The alpha demo currently is an offline demo and contains just 6 mini-games, however I intend to add more over time to give you something new to play every now and then.
I have been working 16+ hour days for the last 3-4 weeks to make this happen. I missed my end of year deadline, but it was worth the extra wait, there are less bugs, the performance optimization I did in that time now means your computer won't explode in a firey mess, and the overall experience should be a nice and smooth one.
There are still some bugs present, mostly they are pretty minor, however it still bothers me that they exist. If you run into any issues, please head over to the discussion forums below to report any issues and I will do my best to resolve them immediately as I don't want anybody missing out on the fun! (The more details you can provide, the better) https://steamcommunity.com/app/1132670/discussions/1/
Things to note are: - Xbox one and PS4 controllers have been tested both plugged in and wirelessly and they work. However Nintendo switch controllers I have only tested using a bluetooth adapter called the 8bitdo. Nintendo switch controller support on windows is still very sketchy and will only work with XInput enabled in some games, and even then, it's still not that great, so if you wish to use a switch pro controller, do it via bluetooth. There is a guide here on how to get them working with Steam and Windows 10: https://www.pcgamer.com/au/how-to-use-a-nintendo-switch-pro-controller-on-pc/
- If you wish to help out in any way, feel free to try and break the game and tell me in the forums the steps you took to make the problems occur. It will only ensure that there will be less problems when the full game launches.
- It is being made by one person, I have to re-iterate, and I do have a day job, so I may not be able to get onto fixing issues immediately or responding immediately. I will be keeping a very close eye on the forums to ensure that nobody is left with problems unattended.
I want to thank you all for your wishlists, every time I even see 1 extra wishlist, I get super excited and happy! Just the thought of any single individual person wanting to play my game just makes this all so very worth it, and I cannot thank you guys enough for that support, you're bloody awesome!
Please feel free to discuss ideas in the forums, there is a dedicated forum for this, and I encourage you to speak up and share ideas with one another, no matter how stupid or crazy they may seem, even if I don't like the ideas, that doesn't mean that they won't spark other ideas in my head, so have some fun, and lets help give this game a happy and fun community :)
THANK YOU MY FELLOW METAL HEADS! YOU ROCK!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas fellow Metal Heads!
I hope everyone had or is having an amazing Christmas day and enjoying the time off work to spend with loved ones.
There have been a bunch of Steam sales as usual, and your wallets must be either disintegrated or crying profusely but at least it won't be in vain, you will get some fun out of it :) I personally have been resisting the temptation to spend, because I know I won't have any time to play anything until maybe a few months after the launch of Metal Heads. There are so many great games out there to play! If you want to play some fun little party games, I'd recommend Party Panic, Pummel Party, Gang Beasts, Ultimate Chicken Horse to name just a few. Also check out the demo version of Robot Champions, it's great fun, and everyone who comes over for party nights has a great time playing it!
I personally woke up at 5:20am as usual, worked on Metal Heads for a few hours, then spend a few hours with my family, unwrapping gifts and eating lots of food (Mmmm, meat platter), which was good, just sitting down and relaxing, then helped other family members move house in the pouring rain, which was tough, but I enjoy that kind of stuff, and it was nice just letting myself get completely soaked without a care in the world :) Now today, woke up at 5:30am, and back to a 10.15 hour shift in my day job before the fun/cool stuff happens!
What is that fun/cool stuff you may ask? Finalizing the playable demo of Metal Heads for you all to play! :D
The playable demo is so close to being ready
I now have Steam integration working, but there are still some nasty bugs that I really don't want you guys seeing or having to deal with, but they should be relatively easy to fix up.
I expect I will have the demo uploaded either tonight after work, or tomorrow, then it's just a matter of waiting for the demo to be verified on Steam before you guys can actually play it! :)
I am SUPER excited, but also super nervous at the same time.
I plan to update the demo over the coming weeks with new mini-games, but also any new gameplay changes, so while there may be only 5 mini-games to begin with, I intend to have a few more in the lead up to the games release, I also intend to get the board game mode working and integrated into the demo too. It is a learning process for me, so at this stage, I am still trying to figure out how to upload the demo version, then I will need to work out how to update the demo as well, so please bear with me while I figure all of this stuff out in the coming days/weeks.
Thanks for the support once again guys, you are freakin' awesome and yet again, have a Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday!
Playable demo news, and a message from the developer.
Hello my fellow Metal Heads!
I wanted to finally start communicating more with the fans and followers of Metal Heads here on Steam, and I want you all to feel like you are part of one big family, because every morning I wake up and look at the wishlist count, and it is so incredibly heart-warming to know that so many people want to play, and you guys motivate me every single day, so I want to thank you so much for the incredible support, and I cannot wait until you can all finally play my creation!
