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"Velocity Ultra" for PSVita - Greatest PSMini will be improved & native res on PSVita
- Thread starter Carl
- Start date
Need your help guys/gals...
Weve got an issue with Velocity Ultra in that the levels are designed in such a way that many people are able to achieve the same score. We're using points and time to create an 'Online Score' for each level, but some levels, such as the Critical Urgency levels, will always result in the same score for each player once they've reached a certain level of proficiency.
This means the leaderboard will ultimately suck if we just bung everyone into it with the same score.
So, weve come up with the concept of the Elite Lounge for each level.
The idea being that each level has a maximum number of points that can be achieved in that level, and once a player has reached that, they are put into the Elite Lounge for that level.
The Elite Lounge target will be organic though. We wont set the targets ourselves, that will be up to players to explore the limits of each level, but there will be a limit that will be reached fairly quickly. The way this works is that once you reach the Elite Lounge Target, you will be added to the Elite Lounge, but if you manage to surpass the target, you'll set a new one, and all the folks that were in the Elite Lounge will be kicked out, and you'll be in there by yourself... until someone joins you or sets a new target.
This means that once everyone has rinsed the game, they will all be in the Elite Lounge together, holding hands and singing the Velocity theme tune.
We realise this is a bit of a hack, but its the best we can come up with to make VU fit with online leader boards.
Actually, were doing something a little more by offering an aggregate leaderboard too, which will take all of the scores for each level in the game, add them up, and then put that in a single leaderboard. There should be enough granularity there to ensure that some people do better than others.
How does this all sound?
Your feedback is valuable and much appreciated!
Thanks,
James
Weve got an issue with Velocity Ultra in that the levels are designed in such a way that many people are able to achieve the same score. We're using points and time to create an 'Online Score' for each level, but some levels, such as the Critical Urgency levels, will always result in the same score for each player once they've reached a certain level of proficiency.
This means the leaderboard will ultimately suck if we just bung everyone into it with the same score.
So, weve come up with the concept of the Elite Lounge for each level.
The idea being that each level has a maximum number of points that can be achieved in that level, and once a player has reached that, they are put into the Elite Lounge for that level.
The Elite Lounge target will be organic though. We wont set the targets ourselves, that will be up to players to explore the limits of each level, but there will be a limit that will be reached fairly quickly. The way this works is that once you reach the Elite Lounge Target, you will be added to the Elite Lounge, but if you manage to surpass the target, you'll set a new one, and all the folks that were in the Elite Lounge will be kicked out, and you'll be in there by yourself... until someone joins you or sets a new target.
This means that once everyone has rinsed the game, they will all be in the Elite Lounge together, holding hands and singing the Velocity theme tune.
We realise this is a bit of a hack, but its the best we can come up with to make VU fit with online leader boards.
Actually, were doing something a little more by offering an aggregate leaderboard too, which will take all of the scores for each level in the game, add them up, and then put that in a single leaderboard. There should be enough granularity there to ensure that some people do better than others.
How does this all sound?
Your feedback is valuable and much appreciated!
Thanks,
James
PuppetMaster
Member
I've seen a lots of game leaderboards with that problem. At least you tried to address it.
StevePharma
Member
This sounds pretty good. I'd stick with it if I were you. Great solution to a common score based leaderboard problem.
ricen-beans
Member
What if you guys also include the time it took to beat the level and measure it in milliseconds. And let that be a deciding factor on what your position on the leaderboard is.
Also thank u for including a platinum in this game! Does this change how many trophies will be included? Or will there still be 11 or 13?
The more trophies the better.
Also thank u for including a platinum in this game! Does this change how many trophies will be included? Or will there still be 11 or 13?
The more trophies the better.
We're using points AND time to create an 'Online Score' for each level, but some levels, such as the Critical Urgency levels, will always result in the same score for each player once they've reached a certain level of proficiency - because boosting all the way through a level will always take the same amount of time for each player if they never let go of boost.
Some levels are designed so that you have to hold boost all the way through - and it's fun!
- BTW, more trophies, yes.
ricen-beans
Member
You're right! Forgot about that aspect.
I do think the more detailed the leaderboard the funner it is to compare with friends. Could it include total number of deaths, total bombs used, time, etc?
I know eventually everyone could potentially have the same score but its the journey to get there with your friends that makes it fun.
