Ludum Dare #46compo

Turbine Troubles

by fussenkuh

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.34

Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.11

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.68

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.64

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.20

Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.48

Humor★★★★★★★★★★3.11

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.22

Welcome to the Future!

Society thrives thanks to nearly unlimited power generated by GIANT TURBINES in the sky... Turbines DEGRADE over time. It's your job to keep them WORKING. Use the Robo-Launcher 2034 and see how long you can keep the turbines ALIVE!

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Downloads and Links:

* WebGL: https://fussenkuh.itch.io/turbine-troubles
* Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.FussenKuhSoftware.TurbineTroubles
* Source: Available to download at the WebGL link

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How To Play:

Windmills rotate COUNTER CLOCKWISE under normal conditions. They'll degrade over time. CLICK ON A WINDMILL and the Robo-Launcher 2034 will AUTOMATICALLY TARGET and FIRE a robot at the windmill. Start looking for the next windmill that needs your help.

Windmill will rotate CLOCKWISE while being repaired. The robots will over-charge windmills if left unattended. So, SHOOT 'EM AGAIN to knock the robots off.

Finally, the Robot-Launcher 2034 needs repair, too. CLICK-AND-HOLD on it to bring its health back.

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Developer Notes:

Overall, I'm happy with what I've accomplished. I learned some new (to me) Unity techniques and brought a new game into the world... all in the span of 48 hours. I'd call that a win! I'm looking forward to checking out everyone's submissions :)

I didn't have the full weekend to dedicate to The Jam. Considering the time constraints, I wanted to keep the game's scope small. Needless to say, the actual code leaves a bit to be desired. Reduced hours means it's time to throw out my software engineering best practices and just start hacking.

When played on the Web, I've noticed that, on occasion, the background music doesn't always start playing and the audio, in general, tends to pop. If you experience music drop-out, try reloading the web page and/or pressing the [ESC] key to reload the game.

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Tools:

* Unity 2019.2
* Inkscape
* Audacity
* '98 Fender Toronado
* The Google Machine

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Genres: action

Tools: Audacity, Inkscape, Unity

Comments30

Nick Rafalski20 Apr 2020, 03:07

This is a fun game with a lot of polish! I keep forgetting to charge my main guy and keep dying! Definitely a great implementation of the theme!

Dave Follett20 Apr 2020, 03:18

Fantastic game, very polished. I really like the sound effects (especially the text typing) and background music. 230 was my high score.

maxflav20 Apr 2020, 03:29

Initialize. Robolauncher. 2034. Pretty simple but gets hectic quick. So fun. My high score was 302!

FussenKuhauthor20 Apr 2020, 03:43

@nick-rafalski - Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it :)

@dave-follett - 230 is quality score! Thanks for playing!

@maxflav - Dang, 302?!? That's most impressive! Simple and hectic, eh? I'm going to say I accomplished my mission ;) Thanks for the feedback!

sayumeki20 Apr 2020, 03:57

Great work! I think you did a good job controlling the scope while making a fun arcade game with a easy-to-understand tutorial.

The audio design in the game was cool, I like your use of analog sound (i.e. you recording on your guitar) and the robotic voice you recorded. The tutorial text emphasizes this sort of robotic feel as well.

BlackOpsBen20 Apr 2020, 04:01

I don't think it was registering my clicks when it should. Or maybe I misunderstood how it works.

FussenKuhauthor20 Apr 2020, 04:09

@sayumeki - Thanks! I'm always tempted to attempt something far more grand. But, then I remember I only have a couple days to actually build it ;) I'm glad you enjoyed the game and thanks for the feedback!

@blackopsben - May I ask if you were repeatedly clicking on a windmill to shoot it? You only have to shoot it once (a single click) to start repairing it. Once it starts getting over-repaired, you have to shoot it once again (a single click) to stop the repair.

BlackOpsBen20 Apr 2020, 04:15

@fussenkuh ah, I gotcha, however it would only fire once and then I would have to click all over the screen to find some where that it would let me shoot again.

Sacrface20 Apr 2020, 04:24

222. Perfect number to end on

Simple concept that you've executed really nicely. Artwork on the windmills is great, though maybe a bit more detail on the player model?

I assume you're going to port to mobile given the format?

FussenKuhauthor20 Apr 2020, 04:24

@blackopsben - Thanks for the follow up. It'll only let you target the windmills. Clicking anywhere else will be unresponsive. The idea being that you wouldn't want to fire repair robots out into the sky for no reason, right? Those things are crazy expensive! ;)

A new windmill pops in ever 6 seconds or so. But, that does mean that, at the beginning, there's not a whole lot of clicking to be done.

