Hillslide is a playdate game and pdz is filetype used for playdate games. If you do have a playdate here is a guide for sideloading games https://help.play.date/games/sideloading/
If you don't have a playdate or don't know what it is, it's a small handheld console made by Panic. They do have a simulator where you can play it, but it's mostly made for development. It can be downloaded at https://play.date/dev if you want to try. If you want a refund you would have to contact itch support and they will sort you out
(EDIT: This has now been added to the game with some revisions. The experimental build has been removed)
I have now added a training mode to the game where you can learn when to hold A to gain speed. It's only in the experimental build for now as I'm stilling working on it, but I think it would be a big help to learn how the game works.
I love this game, very easy to pick up and play. I agree with other comments that if you haven't played a similar game before it can be hard to tell what to do, but I just assumed 'Tiny Wings' style logic would work and I was having fun in no time. I'd suggest something more obvious as a tutorial, like forcing the player to start moving by holding in the 'A' button and having text on the screen telling him/her so. It's not obvious to a player whose never played something similar how increasing gravity at the right times increases your speed downhill but at the wrong times forces you into the back side of hills and kills speed.
Thanks for trying out my game, glad to hear that you are enjoing it. 'Tiny Wings' was my main inspiration for the game, but if you haven't played it before I can see why people are stuggeling with understanding Hillslide. I'm working on making a interactive tutorial, wich will hopefully make it easier to pick up for new players.
Im playing the game but not making any progress. It's very slow and the buttons don't seem to do anything. In the instructions it says press A to increase gravity but nothing happens. I immagine that you slowly build up speed and then can start doing tricks. As it stands It's not intuitive and much fun to play. I hope you make some adjustments to the gameplay. I honestly think it would be a lot more fun if the A button would make you jump (before a jump) and by doing this and landing on your feet, that would make your speed increase. Another solution could be to use the crank on slopes to gain speed. I'm a bit disppointed by the gameplay but all the rest is great. Fantastic presentation. I'll keep on playing and see if I get the hang of it.
Thanks for the feedback, shame to hear that you aren't having fun. I have made a new build where I have tweaked some values that will hopefully make it feel more responsive and more fun to play. If you could test it out it would be much appreciated.
I'm getting better at the game and after a few runs I finally managed to complete some tasks and get some upgrades that makes you go faster. I also realized that holding down the A button and releasing it uphill makes you gain speed. I'm really starting to enjoy it. When you start the game for the first time it is a bit slow but it does get fun after a while. It's nice saving your highscores but it would be even cooler if you manage to include an online leaderboard.
I'm really glad to hear that you are starting to enjoy it. I'm working on a turtorial wich will hopefully make it easier for new players to pick up the game. I'll try and get it out by the end of the week.
I also really wanted to have an online leaderboard, but that is only available for games on catalog so I had to go for a local one.
I ablosutely love this, more replayability than the other snowboarding game on device-- kudos! I jst wish trick-doing happened immediately instead of being put in a queue. It makes it dificult to actually land a como, unless there's something I'm missing
Okay, so on more playing I understand the input, strike my previous comment! But I am not entirely sure how the boost works. If it's black, does that mean I am not using the boost? I can't quite figure it out... All in all loving this game a LOT.
Thanks for trying out my game and glad to hear that you are enjoying it!
Good to hear that you figured out how the tricks work. As for the boost, after having unlocking it you gain one gauge of boost which filles up after performing a trick and landing it (having a higher multiplier give you more charge). When the gauge is full it will be filled white and there would be an outline around it. If you don't use the boost, after a few seconds the gauge will start flashing followed by the gauge being depleted. So to keep the gauge fully charged you need to keep doing tricks and landing them. When the gauge is full you can double press A to use the boost, giving the player a speed boost to get the player out of tricky situations.
Okay, that clarifies it a little, but I think that the meter needs to fill up faster and/or not deplete as fast. To use the boost you have to already be going fast enough and doing enough tricks that you don't really need to use it... I'm getting high scores, but I really can't fill that bar no matter how hard I try. As soon as I hit a snowbank and slow down I loose whatever I have saved up to start going again. I don't see how I'm supposed to avoid crashing into some snowbanks given I cant see the ground until it's directly in front of me--there isn't time to break, really if you have gotten air enough to do tricks. I love this game and the way it plays, but some of the mechanics feel at odds sometimes. I hope this makes sense. Perhaps cimmunicating this is the way the boost works before players spend their points on it would be helpful, too.
I can see what you mean and I'll try and fix it. I have made a new build where I tweaked some values, increasing the amount of charge you get as well as increasing the decay time. If you could try it out and see if it feels better that would be much appreciated.
I did finally manage to fill that meter! I will try out this new build for sure, thanks for being receptive! It's a fantastic game, down to the animations-- they're classy and the music is gorgeous. I really love it, it has kept me hooked recently!
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Yes. I like your game very much. And I played games like Tiny Wings, olliolli or Alto's Odyssey/Adventure.
