[Obsidian]

I gave the link to a few friends of mine to get their inputs about the game. So here we go. BTW, all these people are gamers (one of them is actually a programmer).


Friend #1: (only did a quick glance cause he had to go, also, he's what I call a "enter-whore" so that's why the so many BRs >->)
"font is too hard to read in the instructions
ok 5 min test for tonight speed to me is ok
it is glitch
reverse gravity should be a different button than space x 2
seems to me you should start standing still
was more than a few times
I had no choice but to die when it started
also character should be in the center of the screen or closer to it
maybe 33% of the width but too close to the edge as is"

Friend #2: "That's really weird and difficult, sound effects would be helpful. I have no idea why jumping up sometimes kills? the fish? thing." (He was talking about the fox)

Friend #3: "It's a neat proof of concept. I would make the gravity reverse a different key altogether and put a timer bar on how often it could be used."

Friend #4: "Well the controls dont really seem to work well. I try to have it go up by pressing the space bar but it just falls. Its not really playable."

Friend #5: "Haha I suck at it but it's fun"

I got a few other friends that I'm waiting on their responses but apparently I caught them AFK.

[Coda]

Salone understands WHY gravity-reverse is on the same button as jump, but maybe it COULD have a toggle option. That would probably satisfy everyone. An options screen might be good for configuring touchscreen controls too. I could probably stand to improve the instructions rather than just a little table -- some play tips would be invaluable since I seem to have to explain the same things to everyone who plays.

Re: friend #1: Starting standing still wouldn't work very well. Either you'd take off like a bullet the moment you touch a button, or you'd be moving too slowly to make a meaningful jump at the beginning. And while putting the player farther to the right would look nicer, it would be way harder to play because you'd have less time to react to stuff. (I actually DID have it farther right early on in development.)

Sound effects are an interesting idea. I'll think about it.

[Coda]

Upon reflection, I'm willing to consider adding a button press to start each life because I agree some breathing room might be beneficial and the pause function isn't the friendliest way to address it; the rapid-fire die-and-retry was good when the game was nothing but a high-score challenge but now that there's a life counter that's not so appealing.

Finally: Choco... If you don't like it, then give up and stop complaining. The only one complaining about the actual MECHANICS is you. I acknowledge there's a control issue and I AM looking for a good way to address it.

Your appeal to authority falls flat, too. I've also been playing platformers longer than you have and this isn't my first time writing one. I've read through detailed decompilation of how Sonic 3's physics work. I've fixed bugs in Unity3D's platformer template. I've reverse-engineered Robot Unicorn Attack (which this game resembles more than any other game out there) and Cave Story.

So if you want to compare and criticize, go play Robot Unicorn Attack (especially Heavy Metal Edition) for a while and then come back, because 1980s-1990s platformers are totally NOT going to be good inspirations for endless-runner controls.

[Illusion]

*reads Coda's post*

Snap crackle pop rice crispys.

[Coda]

Hmm... I'm trying the game in Safari 7.1.5 (admittedly old) on OSX Yosemite on a 2012 MacBook Pro. It has a little bit of hesitation (definitely not pulling a consistent 60fps) but it's not enough to give me any significant trouble with the controls. Could you try again, maybe make sure you clear your cache first in case you've got an old version?

Meanwhile, I'm installing Safari 9.0.1 to see if maybe it's a regression. I don't have any older Mac hardware to test on.

Edit: Erf. 81MB. Maybe this will need to wait until later today.

[Hero]

I just tried again on safari and I don't know if I'm just used to the controls now but it seems to be working better.
I kind of had the same problem with choco where the background seemed to move quicker making the game seem to be faster than it is but it's not doing that for me now o:

(I didn't clear my cache but its still ??)
Some things I did notice. When I first pressed start it was pretty much a blank screen until I clicked pause and unpause. I closed the tab and opened it again and the lack of response from the space bar became a problem again. I'll try again with my cache cleared

I see you added the space bar drop thing.
I cleared my cache now and tried again but it seems like I'm having more trouble getting the space bar to jump? The switch gravity though seems to be working fine.

Strange. It either auto pauses and my space bar jump works fine or it doesn't auto pause and it barely works at all.

I mean it really isn't too much trouble to switch browsers to make it work p:

[Coda]

Okay, I've made the change to add the between-lives breathing room: Each life won't start until you press the jump button. Kyun will still stay flashing for a moment and not start falling if the game thinks that starting the game right away would dump you straight into the abyss.

I've also switched to using an optimized version of the Javascript code on the non-development copy of the game, which might help eke out a few more FPS on marginal computers. (It does make my life a little bit harder should you guys ever have to send me a crash report, but I can manage it.)

EDIT: It turns out I was wrong about mentioning the cache at all. I've got it set up to never cache, so that wouldn't have been the problem.

EDIT 2: You mentioning that it auto-pauses a lot is actually very informative. The game does that intentionally if your computer lags too much; it's MOSTLY intended to handle a burst of slowdown when you're first loading the game, but it's an informative diagnostic for this case. It sounds like the problem is simply that your computer is too slow to run the game in Safari (which, apparently, is currently behind Chrome in performance). That's not the answer I would have liked, but I DO have a low-performance variant halfway implemented for use on less-powerful systems (such as WiiU) that might be of some assistance later.