And please include a timer that tells you how much time you've spent playing the game. People like all kinds of stats. Jetpack joyride is a good example I think.
Eurogamer got some footage and James on camera!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiU1gBSTjk
"You can use the right stick to fling bombs, we don't think it's a good idea so we included it so you can see why we think it's not a good idea" lol
Also talks about using the touch screen to teleport and why it doesn't always offer the best option and it's clumsy at times. But they included it anyway because we asked for it
Also talks about the leaderboards and how it will work on speed missions where people are likly to get the same time. READ: You're all awesome.
NEOGAF GETS A MENTION!
Hopefully out in May, around $7-10 but no definite yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiU1gBSTjk
"You can use the right stick to fling bombs, we don't think it's a good idea so we included it so you can see why we think it's not a good idea" lol
Also talks about using the touch screen to teleport and why it doesn't always offer the best option and it's clumsy at times. But they included it anyway because we asked for it
Also talks about the leaderboards and how it will work on speed missions where people are likly to get the same time. READ: You're all awesome.
NEOGAF GETS A MENTION!
Hopefully out in May, around $7-10 but no definite yet.
VITA HAZ NO GAEM
Magic Mushroom
Member
Eurogamer got some footage and James on camera!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiU1gBSTjk
"You can use the right stick to fling bombs, we don't think it's a good idea so we included it so you can see why we think it's not a good idea" lol
Also talks about using the touch screen to teleport and why it doesn't always offer the best option and it's clumsy at times. But they included it anyway because we asked for it
Also talks about the leaderboards and how it will work on speed missions where people are likly to get the same time. READ: You're all awesome.
NEOGAF GETS A MENTION!
Hopefully out in May, around $7-10 but no definite yet.
Awesome! Can't wait.
Pai Pai Master
Banned
May? So that's why The Last of Us got delayed. This is gonna be amazeballs.
I asked about the game recording gameplay stats, they asked what we would want if they have time.
https://twitter.com/rjubber/status/302383147323117568
Let them know.
https://twitter.com/rjubber/status/302383147323117568
Let them know.
CaptainTiptop
Member
Fair and balanced.
recurv:
I am a fan of Velocity and have a request for your upgraded Vita remake. Please allow us to go into the option menu to toggle between analog controls for movement and the D-Pad. You have them both active in the current Mini version and because of that I am forced to use the analog stick.
When I try to use the D-Pad to move the ship around, hitting the down-arrow causes me at times to accidently to also hit the left analog stick because the Vita has these two input methods really, really close together (unlike the PS3 controller). This caused many deaths until I switched to the stick, which I do not prefer.
Either way, I am looking forward to buying the remake.
I am a fan of Velocity and have a request for your upgraded Vita remake. Please allow us to go into the option menu to toggle between analog controls for movement and the D-Pad. You have them both active in the current Mini version and because of that I am forced to use the analog stick.
When I try to use the D-Pad to move the ship around, hitting the down-arrow causes me at times to accidently to also hit the left analog stick because the Vita has these two input methods really, really close together (unlike the PS3 controller). This caused many deaths until I switched to the stick, which I do not prefer.
Either way, I am looking forward to buying the remake.
Yup. Got about 20 seconds into that video.
I speel my dreenk
Member
Looks really fun, can't wait for it!
Hi there Joe - when we released the PSP version we had a request to do something about turning off the analogue stick - on old PSPs the stick can get a bit flaky. I remembered this request when I made the Vita version option screen - so it's already in!
Dpad will always work, but analogue stick can be deactivated.
As to the stats tracking - I don't see why I can't put that in as another option in the Flight Computer. Will just take a weekend to add it - will try and find somewhere to cram it into the save file
Cheers,
Robin
Dpad will always work, but analogue stick can be deactivated.
As to the stats tracking - I don't see why I can't put that in as another option in the Flight Computer. Will just take a weekend to add it - will try and find somewhere to cram it into the save file
Cheers,
Robin
Can't wait to go through this one again.
Generally, i think it looks great. Not a fan of the background design (the design that appears in the black background) and the pods you have to capture though. Especially those pods look really big and somewhat ugly. But hey, never listen to feedback from forums when it comes to visuals and go with your own idea and vision
I assume that the music is going to be unchanged? No extra fantastic tune squeezed in there somewhere?
