Dejobaan Games - Bringing You Quality Videogames for over 75 Years

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

TELL US where to SHOVE IT! (And how to make the game better?)

This is the thread where we hope alpha testers will make constructive and lightly destructive comments.

Note: If you've just played the alpha, we have a brand-new pre-release demo available. Check it out here!

121 Comments:

Biggest problem that springs to mind right now is that there's no quick way to retry a level after you fail (or succeed, if you want to try for more points). You have to press a button, wait for the menu to load, select the level and item again, wait for another load, and finally possibly press a button again to skip the tutorial video for the nth time if it's one the levels that has one of those (you really don't have to show those every time .. maybe add a "show next time" checkbox), before you can play again. All that button presisng and waiting takes a lot of time, sometimes even longer than it takes to play the level itself. It removes most of that "just one more time" feeling. A retry button when you fail/win would help immensely. (A quick "replay with a different item" might also make sense.)

The menu controls feel a bit weird, with its first letter hotkeys. It does make the game feel a bit quirky though, if you like that =). Combined with the floppy disk loading icon (which is nice) and a couple other details, it makes the game itself feel a bit like it's from an alternate reality or something. Still, at least being able to click on things with the mouse would be nice.

It felt a bit arbitrary whether or not hitting a building would kill me or just bounce me away sometimes. I'd expect that hitting a wall at a low angle (closer to parallel) would do less damage, but it didn't feel like it did. I could slam almost head-on into something and survive sometimes, and other times barely brush against something and break all my bones.

Are the HUD gauges supposed to display anything? Speed, damage, that kind of thing? They didn't seem to move at all.

On the level with the mountain I didn't realize i could get points for hugging it, since it's not a building. Makes sense in retrospect though.

Oh also, the mouse controls suffer from that old axis problem, where if you look down, turning the mouse left right only rotate the view around the center, in stead of looking left/right like it does if you look horizontally. This is specially obvious in this game since you spend most of the time looking downwards. It's actually not that big of a problem in itself (since you do end up wanting to rotate around Y like that), but perhaps as a result of this, you can't go "down" past straight downwards (since you'd end up rotating backwards otherwise). Eg if you're looking in a direction, you can't rotate directly from that *through down* to the opposite direction, you have to first rotate down, then rotate the view 180 degrees, then rotate up again, which can be a little annoying when you're looking almost directly downwards and just want to adjust the view up/down a little, ending up having to rotate things around all the time. Anyway, this is fixable, but I don't know if you *should* .. sometimes you DO want to rotate around Y like that, and it could get really disorientating to not be able to, so you'd probably end up with more complicated controls. Something to think about though?

Also, maybe consider gamepad support? Don't know how well that'd play really, but I'm always looking for excuses to use my gamepad for things ;). (Please don't limit support to Xbox 360 pads only if so though.)

Anyway, generally like things otherwise. Can't wait to realize the true nature of the universe in about 4 days.

By Anonymous, At May 7, 2009 at 9:12 AM
A few things so far:
- I turned on Beer/Popcorn goggles in the alt menu. There doesn't seem like any way to turn it off again. (And the HUD breaks...)

- The game controls with WASD + Mouse while the menu controls with Arrows and P. Having them all control with both commands would be great.

- For some reason I pressed the spacebar repeatedly to open my parachute. Yes?

So far I can feel this game taking on a feeling similar to Mirror's Edge mixed with AudioSurf. If there was a way to have an endless or extended mode where you keep falling through the same level multiple times, would be awesome.

By Kevin, At May 7, 2009 at 10:46 AM
First this game is more interesting rather than I expected. great work! I have a few comments about control:

1)The control in the MENU. I just want suggest you use the normal WSAD/Enter and able to control with mouse, thats good for beginners without reading the text.

2)The control when falling. its a little weird to contronl the flying direction by mouse. WSAD wound be perfect and mouse could only use for looking around.

Sorry for my english. wish you have an game as aaaawesome as the game tile:)

By Jianxin Zhou, At May 7, 2009 at 11:01 AM
All great feedback so far. We definitely plan to extend the menu and playing controls to use the mouse, arrows, space bar etc.... It WILL be in the beta, so rest assured we are listening. Any thoughts on level length, game speed, anythig confuse you or did you figure things out?

FYI - Right mouse click to launch chute

By RoRo, At May 7, 2009 at 11:14 AM
RoRo = RoRoDejobaan, will be feeding backon feedback

By RoRo, At May 7, 2009 at 11:15 AM
simple add a restart function and make enter,escape and arrow keys the buttons used fa menu navigation... ragdolls would be cool...i have a simple ragdoll code... that you could implement by just calling a function... you can see it at work here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlxHrAEz-0c
anyways.. its actually more addicting that i thought it could be now, leave me alone.. ima go play :D

By teamInov, At May 7, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Hello, I downloaded the Alpha today and it crashed on my computer.
The crash message reads: Error 1514 Invalid Pointer or handle in.

By vetinari, At May 7, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Several suggestions.

1.) Menu's are kind of a clusterfuck. I'd recommend letting somebody used the mouse only to navigate the menus. "P" to play is kind of weird.

2.) Need to quickly be able to retry a level. Having to go back to the main menu every time is a bit of a hassle.

3.) Inconsistent difficulty. The "standard" levels where it feels like you're bobbing between skyscrapers are too easy, and some of the crazier levels like the Jackhole and Mountain level are too difficult.

4.) Rebalance scoring plates. Right now a Kiss is worth a grand, which is the same as the HIGHEST scoring plate I've seen. With scoring plates, people will instinctive try to fly towards them since they're shiny and bright and it's implied they give you points, but if you have to miss a kiss to do it, you're worse off. Having plates less than 1000 is fine, but make sure you can grab them while doing hugs and kisses and not make players go out of their way to get them.

By Unknown, At May 7, 2009 at 12:59 PM
Sweet game, it's about time someone made a 3D freefall.

I agree with most of the stuff above:

• The menu controls should be unified with the game controls (they should probably only use the mouse to make things simpler).

• I think scoring plates need to give me a bigger bonus, since there's the whole "do I get kisses or plates" decision. I suppose part of it depends on where you put the plates; if they were put next to/around buildings, then you could try for kisses/hugs *and* plates at the same time, like that awesome rail with plates and stuff around it in the level after Jackhole (I forget the name).

• Make sure you mention that you can't land on the orange grid at the bottom, I tried to do that on Jackhole and ended up dying. (I'm sure I wasn't going too fast, I had my parachute out for at least 7 seconds or so).

• Having a quick retry with the same items you've equipped would be awesome.

Looking forward to beta. :)

By reuben, At May 7, 2009 at 1:38 PM
If you clip a buildings ledge and die, you lie there on a seemingly 5 inch wide ledge until you can restart - in other words, it looks a bit odd. The ledge is so narrow, your dead body should just bounce off and keep falling.

Several times I've got to the "Press P to Play - Yeesh" message, and all keyboard input is dead (except Alt-F4). Seems random - I can't reproduce this on purpose, but I've had it happen about 3 times.

By Anonymous, At May 7, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Crashes on Windows Server 2003 x64. In details - the main window with the "ugly alpha test" screen shows up, then the bottom loading bar moves, then the window goes black, then the window and the process disappear while dumpprep.exe launches.
Relevant specs: Geforce 8600 GT, latest drivers, 2GB RAM

By VK, At May 7, 2009 at 2:32 PM
Improve the menu controls (use WASD and Mouse), cut load times, and maybe make levels longer? Also powerups might be kinda cool... Anyway, great game so far! Can't wait to try the full thing.

By Unknown, At May 7, 2009 at 2:44 PM
I agree with much that was said above. Streamlined controls and a retry button ftw! In addition I'd like to add that some sort of difficulty/length separation would be nice, so short, medium and long lengths or easy, normal, hard difficulty levels. Lengths would be nice so that if I wanted to have a quick game I could do a short one, but if I had more time I could do a longer one.
Oh and infinite jumps would be awesome.

By Unknown, At May 7, 2009 at 3:59 PM
Huzzah! Thanks for releasing the alpha :)

I personally don't have a problem with the menu being cursor keys only, although I suppose adding extra input options wouldn't hurt. Good to hear you're implementing it.

