Bug report in newest demo : You can break the game entirely by spamming both left click and E in the dialog section. The game will stop taking any input and I could´nt restart, main menu or anything other than altf4
Would love a demo that works on Linux if possible (.deb specifically) without a bunch of hassle with WINE settings and whatever. I think it just requires one extra button press in the unity build settings, unless your game is some weird edge case that breaks on Linux.
I really enjoyed the latest version. I will say that it didn't run super well on my laptop (which isn't very high-end). Having settings to reduce visual quality and increase performance would be great
I like the demo as a whole, but here's my general thoughts/ideas:
Remove (or mostly remove) the need to reset the whole level on player error
Gets very annoying very fast when just trying to get a good idea of what to do by screwing around with stuff
Increase the speed of lifts
Also gets very annoying when paired with the resetting issue as it takes a lot longer to get back to where you were. Even just adjusting the acceleration of the lift would be nice.
Increase jump height
I know this could screw up some stuff, but honestly, the jumping just feels really unsatisfying to me. Not that it's a big deal, just a nitpick I guess.
Add the ability to move while throwing
Also could screw up some stuff, but this one feels like a more important thing to feel good than jumping, as having to cancel, move, cancel, and move again to line something up can be annoying
Increase the magnets' friction on the ground when thrown
On the magnet flinging level, it might be a good idea to make it more obvious that you aren't supposed to throw the magnet from the top platform by hand
I don't see why throwing the magnet is locked to certain angles? It feels really clunky and hard to aim.
I think increasing the vertical throwing height might help a little bit in terms of controlling the magnet, as it feels really heavy right now and just doesn't feel right to me.
Not a game-breaking issue, but I generally like to keep my controller plugged in when I play other games, but when I booted this demo, it wouldn't let me select anything via kbm and was really jittery until I unplugged it.
To fix this, you should just be able to set an option for kbm, controller, or maybe even auto-swapping in the settings. Auto-swapping could be done by just checking which one input something last and then using the methods for that scheme. Adding onto the first point, though, it might be a good idea to auto-assign it to kbm if you don't add auto-swapping.
And this is my last one, but I hope whenever this does come out that you go a lot more in-depth into applications of the mechanics. Some games don't do that very well, but these have a lot of potential and could be really cool when put together.
I think that's my main gripes about this, although I'm sure I've missed a few lol. Mainly just controls and tactility which (to be fair) I am generally more picky about than other people. But it's probably better for me to say all of that now before this game gets a lot bigger level-wise and harder to change when it comes to controls due to 'cheesability'.
But yeah! Cool game and cool concepts, and I look forward to playing it when it comes out!
Edit: I watched literally the next two seconds of the video after I paused it and you said you weren't taking more feedback. But I guess if you ever change your mind on it, then I guess here it is? Sorry lol
I just tried both 4.0 and 4.1. The game is turning out great.
I wanted to give you some feedback about the new puzzles in 4.1. They are much better than the previous ones.
The puzzles in 4.0 were indeed harder, but because of how close and how mechanically precise they were made, there were many times in the demo where I felt that I had "barely made it", almost as if I was cheating the system instead of simply getting that "aha!" moment you talked about in the video.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I believe you should keep going in this direction of focusing more on the puzzle mechanics and less on the platforming/execution part of the game. Making the right moves and leaving the way permanently open results in a much stronger "aha" moment in my humble opinion, it feels more like you did something right and less like you were just lucky.
Finally, here are a few specific suggestions and observations i have:
The retry icon seems to be bugged. It doesn't reset to white after you restart for the first time.
Maybe the bow should be a fixed third color? I've seen at least one user here on itch.io getting confused by the fact that it also changes colors.
Mapping the Polarity Swap to F feels a little weird. Maybe it should be S/Down since that button isnt used for movement anyways? That's how I mapped it and it felt smoother.
Aw heck yeah I just played 4.1 and it finally gave me some of those "Aha!" moments everyone talks about :)
While I'm still not a fan of being able to get stuck and having to restart the whole level, this time around it felt a lot more like it was my fault for getting stuck, which made the whole experience a lot less frustrating. It will be interesting to see how that keeps up when the puzzles get more complicated.
