Comments for Loot Loop Loot

Hahaha can you even see the cards at that point while in warp zone? That actually seems nuts and I haven't actually tried going that full build myself yet. Happy you found that one, it's one of the harder ones to control due to the speed but you're right, the stats are negligible at that point cuz you're just pounding the boss' face in :)

Thanks for the nice feedback, that's something I'm really trying to do with my games here. I'd like to push some design boundaries so expect my upcoming games to also try some new things. I actually do hope to make a full game on Steam, so my current goal is to knock out a bunch of prototypes to see which idea is the best candidate for that so stay tuned!

Oh yea I love prestige mechanics but I didn't have plans to put it in this one. I will definitely be doing that in one of my next prototypes so that I can learn how to do it well. I actually agree with what you said about tracking time to beat it from scratch after having some convos with players. I DO think it is a very niche thing and only a few players would do it, but I love that some people were figuring out how to optimize their runs over the course of the whole game, such as knowing which paths to take first and when. The game does lean on the easy side so that most players get to see all the content, but you must've figured out the game pretty well regardless. Thanks for the feedback!

That's EXACTLY the feeling I wanted the players to have while playing this game, and is the core reason this game has a time limit. In a normal RPG, you can just sit somewhere and farm til you have optimal equipment, and plenty of time to theorycraft or use a calculator. I wanted loot selection to be a skill the player had to master, so I wanted to throw tough decisions at the player while under pressure. You really identified some solid points there. There's a lot of tradeoffs to the equipment you choose, and it also depends on the fights you're about to encounter since stats/sets are dependent on what path you're going down.

Heh yep that is an intended combo. In the end I decided to lean towards the easy side of things because I wanted all kinds of players to be able to complete the game, and also to do it with their own build/strategy. Since it's a prototype, showing the concept was more important to me, but certainly in a full version I would crank up the difficulty to really test the player's ability. I'm sticking to a pretty tight schedule so I do hope to push another game out in ~1.5 months!

Thanks for the very thorough breakdown! This kind of stuff really helps me understand the players' thoughts and can improve my design skills. It's really interesting to hear about the ups and downs of your opinion on the game, especially since there feels like 3 distinct phases to the game. The early game can be awkward to some players cuz there's a lot of new concepts in play here, and by the end game (if they stuck around that long), they probably started figuring out how to create builds that work for them and have some mastery. Yea I'm really interested in having different maps with different challenges. I have not really figured out how to connect them all to some bigger system like you mentioned, but there's a lot of potential there.

Yea the paths to go to making a full version are kinda interesting. The game kinda walks between 2 worlds. 1 is its incremental heritage, and the other is its roguelite-ness. One tends to have prestige and the other tends to have new worlds to explore. I'm gonna be thinking on this one (as well as for my previous game Fish Legend Fish), and I personally want to experiment some more before making a decision. In one of my next prototypes I definitely want to implement a prestige and see how it fares since I haven't designed a game with that before so stay tuned!

Heh yea it's a little hidden but glad you found it :)

That really means a lot :) I'm super happy this game gelled with you since I took a lot of risks in the game design and wasn't entirely sure what kind of audience it would get. First off, you're the first person to even mention reflect in your build! I actually beefed it up for adv. reflect because no one was talking about it so I thought it needed some love. You're right though, I think a full version would be to have more worlds and challenges tied to each world. Each world would have unique mechanics to keep the players thinking about new strategies. I'm currently still in a rapid prototyping phase but this game is certainly a candidate to finish out so stick around!

Thanks for playing! I tried my best to give put more playtime on this one than my last game, for that very reason, but you guys are too good at clearing content haha. More worlds is definitely the way I want to go for a full version, including different challenges for each one. You all have given some real good feedback and ideas on that front.

Thanks so much! I'll toast you back for being an active commenter and purveyor of root beer. You guys have given me a lot of feedback to work with to think about what a full version of this game might look like. I'm really happy you're on board with this game because it took a lot of risks in certain areas. I'm really sorry to say though that updates for this game are going to slow down heavily now. It sounds like you're familiar with my current goals right now, but just in case, my goal is to prototype 5 games very rapidly, and at the end of them I'll be choosing one of those to turn into a full game based on feedback. Because of that I can only spend so much time on 1 game. However, if this game ends up being the one chosen to flesh out, I'll certainly be able to give you what you want :)

You know, I actually didn't think of that in terms of text. I actually was avoiding the tooltip because I thought it might make the UI too busy, but succinct text like that is a great idea. Thanks for the berserk report, I didn't know that and will check that out!

