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  • Enfora Star - Welcome to read the project's devlog

MikeCL Thanks! This is a huge honor! I was only wondering could I update the thumbnail to the better picture?

      TheAspen Afaik it automatically uses the first image in the initial post, so you can probably just edit that.

        TheAspen Just like xyz mentioned. Changing the first image in the first post and the thumbnail will update 🙂

          TheAspen changed the title to Enfora Star - Welcome to read the project's devlog .
          7 days later

          Hey all!

          I just published my 11th post on my devlog!

          The core concept is starting to come together, and a couple new concept arts are shown too!

          Happy readings!

          TheAspen

            TheAspen Nice new mechanics you are designing! It's going to be interesting to see it in action. 🙂

              a month later

              Heya,

              I published a new blog post. Focusing on visual stuff this time. 
              I publish some development content on the X too, so go on check that also!

              Enjoy reading, until next time!

              TheAspen

              14 days later

              Yo!

              I just uploaded a gameplay video.
              Maybe this shows current progress a bit better than just plain text and a few gifs.

              TheAspen

              • xyz replied to this.

                TheAspen Maybe it's better when playing than when only watching a video but... I get really disoriented because most of the time there is no "fixed" background against which you can gauge your movement direction and speed. Powerups and those big structures help a bit. But powerups are too similar to enemies and the large structures are not always there. Additional background parallax adds to the confusion even more.

                Maybe think about adding optional gridlines (or a hexagonal grid) that are tied to the fixed world space. They could be subtle but prominent enough to inform player's perception on their movement direction.

                    xyz

                    The problem with the fixed background gridline or something similar is that it causes a motion blur effect when the camera is moving, and so it won't be shown very sharp.

                    Thanks for the feedback however!

                    • xyz replied to this.

                        TheAspen Does it have to be sharp? Maybe use something else that's less regular but serves the same purpose.

                          14 days later

                          Hi!

                          Blog post 13 is out! 
                          Introducing a few new abilities, also some thoughts about Alpha gameplay, social media, and future plans.

                          See the blog post here

                          Thanks!

                          TheAspen

                          a month later

                          Hi once again!

                          And the first blog post of this year has been published!

                          I have plans to publish a playable demo and gather some feedback from you with it!
                          More thoughts and information about it in the blog, and some other updates too!

                          Feel free to check it here

                          TheAspen

                            11 days later

                            TheAspen Nice to see the game taking shape!

                            The hexagon definitely makes the movement/orientation better, but it also feels a bit distracting. The asteroids/comets are a bit static, having them move a bit more (and use the stars/suns in the background as they are) would give it some more depth.

                            the suns/stars also feels a bit dim/dark. But making them brighter would probably make them distracting as well.

                            Just some initial thoughts looking at the latest progress 🙂

                                14 days later

                                MikeCL
                                Thanks for the comment!

                                That hexagon really seems to divide people. You are not the first one who said it is a bit distracting. Maybe I could add more opacity to it and see how it plays then. The hexagon is also optional, so you can disable it from settings if you do not like it.

                                I also think the asteroids are too static right now. Let's see how it works out if I add more speed to the parallax layer.

                                  4 days later

                                  Yo!

                                  More updates of Alpha! See the newest blog post here:
                                  https://www.theaspen.blog/posts/15/

                                  Nevertheless, the devlog almost has a birthday! One year ago I published the very first post. Some thoughts about that in the blog too!

                                  Thanks!

                                  TheAspen

                                  a month later

                                  Hi once again!

                                  Yet another blog post regarding the upcoming Alpha gametest! Nothing huge this time, but some thoughts about the Steam and feature progress list.

                                  Link to the post: https://www.theaspen.blog/posts/16/

                                  Until next time!

                                  TheAspen

                                  7 days later

                                  Yo! A huge announcement!

                                  Steam pages are finally here:

                                  Go check it out and give your opinion!

                                  Back in 2024, I would never believe this day could actually come.
                                  Playable Alpha is under review by Steam, so it should be there in a couple of days.

                                  TheAspen

                                  5 days later

                                  Nice! Just tried it! Landed on a score of 420. Game feels super smooth 👍

                                  Some feedback.

                                  • Would be nice with some background music just to get into the mood a bit more.
                                  • The big rocks in the background feel a bit static, perhaps make them move a bit more with the paralax. Then you have some pretty good depth. Like the stars/suns in the far background, the rocks closer, then the smaller rocks even closer etc.
                                  • The smaller sun to the left feels low resolution compared to the rest.
                                  • Feels a bit strange to need to manually trigger next wave. Perhaps just start next wave automatically to keep the pace up.
                                  • I have a superwide monitor, feels like the background is stretched.