General Feedback

[Twentydragon]

I've played a few hours of this game, and I mostly like what I'm seeing. I think this game has loads of potential, and I'd love to see it keep getting better over time.

The controls need a bit of compartmentalization, I think. When you invert the Y-axis on your controller for shooter-style minigames (Barn Brawl, Acidic Atoll, Sandy Search), it should not also be inverted for twin-stick minigames (Magma & Mages). At the very least, there should be a way to easily customize individual control styles (shooter, free-run, twin-stick, RC, 2D, etc.).

When adding minigames, it would be a good idea to boil down the controls into basic styles like the ones I've listed, and focus on what interesting things might be done with them. For instance, you could have a minigame where you have to climb a tower in shooter style, occasionally taking shots at your opponents to reset their progress. First one to the top (or closest to it when time runs out) wins.

Below is a big list of things I think could improve, but please take this as a compliment. The foundation you have here is very solid and has a lot of potential. I would not do this if I did not care.

Minigames

Magma & Mages
Mashing a button and tilting two sticks is a bit much to manage here.
Mouse control is fine here.

Acidic Atoll
The camera could be locked farther away from your character and rotate around the outside, following the player's movement. Control would then be in free-run (like in Thunderous Trench or Searing Spotlights).

Bullet Barrage
The single jump is basically useless, making the need for a double-jump seem arbitrary.

Strategic Shockwave
If one player outlasts everyone else in both rounds, sometimes they rank 2nd.

All Minigames
Some of the sentences in minigame explanations are awkwardly worded or run together. I would be willing to assist with proofreading if desired.
Attempting to change controls in the pause menu while on the explanation screen will ready up when you press A.

And now the big one:

Ambiguity and information

It can often be very difficult to tell the players apart, even if you're not color-blind. I recommend the occasional reminder arrow (1P, 2P, etc.) above players' heads at the start of each round.
This extends to dropped keys, whose light auras are often difficult to read against light backgrounds. Green and blue auras look similar against sand.

Tactical Cactus Disguises (Cactical Disguises?) could be color-coded to match the player, unless ambiguity is the goal there.

Keys gathered as part of a bunch or in rapid succession should probably be counted together instead of as a series of rapid +1s. For example, landing on a key space pops out 5 keys, which collect on the player, and could be followed by a display of +5 instead of +1+1+1+1+1.

(Very minor point) Keys dropped onto a space are currently determined by physical proximity, not by proximity in the board's terms. It would help clear things up if dropped keys gathered onto nearby spaces.

Some sort of visual indication of directionality on the board. My friends and I had to wander around and feel out the movement by trial and error. The sparkle trail leading to the chest is a nice touch and helps somewhat, but there really should be arrows or something on the board.

Turn order is not currently announced at the start of the turn (kind of necessary since it changes every turn). There is a tiny display for it, but it would be a much clearer visual cue if the list on the left (whose panels display player information, stacked in rank order, but extend when it's their turn anyway) were ordered based on turn order. Ranking is easy enough to tell by the included goblet and ordinal displays.

Counting down spaces as a player moves would be helpful, but not strictly necessary. The new display on intersections helps a lot already.

An indication of players' eliminations/deaths in minigames. Currently this is only clear in Snowy Spin and Temporal Trails. A soft bell tone and a skull and crossbones above their score could suffice.

Scoring. Many minigames award points in 25s, some in 1s, and some in 100s. This inconsistency can cause confusion. I recommend changing all the increments to 1s for clarity.

When a player scores points, and the action causing it is on-screen, it might help to move the +1 to the location of the action, rather than at the scoreboard. Also, I recommend turning the panel white while the score is changing.

Ranking display during the minigame. When a player's ranking for a minigame is set in stone, why not change their scoreboard to show the ranking? Also, why not take a moment or two at the end of the minigame to change each score display into that player's ranking? Cutting straight to the results is a little jarring.

Again, please take all the above as a compliment. Pummel Party's basics are pretty solid, and I like how it feels to play (most of the time). I simply want to see this game be the amazing, salt-filled party game I know it can be.

Edit, 2018-10-11

I ran into a pretty severe bug on Snowy Spin. The countdown timer doesn't halt the round, leading to a softlock if the bots get stuck. You can't continue the game, but you can exit.

[RebuiltGames]

Hey TwentyDragon

Thanks for taking the time to write out such a comprehensive list of improvements we really appreciate it and your desire to help us improve the game. Haven't completely digested the full post yet but will certainly refer back to it when looking for ways to improve the game.

Regards Rebuilt Games

[Garethr]

Id like to second the opinion on controls when inverting the Y axis.
I cant play the FPS style games without inverting the Y axis but then when I do I cant play the twin stick games.

Love the game though but this is my only issue (albeit a pretty big one!) :D

[McGurk]

Originally posted by Garethr:

Id like to second the opinion on controls when inverting the Y axis.
I cant play the FPS style games without inverting the Y axis but then when I do I cant play the twin stick games.

Love the game though but this is my only issue (albeit a pretty big one!) :D

I also need this! please update!!!