Pretty awesome so far, although I'm a little annoyed the locals don't react to my no-killing-humans run so far, though I know it's a lot to ask. I do think it would be neat if the sentient enemies retreat or call back up after a bit, though, because, like, if basically 100% of legion members are cool with me when they are dying I can't imagine they'd be that hellbent on throwing themselves at me after the third time I parry their shotgun blast without attacking them.
Also I spent like 2 hours trying to find a way to kill the static guy in the opening area so as to not lead him to Meridian but I couldn't figure one out. I did trap him down an elevator shaft in the bottom left, at least, but oh well.
I think the enemy infighting and passive activities are my favorite things about the game so far, but the combat is also pretty good. Haven't figured out how to fire my pistol, but probably I just don't have bullets. Besides, blasters are crude implements. The beam saber is a far more elegant weapon, of a much more civilised age.
You need to lock the mouse pointer to one screen. I have a two monitor set up and sometimes when my character is close to the edge of the screen my mouse moves over to second monitor and the game switches to the desktop when i LMB click. I like the game, the graphics and being able to interact with NPCs. Even being able to ally with them (although whether or not they come to help when you need it later idk- would be nice if there was a hotkey for that and they materialize and help fight- but only once. So you need to choose when is the best time).
But i am not a big fan of having to restart from checkpoint if you die and often over and over. What about adding an easy mode (perhaps difficulty level can be changed anytime during the game), where you respawn where you died, or nearest safe point if it was a drop when roping over a chasm for example. But the player will only get half of their BM back or something like that.
Those players who love as it is wont be affected in normal mode and im sure you could add a hard mode for players who have beaten the game. Perhaps also for those who have beaten the game- perhaps they can unlock some new weapons and clothing that they can use on their next new game play through.
Thanks for the feedback Daza. I'll definitely fix the two screen mouse pointer error, I generally work with just one so it's never come up for me.
While I do want the game to be more accessible and forgiving, I still think challenge is essential component for Biomass to be what it is. However, there are definitely some parts that are somewhat unfair and a few areas that could use more shortcuts or checkpoints, I will definitely consider that.
I was actually considering an idea where you could restart once from where you died at the cost of all your BM, but your post is making me consider making it perhaps a half of your BM penalty.
Implementing difficulty modes is very difficult. Balancing is hard enough without a choice of difficulty, especially as a one man developer. And in general I am not a big fan of difficulty modes. I prefer to integrate things like that into gameplay like wearing the red uniform in the east tower, and the way most bosses have an easier, sometimes hidden, way to defeat them.
But yeah, I appreciate you took the time to share your thoughts and will consider them in future updates.
An incredible game - brought it right after release in steam. Trully small gem in indie-gaming. Wish your team luck and success in all possible and future projects.
Hey, I was wondering if you had something in the way of cover art for the demo? (it doesn't need to be demo specific or anything). I have the demo added to my steam library, and would love to make it blend in by giving it a cover rather than the blank grey it is now, and I have no art or editing skill myself.
Hey, sorry for the late reply, hadnt noticed it before today! I've uploaded the actual steam library cover that I did when I initially created the steam page, please excuse the quality it was more of a placeholder before I get around to doing the actual thing (probably should do that soon)! Anyway, you can get it here: https://imgur.com/a/c24n2bn
Maybe one day! Initially started development on my old macbook pro (running on bootcamp, but nevertheless!). Once I have everything done and dusted with the game might dig it out from the abyss that is my storage area at home, and see if I can get it running there.
Cool game even though i didn't play it to much because the time's to late now and i have to sleep , but i did enjoy the beginning and the pixel art is good too i would give 7/10 for the art style , and maybe 7.5/ 10 for the gameplay. I will definetely complete this demo to descover the game well, nice job !!
Hello. I really liked the game's aesthetics. Storyline also feels intruiging and I'm looking forward to try the full version.
The only bug I encountered was somewhere after revealing the reset-world-man in tunnels. All buttons and checkpoints became non-interactable. Fix that but exiting and starting the game again.
Hey Alex, thanks for reporting the bug! The reset world man is a demo exclusive thing but I'll have a look at the code for interacting with interfaces to see if theres a potential bug that could affect the final game.
Hello! I just joined Itch.io and Biomass is the first title I've downloaded.
I love the art style and combat mechanics such as sword clashes and dodging. I was concerned that there wasn't a jump button but I found it helped "ground" the experience if you will. I do wish there was some sort of "map" feature to help me get my bearings a bit better though.
Thanks Andrew! I am considering implementing a map, a few people have requested it, but I am trying to design the world to not really need it... I think it will make more sense in the final game.
I can respect that. As a suggestion though perhaps you could enable the player to view a map of the current area via the checkpoints? In any case keep it up!
Well done on totally breaking the game haha it took me a while to figure out how to fix it, will definitely need to think of a better game for the games release.
But for now, run the registry editor (you can find it by tapping the window key and typing registry editor). Once there, open HKEY_CURRENT_USER and then SOFTWARE. Within there, find the folder 'FinalScene' and delete it. That should reset the input to defaults!
Hey, sorry to hear about that. I think the arrow keys and the enter button on the keyboard should always operate the same way despite bindings - if you manage to get into the gameplay, open the menu up, go to controls, and on the bottom click on reset to default and you should be ok.
If that somehow doesn't work, you can find the save data in the following path "C:\Users\{YourComputerUserName}\AppData\LocalLow\FinalScene" (Replacing {YourComputerUserName} with the profile name you logon to windows with). Delete the BiomassDemo folder and that will clear out all your saved data.
Sorry, I think I didnt give you the right info last time! To reset the controls, run the registry editor (you can find it by tapping the window key and typing registry editor). Once there, open HKEY_CURRENT_USER and then SOFTWARE. Delete the folder FinalScene, and the controls should be back to default!
Cool game! When I first clashed with the beam swords I got pretty hyped.
