Labyrinthica: The quest of lima.

[pompi]

I am a returning user to Ancient Land of Ys, and I would like to tell you about the indie game I have created in my spare time for more than 2 years( )

For a demo, screenshots, and a nice trailer, take a look at: www.pompipompi.net

The trailer:


The game was inspired by Ys and Dragon Crystal, although I have decided to change the gameplay as time passed, and so it has it's own unique gameplay style.
Sadly the game is a bit demanding in it's requirements. It requires a Geforce 8600 equivalent or higher to run smoothly.
The game also lacks instructions, which are needed(and will be added in the future) to understand how to play the game.
For instance, you can right click on a potion on the bottom of the screen to throw it(the cross hair turns red and then you left click). Or you can run with the space bar, which makes the game a bit frustrating if you are unaware of that.

There is more to the game, I will be happy to talk about if you are interested.
If this is inappropriate, and considered advertisement(which is kind of is), you can delete this thread. But I will be glad if you keep it.

[Ascended Mermaid]

Ah, yes! I remember this from back when it was still no more than a simple test demo! Now it looks very good, I'll have to check it out when I get my laptop back up and running!

[Mutagene]

This actually looks pretty damn interesting... love the Seuss-esque intro to the trailer.

Downloading demo now! I'd definitely try to buy it if I had more money.

[pompi]

Hi wyrdwad,

It's not like diablog.
The controls are either Keyboard to walk(and other stuff) + mouse to aim and attack, or gamepad.
There is no support for XBOX gamepad currently, only for regular gamepads.
Adding XBOX controllers should be in the TODO list.

[pompi]

Well the controls are integral part of the game. If the controls were like in diablo, it would be a completly different game.

[pompi]

Thank you for the comments, they are really helpful.
The thing with the aiming, it's partly essential. Because you need to throw stuff, and because aiming your shield is important later on the game.
I made a control scheme I am feeling comfortable with, it might not be the case for other people. And while the game seem relaxing, the gameplay can get really tough and intense. So maybe it's a bit misleading. Although the laid back difficulty is a lot easier.
The gamepad bug might make sense, I wrote it down.
The keyboard+mouse bug is a bit weird, I never heard of such a bug before. It could be that your character got stuck inside a wall. It could be some bizzare bug of keyboard and gamepad controls mixing, but I don't think that's the case.
It could be that the keyboard lost focus. It would make sense if all the keyboard keys stop responding and the mouse still respond. And if all keys stop respond except for the Esc key, that also gives a hint.
More details would help, like if it happened in the middle of a room or near a wall. Did it happen only once? Or does it happen every time you play the game?

Again, thank you for trying and commenting.

Edit: For me the mouse+keyboard controls are much more natural than the gamepad. So maybe when you can get the keyboard working, you will like the aim control scheme better.

[Ascended Mermaid]

One could also criticize though that they only have a touchpad for a "mouse", and not all touchpads are great. Infact, the one my laptop has, really sucks! I second the ability to either rotate with the press of a button, or with a right joystick/POV/etc.

[pompi]

Yea, some say laptops are on the rise, and desktops are becoming more scarce. But you can have a mouse for a laptop as well.
However, having a control scheme of keyboard only could be an interesting idea.

[Ascended Mermaid]

Additionally, I'd recommend a gamepad setup:

If controller right joystick is neutral, character looks in the direction he's going.

If controller right joystick is not neutral, character looks in the direction that the right joystick is pressed.

That way, wyrd gets what he wants, and you get to keep the original intended controls -- AND factory standard controls are added! It was done this same way for a number of other games. While it's a different game entirely, the control scheme of Tron comes to mind, for some reason.

// Your game itself makes me think of a what-if; if Falcom made Brandish into an ARPG instead of a Dungeon-Crawl SRPG, this is probably what it'd look like. Very nice indeed!

// And while I COULD have a mouse for my laptop, I neither have a desk, nor the room for one. Most surfaces in my home do not permit mouse usage, even laser mouse usage.

[Ascended Mermaid]

Us indie developers need to stick together and look out for eachother, lol. Even if I couldn't really assist Pompi on the programming side, I can at the very least offer constructive criticism and advice from both a developer and a gamer's point of view.

[pompi]

Thanks for the help.
I tried several control schems for the gamepad. I tried to make it easiest to control, and have all the required gameplay functionality.
I could make an additional control scheme, something like what you mentioned.
The problem is that I have not as much available time to work on my game as I used to have. So these things might take some time to work on, when I decide to do them.
I am also working on a new game, which doesn't make it easier in respect for available time.

[Ascended Mermaid]

Not a problem. It'll be a while before I get my laptop up and running (and therefore ready to try out your project), and even still, take your time. Patience, patience; it's better to have a quality project than a rushed one.