I don't understand this game.

T@F · 12-23-2011, 02:09 AM

Don't get me wrong it looks nice and plays well with a 360 pad,but i just dont get what i'm suppose to do.
all im doing atm is just flying around shooting things.

I could get into this game if i could understand a little better what is the goal ect ect.

_jema987 · 12-23-2011, 03:45 AM

I think the is the gist of it. You can feed it music and it will generate a slightly different world for you to shoot things in but apart from that I haven't the faintest.

B33 ENN · 12-23-2011, 04:00 AM

Shoot the ones that are like Pac Man, fly into the flappy ones to fix damage... That's what I'm doing!

T@F · 12-25-2011, 09:44 AM

Hehe so that's three of us that's kinda confused then.

Ronoz · 12-26-2011, 06:02 PM

+1

Ok.. i only gave it 10 minutes. But what is this? I am in the menu or what? I get shot at from nowhere and a voice constantly wants me to switch to "insane" while i was still confused if the game had begun or not.

Then i fought back but still got asked to go into "insane" for faster gameplay. So i gave in... thinking the game would start now. Well.. nothing changed, i only died faster.

Added my own music and couldn't notice any difference. The gameplay was still slow, i still had this giant wall of text to fly through and got shot from multiple angles.

Ah well... Enjoy the beer money. I know how hard it is to make a game.. much respect, but i think you should introduce the player better. Seperate the help-text from the arena, add a countdown (3,2,1, fight) and/or make a tutorial mission.

Way too many options at the start for a title with highly experimental gameplay and design. imho..

RazOrStOrm · 12-26-2011, 06:17 PM

+1

I have no idea what this game is all about :S

Saijin_Naib · 12-26-2011, 08:49 PM

/Signed.

I use it to make fractal wallpapers

abort_user · 12-27-2011, 05:39 AM

its a relaxing shooter. i do agree there could be more of a point. but its kinda like early minecraft in the point is whatever you make it. if you wanna explore the different areas you can fly through wormholes. or you can try to get a high score. or you can try not to die. there arent too many possibilities. i guess this is one of the games downfalls. its still fun once you get the hang of it. i like to tune out and listen to The Prodigy and just relax and enjoy it.

B33 ENN · 12-27-2011, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abort_user

... its still fun once you get the hang of it. i like to tune out and listen to The Prodigy and just relax and enjoy it.

Snap, tried it with Prodigy too

- I think that's a fair assessment, it is more of an interactive screen saver than a game, but the graphical creations are beautifully done.

Dmytry · 12-27-2011, 04:15 PM

Well its kind of something I could play after work. The point is primarily in making use of friendly objects (flowers, ghosts, wormholes) to stay alive, and flying along the attractor (background stars), that auto repairs you and keeps you moving fast. And killing the enemies. The score is combined from everything you do so that the things you did the least contribute to the score the most. I.e. if you don't fly through wormholes, flying through wormhole will boost your score the most. I should of made some sort of messages +100 for wormhole or +20 for enemy etc on the HUD though, it is not very clear. Killing enemies in process of eating ghosts always makes a bonus (and gives larger score boost).

With regards to getting shot from nowhere etc there's very high variability in people's ability to play this... people who played flight simulators before generally are good at staying alive to point of complaining a ton about it being too easy (#1 complaint before i added the switch difficulty text, more common complaint than now this text is). The level 0 is effectively the tutorial level, you can use the items in the text.

Now I can try to make something different as the engine is more or less finished and there's less of a burn out for me from working on the engine. As well, with brink and rage using opengl, the driver quality has improved enormously so theres far less time wasted working around driver issues.

B33 ENN · 12-28-2011, 01:56 AM

Thanks for taking the time to respond, Dmytry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dmytry

...people who played flight simulators before generally are good at staying alive

I'd go along with that, being a simmer, I found it obvious how to move around and percieve the in-game space around me.

Although I haven't delved deeply enough into the game to offer in-depth criticism, I did notice something that could help players "feel" their craft and environment better. It's the lack of coherent gameplay sound effects.

I turned off the music and upped the SFX volume and found the gameplay lacks "body" with the psychedelic sounds that are there. I realise the game is based around listening to your own music, but if I may compare a similar game like Beat Hazard that I play a lot, it still has attractive gameplay sounds that complement the music and help build or sustain the excitement.

For The Polynomial, I think adding more classic or recogniseable sounds effects for:

a) firing your laser cannon

b) engine thrust level

b) enemies (firing at or moving around you)

c) the anomalies you encounter and, of course, explosions!

would help gameplay greatly. It would also help casual gamers immediately "feel at home" and instinctively understand what they are supposed to do.

OugaBooga · 12-28-2011, 07:30 AM

Same here, i don't understand this game & since my HDD died i lost most of my music.Death metal & this game are not a good combo, classical music seems fitting.Glad this game has controller support, Hate it when indie games don't have controller support, to me that's a big No-No

Henry Plainview · 12-28-2011, 07:12 PM

Yeah, you really need to add a tutorial mission or something. The menu claims there's a tutorial video, but I couldn't find it. Because right now we're just dropped in with a wall of text and a huge, complex menu. Five minutes of flying around in the demo told me it was an instant buy for me, but other people might not be so willing to take on faith that it will probably make more sense later. Because yes, I can figure out on my own the difference between the fractal seed and the arena, but that discovery shouldn't be a revelation for me...