My only personal gripe is I definitely think bullets should be avoidable by either rolling or crouching. Its collision box doesn't reflect its visual size.
Thanks bdon! The bullets should be dodgeable in terms of if it doesnt hit your collision mask it wont hit you, its just that the invincibility frames dont apply for them during a roll. A crouch should definitely avoid it, as should a roll if it doesn't physically hit you. I will review the collision masks to try to make it more accurate.
I'm really enjoying the game so far, but I'm wondering, is diving/rolling under bullets not an option (I mean bullets that are around head height)? I keep pressing X to roll under and keep getting hit, although pressing the down arrow works to avoid.
Hey SuperRadiumGames, happy to hear you're enjoying the game! Yeah sorry the tutorial kinda sucks, but you cant dodge yellow bullets, you can only deflect them with a weapon (you can even punch them away if you're so inclined!). I think the lazy officer who talks to you will tell you about it if you exhaust his dialogue, but yeah that was a terrible way to communicate it. The tutorial for the full game will be much better.
Still working hard on it! Hoping to release in late april though it seems like I might not make it at this stage, but theres a slim possibility I might make it. Have plans for a couple of free DLCs post release too!
Ah you're not stuck at all my friend, that door is locked out in the demo! I still haven't implemented what's behind it...but it is very important to the game's plot. Basically, at some point in the game you may find a way to get those broken doors fixed...
The invasion allows you to unlock the flintlock if you haven't killed the Red Mother and you help her clean out the settlement. I can't remember if there's anything else exclusive to it aside from fighting more enemies, though getting to Wilbur is easy as the blue guys near his entrance will disappear.
Maybe you've done all there is to do in the demo? There's three bosses in all. If you want to reset the game and keep your items, use the rope wheel to leave the settlement.
Thanks Puppet Studio, that means a lot, I wouldnt consider myself much of a visual artist, this is the first time I've done my own pixel art for a game.
In terms of the gameplay I'd say Bloodborne was definitely the biggest inspiration, though at the same time I am trying to make it more unique than just a 2D rehash of it. Visually Hyper Light Drifter is definitely the biggest inspiration - seeing how something could look so good and yet be relatively low res was very motivating to me.
I know this is a demo but I want to point out some things. When the hall guard gives you the battering ram the battering ram on the screen doesent disapear. After you exit the Wilbur Boss fight room the guys in the weed are still there so your best bet is to roll continuasly. When you do the backstab thing with a moving unit you have to keep up with him in order to backstab. With a great game like this I hope that the minor details get fixed.
Thanks Ice-creansandiwch, I really appreciate the feedback, I want to make the game as good as it can be :)
Congratulations on being one of the few people who got the battering ram, not many people realized you have to keep talking to that guard to get it (im going to add an icon to characters whom have more dialogue to exhaust). I did want to make the battering ram disappear after you get it but I haven't implemented the functionality into the dialogue scripting engine yet, but I definitely will for the final game.
The wilbur room and the guys around it where a last minute addition I added to the demo, a lot of the mapping especially around that area is going to be a lot different in the final game.
The backstab cancel is something I have struggled for a while... initially I had it so the main character would always succeed with the backstab but it sometimes looked unnatural and it could create gamebreaking bugs...its something I'll have to tweak some more for sure.
What's with the green sword guy? It's weird to have a (to me) impossible enemy before I even get the chance to dive into the game, get some upgrades, see another kind of level.
Cheers Ice-creamsandwich, really appreciate it :) Will launch a demo with the final game with a save game that will be usable with the full version if you choose to get it.
Hey Ice-creamsandwich, to use it, you hold the 'alternate' button (you can check what you have it mapped too in the menu, by default it's mapped to left shift for the keyboard, and the left triggers or shoulder buttons for the controllers), and press one of the attack buttons.
The special attack is typically used to parry, though not all weapons can parry and some just have alternate attacks for it.
You hold the alternate button and then press either one of your attack buttons - however the fists dont have a special attack per se, so that wont do much. With the beamsabre equip you do an attack that you can parry with. Will have a better tutorial in the final game / next demo.
this is an awesome game im gonna play more but i love how the game started with no idea of whats happening plus deflect mechanic is something i have to learn. The controls took a bit to learn (havent used the z,x,c, in a while) but the atmosphere to the enemies, notch!
Cheers Marxxiez, thanks for playing the game : ) I really enjoyed your video, I was really hoping youd take out those elites at the end haha I thought you had them, you were so close!
This was a really enjoyable game! I didn't complete the entire demo, but after playing it for a bit I knew it was something I was going to get on release. The combat feels fluid, and beam swords clashing is ALWAYS cool. It's not often we get something in this genre that takes place in a futuristic setting, so that was neat as well. Definitely give this a shot if you're considering it! Props to the developers!
Thanks Quazimofo, really enjoyed watching your playthrough! Your commentary was really funny, and your gameplay gave me lots of good feedback in terms of things I need to work on. Cheers :)
Thanks for the heads up supremenutoverlord, the actual link in this page was pointing to the old url even though the display text was the correct invite. In any case, it should be fixed now!
I loved the demo, and suffice to say I'm looking forward to the full release!
Out of curiosity, is there anywhere the music used can be found? I've tried looking at the demo game files, but only the sound effect files are present.
I've particularly loved the Red Mother's battle theme, and wanted to listen to it without having to replay the fight, if that is at all possible?
Thanks Dadragon6, that means a lot :) I was pretty happy with the red mother track as well, it's definitely one of my favourites though there's a couple more in the full game that are up there as well.
But yeah I dug up my old soundcloud account and uploaded the red mother battle theme and the background track for the south tower peak area. You can find them here: https://soundcloud.com/user-554742669
Great demo, really enjoied the game. I hope the final game will be more like a metroidvania, maybe some ropes are too long to go trough without the mod and can be acsessed only with the/a mod, somethin liek that, but I don´t know. Lookin forward to the relase but I have some questions about the it.