It was fun to have two magnets to work with, but I'm a little surprised that they aren't attracted to each other (although if they're supposed to be siblings I guess it's better that they aren't)
One final thing I noticed, the music, sound effects, improved graphics, and even the little conversation at the beginning really made it feel 1000x more professional. I guess it's true what they say about presentation.
This has been really inspirational to watch the development of. As a fellow game designer, I'll be sure to take notes.
I just wanted to say that i support the idea of Max and Ribbon being brothers as a justification of why they dont attract to each other! It really works with the game's humor.
Also, the remaining future magnets could also be explained as cousins or other family members! It would be a funny little recurring joke.
1. I can understand not being able to move when I raise the magnet to throw, but it's hard to accept the feeling
2. Related to the first one, when using the controller, aiming when throwing operate in the same way as moving （using the left stick), the aiming arc is not very precise, and the right stick has no role in the game
3. I don't know if the way I solved the puzzle of "SPIN CITY" is correct, I put it in this video, 【无名磁铁试玩（GDC v4.1）——GMTK】，42:18, if the way I solved the puzzle is correct, then this distance is too extreme, and it will feel better to add jumping when adding aim
4. There is also "THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD", i had be stucked ,you can see that in my vedio at 23:35,无名磁铁试玩（GDC v4.1）——GMTK . In addition, I feel my way through this level is not quite right. The bounce of the magnet is difficult to control, and if it causes a restart, it will feel bad.
ps: I don't know whether it is because of the game or my computer, the video footage recorded by obs will become more and more stuck, the play is normal, and it will be fixed by re-enter the level after finishing the level, you can verify this in my video link above
pps:my english is poor ,i used tranlater tool,hope you can understand. if you cant,just leave words in here
You have to place the magnet on top of the clear box, on the left side of the propeller. When you jump down, this will launch the magnet to the other switch.
I loved the 4.1 version's puzzles a lot (except maybe Elevator Action but I was just taking too long to figure it out). They all were challenging but eventually you can figure it out. So cool
A few points: Magnets attract to matching colors should probably be the default option, I was very confused wondering why it wasn't working until I realized it was the bow that matches without that option
The Toggle Aim Mode On/Off should work differently (or at least have a separate option). It should make it so that you hold B for aim mode and throw by releasing B (X could be used to cancel).
Graphics, game feel, puzzle elements and the euphoric solution moments were awesome and I can't wait for more!
Some feedback:
Going Up: It wasn't very clear what was going on with the different colors. After completing the demo, I understand the difference between the object and "platform" polarity colors, but at the time it was confusing seeing the 3 different lever colors not match up with the color of the platforms.
Hold This: Maybe I was just dumb because I can't recreate it, but I couldn't figure out how to jump off at the top of the pully. I also don't fully understand the difference between the doors and the pipes as goals.
It Takes Two: I loved this level, but it felt like a bit of a difficulty jump. Probably fine as it wasn't too challenging.
(Forget the name, before Middle of the Road): Wish there was a little more time between the platforms to flip the switch
Above All: This was by far the toughest stage. I assume my solution was correct as I couldn't figure out another one, but having to quickly grab the magnet as it travelled up on the block, then throw the magnet to the other platform was not obvious to me at all. The fact that it was a bit tedious to restart the level made it more of a slog than fun.
It Takes Three (Part 1): Great introduction to the polarity mechanic, but I'm not sure the F key is the best one since later on it becomes difficult to fluidly move and change polarity at the same time.
It Takes Three (Part 2): I'm almost certain my solution was incorrect since it didn't use the button, but I basically floated over by swapping polarities. Also feel like the lock and key would feel better if the lock explosion happened when I touched the lock.
Parabolic: This one stumped me for awhile to the point I almost gave up, but not sure it needs to change as it was so satisfying when I figured it out.
Over and Above: Not sure I figured out the correct solution, just found the perfect angle to throw the magnet from the propeller. Couldn't find out any other way to do it.
I like the unique mechanic. I don't know if anyone has pointed that out yet but if the player throws their magnet upwards and jumps at the same time, they get an extra height boost, allowing them to skip the puzzle in level 7 for example
I found a small bug. When you are in the level select area and hold ctrl for a couple seconds the reset button grows in the screen. It seems that you have hidden the restart button above the screen and becose you press the ctrl key the grow animation start. But becose you can not reset the level selection level it grows so big that it comes in your screen. Not a very big isue but a little bug.
