Fishfat - Vore Soulslike - Hanging Pits Update OUT NOW!

[Pervystudent]

This is a good starting point. A major issue is the camera movement, which is insanely sensitive. Since our little soul is melee focused, it makes actually aiming attacks while being on the move impossible. Enemies not having any knockback just makes this worse. Maybe this could be rectified if we started with a mid or long range weapon?
Edit: Now that I was able to kill more than 1 enemy without dying, I've found out that quality of life combat mechanics are tied to character upgrades from killing enemies. Though this makes for good progression, camera is still bonkers. I'm out here fighting my own sense of direction instead of the enemies.

[SmoothAsButter23]

Big fan of your Guts game so I cant wait to see where this game goes!

[TheZDude]

Big fan of your Guts game so I cant wait to see where this game goes!

Aww, thanks mate.
Got any thoughts on it as-is?

[SmoothAsButter23]

Aww, thanks mate. Got any thoughts on it as-is?

Ive got some feedback based on my first impressions

Pros:
-love the art style
-concept is great, big fan of the souls games and vore (shocker) so I may be a bit biased but I think a vouls-like has been a long time coming

Combat:
-Right now there really isn't much feedback when dealing damage, I think having the enemy flash a color and get knocked back slightly will make the hits feel more satisfying while also alleviating some of the ganking
-The starting weapon range is way too small imo, Its feels near impossible to fight off multiple enemies without at least trading a few times
-There are way too many enemies, especially the sardines, they all cluster around chokepoints and make traveling around really difficult and overall not much breathing room for the player feels very dark souls 2
-I didnt find anyway to recover health besides the checkpoints, with so many enemies the game feels like a game of attrition with no real way to get ahead. Maybe you can introduce a soul siphen mechanic (every kill gives a percentage of health) or a parry system that restores health (to encourage engaging enemies more skillfully) or you can create your own version of the estus flasks, maybe bottles of shark blood
-I think it would make combat more responsive and snappy if the player can attack in a full 360 around themselves rather than just left and right, its tricky to hit enemies above you without trading on the jump
-enemy attacks should be telegraphed slightly more, but considering that they are fish I dont really know how that could be done

Movement:
-rn Sticking to walls feels off as there is no way to jump back off from the wall, I think an improvement would be for the player sticks to the wall for a second or 2 before slowly sliding down, they can also jump off the wall and connect with a different one allowing more movement options
-I feel that the cursor can travel a bit too far away from the player, since the cone of light is supposed to obscure distant platforms I think the cursor range should end around there

Other:
-This game could benefit from more vorey aspects, especially sounds effects (soft breathing, a more distinct heartbeat, distant stomach gurgles, muffled burping, etc). Also the npc at the start mentions things getting worse when she wakes up, I didnt experience her getting up but maybe their can be world events like burps shaking the platforms and sliding the player, the shark patting her stomach staggering the player and enemies. Im sure you can come up with better ideas Im just spitballing these ones.
-Environmental hazards could be cool, pits of stomach acid and stuff like that


Im gonna keep playing and ill let you know if I have anymore ideas or find any bugs

[TheZDude]

-Right now there really isn't much feedback when dealing damage, I think having the enemy flash a color and get knocked back slightly will make the hits feel more satisfying while also alleviating some of the ganking
-The starting weapon range is way too small imo, Its feels near impossible to fight off multiple enemies without at least trading a few times
-I didnt find anyway to recover health besides the checkpoints, with so many enemies the game feels like a game of attrition with no real way to get ahead. Maybe you can introduce a soul siphen mechanic (every kill gives a percentage of health) or a parry system that restores health (to encourage engaging enemies more skillfully) or you can create your own version of the estus flasks, maybe bottles of shark blood

Movement:
-rn Sticking to walls feels off as there is no way to jump back off from the wall, I think an improvement would be for the player sticks to the wall for a second or 2 before slowly sliding down, they can also jump off the wall and connect with a different one allowing more movement options

These are all already in the game as-is.
I will try to change the tutorialization to prevent more confusion.

Other:
-This game could benefit from more vorey aspects, especially sounds effects (soft breathing, a more distinct heartbeat, distant stomach gurgles, muffled burping, etc). Also the npc at the start mentions things getting worse when she wakes up, I didnt experience her getting up but maybe their can be world events like burps shaking the platforms and sliding the player, the shark patting her stomach staggering the player and enemies. Im sure you can come up with better ideas Im just spitballing these ones.
-Environmental hazards could be cool, pits of stomach acid and stuff like that

More vorny ambience and environmental hazards are planned for the future, especially when you actually make it into the digestive system.

Thank you for trying it out.

[MrQuarantine]

I'm a big fan of your work and characters, so seeing that you're developing a game is incredibly exciting. I'll definitely keep an eye on it as more builds are released. I have some thoughts on what I played and would like to offer constructive feedback. Of course, you could have plans to address all of the critiques I have so if that is the case, then feel free to disregard.

I like the idea of this game quite a bit. Soul vore games are exceedingly rare in general so having a game where that is actually the crux is very interesting and unique. I quite enjoyed the opening with the ominous narration. I felt it really added something and set the stage nicely for the dire situation. My only critique of the opening itself would be that I think it should be longer. I think there should be actual scenes of Akai actually devouring the player in the opening and making it a massive deal as opposed to just skipping to being in her gut and then a soul. This would greatly elevate the tension and severity more for the setting of the game, allow an Akai vore scene to play out, and set the stage for what's to come if you decide to add more scenes later in the game.