1. What consoles will it come on?
2. How much will it cost?
3. Is there multiplayer?
Thanks for this awsome game, looking forward to updates and the relase!
While the final game will have more metroidvania elements than the demo, it will be executed in a manner thats different to most other games of the genre...I don't want to spoil too much but yeah there's definitely gating that can be overcome but you aren't going to be an overpowered force of death by the endgame! As for your questions:
1. I want to release it on the Switch and PS4, but if this were to happen it would probably still be a whiles away as I want to release some free DLC on the pc version first as well. I have no idea what the porting job will involve either, but since I am using Unity I hope it isn't too much of a headache.
2. The launch price will be 14.99 USD
3. No multiplayer...it's one of those things I have always thought of adding down the line but it definitely won't be a straight forward task as there's a lot of code which takes the assumption that there's only one player. If the game gets popular enough to justify it though I will add it as free dlc at some point.
Really cool overall. Nice combat system, challenging but fair. Great atmosphere, helped by the good soundtrack. We don't see that much of it in the demo, but the setting and story seem like they could be interesting, too. Looking forward to the final game.
Some notes from my playthrough:
-"Interact" and "heal" on the same button is insane. You can't heal near interactable objects, you heal by accident when trying to interact with stuff, it's a mess. Please change.
-Using a PS4 controller, the only item I could use was the gun? With the gun selected, pull R2, character shoots, no problem. With the grenade or stamina thing selected, pull R2, nothing happens. Bizarre. Hitting the item key on the keyboard worked fine, though.
-A map would be nice.
-There should be an explanation about what each stat does when upgrading.
-If you fall into a bottomless pit, there doesn't seem to be a way to get your souls biomass back..? Seems a bit harsh. Like, in Dark Souls, you can still get your blood stain near the pit when that happens.
-Some parts seems a bit obtuse. First time I met the Red Mother, with the first armor equipped, I failed the questions. Then she didn't really want to talk anymore, so I let her be and went elsewhere. Got the captain armor, started talking to people, kinda ran out of places to go, assumed the Red Mother was important but she wasn't saying anything new... Tried attacking as a last resort, but that didn't do anything since I was wearing the captain armor, though I didn't realize that was the reason. I was confused for a while, even reset the world, but since I was still wearing that armor, Red Mother wouldn't even ask me the questions. Finally, I watched the video from the other commenter and figured out how it worked, hah. So... well, I'm not sure how likely it is that a player does the same thing I did and gets confused about how to progress, but it doesn't seem like such a far-fetched scenario. Maybe you should be able to attack her regardless of what you're wearing so that you can at least progress? Or maybe the dialogue when you're dressed as a captain should be significantly different so that you get a hint that she's not interested in talking to you like that... I don't know, it's possible that I'm just dumb. :)
-So after that I went to the storage area, got two new armor sets, got some kind of partial blueprint (?), beat a boss and got the dual beamsaber. Hmm... OK. I expected to find something to blow up floors, like the guy in the underground seemed to suggest, but there wasn't anything like that, unless I missed something. Talking to that guy again didn't do anything, even with the new recruit costume. So I was kinda stuck there, but maybe I need to talk to other people wearing the recruit costume, or find someone who wants that blueprint, or try messing with the enemy (pallid?) costume.
-It was time for dinner at that point, though, so I went "save/exit" and quit the game. When I started it up again later, the "continue" option on the title screen was disabled. It looks like it didn't save at all. Normal for the demo, or...?
Thanks for taking the time to give so much feedback, its a lot of help :)
I totally agree with the interact and heal being mapped to the same button. I implemented a method to kinda help with it, if you hold down the alternate button (the one you use to do the special attack/walk with) and then press interact it will override any interactable objects and will force a heal. Initially it was mapped to the secondary weapon button, but when I implemented the weapon mixing system (you can swap weapons mid combo), I kinda ran out of buttons so I decided to go with what we have now. Not 100% sure if I'll keep it as such though, I am not sure if people are using the weapon mixing system too much.
Wow that was a very specific bug, I am surprised I never ran into it before as my main gamepad is also a ps4 controller. I've managed to fix it, uploading the patch now, unfortunately with my slow australian internet it might take a while ><
You're not the first to ask for a map! I am in two minds about it. I think it does seem needed in the demo, but in the final game the way the journey will flow will make it somewhat not needed...its kinda hard to describe without getting into spoilers! I think it might be one of those things where I will add it after the initial full release if I turn out to be wrong and people get really pissed off without a map...we'll see...
I definitely need to put some explanations of the stats somewhere. I was going to implement it as dialogue for some characters but I never got around to it. For what its worth, tech skill is melee strength and mech knowledge is for guns.
Hmm thats odd, it should spawn it where you fell, and if it cant find a usable spot it should spawn it right next to the biomass workstation you spawn from. Where did you fall that you didnt get it?
Yeah the way I designed it I was expecting the player to fail the dialogue, fight her, later on find the red garments in the storage pit, and maybe get the hints from some officers as to how to answer the dialogue for the new game plus.I did want to add some custom dialogue if you're wearing a red uniform where she would inform you that she can see through the disguise and she knows youre not of her underlings, yeah I think ill definitely need to add something like that, and maybe make her aggroable even if you are wearing the red uniform. Can I ask though, how did you manage to get the red captains uniform without getting the plain red officers one in the warehouse? Ive heard it might be cheesable but yeah thats not how I intended it to happen haha
Ah I see you killed the blue guy in the storage! If you spoke to him, a different chain of events would have happened...I won't spoilt it for you! But yeah, I wouldnt worry that much about getting through the floors right now, theres another boss you can fight... you need to pass all the blues near the beginning in the tunnels. If you wear the blue uniform you should be able to get past them. If you hadnt killed the blue guy in the warehouse and you open the ladder gate they would have been gone as well.