Generally, i think it looks great. Not a fan of the background design (the design that appears in the black background) and the pods you have to capture though. Especially those pods look really big and somewhat ugly. But hey, never listen to feedback from forums when it comes to visuals and go with your own idea and vision
I assume that the music is going to be unchanged? No extra fantastic tune squeezed in there somewhere?
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
Hi there Joe - when we released the PSP version we had a request to do something about turning off the analogue stick - on old PSPs the stick can get a bit flaky. I remembered this request when I made the Vita version option screen - so it's already in!
Dpad will always work, but analogue stick can be deactivated.
As to the stats tracking - I don't see why I can't put that in as another option in the Flight Computer. Will just take a weekend to add it - will try and find somewhere to cram it into the save file
Cheers,
Robin
Thanks for adding a touch screen option, there were times in the first Velocity where pinpointing where I wanted to go with the stick or dpad didn't work that well for me. Question though, is the touch option going to be a tap where you want to go, or will one have to drag from the ship to the destination?
Hi there Joe - when we released the PSP version we had a request to do something about turning off the analogue stick - on old PSPs the stick can get a bit flaky. I remembered this request when I made the Vita version option screen - so it's already in!
Dpad will always work, but analogue stick can be deactivated.
As to the stats tracking - I don't see why I can't put that in as another option in the Flight Computer. Will just take a weekend to add it - will try and find somewhere to cram it into the save file
Cheers,
Robin
Excellent news, thanks Robin.
It seems so odd to see developers listening to the fans.
yurinka
Member
Eurogamer got some footage and James on camera!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiU1gBSTjk
"You can use the right stick to fling bombs, we don't think it's a good idea so we included it so you can see why we think it's not a good idea" lol
Also talks about using the touch screen to teleport and why it doesn't always offer the best option and it's clumsy at times. But they included it anyway because we asked for it
Also talks about the leaderboards and how it will work on speed missions where people are likly to get the same time. READ: You're all awesome.
NEOGAF GETS A MENTION!
Hopefully out in May, around $7-10 but no definite yet.
Love the new logo screen, the artwork, to have trophies, leaderboards and the lighting effects of the explosions reflected in the walls.
I think that the touchscreen for teleport would be a good idea for some cases, sounds awesome to have it as an option,becase of fast paced portions as stated in the video. Nice to see that the analog can be disabled. Regarding relase date, take your time and polish it until you're happy as long as you can. Everyone prefers a polished game than a rushed ones, and being a remake all the little tweaks and improvements will help with reviews and opinions. Which also would affect sales and general happiness.
I'll get it day one (9.99€ or under is ok for me) even if I got the Minis version.
'fraid not. Though you will be able to buy the soundtrack and remixes separately... very soon.
Tap where you want to go. It's instantaneous.
Hi there - here at Futurlab we're keen to hear your suggestions. I liked the game stats suggestion so I've just spent a few hours programming it in.
All the stats now have their own page in the Flight Computer, with dpad, analogue and touch scroll - and a save button to record it all for posterity although the game will also save all this information whenever you win a level.
First I added how long you've been playing the game, bombs thrown, switches hit and bullets fired.
This was nice, but perhaps a bit stingy. So next I added how many times you had killed yourself (idiot score), times you'd beaten a zone, total points scored and the distance you had flown. And the fuel expended while doing so. This last number in no way involved massive guesswork.
Then I added the number of aliens spawned while you were flying, the number of pickups collected and the number of survivors rescued. And how many times you threw a bomb at the wrong switch. Plus how many times you have ever checked the map, for good measure.
But that didn't seem like enough, so the game also checks how many times you've pressed a menu button, how long you've been paused for, how many times you paused the game, how many times you changed menu screen and how many times you've changed the flight computer backdrop. All very important stuff.
But what if that wasn't enough? Some people are very obsessive (for instance programmers) and others love their stats - so it also records the number of in-game messages you've read, how many baddies you've blown to bits and your use of long and short form teleport. And how many panes of glass your bullets have shattered, the total number of bomb kills and the number of times your bombs have killed multiple aliens in one superb shot. And your total in-game flight time when in control of the Quarp Jet, because that's tax deductible.
Will this do? Have I missed anything?
