Mud and Pixels

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.85
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.79
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.48
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.88
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.02
Humor★★★★★★★★★★1.95
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.78
You have to lead your men in a muddy and desolate field against hordes of attacking enemies. How long will you manage to stand your ground?​

For this game I tried to combine real-time strategy and turn-based strategy into a single game.

Comments58

Sargarious24 Apr 2018, 00:37
Great Game, I really like the strategy of preparing for the next round.
piscythe24 Apr 2018, 01:08
Nice. I like how the combat is tuned so that units can deal damage even when outnumbered. The death effects are well done, especially the visceral impact of the artillery barrage and the explosions on the ~~money pinatas~~ tanks. However, there was also a good deal of monotony in between tank encounters and waiting for the difficulty to ramp up. After a few early deaths trying to hold the furthest trench out, I stacked 40-50 men in the second trench and held up to wave 96. I might have been able to hold longer if I'd been smarter with artillery and ignored barbed wire. Good work!
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor24 Apr 2018, 01:18
@piscythe Thanks for taking the time to get that far! I totally agree with you on all your feedback. If I keep working on this I will add more enemy unit variety and make some changes to the spawning intervals to create more of a challenge before the tanks roll in.
Louis Hong
Louis Hong24 Apr 2018, 02:22
really really fun, wanna play and try hard again after I wake up from my game jam slumber
smt
smt24 Apr 2018, 02:28
I really like this, with some more unit variety this would make a really enjoyable game, I can see itworking well as one of those mobile games you can just play over and over, the waves feel really balanced, though keeping track of stuff when you have to go back and forward can get a little difficult at times but it's not a big issue once you get a little used to it
justalocalhero24 Apr 2018, 06:14
Looks good, sounds good. So much fun to play. There was a constant feeling of tension, right up until death. I'm eager to go and give it another play!
Jrpl24 Apr 2018, 07:25
I had an idea for a game just like this and you executed it really well. I like the theme, art, and gameplay. My only gripe is that I can't put different units in different trenches in a single planning turn. I think this would help make this game more strategic and fun. Overall its really great and I had fun playing it!
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor24 Apr 2018, 07:31
@Jrpl Thanks for your feedback! That would actually help a lot, I will check if I can implement that.
Fylipp
Fylipp24 Apr 2018, 08:30
Great game! Maybe if units could retreat that could allow for more complicated strategies?
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor24 Apr 2018, 08:33
@Fylipp agreed, that would be interesting. Or it results in a lot of dead. Either way, sounds fun to me ;)
Darylsteak24 Apr 2018, 11:31
The idea was interesting and the game was well made and polished. But I would also like the ideas above possible added to the game, nevertheless I enjoyed it well.
sanjeev
sanjeev24 Apr 2018, 13:56
Agreed with the comments above. Would love to put different units in different trenches. Otherwise, I loved the visuals and think you did a fine job blending the two genres. Awesome work!
La mecanique du plastique
La mecanique du plastique24 Apr 2018, 14:27
Good idea to mix real time and turn based, it produces an interesting gameplay.

Maybe you could improve a little bit the UI, I'd say you could gain some clarity. Also maybe your game lacks a little bit of sound atmosphere.

But it's already a pleasant game overall. Nice job !
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor24 Apr 2018, 14:31
@La mecanique du plastique Good points, I was actually already thinking a bit about how I could keep the screen clean for a post Ludum Dare version. Also, sound is a bit lacking, hope I can also improve on that.
notpresident35
notpresident3524 Apr 2018, 14:51
Good game! I think that you chose what are possibly the hardest genres to combine, because it is quite literally impossible! Because of that, I don't think you did very well with theme because you fit completely into turn-based shooter. However, the gameplay is nice, I love the art style, and the mood feels well done. I do wish you added music though.

Overall, good job, and good luck!
Evil_As_Shit24 Apr 2018, 19:09
Awesome game! Played to wave 64!
lo-x
lo-x24 Apr 2018, 19:11
I REACHED 100! I killed so many of my men I feel bad. I've got like 50 dead just on the turn 99...
Man your game is really good. The gameplay is nice, the graphics too. It just misses some audio and upgrades/new types of men and planes and stuff!

