Last Legacy: Null Space Beta

[KABOOM]

So, I finished the levels...

Stuff I liked:
-The inventory system worked much better than I expected.
-So did mouse control.
-Lots of cool items to experiment with. My favorites were the Basic Halberd and Wooden Staff because I'm that sort of person.
-Music!

Stuff I didn't like:
-There were some glitches. For example, clicking something sometimes disables movement until you click again. Also, sometimes Delta randomly exits. even while still holding Shift.
-Making Space the jump button was dumb.
-The level design was okay, but not quite as great as in Chapter 1.
-Making Space the jump button was really dumb.
-A lot of the puzzles basically involved doing the same platforming several times over, which got dull really fast. Looking at you, level 4.
-Making Space the jump button was really dumb.
-No level designer :<
-Making Space the jump button was REALLY DUMB.
-The clickable areas for most clickable things were too small.
-WHAT POSSIBLE REASON COULD YOU HAVE TO MAKE SPACE THE JUMP BUTTON INSTEAD OF UP? THE CONTROLS WOULD BE NEARLY PERFECT EXCEPT FOR THIS, IT LITERALLY RUINS EVERYTHING.

Overall, it was better than I expected for the most part, and I can see some cool stuff being done with this for the LD.

Also, I'd like it if clicking behind the character with a melee attack would cause them to turn around. Some others might not agree with me though, what do you guys think?

Make Up and W the jump buttons again please

[Harmless]

Oh god, I really dislike how some games have space to jump. Except for games like Smash Bros where I rely on a button next to my attack key, but yeah.

And I actually dunno about having the character's viewpoint follow the mouse. I'd rather just turn around. When you're trying to strafe backwards in the air and attack behind you, it can get a bit irritating to have to constantly move your mouse to the right or left rather than face one direction and just attack.

[Konradix]

I actually saw the spacebar thing as a welcome change, but most people apparently didn't. I'd say have 2 options, or as mentioned earlier, customizable controlls.

[*Emelia K. Fletcher]

This post by *Emelia K. Fletcher was thumbed up by:

Konradix (February 10th, 2014, 2:28 pm)

[Raz]

This post by Raz was thumbed up by:

Konradix (February 10th, 2014, 2:28 pm)

[Runouw]

I forgot to mention, the graphics may have been toned down to avoid lag. Since having less items would let it go faster. I'd like some ideas on how I can improve the detail without adding too many items.

As for allowing members to help with the levels, that would be great. Help is appreciated, however since I could be making money off of your level I think I need to compensate for that. I could pay people for the level perhaps.

[Zunar]

The Spacebar for jump is an adjustment, but I think it's good. I know of a couple 2D sidescrollers that use space to jump (Terraria for example) so the concept isn't foreign.

I still think the inventory key should be remapped by default to E for convenience. I also agree on Esc being pause; I actually hit Esc first before I realized P was pause. Makes sense but again is inconvenient.

One more thing. There's a slight oversight with the shop that's inside one of the levels, if you hit back instead of exiting the screen it goes back to the pause menu when it should exit.

[Buff_]

With this current setup there really isn't very much room for a good alternative jump button. Spacebar is fine, but I think there needs to be much finer control over the character for this to work well. After playing the entirety of Super Meat Boy with keyboard controls, I can say that they do work but there needs to be an incredibly solid base which I don't think Last Legacy has.

I think at this point you're kinda there and I am willing to forgive non-perfect styles for game that is both from an inexperienced developer as well as done in your free time. As for feedback, well...

---

-This may not be a priority for a free flash game, but I think your general gameplay needs fine tuning. The feel of your character needs to be responsive and follow expected physics. There doesn't seem to be any acceleration, and therefore deceleration, which makes predicting movement much harder as it's all so sudden. I would extend fine tuning to combat as well as I feel that, with at least swords, it's a little clunky. It may not be the intended focus but, with the way the levels have been designed, combat is an integral part of the game. As of right now, I don't think it's particularly fun to attack.

