[Minigame] Alien Shooter

[vypur85]

The map is now released!
Link

General:

Aliens are swarming! Kill them all. Left-click your way through the aliens to fire your weapon. Win the game by destroying the alien broods. There are 4 levels. Each level gets even harder than the previous. Buy the suitable weapon to conserve funds. Choose wisely. Upgrade your life and energy shield to survive longer. The game supports up to 5 players. This map was inspired by a game with the same name.


Gameplay:

Left-Click on your target to attack them with your selected weapon. You begin with Gun, which has infinite ammo. Upgrade your weapon to stronger ones to kill stronger aliens. Remember to reload your ammo. Kill the broods on each level to proceed to the next.


Characters:

You have 2 characters to choose from.

Malebot

Femalebot

Higher base HP and base energy. But has slower movement speed.

Lower base HP and base energy. But has higher movement speed.

Weapons:

There are 6 weapons of your choice:

Gun

Shotgun

Grenade Thrower

Machine Gun

Rocket Launcher

Laser

Ammo: Infinite
Damage: Low
General: Early game

Screenshot

Ammo: 1 (5 pellets)
Damage: Small
General: Splash damage

Screenshot

Ammo: 1
Damage: Average
General: AOE point damage

Screenshot

Ammo: 8
Damage: Average
General: Rapid firing action

Screenshot

Ammo: 1
Damage: High
General: AOE damage

Screenshot

Ammo: 1
Damage: High
General: Line damage

Screenshot

Upgrades:

Upgrade your character to make them stronger.

Shield

HP

Repair

Energy Shield absorbs damage taken without affecting HP.
Increase base energy (mana) to improve the Energy Shield.

Screenshot

Increase base HP to survive longer on field.

Upgrade this to regenerate HP and Energy.
By default, HP and Energy regeneration is nil.

Minigames:

Complete the minigames and get rewarded! The rewards will be useful for the game.

The Rescue Mission

The Beacon

The Mainframe

Rescue the civilians! Prevent the aliens from infiltrating the premises.

A simple key and lock game.

Prevent the aliens from damaging the mainframe. Stop them at all cost!

Images:

Hidden

Credits:

If I miss out anyone, please advice.

Hidden

Models:
Armor by Kitabatake
Deuteriumtank by Trollschnitzel
DORocketMissile by Dan van Ohllus
Health model by Frankster
DranaiMage by BROAD_SIDE
Tau Elite Commando by Pyramidhe@d
Chaos Sorcerer by Pyramidhe@d
ChaosRaptor by Pyramidhe@d
Alien by AlienAntFarm
Ravage by Afronight_76
Blind Beast by tee.dubs
Energy Shield by CreatorD3292
Frozen Shield by eubz
Terran/Protoss Gate by The_Silent
Heliport by SataX
Barracks by Mechanical Man
Ammo Box by Thrikodius
Basic animated Arrow - Teamcolour Version by hellblazer-14
Advanced Sentry Tower by The_Silent
Megapod by tee.dubs
Laboratory - Water tube by Scythy Dervish
Hopper Mine by RED BARON
dummy.mdx by Vexorian
Staff_Sanctuary_Target by JetFangInferno
Bubble Shield by Fingolfin
Vulcan by Kofi_Banan
Sam-Site by Kofi_Banan
Turbolazer by olofmoleman
Turret by Lord-T-Rex

Icons:
BTNPlasmaRifle by The_Silent
BTNGaussRifle3 by The_Silent
BTNGunFire by NFWar
BTNOrbVar2 by Big Dub
BTNGunHD by KelThuzad
BTNFlashBomb2 by bigapple90
BTNBulletupg3 by Huinipachutli
BTNBulletupg3alt by Huinipachutli
BTNBulletupg1 by Huinipachutli
BTNBulletPiercing by Huinipachutli
BTNBulletupg2 by Huinipachutli
BTNammo by AlienArsonist
BTNAmmodump2 by Zombie
BTNMedkit by HappyTauren
BTNSystemMed by Captain_Rufar
BTNantiAirPlasmaGS by GooS
BTNLunarShield by Hellx-Magnus
BTNHelmetOfDefender by NFWar
BTNSpiderbot by Muoteck

Music:
Hello Zepp by Charlie Clouser

Exclusive edits by Solu9:
Main (with the yellow line) - inhuman89
Sandy space station (lower right corner and The Beacon minigame) - inhuman89
Cliffs - Punisher_x
UI - Modafoca
Command buttons - Modafoca
Menu buttons/borders - Modafoca

C&C are most welcomed!