The saving sounds weird, did you trigger a new game+? There was a bug earlier that would disable the continue option when you started a new game+, however it should be fixed in the latest version (I uploaded it like 12 hours ago, its 1.03). If not, that is a bit concerning, did you quit and save before that? If you havent triggered a new game plus yet, you can do it from the settlement, taking the rope on the right after getting the commanders authorization.
Needing to hold "alternate" and "interact" to heal sounds like a great improvement.
Regarding losing the biomass XP when falling into a hole, hmm, as I recall... To the left of the door guarded by the tall guys, past the ladder to storage, down another ladder, there's a hole to the left there. I wasn't sure if it was a hole or a floor, or if there might be something down there, so I tried walking over it and fell to my death. :) Going back there after, my "blood stain" was nowhere to be seen. I think the same thing happened with a hole near the entrance to the storage area, the one with a rope above it (just a dumb death, that time). I guess it might be possible that the thing spawned near the biomass station and I just didn't notice because I wasn't expecting it...
That's another small annoyance I noticed, actually. It's often not that clear when there's a hole in the floor. Yeah, the floor pixels turn darker where you'll fall through, but I generally wasn't sure if that was just a shadow or an actual hole. I don't know, maybe it never happens that it's a shadow effect, and I should always assume it's a hole...
About the whole Red Mother thing, aaah... so I sequence-broke inadvertently and that's what made things more difficult/confusing for me. That makes sense. If I never got the captain uniform, I would definitely have initiated the Red Mother fight eventually out of a lack of other options. But yeah, it's possible to cheese the shotgun guys guarding the captain's quarters. You can shoot them once while across the gap, and then they'll back up a bit and wait for you... but if you just wait (or move away a bit, maybe?) until they drop the aggro state, they'll start running back and forth across their platform and then you can hit 'em with a bullet again and kill one. Sometimes, one of them will jump/fall down to the platform below, too. Either way, once there's only one left and he's not aggro'd, you can cross fast enough with the wheel while his back is turned and murder him before he can shoot.
Anyway, if you intend to have the captain gear only available later, it might be good to change this part to really require having that other uniform first (maybe someone that opens a door only if they recognize your uniform?). Then again, sequence breaking can be fun, too. But this part is a little frustrating because it's really not clear that you're missing something. I think many people will try it again and again in the hope that they can find a timing to cross before the guards can shoot (I think Cryptic Hybrid's video shows this as well).
Ah, so I could talk to that creture next to where you get the regular uniform? Hah, he looked very menacing, so I didn't try getting close enough to talk, I guess! Or wait... do you mean where you get the blue outfit? I forgot if I killed someone for that or not, actually... but could be, that would make sense. Didn't need to outfit to get past the corridor with all the blues, though, they're not that hard if you keep your distance. :)
Finally, about the save, yeah I did trigger a new game+/reset at some point during the playthrough, though I did save after that. But if that's what causes the bug, then yeah, that would explain it. Pretty sure I was playing on 1.02.
Yeah its always been there but I never advertised it, I should add it to the repair tutorial. I considered making it the only way to heal but I feel like it might confuse some people and might be cumbersome in the middle of a battle!
Thanks for the detailed description, I did make some changes to the biomass excess code somewhat recently and havent tested pit falling since then, maybe that resulted in this happening. I will check it out.
A few people have accidentally fallen over what they thought was solid ground, I will try to make it clearer! It's kinda harder for the darker areas, but more than anything I will try to make solid ground much clearer.
Haha yeah you pretty much sequenced broke, which I do encourage! The final game especially will have lots of opportunities to do so - though I am definitely going to be guiding the player through a specified path and ideally they will take it the first time through! Ah so the wheel came in to play. Yeah watching Cryptic Hybrid's made me modify the the camera boundaries for that section since it was less clear that you could go left before. From version 1.01 the camera pans left as soon as you get up there. I am hoping this is enough to show people that the section to the right is not intended, maybe at most theyll take a shotgun shot to the face and then rethink their attempt haha.
Yeah, it's not a creature exactly, that beak thing is more of a mask! I think you will have acquired it if you kill him so you can put it on. Yeah if you don't kill him and unlock the gate the world changes somewhat...
Ok that's a relief, those save bugs are the scariest to deal with! The new game+ should be fixed now as I was just made aware of it recently.
Also, thanks to your help I've fixed the ps4 item trigger bug and made the red mother aggroable independent of what you're wearing! I think I will modify her dialogue somewhat as well, kinda to invite you to attack her to make it more obvious...
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Pretty awesome so far, although I'm a little annoyed the locals don't react to my no-killing-humans run so far, though I know it's a lot to ask. I do think it would be neat if the sentient enemies retreat or call back up after a bit, though, because, like, if basically 100% of legion members are cool with me when they are dying I can't imagine they'd be that hellbent on throwing themselves at me after the third time I parry their shotgun blast without attacking them.
Also I spent like 2 hours trying to find a way to kill the static guy in the opening area so as to not lead him to Meridian but I couldn't figure one out. I did trap him down an elevator shaft in the bottom left, at least, but oh well.
I think the enemy infighting and passive activities are my favorite things about the game so far, but the combat is also pretty good. Haven't figured out how to fire my pistol, but probably I just don't have bullets. Besides, blasters are crude implements. The beam saber is a far more elegant weapon, of a much more civilised age.
You need to lock the mouse pointer to one screen. I have a two monitor set up and sometimes when my character is close to the edge of the screen my mouse moves over to second monitor and the game switches to the desktop when i LMB click. I like the game, the graphics and being able to interact with NPCs. Even being able to ally with them (although whether or not they come to help when you need it later idk- would be nice if there was a hotkey for that and they materialize and help fight- but only once. So you need to choose when is the best time).
But i am not a big fan of having to restart from checkpoint if you die and often over and over. What about adding an easy mode (perhaps difficulty level can be changed anytime during the game), where you respawn where you died, or nearest safe point if it was a drop when roping over a chasm for example. But the player will only get half of their BM back or something like that.
