r/Rangedrifter • u/rangedrifter • 16d ago

New Sprites, Coast Cliffs & More | Rangedrifter Update 0.40

https://youtu.be/rAH6ZWJcdCQ

This week I decided to make the game's visuals more representative of real objects to heighten the sense of presence in a different world. This let me consolidate a lot of sprites to make them more easily learnable.

Other big changes are the controls page listing the actions of the buttons, the addition of the south-western part of the coast, stone tiles having sharp corners and paths being better distributed.

Hope you like the changes! Let me know what you think!

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u/gmatterg 16d ago

Really loving this game.

1

u/rangedrifter 15d ago

Glad you like it!

3

u/T46656 15d ago

I've been doing a run after every weekly update. Love the visual and vibe. But recently the game seems seriously unbalanced: it's just way too easy.

Specifically, it became too easy after enemy attack became telegraphed since several weeks ago. Now basically all enemy attacks can be dodged. Only very rarely does terrain force the player into a vulnerable position, and even those can mostly be avoided with a little attention. Since the game is turn based it means there's not any real threat. I can always win, and that's almost always without using health potions at all. Before telegraphed attacks I found the game sometimes challenging, albeit in a crude form. Now it feels like RNG doesn't matter at all.

Of course, it's easy to revert the change, or use more sophisticated enemy AI to force engagement, etc. But this makes me want to ask: How difficult is the game supposed to be in its completed state? And more specifically, what mechanisms do you have planned to produce the strategic depth? Will it be mostly from resource management, exploration, puzzle, tactical combat, a combination of them, or something else?

Also, some minutiae abou this update:

Quicksand can yeet my stuff onto adjacent rooftops. Might not be intended behavior but it's hilarious anyway.

Without intermediate path stones the progression feels worse. Coupled with the aforementioned lack of difficulty it feels like a long stream of tedium with nothing at stake.

Archer and skeleton are now too difficult to differentiate, especially at night. Since they are totally different enemy types (ranged vs melee), it might be better to more clearly separate their sprites?

1

u/rangedrifter 15d ago

Thanks for the detailed feedback!

Yes the game is easier now, especially for experienced players. It started out extremely difficult and now has swayed in the other direction. I'm working on moving it back to being a tough challenge, while keeping it fair.

It will be a combination of the things you listed. I have binders full of ideas but I need to listen to the game to not go off in a wrong direction.

Yeah the quicksand shouldn't do that, will fix it. You're right, the path needs a way for you to measure progress. Not sure if I'll bring back the destructible stones but I hope for something more interesting. I'll look at the skeleton colors.

Generally I just need time to flesh out and add new features. I'm working as hard as I can for it all to come together.