 

[vypur85]

Changelog:

v1.02 (16/12/2013)
Added music and some other SFX
Creeps/Doodads now drop items on random
Added some custom icons and models
Broods have higher HP now

v1.10 (20/12/2013)
Fixed some spawning bug
Added timer
Added difficulty setting - Easy, Normal, Hard, Insane and Insaner
Creep kills give extra bounty depending on difficulty
Reduced the delay in selection clicks (still in test mode)
Items can no longer be selected
Max players now are set to 5

v1.30 (27/01/2014)
Difficulty setting is renamed.
Further reduced the delay in selection clicks
Added the fourth boss
More creep types
Changed the arrangement of destructibles

v1.40 (22/03/2014)
Solu9 joined in
Major revamp in terrain
Added 3 minigames
Added creep levels
Weapon prices were revised
Many minor adjustments
<Released>

v1.41 (22/03/2014)
Fixed the problem with 'map' destructible being undestroyed

 

[yip]

I played it, and it looks pretty good! I didn't complete it though. I'm not a pro reviewer, not even close, so I'm not giving score, but I'll say what I think you could improve/add and what I think is good:

1 - Shooting things is cool! I like clicking to aim, and being able to shoot while running (even though you can just aim at the last alien of the wave and blast through everything).

However, it gets a little mind numbing when the number of aliens start to grow - you just have to click frantically and there's not much skill involved.

>>> What I'd recommend:

> Some more complex aliens and a reduced number of them (putting more strength in less aliens). Maybe have a ranged alien, a pouncing alien, a slow but more beefy alien, that kind of stuff. On a similar note...

> More thought-out enemy patterns and AI. Having aliens just mindlessly spawn and run after you in a line nonstop gets a little old. You did mention you'd do something like that in your post, so maybe you already know what to do!

> Boss fights would be cool! I'd like shooting a big monster in a cool area with room for movement, maybe one that hides and comes out of different places, or one that shoots stuff you must avoid, or cloaks... that kind of thing.

2 - The weapons are cool! You didn't reinvent the wheel, but who cares. Having different weapons for different situations is the best idea to be had in this kind of game.

But... I find that if I just grind near a brood for a minute and buy the laser gun and a bunch of laser ammo, I can steamroll everything easily (or at least much better than with anything else). Every other gun seems to be a downgrade, and a waste of money - even if I'm using them in situations that fit... So maybe you could balance the weapons to fit the game better? Of course, improving the enemies would make this system a lot smoother too.

>>>What I'd recommend:

> An ammo limit! I'm not sure if there already is one, but if there is, I didn't reach it. An ammo limit on the laser gun would make buying and using other weapons a more sensible option!

> Cooldowns! What if, after you shoot a powerful weapon, you have to wait a couple of moments before you can fire it again, instead of being able to spam it? Of course, the weapon balancing and enemy placement/AI/spawning would have to change for that to be a viable option.

> Unlock better weapons later in the game! Something like, only being able to buy a powerful weapon 'x' after the third safehouse. That would force the player to make good use of the lower tier weapons before getting to the portable nukes.

3 - I don't particularly feel an absolute need for the coolest-looking and moodiest custom terrain ever, but as you said yourself, it is a bit bland as of now. Another issue I'm lumping together with this one is the cramping of certain areas that are full of enemies (even the ones that aren't meant to be cramped). Of course you can keep some narrow corridors though, and use them to surprise the player with hidden items, enemies or passageways.

>>> What I'd recommend:

> Darker atmosphere! Night, blight, fog, or anything that would make the aliens a bit more intimidating than a pimped peon from 'Pimp My Peon'!

> More events! Making the player feel like anything could happen as he's walking through the map for the first time would be nice! Maybe having some different stuff to find?

> Fixing of the part with the stun towers. I couldn't get past that part because my character wouldn't walk on the white tiles. He'd slip a little, then dillydally around, be pushed a bit by aliens, then have his movement speed so slowed I couldn't move forward. Some other bizarre things ocurred when I tried again, like being not being able to leave the tiles at the edge of them and going back.

Also, the message about the spikes stunning spams the screen nonstop once I enter the area.

> No custom checkpoint placement / checkpoints outside of safehouses. If you spawn in a difficult area with no ammo/gold for powerful areas, that'd be a huge problem!