Those players who love as it is wont be affected in normal mode and im sure you could add a hard mode for players who have beaten the game. Perhaps also for those who have beaten the game- perhaps they can unlock some new weapons and clothing that they can use on their next new game play through.
Thanks for the feedback Daza. I'll definitely fix the two screen mouse pointer error, I generally work with just one so it's never come up for me.
While I do want the game to be more accessible and forgiving, I still think challenge is essential component for Biomass to be what it is. However, there are definitely some parts that are somewhat unfair and a few areas that could use more shortcuts or checkpoints, I will definitely consider that.
I was actually considering an idea where you could restart once from where you died at the cost of all your BM, but your post is making me consider making it perhaps a half of your BM penalty.
Implementing difficulty modes is very difficult. Balancing is hard enough without a choice of difficulty, especially as a one man developer. And in general I am not a big fan of difficulty modes. I prefer to integrate things like that into gameplay like wearing the red uniform in the east tower, and the way most bosses have an easier, sometimes hidden, way to defeat them.
But yeah, I appreciate you took the time to share your thoughts and will consider them in future updates.
An incredible game - brought it right after release in steam. Trully small gem in indie-gaming. Wish your team luck and success in all possible and future projects.
Thanks so much :)
hi im from turkey. i think verry good game. I wish you continued succes
Thanks for the kind words :)
Really Amazing game, Art style and story telling suck you in immediately
hey bfar re-downloading this game again, I had to delete it to free up some space.
Hey, I was wondering if you had something in the way of cover art for the demo? (it doesn't need to be demo specific or anything). I have the demo added to my steam library, and would love to make it blend in by giving it a cover rather than the blank grey it is now, and I have no art or editing skill myself.
Either way, hype for the full release!
Hey, sorry for the late reply, hadnt noticed it before today! I've uploaded the actual steam library cover that I did when I initially created the steam page, please excuse the quality it was more of a placeholder before I get around to doing the actual thing (probably should do that soon)! Anyway, you can get it here: https://imgur.com/a/c24n2bn
Thanks a bunch! You're too hard on yourself, it looks great! And I'm sure whatever you end up using will look fantastic, like the rest of the game
mac version ?
Maybe one day! Initially started development on my old macbook pro (running on bootcamp, but nevertheless!). Once I have everything done and dusted with the game might dig it out from the abyss that is my storage area at home, and see if I can get it running there.
not bad kiddo
Thanks Jaden :)
Cool game even though i didn't play it to much because the time's to late now and i have to sleep , but i did enjoy the beginning and the pixel art is good too i would give 7/10 for the art style , and maybe 7.5/ 10 for the gameplay. I will definetely complete this demo to descover the game well, nice job !!
Thanks SabiGames, hopefully the full release will be 10/10 worth ;)
Hello. I really liked the game's aesthetics. Storyline also feels intruiging and I'm looking forward to try the full version.
The only bug I encountered was somewhere after revealing the reset-world-man in tunnels. All buttons and checkpoints became non-interactable. Fix that but exiting and starting the game again.
Hey Alex, thanks for reporting the bug! The reset world man is a demo exclusive thing but I'll have a look at the code for interacting with interfaces to see if theres a potential bug that could affect the final game.
Hello! I just joined Itch.io and Biomass is the first title I've downloaded.
I love the art style and combat mechanics such as sword clashes and dodging. I was concerned that there wasn't a jump button but I found it helped "ground" the experience if you will. I do wish there was some sort of "map" feature to help me get my bearings a bit better though.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Andrew! I am considering implementing a map, a few people have requested it, but I am trying to design the world to not really need it... I think it will make more sense in the final game.
I can respect that. As a suggestion though perhaps you could enable the player to view a map of the current area via the checkpoints? In any case keep it up!
i uhhh, may have accidentally bound interact to my down key. this completely broke the game and i cant navigate menus, have resorted to reinstalling.
EDIT: didnt work
Well done on totally breaking the game haha it took me a while to figure out how to fix it, will definitely need to think of a better game for the games release.
But for now, run the registry editor (you can find it by tapping the window key and typing registry editor). Once there, open HKEY_CURRENT_USER and then SOFTWARE. Within there, find the folder 'FinalScene' and delete it. That should reset the input to defaults!
Thanks for letting me know about this issue :)
I fixed it already, thanks for replying though! Since i didnt get very far I just deleted the entire folder, not just the demo one. Great game!
Hi, I changed the controls and now I can't play the game. Is there a way to reset the game? Uninstalling doesn't help.
Hey, sorry to hear about that. I think the arrow keys and the enter button on the keyboard should always operate the same way despite bindings - if you manage to get into the gameplay, open the menu up, go to controls, and on the bottom click on reset to default and you should be ok.
If that somehow doesn't work, you can find the save data in the following path "C:\Users\{YourComputerUserName}\AppData\LocalLow\FinalScene" (Replacing {YourComputerUserName} with the profile name you logon to windows with). Delete the BiomassDemo folder and that will clear out all your saved data.
Sorry, I think I didnt give you the right info last time! To reset the controls, run the registry editor (you can find it by tapping the window key and typing registry editor). Once there, open HKEY_CURRENT_USER and then SOFTWARE. Delete the folder FinalScene, and the controls should be back to default!
Se ve bien, a probarlo, luego te lo califico ;D
Gracias, avisame como te va! :)
Cool game! When I first clashed with the beam swords I got pretty hyped.
My only personal gripe is I definitely think bullets should be avoidable by either rolling or crouching. Its collision box doesn't reflect its visual size.
Thanks bdon! The bullets should be dodgeable in terms of if it doesnt hit your collision mask it wont hit you, its just that the invincibility frames dont apply for them during a roll. A crouch should definitely avoid it, as should a roll if it doesn't physically hit you. I will review the collision masks to try to make it more accurate.
