Possible Changes! I need your thoughts!

[Cache of Bones]

With a new wave of players and as I continue to work on another update, I wanted to ask your opinion on what you'd like to see when it comes to updating the game. There are plenty of suggestions and I wanted to voice my thoughts and was hoping I could hear from all of you what you think of them.

My original idea when releasing the game was to not change anything. The consistency between each run was important and I didn't want to change anything drastically such as making a new section of the maze or adding new weapons.

I still want to stick to the design behind that, but there has been more feedback about the game and I wanted to try and get as much feedback on this topic as much as I can. Do you want there to be more types of weapons added? Would you like to see some changes to the maze? New enemies? Please let me know how you feel about adding content that changes the game more drastically. I don't want to change how the game is played that much, but would you be interested in content that adds to what is already done?

A change that will be in the next update is parrying a gorgon eye attack can possibly turn the gorgon to stone. I am also testing a new endless wave mode which will need more testing before I decide on adding.

Also you can follow me on YouTube and Twitter!

[Dwarf Vult]

After finally beating the Minotaur last night, I have a few thoughts though I've only really played 3ish hours so far.

One of the more frustrating things that ended a few good runs for me are the pits and holes throughout the maze. I definitely think they should remain as a hazard, but there were a couple of instances where I would hit the rim of the pit/hole and ended up skating around the edge before falling in (Particularly once you are going really fast) . It would be nice if there was a bit of grace with edges so you wouldn't be doomed from the slightest step off the edge.

I also struggle a lot with the zombie archers - I haven't perfected parrying their arrows, but once they hit a certain saturation around the bridges the constant stun they can put out felt bad. I find the visual indicator of their attack is too short, and you really need to be on your reaction game to rely on it. Most of my parries have been timed based on their initial wind up animation.

The weapon variety feels good enough as is, though I don't really like the slower weapons. Ares sword in particular felt far too slow, while Poseidons Trident genuinely felt godlike (Hah) once I had the special attack cooldown maxed out. The fact it can stun the minotaur was very helpful, though at that point I was face tanking every one of his hits with just a golden helmet.

The parts of the maze that let you drop down to a lower level (In the starting labyrinth section?) are cool, though I found out quickly enough you can't escape the minotaur once he has detected you.

For the enemies, it would be nice to visually tell the difference as the zombies get stronger. Starting out they could just be naked as usual, and as time goes on they get more armour pieces to help indicate they are stronger than before. I don't think they need any buffs or changes (Apart from the archers above), but a visual difference would be nice.

The catharsis of beating the minotaur for the first time, getting an A rank and promptly launching Heracles mode was great. Especially once I saw his parry animations.

And for a laugh, what about a mini-minotaur mode? Or some sort of survival where you start out fast, and have multiple minotaurs chasing you down?

[Cache of Bones]

Originally posted by Dwarf Vult:

After finally beating the Minotaur last night, I have a few thoughts though I've only really played 3ish hours so far.

One of the more frustrating things that ended a few good runs for me are the pits and holes throughout the maze. I definitely think they should remain as a hazard, but there were a couple of instances where I would hit the rim of the pit/hole and ended up skating around the edge before falling in (Particularly once you are going really fast) . It would be nice if there was a bit of grace with edges so you wouldn't be doomed from the slightest step off the edge.

I also struggle a lot with the zombie archers - I haven't perfected parrying their arrows, but once they hit a certain saturation around the bridges the constant stun they can put out felt bad. I find the visual indicator of their attack is too short, and you really need to be on your reaction game to rely on it. Most of my parries have been timed based on their initial wind up animation.

The weapon variety feels good enough as is, though I don't really like the slower weapons. Ares sword in particular felt far too slow, while Poseidons Trident genuinely felt godlike (Hah) once I had the special attack cooldown maxed out. The fact it can stun the minotaur was very helpful, though at that point I was face tanking every one of his hits with just a golden helmet.

The parts of the maze that let you drop down to a lower level (In the starting labyrinth section?) are cool, though I found out quickly enough you can't escape the minotaur once he has detected you.

For the enemies, it would be nice to visually tell the difference as the zombies get stronger. Starting out they could just be naked as usual, and as time goes on they get more armour pieces to help indicate they are stronger than before. I don't think they need any buffs or changes (Apart from the archers above), but a visual difference would be nice.

