THERE IS TRUE JOY IN UPDATING! - Bugfix / Feature Update { Nov 12 2014 }
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http://steamcommunity.com/app/315540/discussions/0/620696522111935009/#c624074858747271021
version 1.0.5 of Joylancer is now LIVE on itch.io!
http://a6productions.itch.io/joylancer
we noticed that our Control Wizard system wasn't really jiving with a lot of folks (extremely not-jiving in some cases), and so over the last few days, my man Jesse developed an alternative for the time being. now, when you go in to the Game Settings -> Controls options, there's a "Control Presets" switch at the bottom of the menu, which shows you your controls, and allows you to map them in four different ways!
(doing this should also let you find our handy Rumble On / Off option that some of you have been asking about!)
there's a new set of tutorial levels too! i whipped these up last night, so if there are any issues with them, let me know; but i wanted to make sure i put together a little better of a tutorial than the one that shipped with the game. (launch nerves and all that)
we've also gone through, cleaned up some stuff, did some bugfixing... full list below!
Controls settings updated
"Control Wizard" removed, replaced with "Control Presets"
Original tutorial levels removed
Tutorial now split into 3 "classes"
Difficulty system now 100% functional; change the difficulty in the Game Options menu
Fixed Vanishing Drive-Counter glitch (if it comes back please let us know)
"Blinking Box" glitches fixed
Fixed a goof where Joy could turn around mid-slide, causing her graphic to slide backwards
Adjusted vertical hop for mid-air LV4 lance attack
Small adjustments in animation speeds
things that we still need to work on:
a more "complete"-feeling tutorial
improved analog support for players who don't like the D-Pad
"Numbers" FX switch still doesn't work
An Introduction to Joylancer's Controls
~~~ CONTROLS ~~~
Joylancer uses 2 core buttons: Jump and Attack. as mentioned above, putting in certain commands, holding directions, and other types of inputs, will change the type of technique that you perform.
by holding DOWN and pressing the Jump button, you can perform a high-speed slide on the ground! this move can be used to slide under obstacles, avoid certain attacks, and trip standing enemies!
by holding DOWN and repeatedly tapping the Attack button, you'll hold your lance face-first and start charging energy into it; this technique also defends you from enemy attack as long as you're facing the right way!
...and depending on the amount of power you have filled up in your meter when you attack, you can perform one of four majorly powerful lance attacks! these launch you forward at high speed, letting you fly into and smash your enemies into oblivion!
while charging, you have access to a powerful launching technique called the Burst-Jump! at any time during the charging animation, you can tap the Jump button to launch into the sky, drilling into anything above you!
while in the air, hold DOWN and press the Attack button to perform the Lance-Drop, smashing into everything under you!
using these techniques, you can easily handle any threat that can come your way, if you can master them!
THE COUNTERING SYSTEM Joylancer has an extremely robust defensive system tucked inside its mechanics! as mentioned above, you can block most attacks by charging your lance in their general direction. doing this will briefly stun enemies, which will allow you to counter-attack in a variety of ways! there's a different type of counter for every enemy, and all of them have some kind of usefulness in-game!
check out this Vine to see some of the awesome counters you can do:
https://vine.co/v/ObbQeFFeLMP
Hotfixes Coming Monday
hey everybody, tj here, dropping a quick update your way.
first off, a huge thank you for everyone who's supported the game so far! launch was very stressful on our end due to some unforeseen consequences, but it's cool-- we're still keeping it going!
we've gotten a few bug reports about the menus not fully working for the main menu; an unfortunate oversight that i missed while trying to make sure the build got sent out for uploading! we've since sent out a build update that rectifies the problem, but it won't be going live until Monday.
until then, if you purchased the game on itch.io, or are just playing the demo right now, keep in mind that the latest updated versions will always be on our itch.io page at http://a6productions.itch.io/joylancer since there's no waiting for an upload queue.