I'm really enjoying the game so far, but I'm wondering, is diving/rolling under bullets not an option (I mean bullets that are around head height)? I keep pressing X to roll under and keep getting hit, although pressing the down arrow works to avoid.
Hey SuperRadiumGames, happy to hear you're enjoying the game! Yeah sorry the tutorial kinda sucks, but you cant dodge yellow bullets, you can only deflect them with a weapon (you can even punch them away if you're so inclined!). I think the lazy officer who talks to you will tell you about it if you exhaust his dialogue, but yeah that was a terrible way to communicate it. The tutorial for the full game will be much better.
damn see a lot of work here,hope that project won't get dropped out after few updates and once I'll buy it on release stage.
Still working hard on it! Hoping to release in late april though it seems like I might not make it at this stage, but theres a slim possibility I might make it. Have plans for a couple of free DLCs post release too!
!Atention! Spoilers!finalscenedev i am a bit stuck on what shall i do. please help.
No worries, ask away!
Thank you. I am stuck on the broken door in the settlement. I will greatly appriciate your help.
Ah you're not stuck at all my friend, that door is locked out in the demo! I still haven't implemented what's behind it...but it is very important to the game's plot. Basically, at some point in the game you may find a way to get those broken doors fixed...
Thanks... but I am still stuck. I don't understand the invasion thing. do i need it?
The invasion allows you to unlock the flintlock if you haven't killed the Red Mother and you help her clean out the settlement. I can't remember if there's anything else exclusive to it aside from fighting more enemies, though getting to Wilbur is easy as the blue guys near his entrance will disappear.
Maybe you've done all there is to do in the demo? There's three bosses in all. If you want to reset the game and keep your items, use the rope wheel to leave the settlement.
Perfect! And so addicting
Thanks Iowangwei :) I've tightened a lot of things for the final release, I hope it can exceed this version!
this is so pretty!
Thanks tabi :)
your game look pretty damn good
Thanks Puppet Studio, that means a lot, I wouldnt consider myself much of a visual artist, this is the first time I've done my own pixel art for a game.
and it very successful, what software do you use for pixel art
I use aseprite, it's been by far the most intuitive pixel art software I've ever used.
And what about your insperations for the game?
In terms of the gameplay I'd say Bloodborne was definitely the biggest inspiration, though at the same time I am trying to make it more unique than just a 2D rehash of it. Visually Hyper Light Drifter is definitely the biggest inspiration - seeing how something could look so good and yet be relatively low res was very motivating to me.
I know this is a demo but I want to point out some things. When the hall guard gives you the battering ram the battering ram on the screen doesent disapear. After you exit the Wilbur Boss fight room the guys in the weed are still there so your best bet is to roll continuasly. When you do the backstab thing with a moving unit you have to keep up with him in order to backstab. With a great game like this I hope that the minor details get fixed.
Thanks Ice-creansandiwch, I really appreciate the feedback, I want to make the game as good as it can be :)
Congratulations on being one of the few people who got the battering ram, not many people realized you have to keep talking to that guard to get it (im going to add an icon to characters whom have more dialogue to exhaust). I did want to make the battering ram disappear after you get it but I haven't implemented the functionality into the dialogue scripting engine yet, but I definitely will for the final game.
The wilbur room and the guys around it where a last minute addition I added to the demo, a lot of the mapping especially around that area is going to be a lot different in the final game.
The backstab cancel is something I have struggled for a while... initially I had it so the main character would always succeed with the backstab but it sometimes looked unnatural and it could create gamebreaking bugs...its something I'll have to tweak some more for sure.
thanks for you reply!
What's with the green sword guy? It's weird to have a (to me) impossible enemy before I even get the chance to dive into the game, get some upgrades, see another kind of level.
Hey dontnormally,
That npc is meant to be friendly but you aggrod him! You're not the first to do it accidentally though, I will make it more obvious in the final game.
God dammit, another dark souls. When will it stop? Are you still not tired of this?
Hey finalscenedev cool game looking forward to an update!
Cheers Ice-creamsandwich, really appreciate it :) Will launch a demo with the final game with a save game that will be usable with the full version if you choose to get it.
Hey how do you use the special attack?
Hey Ice-creamsandwich, to use it, you hold the 'alternate' button (you can check what you have it mapped too in the menu, by default it's mapped to left shift for the keyboard, and the left triggers or shoulder buttons for the controllers), and press one of the attack buttons.
The special attack is typically used to parry, though not all weapons can parry and some just have alternate attacks for it.
Thank you very much. Good game btw!
After you are told to use the Alternate button to perform a special attack, I did that, and it did nothing.
You hold the alternate button and then press either one of your attack buttons - however the fists dont have a special attack per se, so that wont do much. With the beamsabre equip you do an attack that you can parry with. Will have a better tutorial in the final game / next demo.
Thank you for the kind reply!
this is an awesome game im gonna play more but i love how the game started with no idea of whats happening plus deflect mechanic is something i have to learn. The controls took a bit to learn (havent used the z,x,c, in a while) but the atmosphere to the enemies, notch!
Cheers Marxxiez, thanks for playing the game : ) I really enjoyed your video, I was really hoping youd take out those elites at the end haha I thought you had them, you were so close!
This was a really enjoyable game! I didn't complete the entire demo, but after playing it for a bit I knew it was something I was going to get on release. The combat feels fluid, and beam swords clashing is ALWAYS cool. It's not often we get something in this genre that takes place in a futuristic setting, so that was neat as well. Definitely give this a shot if you're considering it! Props to the developers!
Thanks Quazimofo, really enjoyed watching your playthrough! Your commentary was really funny, and your gameplay gave me lots of good feedback in terms of things I need to work on. Cheers :)
Glad I was able to help, best of luck with the full release!
What are the system requirements for biomass?
Hey noodlesatitch,
The game shouldnt be too demanding, it runs on unity, I can run it pretty well on an integrated card on a 5 year old windows 7 laptop.
thanks, because my computer is very old just wanted to check
Discord link doesn't work, it's expired.
