ShootOut(SystemD) DEMO

Hello!

The DEMO v.0.8 is live!

Improved both Party and enemy AI
Fixed some malfunctions with Squad Upgrades activation
Doubled all cash income (chests & End Mission)
Reactivated AI Sniper

Cheers!

Hi!

I've pushed a small patch for the v.0.7.

Fixed Plasma Area Heal not triggering correctly the first tick
Fixed Squad Member sometime backpedaling to follow player

Sorry for the trouble!

Hello!

I've pushed another small Hot Fix (1.65Mb).

AI flee behavior was screwed. Scared bots were looking for a spot with line of sight with object of their fear when they should look for a safe spot without line of sight. This is corrected.

Hello!

ShootOut(SystemD) DEMO v.0.7 is up!

Fixes, tweaks, optimizations.

For v0.5

Hey there again! I did a while ago a gameplay review video on your update v.0.5 and I am aware that there are more updates but I already made this so I wanted to share it anyways. Here are some notes in case the video is too long to watch. Hope this helps!

The squad is really great, however I am wondering if they can get attacked by the turrets in the future updates.
I have noticed that you have introduced new features in the game, such as enemies with shields (pink shields I think) and also drones! However, you might want to show an introductory paused screen that explains what each new encounter does when facing it for the first time, like I did in the video here, you could pause the game by a popping screen telling us what shields do, or what the drones are for (just an idea).
The mouse lost has been again generated in the gameplay video. It happens after the black screen loading one.

There is an issue with the waypoint system where it does not really show you where to go inside the game! Other than these points, I really enjoy the gameplay every single time I test play your game and will be doing more of gameplay review soon for your game.

Hello ZakariaGhorfati!

Thanks for going back to the demo!

About the Squad members not being affected by traps & turrets. This is intended. It would require quite a lot of AI Senses checking for them to be aware of those. And it would not add to gameplay experience. So, unless I find an efficient way of doing it, it will stay as it is.

I must find this glitch you got during sequences, I'll do some testing on that using different resolutions and mouse settings.

About encountering new features (like the shield drones), this something I'm working on. It is quite a delicate work because I don't want to bother players with tons of informations. In fact there is a second tutorial availlable (as says the popup you got when in your vessel), it is accessible on the mission console under "tutorials" tab. It is just that the mission console design has a bad design, you did not see that there are two tabs. I will work on that.

About minimap & waypoint. The triangle top left of your hud is not a waypoint, it is just a compass as such it is always pointing one direction. I don't want to implement a minimap because it tends to spoil the tension to be in an unwelcome place. I think I'll trigger the Exit Waypoint when player reached a kill threshold, may be when he dispatched half of enemies.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to play and share your experience. This will make shootout a more pleasant experience for everyone!

Hey Siilikone!

Thanks for replaying to my gameplay review! It really makes me happy knowing that what I am doing have a good positive impact on game development!

For the Squad members, it is so hard to make the AI Senses for them! and I do see that this game is so good and well done! Better than most games that I did reviews for on itch.io here!

For the triangle top left, and after you explained it, I think I can adjust my way of playing after knowing how it works! And honestly, your idea about making it trigger the Exit Waypoint after a certain point seems so good!

Other than these little details, for sure your game is great and I am sure you already know this ;) the gameplay is the most fun part of Shootout.

I've pushed v.0.6a

Halved the price per Squad Member to start a mission.
Fixed Enemy AI which was in "scared" state while no enemy sighted.

Hello!

I've just pushed the version 0.6!

The update is quite stuffed. I added the remaining Squad Upgrades. I also added cost to upgrade them and to run mission.

I also pushed further the AI. Enemies will now use squad order (Follow, Stay, Hold). Order "Hold" will trigger Upgrades if they have some, and they could.

Added Squad upgrade AreaHeal, AreaShield, Turret, Drone!
To use the Upgrades Order your squad to Hold (Hold Squad order Key) Squad Order Key is F by default.
Added cost to upgrade Squad Members.
Added cost to travel with Squad.

Pushed a new version.

Added Squad Console in player's HQ

The console's purpose is to easily access crew if they are wandering. There you can enlist them in your Squad and Upgrade them if they have enough experience. There are for now 4 levels for them. They earn 1 xp for each mission accomplished.

