Alien Squatter: Testers Needed!

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TMC
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Post by TMC »

Willy Elektrix wrote:Mac version will hopefully be out early next week. I might also put out a Linux version at the same time. A Linux version makes me nervous because I don't have a way to test it...
When you submit a build of the game, steam will test that it actually runs on Linux. (I can also test it for you.) If it runs, you can be pretty sure that it works correctly, since OHRRPGCE games run the same on any OS (except Android), and steam provides a standard set libraries for games. A game distributed for Linux via steam is actually much more likely (well, 100%) to work than uploading a Linux tarball to SS, because any old linux installation might not have the right libraries/arch to run the tarball.

I realised that I could install Alien Squatter by enabling "Steam Play for all other titles" in Settings. That installs Proton, which is a Wine fork. However, that meant the game was a 700MB download instead of 30MB. Steam overlay didn't work, but fullscreen worked well (it doesn't if you use gfx_sdl) and I had no problems.
If you do add a Linux version, I recommend you use gfx_sdl2, not the default gfx_sdl, so fullscreen and the steam overlay work properly. I can give you a build of that. We're going to make gfx_sdl2 the default anyway but don't want to make that change immediately before a stable release.

So, anyway! Played the game for a couple of hours. There's great world-building here, with well-fleshed out NPCs.
Playing a high-social, low-physical burrower. (I doubt that the different stats are balanced; mental and physical seem pretty important.) I've made it to ~Â¥1800 so far and just spent a bunch of that on a fishing rod and scanner. I'm still finding a few new NPC and corners I haven't seen. Haven't seen any alternative routes into Priviledge yet, though did notice a suspicious crack in a wall. I'm curious how the game is going to play from this point on, because exploring areas and finding new NPCs and new items has been a lot of fun so far, but it looks like that's probably going to slow to a trickle now. I'm amazed how many alternative endings there are, and how many NPCs to befriend (which takes a long time!) I wonder how replayable the game actually will be. Picking up items started to feel repetitive, but since I now mostly skip the text it's basically morphed from an exploration game into an arcade game, which is not the gameplay I was expecting. There isn't a very strong sense of progression compared to a typical RPG, though maybe the fishing rod and scanner will change that. Still havent' really formed a strategy yet. Will report back.

Is there any reason you didn't enable mouse controls? I see one person on steam complaining about that.
Last edited by TMC on Fri Oct 11, 2019 6:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Willy Elektrix
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Post by Willy Elektrix »

TMC wrote:When you submit a build of the game, steam will test that it actually runs on Linux. (I can also test it for you.) If it runs, you can be pretty sure that it works correctly, since OHRRPGCE games run the same on any OS (except Android), and steam provides a standard set libraries for games. A game distributed for Linux via steam is actually much more likely (well, 100%) to work than uploading a Linux tarball to SS, because any old linux installation might not have the right libraries/arch to run the tarball.

I realised that I could install Alien Squatter by enabling "Steam Play for all other titles" in Settings. That installs Proton, which is a Wine fork. However, that meant the game was a 700MB download instead of 30MB. Steam overlay didn't work, but fullscreen worked well (it doesn't if you use gfx_sdl) and I had no problems.
If you do add a Linux version, I recommend you use gfx_sdl2, not the default gfx_sdl, so fullscreen and the steam overlay work properly. I can give you a build of that. We're going to make gfx_sdl2 the default anyway but don't want to make that change immediately before a stable release.
Oh crap! I didn't realize that Steam overlay was even an option. Cool!

I'm going to put out a Linux version shortly. Hopefully by the end of next week. Thanks for your advice here.
TMC wrote:So, anyway! Played the game for a couple of hours. There's great world-building here, with well-fleshed out NPCs.
Playing a high-social, low-physical burrower. (I doubt that the different stats are balanced; mental and physical seem pretty important.) I've made it to ~Â¥1800 so far and just spent a bunch of that on a fishing rod and scanner. I'm still finding a few new NPC and corners I haven't seen. Haven't seen any alternative routes into Priviledge yet, though did notice a suspicious crack in a wall. I'm curious how the game is going to play from this point on, because exploring areas and finding new NPCs and new items has been a lot of fun so far, but it looks like that's probably going to slow to a trickle now. I'm amazed how many alternative endings there are, and how many NPCs to befriend (which takes a long time!) I wonder how replayable the game actually will be. Picking up items started to feel repetitive, but since I now mostly skip the text it's basically morphed from an exploration game into an arcade game, which is not the gameplay I was expecting. There isn't a very strong sense of progression compared to a typical RPG, though maybe the fishing rod and scanner will change that. Still havent' really formed a strategy yet. Will report back.

Is there any reason you didn't enable mouse controls? I see one person on steam complaining about that.
Thanks for all of this.

Your observations about the gameplay are astute! By it's nature, the game is repetitive. Some players seem to thrive on that and get addicted. Others bounce off from it. I'm not sure whether I've made something fun or annoying. Maybe somewhere in the middle?

