itch.io

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into the audio library you mentioned.

So the music you got a copyright claim for is a track I purchased the rights for from a site called https://www.themusicase.com/  The track is Spanish Matador Of 21 Century by Alex Khaskin, and the rights I bought allow me to use the song in any non commercial project. Seeing as how I'm not charging people for my game, nor am I accepting  Paypal donations, I didn't foresee this being a problem. I was of course planning to hire a composer later on in the game's development when the game is closer to being commercially viable, and was planning on purchasing Royalty Free Music to use until a later date.

Thanks for letting me know though. There is of course an option in the game's menu under the Audio tab to mute all of the game's music, if needed. I'm very sorry to hear of the Copyright claim on one of your videos because of this. I know Youtube is kind of infamous for DMCA claims that have been a headache for content creators. Guess I'll have to consider perhaps removing the track if it's going to cause problems for streamers. 

Much appreciated, and best wishes!

Thanks  for trying out Steampunk Lincoln! And thank you also for the feedback, as it was both helpful and constructive, and exactly what I was looking for by by posting my Early Dev build on this site  :)

I'll definitely take a second look at the Stamina and Flamethrower damage as part of my next update, which will also add  into the game a basic Skill Tree and Leveling System. I'll also be adjusting enemy attack damage, along with the player's starting health and stamina. An Inventory System is also in the plans for a future update, along with the ability to restock Medkits / Healing Flasks that you come across in the environment.

Thanks again!

Thanks!

Here's a Character Upgrade Menu I've been working on for my Early Access game Steampunk Lincoln. Might tinker with it some more, but this will be pretty close to what I'm planning to implement in game. I wanted to create something that had a nice composition, and conveyed the minimum amount of information the player needs without being overly cluttered. Thought I might briefly touch upon my thought process, and  breakdown the Character Menu UI of two other games that influenced some of the choices I made.




The Witcher III - Amazing Game with a Clean and Functional UI

I'll admit that I was inspired somewhat by the UI design in the Witcher III, and in particular I was impressed by how clean and intuitive the character menu in that game is. Since Steampunk Lincoln isn't nearly as complex as far as its upgrades and skill tree as that game, I thought it might be possible to simplify it down into something that can fit on a single screen. I particularly like the use of Icons to display information, rather than an over reliance on text. The use of brackets is also well considered, as it breaks up the visual elements enough to keep the screen from feeling cluttered.

Dark Souls - Another Amazing Game, With a Not So Amazing Character Menu

For another example, one I wanted to avoid in this case, was the Character Menu design of Dark Souls. Now I'm a huge fan of this series, but I'll be the first to admit the Character Menu UI is implemented in a less than ideal way. For one, upon opening this up for the first time, you're bombarded by a wall of Text. It's not immediately apparent what many of these Stats are, and having to hit another button and potentially scrolling down five or ten times to find out what a stat like Resistance does is.

What are some other examples of well designed Character Menus in games you've played? 

Steampunk Lincoln

Releasing my first solo developed game, so forgive me for not knowing this already, but is there a resource out there somewhere with a list of Streamers looking to play / review small Indie titles?  Not necessarily looking for channels with a ton of subscribers, as the title I'm working on is a bit niche I realize (a 3D steampunk Soulslike in early development).  My game is non-commercial, but something I've put a good amount of effort into over the course of a few years, and it would be nice if more people got the chance to play it. 

Any helpful advice on the matter from someone more versed than myself on these matters would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Link to my game:
https://sardoniccreations.itch.io/steampunk-lincoln-prologue

Thought I would share some character art for Steampunk Lincoln, a Soulslike action game in Early Development that I recently released a prologue for on itch ( https://sardoniccreations.itch.io/steampunk-lincoln-prologue ).

The game takes place in an alternate history where the Industrial Revolution happened earlier than in our timeline, and the American Civil War was a much longer and more destructive conflict. You play as an enigmatic figure known as The Emancipator, hot on the trail of a Confederate ex-patriot who's become more machine than man, with dreams of starting a Machine Empire in the American Southwest.

For my engine I've been using Unity. Maya 2020 for 3d modeling and animation. Photoshop and Substance Painter for texturing. For audio editing, I've been using Audacity. Using Hitfilm Express for my video editing (super highly recommended free video editor akin to After Effects)

https://sardoniccreations.itch.io/steampunk-lincoln-prologue

If anyone here is into Soulslike action games, and has access to an Xbox controller:

https://sardoniccreations.itch.io/steampunk-lincoln-prologue

Steampunk Lincoln is a game I've been working on in my spare time for the past two or so years. My background is as a 3D Artist and Game Developer, and this game was inspired by titles such as Dark Souls and Steamworld Dig.  The game has a focus on hefty, satisfying melee combat, as well as light exploration.

The Prologue I launched on itch.io is a brief introduction showcasing the first area of the game, meant to demonstrate the game's core mechanics, including its Combat, Enemy Design, and Level Design.  If you have a Youtube / Twitch channel send me a link, I'd love to see your playthrough. Would also be happy to hear your feedback / thoughts on the game.

Thank you for downloading my game! It looks like you may be having some performance issues from running on lower end hardware. If you go into the Options menu and disable Volumetric Clouds, as well as Depth of Field  and Bloom, the game should run more smoothly. In addition, lowering the resolution upon launch from 1920x1080 to something lower (1366x768 or 1280x72) should help as well.

https://sardoniccreations.itch.io/steampunk-lincoln-prologue

With much of us having more free time on our hands during a global pandemic, why not don the Iron Gauntlets of Abe Lincoln and unleash steam powered fury against hordes of Iron Monstrosities? 

Steampunk Lincoln is a Soulslike action game set in the ruins of Gilded Age America, focusing on crunchy melee combat and exploration. It's a game that I've been working on in my free time over the past two or so years, and I'm excited to release a playable Prologue showcasing the game. 

The game is currently free for download for Windows.