As for the concept of being able to traverse all over Akai and teleport to different areas is definitely a creative take. I found the movement to be very smooth especially the jumping in particular. For me, I felt the combat needs a bit more refinement and range. The enemies are fast and it can be difficult to time to the strikes effectively. I would highly recommend more of a separation keyboard key wise. I found the keyboard setup along with the mouse controlling the camera to be a bit disorienting at times, especially when a swarm of enemies attack you all at once with no knockback to them. Perhaps some more direction from other wayward souls at each organ stop would help add some organization to the game. I thought the 3 headed fish boss needed to be reworked into a more faster paced battle. It seemed to take forever to vanquish it and was slightly disappointed that the boss didn't have a vore scene of it's own.

While the background and settings will no doubt get better I do have to bring up that there does to me at least seem to be a slight disconnect in regards to the story, Akai, and the enemies. With Akai's body housing countless souls, one of which is us, shouldn't we also be doing battle with other souls who are looking to escape their hellish prison? Just as we absorb soul energy, wouldn't it make sense for others to try and absorb us? The fish conceptually make sense, and them eating you is fine, but being the only soul who's trying to fight and escape would be a rather unusual happen stance given the cramped space. I would just highly recommend we encounter more than just sea life as adversaries in game.

Although everything is very early, It would be very odd to not mention the lack of Akai herself. She is the star of the show, a fan favorite character, and the catalyst to the events of the game, but what exactly are your plans regarding her? Just being eaten once and not having her playing a bigger role throughout the game would be a missed opportunity. That said, it would be rather challenging given she's already eaten us. Do you intend to have her speak to the player as they progress further to escaping with taunts and influencing her body to sabotage the player? Will Akai be able to appear as a boss fight of sorts? Will we get to see or maybe even play as Akai in the future? Hopefully these questions help you brainstorm if you haven't thought about such things already. I just don't want our buxom shark baddie to be only used as a backdrop.

I'm sure as you progress you'll be content with a lot of the things others and myself pointed out. With any luck, the great feedback and communication you seem to be getting will help you make your ideal game.

[TheZDude]

...I just don't want our buxom shark baddie to be only used as a backdrop...

I'm glad to hear you're a fan, and I'm glad you're enjoying the game so far. Sorry to say, though, that I think what's in the game is a pretty representative sample of what's planned. Sea life will be the enemies you fight, and Akai herself will be largely non-interactive. It's just an everyday thing for her.
I still plan to put out regular art of Akai, though.
Hopefully that doesn't make you disinterested in supporting this project further.

While the background and settings will no doubt get better I do have to bring up that there does to me at least seem to be a slight disconnect in regards to the story, Akai, and the enemies. With Akai's body housing countless souls, one of which is us, shouldn't we also be doing battle with other souls who are looking to escape their hellish prison? Just as we absorb soul energy, wouldn't it make sense for others to try and absorb us? The fish conceptually make sense, and them eating you is fine, but being the only soul who's trying to fight and escape would be a rather unusual happen stance given the cramped space. I would just highly recommend we encounter more than just sea life as adversaries in game.

It's extremely rare for any souls to escape her fat, which is why you're nearly the only one kicking around her body. Everyone else is lodged permanently in the fat itself, so they don't have a chance to escape.

[TheZDude]

V0.1.2 has been released, mainly focused on fixes and adjustments.

Let me know if you experience any compatibility issues.

[SmoothAsButter23]

Will this game be getting anymore updates? I think it really has a lot of potential

[TheZDude]

V0.2.1, the Hanging Pits update is finally out!
Download in the main post.

[TheZDude]

Will this game be getting anymore updates? I think it really has a lot of potential

Besides the update that just released today, I'm planning on giving the game a proper ending. Currently I think it's about 1/3 of the way to that goal.

[leonthegreat]

I had alot of fun with the updates. But I feel like there are certain areas that I couldn't reach no matter what I did. Is the wall jump supposed to allow us to gain height? Cause I can't seem to do that.

[TheZDude]

But I feel like there are certain areas that I couldn't reach no matter what I did. Is the wall jump supposed to allow us to gain height? Cause I can't seem to do that.

The wall jump gives you height after you attack while falling.

[Dragonvorelover135]

But I feel like there are certain areas that I couldn't reach no matter what I did. Is the wall jump supposed to allow us to gain height? Cause I can't seem to do that.

The wall jump gives you height after you attack while falling.

Using the greatsword and no matter what I do I can't scale walls so I can't progress through the second area. Otherwise I really like the new updates. EDIT: Nevermind just got lost a lot. Did end up finding a way around.

[leonthegreat]

I still can't figure out how to wall jump. Do I jump at the wall, press "W" and then attack after I start falling? I tried for like 10 minutes and was not able to do anything to gain height.

[TheZDude]

I still can't figure out how to wall jump. Do I jump at the wall, press "W" and then attack after I start falling? I tried for like 10 minutes and was not able to do anything to gain height.

Yes, but you have to hit an enemy with that downward attack. That will jolt you up a bit. You can hold the jump button to gain a lot of extra height.

[leonthegreat]

I still can't figure out how to wall jump. Do I jump at the wall, press "W" and then attack after I start falling? I tried for like 10 minutes and was not able to do anything to gain height.

Yes, but you have to hit an enemy with that downward attack. That will jolt you up a bit. You can hold the jump button to gain a lot of extra height.

AHHHH, that makes sense. thank you.

[TheZDude]

I've been getting an error every time I try to edit this post, but there are a few things I wanted to say.

I am still making progress towards finishing this game, though I don't have anything releasable yet. It will still be a while before I have anything to really show, but I have not abandoned this project and I have no intentions of doing so. If you want play-by-play updates on Fishfat's development, my Discord server (linked in the topic post or on my userpage) is the best way to get that information. Thanks for all your support thus far.

Also, I have created an itch.io upload which may end up being more up-to-date depending on how cooperative this site ends up being. Currently the version available there is the same version as is available here.

https://flightless-lizard.itch.io/fishfat