The sense of exploration comes from find new secrets, endings, and other hidden stuff. The levels are player progression are measured in terms of player stats, player equipment, friendship, and achievements. None of these systems are especially deep, but I think the lot of them creates a significant number of things to do. Of course, there could always be more... more! MORE!

I never even thought about mouse controls. It seems like controlling the game with a mouse would be annoying. Let me experiment them.
Last edited by Willy Elektrix on Sat Oct 12, 2019 8:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Willy Elektrix »

For those of you who are curious, here's the development schedule for Alien Squatter.

10/20/19: Linux version on Steam

10/27/19: Version 1.1 on Steam. This will add some new random encounters, more descriptive text, a few more sound effects (possibly), and host of tweaks and fixes.

11/4/19: Release all versions on itch.io and GameJolt

11/11/19: Android release. I'm not sure what services this will be on. Currently, Google Play is not an option due removal of 32-bit app compatibility. I'll at least put it on itch.io and GameJolt. I might also do the Amazon app store.
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

I want to mention that in the playtest version, even after I had explored everywhere, and read all the text for the random items, I kept on enjoying collecting things and building up friendship scores.

I also want to say that mouse controls are going to work great. I tested exclusively on Android with touch controls, and it was great, very satisfying after one important bugfix. Make sure you are using a nightly build within the past few months. You'll want that bugfix if you enable mouse controls by default.

They don't interfere with keyboard controls.

As for the Android release, I am cautiously optimistic that I can be ready for a 64 bit build by then, tmc has already done it successfully, so it is just a matter of me finding the time to replicate his build environment for myself
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Post by Willy Elektrix »

Bob the Hamster wrote:I also want to say that mouse controls are going to work great. I tested exclusively on Android with touch controls, and it was great, very satisfying after one important bugfix. Make sure you are using a nightly build within the past few months. You'll want that bugfix if you enable mouse controls by default.

They don't interfere with keyboard controls.

As for the Android release, I am cautiously optimistic that I can be ready for a 64 bit build by then, tmc has already done it successfully, so it is just a matter of me finding the time to replicate his build environment for myself
Jah bless you and TMC. ;_;
Last edited by Willy Elektrix on Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Mogri »

Windows Defender flags the Alien Squatter executable as a Trojan:Win32/Tiggre!plock.

I know James and TMC were aware of some antivirus issues -- I think this is specific to games bundled with a custom icon. This is obviously undesirable from a sales perspective. I'd recommend removing the icon.
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

Arg. Yes, could be icon related. Also, reporting false positives can help! https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/filesubmission
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Post by Mogri »

Anyway, I am playing this game now. (Thanks, Shea!) I'm probably going to record the whole series before I publish it on YouTube, but here's the first video, currently unlisted.

[yt]8m2H-eoQVME[/yt]
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Post by Willy Elektrix »

TMC wrote:
Willy Elektrix wrote:I realised that I could install Alien Squatter by enabling "Steam Play for all other titles" in Settings. That installs Proton, which is a Wine fork. However, that meant the game was a 700MB download instead of 30MB. Steam overlay didn't work, but fullscreen worked well (it doesn't if you use gfx_sdl) and I had no problems.

If you do add a Linux version, I recommend you use gfx_sdl2, not the default gfx_sdl, so fullscreen and the steam overlay work properly. I can give you a build of that. We're going to make gfx_sdl2 the default anyway but don't want to make that change immediately before a stable release.
How do I get the gfx_sdl2 file? Also, will this make the Steam overlay work in Windows too? Currently, it does not.
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Post by Bird »

Alien Squatter is a game that is not made for Let's Plays. One half is about the tactics, but the other half is really about the dialogues. New players have to get a feel for step-counting, which is difficult at first. Maybe the game can be a bit more generous in the beginning, for example that no organs are being removed from the player's character the first time, he awakens at the clinic.
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Post by TMC »

Yes, the virus detection is because of the icon. Issue in the bugtracker. It is possible to embed a custom icon into game.exe by compiling it in directly instead of embedding it after-the-fact from the Distribute Game menu, which I could do if you want.
Maybe if everyone submitted false positive reports to Microsoft we would be saved!

Steam overlay should work on Windows using gfx_directx. However I see that you didn't include gfx_directx.dll. Was that intentional? Adding it should fix it. (Actually, I thought that the overlay worked on Windows even without using gfx_directx. But maybe Valve has changed something.)
Yes, you could also use gfx_sdl2 on Windows (there is a nightly build available), which also supports the Steam overlay, but it's better to stick with gfx_directx since it's better tested and has extra features.

I've uploaded an x86 gfx_sdl2 music_sdl2 portable linux build here (identical version to the last nightly build from a week ago): http://tmc.castleparadox.com/ohr/temp/o ... l2-x86.zip
Unlike Windows builds, there are no other library files needed (because they're provided by steam or by the system). Just asquatter.rpg.
I'll also try adding an official Linux sdl2 nightly build, but it'll likely require James to install libraries on the build machine.

