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SAGE 2023 - Demo B.U.D.D. (SAGE '23 Demo)

Overview Reviews (23)

Overview

A Retro-Inspired Adventure Across the Stars!
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B.U.D.D. is a cute sci-fi adventure platformer heavily inspired by games and anime from the late 80's.


Bounty Hunter for Hire: Eris Altair

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Step into the boots of Eris, a bounty hunter-in-training who crash lands on the mysterious alien planet of Verdeo. To make her way home, she'll find one of many B.U.D.D. units, versatile helper drones that aid in combat and traversal. After escaping Verdeo, Eris will uncover the secrets of not only her crash, but the colony that hired her, and the entire Lumina System.
A Helping Hand in Battle

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During combat, Eris can use her BUDD units to attack the enemy, extend a combo, or open up opportunities for extra damage. With each new level earned, Eris becomes more skilled and powerful, unlocking new abilities to overcome the Lumina System's many challenges.

SAGE 2023 Demo Version

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  • This Demo build contains the first planet, the hub Colony, a portion of the second planet, and some secret challenge levels you can find once you're finished with the demo's campaign.
  • The music is currently still placeholder, taken from various Sega Genesis games.
  • Two satellite missions are available, and can be unlocked on Verdeo and Mizuli after finishing the demo storyline.
  • I can confirm the Linux version runs on Steam Deck, but it would be nice to see how well it runs on other computers.

Updates

Released Demo version 1.1, featuring tons of QoL changes!
Moveset
  • Made it so you can slowly inch towards and away from enemies when using the shield
    • You can't turn when shield walking, so watch your back!
  • Ray's charged beam will now be redirected by prism blocks.
  • If you're using the double tap input to dash, your dash will now continue as long as you're holding the direction you used to activate that dash.
  • The double tap input should be more reliable now, as it uses Input's built in double tap function to check.
  • Holding down on a ladder won't make you grab it if you're already on the ground.
Mechanics
  • Removed the restriction where you can't warp to your ship inside a facility, instead you can only warp to your ship after you've repaired your ship.
  • Once your ship is repaired, you can return to your ship at any time from the pause menu.
  • Falling into pits will now make you respawn at invisible checkpoints placed nearby. (Let me know if I need to tweak the positions of these!)
  • Hearts and Batteries will spawn more often at 1 HP.
  • Made Eris' regular sword attack slightly longer.
  • Boxer's punch hitbox now lasts the entire duration of the attack, giving him more range.
  • Boxer's charged punch now has a new animation.
  • Ray's laser does 2 more damage per hit now, and can kill weaker enemies more reliably.
  • If an enemy knocks you into a slime pit and you're still invincible, you will now only take one damage overall.
  • Reflected barrels always damage enemies.
  • You now regain BUDD energy faster when you have less than 1 unit full.
  • Attacks now recover slightly more BUDD energy.
  • Guarding enemy attacks now recovers slightly more BUDD energy.
  • Reduced shield knockback for Eris very slightly.
  • Reduced shield knockback for enemies very slightly.
  • Added a glow effect to reflected projectiles.
  • Made the shield a bit smaller horizontally, so hopefully it's harder to block things from behind.
  • Reduced the amount of hitstop higher damage attacks add.
UI
  • You can now choose controller button icons in Input Settings > Controller Setup. (Thanks for adding this to Input, Juju!)
  • Added a "Return to Ship" button to the pause menu. During Satellite Missions, this will return you to the station you started the mission from.
  • Reworked the ship menu so you no longer have to enter and exit the ship multiple times to both save and leave the planet.
  • Level up messages will now show the input of any ability learned.
  • Revamped the Move List menu to better match the rest of the ingame menus.
  • Added Move List entries for Dashing and Floor Hopping.
  • The Guard move list entry has been updated to mention shield walking.
  • The Move list now lists each individual BUDD ability.
  • The Move List now prioritizes unlocked moves at the top.
  • The current planet's completion percentage is shown in the pause menu map.
  • Updated the credits with some more cool people.
  • Added new art to the gallery.
  • Added default settings button to each options submenu.
  • Added added dividers for various menus.
  • Added a screen effect to the ship's star map.
Level Design
  • Added a brand new arrangement of Barrel Canyon's BGM, done by none other than philRaco himself.
  • Stone blocks now have event flags, and will stay destroyed.
  • Removed the second power switch in the Verdeo citadel. (This was a leftover from a puzzle that didn't make the cut, and really just annoyed players that pressed it on impulse)
  • Made the vines in Verdeo more visible.
  • Fixed the floor in Mecha Dragoon's arena being pass-through
  • Moved Mecha Dragoon's boss trigger closer to the entrance of the room
  • Fixed a typo with one of the colony signs (Thanks VAdaPEGA :V)
  • Adjusted the position of the first enemy in Habitat, so you don't have to stop, wait for it to teleport, and then kill it (I really need a name for these things)
  • Removed the Fusey at that part with the bouncing barrels in Ludicrous World
  • Adjusted the Fusedropper positions in Ludicrous World, so you should be able to kill them more reliably
  • Made the Skull Jar Yorb animation faster
Enemies
  • Made it harder to pass through enemies that you're currently attacking
  • Made Mecha Dragoon's fireballs fall slightly slower
  • Lowered Boney M.'s HP (A single sword combo or a single pogo should take them out)
  • Fuseys don't take as long to detonate
  • Fuseys take longer to accelerate
  • Fuseys' jump is slightly lower
Dialogue
  • Rewrote various signs to acknowledge changes in the mechanics
  • Fixed a few dialogue typos (like Rhea calling the coast attack "deadful")
Technical
  • Updated Input extension to version 6.0.5
  • The game now checks for background controller input
  • Modified the save format to not rely on Game Maker's internal room IDs. (Existing saves still work just fine, you'll just respawn at the planet's landing site when reloading your save)
  • Vsync is now disabled by default, because for some reason it makes older computers slow to a crawl. (This won't affect existing save files)
  • Vsync is now properly set when starting the game.
  • You can't access the debug menu in demo mode anymore :(
  • Removed that spoilery thing. If you know, you know.
Bug Fixes
  • Fixed being able to shield against drowning
  • Projectiles that can't be reflected no longer have hitstop when you try
  • Fixed being able to damage boost into the treetop lab without boxer and softlock yourself
  • The third skull jar in Ludicrous World no longer respawns when you leave the room
  • The objective counter is now properly hidden after clearing out the coast outpost
  • Adjusted the ladder grab range, so now it should be harder to get stuck on a pixel you can't climb