About the tutorial level, I was messing about with the controls and accidentally deployed my chute while about an eighth of the way down, then landed on one of the tiny ledges at the bottom of a yellow block. I got 3 stars and unlocked access to a second level. Is this intended? Perhaps the chute button should be locked until the appropriate time for the tutorial level only.

The stars look a bit ugly. Will actual star images be used in the end? It'd make it look a bit more polished.

There's no (Press P to continue) message on the Zeroity info screens.

I agree with earlier posters about the difficulty curve. Your Jackhole feels like a slap in the face (and not the good kind) the first time you run through it.

I liked the Alpha message at the end. No wonder the filesize was so large ;)! I shall indeed be referring many friends to the e-mail address mentioned. I, naturally, have no relationship problems whatsoever.

Another thing I noticed was that the level playthrough on the main menu ends before backstory is fully explained. Perhaps some more recordings of different levels can be put behind the main menu to make it better. (The story was a tad hard to hear over the loud music as well).

Footnote: my performance (CPU: E8400 @ 3GhZ, GFX: HD4870) was flawless. Excellent framerates and miniscule loading times all round for me. You've come a long way since TWEOTW!

Overall it's looking bloody great. I look forward to updates :)

By jack, At May 7, 2009 at 4:53 PM
D'oh! Some additional notes:

There's a typo on the screen about Natalya. It should be "Is she flirting with you?" rather than "If she flirting with you?"

Steam integration is looking good so far (you do plan to release Aaaaa! on Steam right?) I added it to the games list by way of non-Steam game shortcut, and bringing up the overlay in game produced no issues. Though the gigantic name is going to have trouble fitting on any Steam list that isn't full screen I think!

By jack, At May 7, 2009 at 5:09 PM
Loved the visual effects, and the in-game "adverts", genius.

An infinite jump mode would be absolutely awesome, though I have no idea how to implement this :P

Keep the menus as they are, best menu screens ever.

Oh, and it definately needs a "Retry" button/hotkey rather than renavigating the menus.

Other than that, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! = Epic Win

By Samexf, At May 7, 2009 at 6:32 PM
Fun idea and gameplay. Would need much much longer levels and lots more fun stuff to try to do on them to be a big success. And faster speeds, like hold a button and go vertical for a speed boost.

By Unknown, At May 7, 2009 at 6:39 PM
Fun idea needs:

much much longer levels

much more stuff to try to hit and/or avoid

faster speeds - maybe hold a button to go vertical for a speed boost but lose maneuverability

By Unknown, At May 7, 2009 at 6:40 PM
Pretty awesome game, keep the style, keep the goofy whackiness. I'd like to see a much quicker way to retry without having to go all the way out. That would make the game a helluva lot better for replayability.

I hope there's a lot of maps in the final version (the more the better!)

I don't know anything about how you make the maps, but if you put in some sort of way to make random maps on the fly, procedurally generated, anything like that, that'd be awesome. This would keep people from being bored with the same levels :D

On that note, maybe a map editor?

no performance issues, and I liked the controls.

Ragdoll physics for dead bodies have been enjoyed by so many people that I don't think it ever hurts to implement it, or at least have your camera viewpoint tumble down. I like the crunch sounds that you make when you slam into something. Whiz-CRACK.

By Unknown, At May 7, 2009 at 6:41 PM
I landed ontop of a building in an earlier level after getting smacked around a bit and won, without a parachute. Lost too much speed perhaps? Was fairly strange

By Anonymous, At May 7, 2009 at 7:44 PM
make mouse support in menus instead of arrows keys and p to play. Also more points for the plates would be good ( i'm always chasing plates but they worth very little).A restart buttom would also be good instead of throwing back to menu when dying

By adamosmakis, At May 7, 2009 at 8:07 PM
A restart button instead of throwing us back to menu when dying. Difficulty at latter levels is very high. More points on scoring plates would be also good ( i think doubling them would do)since i always find my self chasing them and in the end they contribute very little. Also mouse support in menu would be good.finally maybe some bonus like a slow down plate
Other than that great game and addictive

By adamosmakis, At May 7, 2009 at 8:11 PM
I think a super level which basically combines all the smaller ones would be a good idea.

By TheBladeRoden, At May 7, 2009 at 9:11 PM
Fun game that's fast and humorous. Definitely planning to buy the full version, and I'm trying to get all my friends to try it.

Only major gripes I had were the lack of an instant retry button when you die, and occasionally it seems like I would clip into things after I had passed them. The holes in the structures on mountain mash were really bad for this.

Also would be helpful if the difference in color between red and orange rings were more pronounced. I'm a little color blind so it''d be nice if maybe the rings moved in different directions or something.

Only real bug I noticed was one time when landing on.... the one before mash mountain I think, I hit the edge of the landing pad with parachute deployed and it bumped me back and up and I landed successfully.

Definitely want to try the full thing with all the items and stuff, and lots of new levels. A level maker would also be really cool to release with the game.

Also your ending spiel was hilarious.

By Anonymous, At May 7, 2009 at 9:20 PM
Restart option on a failed level would be nice.

Menu navigation needs a change. Wouldn't it be simpler to use the 'Enter' key instead of 'P' to traverse the menus? Same for going back. 'Backspace/Delete' instead of 'X'.

Also, something I happened to discover was that if I hit the 'R' key, it would immediately jump me back to the selection menu. I didn't see that documented any where.

Button configuration would be nice as well. WASD works, but just having the ability to choose what works for you is always welcomed. On that note, I think it would be nice to see a toggle to use the mouse as the single control for looking and maneuvering. As such, the right mouse-button is only used. Left could toggle strafing as in, (Toggle/Press Left-click) pushing up on the mouse would trigger W, pulling backwards would trigger S, Left/Right would trigger A/D. Just a thought.

Some of the scoring confused me, such as the "Broken Bones" scoring. Hitting a wall seems to do nothing as far as breaking bones goes, except that if you actually succeed in completing a level, bonus 1000 points... For not breaking bones (even if you hit a wall). As for hitting the wall, nothing serious happens to the player except for a small amount of displacement (the rotation that occurs). My guess is that you're supposed to break bones on impact, but that doesn't seem to happen.

For the moment, that's all I can think of. I really enjoy this game and I think it has a lot of potential. Great alpha! Keep 'em coming.

(Hope I wasn't too critical)

By Syrup, At May 7, 2009 at 9:35 PM
its fun but ummm... i cant play it for long... it gives a kinda dizzy feeling... lookin down all the time.. please try and add a lil variety.. ntn much... but something elso to focus on above or at your level... maybe pickups or lifts that shoot u back upwards.. anyways.. i kno wat it takes to make a game and it'll be alot of coding to do... but great so far...

By teamInov, At May 7, 2009 at 9:56 PM
love the controls, love the more epic mountain settings. maybe add falling into a volcano, through an asteroid, grand canyon, more epic stuff is always good. maybe add different moves like spins, rolls, etc if you want to get tricky. maybe an option to nosedive faster but with less control.

overall well done with enough polish to make it interesting, and most importantly, FUN!

By Reuben, At May 7, 2009 at 11:50 PM
Can't play the game. I installed and reinstalled and when I start the game up I get "Error E1514: Invalid Pointer or handle in" I'm guessing this has to do with my mouse? I have the G9 mouse. If you need more info to help solve this problem just send me a message on aim "troden26

By Anonymous, At May 8, 2009 at 1:14 AM
Troden,

If you're running Vista (which I assume you are), you need to right click the shortcut (or the .exe in the install folder) and "Run As Administrator".

Not sure why that is, but that's how I got around that.

Devs, can you enlighten us as to why that might be?

By Syrup, At May 8, 2009 at 1:20 AM
Fun game,

I managed to lock it up after 3 minutes though, on my 3rd attampt at the first jump i rappidly pressed "P" to skip all the screens until the actual game and it sort of got stuck in the turorial "video" with the audio continuing to play but the camara stuck. I could still access the debug menu "alt" but none of the functions seemed to do anyhing.

Otherwise my first impessions are very good, not having played much ill be brief but if there was one thing i'd like to see you focus on it would be do give me more immersion, it would be great to see your body from your perspective (like mirrors edge) and i would love to see the guy ragdoll on impact instead of just a greyscreen perhaps even an injury display (like stair dismount, google it trust me).

Thats all for now, looking forward to the full game.

