Game Criticism

Just wanted to share a little bit of criticism I had of Bitfighter, before I forget (still no computer ;P)! It's not a bad game, but it's not a great game either.

firepower completely trumps skill in large firefights. Anything above 6 players always felt too messy. Usually averted because there aren't that many players.
That's my main concern for the future.

Compatibility with mobile devices, mobile consoles and home consoles. Bitfighter could be an arcade game! Consoles are supposed to be the home (or perhaps, personal) arcade.

Legit single player mode. Just because it is designed for multi doesn't mean single will be boring. It'd be a lot easier waiting in a room if it wasn't just you and bots. Add a non ship enemy? Like the squids from space invaders

P.s. When my computer is fixed I will be playing again.

[kaen]

Fair enough, thanks for the feedback

[Quartz]

firepower completely trumps skill in large firefights. Anything above 6 players always felt too messy. Usually averted because there aren't that many players.
That's my main concern for the future.

True facts, I've been pretty successful just lobbing bursts into groups of people on many an occasion.

Legit single player mode. Just because it is designed for multi doesn't mean single will be boring. It'd be a lot easier waiting in a room if it wasn't just you and bots. Add a non ship enemy? Like the squids from space invaders

I actually agree with this. A dedicated multiplayer game with a very small player base? Not overly attractive. Plus, I mean, Single Player could be a lot of fun. Look at sky_lark he's been playing this game for 8 years and still thinks it's fun to go it alone against bots.

Yeppers, bots are the best. They're like goats, sometimes they get dumb and bang their heads into walls and shit, but underestimate them and Naaaaaaaaaa-you're dead

I wouldn't be opposed to a single-player mode, but I think something like that could be hobbled together with the tools we have. Make a map that has a narrative instead of an objective + add levelgen to give it variety + add custom bots/level controllers to play as guards/villagers/NPCs etc. And even if you're like me and don't know shit about writing code, you can still make a decent single-player campaign just by using game inventions and textitems and wall decorations.

I feel like a dedicated single-player mode that isn't just playing against bots would require a lot of work to implement the content, and you run the risk of people getting bored once they beat the content. I think a better avenue would be to ensure we have a full range of tools to make compelling single-player maps, like a dedicated Dungeon/Novelty mode, and art zones and non-restrictive color for line/textitems. At one point _k (?) had an neat plugin that could replicate the contents of a photograph, like a face or something, using walls... that'd be cool to bring back.

I also think a wider variety of bots - individually dedicated to offense, defense, support, etc - would greatly increase the appeal of single-player.

If I had one "criticism" (not really fair to label it as criticism since I haven't suggested it yet) it would be about the lack of notification tools for monitoring Bitfighter activity. Mobile app is pretty cool and all, but I'd seriously dig an email and/or text msg alert for when 3 or more people are playing!

It already exists! Don't you have Bitfighter Notifications on your computer? It comes with Bitfighter...

I actually wrote a small script for my Raspberry Pi, if one or more players are playing, the red light turns on, and if there is a game with more than 3 players, the green light turns on

[raptor]

FYI, there is a notifier that is distributed with the game. On OSX, it is in the .app bundle somewhere - named 'bitfighter_notifier.py'

[Quartz]

a full range of tools to make compelling single-player maps, like a dedicated Dungeon/Novelty mode, and art zones and non-restrictive color for line/textitems.

We need these things indeed

[watusimoto]

What would a single player mode look like?

Here's one idea: it could be basically a kind of puzzle mode, with the object being to get to a certain location. Because it would be single-player, we could do a lot more with scripting without worrying about network issues. The downside to this idea is that it would probably end up looking a lot like dungeons, which we already have and don't provide compelling game play.

We could add more types of enemies, and try to create a sort of 2D platformer style game, but I'm not convinced it would work.

As for mobile, we already have a version for Pandora, which is the only (open) mobile platform that supports the complex controls that Bitfighter uses (aside from a laptop, of course ). I think we are also close to having a version of the game that runs in a browser.

[kaen]

Regarding single player mode, it's actually an idea I approached thread about a while back. Instead of diverse enemies per se, we had the idea of specifically built bots with health/speed/weapons controlled from their bot scripts. Unfortunately it got "delegated to the floor" in the run-up to 019 and hasn't been revisited since.

I think we could do a really good job with the engine just as it is, there just needs to be an orchestrated effort. This would be a project the could be done by the community, and doesn't really need anything from the devs to get rolling.

Food for thought if you have some free time

[Quartz]

The downside to this idea is that it would probably end up looking a lot like dungeons, which we already have and don't provide compelling game play.

Umm ... Did you just state a matter of opinion as if it is an indisputable fact?

This would be a project the could be done by the community, and doesn't really need anything from the devs to get rolling.

Food for thought if you have some free time

I might be more encouraged and motivated to put forth this sort of effort if I didn't have the first and foremost Bitfighter developer discouraging me from doing so.

[kaen]

Umm ... Did you just state a matter of opinion as if it is an indisputable fact?

Relax, man. It was clearly just an opinion, and I can't imagine wat would suggest it was an indisputable fact.

I might be more encouraged and motivated to put forth this sort of effort if I didn't have the first and foremost Bitfighter developer discouraging me from doing so.

I think this marks the first time that a developer's opinion dissuaded anyone from doing anything.

If you want to do it, then do it. If not, that's understandable. Just don't pretend that you care about anyone's opinion (we all know better than that )

[Skybax]

Just don't pretend that you care about anyone's opinion (we all know better than that )

Ooooooo burrrrrrrn

We need a single player server; a levelgen.

Keep in mind that Bitfighter is a "multi-player combat game" and that a "single-player" game mode would probably only be here to attract more players.

[kaen]

Ooooooo burrrrrrrn

Just to clarify: that was totally not intended as a burn. More as a nod to a unique part of his personality. It would be un-Quartzy to give a fudge.

[watusimoto]

Did you just state a matter of opinion as if it is an indisputable fact?

All of my opinions are a matter of indisputable fact!

But, regardless, I threw out one idea for a single player mode, and at the same time acknowledged that it wasn't necessarily a good one. I did not intend to discourage anyone from proposing (or building) a better idea.

To be clear, I think a one-player mode would be good, not as a replacement for the normal play mode, but as a way to get people comfortable with the controls and the concept, as well as to provide a bit of fun when a network game is unavailable.

We have a lot more flexibility with a single-player mode, as scripts will respond almost instantaneously.

Bring on the ideas!

[Quartz]

Ooooooo burrrrrrrn

Just to clarify: that was totally not intended as a burn. More as a nod to a unique part of his personality. It would be un-Quartzy to give a fudge.

Hmm i think more of a line of mnissions for single player would be better maybe a series of levels where you must complte objectives that get progressivly harder a example of a hard mission being facing 12 bots with a strong base and having to defend your base yourself, being a harder level I would love to see this in fact i have several ideas for a level progression on the missions.