"Just like Platforms Unlimited, playing Pixel Boat Rush, playing it well, means overcoming a learning curve. In Platforms U, it was learning how to predict the arc of your jump, until it became second nature and you could deftly navigate the platforms and dangerous blocks with ease. In Pixel Boat Rush, the learning curve is multiplied exponentially. Not only do you have to be able to control you speed in response to jumping over or sticking to waves, but also when it's best to descend and drop into a slope and build speed. And then you must learn how to handle each weapon, its pros and cons It's a much more challenging game, a game of practice and perfect precision. Taking the lead in races requires you to understand the waves in and out, when it's best to take it slow or take to the air. The visuals are the highlight for me though. The pixels are vibrant and colorful, the varied environments detailed and diverse. It's a joy to unlock and master a cool a new boat - I have to agree with some of the other comments, the water is weird. It's more like Jelly or some malleable solid than a liquid. (If you've seen The Floor Is Jelly on PC, that's the closest analogy IMO) - I think the early races are much too difficult in terms of getting the timing right on all the jumps and wave slopes. The early game definitely needs to be better balance, more of a gradual increase in challenge - The controls feel great. Responsive, unobtrusive, and precise. Can't wait to see this game improve in the coming weeks and months."
What a nice game, thank you dev for letting me part of the beta team, I really enjoyed playing it today, the gameplay is really nice and smooth but being able to brake while jumping feels a bit weird and unreal, that's my only complain. The pixel artwork is beautiful, level design is good too and I love the mixed of colours, it's a very refreshing game, well done!
I just applied to beta test on the testflight page. I'm new to this, is the second wave yet to come? Would really love to beta test
Weird and unreal in the sense of unphysical compared to the real world or in the sense of hard to control?
At this point there's no reason to refuse anyone, we're still looking for plenty of people . There's 2 things we'd like to complete before starting the second wave. Finish a new polish pass on the first two classes and complete the class A content. If I'd make a guess, I'd say in 2 weeks.
Next probable tracks incoming: - Razor Caverns, with a new rocks tileset. - Mountain view (like a mountains lake, with mountains reflected in water in the distance) - Would like to try something around the iceberg/snow concept Please let us know if you have ideas for track themes
In the sense of unphysical compared to real world, it's a bit strange to be able to brake in the air and it makes the game much easier (maybe a bit too easy as you can correct your jump)
Ah yeah that's right , same goes for braking though since you don't have wheels. You could always justify it by saying that you have a sort of wing/jet mechanic that you can activate when wanted, but that would be pushing it. We sure are more in the arcadesque-mariokartesque than realism. Constructing a one-touch 2D wave-riding racing system which is fun, simple to play but challenging and hard to master sure brings a big set of constraints. It felt that both braking and drop-in-the-air were needed to achieve that. The first version of the game had breaking but no control in the air and it soon turned out that the game was too difficult early on and too frustrating when you'd miss a wave. At least now you still have an option to correct yourself after a mistake. This soon opened-up a whole new range of 'platforming' possibilities where the mechanic can be used to grab power-up or navigate between rocks in the air. The other reason why the mechanic was introduced was because of the similarity with Tiny Wings. The first instincts seemed to try to play the game like tiny wings so we added a bit of it to help the players make the gap between both games. While making the game easier for new players it also increased the level design challenge of making sure that there's would still be 'best ways' to play a track so that players would be rewarded to learn it and practice it, like we have in standard racing games.
Here are some crazy notes for gameplay..just thoughts..copied from thruout the day..realize they might be hard to implement but ideas none the less looking forward to checking out the new tracks.. For some reason I keep thinking about whirlpools and underwater fissures.. What if: There was whirlpools that would appear randomly? They would suck the boats that ran into it under for a loss of speed(boats could spiral like a top)..then spit them back out and up to restart speed..there would have to be some sort of warning that they would appear..like a bunch of frothy waves in a particular spot. Then a 2 d whirlpool with like an upside down tornado would make boat spin out of control. There could be small kicker jump waves before whirlpool spawn so player would have to decide to jump or brake over wave... And what if: There was cracks and fissures on the sea bottom that randomly spurted air and water towards the surface and made arcing "waterfalls" on surface..these underwater geysers could be used by boats to catch a quick boost by player if boat hit that arc coming out of the water at the right time. He could "ride" that water wave (like a hose squirting) forward like a speed boost. These water waves could be rode thro rocks and obstacles with skill..or they just last for a second or two..or boat could brake and fall thru wave to regular track. Does this make any sense? Just some ideas..I think about weird stuff when I drive all day for work Edit..forgot to mention a log flume/ride type level..maybe not doable in 2d but like log rides at water parks..combined with regular water track..maybe the flumes could be like ski jumps..with speed boosts..that would be cool I think.. Happy Thursday.
Although we have our hands full (with polishing, tweaks, fixes, new content, etc) and it would be hard to add new mechanics we never know where ideas might lead to . After posting a pic on twitter yesterday, someone was asking if the jellyfishes where part of the gameplay and it occurred to me that they looked like the fireballs in Mario Bros . Moving objects which could slow, damage or push the boats could sure be interesting and enhance the platforming side. Something to keep in mind. At the very least, that's more possibilities for new tracks post-launch.
Objects/abilities within the map will make the game more immersive, at least for me. I too wondered if the jelly fish would affect the gameplay. I would suggest a small speed boost object, placed how tiny wings has them on the lowest part of a slope. Another game that has some pretty cool items is SpeedRunners by Double Dutch. I recommend checking out some gameplay, maybe you'll find some inspiration But with items come balance issues as well. Keeping mind if 1st place will have an extreme advantage, just because they're ahead. Balance is what makes games like Mario Kart super fun and immersive. On a side note, how long are the maps? Time wise. And will there me multiplayer at launch or post launch?
Laps take between 25 and 40 sec, depending on tracks. Races can last for 2-6 laps generally, so races take about 1-3 mins to complete. Having multiplayer elements would be awesome but that's most certainly too big of a chunk for launch.
Yeah hehe that can be a lot of work. Depending of the type of multiplayer functionalities, it could add 1-3 months of development on this kind of project. You have to trace the line somewhere, you know. That said, racing games + multi sure is a natural fit so it could make a top feature to add post-launch.
The new beta build will probably be available tomorrow. After that, we should be aiming toward the second beta wave with more testers! We've been overhauling a lot of visual effects related to guns, explosions and more. Here's a few examples:
