Star Spark Demo
This is a demo of the game's roguelite mode. I'd love to get your feedback on what's here so far.
There are 4 different locations, 6 normal enemies, 1 elite enemy, 6 skills obtainable in a run, 3 different events, and 2 characters to select from in this demo, with more planned on the way.
Feel free to let me know what you think about it in the comments!
NOTE: This browser build may stutter at times (usually when playing a track for the first time). I'll get this fixed in a future build!
About
Winning all rounds allows one to proceed to the final match against the reigning champion.
Think you can make it?
Controls
These can be rebound under the OPTIONS menu (gamepads are supported).
| ACTION | KEY |
| UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT | Arrow Keys |
| CONFIRM | Z |
| CANCEL | X |
| PAUSE | Enter |
Combat
Combat takes place at a side view as seen in traditional fighting games where both opponents have life bars at the top of the screen. When you reach 0 HP, the game is over.
Turns consist of an ATTACK phase and a DEFENSE phase. At the moment the player (you) always attacks first. During your ATTACK phase, your opponent will be using their DEFENSE actions and vice versa.
Some combat actions require Ability Points. Each opponent starts with 10 AP. You gain 3 AP at the start of your Attack Turn and for 1 AP for each successful combo input that lands on the opponent when using the <N> Hit Combo action.
Basic actions like combo attacks, gathering power, guarding, and moving do not cost AP.
Some combat actions also have cooldown periods to prevent spamming.
Your position on the screen also matters. You get +8 ATK at the front, +8 DEF at the back, and the starting position in the center gives you an extra 0.3 seconds to input combo commands.
If you gain a skill, you can equip it via the SKILL menu on the PAUSE screen while on the map.
Future Plans
This has been a passion project of mine and I'll continue to iterate on it until it's done.
The current roadmap includes:
- More characters with their own specials
- More equipable skills
- More enemies (and sprite updates for them to make them more unique)
- More locations (these are almost ready, some maps need a little more tweaking)
- More events
...and much more.
Comments
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I'm usually pretty good at quick time events, but i failed the 4 hit combo a lot which felt extremely punishing. Less damage, less ap charge, and the combo goes down next turn. In the Slay the Spire formula, taking any extra damage is extremely punishing. The QTE's could be made easier or clearer, but I'd personally love to see them replaced by something with more thematic relevance and that doesn't pose as much of an accessibility hurdle.
Maybe an out there suggestion, but smaller health pools that regenerate between fights might capture the feeling of a fighting game better, where it's okay to take risks as long as you maintain an edge of skill over your opponent.
One thing that bothered me a lot was going through the pause menu to set skills, which paused the music. It makes setting skills feel like changing a setting rather than a gameplay mechanic
1. Thanks for playing! :D
2. This is really good feedback, so thanks for taking the time to tell me about your experience here.
I think you're right about the inputs. While the combo inputs are meant to be skill based, they're probably a bit too punishing as is. This game is very much inspired by DBZ: Legendary Super Warriors and its combat, which is where this input system comes from. Despite that game's fans liking them, I know they're not for everyone and I do intend on doing something to further improve that experience.
Regenerating health to make it feel more like a fighting game isn't an out there suggestion at all. In fact, the ARCADE mode (not in this demo) actually restores health fully between battles like in a normal fighter and doesn't contain any roguelite elements. Perhaps I can experiment with smaller pools and/or partially restoring health after combat during the roguelite mode though :)
What you mentioned about the music -- you're right, that just flat out sucks, I'll fix that ASAP.
Again, thank you so much for playing and for leaving such great feedback for me!
Very fun
Glad to hear it! :)
Wow, polished stuff! I really liked it, and the UI was pleasant to use. I felt like I didn't have much to do in the defense phase, and was hoping for some kind of way to further mitigate incoming damage, like dodging etc. but maybe I just didn't engage with the position switching as much as I should've. Very cool either way!
Thank you so much for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it <3
About mitigating damage further, there are three skills available in the demo for that purpose:
Counter - Prevents an incoming attack and deals a small amount of damage to the opponent.
Sidestep - Dodge a projectile attack.
Burst - Prevents melee damage.
You may not have gotten any skills during your run (from either treasure chests or vending machines) or at least not any of the defensive ones -- sorry about that :(
Ooh, ok! Never mind my comment then. They just didn't come up during my run.
Definitely enjoyed the demo! I think an optional tutorial to cover the basics of the game may be appreciated, like the other comment noted. Otherwise, pretty great game you have so far!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it! :D
Hard agree, I think I’ll need an optional tutorial battle.
I finished the demo winning, I think that’s an excellent start :) One thing to improve: the role or effect of changing positions is not clear to me.
Thanks for the kind words and thanks for playing! It means a lot :D
So, in the starting position (center) you get a short timer boost of 0.3 seconds while inputting combos. The front position gives you +8 ATK and the back position gives you +8 DEF.
I'll work on making that more apparent in game.