Triggered: A space schmup looter-shooter

[jonnyleeharris]

I’ve been working on a game for some time, it’s called “Triggered” It’s a top down space looter shooter.

It started out as my intention to build a game I wanted to play - as a result, it went through countless iterations - the creative process was drawn out and thoroughly tested my resolve; as I flip flopped from idea to idea, control scheme to control scheme, meta to meta - before finally deciding what exactly I wanted to make.

The result is an arcade inspired 2D top down space shooter, set in an infinite procedural universe. You fly around destroying enemies, finding loot, allowing you to configure your ship and skills to suit your play style.

Triggered is very much still in development, I have a lot of plans for improvements and additional content. My current focus is getting the Android version ready, and then I’ll be thinking about some meta improvements and some improved sense of progression through the introduction of more interesting and dynamic objectives - perhaps with a story element to pad it out.

I would very much welcome feedback. I want to make this game as good as it can be, and I’m at the point where that means collecting feedback and helping it inform me on what I should be focusing on next.

The game is currently publicly available on the AppStore, and in beta on the Google Play Store.

If you have an iOS device and want to try it out, PM me for a promo code. I will update this post when it’s public/beta on Google Play Store.

I will always be happy to give out promo codes here for people eager to try it out

It is possible that the business model will change in the future, I have a few ideas of how to monetise the game and allowing it to be free to play - but it’s very important to me that players are not exploited by pay-to-win mechanics - at a stretch I would allow ‘pay to save a little grind’ - but that’s probably it

A few screenshots:

Links

• Google Play Store (PM me for promo code)
• AppStore (PM me for promo code)
• Twitter @GameTriggered

P.S. I’m not posting this here as a way to sell the game, but to receive feedback and document some of the development progress from here on out. So PM me if you’re interested and I’ll get you a promo code!

Edits

• Google Play beta is up and running, PM me for the opt-in link and promo code!
• Updated some links ^^
• Google Play is out of beta and in production, again, PM me if you’d like a promo code

[britzl]

Wow, this is pretty cool! Congrats on releasing your first Defold game! Looking forward to an Android version!

[jonnyleeharris]

Cheers, I’ll be sure to update the thread when it’s available

[jonnyleeharris]

Forgot to mention, if you want an opt-in link for beta testing on Android - PM me!

[reydvires]

What a nice! It’s available in iOS too. I want try it by the way (PM on the way) and congrats!

[jonnyleeharris]

I’m working on a world map this week, going to improve the interpretation of the noise to make procedural solar systems too. This will be paired with an improved objective system, fast travel capabilities, and new meta game.

This is a very raw look at the progress so far:

anonymous

[jonnyleeharris]

New version almost ready for public release

The foundation of the new meta is almost complete. The infinite procedural world is split into sectors, the plan is to have each sector having different enemy types, behaviours, objectives and encounters.

At the moment however, the only differentiation between sectors is a) the level (determines drop level and enemy difficulty), and b) density (determines how many enemies you are likely to encounter).

Each sector has its unique name (I plan to make this more scifi with the help of some procedural magic in the future). When entering a sector, your objective markers will update to objectives in that sector. Once completed, you will need to go to another sector to find new objectives. The objective types and the way I present objectives to the player is something I plan to improve shortly after this release.

The more enemies you destroy in a sector, the less enemies you will find in that sector. Over time the enemy density will increase on a per sector basis. So you can’t just farm a sector, you are encouraged to explore, and venture further out into more difficult sectors.

To go to a sector, you can simply fly to it (could take a while, the world is large), or warp to it. Your warp drive has limited fuel, finding better cockpits will allow you to increase your jump distance by increasing your maximum warp fuel. Find warp fuel by destroying enemies/asteroids. Warp cost is determined by the distance to the sector, and the level of the target sector.

Warp-in points are safe zones, you won’t find any enemies in the immediate vicinity.

If you die in a sector, you will respawn at that sectors ‘warp-in’ point.

Sectors have hot spots - where you will find more enemies.

Sectors further from home are higher level, and give better experience rewards and higher level item drops.

Can’t wait to finish this and get it public

Some screenshots:

[jonnyleeharris]

New build coming in the App stores soon. I modified some of the weapon code and introduced a new RNG item stat ‘num shots’ and ‘shot_fov’ so I can easily create drops like twin laser blasters and such. Plugs right into my weapon system like a charm.