By Unknown, At May 8, 2009 at 1:42 AM
Interesting game, would honestly never pay for it, and to pretty much hammer the fact in, its as interesting as mirrors edge cept without the storyline and isntead of trying to stay on buildings you're falling off them.

Another possible idea is to add difficulty levels, and on the higher levels you can toss in obstacles, LIKE PLANES! And of course, if yer gonna toss in a plane, you HAVE to have the ability to be sucked into its engine which consequently will give you extra points for no reason but since you died you lose it all anyway, just for the hilarity bonus neh?

Another obstacle could be flocks of birds..thats self explanatory.

Or hot air balloons...and instead of having them kill you, you bounce off them and get disorientated for a tiny bit.

Also, you should be able to flare as it were to slow your decent a tiny bit to keep going ya know? Because the way I see it now, each level pretty much lasts ya a woppin 30s, kinda like sex, a whole lotta waiting for a very fast ending.

For such small levels too btw, it takes hella long to load, any particular reason? Its not graphic intensive thats for sure...probably coulda ran the game 8 times at once on my comp and played all 8 at the same time. :p

By Anonymous, At May 8, 2009 at 5:57 AM
I agree with other people about the menus - the controls should be more integrated with the gameplay

Also, it's not entirely obvious what the green tiles are for on your way down. Obviously the yellow, orange and red ones are scoring tiles, but the green ones seem to have no effect at all.

The difficulty curve definately needs altering, and the scoring for hugs needs turning down to make the scoring tiles more of a credible bonus.

Overall though, I love it - the gameplay and humour in the alpha is simply brilliant!

By Anonymous, At May 8, 2009 at 6:28 AM
Despite the fact that it needs to be run as administrator on Vista (you should really fix that) it's a great game.
Support for gamepads would be nice, though.

By Unknown, At May 8, 2009 at 7:34 AM
I like it ;) Its an game when u are boriung ;)

By Unknown, At May 8, 2009 at 7:48 AM
Love the concept of the game just like everyone else. A couple of minor things.

Menu is fine but the controls just need to be remapped a little and made more consistent. I keep wanting to hit enter to go to the next map. being able to left click the level to select it might help as well. I would love to see more use of the player to gain even more points. Things like tricks. Rolls flips and things like that. Just to add that little bit more variety. Double-tapping space (jump) could execute a forward / backward flip in first person mode and get a couple initial points. Holding it could keep you tucked and gain a little more before you actually need the control...just a thought...

LOVE the mountain stages, and would love to see a canyon style stage. almost like a steep half-pipe with obstacles thrown in for added fun. third person view might be nice again to showcase flips and the sense of falling near buildings and objects. or at leas the options\. And if not, then how about a cinematic camera replay? Much like
SSX does (snowboarding game for those who don't know) Then you could see the taunts and what-not when you fly past people. MORE MOUNTAIN LEVELS!!

I didn't quite understand all the un-lockables with the stages, since i could never unlock any of them. maybe I didn't get enough stars. Would be nice to unlock a thing or two for the newbs so they have some sense of progression.

Oh and by the way the presentation intro is wonderful. The woman talking about the corporation and the reckless disregard for gravity was great and sounded great too. Whoever you got to do that has a great voice. Music was also spot on and perfect for this kind of game.

Levels do seem to have variable difficulties, and ramp up really fast. the mountain stages are quite hard (but personally I like the more abstract floating stuff rather than the plain buildings).

Ok enough raving. Nicely done game guys! I would love to see a mod of the game where the textures were made more realistic. Imagine seeing the reflection of your character in the window as he falls....oooh that could be cool...But the style fits the gameplay either way so that's just a pipe-dream. Can't wait to see what else you guys have in store for this!

By solidad, At May 8, 2009 at 9:20 AM
I LOVED the cityscrape falling, and my only suggestion I can offer is to make the maps larger. I love the adrenaline kick it gives me to soar past objects and buildings, but on most maps it ends too soon! The experience should last a few minutes at least.

Other than that, this game fills me with much glee!

By Anonymous, At May 8, 2009 at 9:36 AM
Okay, you've got a great mini game here. By that I mean this would be a great part of a whole game. You've got the walking and running mechanic in your game, but you don't use it much. Just enough to jump off the edge.

I think it would be a better game if it had:
o Levels
o Enemies that you're running from
o Frequently use the jumping mechanic (to escape)
o Some basis of a story.

Once you reach the bottom of a jump maybe the game becomes to hack the lifters of the building to make it fall, or go higher. That said you'd need a mechanic to counter falling off the edge, which I would say a grappling hook. Then you've got to find a way back up. Then the idea of entering the building occurs where you get all the story. Working your way up level by level, avoiding authority, hacking building and maybe spray painting walls (this is a story of social deviants). Then when you reach the top you have to jump.

Like I say, it's great what you have. I just think it needs more.

I'm kinda thinking like Mirror's Edge here. They have the gag that they worked into a story and later are releasing maps that are purely the gag. You guys have the gag and need a story around it.

By Anonymous, At May 8, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Game is awesome as is. Rly nice job. :D

By Edi, At May 8, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Game is just plain awesome . I wouldn't change a bit.

By Edi, At May 8, 2009 at 10:25 AM
I realize that it would be a huge change... but, I think the game would have been better if it was mouse control only. An example of how that could work would be Battlefield 2, basically the more you look upwards the more you fly forward, and it also slows you down a little.

That crates some fun gameplay elements as you want to stay in the air as long as possible, so never looking down would be the best way... although you don't see where your going then. So you have to look up and down balancing your speed with where your "aiming".

By Unknown, At May 8, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Found a slight bug - I now (apparently) have 8900.001 experience points

By Anonymous, At May 8, 2009 at 11:51 AM
Fun game, the falling speed could be increased in some of the levels though.

By James Strong, At May 8, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Ok, I've finally gotten a chance to play it, and here are my thoughts on it. Feel free to implement any of the changes below. :)

- Controls
I never felt like I had really good control of my character. I noticed that the velocity of your character impacts the horizontal motion, but I never got any felt as though you could easily go from moving horizontally to going straight down. Perhaps implementing an horizontal / vertical stance would work. I think this could be implemented somewhat easily with a change of camera angle (looking straight down / looking forward) and the velocity change. You could also perhaps transfer the vertical falling speed to a boost in horizontal motion when you go from the vertical stance to the horizontal stance. This also presents a possibility to allow speed bonuses by "buzzing" the buildings / structures.

- Levels
I think that this is going to be you're number one problem. When I was playing through the game, I really felt that the levels really lacked direction for the player. How were you to know where to go to get the max points? Maybe if you used the plates as more of a guide rather than scoring? If you were to do that, it might be an advantage to not have them flat, but rather at an angle, so you can see what direction you should be going to go to the next one. That being said, you could really use this to make 'lines' of plates to follow and get the max amount of points. You did something similar to the beginning of the "Jackhole" level with the flat building blocks to guide you around. You could then also have different 'trails' of plates, which could then focus on one thing (kissing plates a la Jackhole, fitting through small openings of close buildings (similar to the earlier levels), plate breakage skill, etc.). This would also increase level replayability as well. Different routes to take through the level means multiple playthroughs. That being said, I'd like to see some "closed" levels, where you're flying through cave/tube like openings. Those type of levels could then open up the possibility of 'survivor' levels, where the goal isn't to get points, but rather survive the level to the end. You could possibly rate it by how many unbroken bones were left. I also noticed that there seemed to be multiple jump-off points that you may have not implemented yet. That would be an awesome idea to be able to start them at different ends of the levels and see different structures, routes, etc.

- Interface
The HUD was interesting. I liked how you had the 'trackball' like circle in the middle of your screen while falling. You might be able to put some information on that (rather than relying on gauges on the sides of your screen). Speed, bones broken, and other information could be shown in that circle. (You can look here for an idea of what I'm talking about: http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p31/droppedonjapan/center.jpg) This is where the player is looking at for the most part anyway, so trying to look left and right seems like a pain (and possible cause for failure of the mission). Also I don't know how accurate the whole dot system is for the gauges. Maybe a bar gauge with numbers at the bottom / top? The Menu and Retry capabilities have been talked to death in earlier posts, so I won't mess with them here. It seems like you're going to do a lot more work here, so I'm not too worried about it at this point.

