also looks great.  The light from the torches seems to go through walls.  Walking feels nice

• How do the controls feel? 

I think the sensitivity should be increased a little.  Also, please increase the field of view.  Other than that I'm liking it so far

• Given the game is focused around magical crafting, do you have any suggestions for recipes or items that would fit the theme? 

Maybe you could gather plants/animal parts/fungi and stuff to put into a cauldron and mix potions?

• Is there anything you hope to do in the game that has not yet been implemented? 

I would like to have a magic wand

• Any other general C&C.

In the distance, mountains render at the edge of my vision on the right.  It covers the landscape that is already there

ERNIE VERSION 2

• How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?

I think the pacing is well done.  It was very tense, though I imagine that more complicated repair tasks would be much harder to complete when every room is 30 seconds

• In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?

I'd suggest that each room have walls around to make navigation much more important so that the player must not waste time picking dead ends or walking inefficiently

• Do you like the current module? 

Yes this timing module is challenging when it's fast but doable.

• Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 

I'd like to see upgrades for movement speed, maybe something that would help in completing tasks

• Game breaking glitches/bugs?

You can still move and complete levels after game over.  No others that I saw

• General QoL improvements

I'd like more modules to keep the game fresh.  I think the red when time is almost out is very helpful and informative.

Version 2 Playtest

How Chonky is this cat compare last one?

I think it's too Chonky.  Cat can't move fast enough to defend the castle.

What do you want do want to see?

I definitely look forward to the different weapons mentioned.

What flaws do you see?

I don't think the scroll to switch weapons is working.

are the Shot gun, Pistol and rifle balanced?

Compared to how fast the enemies are and how easily they access the castle right now, I think the starting weapon is not powerful enough.  I couldn't test all of the weapons because the scroll switch was not working for me.

I like the progress on the level.  What's going on is much clearer than before.  I like the UI, though it's a little difficult to see the yellow on white Gold text.

 How does the dial feel, is it intuitive

Yes it clearly shows what I can and can't detach

* How does the arm throw feels? (Trajectory, Gravity, Distance, Strength)

I think the arm throwing is broken for me.  If I detached my hand 

Ok I figured out how to throw my hands.  I think that gravity should be a tiny bit stronger, and that we should be able to throw farther.  I think the power fall off was a bit too much too, as in half charge would throw much less further than the full charge throw led me to believe.  

Also, please make it more clear how to throw.  Maybe just explain it on the game page?

* What do you think of the scenery?

I liked the background scenery.  The foregrounds seems rather bleak to me, but that's probably intentional.  I think the parallax effect was too strong.

I think the idle animation was a little intense, and I'm not sure how to pick up my parts, or if they can be picked up.  I'm excited to see the next puzzle you guys come up with!

Playtest questions:

Music volume: is it too loud, too quiet?

I think it is slightly too loud compared to the sfx, but it honestly sounds fine to me

What did you dislike and why?

I didn't like having to press back for every page in the "how to play menu" after I was done reading.  That will get really annoying as the tutorial gets longer.

I didn't like how parts would go flying across the room when I killed robots.

I would like the option to cancel repairs if we are to be stuck when repairing.

Did you feel like anything was missing and what?

More upgrades, if it's a feasible workload

Was there something you tried to do but couldn’t?

I would like a way to upgrade resistance to toxic damage

Did the controls feel natural?

They did.

Is the objective clear?

Yes the red consoles and shift to green made it very clear of their statuses.  

Did you feel like you were getting adequate feedback on your actions?

Yes the sound effects really helped me understand when things were happening.  I also like the little face on the bottom left.

General: 

Look and feel:

• Does the character feel sluggish? Is it fine for the character to feel slow if upgrades will eventually make the character feel better?

I thought that the character was a little slow.  I feel like I could never keep up with the enemies.  Increasing movement speed could definitely be an upgrade but the base speed is far too slow for my liking

Enemies:

• Can you see the game becoming too difficult? If so how do you think we should balance it?

I think the game will be extremely difficult if the cat’s movement speed is not increased.  I don’t know if I just adjusted the sliders wrong, but I could not get the cat vs enemies dynamic balanced.  The enemies died instantly no matter what.  The slider for enemy spawn rate did not work.  I think that a single turret should not be able to kill all of the enemies when they walk by, so that the player actually has to mop up remaining foes.

• Are there too many enemies? How many unique enemies do you think there should be?

I think there was a good amount of enemies, but I guess at least 2 unique ones would be nice

Tower defence side:

Turrets:

• What upgrades to the turrets do you want to see?

