comments for Sporbs
sort: go back
Positives
+ Nice sense of scale with Normal -> Silver -> Gold -> Diamond variants.
+ I like that the active portion is always active, rather than timed sections.
+ Double upgrade tree is cool, and some nice variety in there to start.
+ Relaxing music, nice sfx.
+ Momentum mechanic gives a very nice ebb and flow to the gameplay.
So-Sos
~ The screen shake is a bit much for me towards the end. I'd prefer to have better control for this than just on/off though.
~ The art style is better than geometric shapes with some nice effects, but nothing to fawn over.
~ Feels a bit like the upgrade tree was padded out with "the previous upgrade, but better!" a bit too much.
Negatives
- It wasn't clear when I had enough orbs to get the next area, then when I realised I did, I didn't know what would happen. Would my progress be reset? Would this area carry on with the auto collectors? Felt like this needed a quick dialogue section to explain/prompt the player into it.
- Gameplay at the end isn't very different to gameplay at the start, the only difference is more stuff happens as a result of the same actions. Would've liked to have seen some additional goals creep into the game over time. e.g. Maybe temporary cracks open to a "hive" that you can continuously get orbs from while it's open? Or other kinds of organisms that you need specific upgrades or different equipment to harvest from?
- These both relate to this point: I stayed in the first area until I had maxed out the upgrade trees. When I made it to the next area and saw it hadn't been reset, I was a bit disappointed no new skills were unlocked with the new area, only more spawning of the same organisms.
Overall
It's a very nice 20-40 minute experience, but it would greatly benefit from some more variety in most areas, even for a demo.
developer response: Thank you so much for taking the time to write this - its extremely helpful.
- Great point re not clear enough when the player can progress into new areas, i had a hunch that using the same notification system that i use to notify when an upgrade is a available wouldn't be enough - ill do some testing using a quick dialogue sequence as a prompt
- yeah agree with the monotony, perhaps a secondary progression system would work well to break the gameplay up a tad. some bigger goal to aim for - i had reserved thinking too hard on this for the demo to keep scope low and make sure i actually delivered something, but its moved up my priority list !
Thank you again for your kind words and thoughtful feedback, really appreciate it <3
developer response: thanks so much for your kind words and feedback <3
yeh definetly agree with the areas, i'll have a think about how to make each one feel more distinct while trying to keep scope low.
When you say cumulative upgrade benefits, what would be useful for you as the player to see on this screen?
Thanks again
developer response: only one thing to do....
developer response: UPDATED REPLY: I added support for web saves now :)
ORIGINAL REPLY: Apologies, the web build doesn't support saving as I save to persistent data paths. if you play the demo on Steam, saving works just fine :) if there is enough want for it, i'll look into allowing save file import/export from web builds
developer response: <3
My single note would be to add some sort of visible progress bar to upgrades, in addition to the scroll-over "Level 1/5" and the like. The ability to see via a bar or background which upgrades I have in progress and differentiate them from ones I haven't started yet would be nice.
developer response: Glad you liked it, thanks so much <3 thats a great idea for better upgrade clarity
developer response: thanks so much for playing <3
developer response: Awesome, glad to hear it! Thanks for checking back in and updating!
i think having 2 trees is interesting (also the compartmentalizing part of my brain likes it)
also interesting: the auto collector isn't just an AI guided manual collector
developer response: no noo nothing to worry about here, just your average extra terrestrial research operation..... and thank you <3
your fps calculator is wrong.
developer response: oh interesting - ill have a look into that
you need to make full screen an explicit toggle.
developer response: thanks for letting me know, i was having some issues with the web build fullscreen stuff but ill have to take another look at it
developer response: okay i think thats all fixed now! hopefully - let me know!
developer response: Added some settings in recent patch to control CRT stuff! Hope thats better now
its taking so long bruh
developer response: thanks for your feedback! Yeah, i think i need to add a secondary mechanic for the player to break up the monotony of harvesting, perhaps a secondary currency sink as a progression system for a bigger goal or something - any ideas?