I don't know if now is the time to think about that, but I felt poorly rewarded, I do understand that I should have felt great about passing each puzzle, but I felt like the struggle to solve them was not meaningful enough, all that was waiting for me was another of those puzzles.
(Don't take me wrong the puzzles are great and I know that this game is a puzzle game)
But maybe we could receive something more to direct our conquests, like powers that we can buy with the keys or something else. which can give me another objective than just going over puzzles.
I really liked the game, but I didn't feel like I could keep playing a lot more of those puzzles one after the other just because I want to challenge myself (maybe I should consider that its not really my type of game)
Hello, I just got into indie game development and so I started watching your channel. First of all, thanks for the helpful content! I am quite new to all of this, but I saw, that I can test your game and so I did. And I just discovered this one minor bug and it is that if you use the fullscreen shortcut on windows (alt + enter), the button allowing you to enter fullscreen doesn't detect the change and if you click it is then saying the reverse of what it should. Hope that this was helpful! :)
I honestly think place holder sounds would go a long way too making this demo more enjoyable ..The concept is great and the puzzles are fun and interesting . But it just feels kind of lifeless without any sound .Even the most basic sounds will make this feel a lot better.
Just FYI, for Linux users, when running the game with wine there is text missing in the pause menu.
If you use proton/Steam instead of wine, the game shows text in the menus. Just add the exe (delete all spaces in the filename and directory names) to Steam as a non-steam game and set it to run with proton (I used GE-Proton7-31) in properties-compatibility.
So far, I'd suggest making it so that the executable's name( and thus the Data Folder's name) have no spaces so that I can run it on linux with WINE without having to rename it myself. Just a slight inconvenience i wanted to point out.
I finished it! Pretty fun. I think even some placeholder music/sounds would go a long way for testers. At first I thought you weren't supposed to be able to get stuck, but I learned that's what ctrl is for.
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Jumping doesn't work
Would you consider a version for Linux?
wine
whine
also since its made in unity i guess it wont be hard to export for linux
use wine for running .exe files on linux
A very good demo! Please if you could add a level editor.
call it Magnorbius 2
Bug report in newest demo : You can break the game entirely by spamming both left click and E in the dialog section. The game will stop taking any input and I could´nt restart, main menu or anything other than altf4
Would love a demo that works on Linux if possible (.deb specifically) without a bunch of hassle with WINE settings and whatever. I think it just requires one extra button press in the unity build settings, unless your game is some weird edge case that breaks on Linux.
Yeah i though thatc gmtk will post linux version
he may need to download the entire linux support tho
Just finished the latest version and had a great time playing it ^^!
Can't wait to see your progress!
I really enjoyed the latest version. I will say that it didn't run super well on my laptop (which isn't very high-end). Having settings to reduce visual quality and increase performance would be great
above all was really hard, the solution was not obvious or intuitive but great game so far.
i dont like the puzzles that require the player to be technical
I like the demo as a whole, but here's my general thoughts/ideas:
I think that's my main gripes about this, although I'm sure I've missed a few lol. Mainly just controls and tactility which (to be fair) I am generally more picky about than other people. But it's probably better for me to say all of that now before this game gets a lot bigger level-wise and harder to change when it comes to controls due to 'cheesability'.
But yeah! Cool game and cool concepts, and I look forward to playing it when it comes out!
Edit: I watched literally the next two seconds of the video after I paused it and you said you weren't taking more feedback. But I guess if you ever change your mind on it, then I guess here it is? Sorry lol
Dear Mark,
I just tried both 4.0 and 4.1. The game is turning out great.
I wanted to give you some feedback about the new puzzles in 4.1. They are much better than the previous ones.
The puzzles in 4.0 were indeed harder, but because of how close and how mechanically precise they were made, there were many times in the demo where I felt that I had "barely made it", almost as if I was cheating the system instead of simply getting that "aha!" moment you talked about in the video.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I believe you should keep going in this direction of focusing more on the puzzle mechanics and less on the platforming/execution part of the game. Making the right moves and leaving the way permanently open results in a much stronger "aha" moment in my humble opinion, it feels more like you did something right and less like you were just lucky.
