About This Game Gemstone Keeper is a twin stick shooter where avid explorers go down into the Cistershire Caverns, a large, dangerous and mysterious set of caves and caverns that are filled with vast amounts of rare and valuable gemstones. This game combines the quick and reactionary feel of a shooter with the exploration and decision making of classic roguelikes. Using an ASCII art aesthetic in its purest form, all visual assets are produced from a single text font file, software rendering and visual effects. The weapon and bullet system is fully interchangeable, over 150 gemstones to collect, several creatures and bosses, different game modes and a soundtrack that echoes through the open spaces in-between the rocky walls. Gemstone Keeper is the shooter that is both fun and eerie. a09c17d780 Title: Gemstone KeeperGenre: Action, Adventure, IndieDeveloper:GamepopperPublisher:GamepopperRelease Date: 31 Mar, 2017 Gemstone Keeper Download] [Ativador] finders keepers gemstone panning. gemstone keeper I really liked the base gameplay mechanics and interesting enemy variety, the music is wonderful too, really gets me into the mood to delve deeper.Collecting all the various gems is tough though, since it's rather random. I also had trouble with a lack of progression, There's nothing to spend money on since I couldn't figure out if it's possible to upgrade anything, though it seems like the mechanic is in the game.The bosses are very cool however and the various level types are unique feeling, would love to see more environmental differences. Overall I think the base game is good but it needs fleshing out a bunch.. First of all, I really loved how this game pretty much only uses ASCII symbols for its graphical design. Very retro-y, while still visually pleasing for a modern game. It was nice seeing variety in level designs and mechanics, and I think the enemy mobs are cute.The movements are smooth, and the weapon aiming is very responsive. I also really liked the variety of weapons and how you can combine all of them with different types of ammo.So overall it's a pretty good game and I'm happy with my purchase.I almost don't have anything negative to say, but one issue is that it seems to freeze and crash at random. This unfortunately removes all the progress I made while in the caverns, but whenever I return to the surface it seems my things are saved for good. It doesn't happen too often, and it's mostly easy to catch up, so it's just a minor issue.One other thing is that the levels with the swirly mist effect make me kinda dizzy and uncomfortable, but when I get those I just rush to the other level and all is fine again, haha.What I personally hope to see in this game in the future is difficulty settings. I felt it got really easy at some point, and I got through the game (minus collecting all the gems) in less than an hour. It didn't take away much of the fun, but still, it would be nice to test our skills on a higher difficulty. One thing I found out is that once you get further, you can practically collect infinite money and buy infinite health kits to stack your health up so high that a horde of mobs isn't really a threat anymore. There could be more feeling of progression. Collecting gems and saving up for items is still nice, but it ends up feeling like you keep doing the same thing just to collect all the things. Maybe you can make some kind of levelling system so people can slowly earn their stats instead of buying temporary increases, among other things, like unlocking weapons or something.And otherwise it would just be nice to see more content in general. Maybe also a story around it, for more immersion and to build up interest.(I hope this doesn't sound negative, cause I really liked it and wish you the best!). I really liked the base gameplay mechanics and interesting enemy variety, the music is wonderful too, really gets me into the mood to delve deeper.Collecting all the various gems is tough though, since it's rather random. I also had trouble with a lack of progression, There's nothing to spend money on since I couldn't figure out if it's possible to upgrade anything, though it seems like the mechanic is in the game.The bosses are very cool however and the various level types are unique feeling, would love to see more environmental differences. Overall I think the base game is good but it needs fleshing out a bunch.. Amazing!!!!. While I've only got a couple hours on the clock with Gemstone Keeper, first impressions are really quite good. The game plays precisely as sold, there's an interesting variety of enemy types, the moving & shooting is super smooth, the weapon combinations make for a fun arsenal, the gem collecting aspect is rewarding enough and the overall look & feel of the game, to me, has huge appeal.The somber, suped-up ASCII art style is awesome and shows from the dev a particular reverence for the roguelikes that started it all. Enemies are all easily distinguished and the shifting environment palettes