- Gameplay
Overall it was fun. Like I said before in this post, I think that the levels do need some work. I'd like to see how the extra items would impact gameplay. Also I would suggest in the official release to not display every level and weapon that you can unlock. Seeing them all at once lets you know exactly how much content is left, and removes the "gotta unlock the next map" feeling out of the equation. The experience system is an alright way of unlocking maps, but is it really experience? The player doesn't increase their abilities by it, and the only thing I see it doing would be to unlock weapons and maps, so really a money system could be just as easily used (and make a bit more sense). Buying the course and earning the unlockable weapons from fans (presents to the rock star, so to speak) could work and make a bit more sense in this dimension. You don't even have to call it money. You could call it Rad-points, stars, or whatever you want to fit into your universe. Also, you might want to consider adding different parachutes. You could add some that are good for stopping you (but very slow lateral motion), ones that take a while to slow down, but allow you to move quickly horizontally, a parachute that opens multiple times (for landing, running to a different side, and jumping off in another direction) and so on. This could then accommodate different players playing style, and create the opportunity to reach secret areas. Not only that, I think that it wouldn't require too much asset creation in the end. Also, this seems like an extreme sports game, and I think you should market it like that. People were complaining that it was lacking a story, but I feel if you emphasized that it was for doing a 'sport' they wouldn't feel as though they needed a real story to keep them playing.

Well, I think that sums up all that I was thinking about the game. Great work so far! I'm looking forward to your next release. If you have any updates to the alpha, I'd be glad to help you guys out again.

By Anonymous, At May 8, 2009 at 1:02 PM
I needed to give it admin rights in windows 7 (build 7000) in order to play, otherwise I get this "invalid pointer" (or something similar) error.

By Unknown, At May 8, 2009 at 4:23 PM
I loved your humor from reading the game title to the final congratulation speech. It's worth finishing the alpha test!

Graphics are fabulous. I like the jumping cubes. :-)

The in game controls were fine for me. Alas the parachute landing was a bit complicated from time to time.

Like everyone:
- change menu controls to enter and escape
- random generated endless levels would be a nice option
- a little more speed would be nice

For me the mountain levels where a pain. It was hard to guess the distance right. Maybe more structure on the surface will help.

Suggestions:
- (more) moving objects, like planes, plates, doors
- different falling routes. It seemed to me, that there's only one way to get enough points

Final questions:
- what are the nude mimes? Didn't hit any!?
- what were the light birds? They shatter nicely but are they worth anything? Beside looking nice?

By Christoph, At May 8, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Movement feels kind of sluggish. Maybe there should be air brakes or some way to make yourself more maneuverable temporarily, at the cost of speed.

Speed doesn't play into it well. I am always going at a constant speed no matter what I do. Can I start slow and get really fast near the end of each level? That would add some neat stuff in when you have to open your chute.

Love the humor!

By mlewis, At May 8, 2009 at 5:13 PM
The only thing I wish so far is that the levels varied in looks. So I was thinking more realistic looking levels like down a cave, in a city or even like a jungle. So it would be baste off of more realistic things, but not completely. Like the height of everything would have to be higher than you would normally find and there would have to be a lot more objects to dodge. Could be many things, just for a few examples helicopters and flagpoles for the city. Waterfalls and falling rocks for the cave. Falling trees, waterfalls and vines for the jungle. There can be many other things and places also, but I’m just throwing a few ideas out there.

I would like this for a few reasons, one it just would get boring to see the same look for all levels. Also levels like I described would just be more immersive. With a game like this it would be great to feel more immersed in the world you are falling through. With the levels now it really does to me just feel like a game world or maybe even like I’m just in some stadium built just for this.

For me there is a greater feeling and rush when I’m flying by a real looking building or jumping off a waterfall that I can relate to the real world, rather then going by block number 2645.

I’m not saying to remove the art style you have now, but to just mix it up.

By Unknown, At May 8, 2009 at 6:03 PM
The only thing I wish so far is that the levels varied in looks. So I was thinking more realistic looking levels like down a cave, in a city or even like a jungle. So it would be baste off of more realistic things, but not completely. Like the height of everything would have to be higher than you would normally find and there would have to be a lot more objects to dodge. Could be many things, just for a few examples helicopters and flagpoles for the city. Waterfalls and falling rocks for the cave. Falling trees, waterfalls and vines for the jungle. There can be many other things and places also, but I’m just throwing a few ideas out there.

I would like this for a few reasons, one it just would get boring to see the same look for all levels. Also levels like I described would just be more immersive. With a game like this it would be great to feel more immersed in the world you are falling through. With the levels now it really does to me just feel like a game world or maybe even like I’m just in some stadium built just for this.

For me there is a greater feeling and rush when I’m flying by a real looking building or jumping off a waterfall that I can relate to the real world, rather then going by block number 2645.

I’m not saying to remove the art style you have now, but to just mix it up.

By Unknown, At May 8, 2009 at 6:03 PM
I'm going to skip the praise and jump straight to the useful comments here:

First off, I found a bug that I doubt many other people are going to notice: It's possible to get hug points off of the invisible walls bordering the levels. Not that this matters, since if you're flying that far away you've forfeited any chance at a good score, or even landing in most levels (Though I did pull it off on Antennaville). The same goes for the mountains, although I doubt that's a bug.

Furthermore, I suspect it's possible to bunnyhop, and get more land speed then you should be able to. I couldn't really test this throughly, due to the lack of large surfaces to run around on, and like the previous bug it's completely useless for actual play, unless maybe you want to get as far away from the starting platform as possible, but I report what I find, or in the worst case suspect is present.

Now I have a slightly more meta problem. I found it very difficult to improve. I am pretty much consistently getting four stars on all of the maps, except for the mountain ones which seem a lot harder for some reason. I can't really get a handle on how to score better, everything I try seems to get either the same or worse results. I don't know if that's a flaw with me or the game, but after I unlocked and played all the Alpha levels I ended up just sort of exploring and fooling around.

And thus I come to one request that I really do want to see addressed. I'd really like to see a cheat console in the game, to allow for experimentation and such. For example, One of the things I tried was a slow descent. That is, instead of just jumping off, tried to hop to nearby platforms, and get down without shattering myself. However, this is impossible, because after a certain height, landing on a platform brings you to the "End of Round" screen, regardless of whether or not the parachute was deployed. (Which then prompted some attempts to see if I could shed enough speed to land at the bottom without a parachute, but nevermind.) With a console command to disable the check for that, I could try that sort of thing, and probably a whole lot of other nonsense. Also, commands for flight, to explore the levels and possibly plan out routes, for invincibility, for smacking into building a whole bunch and landing as hard as possible, and possibly commands to change the gravity and air resistance, would be very fun to play with, I think. Because the thing is, when I did hit that wall with difficulty, I really enjoyed the exploration and experimentation in the game. I'd like some more opportunity for that.

Ok, I can't resist just a little praise: That is the most awesome title screen, and accompanying music I have seen in a long time. Always gets me excited to play. Can't wait for the release.

By gryffinp, At May 8, 2009 at 8:37 PM
Great game, great game.

The level design is really cool, I'm guessing more levels will be put in (I hope so anyway, realistic levels would be cool). The game itself is great, gameplay is fairly smooth, and it's easy to figure out. The one thing i didn't get was how to hit the nudist mimes... do I have to fly by them? oh well, I guess they aren't THAT important. The spiderman like swing that you (or whoever) talked about during the end sounds reaaaaly cool. That + Level editor = already one of the funnest things.

I didn't really notice any bugs with the game. The landing is a bit awkward I suppose, It's done well enough. I guess im not the alpha tester that complains much, it is what it is. Fun, short, sweet, and to the point. All those other modes are making me excited though, I can't wait.

Good luck.

By Anonymous, At May 8, 2009 at 8:52 PM
the iniciative is amazing, but it could be more interestng ading mor realism to the game, like real building textures, a huge city background , a big aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa scream and a the supreme blood splash when you hits the ground.

By Unknown, At May 8, 2009 at 11:01 PM
I didn't like the level where you've got to navigate through a bunch of floating flat squares. That seems nearly impossible to me, like those "classic" levels in Mario Sunshine.

There should be a way to quickly restart the level, without pressing "p" a bunch of times.

This looks like it will be a fun game when you finish it, so I wish you the best of luck!