Finally, here are a few specific suggestions and observations i have:
Much love and excited to play the next version!
Is there a save/load system or no?
Aw heck yeah I just played 4.1 and it finally gave me some of those "Aha!" moments everyone talks about :)
While I'm still not a fan of being able to get stuck and having to restart the whole level, this time around it felt a lot more like it was my fault for getting stuck, which made the whole experience a lot less frustrating. It will be interesting to see how that keeps up when the puzzles get more complicated.
It was fun to have two magnets to work with, but I'm a little surprised that they aren't attracted to each other (although if they're supposed to be siblings I guess it's better that they aren't)
One final thing I noticed, the music, sound effects, improved graphics, and even the little conversation at the beginning really made it feel 1000x more professional. I guess it's true what they say about presentation.
This has been really inspirational to watch the development of. As a fellow game designer, I'll be sure to take notes.
I just wanted to say that i support the idea of Max and Ribbon being brothers as a justification of why they dont attract to each other! It really works with the game's humor.
Also, the remaining future magnets could also be explained as cousins or other family members! It would be a funny little recurring joke.
A game that inspired me as a game developer
great game! although, still after nearly half an hour i still don't know how to beat over and above.
I tried out the GDC v4.1,
feel good,but there are several problems:
1. I can understand not being able to move when I raise the magnet to throw, but it's hard to accept the feeling
2. Related to the first one, when using the controller, aiming when throwing operate in the same way as moving （using the left stick), the aiming arc is not very precise, and the right stick has no role in the game
3. I don't know if the way I solved the puzzle of "SPIN CITY" is correct, I put it in this video, 【无名磁铁试玩（GDC v4.1）——GMTK】，42:18, if the way I solved the puzzle is correct, then this distance is too extreme, and it will feel better to add jumping when adding aim
4. There is also "THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD", i had be stucked ,you can see that in my vedio at 23:35,无名磁铁试玩（GDC v4.1）——GMTK . In addition, I feel my way through this level is not quite right. The bounce of the magnet is difficult to control, and if it causes a restart, it will feel bad.
ps: I don't know whether it is because of the game or my computer, the video footage recorded by obs will become more and more stuck, the play is normal, and it will be fixed by re-enter the level after finishing the level, you can verify this in my video link above
pps:my english is poor ,i used tranlater tool,hope you can understand. if you cant,just leave words in here
3. SPOILERS for the level OVER AND ABOVE:
You have to place the magnet on top of the clear box, on the left side of the propeller. When you jump down, this will launch the magnet to the other switch.
I loved the 4.1 version's puzzles a lot (except maybe Elevator Action but I was just taking too long to figure it out). They all were challenging but eventually you can figure it out. So cool
Mark, it's time to add some juice.
A few points:
Magnets attract to matching colors should probably be the default option, I was very confused wondering why it wasn't working until I realized it was the bow that matches without that option
The Toggle Aim Mode On/Off should work differently (or at least have a separate option). It should make it so that you hold B for aim mode and throw by releasing B (X could be used to cancel).
as that's not how magnets work, i strongly disagree
Yeah magnets work on the basis that opposite polarities attract
The bow is actually only there for decoration. Magnets attract opposites so your point makes no sense.
Maybe you'll feel a little better when the accessibility options of havint a + and a - are implemented and toggled on?
Very cool! Crashed on mac after restarting, but other than that it was really fun and worked flawlessly!
the restart button is bugged that it stays blue after i restart the level. if not intended for some reason.
It seems that its just the animation that's stuck. If you hold the restart button it still works.
yeah i know, but a bug is a bug no matter what
I liked it!
Version: Windows 4.1
Graphics, game feel, puzzle elements and the euphoric solution moments were awesome and I can't wait for more!
Some feedback:
Going Up: It wasn't very clear what was going on with the different colors. After completing the demo, I understand the difference between the object and "platform" polarity colors, but at the time it was confusing seeing the 3 different lever colors not match up with the color of the platforms.
Hold This: Maybe I was just dumb because I can't recreate it, but I couldn't figure out how to jump off at the top of the pully. I also don't fully understand the difference between the doors and the pipes as goals.
