Hi all,

The title says it all ;)

http://www.matibee.com/index.asp?cat=games&id=jeepers

Although I'm calling this a "public" beta, it's really aimed at play testers and wannabe level designers. It's currently got an awful flow of levels, but I'm currently working on more levels and tutorial levels.

I eagerly await your feedback! Output is logged in a file "\Data\Log.html".

If you like the concept and would like to make some levels for the final release please contact me- it would only earn you credit and a free copy of the game though :)

Cheers!
Matt

Hey! Neat little game you've got there - I think it's got some nice potential!

My first thoughts (keep in mind these are my personal opinions, and others may feel differently about these things):

1) The graphics seem small and hard to recognize - it took some time before I was able to readily identify breakable tiles. Because it's so small, it was hard to see any kind of detail on most of the graphics. I think a closer camera angle, with more scrolling, would make things look much prettier. Or possibly just an option for fullscreen mode would do the trick!

2) I really don't like the time limit on some of the levels. It just doesn't seem to lend itself well to this type of game. I found it more frustrating than challenging, as I usually would screw up the first time around, run out of time the second, then easily blow through the level on the third playthrough, since I knew what to do from my previous attempts. It just didn't seem to add anything.

3) There's a powerup on the last level that kinda looks like a pair of bombs, but it doesn't seem to do anything. Can I get any hints as to what it does? :D

4) Some of the levels appear to have more gem holes than gems, making them easier than they could be - this is fine for earlier levels, though. Also, later levels (except for the last one) actually seemed easier than the earlier ones.

5) All of the buttons seem to be greyed out in the level editor. And here I was, hoping to throw together a couple of levels to play with! :D

Anyway, it's a cool little game, with a neat concept! Keep up the good work!

Thankyou Valkilos!

1) There is a fullscreen option :)

2) Time limits are obviously optional in the level design.

3) It's mentioned on the web-page - it basically stops a cracked tile from breaking when you land on it; it's meant to be a pair of winged shoes but it's a poor stand-in model.

4) You finished ALL the levels :) I said that it suffers from really poor level flow, now you know what I mean.

5) And I thought that graying out the buttons would make the level ed easier to use :)

Pick a tile in the 3d view, then most controls come to life.

Thanks again for your time and feed back!

Very nice game. I like the concept. Havent had much time to play it,but what I have played seemed fun. How did you manage to find out the user's name from their computer?

I've had a little more time to play with it. It looks much better in fullscreen mode - you may want to consider making that the default.

Also, I found a couple of bugs. If I test a level in the level editor, finish the objectives to light the exit, but then ESC back out to the editor without actually going to the level exit, then every time I go back to test a level (the same one, or a different one), the "lighted exit" effect is permanently set in whatever location the exit tile was.

Also, when I tried to quit to Windows, WinXP gave me the ol' "Windows has encountered an error full of evil and must shut down this program Send Error Report blah blah blah". No biggee, since I was trying to exit the program at the time (I had clicked "Yes" on the Exit to Windows confirmation screen when the error popped up). The log says:

Initialising new app....
Done!
Performing a one-time scene init.
Done.
Trace: C:\Code Projects\FMOD Jeepers\FMOD Jeepers.cpp 394
Initialising the GUI.
Creating the Gfx Manager.
Texture Manager failed to locate texture: main Using emergency alternative
Texture Manager failed to locate texture: test Using emergency alternative
Texture Manager failed to locate texture: BlackButtons Using emergency alternative
System Timer init: Using High Performance Counter
Trace: C:\Code Projects\FMOD Jeepers\FMOD Jeepers.cpp 500
Initiating a new level...
Done!
Texture Manager failed to locate texture: snowcapped.bmp Using emergency alternative
Initiating a new level...
Done!
Texture Manager failed to locate texture: snowcapped.bmp Using emergency alternative
Trace: C:\Code Projects\FMOD Jeepers\FMOD Jeepers.cpp 1234
Trace: C:\Code Projects\FMOD Jeepers\FMOD Jeepers.cpp 1275
Trace: C:\Code Projects\FMOD Jeepers\FMOD Jeepers.cpp 1290

This was during the same run that I found the exit glowing effect thingy bug, so they may be related.

On another note, I threw together three levels which I was hoping would be a bit more... challenging. :D I don't have any web space or anything to link to, so should I just email them to you? You can PM me if you'd rather not put your addy in a public forum.

Hi there!

Reanimated:
How did you manage to find out the user's name from their computer?

I didn't :confused: Where was it displayed? It may be down to the software protection system I use.

Thanks for taking the time to try it though.

Valkilos:
Hah! The particle effect thing is a bug - I need to remember to turn it off. I'm not sure about the exit crash though. There must be a mem leak or something, was it after constant use of the level ed? (I had problems there before but I thought I'd nailed them).

Feel free to email me your levels :) matt at matibee dot com.

Thanks again!

Matt

I like the concept.

I think it's too difficult mainly because the times are too short, anyway I don't play puzzles so maybe I'm too slow.

But I think I could enjoy this one without time restrictions (maybe you could add a relax mode option).

Graphics are fine in full screen, too little when windowed. You could make them bigger anyway (cracks more visibles, bigger gems, ...) The clock size if Ok, for me gems could be that big.

The tiles where you put the gems could be also more visible (bigger colored part)

Fèlix
www.nurium.com

I didn't Where was it displayed? It may be down to the software protection system I use.
Freaky...:D I went to controller setup and on the left it has a drop down menu saying "Player". My name was already in that box somehow, and I hadnt typed in anything.....:eek:

The tiles where you put the gems could be also more visible (bigger colored part)

I'm not so sure - they've still got to be used as platforms before the gem goes in :)

It never has looked too good in a small window but I have a set of textured tiles that do make the cracks much more prominent.

I agree the time limits are questionable. It was an easy option to put in but how much they get used will depend on the level design. Strong puzzle levels shouldn't be time restricted, but it leaves the option of more "arcade-y" levels (maybe even bonus rounds). And as I already admitted, the level flow and design are not good in this beta.

Thankyou for your feedback :) I'd do the same for you, but all our (my kids and I) issues were brought up already- Great job!

Ah, Reanimated! Say hello to Microsoft's "Action Mapping". It allows PC's with multiple users to have controller configs per user. I didn't code any of that dialog, it's a gift ;)

- Matt

Originally posted by matibee
Hah! The particle effect thing is a bug - I need to remember to turn it off. I'm not sure about the exit crash though. There must be a mem leak or something, was it after constant use of the level ed? (I had problems there before but I thought I'd nailed them).

Yeah, the crash was after some pretty extensive level editing/testing :) Speaking of which, I just emailed you a couple of levels I made. It's a little tough for me to tell how easy or hard they are, since I would naturally know the solution when I was making them. I was hoping to make them require some thought without being in that "Specifically Designed To Break Your Spirit MWA HA HAAA" difficulty range made popular by Fitznik :D

(No insult intended to the developers of Fitz, though... I love a good challenge :) )