By Gary, At May 8, 2009 at 11:07 PM
I was very impressed. Who knew falling could be so entertaining. And the music was surprisingly good.

But there are some needed improvements.
- the player does not need to see 'awesome, you broke a plate' every time. Furthermore, it blocks the view of the player.

- the parachute feels wierd. it seems like there is no middle gound between breaking all your bones, or breaking none. it would be nice if the parachute had more skill involved. mabey a "risk vs reward" type thing.

- a thrid person view would be very helpful, along with a decent ragdoll implemntation.

By Unknown, At May 9, 2009 at 1:25 AM
ragdolls! and something like the hall of meat from skate where if you spectacularly mess it up you can see a list of injuries, real and ridiculous from "compound skull fracture" to "testicular torsion".

maybe a bit less tron and a bit more realism. bladerunner los angeles seems a nice hybrid of the two, falling through shiny holograms doesn't make me feel like i'm actually jumping off anything, it's like a videogame about a guy playing a videogame and you're playing the guy's videogame for him.

also N+1ing the calls to unify the controls in game and in menus, left should be one button no matter which screen you're in.

By Unknown, At May 9, 2009 at 5:12 AM
First of all, playing with wsad is kinda uncomfortable if you are left handed, so i hope in the final version their will be a way to change controls.
Secondly, mapping the keys by their position on the keyboard rather then by character is always a good idea. But in that case you should adjust the ingame messages to the keyboard layout. Finding wasd isn't any problem since every gamer knows where those keys are on qwerty, but finding p to actually start the game took me quite some bruteforcing.
Maybe you should think about adding arms and legs. I think it would contribute a lot to the overall experiance as long as they don't restrict visibility too much.

By Anonymous, At May 9, 2009 at 5:59 AM
fun game, add quick replay and faster loading times (I load Crysis faster, and that's better looking).

By Gryphon, At May 9, 2009 at 7:37 AM
It is AMAZING for an alpha test! there is one issue i have with level length, i know that the level is supposed to be fast and fun but it takes longer to navigate the menu then it does to play, i also feel that in the alpha the level difficulty went up too fast, i know that this is because you wanted to show off the different venues but it is something to keep in mind, especially with fast levels it is a good idea to scale the difficulty, and i think it would help if there was some way to see the level of difficulty for a particular level, like RED for hard BLUE for easy and Orange for normal.

PS Is the beta going to be open, soon? Is there any way i could get into the beta?

By Julio, At May 9, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Awesome game,

but i had to move my hadn from wasd to p repeatedly, and that is a looooooooooong way if you understand me. make it like mouse click on play/enter/spacebar or something.

Track length can always be longer =]
and i like the idea of an infinite freefall (or supah large).
game speed is quite alright, but with the orange speeding up things, the make it harder, so you should get more points.

in real basejumping you can slow down and go faster by spreading your legs/keeping everything together,
i think there should be something like that in the game too
(manual speeding up/slowing down)
Of course, it should give some points/multiply a bit.

for the rest, keep up the work AAAAAAwesome!

By Unknown, At May 9, 2009 at 11:57 AM
I hate having to press 'P' multiple times when I want to play a level. Mouse click to choose would be excellent.

My biggest complaint would be: add a retry the level button without having to go back to the menu.
For example. If you go splat, it unloads the level and brings you back to the level selection screen. You then have to press P twice just to retry. There should be a "retry" and "go back" button to do that.

Other then that, I'm having a total blast playing it.

.. after reading some of the other comments, other people feel the same way. I'll just post anyway to emphasize the point :P

By TheGrOgStEr, At May 9, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Starts game fine to menu after DEP in Vista32 is turned off, but then crashes when loading the (whatever it loads when you press P) Can provide specs/dxdiag if needed.

By Anonymous, At May 9, 2009 at 1:18 PM
I've only read a few of the above reviews; I'm sure what I'm going to suggest has already been mentioned... so +1 to the following comments:

Fantastic game. I haven't had this much FUN playing a game in a really long time. Even when I got frustrated trying to get another star on Your Jackhole, I was still enjoying myself.

Having to press P really didn't bother me too much, since the loading times are so fast (I'd just spam P until the game started). It would be nice to have a retry, though. Perhaps implementing the space bar instead of P would allow people to keep their left hand on WASD and their right hand on the mouse.

My biggest problem with the alpha is the massive fucking hugs/kisses score in the middle of the screen. It's not quite transparent enough to be anything other than an annoyance. I'd suggest shrinking it a bit, moving it to the corner of the screen, or making it about 20-30% more transparent. Preferably implement all three, and give the player a choice of where to put them. I got fucked over a number of times on Jackhole because I couldn't quite see the corners of the smaller squares flying at me. That said, I realize that my 1024x768 screen probably isn't your standard gauge of graphical options. Still, having SOME option in that regard would be nice.

I know a lot of people on the forums that I found this game on enjoyed the casual language and humour used in the menus. Plz don't phase that out with the Beta or the release itself. It's pretty great.

By Unknown, At May 9, 2009 at 2:27 PM
Though only an alpha, a windowed mode would sure be nice.

By Eilam Gilboa, At May 9, 2009 at 3:45 PM
you should make a map editior, apart from that its cool!

By Unknown, At May 9, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Hugs seemed useless to progress, except on mountain levels, where it seemed you had to be unnaturally close to the mountain to get hugs (compared to buildings). Perhaps making hugs worth more. (Though I did find hugs useful to get from 4 stars to 5 stars)

It'd be nice to know what score to get to get a certain number of stars (instead of ######)

Also, (still on hugs) what if they were worth different values based on proximity. Like if you were just barely close enough to the building to get a hug, you get 1 per second, but as you get closer, you get 2/second or even 3.

By Steven Washington, At May 9, 2009 at 8:06 PM
Ok I can't resist more comments.

I really really like the ads floating around the city. Not only do the floating ads have a very sci-fi-ish feel to them, the style behind them really sells the semi-hemi dystopian future that I suspect is the idea here. Most fiction with that sort of thing always makes it a major plot point, but it is in this game background, flavor, and I feel that the ads are exactly the right level of blunt about it. It's not coming right out and saying "THIS IS AN UNPLEASANT FUTURE THAT YOU ARE REBELLING AGAINST BECAUSE YOU ARE COOL LIKE THAT", but the implications of a culture where saying "You'll buy whatever we're selling" and slapping a girl with nice breasts* on an ad would actually work is perfect. Not to mention the other ads. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE, but your eye might be useful to someone so donate it." It really, really works. Of course, It seems unlikely that you had these implications in mind when you were coming up with them, rather they are probably intended to be amusing and they are, but that makes it even better.

By gryffinp, At May 9, 2009 at 9:35 PM
I love the ads. Let me just say that.

My only complaint is the load times. There is no instant retry button, so you have to wait to re-render every level every time you play. Secondly, the menus have to load within the menus. Instead, try making the menus take maybe a second longer to load initially, but then be streamlined during use. It would look much nicer.

By Anonymous, At May 9, 2009 at 10:31 PM
Thanks for reaching out to the community with this!

I did have fun playing the alpha version, so take the following as constructive criticism:

I personally don't like the futuristic scenario, so some bonus levels for diving off a "realistic" mountain/bridge/building would be awesome.

Also, I second the suggestions regarding an (optional) third-person perspective - that would certainly make some maneuvers more impressive.

There should be a more noticeable "shock" and slowdown when opening the parachute.

I assume there will be equipment (different types of chutes, wingsuits etc.) and stunts (flips, rolls etc.) in the final game?

By Anonymous, At May 10, 2009 at 7:06 AM
I think that more play modes or levels types must be added because the game really repeats itself quickly. You can use rings instedad of buildings (you must fall into them to kiss) or you can even flip some levels so the player has to return back up and get some item or items.

By ET, At May 10, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Really enjoyable gameplay. However, I got through all the levels in just an hour, so either you need to dripfeed extra mechanics in, make the levels far longer, or just have shitloads of levels. Also, freefalling beautifully hitting every red square is all fun until you just slightly mis-calculate your parachute pull and fall into that red grid. How about a -10% penalty rather than all broken bones?

I loved the future setting, but perhaps a few more building types? I loved Mirror's Edge because the city was so gorgeous and immersive... here it's just some grey blocks floating in space.