Thanks for the heads up supremenutoverlord, the actual link in this page was pointing to the old url even though the display text was the correct invite. In any case, it should be fixed now!
I loved the demo, and suffice to say I'm looking forward to the full release!
Out of curiosity, is there anywhere the music used can be found? I've tried looking at the demo game files, but only the sound effect files are present.
I've particularly loved the Red Mother's battle theme, and wanted to listen to it without having to replay the fight, if that is at all possible?
Thanks Dadragon6, that means a lot :) I was pretty happy with the red mother track as well, it's definitely one of my favourites though there's a couple more in the full game that are up there as well.
But yeah I dug up my old soundcloud account and uploaded the red mother battle theme and the background track for the south tower peak area. You can find them here: https://soundcloud.com/user-554742669
Great demo, really enjoied the game. I hope the final game will be more like a metroidvania, maybe some ropes are too long to go trough without the mod and can be acsessed only with the/a mod, somethin liek that, but I don´t know. Lookin forward to the relase but I have some questions about the it.
1. What consoles will it come on?
2. How much will it cost?
3. Is there multiplayer?
Thanks for this awsome game, looking forward to updates and the relase!
I am happy you enjoyed the game :)
While the final game will have more metroidvania elements than the demo, it will be executed in a manner thats different to most other games of the genre...I don't want to spoil too much but yeah there's definitely gating that can be overcome but you aren't going to be an overpowered force of death by the endgame! As for your questions:
1. I want to release it on the Switch and PS4, but if this were to happen it would probably still be a whiles away as I want to release some free DLC on the pc version first as well. I have no idea what the porting job will involve either, but since I am using Unity I hope it isn't too much of a headache.
2. The launch price will be 14.99 USD
3. No multiplayer...it's one of those things I have always thought of adding down the line but it definitely won't be a straight forward task as there's a lot of code which takes the assumption that there's only one player. If the game gets popular enough to justify it though I will add it as free dlc at some point.
pleeeease put it on xbox
Really cool overall. Nice combat system, challenging but fair. Great atmosphere, helped by the good soundtrack. We don't see that much of it in the demo, but the setting and story seem like they could be interesting, too. Looking forward to the final game.
Some notes from my playthrough:
-"Interact" and "heal" on the same button is insane. You can't heal near interactable objects, you heal by accident when trying to interact with stuff, it's a mess. Please change.
-Using a PS4 controller, the only item I could use was the gun? With the gun selected, pull R2, character shoots, no problem. With the grenade or stamina thing selected, pull R2, nothing happens. Bizarre. Hitting the item key on the keyboard worked fine, though.
-A map would be nice.
-There should be an explanation about what each stat does when upgrading.
-If you fall into a bottomless pit, there doesn't seem to be a way to get your
soulsbiomass back..? Seems a bit harsh. Like, in Dark Souls, you can still get your blood stain near the pit when that happens.-Some parts seems a bit obtuse. First time I met the Red Mother, with the first armor equipped, I failed the questions. Then she didn't really want to talk anymore, so I let her be and went elsewhere. Got the captain armor, started talking to people, kinda ran out of places to go, assumed the Red Mother was important but she wasn't saying anything new... Tried attacking as a last resort, but that didn't do anything since I was wearing the captain armor, though I didn't realize that was the reason. I was confused for a while, even reset the world, but since I was still wearing that armor, Red Mother wouldn't even ask me the questions. Finally, I watched the video from the other commenter and figured out how it worked, hah. So... well, I'm not sure how likely it is that a player does the same thing I did and gets confused about how to progress, but it doesn't seem like such a far-fetched scenario. Maybe you should be able to attack her regardless of what you're wearing so that you can at least progress? Or maybe the dialogue when you're dressed as a captain should be significantly different so that you get a hint that she's not interested in talking to you like that... I don't know, it's possible that I'm just dumb. :)
-So after that I went to the storage area, got two new armor sets, got some kind of partial blueprint (?), beat a boss and got the dual beamsaber. Hmm... OK. I expected to find something to blow up floors, like the guy in the underground seemed to suggest, but there wasn't anything like that, unless I missed something. Talking to that guy again didn't do anything, even with the new recruit costume. So I was kinda stuck there, but maybe I need to talk to other people wearing the recruit costume, or find someone who wants that blueprint, or try messing with the enemy (pallid?) costume.
-It was time for dinner at that point, though, so I went "save/exit" and quit the game. When I started it up again later, the "continue" option on the title screen was disabled. It looks like it didn't save at all. Normal for the demo, or...?
Thanks for taking the time to give so much feedback, its a lot of help :)
I totally agree with the interact and heal being mapped to the same button. I implemented a method to kinda help with it, if you hold down the alternate button (the one you use to do the special attack/walk with) and then press interact it will override any interactable objects and will force a heal.
Initially it was mapped to the secondary weapon button, but when I implemented the weapon mixing system (you can swap weapons mid combo), I kinda ran out of buttons so I decided to go with what we have now. Not 100% sure if I'll keep it as such though, I am not sure if people are using the weapon mixing system too much.
Wow that was a very specific bug, I am surprised I never ran into it before as my main gamepad is also a ps4 controller. I've managed to fix it, uploading the patch now, unfortunately with my slow australian internet it might take a while ><
You're not the first to ask for a map! I am in two minds about it. I think it does seem needed in the demo, but in the final game the way the journey will flow will make it somewhat not needed...its kinda hard to describe without getting into spoilers! I think it might be one of those things where I will add it after the initial full release if I turn out to be wrong and people get really pissed off without a map...we'll see...
I definitely need to put some explanations of the stats somewhere. I was going to implement it as dialogue for some characters but I never got around to it. For what its worth, tech skill is melee strength and mech knowledge is for guns.