It Takes Two: I loved this level, but it felt like a bit of a difficulty jump. Probably fine as it wasn't too challenging.
(Forget the name, before Middle of the Road): Wish there was a little more time between the platforms to flip the switch
Above All: This was by far the toughest stage. I assume my solution was correct as I couldn't figure out another one, but having to quickly grab the magnet as it travelled up on the block, then throw the magnet to the other platform was not obvious to me at all. The fact that it was a bit tedious to restart the level made it more of a slog than fun.
It Takes Three (Part 1): Great introduction to the polarity mechanic, but I'm not sure the F key is the best one since later on it becomes difficult to fluidly move and change polarity at the same time.
It Takes Three (Part 2): I'm almost certain my solution was incorrect since it didn't use the button, but I basically floated over by swapping polarities. Also feel like the lock and key would feel better if the lock explosion happened when I touched the lock.
Parabolic: This one stumped me for awhile to the point I almost gave up, but not sure it needs to change as it was so satisfying when I figured it out.
Over and Above: Not sure I figured out the correct solution, just found the perfect angle to throw the magnet from the propeller. Couldn't find out any other way to do it.
Look out Below: Great level, 10/10
same with it takes three part 2, though i liked the mechanic
Itìs a really good game!! I love the graphic style and the puzzles are so clever!
I like the unique mechanic. I don't know if anyone has pointed that out yet but if the player throws their magnet upwards and jumps at the same time, they get an extra height boost, allowing them to skip the puzzle in level 7 for example
This was a lot of fun, but I can't solve level 6 which makes me angry
I found a small bug. When you are in the level select area and hold ctrl for a couple seconds the reset button grows in the screen. It seems that you have hidden the restart button above the screen and becose you press the ctrl key the grow animation start. But becose you can not reset the level selection level it grows so big that it comes in your screen. Not a very big isue but a little bug.
I liked the puzzels.
Medals for everyone!!
This game puzzles are good but after completing a puzzle I have to go to the hub again and that is very frustrating.
I don't know if now is the time to think about that, but I felt poorly rewarded, I do understand that I should have felt great about passing each puzzle, but I felt like the struggle to solve them was not meaningful enough, all that was waiting for me was another of those puzzles.
(Don't take me wrong the puzzles are great and I know that this game is a puzzle game)
But maybe we could receive something more to direct our conquests, like powers that we can buy with the keys or something else. which can give me another objective than just going over puzzles.
I really liked the game, but I didn't feel like I could keep playing a lot more of those puzzles one after the other just because I want to challenge myself (maybe I should consider that its not really my type of game)
Hello, I just got into indie game development and so I started watching your channel. First of all, thanks for the helpful content! I am quite new to all of this, but I saw, that I can test your game and so I did. And I just discovered this one minor bug and it is that if you use the fullscreen shortcut on windows (alt + enter), the button allowing you to enter fullscreen doesn't detect the change and if you click it is then saying the reverse of what it should. Hope that this was helpful! :)
I honestly think place holder sounds would go a long way too making this demo more enjoyable ..The concept is great and the puzzles are fun and interesting . But it just feels kind of lifeless without any sound .Even the most basic sounds will make this feel a lot better.
fun :)
Here you go: Maybe something to fix.
Just FYI, for Linux users, when running the game with wine there is text missing in the pause menu.
If you use proton/Steam instead of wine, the game shows text in the menus. Just add the exe (delete all spaces in the filename and directory names) to Steam as a non-steam game and set it to run with proton (I used GE-Proton7-31) in properties-compatibility.
Hey! Great demo, I feel like it's a lot better than the first version. The movement is clearly better and the magnetism is much more important!
The Earth is a large magnet.
Gravity warps space and time.
If the space around the magnet is slightly distorted like a concave mirror, it will be amazing when you move the magnet.
Besides, you can make various physics rules using the properties of graviton, but it takes too much time.
So far, I'd suggest making it so that the executable's name( and thus the Data Folder's name) have no spaces so that I can run it on linux with WINE without having to rename it myself. Just a slight inconvenience i wanted to point out.
I finished it! Pretty fun. I think even some placeholder music/sounds would go a long way for testers. At first I thought you weren't supposed to be able to get stuck, but I learned that's what ctrl is for.