Supajutsu Second Playable 0.2.1

Supajutsu has changed a bit since the last Update. I’ll start be explaining how I updated the game, what has changed and finish by explaining the direction I plan on taking Supajutsu.

How I Changed First, I will be continuing this game until completion as I tried to phoenix SUPAjutsu into another project and I was not satisfied with the outcome. Upon returning to SUPAjutsu, I increased my animation skills but had to focus on core mechanics before delving back into the animation. However, I refined the combat system and some visuals by studying Anime Fighters, Street Fighter II, Smash Bros Ultimate, Ghost of Tsushima, Jump Force and the feedback received from a local offline Playtest. The Playtest was the most beneficial because the feedback was instant and players genuinely wanted to help fulfill the potential for this project. I plan on holding online Playtest by announcing a steam key raffle for those that play and leave substantial feedback. Eventually, I will pay play testers once I have a roster of at least 4 and all core mechanics completed.

What has changed? I simplified the inputs to 8 directional inputs and attack. This is designed to invite newer players to try this fight game despite experience and not become overwhelmed with the amount of complexities most Anime fighters supply. By doing so I was able to simplify blocking and attack cancels while having a variety of attacks(which will be explained nigh end).

Hitstop/Hitlag needs improvement on block but overall should feel enjoyable. I decreased input buffer but will probably become dependent on which move is inputted once I add motion inputs. I took out motion inputs for a mechanic I will discuss later. I added variable movement for a better feel of character weight and style. Added movement to some attacks and movement to hurt animation. I changed the overall mechanics closer to the traditional 2D fighting style.

Side stepping(Up or Down movement Inputs) can no longer be held and is time dependent. Once a player inputs side stepping they are stuck in that respective “Lane”, as i call it, and animation for a brief period of time. Side stepping is depicted by shading and an idle change. I have made this change to side stepping to increase the low skill curve needed to evade attacks before. Side stepping rewards players with big punishes for opponents if missed or for players if done correctly.

I added Target Combos because mostly all combat systems have them though I could use more variety of moves but that will come, because I’ve built it(lol a Field of Dreams joke:)

I changed each character to use a unique monochromatic color scheme to give characters more of a contrast from the background and zoomed the camera to see characters better. I plan on keeping the backgrounds in greyscale.

I have added a sweep mechanic whih allows players to knock opponents to the ground to simulate juggle punishes since there are no plans on adding an aerial system.

Direction of Supajutsu I took out inner voice mechanic to be replaced with a stance mechanic which is not yet implemented in current build. I plan to add 4 stances: Basic Attacks(Stone), Heavy Attacks(Sky), Grab(Claw), Sweep(Root). A player will be able to change stance in idle+left joystick or with motion inputs. When a player uses motion inputs the last move inputted will be the player’s current stance. Stance indicators are located at the bottom of the screen on the side of the player character’s Heart Bar. Currently, all characters are in Basic (Stone) stance.

Problems/Conclusion I need to restructure a bit as I was new to Godot when I first started the project, but I am becoming a lot more familiar with the engine

NO SOUND, I did have a few songs I made which could be prevalent in practice mode since I did not update that mode. I do have some original Sound FX from previous projects but will wait until core mechanics are completed before implementation

There’s a problem with character select, which should be fixed once I implement a singleton

I need to add some tech skill like a sweep cancel

Needs Better animation and animation flow(startup+active+recovery)

Needs Block stun

Needs better mechanics on the screen’s “Fence”

I need to change the Will Power graphic, currently it is behind the Heart/Health bar

Better Cancel Depiction, all cancels are depicted by smoke graphics behind the player’s character

Hit FX are too bland to me

I apologize in advance if anyone should encounter persistent bugs I thought I had caught. While playing problems could arise after attacking and can lock a player in hurt or idle animations. A player can hurt cancel and attack cancel by inputting attack again to resume normal play. The other bug arise when close to the map’s edge as the collider moves too much and it seems like the player falls through the floor instead of the cliff’s edge.

These bugs should be gone by next build and should have a new stance and fresher animations. Stay tuned for the steam key raffle for those that playtest and leave feedback which will take place within a month maybe less. Have fun and feel free to let me know what you think!

-Tenju