Loved it!
OscarLjungberg24 Apr 2018, 19:47
Absolutely loved it!
i lost at wave 99, is there an end to the map?
would love to see some levels, upgrades and a campaign :)
Could use a nice somber soundtrack.
theArtifacts
theArtifacts24 Apr 2018, 19:48
I thought it was pretty fun. I think the theme could have been challenged a bit more but it was a difficult theme to work with. Good work!! Would have been nice if there was an enemy flag you could take to essentially win the game :). Would you mind reviewing my game? https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/ld41-jam-game
Rapter
Rapter24 Apr 2018, 21:17
Amazing,nice game and idea 5/5!!! Good Luck!
wallie24 Apr 2018, 21:26
Very good game, fun, interesting and well polished. Congratulations!
jsmars
jsmars24 Apr 2018, 21:27
Very nice idea and execution! Reminds me of the game Kingdom. Some music would have been really nice. I can't believe the above posters reached 100! :scream:
Milo87
Milo8724 Apr 2018, 21:34
Very enjoyable game. I think it might translate well to a mobile app if given some more polish? Perhaps expanding on the UI to give more granular controls, as other posters have said.

Good execution :smile:
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor24 Apr 2018, 21:37
@jsmars I actually liked that game a lot. Must have been in the back of my mind while making the ground and such. Some music would be great, chansons from the 20's with the sound of vinyl has my preference ;)
Wevel
Wevel25 Apr 2018, 11:14
Very enjoyable game, love the art. I did have one big issue with it, which was that when tabbing out of closing the game, it made my computer crash.
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor25 Apr 2018, 11:26
@Wevel Sorry about that, if you want, could you send me a mail at [email protected] with a little information what you did that led to this event. So far I have not been able to recreate it for myself.
Wevel
Wevel25 Apr 2018, 11:44
It really was just every time I closed the game or tabbed out, so it must be something about my setup. Maybe because I have two monitors or something.
siimer25 Apr 2018, 13:24
The game looks really nice, especially the graphics and sound effects. One problem I have with the game is that the game is too unforgiving from the start on: if you make a wrong choice it will propagate on to the next turns. Also money is really dire so there's really no point getting an airstrike or building a barbed wire. Music would've also been a good addition to this game.
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor25 Apr 2018, 13:29
@siimer It's a bit unforgiving, but since I played it so much during testing, the beginning was too easy for me, so I guess I overdid it a little. The airstrikes and barbed wire are things for late game when your trenches are already filled with canon fodder and your income is higher, but I also think that should be changed to be more useful in the beginning. Thanks for you feedback, I will add all your suggestions to the list and thanks for playing!
Kristian David
Kristian David25 Apr 2018, 16:15
The graphics of this game is really good. Although I found the beginning of the game too slow, but I found it fun when the enemies were finally visible. Although you were not controlling the units, I can clearly see the real time strategy part of this game, so you did good with the theme.Overall you did a great job on this game.
Lewis Quaife25 Apr 2018, 18:35
This gets way too hard - and I feel like there are not enough options. fairly cool game though I could see myself playing this if it was more balanced and there were more options
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor25 Apr 2018, 20:37
@lewis-quaife It really is, will certainly balance it for the full version and I loved making units for this game, so I will add many more options. Thanks a lot for your feedback and thanks for playing!
Lerg
Lerg25 Apr 2018, 21:15
Any chance on a mac or html5 version?
Cassio Eduardo25 Apr 2018, 21:22
The art and gameplay are pretty good. This can be a very fun mobile game with more work (new units, enemies and some new mechanics).

