What do y'all think about a difficulty tweak for stage 2? Does it feel unfair at all? Is there any specific hazard/situation that you completely dread when it approaches?
Top of the leaderboards, baby! ~8500 score. (Also top of the munchy game, but that’s less impressive) I don’t think the difficulty is unfair, but I find is there is no reliable way to refill hearts or gain souls in that zone. I furiously rush through all three stages and ignore anything and everything in the way, occasionally using a bat to sidestep an obstacle and refill a heart.
As mentioned by Tom on his Twitter, “Guess whaaaat... landscape mode is coming to Death Hall! It's been tricky because of the way I arranged scene and camera objects for portrait mode, but it's all working out nicely.” Regarding the stage 2 difficulty, I agree with Echoseven. I try to collect souls but many of them require you to go down one platform which takes away some haste (I believe) and makes you very vulnerable to the monster. The enemies that smack you with the white gloves are really hard for me to pass without taking damage. You have to move quite far away or they nail you before you even land - or at least it seems that way. Sometimes the guys with the chain mace are unpredictable as far as what direction the attack will go. These may just be from not playing stage 2 as much as the first three levels in stage one though. The boulders that roll down the hill are really tough, but manageable.
All of those notes sound really great. I'll work on some amendments. Thank you EDIT: Re landscape mode.... I'm really excited about it. Progress is coming along nicely. As long as there are no nasty snags it should be out within a week. I'll be keen to see what existing players and new players feel about it.
When dying, I think you shouldn’t make the “Restart” option the default one, but “Retry the Crypt”, if you managed to reach stage 2, as default, etc. I accidentally hit Restart and had to die on purpose, run back to the Monster’s Chamber and to the level select area. Quite tedious. (Even better solution: remember the player’s last choice) I also think the crypt levels are a bit on the too-long side, I would prefer if they were of similar length as stage 1 in the time it takes to complete a level. EDIT: after reaching 2-2 and dying, due to the length of 2-1, I’m feeling quite deflated in trying again. In other words, the level is over staying its welcome. Except that, very neat little game!
Super digging the game! Currently reached as far as 3-2. I would definitely that the second level needs some tweaks. I flew through the first levels but then got stuck on the second for what felt like forever. What I've enjoyed about the first and third, is that when I die, its because I knew I messed up and could have done something to avoid it. On the second level, I often felt I just died without cause. I hardly ever died due to losing all four lives but due to the monster catching up and getting me without warning. I mostly felt luck when I made it through a stage and not skill as I feel with the other levels. Maybe slowing the monster down some or having him not come up quite so often would help. I never felt the actual enemies were that bad though.... Great game though and I'll definitely keep playing!
Shall be in the next update! ETA TBD Thanks for playing! I'll tinker with some things and improve Stage 2 for sure.
Can someone let me know how you restart level 2?? I got to the crypt 2-1 and then died, turned off the game and it always restarts from level 1-1. The games production quality feels great but the difficulty is insane (or I’m just crap!) .. so just hoping I don’t need to do level 1 all over.
The game is definitely intended to be difficult. It took a while before I could finish the first three levels but after playing more I can usually get to 2-1 in a few tries. To replay a chapter you previously reached, go the the right in the home area and drop down to the ledge where the guy is standing (his name is Kenny). Jump into the hole and you can choose where to start from. Hope that helps! I almost always start from 1-1 because, for me, this is a high score chaser. Starting from later levels is detrimental to score. On the other hand, starting on newer chapters is a good way to practice for when I do get there from the beginning.
Did you beat the game now that you’re chasing high scores and starting from 1-1? I’m feeling very frustrated with stage 2. I couldn’t get beyond 2-2 and I’m usually not “crap” in platformers. But since the levels are so much longer in stage 2, it’s very discouraging to start over from 2-1. It feels more like a platformer with bad checkpointing.
I haven’t really tried to beat the game. Furthest yet is 2-3. I just care about improving on my leaderboard position for now. I don’t feel the chapter 2 levels are that much longer than the first set of levels and I’m getting better now by starting over and practicing from there. Judging by Tom’s post regarding chapter 2 he is serious about taking feedback from us players and is working to balance the difficulty for it. I totally understand what you mean though. I’m generally not bad at platformers by any means, so the fact that we’re both struggling does seem to reflect a slight imbalance. I do believe that practice makes you better so though, so that’s what I’ve been doing. Edit: Finally beat the crypt and am third on the leaderboard. The Bone Yard is so awesome! I started from 2-1 so I was surprised I beat my high score. Guess I will focus on finishing the game by starting at the chapter checkpoints.
That ‘gate’ seems to still be locked for me ... here goes the grind again! I do agree with you though, once you get the rhythm going it gets easier.
I’m trying to remember exactly but after you beat stage 1-3, there is a sort of meetup prior to stage 2 kicking in where you can find a key by jumping up platforms. Then at the Monster’s Chamber, the guy in the cage on on the far left can be freed using that key and he opens the level select on the far right.
Yeah I've tweaked the "safe passages" where you collect the key, so it's immediately visible when you run through the area. Speaking of tweaks...
Hi everyone, There's a big update coming in a couple of days The most important changes are: * LANDSCAPE MOOOODE. * Stage 2 difficulty tweaks. Also, each area is a bit shorter. * Improved controls placement on iPads. * If you have fast-travel unlocked for a particular stage, that is the default option when you restart after dying (good tip, thank ya).
Amazing!! Can’t wait ... I was playing whilst lying down and realised it would work a lot better in landscape ... major Kudos for rolling that out so quick