Fire rate, health (if they can be damaged), damage output, maybe I could repair them somehow?

• Is the firing speed good for the amount of enemies?

I could not get a decent fire rate, but based on how many there were with default settings, I would suggest 3ish shots to kill?   Something short.

• How many unique Turrets do you think there should be?

There are a lot of ways to make unique turrets, like enemies.  I would ask for an area of effect turret, like a tesla coil, or maybe a rocket launcher turret

• How many Turrets per X path squares of path should there be?

I’m not sure what this means, but if the enemies are going to become a lot more durable over time, then I would like to be able to add many turrets along the path they follow

• Are the turrets’ sliders easy to use? 

Not for me.  I couldn’t tell if the sliders were working because the enemies died in one hit even if I set rate of fire low, my and the turret’s damages low, and enemy health high

Enemies:

• Is the pathing good for the Enemies?

No, Enemies did not seem to recognize me or the turrets.  They just pushed me and passed through the turrets.  

• What kind of improvements should the Enemies have?

I would like them to be able to damage or hinder the player somehow, like maybe slowing them down or placing obstacles?

Cat side:

Cat:

• Is this cat chonky enough?

The chonk is pleasing.  Also, a pixel on the right whisker is missing on the firing downward sprite

• When shooting with the main cat do you see any improvements? If so, what are they?
•  
• Is the movement of the cat coherent?

No, the animations are far too fast, The cat becomes blurry from how much it is shaking around 

• How are the cats movement? 

Like I said above, I would like the cat to move faster.

We are planning to add these in the future how do you think they would impact the game?

Gold and items to pick up, level boss

Gold would be a good way to buy upgrades, maybe powerups could drop from enemies.  A boss sounds good, maybe they could destroy towers?

Bugs

When I used a slider, moving the cat would affect the slider until I had clicked off.

How do you feel about the brief puzzle mechanics?

• I thought that they were good starts, but I had a bug where if I kept running back and forth between the buttons and block, I would get stuck on invisible walls, I’m not sure why
• This invisible wall thing happened throughout the level, but not only in the puzzles, it seemed to be whenever I collided with anything, walls, body parts, buttons

Were you able to figure them out relatively quickly with a bit of trial and error?

• Yes.  I would like a way to choose which side of me I drop my parts or even throw them

Did you get an understanding of the physics of the current body parts that were present?

• I did learn how the physics worked
• I would like to see the feet be moveable like the hand, but not being able to move them may have been intentional

What upgrades/weapons would you like to see in the game?

• Maybe a straight laser beam gun
• Being able to walk in the toxic areas

What did you dislike and why?

• Sometimes when I destroyed robots the pieces they dropped would go inside a desk, making them unreachable
• I’m not sure, but I think a robot might have spawned on me and we could no longer move
• Sometimes when parts dropped they would drop in between squares, and I could only reach them by moving diagonally

Did you feel like anything was missing and what?

• I think there should be a warning that you have stepped into a toxic area as I didn’t notice for a long time why I was taking damage

Was there something you tried to do but couldn’t?

• I would like to be able to destroy obstacles, like the piles of rocks

Did you find the art aesthetic to be cohesive?

• I liked the art style for the most part but I think there was and uncomfortable mix of very simple art (like the floor and walls) with more complex art (like characters, desks, objects)

Did the controls feel natural?

• I think the controls were good, but the movement between squares took some getting used to.  I would have preferred a more free movement style but I think it makes it easier to aim the blaster

How does the pacing of the game feel, is it too fast or too slow?

• I think Ernie is slightly too fast
• So far the game only gets a sense of urgency from the timer

In what ways might we be able to improve the challenge and the 'hectic-ness' of the game beyond the difficulty of the modules and timing?

• I think tense music would help the atmosphere, and maybe adding flashing alarms
• For challenges I would suggest possibly adding quick puzzles or other obstacles that must be solved to access modules
• I would like time to be added when I complete certain actions, like repairing a module

Would you like to see Ernie have abilities/upgrades and if so what would you like to see? 

• Maybe he could have an ability that marks a module/puzzle complete
• Maybe an ability that temporarily stops the timer?

Game breaking glitches/bugs?

• Walls are not solid, I can run through them with no problem

General QoL improvements

• I found it extremely difficult to recognize what modules looked like, I only realized because I accidentally walked into one, please make them more recognizable
• The collision of objects was a little confusing, such as the tiny black dots on the ground or the larger dots that were similar to the ground.  What are those?

the folder does not contain all of the files needed to run the game, could you please update your file?