[Salone]

Once upon a time, games slapped your hand instead of holding it. They stopped doing that and we got soft and needy. The game is accessible and while it is not forgiving, it is easy and quick to jump back in to. I went from barely getting over 100 to just nearly 1000 by trial and error, like any game. It just takes time. Being amazing out of the gate with lots of points is a feature for Facebook games looking to draw you in. Mechanic wise, I think the game is great at what it is trying to accomplish. You're supposed to fail so you can get better. Anything less than that is a self congratulatory circle-jerk that is going to be quickly forgotten after it is easily trounced. Challenges are just that, challenges.

Should there be some breathe time between lives? Probably. Breaks are fun.

I would also heavily suggest some people cool their jets and, like Kyun, come down maybe a little bit.

[Hero]

That's very helpful to know o:
It's weird that it only does that maybe..3/10 times?

[Coda]

No, it's not weird, it just means your system is right on the edge where it runs fine most of the time but a little bit of extra background load on your computer (in another app or another tab) is enough to nudge it over the edge.

[Obsidian]

I'm not trying to be offensive here, but Salone, you seem to be the only one (other than Coda) who seems to not have issues here and I don't appreciate you criticizing those who are having issues by stating the game is perfectly fine and in other words, denouncing our abilities to play games... I know you've not come out and completely said that word-for-word but that's the aura I'm getting from you upon reading your posts. :(

I haven't played games since I was 4 or 5 like most of you people, but I still love playing games nonetheless. I understand Coda is attempting to make this game computer/laptop and cellphone friendly (and it would seem that the game works perfectly on a cell phone?) but I don't get on avatar websites with a cell phone. I know iPhones and all that are all such the rage but not everyone can afford such a fancy device, so the game should accommodate those who aren't on cell phones. So I'm sure what those who are making bug reports are probably on computer/laptops (am I right, guys?).

I admit this game is addicting, it really is but I'm having difficulty actually playing it. As well as a few other of my friends and they've played platform games longer than I. I'd love to be able to play the game. I'm no pro. I have difficulty playing Zelda. To the point that sometimes I have to ask my brother to help me with one of the boss levels. So it's not as if I'd complain about not being able to beat or defeat something on a game. Something can be fun even if I cannot get passed a point. I've still collected prizes. Hell, I've gotten up to 3 prizes in that game. Which seems to be the point of it. As far as high score, I couldn't care.

With all that taken care of... Coda, you're doing a remarkable job.

I just played it again after all your changes and I like it. I still can't get passed 275 points. :P
But that's just me being inexperienced and hopefully with enough practice, I can get a higher score! Bwaha!
I like the spacebar to start bit. Not sure if you've taken off the double-tap for the spacebar on gravity but so far it's not messed me up as far as attempting to do a regular jump.
So, in conclusion, as it stands, I would play this game more. The speed is good in the beginning and I like how the speed increases. The game isn't easy for me, but I'm also not asking it to be either.

[Coda]

Actually it's the other way around -- users who primarily access Trisphee through a mobile device generally DON'T have a computer/laptop. We've got a few people who have reported being unable to play the crane game because there aren't any tablet controls. You can get a cheap Android tablet for $99. You can't get a laptop for that price. (You can get a Chromebook for a LITTLE more, but it's basically an Android tablet with a keyboard.)

Salone's not saying the game is perfectly fine in every possible way. Salone is saying that the core mechanics of the game are fine and that I don't need to change fundamental parts of the game in response to user complaints. I fully intend to make adjustments to the controls and the polish of the game in response to feedback -- that's the whole reason the thread is here.

I haven't changed the double-tap at all. It's still just like it's always been. Do note: It's not an air jump. It's double-tapping space bar when you're already in the air. That means three taps to jump and flip gravity. Two jumps if you fall off the edge of a platform and flip gravity.

[Illusion]

My problem with the game on my phone is that the game will confuse jumping with gravity change.

[Salone]

I'm sorry Obsidian, you're a bit right there. I'm not experiencing any of the issues a lot of people are experiencing, so I can't see what's going on for them or how frustrating it's making it (Coda if it helps, I'm playing in Chrome with no kinks or issues).

I was mostly just addressing the game mechanics and the difficulty level of the game. I was baffled that Coda was met with hostility for adding in a 'forgiveness' feature if you died early.

Also, someone mentioned that Kyun should be positioned more towards the center of the screen. If you do this, you have less time to adjust for incoming platforms. It may look better, but I guarantee you that it's going to hurt your score worse than some of the feelings that may have been hurt in this thread. Further back means more time to take in to account incoming platforms. They don't do you any good if they're behind you.

[Coda]

Originally Posted by Illusion

My problem with the game on my phone is that the game will confuse jumping with gravity change.

Yes, yes, I'm putting in control options.

[Obsidian]

Ah, my apologies there.

Well, I'm not sure if it were just a fluke or I played after some minor adjustments but the game works fine for me now. I find myself playing the game a little more and more now.

Edit
Oh, yeah, the "high score" still stays at 0 for me, however. I forgot about that.

Edit2
I finally got past 300! XD
But then as I mentally went WOOHOO..... I lost. lol