Project UCG

MikeCL

Version 0.2.3 pre-alpha just got released. And guess what?

First ever public pre-alpha demo is live!

The first level will be available to play up to wednessday (midnight).

And I have a special treat for people here on the forum to spice things up. The ones that can beat my score, I will grant you a free VIP BMC membership.

Meaning you will get access to behind-closed-doors updates as well as get a free download of the game once released on Steam. On top of that, as a VIP member, you will always have access to play the latest pre-alpha build even when there's no public demo active. Just make sure you write your username as your highscore name. (so I can identify you)

Here's the article about the build

Here's how you can install the game (itch)
Only step 1 and 2 required for public play session.

To make it easy, here's the itch key you can use:
https://mbl-games.itch.io/project-ucg/download/4OHf2dGUsU5E79DMFh41v2NJNGXJ1VLPsv61bsa0

Few notes:

This is pre-alpha still, so everything is very much still work in progress.
And being pre-alpha, expect bugs.
There might be some stutters that I haven't hammered out yet. (First time running the game. A shader compilation step has been added, but needs more work to smooth it out)
The procedural level generator can sometimes produce some strange results. Needs more work
Bosses have not been implemented yet
Windows only for now
Developed on intel i7 cpu and gtx 1070 ti / intel arc a750 gpu
Need controller (tested with xbox 360, xbox one and xbox series controllers)

MikeCL

Here's a playthrough cut together with the latest build. Not a drastic change from the previous build. However, I got some important things in place.

MikeCL

I realize that summer is here, and there's all sorts of craziness going on in the world; people are generally super busy, which makes it difficult for many to find time. I haven't made a decision yet, but I'm considering expanding the play session a bit if there's interest in trying it out, but just haven't managed to find the time yet. Demo is still playable today and tomorrow.

ArDanZ11

This is really good.

MikeCL

ArDanZ11 Thanks! 🙏 Kind words!

MikeCL

Alright, it has been done! I extended the play session to include the entire week. Providing people with the opportunity to try it over the weekend for those who need more time. 👍

xyz

MikeCL Some quick feedback. Overly very nice, so I'll focus only on problems I encountered.

game started with zero (or low) primary weapon ammo couple of times. Could be the amount the previous game ended with.
bullet reflections in the floor are very distracting, they are bigger than actual bullets and interfere with gauging your fire direction and aiming
drone enemies have too big player collision boxes, they hit you way too early
player should be invincible during the whole duration of the stomp, starting immediately as they press the command. Currently the player is way too vulnerable during the stomp especially because there is a long anticipatory animation. Makes the stomp as a means of getting out of a tight spot almost useless.
Flamethrower damage way too weak/slow to be effective against drones. It should probably kill them immediately on touch.
game crashed to desktop in 4th area on one occasion
melee appears to be not working on drones
replenishments should not slide into restricted areas
asap implement a hotkey to toggle between windowed/fullscreen so your testers can easily make notes during the play.
too much neutral gray in the environment color scheme. And you know how I feel about neutral gray in games 🙂

MikeCL

xyz Thanks a lot for checking it out! And great feedback! 🙏

MikeCL

xyz Btw, is it possible to share what kind of hardware you used? Very useful information. Like what cpu, gpu, controller, etc.

xyz

MikeCL
Sure, here are the basics. Let me know if you need something more:
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700 CPU @ 3.20GHz 3.19 GHz
Installed RAM 16,0 GB
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (8 GB)
xbox compatible controller

xyz

MikeCL I'll give it a couple more runs afterwards when I get time, see if I can beat your score 😉

MikeCL

xyz Fantastic! Thanks! 🙏

xyz I'll give it a couple more runs afterwards when I get time, see if I can beat your score 😉

Game on! 🕹️😃 And good luck!

xyz

MikeCL Couldn't beat your score, but I got very close. The time penalty always gets me, chipping off my hard earned score. Speaking of which, subtracting from the final score at the end of level is an unpleasant surprise. Perhaps reframe it into a bonus that is added if you finish fast, to avoid inducing negative feelings in players.

In this type of game it may feel much better if the player retains full maneuverability during melee attacks and stomps - freely moving and rotating. Less realistic but it'd make the game somewhat easier and much more flowy. Currently the loss of control that happens there and the need to time precisely feel too restrictive.

The game crashed to desktop quite a few times.

MikeCL

xyz Wow, you were really close!

And again, fantastic feedback, thanks! Highly appreciated! There will be new things implemented in v0.3.0 that will shake things up a bit, which I'm excited about.

You also make a good point with the time penalty reframing. Should always focus on the positives for the player.

And thanks for mentioning the crashes. Will investigate what's causing it.

xyz

MikeCL I managed to beat your score... by a very tight margin 🙂

MikeCL

xyz Bravo! Impressive! 💪

MikeCL

xyz I will make sure to add you to the V.I.P membership. You'll get access to more frequent updates on the project as well as access to latest playable build at all times ( not restricted to the public play session ). And free download ( Steam key most likely ) when game is launched.