-I wouldn't say any of these levels were particularly amazing, and I think that is mostly to do with flow. Too sudden a change of direction (in terms of design) ie slow retread after being complete freedom in speed. I would also extend some of the issues other people have said - too short. Some ideas I think aren't explored far enough while others you spend too long doing (block/switch puzzles)

-Clicking for switches, doors and chests needs to be replaced with a button(s). Clicking is just another step that gets in the way of the player and continuing to play.

-Add pause to Esc. With one hand on the mouse, the most logical position for the pause button needs to be somewhere you can reach with your other hand, which for most people is Esc.
-Add E for your inventory. The same reasons as above. It's a lot closer and it's (currently) not used for anything.

-Maybe get another sprite for the character when it faces a different direction. As I think I've mentioned before, it's just been flipped so the character just switches hands depending on the direction it's looking.

-With some people crying for a non-mouse setup, I felt Dustforce had a good enough control scheme that it could potentially be mimicked for this game.

Jump - Z
Attack1 - X
Attack2 - C
Movement - Arrow Keys

Aiming with projectile weapons becomes a lot more restricted for the player but with a mix of arrow keys (ie up + right for that direction projectile) at least is could be an alternative scheme.

---

Beyond all this though, I enjoyed my time with this preview. The introduction to RPG mechanics is nice, as well as a use for all those trinkets. We have much more of an incentive to explore the level now.

At least, I'd call it a success. It's very ambitious for a flash game and to get to this stage is impressive. It's some good work. :D

[Animorph]

I first played it on my school computer with a mouse, but after I got home, I had to replay the first three levels then complete all the levels using a trackpad. From this, I made two conclusions:
1 - Whether with a trackpad or mouse, the new controls are pretty sweet. (Only "complaint" is the Spacebar jump. I don't mind it, but I don't see why "W"/"Up Arrow" wouldn't be the jump button.)
2 - Unlike the last versions, I actually was willing to replay the levels, and I actually completed the game.

So those are my main points.

Other bits:
-Combat feels very action-y and fun
-Weapon variety is also fun
-Metal needs to blend more; actually, it'd be more fun if all tiles blended together better
-Also, the style of the first level at first seem stylistic, but when you abandon it, it just stands out as odd
-Oh, and jump pads are freakin' amazing
-Shackles are odd; theoretically neat concept, but kicks just aren't that useful
-Can there be an Elven Halberd, please?
-Gravity I remember being a bit awkward, but I guess it's supposed to be.

But yeah, I can't think of anything else to say. Awesome as always, and I'm DYING for the new level editor to come out.

[darthbrowser]

I find the spacebutton being linked to jump as absolute anathema.

In games which use a mouse/keyboard combo, it is always best to clump all the keyboard controls togather, or if its is entirely keyboard based, two "clumps" of controls.

For instance, I played the first LL incarnation and SMB3 with my right hand on the arrow keys and my left on the Z,X, and C buttons. This arrangement gave me all the controls I needed without having to move my hand.

To play a scroller which uses the mouse, I use a format with my left hand on the WASD keys and my right on the mouse. Had W been scripted to jump, this game would be perfect, but it is very hard for me to do complicated manuevers (such as attacking midair) because I must move my left or right hand to the spacebar.

I simply fail to see why you abandoned the LL and SMB3 system of W or ↑ to jump in favor of the spacebar.

That negativity aside, I systemically enjoyed the music, and the minuscule length of each level is compensated for by their quantity.

The mouse allows for much easier delta placement than the previous set-up, but again, this is hard to exploit due to the awkward jump system.

On the designing side, I took note of the improvements in scriptable actions and believe that if the inventory system is allowed into the level designer, many excellent levels could come of it.

I would like to request you release a very small update in the next few days to allow control customization. This would alleviate all of my, and most of many other's, difficulties with the game.

Otherwise, excellent release.

Edit: I must disagree with the comments just made in regards to removing the mouse altogether. In case you didn't notice, the mouse is used to direct throwing attacks. For instance, when you click on a point in the air with the throwing axe equipped, the game optimizes the best angle to throw the axe and does so. There is no way to replicate this in a keyboard only set-up.