> More messages about what you have to do or could try to, and pings on the map! Tell me about that lever to open the gate, tell me that I need to destroy the alien nest before moving to the next safe house! This is more of a personal thing though.

____

Well... I can't think of much else. That was the first time I tried reviewing something in this site as I am new to it. Hope you found it helpful, tell me if I did something wrong, or if I let my mouth (read: fingers) run a bit too much.

Overall, the concept of the game is awesome, nothing new but it should prove really fun if you improved it and gave it an adventurous and slightly 'strategic' feel.

Two side notes on stuff I forgot about:

> The models for the bots are awesome. They remind me of mecha from Megaman X or Sonic Adventure. I like the options, maybe have more with special abilities in the next version? Up to you though, the existing two are fine... but you can always have more variety!

> How does the difficulty work? Should I up the difficulty one notch for every player? I only played solo, so I don't know... Maybe have a text message tell me what difficulty I should play in depending on the number of players, or set it automatically?

> I may have made a comment that isn't entirely applicable due to the fact that I couldn't finish the game. If I did, sorry!



~...I don't know how to end big posts.
Had fun writing it. Yah.
So there you go.

 

[vypur85]

Holy crap. That's a pretty detailed C&C. Thanks dude! Don't think the rep means a lot but there you go (Edit: Oh well, I still need to spread em before repping you again.).

1. Thinking on adding some different types of aliens but I tried to make things simple for the time being. Mainly because I thought I'd finish the whole damn system and game and then concentrate on minor stuff. Yeah, I agree with the blandness of the creeps. They only get stronger in terms of max life in the first 3 levels of the game. At the fourth level, some of the creeps have slowing abilities (with stack) and reincarnation (you'll have to kill em 3 times). As for the AI, I meant for AI players in fact. Playing alone could be boring sometimes. Not so much for creep AI... yet. Pretty hard to code this. And yeah, I'm thinking to improve the boss fights.

In fact, levels 1 to 2 are just mainly introduction and easily win-able. Level 3 is the introduction to sliding ground. Level 4 is the real deal where there is more techniques involved for you to pass the level.


2. I'll agree with you on the laser thing. I did the same as well. First weapon I'd go is shotgun and then laser all the way. But it's just a matter interest after all. Yeah, ammo limit is a pretty good one. I'll try to implement it in future. But I would have to reject the cooldown idea though. The main reason I created this was for spamming and killing mass wave of creeps. Just like Alien Shooter (the original game with same name). The unlocking weapon is a great idea. I'll see what I can do.


3. C'mon, I sucked at terraining. That's the best I can do so far. If you play the previous versions, you'd laugh. Though, I try to make improvements on every release. The stun towers are there to retard your movement. And so is the creeps. Your objective is to rush through all these blockade and kill the broods. The ground is made to slide your hero (it doesn't just slow your hero, you'll slide down if you get stunned or don't move).

Yeah, I look to improve the way messages are created. The idea is to set 5 seconds delay for each message region so that the damn messages don't spawned whenever you enter the region. The checkpoint are placed strategically so that you will try your very best not to get killed. And of course, make sure you have enough ammo before you leave the safe house. So that's the idea.

I'll improve the guides for the game. I know they're quite fuzzy at the moment.


> How does the difficulty work?
Works based of average. For single player, what you choose is what you get. For multi, you will get the average difficulty depending on what respective player chooses.

The difficulty affects the enemy resistance. They get hardier only higher difficulties. Also, bounty changes on different difficulties.


Not sure if I've answered all.
Looking forward to more critiques.

Thanks.

Replays are very much welcomed too.

Edit: Currently working on more weapons. Level 4 is really tough, even for me. Laser alone don't help much.
Edit2: The models are awesome because the creators for the models are awesome. Credits to them, really.

 

[yip]

No problem, as I said, I had fun writing it. Don't worry about the rep, just help me when I post a problem on the forums - I'd like that a lot better

1 - I agree, you gotta build from the base! I'll look forward to improvements on the creeps and creep abilities, though I didn't get to the tougher creeps you mentioned. Sorry, maybe next time?

AI for players? Oh. Well, I don't know... That looks like it'd be pretty troublesome to code and not be that reliable. I'd skip it, but if you feel confident in it, I'm all for it and can playtest it for you. As for creep AI, I didn't mean anything too amazing, Just stuff like 'Go back if player leaves a certain area', 'Use an ability if a player gets too close', things like that.