Good job.
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor25 Apr 2018, 21:49
@lerg Sadly I don't have a mac with me or a license for HTML5, but I will try to export it to either one. Already heard that people think this would make for a good mobile game, so I will look into it!
Cohav031025 Apr 2018, 22:08
It was a fun and novel idea. When I played, all I did was spam basic infantry. I didn't like how the enemy will always kill a few. Even though they were in trenches. I was wondering how the game will increase in difficulty. Then I saw the first tank and I panic called in an artillery barrage. But after that when enemy infantry was everywhere, I just spammed artillery and infantry. It got too easy toward round 100. Bombing where the enemy spawned got me a lot of money. I did have heavy casualties on my side. But I can always just buy some more.
Hare Software
Hare Softwareauthor25 Apr 2018, 22:14
@Cohav0310 A friend of mine in class also figured out how to keep playing it by just forever spamming basic infantry, causing the game to get really slow because of the amount of enemies. In a final version the way enemies come to you will be different and not in this linear fashion. Right now when you have a bit of succes you get this snowball effect where you turn into a god, which gets boring quick. Thanks for taking your time to play and I appreciate the feedback!
Cohav031025 Apr 2018, 22:38
@hare-software No problem man. Another point I have to make is that there are so many enemies near the later rounds that you can just spam artillery and it pays for itself. also, why don't you check out my game? It was my first jam so be as critical as possible. But also understanding.
Langotriel
Langotriel25 Apr 2018, 23:10
With some expanded gameplay, a grim battlefield background and some fitting music, this could easily be a commercial title. Extremely solid work all round and great concept!
GoldRanger
GoldRanger25 Apr 2018, 23:12
this is an addictive game. I have a fun time in it. That will be definitely awesome if you add in some more upgrade/type of army and it can be more strategic!
fashionbatman
fashionbatman25 Apr 2018, 23:51
this was tons of fun! You had really interesting gameplay, and I enjoyed the stategy. Great job!
microwerx
microwerx26 Apr 2018, 05:38
Great job on the art and sound. This was very smooth. I didn't have any issues playing it. Great job!
JheysonLima26 Apr 2018, 14:01
really nice, with a few ajustments like a bmg and it ready for commercial release, great job!
Howard Duong
Howard Duong26 Apr 2018, 18:04
Pretty fun and challenging game. You combined 2 very interesting genres and it seem to work out very well. Great job on creating such a cool game.
MiggyG
MiggyG27 Apr 2018, 03:33
Great game I really enjoyed playing it! I loved the art style. It reminded me a lot of Age of War. Great job!
morrilet
morrilet27 Apr 2018, 03:47
What a surprising mashup! I would've thought those genres were mutually exclusive, but you've made it work really well. I'm not sure that barbed wire did anything and I never got to buy cannons, but I really enjoyed trying to manage my men and set up multiple lines of defense. Speaking of, I would've liked a way to send men back! But really, overall this was a great entry. Good graphics, audio, and gameplay. Great work!
Nannah27 Apr 2018, 11:15
Well thought and nice to play a game!
yancharkin
yancharkin29 Apr 2018, 19:31
Simply amazingly well done game!
AmigoPadilha5 May 2018, 15:46
Awesome game, loved the graphics and the simplicity in gameplay
TheMonsterFromTheDeep
TheMonsterFromTheDeep6 May 2018, 22:00
Very interesting choice of genres to combine. I played around three rounds of this game, and I think my main complaint is that there are certain balance issues. My first playthrough I got through 16 rounds, my second I got through about 4, and on my final playthrough I lost at round 96. It seems like the strategy of "spam troops" works pretty well, but aside from that it's rather difficult to come up with a strategy -- thus my compliant about "balance".
csanyk
csanyk12 May 2018, 22:39
Very, very good. I liked the pace of the game. Challenge seemed a bit easy at first, but eventually I got overrun after 73 turns. The game is well balanced, once you figure out how to play. I did think that the barbed wire seemed useless -- I didn't notice it slowing enemies down, or doing injury to them. The artillery barrage was cool, but I wish it stayed around longer. I would like to buy my own tank, too. I thought the pixel art graphics were superb, and the audio is also excellent.
Langotriel
Langotriel21 Aug 2018, 09:40
I figured I'd comment here so you see it easier :P I'd be totally up for helping you make your next LD entry. I think you have some of the best concepts and consistent quality. I do sound work and you can hear my work on my LD entries :)

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