from floor to floor help change things up during a run, although the everpresent hashtag walls are an inescapable visual sameness. There's a variety of trippy screen effects (identified in-game as "mists") that distort & obfuscate the play area, from watery ripples to a rapidly pulsing screen blur to just straight up fog-of-war-ing the edges of the viewport. These add flavour and interest to the floors where they occur but I must admit the pulsing effect makes me a little queasy; I understand their gameplay-altering intent but some control over the intensity of these effects would be most welcome for sensitive players.Sound design is excellent - atmospheric and polished with cold, ambient electronic music, glassy shatters, satisfying crumbles and squeaking monsters comprising the majority of the soundscape. I'd dig some additional audio feedback sprinkled throughout, such as when bullets impact, but everything that's here sounds lovely. The soundtrack sets the perfect mood and I'd totally listen to the main dungeon theme outside the game. One special detail worth noting is the tempo of the music shifts in response to a floor's current mist, turning slow and heavy when submerged or going double time when meth'd (for lack of a better term).On the configuration side, I very much appreciate the flexible graphics settings offered as the ability to disable filters & bloom gets on my laptop's good side. It's worth noting that graphic \/ audio options are only accessible from the escape menu, never from the main menu. Windowed resolution presets to switch between would be welcome, as opposed to the free resizing the game exclusively offers now, but there's an adequate level of configurability here, and while controls don't appear to be rebindable, the default is perfectly sensible for QWERTY users (WASD + mouse). The game detected (and plays quite nicely with) an Xbox 360 gamepad, but it would seem controller support is limited to xinput devices as a Logitech Dual Action wasn't seen at all. Tiny side note, the boot-up sequence is supremely charming and an early sign of the attention to detail & quirky personality present throughout Gemstone Keeper.I've run into some bugs during my relatively brief time with the game which have required the session be killed, such as getting stuck on a purely white or glitched-out screen. Here's a link to a thread on the community forums with more detail on the technical issues encountered: http:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/app\/522080\/discussions\/0\/135512931365353024\/All in all, recommended based on my experience thus far. Gemstone Keeper is just begging to be played by more people, fingers crossed it finds an appreciable audience here on Steam :). While I've only got a couple hours on the clock with Gemstone Keeper, first impressions are really quite good. The game plays precisely as sold, there's an interesting variety of enemy types, the moving & shooting is super smooth, the weapon combinations make for a fun arsenal, the gem collecting aspect is rewarding enough and the overall look & feel of the game, to me, has huge appeal.The somber, suped-up ASCII art style is awesome and shows from the dev a particular reverence for the roguelikes that started it all. Enemies are all easily distinguished and the shifting environment palettes from floor to floor help change things up during a run, although the everpresent hashtag walls are an inescapable visual sameness. There's a variety of trippy screen effects (identified in-game as "mists") that distort & obfuscate the play area, from watery ripples to a rapidly pulsing screen blur to just straight up fog-of-war-ing the edges of the viewport. These add flavour and interest to the floors where they occur but I must admit the pulsing effect makes me a little queasy; I understand their gameplay-altering intent but some control over the intensity of these effects would be most welcome for sensitive players.Sound design is excellent - atmospheric and polished with cold, ambient electronic music, glassy shatters, satisfying crumbles and squeaking monsters comprising the majority of the soundscape. I'd dig some additional audio feedback sprinkled throughout, such as when bullets impact, but everything that's here sounds lovely. The soundtrack sets the perfect mood and I'd totally listen to the main dungeon theme outside the game. One special detail worth noting is the tempo of the music shifts in response to a floor's current mist, turning slow and heavy when submerged or going double time when meth'd (for lack of a better term).On the configuration side, I very much appreciate the flexible graphics settings offered as the ability to disable filters & bloom gets on my laptop's good side. It's worth noting that graphic \/ audio options are only accessible from the escape menu, never from the main menu. Windowed resolution presets to switch between would be welcome, as opposed to the free resizing the game exclusively offers