Dragon's Cave (Beta) Programmer Comments
Hey guys,
Thanks all for your comments so far. Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to reply to your comments individually so this will have to suffice.
Firstly, many people are reporting keyboard issues and not being able to control any of the rocks. If you have this issue, it would be great if you could include some basic system information (PC/Mac, Flash version [right click on the flash player to find out], PS2/USB keyboard, browser name and version, ...) to help me identify common elements so I can work towards solving this problem.
People report only being able to move 3 or 4 rocks at a time in some cases. This is an issue that is *out of my control*. Some keyboards will only allow certain combinations of keys to be held down, and sometimes by releasing a certain key you may be able to press other keys. This varies heavily between keyboards. Personally, I can press 4 to 7 keys at a time depending on the combination.
Please keep in mind that the use of many keys was based on the fact that our handicap revolved around using at least 20 keys in our game, and we wanted to do something a little more original than a typing game. It can be difficult at times to manage, but that basically comes down to part of the challenge of the game. If I ever got a chance I would love to port this to a touch phone/tablet game where you could use your fingers, but that could be ages away.
Regarding the speed of moving the rocks, it may be frustrating however at the point of release of the game, it was part of the challenge. If all you had to do was move the rocks into position, the game would be too easy. (Please take my word for it - I did originally have it that way ;)). The acceleration adds to the challenge.
The game *is 100% passable*. It may seem difficult at times - and believe me, I even struggle towards the end - however, I ensured that I could pass every level before I added them to the game, and in fact spent quite a bit of time tweaking the rock positions and timing of each level to make it passable but difficult as there are not so many levels as I would have liked. In an ideal world, the game would become progressively more difficult but there was simply not enough time to add more levels within the 72 hours of development. This may change in the future or in a different release.
For the commenter reporting a 'white-screen glitched game,' please check your Flash Player version is recent and ensure your system has sufficient RAM.
For people reporting being able to fall through small gaps, this was mostly a time limitation. I had to implement predictive jumping for the wizard. Presently he jumps based on the position of the current rock and the next rock, but it does not take into account movement, which is why you find that when a rock is moving up he will most likely miss it. I tried to account for this by making him aim a little higher, but it is obviously still an issue that will need addressing.
If you find it difficult when the letters stop appearing, you can press the 'z' key to make them re-appear for a short time. I may make this an option in the future.
Thank you all for your comments so far, and for taking the time to report your issues. I'm sorry some of your gaming experiences have been cut short due to keyboard issues and the rest, but as mentioned above, there are certain limitations with using multiple keys on the keyboard at the same time that simply can't be avoided. Hopefully I can get some information that will help me sort out these issues and you can have some fun playing!
If you have already reviewed this game and would like to provide details about your system for the keyboard issues, you're more than welcome to PM me. I don't get on here often so it may be some time before I get to reply.
Cheers
-- Vector