Level 1 cost 1 xp
Level 2 cost 3 xp
Level 3 cost 5 xp
Level 4 cost 8 xp

For now only the HPBonus is implemented. More to come.

The goal is to improve bots value for the player, and also give them more survivability especially on the Chapter 2 which is quite brutal:

Also, the game now has it's own Steam Page, feel free to wishlist it as it greatly boost visibility to have a fat wishlist :)

Following the kind & informative review from ZakariaGhorfati the demo has been updated to v.0.5!

Default key mapping should now be correctly set
Tutorial 01 has been updated for clarity
Loose of mouse focus during cinematic has been addressed, I could not reproduce the glitch, though.
The first couple of levels have been drastically reduced by size and are growing smoothly from level 2 (50% downsized) to level 5 (100%).

Please enjoy! And do not hesitate to share feedback, impressions, ideas...

the update is followed by a small fix, advanced Tutorial was broken, it is now fixed.

Sorry for the trouble.

Oh wow!! I never expected that review would help this much!! I am really happy that it did, for sure this will motivate me to keep up with your game developments.

feedbacks, comments and reviews, especially streamed play sessions, are invaluable when one cannot afford to pay dedicated testers :)

Hey there SillikOne, I truly loved your game here, find it so creative and engaging. There are some issues here and there of course, and the gameplay video here covers it all, but I will add some notes just in case you can’t find the time to watch the video. Your game generally speaking is so much fun, it took me a while before I get used to the shooting and moving systems, it is so good once you get the basics. Although, I ask this from every developer here, in order for me to keep doing these reviews I really need some support, would appreciate it if you subscribed to my YouTube channel. (All issues had been captured and left purposely in the gameplay video in order to help you spot the bugs with your game; this should help you in making updates and changes)

I had an issue when I first started the game and customized the controls, also from some reason I could not pause the game.
When you are in the tutorial at the beginning where you should grab the gun and ammo, I couldn’t even see the gun on the floor (so you might want to put a highlighted icon next to it or give it a different colour from the floor) Also I “touched” that orange person and he died before I was tasked to shoot him.
The loading screens for the story after the tutorial had some issues too, you might want to check the video for that.
Picking up weapons to get ready for the mission didn’t work at first for me, so I started the mission without weapons thinking I am having them lol (I had to restart the game so many times to fix many other issues too).
Other than this I did found the game so fun to play and challenging at the same time. The soundtracks and music are great and suit the shooting game you have.

The gameplay video is long but at least the first half has many reviews, and if you need a fellow up video after you make update let me know.

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate your effort! Your review will definetly help me offer a greater experience for all!

I'll address all the flow you went through for the next build!

Xcrypt3 years ago

Impressive. Do you work in a team for this?

Hello!

Thanks for the compliment!

Nope I'm working solo on this :)

Xcrypt3 years ago

So you made all the models, animations, levels and also the coding? And you just started in 2018?

Ahah! No, I work alone on the project, but I bought assets.

All aesthetic assets are bought. I do the rest.

Hi!

The Demo has been updated to 0.4

AI is slightly more responsive

Hello!

The Demo is now in its version 0.3

Hello!

The Demo is now in its version 0.2

Added Drones MK2, an upgraded version of shield and scanner drones
Jearl Hyatt has a weapon lvl10 which is 100% better than before (Lvl0)
Added Hacker Achievement for hacking 10, 50, 200, 500 turrets & traps
changed Weapons Achievements, it's now granted for 10, 50, 200, 500 kills
Added "Shadow Of <MapName>" for finishing a map without triggering any turret or trap
Reworked KeyBindings, it is now clean and clear.
The minimum Mission level required to find Jearl Hyatt is now 8 (was 5)

please enjoy, and don't forget to leave feedback, rating, comment, ideas, cheers and what not.

I'm especially looking for feedback on the difficulty, is Station23B challenging, too easy, too difficult?

Do you want to see a difficulty slider?

Hello!

The Demo is now in its version 0.1

Removed explosion effect on Plasma rifle
Chemical effects from plasma rifles now last 5s after leaving the area of effect
AI should have gained some responsiveness
AI healers should no longer be stuck idling
Added Titles for each weapons for 10, 100, 500 & 1k kills using them
Upgraded Jearl Hyatt encounter
Added several sequences
Added Space travel to Mantaurus Prime

Please, enjoy and leave some feedback, ideas, ect.