The catharsis of beating the minotaur for the first time, getting an A rank and promptly launching Heracles mode was great. Especially once I saw his parry animations.

And for a laugh, what about a mini-minotaur mode? Or some sort of survival where you start out fast, and have multiple minotaurs chasing you down?

Thanks for sharing! Probably not going to happen in the next update, but a lot of people seem to want a way to get the Minotaur off your trail. I once had an item you could buy from Aphrodite that would send him to the center of the maze and he'd not be able to attack for a few minutes but I really didn't like it. I could try adding a new item from Aphrodite if you can reach her before the Minotaur catches up, but I think most players would want to be able to escape from him by running away. I'm not sure how I'll handle this or if I will do it. Right now I am thinking I'll buff revive so he can't find you after you get your second life.

I think the archers is something that you'll get use to the more you play but I'll see if I think they are worth changing at all.

I was recently testing a Minotaur mode. I don't want to share what I was thinking right now because I am not sure if I'll be able to do it. I like the Heracles parry animations too lol

[Manul]

Hi, new player here (2h), thank you for asking our opinion!

I don't fully understand what you mean by consistency between runs.

On one hand:
My experience so far, thanks to the final boss wandering around the maze and being able to just randomly surprise you, is that the runs are not consistent at all as it. This, of course, could simply be me not properly understanding how the game should be played.

On the other hand:
I really like the maze and enemies designs. But, since I'm dying roughly every 5 minutes, running down the initial corridors, trying to beat up the cyclop to get the same upgrades in more or less exactly the same way while hoping the bull does not randomly find me at any point inbetween, starts getting repetitive and I don't feel like I'm learning/improving much with each run anymore. In my opinion, more variety/randomization between runs would be a great boon.

Oh, and one little thing considering dying all the time - would it be possible to add a "reuse last name" option?

[Cache of Bones]

Originally posted by Manul:

Hi, new player here (2h), thank you for asking our opinion!

I don't fully understand what you mean by consistency between runs.

On one hand:
My experience so far, thanks to the final boss wandering around the maze and being able to just randomly surprise you, is that the runs are not consistent at all as it. This, of course, could simply be me not properly understanding how the game should be played.

On the other hand:
I really like the maze and enemies designs. But, since I'm dying roughly every 5 minutes, running down the initial corridors, trying to beat up the cyclop to get the same upgrades in more or less exactly the same way while hoping the bull does not randomly find me at any point inbetween, starts getting repetitive and I don't feel like I'm learning/improving much with each run anymore. In my opinion, more variety/randomization between runs would be a great boon.

Oh, and one little thing considering dying all the time - would it be possible to add a "reuse last name" option?

What I mainly mean by consistency is I don't really want to implement something like a randomized maze. Each run the maze's layout doesn't change and a few things are also constant like the large pearls or the Aphrodite shops. This is because when testing the game I found having some consistency when it came to knowing where something was and I should go there was far more fun than getting constantly lost, so learning the maze layout became a part of getting better. So what I mean by wanting to keep that consistency is to try and avoid updates where it feels like you need to rely on luck and randomness.

I think the best advice I can give if you find yourself dying to the Minotaur early on is to try and get far away from the starting area as soon as you can and try to make sure you are always moving and not sticking around the same location very long. Speed upgrades are also great and you may want to get the Vigilance of the Hero upgrade if you want help avoiding the Minotaur. Good luck!

[BalMeister]

I've not played much of this game yet but it really shows a lot of promise and i have totally enjoyed so far but i'm wondering if you have considered the possibility of permanent upgrades in between runs maybe like an inheritance between different characters think it might be interesting

[Cache of Bones]

Originally posted by BalMeister:

I've not played much of this game yet but it really shows a lot of promise and i have totally enjoyed so far but i'm wondering if you have considered the possibility of permanent upgrades in between runs maybe like an inheritance between different characters think it might be interesting

Not really. I at one point had considered having you pick a trait before entering like starting with a speed upgrade at the cost of starting with -100 pearls or something like that. I don't know if I will want to add that though based on how the game is currently designed.

