[Feedback] Aliens R Loveable

[Arowx]

I was working on an RL style game with an AlienRL theme but in isometric 3D using Unity.  Got a bit bogged down or sidetracked. 

Also after getting the initial monsters/aliens in a maze gameplay to work and a basic inventory UI system working well it got shelved.

The thing is I really like AlienRL and my 3D isometric game was not hitting the same level of fun for me, or the actual work needed to make in depth RL gameplay and mechanics are seriously underrated?

So far I have the player being able to move around a randomly generated compound, pickup items and shoot aliens but I get the feeling I'm seriously missing something compared to AlienRL?

I will see about creating a WebGL build that people can play with but interested in feedback from other developers on what makes some RL games so addictive and fun?

Here is the game so far in WebGL on itch.io http://arowx.itch.io/aliens-r-loveable

What do you think?

[Quendus]

For me the main issues were with input and feedback. When I tap a direction key, the game often moves me two or more times. The character movement and camera movement are both instantaneous, which makes it difficult to tell how I moved (the message log helps with this, but it could do with a more readable font).
I couldn't tell how to shoot the aliens when they appeared; only the movement controls were described, and bumping into them didn't work.
This is just a pet peeve of mine, but cursor key controls in an isometric game don't make sense to me because of the 45 degree rotation. I hear there exist people who are OK with that. *shrug*
In light of the difficulties controlling the game I can't really speculate on what might be "missing" - perhaps when some of the kinks have been worked out. I also have only the vaguest memories of AliensRL from a brief playthrough and watching one of Game_Hunter's videos of the game. I'd say the things that stood out to me about that game in particular were the management of constrained resources, the care needed to take enemies down safely, and the balancing of risk/reward in deciding which parts of the base to explore.

[Tzan]

Unity Problems
When doing key input there are several options.

Code: [Select]

Update()
{
  if (Input.GetKeyUp(KeyCode.F12) && Input.GetKey(KeyCode.LeftControl))   
  {
     // do stuff here
  }
}

I set that up for taking a screen shot.
GetKey will be true while the LeftControl is held down
GetKeyUp is true only when the key is pressed then released

Looks like you are using GetKey

Try using GetKeyUp.
So the guy will only move after you release the key and then the player can decide how fast to press the key.

[Arowx]

@Tzan @Quendus Thanks for the great feedback.

What about a key repeat delay, do Roguelike players like to pound the keyboard or have a configurable repeat delay on movement?

[Tzan]

Yes using a delay is another way to do it.

I have no idea what most people would like.
I think I prefer to press keys when I want to move.

Maybe make a poll thread.

[Arowx]

The game has an input delay but probably to speed up things while developing I set it at 0.05 seconds I have uploaded a new version with a 0.2 seconds input delay.

[Quendus]

All major operating systems have their own user-configurable keyboard delay/repeat systems, and most game-oriented libraries have a way to let the OS handle those issues, often providing a much more natural experience than KeyDown or KeyUp. If Unity has that function, it's almost certainly best to use it.

[Arowx]

Not sure Unity has this built in as far as I can see.

[Tzan]

It doesnt.
You have to do it yourself, which you already did.