update, applying the players weight to 2 surfaces at once is so so so so insanely difficult in the current system i made be forced to completely restructure how physical objects, creatures, the player etc move and interact
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Wanting organic mechanics makes sense. It does feel like a restriction like that can lead to some more interesting ideas, the first thing that came to mind to kinda replace the idea of “weighted doors” would be windy areas that are easier to navigate at higher weights that can resist the breeze or wind tunnel areas that the starting size is too light to not get pushed back out of.
It can be pretty good for creativity. That idea then lead to ideas of ones that push the player up to higher areas that can’t give them enough momentum if they’re too heavy, which lead to ideas of larger sizes plugging holes that cause the air to come out elsewhere.
So cool ideas can definitely come from it, seems worth sticking with your goals.
For soft locks, would it make sense to have something at the location of already collected burgers that increases weight if collected but doesn’t add burgers? Keeping with the Mario 64 power stars, similar to the blue ones that take their place?
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On the water level, what about something like the Water levels in Super mario bros?
Weight could be used like a brake in this; the thinner you are, the faster you swim and float, but it can make it hard to maneuver the enemies. At a higher weight, you swim more slowly and float less, resulting in not being able to keep afloat at all at max weight, but you have more control and an easier time maneuvering around enemies.
enemies in this level are the barnacles, but also predators like sharks. At max weights, you would need to fatten an enemy and feed it to the sharks, so they would work kinda like the beetles do in the first level.
About the beetles, maybe if you jump from a tall enough height, you have more impact. making your jump significantly higher. At a thinner weight, you would need to get up something tall enough to give enough boost, but if you are fat enough, you do that automatically at the cost of straight-up killing the enemy?
I really like the idea of breakable platforms at the higher weights. I like the “heavy enough to shake the ground” aspect; it makes the weight have more, well, weight. It’s one of the reasons why I liked the bigger sprites so much ( your cheeks being so big, it fills your space helmet is something I really liked, as well as the pilot’s constant huffing.)
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hoping to gauge opinions, what would people think of grabbing 4 burgers in one not being strictly necessary, but it gives you a lil trophy or unlocks something? just a thought when i was doing level design stuff and noticed there are exactly 16 burgers in the current underground area, and it should be doable in 4 runs. i like the idea of 4 little completion trophies for an area… I’ve been thinking about what someone said here about it being nice that you can take it easy and not getting all the burgers at once, but I want there to be something there for doing so and an interesting challenge associated. There would be some npc that allows you to reset the burgers in the area so you can pivot from doing a bit at a time to max-runs
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Figuring out different routes and strats is the part of the game that feels the most interesting to me so I like leaning into that. If it’s not too outside the scope of the game I’d love something like the Monkey Ball games where you get bonus or challenge stages if you can get the four-for-four burger runs in an area.
Also if the NPC to reset an area existed would they reset upgrades you’ve gotten too? I kinda like when I start a new run in the demo that I have to factor in getting the upgrades alongside burgs but idk how that would work in a scenario where you aren’t full resetting your save.
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i think the npc wouldn’t reset the upgrades/total burgers you’ve acquired, you can just reset ur save if u wanna do that
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I did do that thing and it is fun. it is something that works better as some extra challenge/100% requirement thing since you have to plan ahead to do it and you got to have found them all first to be able to do that (and you need the upgrades as well). it also makes the actual orienteering part of the game more of a thing that you get tested on. like finding your way from A to B is simple in comparison to A, B, C and D + get back to spawn (and there is a punishment for getting it wrong other than “wops I was supposed to go that way instead”)
something I would have wanted to see but didn’t would have been something where burgers “block” your path so you have to find routes around them because you would be to fat to do the more difficult platforming challenges (and you get them on the way back).
the closest one I remember was the one in Girth Canal at the far left (if I remember right) because you have to grab it early because you would get stuck if you get it while fatter. that sort of stuff also works well since it does basically the same thing, just as long as it isn’t put in the furthest away corners of the map
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That bit with the burgers blocking stuff is sth i wanted to do more of, i wanna see if i can fit more stuff like that in the next level design pass
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0.3.0 is coming along, it’ll be super jank but im rly excited about the direction the game is taking, please look forward to it… that’s probably hyberbolic, it’s nothing crazy, but i’m feeling really excited about the project again.
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Ooooo hell yea, looking forward to it!
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0.3.0 release! starting to focus the game more around full 4 burger runs, and adjusting level design and game structure to accomodate that. EXTREMELY RECOMMENDED TO USE A NEW SAVE! Stuff might break!
in this version, collecting four burgers at once will do something, so far just bragging rights with the shiny trophies you get on the pause menu. Breakable platforms, somewhat better bouncing, and more creature interactions build the basis of an exciting new Burger Dog Gaming Experience…
IDK I had fun working on this!!! this update marks the first time I’ve actually 100%'d this, to test the burger-reset system. so I got all the trophies… can you? I wonder what the most efficient route is…
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That was fun.
Before this, I hadn’t grabbed more than three burgers at a time.
So this was a fun new challenge.
You should also change this part as it is possible to get stuck here.
Although it is not clearly visible, the player is 100% stuck there.
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oh irritating, i must’ve screwed up my collision fix at some point
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that and some other stuff should be fixed here, like the long-running tutorial save bug that forces you to start a new game if the game is quit during the tutorial
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also i would be interested in thoughts on 4 burger runs and how the game is in that regard particularly since imo designing the game around that is really making me feel that “this feeling is what the game should be about”
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I feel it works well
I like it as an extra challenge and not as something mandatory.
The only thing I feel strange is that the platforms that break only do it when you have 4 burgers, I thought it would be at 3 so I could use that mechanic to get the 4 burgers but Instead it only made it difficult to escape.
And the truth is that I like that it is difficult to escape, the only thing that I would change would be that you can break that platform with only 3 hamburgers maybe by jumping from a high place or something similar
I thiught abkut that, right now theres two types of platforms, dark brown wooden ones that break at 3, and the rusty ones that break at 4
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