now, but there's an adequate level of configurability here, and while controls don't appear to be rebindable, the default is perfectly sensible for QWERTY users (WASD + mouse). The game detected (and plays quite nicely with) an Xbox 360 gamepad, but it would seem controller support is limited to xinput devices as a Logitech Dual Action wasn't seen at all. Tiny side note, the boot-up sequence is supremely charming and an early sign of the attention to detail & quirky personality present throughout Gemstone Keeper.I've run into some bugs during my relatively brief time with the game which have required the session be killed, such as getting stuck on a purely white or glitched-out screen. Here's a link to a thread on the community forums with more detail on the technical issues encountered: http:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/app\/522080\/discussions\/0\/135512931365353024\/All in all, recommended based on my experience thus far. Gemstone Keeper is just begging to be played by more people, fingers crossed it finds an appreciable audience here on Steam :). I might write another review when I play more, but for now here is what I think after reaching the first boss. (I won't be talking about the sound since my laptop was muted)I had played Gemstone at Insomnia awhile ago and enjoyed it. I brought it yesterday since it was on sale and sat down to play it today. I really did enjoy it and like how simple the controls are and how simple the game is so far. I do expect it to become harder.However, there are two things I need to make aware. The first is the bright purple light when you enter a portal and the bright red light when you beat a boss. Although I do not suffer from epilepsy, I found it too bright, harsh and sudden.The second problem that could have been my own fault is that the first boss can trap you in the corner and chip away at your health. I was able to escape but it still something that I feel should be brought up. But again it might have been my own fault.I'm sure if the first issue is dealt with soon, the game would be much better. So I give this a recommend.. First of all, I really loved how this game pretty much only uses ASCII symbols for its graphical design. Very retro-y, while still visually pleasing for a modern game. It was nice seeing variety in level designs and mechanics, and I think the enemy mobs are cute.The movements are smooth, and the weapon aiming is very responsive. I also really liked the variety of weapons and how you can combine all of them with different types of ammo.So overall it's a pretty good game and I'm happy with my purchase.I almost don't have anything negative to say, but one issue is that it seems to freeze and crash at random. This unfortunately removes all the progress I made while in the caverns, but whenever I return to the surface it seems my things are saved for good. It doesn't happen too often, and it's mostly easy to catch up, so it's just a minor issue.One other thing is that the levels with the swirly mist effect make me kinda dizzy and uncomfortable, but when I get those I just rush to the other level and all is fine again, haha.What I personally hope to see in this game in the future is difficulty settings. I felt it got really easy at some point, and I got through the game (minus collecting all the gems) in less than an hour. It didn't take away much of the fun, but still, it would be nice to test our skills on a higher difficulty. One thing I found out is that once you get further, you can practically collect infinite money and buy infinite health kits to stack your health up so high that a horde of mobs isn't really a threat anymore. There could be more feeling of progression. Collecting gems and saving up for items is still nice, but it ends up feeling like you keep doing the same thing just to collect all the things. Maybe you can make some kind of levelling system so people can slowly earn their stats instead of buying temporary increases, among other things, like unlocking weapons or something.And otherwise it would just be nice to see more content in general. Maybe also a story around it, for more immersion and to build up interest.(I hope this doesn't sound negative, cause I really liked it and wish you the best!). Amazing!!!! Build 1.0.1 Released: Thank you to all those who have bought or checked out Gemstone Keeper during first week of launch. This update mostly fixes some minor issues (mainly input related) following feedback from players:- Mouse Input should now work on almost all menus, including the pause menu and shop menu.- Directional-Pad when using controllers should now function correctly.- Player sprite should no longer appear transparent after being hit.- Minor animation fixes- Score Mode should now display the best score achieved by the player on the menu page, with the seed they play with.In addition to fixes, there has been extra input functionality which most players have not been made aware of. There will be opportunity to explain these in game, but in the meantime:- In the Pause Menu, on audio options, you can use the scroll wheel for the volume controls.