Sorry to ask a dumb question here, but uh, how do I play this? I don't know how to open a PDZ file. 😅
Hillslide is a playdate game and pdz is filetype used for playdate games. If you do have a playdate here is a guide for sideloading games https://help.play.date/games/sideloading/
If you don't have a playdate or don't know what it is, it's a small handheld console made by Panic. They do have a simulator where you can play it, but it's mostly made for development. It can be downloaded at https://play.date/dev if you want to try. If you want a refund you would have to contact itch support and they will sort you out
Thanks for the reply!
is this coming to catalog?
Yes, it just recently got approved. It will be coming to catalog on the 9th of April
(EDIT: This has now been added to the game with some revisions. The experimental build has been removed)
I have now added a training mode to the game where you can learn when to hold A to gain speed. It's only in the experimental build for now as I'm stilling working on it, but I think it would be a big help to learn how the game works.
I love this game, very easy to pick up and play. I agree with other comments that if you haven't played a similar game before it can be hard to tell what to do, but I just assumed 'Tiny Wings' style logic would work and I was having fun in no time. I'd suggest something more obvious as a tutorial, like forcing the player to start moving by holding in the 'A' button and having text on the screen telling him/her so. It's not obvious to a player whose never played something similar how increasing gravity at the right times increases your speed downhill but at the wrong times forces you into the back side of hills and kills speed.
Thanks for trying out my game, glad to hear that you are enjoing it. 'Tiny Wings' was my main inspiration for the game, but if you haven't played it before I can see why people are stuggeling with understanding Hillslide. I'm working on making a interactive tutorial, wich will hopefully make it easier to pick up for new players.
Im playing the game but not making any progress. It's very slow and the buttons don't seem to do anything. In the instructions it says press A to increase gravity but nothing happens. I immagine that you slowly build up speed and then can start doing tricks. As it stands It's not intuitive and much fun to play. I hope you make some adjustments to the gameplay. I honestly think it would be a lot more fun if the A button would make you jump (before a jump) and by doing this and landing on your feet, that would make your speed increase. Another solution could be to use the crank on slopes to gain speed. I'm a bit disppointed by the gameplay but all the rest is great. Fantastic presentation. I'll keep on playing and see if I get the hang of it.
Thanks for the feedback, shame to hear that you aren't having fun. I have made a new build where I have tweaked some values that will hopefully make it feel more responsive and more fun to play. If you could test it out it would be much appreciated.
I'm getting better at the game and after a few runs I finally managed to complete some tasks and get some upgrades that makes you go faster. I also realized that holding down the A button and releasing it uphill makes you gain speed. I'm really starting to enjoy it. When you start the game for the first time it is a bit slow but it does get fun after a while. It's nice saving your highscores but it would be even cooler if you manage to include an online leaderboard.
I'm really glad to hear that you are starting to enjoy it. I'm working on a turtorial wich will hopefully make it easier for new players to pick up the game. I'll try and get it out by the end of the week.
I also really wanted to have an online leaderboard, but that is only available for games on catalog so I had to go for a local one.
I ablosutely love this, more replayability than the other snowboarding game on device-- kudos! I jst wish trick-doing happened immediately instead of being put in a queue. It makes it dificult to actually land a como, unless there's something I'm missing
Okay, so on more playing I understand the input, strike my previous comment! But I am not entirely sure how the boost works. If it's black, does that mean I am not using the boost? I can't quite figure it out... All in all loving this game a LOT.
Thanks for trying out my game and glad to hear that you are enjoying it!
Good to hear that you figured out how the tricks work. As for the boost, after having unlocking it you gain one gauge of boost which filles up after performing a trick and landing it (having a higher multiplier give you more charge). When the gauge is full it will be filled white and there would be an outline around it. If you don't use the boost, after a few seconds the gauge will start flashing followed by the gauge being depleted. So to keep the gauge fully charged you need to keep doing tricks and landing them. When the gauge is full you can double press A to use the boost, giving the player a speed boost to get the player out of tricky situations.
Hope this clarifies it.
And again thanks for tyring out my game :)
Okay, that clarifies it a little, but I think that the meter needs to fill up faster and/or not deplete as fast. To use the boost you have to already be going fast enough and doing enough tricks that you don't really need to use it... I'm getting high scores, but I really can't fill that bar no matter how hard I try. As soon as I hit a snowbank and slow down I loose whatever I have saved up to start going again. I don't see how I'm supposed to avoid crashing into some snowbanks given I cant see the ground until it's directly in front of me--there isn't time to break, really if you have gotten air enough to do tricks. I love this game and the way it plays, but some of the mechanics feel at odds sometimes. I hope this makes sense. Perhaps cimmunicating this is the way the boost works before players spend their points on it would be helpful, too.
I can see what you mean and I'll try and fix it. I have made a new build where I tweaked some values, increasing the amount of charge you get as well as increasing the decay time. If you could try it out and see if it feels better that would be much appreciated.
I did finally manage to fill that meter! I will try out this new build for sure, thanks for being receptive! It's a fantastic game, down to the animations-- they're classy and the music is gorgeous. I really love it, it has kept me hooked recently!
Great game !
So glade to see it released !