I want you guys to know a little bit about the development process, and the state of development. I want to give you an insight into how the developer is going with it all, and I want to just be transparent as possible and talk to you in a more personal way.
A BIT ABOUT THE DEVELOPER
Metal Heads is developed by one person, and considering the mountainous task of creating such a project, it has been extremely difficult. The development is made especially difficulty considering I also work a day job in a retail/sales store called JB Hi-Fi, which currently, towards the end of year, the hours have increased, and it is significantly busier, and I generally will return home and be both physically and mentally exhausted, making it very hard to sit down and work on Metal Heads all night. Progress is still being made, but right now it is very slow compared to the lead up to PAX Australia where I worked 12-16 hour days every day up until about a week after the event, before allowing myself to take a step back and relax so that I don't burn out.
I want Metal Heads to be the GO-TO of party games next year and potentially years to come, I want people to be excited to play it, and hopefully keep coming back to it years later, but that dream will not happen if I try to rush Metal Heads or if I burn myself out.
So I ask that you please be patient with me, as I am incredibly passionate about Metal Heads, and I cannot wait for it to bring you all together in crazy, chaotic multiplayer mini-game madness.
CURRENT DEVELOPMENT
Currently, I am fixing outstanding bugs every day, bugs that have been in a back-log for months, and new ones that pop up like a game of whack-a-mole.
It is a tedious grind and some bugs I have tried to fix for 8-9 hours only to find out it wasn't a fault within my programming, but it was a bug in Unreal Engine 4, and when I have maybe 2 days free in the week to work on the game, this can be extremely demoralizing, but I persist, because it is the only way forward.
I have been working on getting online multiplayer working, and changing the spawn system so it's easier for me to work with, so that I can be more efficient in development.
I have also been spending time working on a 3D menu, which is still far from finished, but kind of cool if I do it right, and It'll be great to eventually get some feedback from you guys on that to tell me if it just flat out sucks or not haha.
FUNDING
While I do work my day job and it pays me well enough to continue development, my plan is to try and obtain an Epic Games mega grant to help fund the development of Metal Heads so that I can quit my day job, thus giving me more free time, significantly less stress, and enough financial stability to hopefully last me up until the release date and beyond.
Some of you may see the words "Epic Games" and "funding" and this might scare you. The fact is that without Epic Games making the Unreal Engine, there are so many wonderful games that would not even exist, Epic Games have enabled me to work on Metal Heads and have given me and many others a great opportunity. Does this mean I will take an exclusivity deal? No, I don't like exclusivity deals at all, but at the same time, it could make or break the development of Metal Heads, so it's something I would have to very cautiously consider and negotiate if that bridge ever needs to be crossed.
Some have asked me if I will do a Kickstarter or some other crowd-funding campaign. The answer is no for now. I simply don't feel comfortable having people pay me for a product I haven't even released yet. That doesn't mean I will rule crowd-funding out entirely however.
A PLAYABLE DEMO!
After PAX AUS, I really wanted to start working on getting a playable demo ready for you guys, I wanted a board game mode, online and offline play, character customization, and 15 mini-games for you to play, and I wanted for you to be able to play it by Christmas so that in this time where families and friends gather and have fun together, you could play Metal Heads and get a sample of the fun. Since PAX, I got to working hard on the demo, getting features ready, fixing a plethora of bugs, running into new ones etc.
Sadly once again due to day job hours, I haven't been able to reach the target I set myself, and so if I release a demo, it would be an offline only demo with a bunch of mini-games in it, the only customization is the choice of character heads, and no board game mode.
This is disappointing to me as I really wanted you guys to have more, and I feel like I have let you all down. So I must ask you, would you be happy playing an offline demo where you only get to play mini-games?
It is effectively what I showed off at PAX AUS, which people absolutely LOVED, and it blew me away how much attention Metal Heads got at PAX AUS and how positive the response was.
I figure maybe what I have to offer now, is enough for you guys, so please let me know your thoughts and ask any questions in the comments, I will try to read and respond as soon as I can, so no questions are left unanswered.
Please feel free to start any discussions in the forums, and get the ball rolling for the community. I want you all to be part of this game and this journey, and I am more than happy to get among you and be part of the conversations :)
Thank you all so much! :)
Metal Heads is heading to PAX Australia!!!
Hi everybody, I have some great news!
Metal Heads is heading to PAX Australia and will be part of the PAX Rising indie hall which is incredibly exciting!
So if you are heading there this year, come and say hello and give Metal Heads a play test.
That's all folks, I hope to see you there!
For more info on PAX AUS, you can go to the link below.
https://aus.paxsite.com/