- In the Score Mode Menu, you can manually enter the seed number using either the number keys or the numpad on your keyboard. This makes it much easier to get a certain seed value.More to come soon, including a Linux build in the near future!. Build 1.0.4 for Winter: Hope everyone has a happy holiday this winter, maybe some of you will pick up some really cool games or play ones currently in your library! (hint hint :P)Gemstone Keeper has been updated to Version 1.0.4, the changes made are as follows: VFrame Engine Update: The underlying engine of Gemstone Keeper had been updated during the development of a new project. Some changes are optimisations but there have been more additional functionality for graphics and tilemaps. Weapons and Bullets Added: Specifically, a gun that will shoot in all directions, big bullets and shrinking bullets. The count of both gun and bullet types is now seven, meaning there are now a total of 49 weapon types! Transitions Between Levels: This was a fun addition since I want more excuse to work on visual effects.If you wish to continue playing Gemstone Keeper as the previous version (1.0.3), you can set the game go to Properties -> Betas and opt into Legacy.. Build 1.0.4 for Winter: Hope everyone has a happy holiday this winter, maybe some of you will pick up some really cool games or play ones currently in your library! (hint hint :P)Gemstone Keeper has been updated to Version 1.0.4, the changes made are as follows: VFrame Engine Update: The underlying engine of Gemstone Keeper had been updated during the development of a new project. Some changes are optimisations but there have been more additional functionality for graphics and tilemaps. Weapons and Bullets Added: Specifically, a gun that will shoot in all directions, big bullets and shrinking bullets. The count of both gun and bullet types is now seven, meaning there are now a total of 49 weapon types! Transitions Between Levels: This was a fun addition since I want more excuse to work on visual effects.If you wish to continue playing Gemstone Keeper as the previous version (1.0.3), you can set the game go to Properties -> Betas and opt into Legacy.. Build 1.0.2: Gemstone Keeper for Linux is FINALLY here! It's been a while but I'm glad to present the newest patch for Gemstone Keeper, as well as introducing Linux users to the game.The Linux build should have a similar feel to the Windows build, but with some minor visual changes. Gamepad support is also featured in Linux, but only XInput devices are naively supported, Steam Controllers should be usable through Mouse/Key Bindings.There are other changes also featured in this build:- Fixed a crash when using a grenade against certain bosses- Last seed in a main game will now be saved in the event of a crash, so you can return to the last level you played.- Numerous updates to VFrame that will hopefully improve stability and performanceEnjoy!. Build 1.0.1 Released: Thank you to all those who have bought or checked out Gemstone Keeper during first week of launch. This update mostly fixes some minor issues (mainly input related) following feedback from players:- Mouse Input should now work on almost all menus, including the pause menu and shop menu.- Directional-Pad when using controllers should now function correctly.- Player sprite should no longer appear transparent after being hit.- Minor animation fixes- Score Mode should now display the best score achieved by the player on the menu page, with the seed they play with.In addition to fixes, there has been extra input functionality which most players have not been made aware of. There will be opportunity to explain these in game, but in the meantime:- In the Pause Menu, on audio options, you can use the scroll wheel for the volume controls.- In the Score Mode Menu, you can manually enter the seed number using either the number keys or the numpad on your keyboard. This makes it much easier to get a certain seed value.More to come soon, including a Linux build in the near future!. Linux should be live now!: Sorry for the confusion any Linux users were having. I thought I followed the correct steps to get the Linux depot available to everyone but I missed one along the way.Thank you to the GamingOnLinux editors for letting me know and I apologise to you all for the error.. Build 1.0.2a: Just a small fix after someone reported to me outside of Steam. There was a crash that occured after the final boss in the main game mode. The crash has been resolved.Thank you all for purchasing the game, including those who bought it on the Steam Summer sale! Please write a review of the game on the Steam Store page when you get the time to. It's a great feeling as a games developer to see people play something you made and take the time and effort to give their feedback.
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