[ GAMEPLAY - Enemies ]
I think the recent version 0.947a is still worth exploring, but two enemies in particular were a bit too difficult / annoying, and have been adjusted.
"Flighty" enemy for now has had health reduced.
For example, in battle 1 it had 950 hp -> now 430 hp or so.
It's possible this enemy also needs to be revisited for latter battles.
"Greedy" enemy no longer takes the gold coin out of the chest.
This was causing issues with unlocks.
"Greedy" enemies often now drop 10-15% less poison.
I'm still exploring these and other encounters.
[ FEEDBACK ]
It seems the reactive enemies were (and may still be) too difficult, or otherwise less enjoyable for most players.
In particular, converting the "emotion scale" at the end of run to a 0-100 scale, ver 0.947a went from 82 down to 67. (While I do view the individual scores as well to understand the emotions behind it, I thought this was an okay way of summarizing it for others.)
Caveats: This is among players who left a rating / feedback at the end of the run.
0.946 had a 0.946a as well as a 0.946b.
As a result, I will probably look to tone down, iterate upon, or undo some of the changes that 0.947a introduced. This is the first small step in that direction.
My favorite part! Player Feedback:
"Poison Vials are too much"
Thank you for the comment. This patch doesn't really address this, as it only tones down one enemy and only 10-15%, but I will also take another look into Beetle Bane Shield. (This player was kind enough to share anonymous data, and is by no means alone I see in the data that Beetle Bane depth 1 is a major hurdle for many new players and will keep reflecting and iterating on this issue.)
"Things are a little to explosive, physics wise. I really like what you are doing. THink of Colorblind people i feel like the background and gems kinda meld. I love the art style however. i want to drop a few more coins/gems per turn a few more opportunities to merge would feel awesome. I will buy it as is"
Thank you for both the constructive feedback and also for the kind words.
I would love to hear more from colorblind players in the game, in the discord, or the steam discussions, as I'd like to make sure they can enjoy the game as well. This was one reason why rubies -> emeralds -> sapphires have an increasing number of vertices, but I feel this is probably insufficient. (I know it is not enough, but right clicking on things in the crate or coffer can also let players know what tier a given drop is while I learn more about the issues.)
But, I think I can do more on this front hopefully including more options to make things more distinguishable. If colorblind players could please share the specific parts that are most difficult, I would greatly value that feedback. (For example, I wasn't quite sure if this user was colorblind, and if so, if "background and gems kinda meld" is related to the colorblind issue, but it gives me a lot of ideas on how to improve it.)
Regarding the explosiveness, I will keep it in mind, things can definitely get bouncy depending on the battle modifier or shovels equipped. If you happen to unlock the "Star Crate" I am curious to hear if you feel this is less explosive.
Regarding the desire to drop more, there are a few shovels in the game that let you do this, and they are among my favorites, but I will let you discover them as you play. :)
"it was really confusing, even with the tutoplrial"
I hope to return to the tutorial again and continue to improve it, thank you for letting me know this issue.
"It isn't clear whether this is intentional, but the game seems to fall apart a bit if you move too quick. The most obvious instances are the recharge stones, which normally are wasted if you get a bunch at once. The starting character has 3 needed to recharge, right, so if you get six popped and you click fast enough, you end up using her ability twice. Thats either an oversight or an intentional mechanic that isnt explained well, but either way, needing to babysit your power to use it optimally and not waste crazy combo pops just feels..... bad. Otherwise having a really good time so far!"
I recognize this is an issue / element, and it does come up, especially in the higher depths. I recognize that it does takeaway from the otherwise "relaxing" aspect of the game. To a certain extent, I think some of this is an issue with a physics based game, but I think there's more I can do to improve the experience. (There is one item, not in the demo, that can "store" the excess recharge stones, but that doesn't really solve it.)
At one point, I was thinking about allowing for "overcharged" / "supercharged" abilities. So you charge up your ability, and then, if you collect another X charges, you get a more powerful version of it. I may return to this in future iterations and welcome feedback from players on this topic. Thank you for expressing your feedback and greatly appreciate the kind words as well.
"PLayed more.. i get it now, you are creating a gem keep it cozy please. What a soundtrack"
Awwww! I'm choosing to interpret this as "Rutrum is a gem", but I recognize you might have meant "[the player' is creating a gem \[in game]".
For cozyness, I do think the game might be a little too difficult and reactive, and am going to keep polishing this experience as best as I can. The soundtrack was made by the amazingly talented Fadlan Amada! (With the exception of one song.) I will pass along your comments to him, thank you.
Thank you to everyone for trying Rutrum and especially to those sharing their experiences!