Finally, a form of multiplayer would make this just incredible.

Good luck!

By Anonymous, At May 10, 2009 at 10:44 AM
The sense of falling is AMAZING, but there needs to be a way to start the level over again without having to go back to the menu screen. Just as simple as "R to restart" would be nice.
One more small thing would be the ability to use WASD to select or move around in the menu. These keys are used in the game but the arrow keys are used in the menu.

Keep up the awesome work

By Anonymous, At May 10, 2009 at 12:34 PM
longer flight would be nice

By Unknown, At May 10, 2009 at 1:19 PM
I am a skydiver and hace over 1000= jumps. This is really cool.
Things I suggest.. It would be nice to have a better First person view.
Make it seem like you are actually a person. Like they did in mirrors edge.
some arms and legs.

I love the tracking dives you put in they are sick.
during thosetracking jumps.. some rings to fly threw would be sweet.

A real looking parachute would be nice too.

By Bashaho, At May 10, 2009 at 4:49 PM
I would love to see this game with NFSU-like motion blur. This would add so much to the sensation of speed.
And please cut the grey color tones. I think adapting the Mirror's Edge system (white builings, colored paths) is a very good idea. Or you can invert the color scheme (blackbuildings). Both work very well in Audiosurf.

By overkillasart, At May 10, 2009 at 6:52 PM
Multiplayer would be pretty cool, an idea for that would be a follow the leader mode where one player jumps first and leave a trail of rings/hoops the other players have to follow through.

By Unknown, At May 10, 2009 at 8:21 PM
Perhaps a CANNONBALLLL!!!
You hold down shift or control or whatnot, you would speed up but lose control.
Also, like it has been said, a quick retry button.
When you open your parachute too, you should feel an instant slowdown.

By Cyril Black, At May 10, 2009 at 11:02 PM
- Needs more to do, but I know you're adding that.

- Agree with previous comments about menus.

- Agree with previous comments about retry button.

- Several people have called for longer jumps -- I concur. I want to spend longer in the air than I actually get to.

- How to maximize your score should be more clear. It's hard for me to figure out what combination of actions the game considers most valuable.

- Keep the attitude. I loved the voiceovers, the menu text, the "Thanks for Playing," all of it.

- Probably most important: If you can add more stuff to convey velocity, that would be cool. Right now the motion feels a bit sterile, unintimidating. I think some motion blur, for instance, would help crank it up, and more detail on the objects you move past. Other, stationary objects might help, too. Perhaps some interface screwing as you approach terminal velocity (i.e. edges of vision blur briefly, screen shakes, colors go weird). I've had dreams of falling for a long time -- they're scary, but strangely exhilarating, this sick excited feeling in my gut as I move toward the ground, completely out of control. Anything you can do to make it feel more like that would be fantastic.

By Tank, At May 11, 2009 at 2:40 AM
I think it would be really interesting if you made some sort of level editor and a way to share player made levels with other members, this would increase replay value which is one of my worries about this game also creating an online leader board would create more incentive to replay the levels rather then just being rewarded with "unlocks" for getting a certain score and never playing the level again

By Unknown, At May 11, 2009 at 3:45 PM
I didn't feel like it was me that was actually falling. With no point of reference (landscape), it seemed like I was simply a camera moving along a given direction. Maybe it was down, maybe it was up. Maybe it was forwards.

And it didn't seem like I was a person. Some sort of visual cue that it is ME falling, not just a camera. Perhaps some hands/arms of yours such as has been suggested previously?

By Anonymous, At May 11, 2009 at 5:40 PM
Great, great game here guys!

As echoed before, I would like a better feeling of speeding up as the game progresses -- not sure if it's totally possible from an engine point of view, but it'd be great on some longer levels to be going terrifyingly fast towards the end.

By Albert Lai, At May 11, 2009 at 9:24 PM
levels NEED to be longer! this is great fun.

i understand the lack of ragdoll, but the point is that the fall builds tension and a screw-up should be appropriately jarring... see how mirror's edge does falling death.

score plates aren't nearly rewarding enough. i also agree that wasd controls need to be available in the menu. it would be neat to fly-through the levels somehow... like the score screen on landing could overlay a rewind of the camera through your path in slomo with mouselook still enabled.

By Letum Liber, At May 11, 2009 at 10:02 PM
I love the concept! It's really addicting! The level do indeed need to be longer, but I think what you have for the alpha is amazing. The control are fine, I like them the way they are, and the mechanics are nicely coded. As far as bugs goes, I only only saw a graphical bug. One thing that annoyed me was opening the parachute accidentally with the right mouse button was annoying when I jamp off and then hit it like 5 seconds later. Perhaps another button needs to be used to do it, or even allowing us to Keymap what we want to use it for. You definitely should invest into some multiplayer. I think multiple divers and games would keep lots of people playing. Different modes like Tag, Point Match, Speed Demon, and Death Race would be cool. Tag would be like trying to tag another person while sky diving use the speed glass to catch up. Point Match would be like trying to get the most points for Hugs, Kisses, Flicking off, and taking the glass points. Speed demon would be like who can dive the fastest, with different tabs that speed you up and slow you down with building in the way. Death Race would be like first person to land in the little red circle successfully while falling from a super high height with different paths and different glass tiles. I think that would be amazing.

By Calvin, At May 12, 2009 at 1:02 AM
HOLY CRAP THIS IS AWESOME!

i loved the elevator music in the menus. about the only thing i can think of to make this game any better, would be to have a 3rd person view before you jump, so you can see the character sprinting and then jumping off the building, and then moving into a 1st person camera during the jump (so as not to obscure the view). also, ragdolls when you crush all of your bones, instead of working out a zero score. it would be much, much more awesome that way.

By Unknown, At May 12, 2009 at 2:35 AM
1) Make a RETRY button.

2) Put the numbers that now are in the center of the view in another place, maybe in a circolar way like the "Speed" and "Meter" ones.

By angelword, At May 12, 2009 at 7:03 AM
Is there a way to add a suicide mode? The point of the suicide mode would be to inflict as much damage without directly killing yourself until the end. This would include bouncing off of buildings and other ways to cause ones self damage. Maybe turn the right click in to a pause in suicide mode, allowing users to position their person in a way to cause the most damage possible when landing, the closer to the ground they pause, the higher the damage bonus.

By n0manarmy, At May 12, 2009 at 10:36 AM
I think this needs a level generated on the fly that never ends.

By Lakesh, At May 12, 2009 at 1:03 PM
Hey, nice game, it's kind of fun hurdling down... however I suggest that you have longer levels, and try to speed up the "Oh bother you died" screen to get back into more playing, perhaps a "retry" button on the level so you don't need to jump out, go through the items again, bleh bleh bleh. Your game is about speed, maximize that. Players don't want delays with loading every four seconds, longer levels, faster speeds, more points (maybe trampolines to launch you up again or something? gusts of wind?). And a ragdoll on death that falls the rest of the way, breaking bones as it rolls, falls, bounces, folds, snaps, cracks and crunches. :D

By Tux, At May 12, 2009 at 5:06 PM
First off, I'm very impressed so far. The look, feel, attention to detail, humour, all really well done. I found myself going back for more each time when initially only the visual style caught me. Haven't had that peculiar gameplay sensation since Pilot Wings 64.

I'm not gonna bother being redundant with the quick restart, menu streamlining, etc. Everyone seems to agree on that stuff. There's a couple things though that, if they were able to be implemented, I think could really take the game even further.

The first of which has previously mentioned, which is ragdolls. I think this game would greatly benefit from being able to see a little jumper character soaring through the wind, and I think it could really add to the sensation if you were able to have his body respond to give the impression of wind resistance. However, this leads me into how adding ragdolls could add to the gameplay.

I think with the lighthearted style of the game, instead of having the game come to grinding halt the instant you tap something, I think it would be the perfect game to add a ragdoll mini-game to (kind of an extension of Lakesh's idea).

Basically when you would normally die, instead your body becomes limp as if you had been damaged, except now there's gameplay involved where you try to either run into as much stuff as you can, cringing every time you hit something at high speed, or maybe just trying to grab last minute pickups (that's another thing I think would add even more, is more little collectables to find) or points, anything like that. Maybe have a seperate set of points just for that part of the game, that would go towards unlocking some other feature or something.