Thanks for trying the demo.

lolmaster1233214563 years ago

A new build has been pushed! Following a quick patch to fix some debugging tool I forgot to remove...

This build introduce a new threat: Turrets!

You can hack them to target raiders. If you waste enough ammo they'll explode.

Many fixes, tweaks and improvements! Most notably, I doped the PumpGun : better range (30m), more ammo (8) and faster firerate and reload(90bpm). Also added a 3seconds Knock Down immunity.

More info to come in the upcoming devlog!

Thx for trying the game! Don't hesitate to post comments, ideas, opinions, feedback or just a warm hug!

The game is really fun! Keep up the good work. It would be good if there was an option to change the graphics settings. Was there one and I just couldn't find it?

lolmaster1233214563 years ago

Nvm found the graphics settings

Thanks for the kind words, it really boost my will! :)

The graphics setting is really basic, tell me if you wish to see more options (and which)!

A little preview of what's coming!

I pushed a patch with various improvements and fixes.

Most notable improvement:

AI Healers won't be idling anymore.
Traps can be disabled by damaging them.
Civilians bots will spawn with better health depending on their rank.

Can you imagine?

I wrongly set the Boss transform! :lol:

A patch has been pushed!

Hello!

I pushed a small patch on the same theme as the last build, aka quality of life.

More notifications, more tips, gamepad support.

I published a quick patch :

Bots won't be stuck by corpses
Enemy bots have now spare magazine of Plasma Rifle

Hi !
I won't publish a devlog this week, neither a new build obviously.
Everything is running smoothly, it's just that the narration is a very demanding task, it is tied to every single aspect of the game be it gameplay, save system, level design, UI, and more ... Also testing is time consuming.

It is coming together, sequences are quite easily done, branching is working and also taking account of other save is running well. But even if it is a work in progress, the whole thing is too much conceptual for me to publish. I must polish a little the sequences, and more importantly design a draft for scripted mission map !

Stay tuned, as soon as possible I will deliver a test build for you to debug, hem enjoy I mean :D

Meowzors4 years ago

the first group of enemies i saw in that underground area gunned me down instantly

SillikOne4 years ago (1 edit)

This underground area is pretty deadly, better go there with good weapon, drone and squad members. Also it is procedurally generated, sometimes you get unlucky and groups spawn near enough to hear firefight and join the battle.

At first visit spawned groups are 2 bots, each visit add chance to increment this number by 1.

Thanks for taking time to try it out !

Meowzors4 years ago

where was i supposed to go then?

Where you spawn depending of your chosen character you will find some stuff and there are two or three bots waiting for you to recruit. They will respawn after a while if you need more. Use F or RightShoulder to toggle them to stay/Follow, maintain F or Right Soulder to tell them to advance. Escape menu will let you choose a weapon for them.

You can upgrade one skill also (escape menu).

Then you could dispatch waves in town (easier) to find better gun if you need.

Finally you can test your skill underground. But there you must use everything you got. And certainly not go alone until I implement sneaky mechanic.

Also have a rest in your spawning place (bed) it will restore your stamina and gives tips.

Deleted post4 years ago

Deleted 62 days ago

Thanks for taking the time to check out! And for the kind words!

Hi!

A fix to the Bots staying stuck in ragdoll state has been pushed!

Hello!

Last build introduced an annoying bug : after being knocked down by an explosion, bots sometimes stay in a ragdoll state and won't get up.

this will be addressed tomorrow, sorry for the trouble.

Meanwhile, be aware that some downed dudes could still be alive...

Hello everyone!

Hope you are all doing well in these strange times!

I published a little patch, travelling to Cantina was screwed up and there was a problem with the Hud Icons while set in localized languages (it was set with a switch on string * facepalm).

I'll have a 4-5 days break in the moutain side of Serr Estrellha i Portugal.

I'll hike in the morning, have good food, and in the afternoon will spend time to write the scenario, storyboard, and draw some logo and concept!

