New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
#1212441
03/14/20 04:06 PM
03/14/20 04:06 PM
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CaptainD
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With apologies to both Sun Tzu and the Bee Gees, I guess. I've released a new retro arcade game - so retro it uses actual rectangles instead of sprites! - but when there are two or three hundred of them bearing down on you at once, I think you'll be less worried about what they look like and more concerned with... well you know, staying alive. 20 levels, 5 game speeds, 2 game modes and a challenge mode to play through all 20 levels if you dare. https://captaind.itch.io/the-ancient-art-of-staying-alive
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1212474
03/14/20 11:09 PM
03/14/20 11:09 PM
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Trail_Mystic
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Post stickied and game now on my PC. Sort of reminds me of an ultra simple version of Defender. You should add a one shot bomb that takes out a % of the squares at the higher levels. Now I want to fire up a game of Asteroids or Centipede! Takes me back to the old arcade days - I used to go around checking vending machines and phones for coins when I was a kid to get money for the arcade.
I feel a lot more like I do now, then when I first got here
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1212482
03/15/20 07:57 AM
03/15/20 07:57 AM
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CaptainD
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@Marian - ha glad you liked it! @oldbroad - glad to know the Itch promotion thingies are working! It's certainly not for everyone, hopefully those in the very small niche who will find it appealing will find out about the game somehow. @Trail_Mystic - thank you so much! I'll add your suggestion to my ideas for expansion. To be mentioned in same breath as Asteroids and Centipede is high praise indeed - though to my mind it's more like Robotron without the shooting (or the flashing, or the sprites...) I'll post in this thread when I upload an updated version with some new features.
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1212490
03/15/20 09:51 AM
03/15/20 09:51 AM
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GuybrushThreepwood
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My first though was its a game about dancing to the Bee Gees.
Its very said only one is left. Even their mother has since died.
Last edited by GuybrushThreepwood; 03/15/20 09:52 AM.
Currently Playing: Adventure Game: Broken Age Darkside: Star Wars: The Old Republic
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1212501
03/15/20 01:11 PM
03/15/20 01:11 PM
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hagatha
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Hah! Now I have THAT song stuck in my head. Plus Images of John Travolta in that white suit.
I think I'm quite ready for another adventure.
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1212565
03/16/20 11:25 AM
03/16/20 11:25 AM
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hagatha
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Am I showing my age by saying that your game reminds me of the game tables we used to play on in University pubs? Great memories from those days! A drink, some good friends, and a game.
I think I'm quite ready for another adventure.
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: hagatha]
#1212639
03/17/20 08:06 AM
03/17/20 08:06 AM
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CaptainD
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Having to have my wits about me probably disqualifies me from the get go, boozed-up or no! Haha I'm sure that's not true! v1.2 has been released: • You can now change the background colour, some truly horrific colours available for true retroheads (some nice ones too of course!) • You now choose how many times you can teleport per level • You have bombs that clear a small area around you, also choose how many of these you can use in a level • You can add obstacles to the level to help you – naturally you want to avoid bumping into these though! Videos showcasing the changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_t3EW9exjEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmJ1m2zzUPs
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1212701
03/17/20 10:26 PM
03/17/20 10:26 PM
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hagatha
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Argh, matey! Avast threw your game into the brig and interrogated it.
However, the game has been found completely innocent and was released back into my custody for installation.
I think I'm quite ready for another adventure.
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1212753
03/18/20 12:06 PM
03/18/20 12:06 PM
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hagatha
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Oh, yes. I was more amused than worried. And of course now your game is in their database as being safe.
I'll load it up and give a play later today.
I think I'm quite ready for another adventure.
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1213813
04/01/20 05:06 AM
04/01/20 05:06 AM
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CaptainD
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v1.4 released!
- Synthesized speech for each level start - High score table added Linux version coming later today now available. https://captaind.itch.io/the-ancient-art-of-staying-alive
Last edited by CaptainD; 04/01/20 07:32 AM.