(Note to self: steam on linux provides the latest version of sdl2 & utiltiy libraries but ancient versions of sdl1.2. Yet another reason to switch to sdl2.)
Last edited by TMC on Fri Oct 18, 2019 2:16 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Post by Mogri »

I finished two playthroughs: Biobot with the Romeo ending and Crawler with the Fake ID / Buster friend ending. They'll be going up on YouTube over the next week or so. Shea, I'd love it if you could provide me with something I could use for a YT thumbnail image.

Here are my thoughts:
  • It'd be great to have Energy displayed onscreen. I find myself constantly checking the menu to keep tabs on my Energy count. I can't imagine you never considered this, so I'm curious why you decided not to put it in.
  • Biobot without a Physical focus doesn't have a lot going for it. The rewards from the scientists are really good, but you're unlikely to beat them if you took a different primary stat (and you'll probably always lose if Physical was your weak stat). I enjoy the mutagenic ooze, but it's pretty infrequent.
  • On the other hand, the Crawler's burrowing power was amazing. The excretion power I could take or leave, but the burrowing gives the Crawler an incredible amount of flexibility.
  • Due to a combination of factors, I topped out at around 400 Energy with the Biobot (but more often getting around 300), while I regularly got 500+ Energy with the Crawler. I didn't bother buying a Fan as the Crawler, because I didn't need the Energy -- I could run a full circuit of the slums on any given day! On the other hand, the starvation was real in my first playthrough, forcing me to be much more judicious with my routing. (For reference, my Biobot had Slow Metabolism, while the Crawler got Rosie in the first couple days.)
  • As a result, I can certainly understand why people have complained that the Energy limits are too restrictive. Slow Metabolism in particular is a real pain; maybe it should be toned down (-25% instead of -50%). I also think the Fan could use a buff: resting Energy is variable enough that it can be hard to notice a difference.
All in all, it's a great game, and I feel like I only scratched the surface.
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Post by Willy Elektrix »

Mogri wrote:I finished two playthroughs: Biobot with the Romeo ending and Crawler with the Fake ID / Buster friend ending. They'll be going up on YouTube over the next week or so. Shea, I'd love it if you could provide me with something I could use for a YT thumbnail image.

Here are my thoughts:
  • It'd be great to have Energy displayed onscreen. I find myself constantly checking the menu to keep tabs on my Energy count. I can't imagine you never considered this, so I'm curious why you decided not to put it in.
  • Biobot without a Physical focus doesn't have a lot going for it. The rewards from the scientists are really good, but you're unlikely to beat them if you took a different primary stat (and you'll probably always lose if Physical was your weak stat). I enjoy the mutagenic ooze, but it's pretty infrequent.
  • On the other hand, the Crawler's burrowing power was amazing. The excretion power I could take or leave, but the burrowing gives the Crawler an incredible amount of flexibility.
  • Due to a combination of factors, I topped out at around 400 Energy with the Biobot (but more often getting around 300), while I regularly got 500+ Energy with the Crawler. I didn't bother buying a Fan as the Crawler, because I didn't need the Energy -- I could run a full circuit of the slums on any given day! On the other hand, the starvation was real in my first playthrough, forcing me to be much more judicious with my routing. (For reference, my Biobot had Slow Metabolism, while the Crawler got Rosie in the first couple days.)
  • As a result, I can certainly understand why people have complained that the Energy limits are too restrictive. Slow Metabolism in particular is a real pain; maybe it should be toned down (-25% instead of -50%). I also think the Fan could use a buff: resting Energy is variable enough that it can be hard to notice a difference.
All in all, it's a great game, and I feel like I only scratched the surface.
Thanks for your in-depth feedback.

I put out a new version last night that increases the amount of energy gained daily (by about 25 on average), it also slightly improves the fan.

I think I will make slow metabolism less punishing.

I don't have energy displayed on screen because using "show value" didn't work really well, and I was lazy and I didn't want to mess with it. I'm being forced to reconsider that though. I'll probably do it in the next update.

Maybe mutagenic ooze could be more common. Or maybe the biobot could have some other benefit. Let me think about it. The game probably isn't really well balanced between all the characters and the pets. A few little tweaks couldn't hurt.

I'm still in the phase where I'm constantly updating the game, so this is all useful to me.
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

If you want any help scripting a slice-based energy meter, just give me a holler! It will be fun!
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Post by Bird »

This game is a big party of randomness. Some playthroughs are easy for no reason, some can be quite hard. The first time I played it, "Mittens" (one of the pets) ran into my claws within the first 10 steps in the unknown world! That for sure never happened again.

A certain part of a pigeon gives you also a big advantage. But overall, that doesn't spoil the experience. There is no overall High Score table to conquer.
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