Another thing I remember feeling was on The Tower (or whichever one had the massive green-textured tube that you were falling through, it reminded me of Audiosurf and all the Winamp visualizers, and I remember so badly wanting rings of light or something, maybe responsive to music (though that would probably take a lot of time, so maybe just a pattern or fractals) traveling through the tubes, like some sort of visualizer to pull you into the zone even more.

By Anonymous, At May 13, 2009 at 12:07 AM
Also, one of the best things about unlocking things in the game Burnout 3 (another game built on the sense of speed) and many other games, was that even if you lost, you still got points toward unlocking stuff. Getting 90% down a level and then clipping one tiny thing, and losing everything I think causes a needless frustration.

The endless falling thing is a great idea. I do think that there should still be rewards and the ability to unlock stuff in an endless mode as well, so it isn't considered an empty mode. Maybe be able to set a time limit or something but make it so hitting stuff only causes you to bump instead of die for that mode or something.

By Anonymous, At May 13, 2009 at 12:21 AM
I would offer something helpful, but other people already did that. So I'll just say thanks and ask, "When are the shirts on sale?"

Thanks. When are the shirts on sale?

By Nahmy, At May 13, 2009 at 5:40 AM
I'd like an item that lets you survive hitting the ground full pelt (only unlockable once everything is completed of course) so you could feel like a super hero.

Would it be possible to allow a multiplayer mode like co-op?

By FpnerqFpbecvba, At May 13, 2009 at 7:53 AM
would be cool if the levels were in segments. so after beating a level, the lasernet opens to the next level. or pressing P while grounded wil restart that level.

By Dino, At May 14, 2009 at 9:32 PM
It needs a falling blur or so for more reallistic falling, also a key to accelerate/decelerate the fall (More points the less time you take to reach bottom vs more hability to get the most points with buildings items, and more difficult to move the faster you go)
Some music while falling?
Better menu controls
Better parachute effect...
Keep the good work

By Anonymous, At May 16, 2009 at 7:11 AM
Besides the points that have already been mentioned the only thing I didn't really like was the lack of information at the mountain level. It really requires several attempts just to figure out where the hell you should go to get even a few stars, let alone 4 or 5. In that aspect I like the skyscraper levels better, since those have a clear path down, but getting 4 or 5 stars needs a bit of thinking. Doesn't mean the level concept is bad, rotating like that is really cool. It just needs to be playable the first time around instead of the fourth.

All in all very good for an alfa.

By Unknown, At May 17, 2009 at 3:24 PM
The interface with the Hugs and Kisses dead center is too distracting. They should be off to the side somewhere. Also, an simple retry system would be nice. Lastly, how about a standard progression through the menues? P is a weird accept key, make it enter or space or something.

By Anonymous, At May 17, 2009 at 6:58 PM
I'd like to echo what other posters said about using wasd(or arrow keys) consistently.
similar to write on the buildings.

I think the level spacing was a bit off. The first level was a bit long and the second level was too short. I think the short level should either be a more challenging level later on or the first level and easier.

Also in the later levels I saw a lot of notices that said "get close to buildings" which were fun to add to the nature of the game, but completely useless. Maybe just have some smiley faces that point a suggested path and make it more graphic rather than textual, like most of the game.

I really like the anti-hyper-consumerism(and anti everything) flavor of the game and think you could bring it out in the levels more. For instance I think you could have the points "plates" that you break be billboards. Also the buildings could have ad on then and "hugs" and "kisses" could be for using a paintbrush so something.

I think you could also do more with the parchutes if you allow them to deploy and retract and also have temporary "updrafts" to take you over normally impossible areas.

Overall it was very fun to play, and I'm looking forward to the beta.

By Paul Blaze, At May 17, 2009 at 8:59 PM
This was fantastic, and one of the best parts was the commentary at the end.

What it needs? A retry button. Extra that are specific to levels, i.e.: the bunny slope should essentially contain bunnies.
Time. Crazy long levels. Multiplayer. Love.

I'm so excited for any new updates and releases.

By Ben, At May 19, 2009 at 2:23 AM
Extremely fun to play, intuitive, and stylish.

Suggestions:
I would like to have a retry button that I could access when I go completely off track, rather than having to launch myself into the nearest object.
More environments would be nice, global leaderboard for each equipment type would be awesome, possibly with a ghost system similar to mirrors edge?

Not a fan of the mountain levels, they tend to only offer a few routes rather than hundreds in the other levels, where you could go where ever you pleased.

Don't know if this has been decided, but perhaphs unlock equipment after certain experience points has been reached?

Anyway, terrific game guys.

By Anonymous, At May 20, 2009 at 2:35 AM
I just wanted to thank everyone who posted feedback for our alpha. We now have a miles-long post in our internal forums describing your ideas, all categorized into level design, controls, menus, love, and hate!

By Ichiro Lambe, At May 20, 2009 at 1:33 PM
I agree with what's been said about the plates. Also, I would suggest a time attack mode, or some kind of mode that would incorporate time into the scoring so as to encourage minimal change in direction as players are XOXO with the buildings.

By Anonymous, At May 24, 2009 at 2:53 PM
The one thing that i would add to this game is User Created Content(Levels,Speed,Addons,). I would also have a map creator so people can create thier own levels without the hassle of a complicated program. With user created evels should be LeaderBoards. Also, you should add different types of game modes like missions for each level or Race or something like that.

By Anonymous, At May 24, 2009 at 8:40 PM
would like a map creator, the mouse looking is a little had to get use to, make the menu usable by mouse (clicking on icons instead of just using the keyboad). need the levels to be really long with crazy colors, and effects, things blow up as you go by, flashes of light, blow me away!!! and of course need a imediate restart button, like R or pause the game and hit r.... nice touch with the picture things, to look as your getting started, some times a bit distracting....
also make one big final level where ur heading twords EARTH as your final mission, dodging comets and other space crafts, then end up in what looks like NY and finish off landing in time square.... :)

By Unknown, At May 25, 2009 at 11:01 PM
a customizable parachute would be pretty sweet

By Unknown, At May 27, 2009 at 9:55 PM
There must be restart when you pause the game. Multiplayer or 1v1 races or fights in air would be great. Also put some icon to start instead of pushing "P" its annoying

By Unknown, At May 30, 2009 at 9:09 AM
Have some more sexy pictures that will distract player in-game. Oh and achivements would be great. Like 10,000 kisses or hugs. Try it ;)

By Unknown, At May 30, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Nice game!!! Really fun. I just loved the ideia.
But here we go:
All the loading in every menu are really annoying, and would be really great to have a replay button as Ichiro Lambe told.
To me the controls are nice, WASD + Mouse work great for me, but it would be nice have some gamepad support.
The game could have something like 2 or 3 difficulties, like easy, medium and hard, and what would change would be the speed of falling. To me the falling speed was too low, if it could be faster the game would be more fun (and even more challenging).
Don't know if it's a known issues but, in Vista x64 it just crash and give some error messages unless I put it in compatibility mode and run it with administrator rights.
All in all it's already a great game, keep on with the good work.

Good Luck!!!

By Unknown, At May 30, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Suggestion one: Add a 'Beat the pro' kind of mode. You'll see either a near-perfect line a pro skydiver did/used before you to gain a very high score. Your task to beat the score by doing a little bit better (aka taking more risks I guess).

Suggestion two: I say YES to the bounce things, they look awesome. Still, you might want to add either a time bonus or penalty though.

Suggestion three: This game is mighty addictive as is, so it better be filllllleed with levels and content.

Suggestion four: Since it's basically a racing game a la most snowboard games, perhaps it would be neat to add rare collectables that you'll only need to touch (ie. find) once for bonus score or better yet special unlockables?

Suggestion five: Gameplay physics is really great as they are, but a little bit more control especially a certain amount of extra braking would be nice. Again, add in a penalty or bonus for a slower / faster time and it shouldn't ruin much of the current scoring balance. Of course the bounce pads might already be a good addition anyways, so perhaps you've already thought about that some more.

Suggestion six: What might be cool is something you can throw to catch cash pads that are a distance away from you. Think of it as darts or something to hit those targets instead of falling through them? Of course, it's a bit cheating but it would be a nice unlockable for more difficult levels later on??