And... there ARE boss fights? Damn, again, I didn't get to them :<

2 - Alright! Again, looking forward to what you'll do!

3 - Haha, don't worry. I'm just saying, maybe use a darker tileset, night, blight, simple things like that, anyone can do it. No need to make it look exactly like Dead Space. I like the destructibles, by the way!

As for the sliding part... Yeah I figured that was you intention, but I couldn't get past it. I destroyed four towers (the stun towers that look like harpy nests), and that's as far as my character would go. The movement was really glitchy and unpredictable. I couldn't run past that, even if I spammed move and killed all the aliens in my way. Maybe it bugged on me for some reason?

Haha yeah, don't worry about it too much, but what I meant to say is that, I entered the region once, and the message appeared like 10 times instantly, filling up my screen. Batches of messages kept appearing randomly too, even though I didn't move all that much.

About the checkpoints, I mean like the one outside the safe house, next to the part I couldn't get past. What if I got stuck there with no gold/ammo? Or saved in a bad spot? I wouldn't be able to go back or forth because of the aliens... But yeah, it was mostly fine.

As for the difficulty, I see now, that's fine then.

~ I'll play again when you release the next version then. Send me a message, I might not see it. Maybe I'll save a replay and send it to you then!

 

[Solu9]

First. A fun minimap with a very cool shoot feature. Good job on that!
The weapons are fun but indeed needs some balancing.

I have a few suggestions or perhaps options I personally would love to see.

-An option to have the screen locked to your character. In games like this I hate the manually scolling around. It takes some of the intensity out and is just annoying when I want to focus on killing stuff.
Perhaps a command line "-lockcam" or something?

-Enemies. It seems they still have the default 250 Range Motion Buffer. I would suggest lowering that so you are more likely to dodge enemy attacks when you try to move out of danger.

-The sliding tiles are... well to say the least, just really really tiresome. I stopped playing when I got the the lever in the lower right corner. Not because I was dying but because it was so frustrating.

-About weapon balancing. Have you considered upgrading the weapons? Fx. if a player really likes the shotgun he can focus on that weapon with extra power, AoE and such?

-The terrain. Yup, need some work, actually a good deal of work. But seeing that you wanted the system to function properly first that is understandable.

-HP/Energy. Until where I got to there were absolutely no reason to buy the HP upgrade over the Energy upgrade. Since no attacks go through the energy shield, Energy will always be the better option. But since I only got to the lower right corner this might change later in the map?

-There is a typo in the "Purchase HP" description. It says: "Permanently increases the hit points to 100", where I believe it should say "by"?

-"Purchase Energy" simply states that it will increase max energy, not by how much.


I think that is all I can think of right now.

Lastly. Your map indeed has potential

 

[vypur85]

Thanks.
Funny that you respond my thread here but not in TH. Lol.

> An option to have the screen locked to your character
Great idea. I'll do it. Pretty simple thing.

> It seems they still have the default 250 Range Motion Buffer
Why not? I'll try.

> well to say the least, just really really tiresome
Will try to nerf it. I'm having troubles myself too.

> Have you considered upgrading the weapons?
Not yet. Perhaps later. Too much work to do...
Though not impossible in near future.

> The terrain. Yup, need some work
C'mon...

> Since no attacks go through the energy shield...
Perhaps I'll reduce the damage taken percentage.
What you say makes sense. HP increase seems redundant.

> There is a typo
> ..not by how much
Soon soon...

> Your map indeed has potential
Thanks.

So far I've worked on the difficulty settings over again.
Creeps can now level up (up to 3 levels). With damage and resistance increase.
So you'll have to try to end the game asap before they level up and grow stronger.

Also working on minigames for rewards and stuff.

The map is getting pretty weird. It's a combination of minigames, defense and rpg.
I'm not even sure how to categorise it.

 

[Solu9]

Funny that you respond my thread here but not in TH. Lol.

Heh I only noticed your post on TH after you wrote this ^

I rarely check anything else on TH other than the WE help section and the news

 

[vypur85]

Updates.

The terrain is much improved now, thanks to Solu9.
Solu9 is officially making this map along with me now.

Before

After: Snapshot 1

After: Snapshot 2

 

[ILH]

Wew, i missed this old game
it'll be great!

 

[vypur85]

Well, that game inspired me to do this.
Then again, I'd say it's rather different from the original.

The game is now officially released though. Try it!

Link