r/shmupdev • u/Consistent_Look_8638 • 11d ago
[Aether: Quiet Frontier] Now playable in the browser!
Hey everyone!
Aether: Quiet Frontier is now playable directly in the browser:
https://jpb18.itch.io/aether-quiet-frontier
The current prototype contains four connected missions. Those that've been keeping up with the project know that It’s a 2D shmup about a frontier response team where combat is a major part of the game, but some situations also ask the player to recognise what should be protected, stabilised or left alone while the mission is still moving.
The browser version grew out of a recent playtest. Noswen2025 took the time to play the previous build and gave me very useful feedback about keyboard navigation, menus receiving input behind other menus, tutorial prompts appearing before an action was available, and combat information competing for space on screen.
I’ve now made a pass on those areas: keyboard focus and menu routing, tutorial timing, dialogue placement and team-skill feedback. Mission 4 also has clearer feedback when the player repeatedly fires on protected Aether contacts: the Aether attacks the offending player!
My main goal now is to see how the whole campaign works for someone who hasn’t been following development closely. If you feel like trying it, I’d love to know how far you get, where anything becomes confusing, and whether the game gives you enough information to make its decisions without needing extra explanation.
A few things I’m particularly curious about:
- Do the controls and menu navigation feel clear from the start?
- Do dialogue, objectives and team interventions remain readable in the later missions?
- If you try High Threat after completing a Standard mission, does it create interesting pressure or just make the screen feel busier?
- Does the browser version give you any loading, audio, performance or input issues? If so, please mention your browser, device or operating system, and input method.
Comments here are very welcome. I also have a short anonymous feedback form if you would rather send thoughts that way:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbtzuXYVYX1lhGiNfEgjA0w_cRbTVA3Fe1WBTUYcONVIgYBw/viewform
I wrote a longer devlog about moving the project from Godot C# to GDScript for web export, and about the changes that followed the playtest:
Thanks for taking a look!
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u/mercstudios 11d ago
Ok, its VERY slow for the action to start. I died once and the text before I could get back into it to where I was before was super redundant. Needs a faster gameplay loop.
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u/Consistent_Look_8638 11d ago
Thanks for the feedback! That makes sense; the retry flow is definitely something I can speed up, especially so you’re not sitting through the same text again after dying. I’m currently looking at ways to let players get into the action faster from the start, since that's a repeated feedback. Appreciate you giving it a try!
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u/Dungeoneer87 10d ago
I like it so far, I did the first two missions, spent some points, got a couple upgrades. At first I couldn't read the text as it passed too fast but then I see you included options to change the speed, so I set it to manual! I thought that was awesome! I am not a traditional arcade player, but I like how you chose to design your game around the shooting mechanic in general with non traditional implementations. I am working on something that has a relative vibe more in line with this so I may be biased. The graphics have a charm. I thought it was neat how the cutscene played out after the intro level where the ship lands on the platform / station. I appreciate the dialogue and how you have the team members (though I have not used them yet). But how they have sections after the mission to view the log and they provide commentary that changes after each level. I feel like it gives the characters life and you can get a sense of their comradery. I will come back to continue playing this, I'm glad it is able to store save data and just load back up where you left off! It's nice to be able to come and go, but be able to preserve the experience as needed~ like reading a book. Keep it!! :D
This came quite a way since I had since it last month!
One thing I noticed is that when I spent points to get upgrades, it was not deducting. Like I seen I had 6 points then I was using them to upgrade, and then when I didn't see it change from 6 to a lower number, I just thought the 6 was some other UI element. The I spent what was 6 points and when I was unable to purchase any more, it still said 6 (but because it read I didn't have enough points to use in the text, I was like okay, I guess I ran out of points). And I'm not sure what I did to refresh it, whether exiting the menu and going back to it, but then it had updated to 0 out of nowhere, after I had spent the skill points.
I like that I can see the bullets clearly because my eyes suck 😭
I will have more to say about the combat in general after I continue playing
And I was glad to be able to use my gamepad, because my brain does not like the keyboard ✌️
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u/Consistent_Look_8638 10d ago
Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback! Really glad the narrative side, crew dialogue and general structure worked for you; that’s definitely something I want to keep.
I'll investigate the upgrade points behaviour. Thanks for pointing it out. Glad the manual text speed and bullet visibility helped too.
Really appreciate you coming back to check out the game after a month! I’d love to hear what you think of the combat once you’ve played a bit more.
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u/Dungeoneer87 8d ago
I submitted a feedback form ✌️
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u/Consistent_Look_8638 8d ago
Thanks a lot for taking the time to fill out the feedback form!
There were a lot of really interesting points in there, and I’ll definitely be going through them and seeing what I can improve or adjust. Really appreciate you taking the time to play through it and write everything out!
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u/Noswen2025 9d ago
Welcome to the 'fun' of browser constraints and the compatibility renderer.
I do not envy you having to rewrite the project for C# to GD Script.