Adding some more sounds

Idea:

For this iteration I would like to find some sounds to make my game more responsive on an
audio level.

Implementation:

Apart from the backing track for the game itself I have found founds for the laser and for the ship being damaged.

I have spent several hours trying to find the correct sounds for the laser since most of them sounded either very old fashioned or horrible. The sound I found for the laser can be heard but it's not in the player's face, so the player will recognise the sound as being a laser.

With the damage sound, I initially tried to find a sound of metal being impacted, and this difficult because most sounds available were of metal being propped or machines operating. After some times I realised, unless I have a plasma shot or the player fires bullets this is not needed. With this in mind and the fact I am using particle emitters to produce sparks, I decided to find some spark sounds. After some time researching I found a good spark sound that was loop-able if needed and was loud but not too loud.

Player Reaction:

Laser:

Several people liked the laser sound and thought it was very responsive, but a few commented that it wasn't looping properly because the sound was for a single laser blast like a phaser rather than a constant beam.

With this in mind most people liked the sound I had implemented, however if more people ask for it to be changed, I will modify it.

I found this sound at freesound.org (mckinneysound. Web. 9 May 2014. <www.freesfx.co.uk/soundeffects/lasers_weapons/?p=2>.).

Spark:

With the spark sound, I mistakenly kept the audio source at full, meaning when the player or the enemy was receiving damage, the audio clip was too loud . A few players commented on how if the player uses a constant beam, the audio clip players two sparks bursts (that's just how the audio clip works) and there should just be one spark sound burst. Considering only a few people asked for this to be changed, I will alter these audio files when I get the chance, but if the comment recurs I will do it more promptly.

I found this sound at freesound.org (Connum. 3 Oct. 2005. <www.freesound.org/people/Connum/sounds/11709/>).

Non-audio related feedback:

Radar:

Several play testers play testers commented how how they liked how the planets showed up on the radar, meaning it performs it's task well. Player than said they could roughly work out where they were in relation to the world. However several people commented how the player, the trader and enemy's don't show up on it. Several players even thought the purple planets were the trader due to the colour and shape similarity.

They asked for a player, enemy and trader ship icon to make identifications of body's clearer.

Player Mass resources cargo hold:

A large number of players thought they pointed out a bug when they tried to mine a planet, but it turned out their Mass resource cargo was full at the start of the level (may have to reconsider this). To help with the managing mechanic I kept it so the player can not mine a planet when their hold is full. With this in mind the player is not told about it, thus they will probable think there is something wrong with the game. I need to give the player more feedback with this, e.g. text at the top reading "Cargo Full".

Fuel Low Warning:

A numbers of players requested a feature that when their fuel is e.g. 25% or lower, they are alerted some how in the game. This could be useful because the player may have needed an enemy encounter, and not have looked at their fuel bar, it could be a reminder. Like with the cargo full text I may add this feature in the next iteration.

Lowering the difficulty:

Another feature suggested was to either have the planets closer together, another trader in the level, have the enemy drop either fuel or health when dead. Another suggestion was for a speed boost feature, that does not cost the player any fuel but only works for a limited times when used.

Lost in the main Level:

Also some players became lost in the game since they would explore the level and could not find the trader again because it was not on the radar. I need to fix this issue. Another thing is player's can't make a return trip to the trader ship, especially after encountering an enemy because some of their fuel is used up from moving away from an enemy ship.

Ship movement when fuel is low:

Another suggestion was to just have the ship move extremely slowly when fuel has run out. This would also lower the difficulty because players can die too easily at the moment with both no fuel or health killing them ending the game.

Also the health box does not appear to disappear instantly thanks to a bug (I will fix this ASAP).

Enemy Damage Feedback:

Another item people commented on was, that they couldn't tell when the enemy was being damaged (well only a few people could see the enemy sparks and smoke). A suggestion for this was eaither a damage value above the enemy or a mini health bar (orange coloured, the same as the player's HUD, so keep with the house style helping the player).

Many people did like the flame animation from the ships exhaust and the explosion effect.

Bugs:

It was noticed when the first enemy is killed, the payer automatically replenished their health, so the player doesn't need the health box. After this the player can't be killed by the enemy. Many people noticed the bug. However everyone liked the 3d model of the rotating health box and how is slightly glowed.

Next Iteration:

A few players requested click sounds when they click on a menu button.

The bug where if the player dies during the mini tutorial during the game level (enemy tutorial) is still present, they will revert to the first tutorial level and when they get back to the game level, the tutorial will not run.

Main menu should have a more interesting back ground, than plain black, and possibly something animated going on in the background.

If I get the change I will alter the sounds files according to the suggestions above, but that depends on how much time I have left form other aspect of the game.

In the next iteration I will experiment with the "Warning Fuel Low" Text alert for the player. This will not take long to do and if player's do not like it I can remove the feature. I will do the same for when the player tries to mine a planet when their cargo is full. This will hopefully make the game easier to play since player's will not waste fuel traveling to a plant and thinking the game is broken.