Official Launch of Shoot the Dragons

Ok,

These devs really do listen to feedback and care. Why? Because since day one I asked for them to add certain things and with this update they delivered BIG TIME!

There are new enemies! There are new players coming soon!! Hell Yeah I'm going to get the Astronaut lol! There is now UPGRADES for everything including weapons and your characters new secondary ability. Oh yea your character has a secondary missile ability that recharges over time!!! There are new power up companions!

There's so much in this damn update my post doesn't do it justice. I also asked the devs to put in a coin doubler IAP for the monetization and they said that's in the plans. I'll be their first damn sale I promise you that lol. I actually WANT to spend money in this game already and it's just in beta lol.

What a phenomenal gaming experience. As with other games Im calling it right now. This game is going to be a hit. People are going to love this game. The dev team is awesome. I'm not just saying this. I call things as I see it. I can't wait for everyone to play this. The new bosses kick ass too. The boss fights are not easy!

I've sat here and tried to think of one negative thing to say and honestly I can't think of one. The controls are perfect for me. I love the on screen controls. I love the power up system. I love the art style and the color palette. I love the intensity of the combat and the boss fights. I love that you can continue using a video ad or coins. When they add the coin doubler this will be important. I can't think of one negative thing to say.

Billy

 

3rd testflight feedback

Hi! I just finished playing the 3rd test flight. Here are my notes!

Great, smooth controls. Solid professional graphics with interesting enemies. Top notch sound effects, especially the quality "booms" as the enemies pop--very satisfying!

Two bits of feedback (my personal feeling, for what it's worth!):

i) I wish it wasn't "one hit and your dead." Too hard and frustrating. I think having three hits would be more balanced and fun. (Now I understand you can pay to revive, but that stops the game flow!).

ii) I don't like starting at level 1-1 every time. After the third time beating the cat boss, I'm bored of him. I feel that once I beat him, I should be able to start playing at level 2-1 next time I play.

Overall great, polished, high-quality game. Good luck on the release!

 

Just played a bit of the beta myself and was about to post the same 2 bits of feedback as you. Definatly think having a lifebar, or a 2 or 3 hit system would make this game more enjoyable. One hit and your done is pretty hardcore. Maybe adding a shield power up that absorbs one hit could be considered. There could also be difficulty settings, normal being with a lifebar (2-3 hits), and hard for the way it is now (1 and done).

Also agree with the option of choosing your starting point based on the last boss you've beaten.

Really is a great schmup and look forward to trying it out more.

 

HI!
You can buy extra life and power ups for your "costume".

Maybe isn't simply to find out (Dev!!!) but in the costume tab ( i think it's the second) if you hit the ARROW UP, you go to the power up shop.
Something that need to be improved in usability.

 

Shoot The Dragon - 3rd Testflight Feedback

Ok, I've been a bit busy recently but now I've been able to try out the new version. Very happy with the improvements!

Thanks for adding the control options in the settings. Though, I think the maximums are still a bit too low? I'd like to experiment with sensitivity settings that go up to 2 or 3 (same maximum for both axis) just to see what it's like, 1 to 1.5 still feels kinda low compared to ToonShooter's highest setting. It also seems weird to me that X axis sensitivity has a different scale to the Y axis sensitivity, in other shmups the X and Y sensitivity is always the same.

So initially I didn't really like the buddies because I only had the start fish one that just adds bullets that arc downward and is generally useless. Since the new updated added timed free coin gifts I got enough to buy the one I thought looked the coolest (Thanatos) and oh man, this changes everything.



So in case anyone doesn't know, for some of the buddies you actually get to play as them and they serve as both a health bar and a complete replacement of your attack. That's rad, and alleviates the problem people have with only having one life and one hit point.

BUT

I feel it's a bit of a killjoy that these types of buddies have both a health bar AND a time limit. Like, one or the other would be better. I don't know if it's for balance reasons as I've only tried the one, but I think they should be treated as either a super mode for a short time OR a power up you keep until it runs out of health. Sorta like vehicles in Jetpack Joyride. If I recall, they don't have specific time limits but you lose them upon getting hit. I might be wrong. Maybe all they need is some adjusting with their health and/or time limit. Maybe I just really like playing as Thanatos throwing scythes around.

I noticed costumes have skills now. Having a secondary attack that is infinite but charges over time is a great idea and really helps inject more variety to the gameplay, especially if different costumes have different skills. I noticed you get an extra hitpoint through these upgrades too, but only one? Seems kinda far in to get a feature lots of people have been asking for.

Also every time I do the first level I get the cat boss, is that the only first level boss at this point in development or am I just getting bad luck?
EDIT: Did you take out the post-boss victory flight with the trippy visuals and coins? I kinda liked that bit...

So my new current bit of feedback is maybe make it easier for beginner players to get into the funnest bits, like getting them those gameplay-changing character upgrades (I think the casual gamer would appreciate getting more hit points first) or starting them off with a more interesting buddy (like, just get rid of the fish already it's completely useless, if I started with a buddy like Thanatos I would've been hooked way quicker by thinking that buddies = new characters). This may just come down to player messaging. Nobody likes unskippable boring tutorials, but maybe a text box or help screen that comes up for new players that tells them where the good stuff is? If you had to make a tutorial for any part, I'd say once the player gets their first bunch of free coins tell them to go get a new buddy because that default one suuucks compared to the others.

As for suggestions for content design, I like the idea of costumes both changing your look and giving you abilities. I'm a fan of halloween monster cliches so like, how about a Skeleton costume? A spooky skeleton with a coffin jetpack whose secondary ability shoots out long bones that move slower than missiles but spin around to hit a wider range. Or like a horned red devil costume with bat wings that shoots out flaming skulls as an ability that trace a wavy pattern instead of going straight, but leave behind a trail of fire that damages enemies that pass into it. Halloween is coming up after all. You could probably come up with some boss and buddy designs with that train of logic too. Replace the stupid fish with like a Creature from the Black Lagoon monster that shoots exploding bubbles? Just food for thought.

I'll keep playing more but so far I'm quite impressed with the improvements and new content. New costumes and the knowledge that some buddies are way better than the default fish have made this game much more interesting!

 

I love this game, then it: D close skyfor that I still play: D

 

Thanks for using my idea and implementing some sort of health system ! With so many more upgrades to the game I've went further than ever and the game is Much more enjoyable.
This is the game I've been waiting for.
A contender for game of the year now

 

I just got the newest beta!

YES!!!!!!!!!

You guys listened!!! Double gold IAP!! I'll be buying that for sure. Hell Yeah! New costumes!! New UI!! New upgrades!!

Man this game is shaping up great! Thank you for listening! Ok enough about the initial peak. I'm going into to play. I'm going to give it an hour or two and report back.

Thank you again for listening!!!!

Billy

 

The IAP is not functioning. Is that intended? Also how do we obtain shamrocks?

Billy