Thanks for following this! Take care!

invadererik4 years ago

I like the cartoon style, had fun with the shooting and running around jumping on buildings ... super fun ... suggestion add some grenades = ] ...

bug report:

1) AI can be pretty lame, seems like if you shoot the leader the rest of the AI doesnt know what to do anymore, or literally requires you to stand with a gun drawn like right in front of them even after shooting all their buddies in the head.

2) If somebody is talking and you shoot them, their speech bubble remains floating above their bodies

3) nothing stops you from trying to pickup an item several times

4) would be nice if pickups told you what type of bullets you got +1 mag pistol , or 10 mag rifle ...

5) sniper rifle can get stuck in aim, takes a mix of buttons but not hard to repro

6) if you run out of stamina, which prevents you from shooting ? you can sorta get around it by holstering and drawing weapon and shooting quick ... Also does stamina not replenish at all , just need to sleep ?

7) would be nice if you also sent a message that mentioned another wave has arrived ...

8) also the first time I couldnt tell at all where they were coming from, if my squad mate wasn't randomly shooting at them I would not have figured it out... maybe some sort of visual to let you know where a shot is coming from ? I mean I just hear gunshots, who are they shooting at me?

9) ai sucks if you crouch, they should take cover or try to get around you ?

10) sometimes narration gets stuck and hitting esc and clicking on next button can get you through ... also flying people sometimes and weird bugs.

Hello! Thank you for testing the game and for this thorough report!

Grenades, explosives, traps, chemicals weapons are scheluded. I just added some basic shooter mechanic with some weapons diversity for now, but shooting is one of the main features of the game, it will be expanded!

About AI, I had to tune it down when I added civilians to the map, there was some conflict with hostiles... Civillians were over reacting to shooting and I was working on other aspects of the game so I just prefered to tone it down and come back to it later.

After the first passes on Narration are done, I planned to do an another pass on AI, Weapons, Factions and if everything is smooth begin to work on skills.

To be exhausted doesn't prevent you to shoot, in fact. It prevents sprinting, jumping, rolling. And HP regen is directly tied to Stamina : at 0 you don't regen at all. To regain Stamina, you can sleep or eat/drink. Stamina is a long term statistic, it represents what one can do in a full day. It will be critical to manage it later in the game, when exploration is added and you'll be in the wild.

Thanks for your feedback, Invadererik. I will review all your bug findings and fix them for the next build!

Hephan4 years ago

Can you add some graphics settings? Or will they be added later?

Yes, that could be done.

I am taking care quite regularly of optimization. Graphically wise the game is really light, 3d assets are simple, as are the materials.

May be the post process could gain some tweaks. I'll check that out.

Do you have performance issues? If so could you share your system information?

Hephan4 years ago

I am on integrated graphics you see... It isn't that bad though. Another thing I would like is Parkour-ing over obstacles... The current animation feels a little slow.

Well, in the next build I could surely add a basic automatic Low/Medium/high graphic settings.

About the parkouring, it is planned to do multiple pass on every systems. I first rough out them, and then tweaks, tune, ect. So, hopefully I'll find out a better how to build a better experience for Player :)

Thanks for your feedback, it is really usefull and apreciated!

Suspended account4 years ago

Show post...

When i kill people guarding restricted zone the game crashes

Thanks for pointing that out, I will fix it ASAP!

I tried to dispatch them with no crash. Could you be more explicit on how you crashed?

Ok, I found the guilty.

On a not so rare occasion, when shooting people, a bolean was changed more than once a frame and "optimized away". aka neither true nor false or both.

Suspended account4 years ago

Show post...

play new update

brethnew4 years ago

Seeing as I have no hands on experience with game development, I want to write for this game.

Hello, Brethnew, thanks for your interest for the game !

What do you mean by "write for this game"?

brethnew4 years ago

I mean, if you want help writing quests and such.

DzonyMielony21374 years ago

Oh yes, that could be... It's such a work to develop i'd gladly take some help :)

And English is not my mother tongue wich add to the challenge!
I'm currently developping the narration system, I've got a rough idea of the architecture of the system, I need to see it in action to see its feasability and potential.

You should mail me at sillikone@sillikone.com, mate.

It will be a better place to share about it :)

when i want to paly game i see only i need file ,,DX100"

Someone help?