I configure my drops like so:

     "laser" : {
    "name" : "Light blaster",
    "properties" : {
        "part" : 37,    
        "range:roll" : { "min" : 900, "max" : 1100, "level_scaling" : 0.2 },
        "damage_multiplier:roll" : { "min" : 1.2, "max" : 1.6, "round" : 0.1, "level_scaling" : 0.2, "tier_scaling" : 0.1 },
        "shots_per_second:roll" : { "min" : 4, "max" : 5, "round" : 0.1, "level_scaling" : 0.01, "tier_scaling" : 0.2 },
        "speed:roll" : { "min" : 600, "max" : 700, "round" : 0.2, "level_scaling" : 0, "tier_scaling" : 0.2 }
    },
    "branches" : {            
        "tier_2" : {
            "twin-shot-laser" : 1,
            "empty" : 1
        },
        "tier_3" : {
            "triple-shot-laser" : 3,
            "twin-shot-laser" : 1,
            "empty" : 1
        },
        "tier_4" : {
            "triple-shot-laser" : 6,
            "twin-shot-laser" : 1,
            "empty" : 1
        },
        "tier_5" : {
            "triple-shot-laser" : 1
        }
    }
},

"twin-shot-laser" : {
    "name" : "Twin shot light blaster",
    "properties" : {
        "num_shots" : 2,
        "shots_fov" : 10,
    }
},

"triple-shot-laser" : {
    "name" : "Triple shot light blaster",
    "properties" : {
        "num_shots" : 3,
        "shots_fov" : 15,
    }
},

Release notes for the upcoming build:

• Improved camera tracking when you have very fast wings.
• [NEW] Legendary weapon: Double barrelled shotgun.
• [NEW] New weapons: Twin laser blaster, triple laser blaster, twin heavy laser blaster.
• Bug fixes

[jonnyleeharris]

Just a little update about what’s in the immediate pipeline (ETA: next couple of weeks hopefully):

• Welcome screen with the ability to start a new game/continue from saved game
• Facebook login - allowing users to save their progress in the cloud (Firebase)
• Triggered is going free to play!
• In game currency: scrap
• Scrap will be purchasable via in-app-purchases and also earn-able through destroying enemies and scrapping items you no longer want/need.
• Item packs: Players will be able to exchange their scrap for item packs. Item packs will be eventually varied enough not to feel too random, giving the player a bit of choice but still succumbing to the RNG of the item stats.
• All content will be available to non paying players and paying customers all the same. We intend to balance this to keep it fair - at the end of the day Triggered will be enjoyable without spending a penny. Spending money in game will be in no way necessary to progress and will be totally optional.
• Oh and existing customers will receive a bonus amount of scrap to start with for their support in buying the game before it goes free to play.

Will update this thread when some of this become a reality

Edit:

• There’s a new repair skill and a new enemy type: “brute” - a compact ship that has a shotgun.

• Black holes are now a thing! You will find them in nebula sectors - they will pull enemies, asteroids, and the player into them and cause damage over time. Nebula sectors are great places to find loot though, so it’s worth it! This update isn’t live yet, but will be in the stores soon:

[jonnyleeharris]

I’ve been slowly building a Firebase library that uses Firebase’ REST API. I will use this as a way to store saved game data in the cloud for those that choose to log in with Facebook.

I had to rearrange my priorities however after bumping into a little bug in Defold that prevents making requests to URLs that are longer than 512 characters. This should be resolved in an upcoming patch, but I’ll likely be on holiday when it drops!

I couldn’t continue implementing the storefront for item packs/purchasing currency without having 1) the Firebase library working, and 2) a way users can save their game in the cloud in the event of a lost/new phone.

With that said, here are the release notes for a build I am currently testing and will push to Google Play and the App Store soon:

• Projectiles now have an animation when they reach the end of their range and fizzle out
• Dodge skill now pushes away enemies
• [NEW] Weapon type: Heavy rocket launcher.
• [NEW] Some weapons have a damage radius - meaning they will affect more than just the enemy they impact on hit
• Enemies can now damage other nearby enemies when they are destroyed and explode
• New app icon
• UI improvements
• Improved appearance of some visual elements to make them easier to see when flying over bright stars
• Minor sound effect improvements
• Balance tweaks
• Bug fixes

[britzl]

I had to rearrange my priorities however after bumping into a little bug in Defold that prevents making requests to URLs that are longer than 512 characters. This should be resolved in an upcoming patch, but I’ll likely be on holiday when it drops!

Yeah, sorry about that. It will be released on Monday.

[jonnyleeharris]

Oh don’t worry about it haha! It is the nature software. It happens.

It actually works out OK for me, I can enjoy my holiday without being in the middle of something and get right back on it on my return.

[jonnyleeharris]

Slowly but surely, things are progressing.

I had an epiphany regarding the game’s objectives and how the sectors were arranged. As you became more powerful you could venture further out into space away from the home location… but this meant that as you progressed through the game it became less clear where or what you were supposed to be doing. Rather than guiding a player to a goal, I was saying ‘hey man just go wherever’. It wasn’t clear where you should go and why. Because of this I scrapped the sector idea and redesigned the map to be an infinite procedural galaxy with planets and moons. I also replaced mana costs for skills in favour of a recharging shield.

Next up I will be making these map changes reflect actual game play. Loot/enemies will be different depending on the planets you travel to, new item types will allow you to travel further, and get closer to stars. There should be a reason to venture to other systems, and sometimes it will be challenging - but always rewarding.

Anyway here is how the map is looking so far.

I hope to get new version out soon ™

[Mathias_Westerdahl]

Looks really cool!

(Btw, in swedish, the word “Alkis” is slang for an alcoholic)