Nice workaround :) the fire set is quite strong when used properly. But just in case you were using it differently, the judgment trick is to finish off Undead Utopia 4 with it, not hitting the final boss itself. If you are already doing that then I'm not sure what the issue is because I'm having trouble recreating that.l

Thanks for the review, that makes me happy :) I'm glad people are supportive of me pushing some boundaries during this prototyping process. It gives me even more confidence to try new things because people like you are looking for those fresh concepts. I'll try my best to keep it up!

It was tough to put the right text in that small space, but every 20 wisdom makes it so you have to do 1 less encounter. If a stage normally takes 3 battles to clear, 20 wisdom will drop it to 2 battles.

Thanks so much :) I think there's so much left to do in the genre and I hope to keep prototyping fresh ideas for people to play!

Yup that's a fun combo! Execute was actually on the weaker side compared to others so I gave it that STR boost in its advanced form to help it out. You can definitely get some nutty numbers using it now :)

Heh that's actually a built in trick to the game. I actually had that in there because almost no one was using judgment early on so I figured it needed a boost in a few areas. Apparently not!

I couldn't really fit in sound/music making to my schedule but certainly a full version would have that. Must suggestion is to play the Helm's Deep scene in the background and it will pretty much fit 100% :)

Thanks a lot! Those ideas are definitely along the lines of what I'm thinking. Making this prototype and experimenting with a few different concepts helped me see what works and doesn't. I think an emphasis on new maps that have unique mechanics would definitely be a focus, as well as various challenges per map/world, such as a 1 hp challenge. One thing I like about that path is that it focuses on what makes this game unique and continues to make its design stand out.

Yea the wisdom note is a fair point as the 20 req is not obvious at all and can make the stat seem broken (bad way) at first. I did consider the exponential scale at some point but I think there is a lot of merit to it being an easy math equation. I usually play by checking if something is going to drop me to another Wis level, and when it's multiples of 20 its very easy to gauge that. You couuuld add some UI that shows when the previous and next milestones are but honestly I think it's too much at that point. Great points and thanks for playing!

Hmm not sure what's happening for you but I just tested them both out and they seem to work. For the Judgment skip to work you do need have autoadvance toggled on and use it on the level prior to the boss. I'm about to push a change for skill visual effects so it should be a whole lot easier for players to see if skills are on and off.

Thanks for playing :) Yea fire + farming easy stages is definitely one of the most consistent strats there is so far.

Thanks a lot! I agree, when it comes to late game, water-2 is one of my personal favorites as well due to the 0 CD trick, cuz blasting skills are a lot of fun and there's a lot of options here for speedruns. I will say that the other set bonuses are usable in other areas of the game though. Mid game, the water-3 slow can help a lot with survivability, and water-4 is a mid-game option for dealing w enemy groups without relying on skills, and works well on skeleton groups. One of my hopes is that there are a lot of different tactics for players to discover and I'm glad to see all the different builds :)

Thanks so much, that was definitely core to the playstyle I was looking for. The game isn't just about the best build for an area, but the idea of transitioning between builds as you run along a path based on the ups and downs of that road. I still have some prototypes to kick out so I hope to keep surprising you each time :)

Yep, that's a built in strat, nice job finding it :)

Hah it's alright. It's not a common mechanic but going back or staying in an area to farm can be quite useful in this game.

Interesting, I'll PM you.

Sorry that's happening to you. I'm not sure why that's happening. The game normally autosaves after every run and after you clear a stage. I'll PM you about this.

Oh thanks for pointing that one out. I do remember seeing that but totally forgot to take note of that. I'll fix that.

Thanks for the feedback! Yep I knew it was going to make the difficulty curve a lot easier but I want to note a few things. Most of the players who already had a good grasp of the mechanics like yourself have already beaten the game, but there are still others struggling with the difficulty and speed of the game. Secondly because this is a prototype, I think it's more important to show the full concept of the game to as many people as possible so that they can see it's potential. I totally hear you though, I play very hardcore games myself and if a game is too easy, then you won't be motivated to explore different builds/tactics/etc. So because of all the above, I'd like to opt for an easier game, give a taste of what kinds of systems a full game might have, and then when a final version does come around, it'll most likely have various challenge modes per map (like a TD) that'll give players like you and I a chance to really show off our skills :)

Haha I do look forward to seeing how the new advanced skills play out and how the players use them. Most of them should be pretty strong at this point but I'm ok with leaning on the easy side on this version. Yea not sure on the drop rate issue, all dragon items should have the same drop rate as long as you were in that final zone. Thanks for playing and for the review :)

Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad you see its potential! Actually, the early stage farming was a concept I wanted to have in the game (which is why I've been holding out on an autoroute system for so long). Going back to grab potions is a legitimate strat as is hanging back there to grab sets (at the cost of stats). It's the same concept of regular RPGs where you don't progress until you've leveled enough, but here it's on a much smaller scale and a little tricky since you're still racing against the clock. While these ideas may not survive to a full version of the game, ultimately I'm happy that there is a wide variety of builds and strategies that the system currently allows. I have a lot of ideas on where to take this game and it mostly revolves around new maps and worlds with unique mechanics. The community has had some great suggestions too though so you'll see those as well :)

Got it, I appreciate the feedback and it gives me have more information on how to address this. I'm still trying to figure out what a feature like this would even look like, UI-wise, but in the meantime I did add a slow mode to help people divide out their attention easier.