Credits

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Reactions: Valeev, Henry99, etuevetuevetuev and 3 others

Latest reviews

The_Bowyager
Well dang, this might be one of if not the best game of this year's SAGE, even if it's not complete I can tell a lot of effort, sweat, and blood and it shows, it is no wonder why it is so highly regarded, I was left impressed.

The graphics are very well done, very Sega genesis style and very pleasant to the eye, special effects are used to great effect too, there's a few visual gags here and there and each background looks different from one another, having variety and making them look immersive.

The writing is serviceable, not the deepest plot but I can get into what the characters are doing, and I found the jokes quite funny myself, and I found the characters perfectly likeable. Maybe in some future we're going to get more lore but what we have now is good.

But the crem de la crem, the gameplay, it is extremely solid and very fun, apart from the typical moveset that you have the game boasts a jrpg-like system where you level up and gain new abilities, this does encourage to keep playing the game more as you discover new skills and more BUDDs, oh yeah, and those, they help you on your journey and they are fun to use, I am a sucker for Popful Mail, and this game ticks all those boxes, so the gameplay here is very solid. Level design is not too shabby either, far from it, the aforementioned gameplay benefits from it, as you use your manouvers, you discover new areas, fighting a fun and diverse enemy roster, the boss was though but fair and so are the levels.
That Super Freaks level tho, that got me REALLY on my toes, I can't be too angry because I knew I was getting into, but just you so you know, be cautious
.

The music I can't say anything, since it's taken from other Sega Genesis,
However, those Super Freaks tracks remixed are extremely good and breathtaking, I should congratulate Philraco for this one.



