Author Topic: "+4 max health" until firing a missile  (Read 1987 times)

Offline Darloth

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"+4 max health" until firing a missile
« on: January 29, 2016, 10:45:24 am »
What it DOES, is add +4 health until you fire a missile.

When you're at 3/12 health, and you decide to fire a missile, that is VERY different.

I would in fact recommend that this powerup be changed to actually add max health.  If you also want it to add +4 health when you pick it up, then it should not take it away later.

Alternatively, if you like it how it is, then please remove the word max, and less runs will end in rage :)

Offline Vacuity

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Re: "+4 max health" until firing a missile
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2016, 10:48:10 am »
Been there, done that.  On the other hand, that's not a mistake I'm likely to make again any time soon.  I was having a pretty good run as well that time.

Offline crazyroosterman

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Re: "+4 max health" until firing a missile
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2016, 10:51:13 am »
What it DOES, is add +4 health until you fire a missile.

When you're at 3/12 health, and you decide to fire a missile, that is VERY different.

I would in fact recommend that this powerup be changed to actually add max health.  If you also want it to add +4 health when you pick it up, then it should not take it away later.

Alternatively, if you like it how it is, then please remove the word max, and less runs will end in rage :)
to be honest I think in a game like this its nice to be mysterious sometimes it leads to amusing surprises like me discovering this game punishes you HARD for murdering shop keepers.
c.r

Offline Darloth

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Re: "+4 max health" until firing a missile
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2016, 11:00:27 am »
Mysteries are fine...

But this isn't a mystery. It says max health.  Other items and effects (such as the health shop's costs) say "health".

I'm fine activating a mysterious circuit at low health and dying because it was bad.

I'm fine with shopkeepers, or things you shouldn't step on, or chance, all that, I'm just pointing out the text is imprecise.

Offline Cinth

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Re: "+4 max health" until firing a missile
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2016, 11:07:16 am »
Was it a probation item (something you grab at the start of a floor)?


Never mind I found the item.

What it DOES, is add +4 health until you fire a missile.

When you're at 3/12 health, and you decide to fire a missile, that is VERY different.

I would in fact recommend that this powerup be changed to actually add max health.  If you also want it to add +4 health when you pick it up, then it should not take it away later.

Alternatively, if you like it how it is, then please remove the word max, and less runs will end in rage :)

The item "Peacetime" which fits your description, does indeed add 4 to max health, until you use a missile.

« Last Edit: January 29, 2016, 11:20:24 am by Cinth »
Quote from: keith.lamothe
Opened your save. My computer wept. Switched to the ST planet and ship icons filled my screen, so I zoomed out. Game told me that it _was_ totally zoomed out. You could seriously walk from one end of the inner grav well to the other without getting your feet cold.

Offline Darloth

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Re: "+4 max health" until firing a missile
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2016, 11:43:45 am »
It adds 4 to current and maximum health until you fire a missile, and then removes 4 from current and maximum health.

I'm proposing the change that it adds 4 to current and maximum health until you fire a missile, and then ONLY removes 4 from maximum health, leaving current health at whatever it is - then it can't kill you.

If you want it to kill you, which is fine... then i found the word "max" to be suggestive that it wouldn't, and while i don't have any better wording that isn't a lot longer (see first sentence) it's sad to die because you misinterpreted an item.  Similarly, there's a buff that gives you +1 shield if you leave a level without dying, but apparently NOT if you use the levelskip consumable item, which I assume doesn't count as leaving.

That sort of thing is learnable, but annoying the first time anyone encounters it.

Offline Cinth

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Re: "+4 max health" until firing a missile
« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2016, 11:52:08 am »
I never found it dishonest in the least (but I don't ever pick up Peacekeepers).  It gives you 4 max and current health with a condition.  It is only fair that you give it back if you break the condition.  I guess you could have it set current hp to 1 if you don't have 4 to give back though.

The +1 shield item not giving the point on level skip I would consider a bug or buggy behavior.
Quote from: keith.lamothe
Opened your save. My computer wept. Switched to the ST planet and ship icons filled my screen, so I zoomed out. Game told me that it _was_ totally zoomed out. You could seriously walk from one end of the inner grav well to the other without getting your feet cold.

Offline keith.lamothe

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Re: "+4 max health" until firing a missile
« Reply #7 on: January 29, 2016, 12:24:25 pm »
The game doesn't actually track current health directly. It tracks max health and "health lost". So a reduction to max is implicitly a reduction to current.

That said, the item could be changed to give you a 4 point heal when the bonus goes away. Iirc that's how we've handled other items that give temporary max health changes.

I suggest mantis :)
Have ideas or bug reports for one of our games? Mantis for Suggestions and Bug Reports. Thanks for helping to make our games better!

Offline Darloth

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Re: "+4 max health" until firing a missile
« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2016, 09:30:58 pm »
Indeed, I just picked up Conductive Hull and noticed it did that :)

I'll mantis it whenever I remember / reset my password.