Thanks for the breakdown and I'm definitely on the same page as you. I'm currently doing a series of rapid prototypes to prove out concepts. Though this game doesn't have a ton of replayability, I did make a concerted effort to put more content into this game than my last game since it was a common comment. I think a full version has a lot of potential and would have multiple maps/worlds to master, so it would definitely scratch that itch. Glad you enjoyed that first playthrough and it gives me hope I'm on the right path :)

Oh yea I played Monster Clearer back in the day, it was a really innovative concept. Music will be on hold as I don't have the chops for it but I totally agree on visual effects for the hits and skills, that's something that I will be putting in later this week. I would love a full version to have shifting music just like you said though, and I hope to turn this prototype into something much more immersive in a full game. Thanks for the feedback!

As this is a prototype to prove out a concept, I won't be adding new maps to this version. When I'm done with my prototyping phase I'll be looking at feedback to decide which game to finish out. If this game is chosen I will absolutely be adding new maps/worlds, each with unique mechanics and challenges :)

If you've completed the game it'll show your best run time on the loadout screen.

For Fire sets or you mean upgrades? Fire-4 is just a strategic element, but if you mean the time limit and starting over, that's just a part of the roguelite formula. The game design is to test your ability to make smart loot choices in a limited run rather than grind your way to the top in 1 big run. If the design didn't gel with you then maybe I'll catch you on the next prototype since I'll be trying out different concepts. Thanks for the feedback!

Totally agree. Since this is a prototype, I wanted to make sure the majority of players could see the entire concept and get a taste of what a full version of the game would be like so it leans on the easy side. A full version would have multiple maps/worlds with different challenge modes tied to them similar to your standard TD game. With that said, I do like it in games when there are several different paths and builds to victory. In the meantime you could try your hand at a speedrun high score, just ignore all the obvious hacker scores :)

Thanks for the feedback! I actually don't mind it being like that. I think it's good to have several ways to tackle the boss, and for the people that discovered the judgment trick, more power to them. I don't think a full version of the game would keep this mechanic but I'm totally fine having it as is.

Thanks that means a lot! I'm trying out a lot of different concepts in my prototypes and I'm happy this one really hit its mark for you :)

No worries, you gave such a thorough and objective reply I only interpreted it as you liking the game and was invested in its future. I'm really happy with comments like that and I hope to get better and better at dev because of everyone's feedback :)

Thanks for playing :) Like all these prototypes I'm doing, I plan to update this game for a little bit but then start work on the next one. I'm not abandoning my work, it's simply the only way I can divide out my time to get prototypes done on time. At the end of the prototypes I'll be presenting mockups of what full versions of the game would look like and have the community vote on it. If this game gets picked, I definitely have big plans on how to add content and change up the game, so look forward to that phase!

Thanks a lot! All these prototypes I'm kicking out is more to test the concept and see if it's worthwhile to turn into a full game based on feedback. With that said, one of the biggest comments in my last game, Fish Legend Fish, was that the game was too short. So with this game I tried my best to extend the gameplay a lot more than there. There's certainly more room for improvement on that front so I'm getting there!

Yup, big oversight on my part, will be pushing a fix within the hour!

Heh, these are the tiniest of training wheels :) But really, I had more playtesters complaining about the tutorial having too many details than the other way around so I went ahead and lightened the load from it. Yea it's a bit scant and the gameplay is unusual but hopefully players won't mind having to poke around a bit more.

I was initially planning to do this one but due to the time and other tasks to do, this one is gonna be low priority unfortunately. The reason is because it really is a very short game and is usually finished in 1 session, so import/export is not that important. I really appreciate your words and I'll definitely look into having this feature for my prototypes with longer playtimes!

lol big oversight on my part, I'll fix that very shortly. Thanks for playing!

No prob, a summary is coming in an update in a few hours. Thanks for the feedback and I loved that that ended up being your strat cuz I haven't seen that one posted yet and it makes me happy that a lot of builds turned out to be viable :)