Cheers,
Robin Jubber, Futurlab, Feb 2013
All the stats now have their own page in the Flight Computer, with dpad, analogue and touch scroll - and a save button to record it all for posterity although the game will also save all this information whenever you win a level.
First I added how long you've been playing the game, bombs thrown, switches hit and bullets fired.
This was nice, but perhaps a bit stingy. So next I added how many times you had killed yourself (idiot score), times you'd beaten a zone, total points scored and the distance you had flown. And the fuel expended while doing so. This last number in no way involved massive guesswork.
Then I added the number of aliens spawned while you were flying, the number of pickups collected and the number of survivors rescued. And how many times you threw a bomb at the wrong switch. Plus how many times you have ever checked the map, for good measure.
But that didn't seem like enough, so the game also checks how many times you've pressed a menu button, how long you've been paused for, how many times you paused the game, how many times you changed menu screen and how many times you've changed the flight computer backdrop. All very important stuff.
But what if that wasn't enough? Some people are very obsessive (for instance programmers) and others love their stats - so it also records the number of in-game messages you've read, how many baddies you've blown to bits and your use of long and short form teleport. And how many panes of glass your bullets have shattered, the total number of bomb kills and the number of times your bombs have killed multiple aliens in one superb shot. And your total in-game flight time when in control of the Quarp Jet, because that's tax deductible.
Will this do? Have I missed anything?
Cheers,
Robin Jubber, Futurlab, Feb 2013
Loved Velocity, day one buy for the Vita version. I have completed the survey as well. I have some ideas:
1. Digital Deluxe version
Includes a collection of Vita wallpapers, PS3 wallpapers, and the soundtrack.
2. Flight Club
If more player data will help you improve future Velocity games, include a verbose logging option called "Flight Club" that sends futurlab an absurd amount of data about how you play the game (if you don't already, given the prior post).
About the only thing I'd like to see changed for the re-release that hasn't been changed is art variety on levels. Though that may be a more daunting prospect, perhaps it's something you can include in Velocity 2: The first top-down spaceship Metroidvania. (I'm telling you that would be awesome).
1. Digital Deluxe version
Includes a collection of Vita wallpapers, PS3 wallpapers, and the soundtrack.
2. Flight Club
If more player data will help you improve future Velocity games, include a verbose logging option called "Flight Club" that sends futurlab an absurd amount of data about how you play the game (if you don't already, given the prior post).
About the only thing I'd like to see changed for the re-release that hasn't been changed is art variety on levels. Though that may be a more daunting prospect, perhaps it's something you can include in Velocity 2: The first top-down spaceship Metroidvania.
(I'm telling you that would be awesome).Excellent Robin, thanks again.
Do you or James know if the soundtracks will be available for download separately?
I can see some people buying that.
How about how many times you've touched the screen to teleport vs buttons? Its so hard not playing the copy of Velocity I own waiting for this one! good job
ricen-beans
Member
All this sounds awesome!
Day one for me!
And I will FORCE my younger brother to buy it as well lol.
Day one for me!
And I will FORCE my younger brother to buy it as well lol.
Dear neogaffers - it's all very well having stats but how do we analyse those stats? I have a proposal. If you press the triangle button on the stats screen I'll run a simple maths formula on all the stats and print up a message - e.g. "ricen beans salutes you!" - where the name is chosen based on the formula. Who wants their neogaf name to be in the game? Or your real name if you prefer. Post a reply here and I'll add you to the array. James likes the idea and it's no problem to code it in.
Cheers,
Robin Jubber, Futurlab, Feb 2013
Cheers,
Robin Jubber, Futurlab, Feb 2013
I hereby grant Futurlab exclusive rights to my salutes.
*Raises hand*
Pick me, pick me, pick me.
DBT85 please.
It's almost like you didn't have enough work to do on the game Robin.
On question, will you guys be able to see the stats generated? So will you be able to tell that after say a week 7000 hours of Velocity have been played? 1 million bombs have been dropped etc?
Pick me, pick me, pick me.
DBT85 please.
It's almost like you didn't have enough work to do on the game Robin.
On question, will you guys be able to see the stats generated? So will you be able to tell that after say a week 7000 hours of Velocity have been played? 1 million bombs have been dropped etc?
TheGuardian
Member
Sign me up!
darkwing likes the idea, add me in
super-famicom
Member
Toma reports in. I am not sure how you want to add all these people that will reply to this though, haha.