Suggestion seven: A "Hint" like system for each level to give you a (vague) clue of what the best way down is, would be nice! Of course, it might ruin the natural discovery of the perfect line for gaining the most points, but in certain levels it isn't all that obvious which way to go down. Not sure if this is a critique so much though, as again finding out the perfect way down is part of the game I guess.

So far though, lots of fun and I simply had to play the demo all the way. Couldn't really understand much of the things you hear after having beaten the demo though.

Cheers,
PHeMoX

By Unknown, At May 30, 2009 at 6:22 PM
Suggestion one: Add a 'Beat the pro' kind of mode. You'll see either a near-perfect line a pro skydiver did/used before you to gain a very high score. Your task to beat the score by doing a little bit better (aka taking more risks I guess).

Suggestion two: I say YES to the bounce things, they look awesome. Still, you might want to add either a time bonus or penalty though.

Suggestion three: This game is mighty addictive as is, so it better be filllllleed with levels and content.

Suggestion four: Since it's basically a racing game a la most snowboard games, perhaps it would be neat to add rare collectables that you'll only need to touch (ie. find) once for bonus score or better yet special unlockables?

Suggestion five: Gameplay physics is really great as they are, but a little bit more control especially a certain amount of extra braking would be nice. Again, add in a penalty or bonus for a slower / faster time and it shouldn't ruin much of the current scoring balance. Of course the bounce pads might already be a good addition anyways, so perhaps you've already thought about that some more.

Suggestion six: What might be cool is something you can throw to catch cash pads that are a distance away from you. Think of it as darts or something to hit those targets instead of falling through them? Of course, it's a bit cheating but it would be a nice unlockable for more difficult levels later on??

Suggestion seven: A "Hint" like system for each level to give you a (vague) clue of what the best way down is, would be nice! Of course, it might ruin the natural discovery of the perfect line for gaining the most points, but in certain levels it isn't all that obvious which way to go down. Not sure if this is a critique so much though, as again finding out the perfect way down is part of the game I guess.

So far though, lots of fun and I simply had to play the demo all the way. Couldn't really understand much of the things you hear after having beaten the demo though.

Cheers,
PHeMoX

By Unknown, At May 30, 2009 at 6:23 PM
I love it!
maybe more detail on the building walls. I loved how the first play through a level, i concentrated on staying alive. But later play throughs i actually died a few times trying to read the "adverts" a lot more things to distract the player like that and consequently cause them to die would be cool.

I think you should replace [P] with [Enter] its kind of awkward having to look for P each time. The menu should be layed out in such a way that if you fail a level, and repeatedly press enter, it will eventually begin the same level again.

By Unknown, At June 3, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Great game indeed (far better than i supposed ^^)

I'd like :

- a quick restart touch
- some "discovery" levels : like the level with the big mountain, some (long, 5 minutes) levels with no points, just to enjoy and pass through clouds for example or beautiful landscapes.
- some items to return higher in the levels (like bumpers)
- some moving obstacles (cars, planes...)
- enter instead of p
- maybe the possibility to listen to my own mp3s ? (and display custom pictures in ads ?)
- longer levels

Anyway, great job, if you could sell it on steam, i think i'll buy it !

By BDP-spoucky, At June 4, 2009 at 1:47 PM
Great fun game, only a few criticisms.

-The mouse controls are very poor, control over sensitivity would help, and a smoother feel.
-Menus are too cumbersome, would be nice to just play the level over again without going back through all the menu stuff.
-Multiplayer mode with controls for such would be nice.
-Some control over level of difficulty would help too.

Again, very fun game.

Guardian on GS forum. :)

By Guardian, At June 8, 2009 at 3:42 AM
Just had a chance to try it out. The sensitivity was to strong, thankfully my mouse has quick change buttons for that. The menu 3 button press to retry wasn't all that bad to me. Menu controls take a bit to get used to. I didn't notice any difference vs popcorn and caffeine views. Maybe some longer levels or endless levels? Or even mix a few already included levels so that you play straight from one into the other without landing? Possibly progressively getting faster as you get through each part/level in the endless mode?

By Unknown, At June 9, 2009 at 12:37 AM
Best Indie game i've ever played, and it was only an alpha.

Don't be afraid to make it difficult, PLEASE don't be afraid to make it difficult. Those levels (forget the names) where the difficulty greatly ramped up suddenly were tremendous fun.

I like the music affecting your mood detail as well. You definitely do sillier stuff (and argueably have more fun) when the punk track is playing

Keep it up and you've definitely got a winner on your hands here.

Oh and keep the menus and mood of the game exactly as they are. Fantastic tone for the game and excellent visual direction as well.

By Unknown, At June 9, 2009 at 8:03 AM
Yeah I totally agree with most of the suggestions. Defiantly put a restart button because that was very frustrating having to wait while it reloads the same map over and over again.

Overall though great game and I cant wait until the next release, keep up the good work!

By Unknown, At June 9, 2009 at 4:08 PM
KEEP THE GRAPHICS STYLE.
The stylized graphics are absolutely amazing.

Keep the controls simple; that's half the fun.

Physics are great!

Needs more nudist mimes.

By Ssonicblue, At June 9, 2009 at 9:46 PM
I haven't read the previous comments, too long !

Please, reduce the name of the shortcuts, it's really unuseful and boring.
Let use the mouse to go to the game, no more "press P"
Easy replay without having to return to the menu...
A bug has frozen the screen while I was pressing "P" repetitively.

Else, it's an original idea, good point for you guys ;)

By Aspic, At June 12, 2009 at 2:47 PM
a retry button would be nice ;)

By anthony, At June 12, 2009 at 7:56 PM
needs:

dynamic sounds upon scoring points, the monotone beep counter is just boring

different graphics upon non fatal collisions with buildings other then just the spin thing (maybe like directional damage indicators with a partially red screen like you get in most fps games)

control pad support and custom control mapping

resolution management with the possibility to run in a window rather then full screen

and finally RULE 1 & 2

By Anonymous, At June 16, 2009 at 7:51 PM
its a strange and a fun game indeed.

- Loading times are bit long. My machine is AMD 4000+ - 4GB RAM - Radeon x1950 Pro, and a level load takes more than 10 secs. it gets boring.

- We definitely need a restart jump. It also gets boring when you return to menu and enter the same level.

- Sometimes i die when i hit at first time, not so fast. Sometimes i reflect from the wall.

- It runs smoothly on my comp. Never encountered a graphic bug.

- Maybe optimize the parachute thing. I'm not aware of parachute when i opened it.

- Looking forward of full release of the game. Thanx for developing guys. :)

By Anonymous, At June 17, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Hello.

I tried the alpha demo from AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!, and i love it :P
Though it could eventually use more sounds (wooshing, screams, etc), but that's ok anyway.

One point though is keeping me from playing more and buying eventually, is the advertisement in game.

I mean, i read : http://www.gamersdailynews.com/blog-105-How-Much-Sex-Can-You-Cram-Into-Your-Video-Game.html
I get the critic, and the extrapolating on "you will buy whatever we tell you too", just because showing sexy girls.
It's fun to extrapolate on that, and display it on what "future" would have as huge ad screens.

But my concern is, even if satire is obvious, it could be nice to have a choice in options between this, and regular ads/display/whatever on walls.
Why ? Well, for starters, our society kinda throw up such kind of ads on us all day long, would be nice to not have it again in a game.
Other possible reasons, even if irony is clear, not everyone will appreciate that.
And to finish, have a thought that not all guys are single, and some, like me, would like to play this nice fun game without having remarks or argue from their girlfriend about this kind of display :P

(Yes, my girlfriend is a gamer too, and quite against all that system believing that all gamers are guys wanting to see half naked girls (so am i, btw, but that's another topic).
So would it be possible to have at least a possibility to play this game which shouldn't even normally include any kind of "sexy", without this kind of ads ?
It would be really appreciated ;)

Besides, i like much the game, and the "tone" of it, for example in menus :) (and special mention for the meditation screen :P)

By Unknown, At June 20, 2009 at 3:28 AM
faster!!!!
I'm a speed freak, I wasn't being challenged enough !

By Unknown, At June 26, 2009 at 12:19 AM
This is the best game concept in the last ten years :)

Just add a third person view and some high resolution textures.

By Unknown, At February 14, 2010 at 10:09 AM

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

TELL US where to SHOVE IT! (And how to make the game better?)

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