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

Hi folks,

I'd like to share my devlog website, where I do blog posts about my game project called Star Defender, a top-down arcade-like shooter game. I use Godot 3.5 to develop this project.

The current stage screenshot:

Some pre-alpha screenshots:

The game is in a very early stage, so if you are interested in reading about the development process from the very beginning, feel free to visit the devlog

I will probably post here when I publish a new post on the page.

Here is also a short demo of the current progress:
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Feel free to give feedback and thoughts here in this forum!

-TheAspen

Cool project! It reminds me a bit of Geometry Wars (I love that game). A "pro tip", if you just post your youtube video URL it will become embedded instead of a link šŸ™‚

    MikeCL

    Thanks for the tip!

    The enemies (and the player) layout will probably change to starships, robots, or something like that. Geometric enemies were just a placeholder. At the very beginning, I had plans to just use geometric shapes, but now, I don't know, it feels a bit "cheap." 

    5 days later

    A new blog post was published. Iā€™m focusing more on the Godot in this post and the reasons why I chose the Godot engine for the project.

    Link to the post

    -TheAspen

    Nice story! I can definitely relate to how you found your way to the engine šŸ™‚

    Hey there, I'm about to begin working on a similar style game too but most likely using 3D elements instead.
    Any tips to share with a beginner? (Not a total beginner)

      cholasimmons

      I usually like to start to build up with the background functionality firsts, like basic game states, saving & loading systems, basic menus. I found that way to bit easier in the long run. And it is easier to debug these when you already have build the core functionalities and you find out bugs way easier. Maybe a bit boring way to start, because at least I want to see something cool on the screen very fast, but this will pay off later.

      And also remember to focus on the game play elements; even the coolest thing in your game won't mean anything if the core game play is boring. (This was also the note for myself.)

      18 days later

      Yo!

      I have published a new post

      I have finally got something visual to show up: some weapon concepts!
      Also talking about other stuff too. Feel free to visit!

      TheAspen

      a month later
      a month later

      Heya!

      I created a trailer of the current progress:

      Share your thoughts and feedback!

      Here is also the new blog post

      TheAspen

        TheAspen Nice!! I'd make the player ship more distinct from the enemy ships, e.g. make it a completely different color or add an outline, it's a bit hard to keep track of when there's so many similar looking ships, especially when zoomed out!

          TheAspen Nice!

          I agree with housatic .

          Also to add to that. Not only will the colors make the ships stand out more, but since your FX and background are pretty saturated, having grey ships also makes them look a bit dull. I loved the look/colors you had in your first pictures. Felt more vibrant and had more clarity to it.

          Looking at the thumbnail again, the enemy ships and background blend into each other a bit too.

          I recommend stepping away from the screen and looking at your game from a distance every once in a while, it helps notice issues with contrast/clarity :-)

          Nice to get some feedback! šŸ™‚

          I have already started to plan new color schemes for the enemies. I first thought the "eye colors" were enough, but obviously I was wrong.

          Thanks!

          6 days later

          Yo!

          I'd like to share the new color palettes of some enemies. On the left is the old, gray color palette, and on the right is the new, more colorful palette. Do you prefer the old ones or the new ones?



          • xyz replied to this.

            xyz

            I made a short demo. At least the red one is a bit blurry, in my opinion. However, the background is still a placeholder, so maybe when I change it, the blurriness will decrease?

            Here is the demo:

              15 days later

              TheAspen The colors on the enemies definitely made them pop more. I know the background is a placeholder. But I can't tell if the player is moving or not (perhaps it's designed to be stationary?). Maybe some visual detail to indicate the ship is moving.

                MikeCL

                Thanks for the feedback! I also find that the enemies are now popping more out of the background.

                I have plans to do parallax background elements to indicate the movement more clearly. Also, the flame from the thrusters will grow larger when the player's velocity goes higher.

                25 days later

                Yo!

                I have finally come up with the name of the game: Enfora Star!

                See the blog post the capsule image and more detailed information about the current status of the project.

                But, if you are too busy to read the post, here are some samples about the new shooter enemy and the turrets!

                Until next time!

                TheAspen

                TheAspen changed the title to Enfora Star (former Star Defender) - Welcome to read the project's devlog .

                Nice, it's taking shape!

                a month later

                Hi all!

                And yet another blog post is published!

                Thanks for reading!

                TheAspen

                5 days later

                The game looks like Void Scrappers by 8bitskulls quite a bit (it is made using Defold engine), the towers on our side are a nice addition.
                The demo video shows enemies are very passive and seems to like playing the targets, what the challenge here ?

                You may take a look at Transplant, an old Amiga PD game with rotating camera when we turn the ship.

                  8 days later

                  JusTiCe8
                  We share a very similar game genre, at least. 
                  The shooter enemies are actually very tough ones when they attack in packs; they surprised me a bit, actually. šŸ˜ƒ
                  Also, the challenge with basic enemies will increase when they come in numbers.

                  And thanks for the old Amiga game! I used to play with Amiga 1200 as a child, so this was a nostalgia hit! šŸ™‚

                  15 days later

                  Hi all!

                  This is a bit of a special occasion because I have just published my 10th blog post! A small milestone, but for me a very major one.

                  I share some thoughts on how this project is going, what failures I have had, and some future plans also, but the main thing is the showcase video of the current status of the project.

                  I link the video here:

                  If you are interested in reading more in detail, please visit my blog: 10th blog post

                  Stay tuned!

                  TheAspen

                  Congrats on the 10th blog post! šŸŽ‰

                  It's nice to see the progress! It's also really cool of you to share some of the challenges you faced.

                  25 days later

                  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 šŸ™‚

                    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. šŸ™‚

                      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.