Quote:

Originally Posted by B33 ENN

For The Polynomial, I think adding more classic or recogniseable sounds effects for:

I don't know, I like the serenity of the current setup. There's no sound in space, after all. ;-) It would be nice as an option, though.

B33 ENN · 12-30-2011, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Plainview

...I don't know, I like the serenity of the current setup. There's no sound in space, after all. ;-) It would be nice as an option, though.

Indeed, I should have said it should be optional to have the extra sound effects.

Garrat · 07-06-2012, 05:30 AM

Pretty sure you need to be under the effect of psychoactive drugs for this game to make any sort of sense.

12-27-2011, 04:15 PM	#10
Dmytry The Polynomial Team Join Date: Oct 2010 Reputation: 1162 Posts: 635	Well its kind of something I could play after work. The point is primarily in making use of friendly objects (flowers, ghosts, wormholes) to stay alive, and flying along the attractor (background stars), that auto repairs you and keeps you moving fast. And killing the enemies. The score is combined from everything you do so that the things you did the least contribute to the score the most. I.e. if you don't fly through wormholes, flying through wormhole will boost your score the most. I should of made some sort of messages +100 for wormhole or +20 for enemy etc on the HUD though, it is not very clear. Killing enemies in process of eating ghosts always makes a bonus (and gives larger score boost). With regards to getting shot from nowhere etc there's very high variability in people's ability to play this... people who played flight simulators before generally are good at staying alive to point of complaining a ton about it being too easy (#1 complaint before i added the switch difficulty text, more common complaint than now this text is). The level 0 is effectively the tutorial level, you can use the items in the text. Now I can try to make something different as the engine is more or less finished and there's less of a burn out for me from working on the engine. As well, with brink and rage using opengl, the driver quality has improved enormously so theres far less time wasted working around driver issues. __________________ The Polynomial: Product page \| Troubleshooting \| Most recent update \| Current Poll Last edited by Dmytry: 12-27-2011 at 04:23 PM.

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12-23-2011, 02:09 AM	#1
T@F Join Date: Nov 2004 Reputation: 1581 Posts: 9,852	I don't understand this game. Don't get me wrong it looks nice and plays well with a 360 pad,but i just dont get what i'm suppose to do. all im doing atm is just flying around shooting things. I could get into this game if i could understand a little better what is the goal ect ect.

12-23-2011, 03:45 AM	#2
_jema987 Join Date: Aug 2007 Reputation: 66 Posts: 394	I think the is the gist of it. You can feed it music and it will generate a slightly different world for you to shoot things in but apart from that I haven't the faintest.

12-23-2011, 04:00 AM	#3
B33 ENN Join Date: Nov 2010 Reputation: 2904 Posts: 5,430	Shoot the ones that are like Pac Man, fly into the flappy ones to fix damage... That's what I'm doing!

12-25-2011, 09:44 AM	#4
T@F Join Date: Nov 2004 Reputation: 1581 Posts: 9,852	Hehe so that's three of us that's kinda confused then.

12-26-2011, 06:02 PM	#5
Ronoz Join Date: Mar 2011 Reputation: 6 Posts: 47	+1 Ok.. i only gave it 10 minutes. But what is this? I am in the menu or what? I get shot at from nowhere and a voice constantly wants me to switch to "insane" while i was still confused if the game had begun or not. Then i fought back but still got asked to go into "insane" for faster gameplay. So i gave in... thinking the game would start now. Well.. nothing changed, i only died faster. Added my own music and couldn't notice any difference. The gameplay was still slow, i still had this giant wall of text to fly through and got shot from multiple angles. Ah well... Enjoy the beer money. I know how hard it is to make a game.. much respect, but i think you should introduce the player better. Seperate the help-text from the arena, add a countdown (3,2,1, fight) and/or make a tutorial mission. Way too many options at the start for a title with highly experimental gameplay and design. imho..

12-26-2011, 06:17 PM	#6
RazOrStOrm Join Date: Jan 2011 Reputation: 39 Posts: 123	+1 I have no idea what this game is all about :S

12-26-2011, 08:49 PM	#7
Saijin_Naib Foreign Legion: BoB forum Volunteer Moderator Join Date: Feb 2008 Reputation: 663 Posts: 3,433	/Signed. I use it to make fractal wallpapers

12-27-2011, 05:39 AM	#8
abort_user Join Date: Mar 2009 Reputation: 85 Posts: 1,179	its a relaxing shooter. i do agree there could be more of a point. but its kinda like early minecraft in the point is whatever you make it. if you wanna explore the different areas you can fly through wormholes. or you can try to get a high score. or you can try not to die. there arent too many possibilities. i guess this is one of the games downfalls. its still fun once you get the hang of it. i like to tune out and listen to The Prodigy and just relax and enjoy it.

12-28-2011, 07:30 AM	#12
OugaBooga Join Date: Aug 2010 Reputation: 1 Posts: 244	Same here, i don't understand this game & since my HDD died i lost most of my music.Death metal & this game are not a good combo, classical music seems fitting.Glad this game has controller support, Hate it when indie games don't have controller support, to me that's a big No-No

07-06-2012, 05:30 AM	#15
Garrat Join Date: Nov 2006 Reputation: 0 Posts: 153	Pretty sure you need to be under the effect of psychoactive drugs for this game to make any sort of sense.