Download our prototype to our game please

#1 Uhh, if there was a link to it in your post I would be downloading it now.

#2 The link is there but it doesn't really jump out:

Quote:Download the prototype for free from www.agfrag.com, on the Circuit Pyramid page.

i DLd the game and found the controls fairly confusing,
so i stopped playing after a couple minutes,

but it looks like it might be cool with some more polish.

#3 A direct link to the download would be better.

#4 I just played it. I like the first part better. Tetris style games are awesome. But I don't think I like the time limit. The second part I think needs work. The "paddle" that I "controlled" didn't seem to behave very well. Sometimes it wouldn't move when I moved the mouse, especially around the corners. This may be my paranoia, but it also seemed like all the other players ganged up on me and I was eliminated in less than a minute. Also the seemed to be a collision issue with the "paddle," several time the opponets ball went right through it, unless that was meant to be.

Summary!
Take the time limit out of the first part and I would have played it for hours. Didn't care for the breakout clone, but fix the controls and call me back.

#5 Ok I figured out why the controls went goofy. If your mouse cursor leaves the window, you loose control. Easy fix, just don't let the cursor out of the window. Looks very promising. Can't wait to see more.

#6 Hey guys, we still need good feedback on the game, and more people to try it out!!

#7 I got through the puzzle mode a few times, but the game crashed when the time ran out each time.

Puzzle game:
I found the mouse controls hard to use. I switched to a keyboard config without the smooth movement, and it worked much better. Maybe I'm trapped by my Tetris past.... I think your default control config puts your worst foot forward.

I'd like to hear a sound or get some kind of visual cue when someone drops something on me. I suspect that's coming down the line, but, especially in smooth mouse mode, the extra dropping pieces made me think that I was using the controls incorrectly, or that the mouse was betraying me. I think that such feedback would help make the game feel less arbitrary, so it might be important to get it in sooner than later.

I need to be able to see the desired shapes while I am playing. I could remember the tutorial pattern, but as soon as I have 3 shapes to go for, I lose track.

To be contrary to Fail66, I don't mind the time limit, but I think it was too long. :-) The time length is clearly something you could let players set in the options, so that's no big deal.

I'd allow the players to start with the action side if they prefer. That might help suck in the breakout fans.

I really like the notion of using a puzzle game to build up resources to use in a "tearing down" segment. It's a way to combine two comfortable gameplay elements into something more interesting. Rampart was brilliant, and I'd love to see more games with its flavor. However, you'll need to put a lot of effort into the polish required to pull it off well.

Thinking about the market, there are jillions of falling block games and jillions of brick-busters already out there. Each half of your composite game needs to be competitive in its own right, to get fans of each genre into the game. Fans of *both* genres will be easier to attract, but they will be rarer.

Does anyone know how well Rampart in its various incarnations did? Has any similar game done well? Has anyone else tried it recently?

#8 I'm running under WinXP home edition 2002, service pack 2. The screen did not change at all, it just crashed as the timer ran out. I downloaded and installed through the "Download Here" link above.

I've not upgraded my video card drivers recently, but I've had no problems with them, either.

Good luck with the game!