Hmm thats odd, it should spawn it where you fell, and if it cant find a usable spot it should spawn it right next to the biomass workstation you spawn from. Where did you fall that you didnt get it?
Yeah the way I designed it I was expecting the player to fail the dialogue, fight her, later on find the red garments in the storage pit, and maybe get the hints from some officers as to how to answer the dialogue for the new game plus.I did want to add some custom dialogue if you're wearing a red uniform where she would inform you that she can see through the disguise and she knows youre not of her underlings, yeah I think ill definitely need to add something like that, and maybe make her aggroable even if you are wearing the red uniform. Can I ask though, how did you manage to get the red captains uniform without getting the plain red officers one in the warehouse? Ive heard it might be cheesable but yeah thats not how I intended it to happen haha
Ah I see you killed the blue guy in the storage! If you spoke to him, a different chain of events would have happened...I won't spoilt it for you! But yeah, I wouldnt worry that much about getting through the floors right now, theres another boss you can fight... you need to pass all the blues near the beginning in the tunnels. If you wear the blue uniform you should be able to get past them. If you hadnt killed the blue guy in the warehouse and you open the ladder gate they would have been gone as well.
The saving sounds weird, did you trigger a new game+? There was a bug earlier that would disable the continue option when you started a new game+, however it should be fixed in the latest version (I uploaded it like 12 hours ago, its 1.03). If not, that is a bit concerning, did you quit and save before that? If you havent triggered a new game plus yet, you can do it from the settlement, taking the rope on the right after getting the commanders authorization.
Needing to hold "alternate" and "interact" to heal sounds like a great improvement.
Regarding losing the biomass XP when falling into a hole, hmm, as I recall... To the left of the door guarded by the tall guys, past the ladder to storage, down another ladder, there's a hole to the left there. I wasn't sure if it was a hole or a floor, or if there might be something down there, so I tried walking over it and fell to my death. :) Going back there after, my "blood stain" was nowhere to be seen. I think the same thing happened with a hole near the entrance to the storage area, the one with a rope above it (just a dumb death, that time). I guess it might be possible that the thing spawned near the biomass station and I just didn't notice because I wasn't expecting it...
That's another small annoyance I noticed, actually. It's often not that clear when there's a hole in the floor. Yeah, the floor pixels turn darker where you'll fall through, but I generally wasn't sure if that was just a shadow or an actual hole. I don't know, maybe it never happens that it's a shadow effect, and I should always assume it's a hole...
About the whole Red Mother thing, aaah... so I sequence-broke inadvertently and that's what made things more difficult/confusing for me. That makes sense. If I never got the captain uniform, I would definitely have initiated the Red Mother fight eventually out of a lack of other options. But yeah, it's possible to cheese the shotgun guys guarding the captain's quarters. You can shoot them once while across the gap, and then they'll back up a bit and wait for you... but if you just wait (or move away a bit, maybe?) until they drop the aggro state, they'll start running back and forth across their platform and then you can hit 'em with a bullet again and kill one. Sometimes, one of them will jump/fall down to the platform below, too. Either way, once there's only one left and he's not aggro'd, you can cross fast enough with the wheel while his back is turned and murder him before he can shoot.
Anyway, if you intend to have the captain gear only available later, it might be good to change this part to really require having that other uniform first (maybe someone that opens a door only if they recognize your uniform?). Then again, sequence breaking can be fun, too. But this part is a little frustrating because it's really not clear that you're missing something. I think many people will try it again and again in the hope that they can find a timing to cross before the guards can shoot (I think Cryptic Hybrid's video shows this as well).
Ah, so I could talk to that creture next to where you get the regular uniform? Hah, he looked very menacing, so I didn't try getting close enough to talk, I guess! Or wait... do you mean where you get the blue outfit? I forgot if I killed someone for that or not, actually... but could be, that would make sense. Didn't need to outfit to get past the corridor with all the blues, though, they're not that hard if you keep your distance. :)
Finally, about the save, yeah I did trigger a new game+/reset at some point during the playthrough, though I did save after that. But if that's what causes the bug, then yeah, that would explain it. Pretty sure I was playing on 1.02.
Yeah its always been there but I never advertised it, I should add it to the repair tutorial. I considered making it the only way to heal but I feel like it might confuse some people and might be cumbersome in the middle of a battle!
Thanks for the detailed description, I did make some changes to the biomass excess code somewhat recently and havent tested pit falling since then, maybe that resulted in this happening. I will check it out.
A few people have accidentally fallen over what they thought was solid ground, I will try to make it clearer! It's kinda harder for the darker areas, but more than anything I will try to make solid ground much clearer.
Haha yeah you pretty much sequenced broke, which I do encourage! The final game especially will have lots of opportunities to do so - though I am definitely going to be guiding the player through a specified path and ideally they will take it the first time through! Ah so the wheel came in to play. Yeah watching Cryptic Hybrid's made me modify the the camera boundaries for that section since it was less clear that you could go left before. From version 1.01 the camera pans left as soon as you get up there. I am hoping this is enough to show people that the section to the right is not intended, maybe at most theyll take a shotgun shot to the face and then rethink their attempt haha.
Yeah, it's not a creature exactly, that beak thing is more of a mask! I think you will have acquired it if you kill him so you can put it on. Yeah if you don't kill him and unlock the gate the world changes somewhat...
Ok that's a relief, those save bugs are the scariest to deal with! The new game+ should be fixed now as I was just made aware of it recently.
Also, thanks to your help I've fixed the ps4 item trigger bug and made the red mother aggroable independent of what you're wearing! I think I will modify her dialogue somewhat as well, kinda to invite you to attack her to make it more obvious...
I'll need a few more upgrades to clean up the storage area. :) A beefy demo and an intriguing setting. Hoping for a map in the full release.
Really enjoying watching you play the game, its been a lot of help figuring out bugs I hadn't noticed! Your commentary is very entertaining too!
Glad you liked it. :)
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good projetThank you!