until then, please be patient with us as we wait for the build updates to be pressed out to Steam!
second, we've gotten a few reports about the Control Wizard breaking their game's control, and we're working on a better system to replace it temporarily while we get all the kinks worked out with the Wizard. we should be shipping this fix out with the menu fixes on Monday as well, so look out for that.
third, we're also going to be fixing up the tutorial level; it was, admittedly, hastily put together for launch, but we're going to fix it up and make it even deeper, for those of you who are still confused on how to play the game. there are also some doors that people have encountered that lead "nowhere" that are confusing some players, and we're going to be cleaning that up as well.
we hope that you'll chill with us for the exciting Early Access ride! we've got way too many awesome things planned, so you'll definitely want to stay tuned.
-tj
THERE IS TRUE JOY IN LANCING! - Joylancer Out NOW on Early Access!
hey everybody! this is tj, creator and multi-job guy of alpha six productions and The Joylancer.
we're so excited to finally be able to bring this game to Steam players, and very thankful to Steam, Digerati Distribution, and Merge Games, for helping us get here today. it's going to be an extremely exciting next couple months as we get the game ready for its final release in Q1 2015!
for those of you who might be new to the game, or maybe even don't know why exactly we're here, let's talk about it real quick:
WHAT IS IT? Joylancer is an action-platformer that i started on in December of 2013. originally a much smaller project, i created the game to test out some ideas i had and see just how well i could execute them by myself.
as an experiment, i tried sticking to a 4-color palette for all of the graphics, and a 2-button control scheme, to replicate the "feeling" of Game Boy games (since i was playing / researching a lot of them at the time) while bringing out an experience that you wouldn't be able to find on one.
HOW DOES IT WORK? the core game is a little different from other games in its league, as Joylancer is a game that focuses on speed and movement. in this game, your attacks are also your methods of going faster, of jumping higher, of falling safely. use your attacks to blast through stages, connecting yourself to different interactive objects, like grip poles, cannons, and long rail strips that you can ride by surfing on your weapon.
by pressing the Attack button, you use your attack, and the attack that you use depends on how much meter you have stored in your weapon. each attack also has a degree of forward movement, and this concept becomes extremely important for the platforming in later levels, as you have to combine your normal abilities with your attacks in order to traverse enormous gaps.
you can charge up on the fly by pressing Down+Attack, which can also be used to cancel techniques, safely stop moving, and deflect enemy attacks-- however, some attacks are unblockable and can only be stopped with your own attack or by dodging.
while charging, you can tap Jump to launch into the sky with the Burst-Jump technique, skewering everything above you, and in the air, you can press Down+Attack to use the Lance-Drop and smash everything under you.
Down+Jump will perform the Speed-Slide that lets you slide under cracks and trip enemies!
many attacks cancel into each other, allowing you to constantly keep moving while trampling every enemy in your path! keeping yourself and your weapon moving is key to success in this game!
WHAT'S IN IT? WHAT'S COMING NEXT? Joylancer in its current state features three demonstration levels, showing off a variety of challenges early on in the game, the Arcade-Survival mode "The Dark Palace," and the 4-player face-off mode, Motor Combat, letting you pick between a huge variety of characters, including most of the enemies you fight in the game! compete for knockouts, be the last person standing, or collect the most crystals! (as well as more modes as we come up with them!)
UPDATES? launching on Early Access, we want to make sure that the game that you're playing is great, and we want to make the game great for everyone. while there will always be complications that might prevent us from doing some things, we plan on going above and beyond the call and bringing lots of great updates as often as possible!
while in Early Access, we want to aim to have the game updated at least once a week, with these updates featuring bug fixes, new stages, new modes, and all sorts of new experiments that we do in development.
we hope that you're as excited to play the game as we are to bring it to you!
-tj
JOYLANCER - DEMO RELEASE
For all the Game Boy fans on Steam. We have just released Joylancer demo. I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to post us comments on community forum.
