Fixed version: Paperheads 20121202 trial ver0.9b

I'm surprised myself that I had the time to fix it this fast.
I fixed the issue with the loading system, the game should work now for everyone.
(I simply deleted it and replaced it)

In case the game has problems, place it in a folder like "C:\Paperheads".
Don't use special characters or spaces in the folder name.

Here is the download link:
[Paperheads 20121202 trial ver0.9b]


Thanks again for all the feedback!




I also talked to the team regarding the CG-scenes text.
As some of you noticed, we removed a lot of the text from the game.
(maybe some of you remember the poll/vote about this matter)

So far all the texts had been written by me, but I'm currently pretty busy with school, other real life stuff, as well as programming, managing the blog (yeah I still do it myself), and doing several other things. Unfortunately I can't manage to bring up more time, and the rest of the team is also pretty busy.

We also want to pull this off as fast as possible, since we're already working way too long on this game. So even if someone else would write the text, we still need to implement it into the game, translate it, etc.
(unfortunately, this is not really an option, since all those actions would cost us extra-time, for reference, please read the older blogpost regarding the poll/vote)



The good news is:
We are currently doing our best to finish the game this year, if possible.
All that's left to do is the last 2 bosses, as well as the 3rd stage and a bunch of CG's.
(yup, obviously, we didn't implement everything we worked on into the current trial version)

Paperheads 20121201 trial ver0.9

Well, finally it's here, one of the last demo/trial versions before the complete release of the full game.
It contains the complete 1st stage of the game.

You can download it here:
[Paperheads 20121201 trial ver0.9]


If you've played any of the old versions you'll notice considerable changes.
(especially to the overall difficulty and difficulty of the grab-system)
In case you think the game is too easy now, feel free to switch the difficulty in the options menu.

The ingame tutorial works now too.
Please read it if you need help with the game.
(it's short and it has screenshots)

Have fun playing the game!
And please give us some feedback, especially regarding the boss-battle.



~Wolfenstahl~

nearly there!

I've got good news for you guys!
the newest version is currently undergoing tests, and if everything goes well it will be uploaded this weekend.
(maybe already friday, but this weekend for certain)

the game contains a lot of changes and upgrades.
mainly the stuff listed on my last blogpost.

it should be easier to play now, so everyone can enjoy it.
(in case you like the previous difficulty, just switch it in the options menu)
even the Grab-System is easier to use now.
I somehow feel like the grabing plays a smaller role now, but it's still there as it was before.

so in case you found the previous versions too difficult or you were not satisfied with something, please try the new version once it's uploaded.

we still need a couple of days for testing, but the weekend isn't too far away.
spread the word and stay tuned!



~Wolfenstahl~

patches and rebalance

it will still take some time until the final demo-version will be out.

but to inform you about the future changes:
(we are currently working on these)

- short tutorial implemented
- arrows show the direction you should go to
- indicator that shows "Fight!" when you need to kill all enemies
- GRAB-System now has an "easy mode" which makes it easy enough for everyone to escape
- enemies have less HP now
- Boss implemented
- all CG's have been improved + some new CG's


this should make the game overall more enjoyable.
since the difficulty decreases quite a lot.
(you can still change it into the harder modes on the options menu if you like)
soon the new demo will be out, so stay tuned!



~Wolfenstahl~

to busy to post

I just realized that I haven't posted for quite some time.
well, I'm pretty much busy with real life, so I might pass the blog on to someone else from the team.
and nope, in case I get even more busy with real life, and I might be forced to leave the team because of this, it doesn't mean the end of the games.
the rest of the team keeps on working on this and the upcoming games.
(and I'll support them whenever they have questions or problems they might face during developement)
so no need to worry!
they are well capable of handling stuff on their own.


anyway, since they continued to work, there is lots of new stuff for the game.
a new enemy type has been animated completely, and the second stage is being worked on.
of course there are several new CG's too.

the new enemy and second stage will only be in the full version of the game.
but I'll release a new upgraded demo version as soon as possible.
(it will contain the complete first stage + boss battle)
since we are planning to do some more modifications to the game, it might take a while until the next demo version will be available.
(it's mainly balancing issues, but also some additions)


here are some sample pictures for the new enemy type:

boss battles

I've thought a lot about boss battles and how they should be.
somehow a boss should feel different than a regular enemy.
so I decided to leave out grab-attacks from boss battles.
the other difference would be, that when a boss starts an attack, you can't stun him by hitting him.

he will take damage, but he also will be able to continue his attack.
so the trick is to keep an eye on the bosses movement, and then react accordingly.
every attack the boss does can be avoided by different movement.
(running away, jumping, or just running up or down)
but of course you have to find out what methode of dodging is possible.

why does the boss have no grab attack?
well I think it would be better to give him several attacks, instead of a grab attack.
the grab attack somehow slows the gameplay down too much.
since boss battles should feel different and they should rather be tense, I think a grab attack is out of place.
instead they will have 2 different CG's you can unlock upon a game over.
there will also be a savepoint right before the boss battle.

unexpected real life stuff...

yeah, I haven't postet for quite some time.
which is pretty unusual, since I do blog-updates all the time.

the truth is, some things came quite unexpected.
like family members that have to go to the hospital for quite some time.
extra chores I've got to do in the household because of this.
and of course trying to get a new job or so.
well that aside, everything else is working out.

it just means that we have to push the release date further, because we couldn't really work on the game for about one week.
(or at least we were not able to do some major progress)
from today onwards we should be able to focus again on our work, so you'll get to see some progress soon.

regarding the matter about cutting down on the game content regarding the time limit...
well I think I'll include everything into the game I wanted to, and I'll just push the release date back until everything is done.
(though this means that the game won't be completed in august for certain, maybe end of september? well... we see about that)
at least my family accepts that I work on a game and I've got a little bit support there.
so I don't need to rush anymore.
(at least at the moment that is)

the only "cut down" stuff will be the text during CG scenes.
I already covered the explanation for this in the last blogpost.
and yup, I'll go with solution Nr. 2.


since someone asked about why we want to translate this game into japanese:
why should we not do it?
the more customers we get, the better it is.
and I guess the japanese people are very important as customers.



~Wolfenstahl~