OUTBUDDIES - a 16bit style metroidvania (with alpha demo!)

Dear Clickers,

I´m very excited to announce that after some weeks of crunch the first official Outbuddies alpha demo is out! I´ve been working on the game in my spare time since 2013 and I finally feel it´s going somewhere.

You can download the installer following the Dropbox link. The .exe is signed, but you may get warning messages anyway (which can be ignored), as I have not build a reputation as a software developer with Microsoft yet.

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You will dig about 60-90 minutes into the game and beat the first boss Razoth.
Outbuddies supports most controllers now and can also be played with a keyboard, but I recommend the XBOX gamepad! I have not tested wireless gamepads. The game starts with a tutorial section, so you won´t have to read any instructions in advance.

For running the game in 60FPS you should at least have a dual core CPU 2GHz plus, but the game will auto adjust to 30FPS, if your machine can´t handle it. Windows 7 or higher only. The game uses windowed fullscreen and scales to your native desktop resolution. Please test on an UHD Monitor, if you have one:P

If you find time, please leave me some feedback and bug reports! A room ID is shown on the top right corner under the minimap, please attach it, if the bugs are related to a specific room or obstacle! Also I´m not a native speaker, so please correct my if something in the dialogues feels odd to you!

I made this trailer some months ago, a lot of things have improved. Will make a new one soon!

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Thanks for the kind words - really helps to stay on track!

SirRandom: Glad you like the gameplay, I iterated it many times over the course of three years. It finally became a custom physics hybrid. If the player is in the air, the physics engine clicks in and controls only y-axis. All x-movements are under player control allowing tight platforming but realistic accelerations when jumping and dropping. If you fall from a high position you auto roll or will even crush your neck

Kisguri: Thanks, means a lot!!

@zip2kx:Thank you! I tried to mix the formula up with some new mechanics like climbing and a lot of diving scenes. It´s heavily inspired by the first Metroid games and Gunstar Heroes , which was probably my favorite of all time:) The morphball mechanic which is shown in the trailer isn´t in the game anymore, somehow it didn´t really fit in (you can crouch now), and I also was afraid of getting my ass kicked by Ninentdo:P

Flugurion: Thanks buddy:) Keep me updated if you discover anything weird and check back if you need help with QA for Mongrel. I run pretty excessive QA routines on my own to ensure I discover most things, but it can be exhausting and progress harming at times

Volnaiskra: Cool! Thank you for testing on the 2560 x 1440. I´m really unsure how well Fusion games perform on these resolutions. Ultimate Fullscreen extension should handle it in theory, but I never was able to test. For Outbuddies I wrote a special pixel perfect scaling routine combining UF and Window control object, which allows resolution switches at runtime. The .mfa can be downloaded in this thread:

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By the way: I´m testing Spryke at the moment and I really like it, will check back to you with in depth feedback!

Thanks for your kind words<3

Recorded some new footage, which shows the first boss and some updated visuals and particle effects:

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nim: Thanks for this awesome in depth feedback and your appreciation:) Both will help me for sure to further improve this game over the next months! You have a lot of good points there and I´ve thought about some of them before, so here´s what I came up with:

Player should shoot on pressing the button, not on release. Using a charge shot will fire one regular shot before beginning to charge:

I probably could implement this for the Plasma Beam, but for the later weapons this would be annoying, as you would not want them to fire before accessing the charge . Also there will be more stealth mechanics in the final game which I´m still developing, and not being able to charge before making buzz would spoil it.

-Sometimes he lets go while I'm climbing walls, even if I don't adjust the angle of the stick or release the jump button:
That´s a bug that concerns me..., I was not able to reproduce it. I have an older gamepad though, which looses connection for a split second now and then, this caused similar problems, as the input transmission to the climbing mechanics is very sensitive.

Moving blocks with physics is sometimes tricky:

You´re right! It´s actually intended to feel tricky, as telekinesis is not an easy task:P But of course it should not feel annoying. I probably also need to improve the tutorial section on that, I noticed players skipping it too fast and not recognizing the push/pull mechanic which depends on Buddys position relative to the object.

Many of the rooms feel similar. Super Metroid had some vertically (only) or horizontally scrolling rooms so I'd suggest something like that. They act as landmarks in a way:

You´re absolutely right! There will be different areas which feel more corridor like and I also need to make some extra art in case of special unique backdrop objects that help the player not getting lost!

I'm not sure I agree with having fall damage and so many high drops right away:

I´m not sure too, but the fall damage forces the player to adapt to the climbing mechanic early in the game. Also having fall damage really changes the level design. There is a (risky) way though, that you can drop from any height and avoid fall damage at all, which will surely be discovered at some point:P

The auto-roll after a high(ish) jump sometimes caused me to fall off the small platform, I was jumping to. If I could interrupt the roll by jumping again it wouldn't be a problem.:

Good point, I will try how it feels! Anyway, while rolling your are still in control of the player and can adjust forward/back.

When swimming, you can hold the Action button to stop moving, but I think I'd rather lock my aim while still being able to move:

I hate the swimming engine and will not touch it in the next weeks to keep my sanity, but I will remember the Idea:)

The Outbuddies demo got a longplay by Indie Invasion, thanks a lot guys<3

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nim: I'll PM you when I have more to show! In case of the telekinesis mechanic: If buddy is under the objects center it pushes, if it's over the center it pulls!