Overall, I am impressed, I have no complains about this game, very good job.
Galaxycamerata
As a more formal statement on my thoughts about the game, the pre-SAGE playtest was the version I played, and it was captivating and charming enough for me to say "I absolutely want to see more of this." Let that be my disclosure as to where I'm coming from and how my view of it should be treated.

The combat is simple but intuitive, and the feedback from each hit is both visually and audibly satisfying, and gaining moves and stats as you level up is a nice way of easing the player into the system.The BUDDs that are in the game right now feel very snappy and never feel like keys to doors or an all-dominating weapon. They always have a combat presence that makes certain enemies easier, but require you to use them smartly. I didn't experience any major issues in my playthrough, but I have seen others encounter a few, and the creator has been addressing them as they're brought up to her.
The spritework is charming and effective, managing to capture the vibe of two most immediate inspirations very nicely in a way that still feels visually unique despite seeming at odds on paper. Everything feels consistent, and you get a nice sense of what the scale would be past the super-deformed art style of the main game vs the cutscenes.

Sound design is a very faithful yet idealized take on what the Genesis was capable of, and while the game has few unique pieces of music at the time i'm writing this, what's there is an excellent foundation, and the placeholder track choices are used excellently and have their instruments fine-tuned to fit with eachother.
The writing genuinely endears me to what's going on, both in the plot and just the smaller details around the playable area hinting at something menacing on the horizon. You get the sense that this isn't the start of a big journey, but a journey in progress that's about to hit it's crescendo. But at the same time, there's a levity to it all that doesn't make it feel overbearing, with just the right hint of goofballs and freaks to keep things lighthearted.

All of it combines together into an experience that I'm excited to see flourish.
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Reactions: etuevetuevetuev, EngineerKappa and SuperFreaksDev
NULL3D
Eris budd stabbed me in irl
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Reactions: EngineerKappa and NotADog
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Comments

Chiirro
This is such a fun game!
I really loved the art and combat, and especially how snappy all of it looks and feels.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for this project from here on out!
 
Galaxycamerata
I got to playtest this game, and it was one of the most cohesive demos i've played in a while. Character writing was endearing, the artwork was extravagant, and the gameplay itself was solid and ripe for expanding upon in a full release.
 
Mayo
I can't really put my finger on it, but I think this dev might like old Sega games. Cute character design, I think this game draws from the best of this style of action-adventure games. Wouldn't look out of place on a Genesis aside from the resolution.
 
V
The tutorial signs at the very start are a bit too plentiful for my tastes, but after that the text settles down to being just infrequent enough and just quick enough to be endearing rather than grating. The graphics and character designs are cute. Combat is a bit punishing with the short sword range and the high knockback, but savepoints are placed generously and it never felt like getting better was outside my power. I don't think I have any complaints, it never got exactly thrilling but it's doing what it sets out to do.
 
SuperFreaksDev
This is a video game. A video game is often described as a game that requires a screen to display graphics and input devices to control it, but some video games have aimed to push the boundaries of what defines the term. In BUDD, a video game, you must complete objectives by pressing buttons to do things. Actions in the game are met with visual and audio feedback in order to clarify a positive or negative response intended to steer the player psychologically into playing the game by its intended rules. In order to immerse the player, BUDD contains graphics and sound.

BUDD meets all of the rules of being a video game. Because of this, when one plays BUDD, one’s brain will react to it positively and produce dopamine to improve their mood. BUDD has been proven to induce a positive response by many people.
 
Some SAGE Enthusiast
I had to log in to say I absolutely love what you're doing with this game. The graphics are colorful enough to seem like a Mega Drive game, but the color palette greatly resembles Master System games. The BUDDs are very blatantly inspired by Opa-Opa, and there's even the game over theme from the Fantasy Zone 2 remake at the end!
As a person that grew up a lot with Master System games, this game made me feel nice in a way I never did before. And the gameplay is pretty good, too! It was very disappointing to return to the Master System games from my childhood just to find out most of them... honestly really suck. So it's amazing that now I can play a game that evokes the same feelings as those old games, but with some gameplay that's actually competent and fun.
 
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