[the goobah]

For the sake of the de-aggro system, I have some thoughts:

A) If he loses sight of you (or isn't within a certain distance of the player) for ~30secs or something, he goes back to normal. This comes from the fact that when you jump through a hole, or off the bridge/tower, the minotaur doesn't directly follow you. His pathfinding forces him to find another way to you, and I think that should give opportunity for the player to escape.

B) Another option I think would be cool is bait/traps. Maybe a buyable pheromone-based item from Aphrodite that the minotaur will think is the player for a time? Or juking the minotaur into falling into a pit he has to climb out of?

C) An item/items that blind the minotaur and his senses. A sand pouch or something that you can throw at him to make him lose sight of you, allowing you to escape, or a perfume-type item you can use to throw off the scent.



Unrelated, but the Aphrodite/Heracles modes are sick. I know they aren't the primary focus of the game, but going forward I beg for more of those types of modes because they're so fun. I especially love zooming around as Aphrodite and flying across the map after jumping off the tower.

[Oreo365]

3.4 hours with one Minotaur kill here. I would like to see if not a bigger map then alternate maps for different modes. I agree with the sentiments about the archers but above all I would like to be able to "lose" the Minotaur, although with large difficulty. More variaty between runs is why I would prefer to see new map additions as the environment and exploring was such a fun part.

[Cache of Bones]

Originally posted by the goobah:

For the sake of the de-aggro system, I have some thoughts:

A) If he loses sight of you (or isn't within a certain distance of the player) for ~30secs or something, he goes back to normal. This comes from the fact that when you jump through a hole, or off the bridge/tower, the minotaur doesn't directly follow you. His pathfinding forces him to find another way to you, and I think that should give opportunity for the player to escape.

B) Another option I think would be cool is bait/traps. Maybe a buyable pheromone-based item from Aphrodite that the minotaur will think is the player for a time? Or juking the minotaur into falling into a pit he has to climb out of?

C) An item/items that blind the minotaur and his senses. A sand pouch or something that you can throw at him to make him lose sight of you, allowing you to escape, or a perfume-type item you can use to throw off the scent.



Unrelated, but the Aphrodite/Heracles modes are sick. I know they aren't the primary focus of the game, but going forward I beg for more of those types of modes because they're so fun. I especially love zooming around as Aphrodite and flying across the map after jumping off the tower.

I think what I will end up trying first will be simply running away. If you can out run him I think it is fair you can escape him. But I think that should be a one chance thing, so no escaping twice. Another reason why I didn't end up going with an item that would let you lose him was because it felt a bit unfun to carry it as your only item and adding multiple items wasn't balanced. That said, maybe an item is a good trade for players who are truly afraid of the Minotaur lol. I'd need to change Aphrodite's shop though which may means I could add even more items.

There is one problem I do have with the Minotaur losing track of the player and that is if you purposely have a lot of speed upgrades and wanted the Minotaur to find you in a certain location, him losing track of you could be annoying.

Just to share some items and weapons that didn't make the cut in case people think they are worth adding:

• Fire Pot (This became Blacksmith Helmet but this item would be a really strong single shot Fire Pot)
  
• An item that let you save a point to teleport back to. This was fun but it opened up the possibility for really bad glitches.
  
• Auto Parry potion/helmet. The demo had an auto parry helmet but I removed it because I felt it was too strong and with certain weapons and upgrades it basically made you invincible forever.
  
• Banish Minotaur item. It would send him back to the center of the maze.
  
• Teleport Pot that you teleported to wherever it landed. I'll just say right now it'll never happen because it caused so many problems.
  
• Tyche Sword that had every special move be random.

Also spiders were removed because I thought they looked terrible lol, plus they didn't feel very unique.

I'm glad you like the Aphrodite and Heracles modes. They are pretty basic but just a fun bonus that let's you enjoy being super strong. It also keeps time in the rankings for both of them! I'm planning on making a endless horde mode set in a colosseum as another bonus which I am hoping won't take super long to make. Might try a Minotaur mode as well.

[Cache of Bones]

Originally posted by Oreo365:

3.4 hours with one Minotaur kill here. I would like to see if not a bigger map then alternate maps for different modes. I agree with the sentiments about the archers but above all I would like to be able to "lose" the Minotaur, although with large difficulty. More variaty between runs is why I would prefer to see new map additions as the environment and exploring was such a fun part.

No promises but a new maze would be fun! It would also be a ton of work though!