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1213845
04/01/20 11:29 AM
04/01/20 11:29 AM
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Trail_Mystic
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Cool, thanks Captain D! TM
I feel a lot more like I do now, then when I first got here
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1214414
04/07/20 09:51 AM
04/07/20 09:51 AM
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CaptainD
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I have just uploaded v1.41 for Windows. For left-handed players (or those who may merely prefer it!) I have added WASD as a control mechanism. Part of the reason for this was trying the game on my laptop and realising how impossible it is to use the cursor keys for gaming on some laptops due to the keyboard layout! O and M can be used for Teleport and Bomb now. Just don't try to use both control mechanisms at once!! :-D I will include this in a later update for Linux - next thing I want to add it a title screen with 8-bit loading border ;-) https://captaind.itch.io/the-ancient-art-of-staying-alive
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1214426
04/07/20 01:10 PM
04/07/20 01:10 PM
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Trail_Mystic
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Cool, thanks Captain D! Yeah, the WASD is my preference, just cuz most of the movement controls on the other games I play use those. TM
I feel a lot more like I do now, then when I first got here
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1216928
05/08/20 03:23 PM
05/08/20 03:23 PM
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CaptainD
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v1.54 released for Windows (Linux update will follow shortly): - Optional 8-bit loading screen complete with horrible screechy sounds :-) - High score table for Challenge Mode as well as normal - Animated characters - Some more synthesized speech https://captaind.itch.io/the-ancient-art-of-staying-aliveSteam store page coming soon! (If you have already bought it on Itch, you will be able to claim a Steam key after release)
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1217011
05/09/20 02:38 PM
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CaptainD
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1217246
05/12/20 09:08 PM
05/12/20 09:08 PM
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Trail_Mystic
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Nice upgrades CaptainD! Best of luck on the upcoming Steam page One thing I did notice, was the first time I played it, my standard platform curser got stuck in the middle of the screen. This didn't happen the second time I opened the game. Also, what is the recommended resolution? I've been playing around with them, I default to a 4K resolution which makes it "attack of the nano-bots", lower resolutions worked much better.
Last edited by Trail_Mystic; 05/12/20 09:13 PM.
I feel a lot more like I do now, then when I first got here
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1217289
05/13/20 08:50 AM
05/13/20 08:50 AM
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Trail_Mystic
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LOL, I just noticed the Native Game Resolution choice on the set-up screen. Couldn't have been more obvious for me. Pretty bad considering I've done software testing. I was pretty tired when checking it out the first time though I noticed that the only time I get the curser issue now is when I start up the game through the set-up screen, and then only after the PC has been shut down prior. It may just be a Windows 10 thing, I ran the compatibility wizard which indicated it would be best run as Windows 8, that seemed to work fine. One suggestion I would make, since it jumps right into the game when you select a level, is to indicate that the player needs to select game options (speed, difficulty, number of bombs and so on) before selecting a level to play. Moving the game options to the top of the start screen and adding a start button might be nice.
I feel a lot more like I do now, then when I first got here
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1219295
06/04/20 01:18 PM
06/04/20 01:18 PM
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Trail_Mystic
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Added to my Wishlist Just wondering, and you know me, always full of suggestions or full of something Have you ever thought about maybe shortening the name?
I feel a lot more like I do now, then when I first got here
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1262007
12/01/21 12:29 PM
12/01/21 12:29 PM
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CaptainD
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Just a little over a year later... and I've uploaded a version with bosses!!! Every 5th Challenge Mode level will give you just one enemy to avoid, but it's bigger than your normal enemy, and will grow bigger - and get faster - as time moves on. You have to survive until the timer bar at the bottom of the screen disappears. The later the level, the longer the time you have to survive (and the bigger the boss becomes...) There are also several other improvements here and there. I'm not necessarily done yet but as long as no-one finds anything major this will be the version I release on Steam (with the code for the leaderboards turned on and a few achievements in place). Also since only having one life to attempt the Challenge Mode was a bit mean, I've changed it so that you start with five lives - however, if you finish with just the one life left, you miss out on a juicy bonus score (obviously the biggest bonus is awarded if you have all five lives still intact). Happy playing - hope you enjoy the update! https://captaind.itch.io/the-ancient-art-of-staying-alive
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1264019
12/29/21 12:27 PM
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CaptainD
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The game will be coming to Steam next month (unless I manage to do something incredibly stupid! ) - same game but featuring integrated leaderboards and achievements. Not confident about AGSteam plugin for Linux so it may only be a PC release (the Linux build will still be available on Itch but obviously doesn't have Steam achievements). I've created a trailer for the game complete with synthesised singing that has to be heard to be believed: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKYKc69a3ec
Come on admit it, you were singing along Please note - if you already own the game on Itch (as in, if you bought it not got it on free promo), you will be able to grab a Steam key from there shortly after release.
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1264022
12/29/21 02:21 PM
12/29/21 02:21 PM
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oldbroad
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1265544
01/19/22 06:28 AM
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CaptainD
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Re: New release - "The Ancient Art of Staying Alive"
[Re: CaptainD]
#1268283
02/28/22 03:05 PM
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CaptainD
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MAJOR UPDATETurn-based mode added to the game - it plays VERY differently to the arcade version so beware! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1285960/The_Ancient_Art_of_Staying_Alive/Also several other tweaks / improvements: Full Changelog (v2.15) New features: - turn-based mode added - 4 new achievements linked to completing levels in turn-based mode - timer bar showing when bonus score still available for staying alive - music on / off selection added to menu screen Updates: - spruced up menu screen - shinier mouse cursor - visible pointer for teleport destination and tiny game pause to allow for orientation - scoring algorithms tweaked - slightly higher scores will be possible - bonus score added for completing levels in Challenge Mode to aid getting achievements Bug Fixes: - Minus scores not possible at start of levels - enemies and objects can no longer appear outside the arena border (actually not 100% fixed, will resolve this on later update) - other small background fixes
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