[GhastlyGrim]

I feel like some new enemies would be nice. Maybe a den with a Nemean Lion and some more variations of normal enemies. These are just some examples though. I don't think too many should be added because that would over complicate things, but a new miniboss or something would be nice. Also, I feel like the roll as a defense option should just stay no matter what helm you wear. I agree with others, it is silly that once the Minotaur finds you, it is suddenly omniscient and that's a bit silly. If you feel that weakens him too much to lose him, it's your game, make him stronger in return. Another thing that would be cool is different types of player weapons, we have projectiles already, why not give the player bows for example. These are just some spitball ideas.

[Cache of Bones]

Originally posted by GhastlyGrim:

I feel like some new enemies would be nice. Maybe a den with a Nemean Lion and some more variations of normal enemies. These are just some examples though. I don't think too many should be added because that would over complicate things, but a new miniboss or something would be nice. Also, I feel like the roll as a defense option should just stay no matter what helm you wear. I agree with others, it is silly that once the Minotaur finds you, it is suddenly omniscient and that's a bit silly. If you feel that weakens him too much to lose him, it's your game, make him stronger in return. Another thing that would be cool is different types of player weapons, we have projectiles already, why not give the player bows for example. These are just some spitball ideas.

I'm not sure about a new miniboss because if I do add a new enemy I'd like it to be a regular enemy. It would also add more variety for common enemies. I have an idea for a new enemy but I do want to wait a little bit before I add content that would change more than simple tweaks. I think it is important to see how people feel as they spend more time with the game before making those kind of changes.

Also I saw your review and were asking for places to follow. You can follow my YouTube and Twitter!

[Fredrick]

Hi there! I seen this gem of a game from Wicked wiz and I gotta say I would love to see a multiplayer mode if possible!

2 players vs the Minotaur would be fun (Maybe have the players share upgrades) Disable achievements of course or could add an achievement titled play with a friend.

I was streaming this with a friend of mine and he said he would love to play this game if we could play as the Minotaur lol or better yet a 2 player mode where one person is the Minotaur. I wonder how hard would it be to make a hero ai. If making a hero ai is too much maybe don't try that idea but think about a Minotaur vs player mode with 2 players.

Based from my thoughts I say most of the helmets are pretty weak as I prefer to have the dodge roll (helmetless) compared to other helmets that took it away. I think having dodge roll as a permanent move might be better so that I could wear any helmet and can still roll.

I gotta say man this game needs more attention as I say this game is pretty cool. I like the friendly tutorial guides and like the map in general. Expanding the map for more places to explore might be cool. Speaking of maps I tried to do something silly like got on a wall but got instakilled (You're so clever making a little anticheat for my smart brain haha). Keep up the good work

[Cache of Bones]

Originally posted by Fredrick:

Hi there! I seen this gem of a game from Wicked wiz and I gotta say I would love to see a multiplayer mode if possible!

2 players vs the Minotaur would be fun (Maybe have the players share upgrades) Disable achievements of course or could add an achievement titled play with a friend.

I was streaming this with a friend of mine and he said he would love to play this game if we could play as the Minotaur lol or better yet a 2 player mode where one person is the Minotaur. I wonder how hard would it be to make a hero ai. If making a hero ai is too much maybe don't try that idea but think about a Minotaur vs player mode with 2 players.

Based from my thoughts I say most of the helmets are pretty weak as I prefer to have the dodge roll (helmetless) compared to other helmets that took it away. I think having dodge roll as a permanent move might be better so that I could wear any helmet and can still roll.

I gotta say man this game needs more attention as I say this game is pretty cool. I like the friendly tutorial guides and like the map in general. Expanding the map for more places to explore might be cool. Speaking of maps I tried to do something silly like got on a wall but got instakilled (You're so clever making a little anticheat for my smart brain haha). Keep up the good work

Multiplayer would probably be fun but it would be really hard to implement. I may try seeing if adding multiplayer can become a realistic goal but I think it would basically require remaking the game so if this is something I want to try and do it will probably take a really long time.

Trying to work on a new update that will add some new stuff. Thanks for playing!

[DittyDitto]

A Centaur type of enemy could be cool. They could have a lot of health. But I don't think we need another Cyclops like enemy. Instead maybe they could charge at you, and if they hit a wall they take 1/4 of their health.