Thanks again for playing!

FussenKuhauthor20 Apr 2020, 04:28

@sacrface - Thanks for the feedback! The Robo-Launcher 2034 definitely could use a face lift... or two ;) Graphics definitely aren't my strong suit. But, that just means that they're also the thing I ought to be able to improve the most!

And, yes, I was actually hoping to have a mobile build in time for the Compo. My previous entries all came with accompanying Android builds. Turbine Trouble will hopefully have its own port soon!

Thanks again for playing.

onesvenus20 Apr 2020, 07:01

I found it difficult to see if windmills were being repaired or not and I think the launcher could use a something like an alarm when close to getting destroyed, I lost every time because I didn't pay much attention to the launcher life bar.

Good job overall!

FussenKuhauthor20 Apr 2020, 12:51

@onesvenus Thanks for the feedback! Once the screen starts filling, it's definitely a bit difficult to tell what's being repaired. The two visual cues are (1) the windmill spins clockwise and (2) a blue 'spark' effect sweeps around the windmill. Even with those cues, it's difficult to tell ;) I like the alarm idea on the launcher. I had plans to add some effects and/or sounds, but, ran out of time. Thanks again!

bjl20 Apr 2020, 15:23

Got a 136. The turbine that exploded was blocked by two others, but now I wonder if I was able to shoot over the blockers. Only two ways to find out.

bjl20 Apr 2020, 15:24

@bjl 209 now and yes.

JoskerDu20 Apr 2020, 19:44

Ah... that typing sound is genius. Cool game -- pretty tough. I like the twist on shooting to repair. I also dig the warping you have over the screen. Great stuff.

FussenKuhauthor20 Apr 2020, 22:18

@joskerdu - Thanks for checking out my game and for taking the time to leave feedback! I rolled the dice with the typing audio hoping people would enjoy it. I'm glad it's found some fans :) Given more time, I would have liked to make the difficulty ramp up a bit slower.

bmacintosh21 Apr 2020, 01:16

Wow, this is hard! They should really buy some more Robo Launchers. It's a great-looking game and well polished.

FussenKuhauthor21 Apr 2020, 13:47

@bmacintosh - Ha... now you've planted the idea of adding multi-player co-op support! Thanks for playing and for the feedback!

Kerri21 Apr 2020, 21:19

The sound effects are amazing! I particularly love the sound in the intro screen when the text is typing. I did forget about the robo launcher and keep dying without realising why the first couple of goes.. haha. Great game, really cool concept!

FussenKuhauthor21 Apr 2020, 21:36

@kerri - Thanks for playing and for the feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed the game (and the sound effects!) :) In hindsight, I really should have pushed myself a bit more to add some additional visual and/or audio cues for the Robo-Launcher getting low on health. Alas, time got the best of me.

zzox22 Apr 2020, 04:27

Cool idea, pretty tough. Like how the Robot-Launcher doesn't fire immediately so it requires some quick thinking the further you get.

FussenKuhauthor22 Apr 2020, 12:15

@zzox - Thanks for playing and the feedback! I'm glad you appreciated the launcher delay. It's one of those things that I hoped would make the game slightly more unique.

kevinworkman24 Apr 2020, 01:10

This was great! Nicely scoped, polished, and an interesting mechanic. I also really liked the audio. Version 2.0 might make it more obvious when something is about to fail, but this is already really solid.

TheDoctorOfTime24 Apr 2020, 07:47

I love the boops you do while the text is popping up. I still dont quite get whats happening but I got like 98 which I think is a good score owo. It was fun and every time I replay it the boops just make me ugly laugh XD great game yo!

FussenKuhauthor24 Apr 2020, 12:28

@kevinworkman - Thanks for playing and the feedback! You're dead on about the scope. With only 48 hours, as much as I want to create a larger game, I resist the urge. I'd rather produce something small and functional rather than an incomplete opus. Also, I'd agree, even though there's a couple signals that the windmills are on the verge of blowing up, they're not nearly obvious enough. Definitely something to address in version 2.0.

@thedoctoroftime - Glad you had a fun time! The game definitely runs at a hectic pace. Thanks for the feedback!

Emmanuel Gaillot26 Apr 2020, 17:34

Very nice concept. I like the pop sounds :) The difficulty rises a bit too quickly for me, unfortunately.

FussenKuhauthor27 Apr 2020, 12:07

@emmanuel-gaillot - Thanks for the feedback! I'd agree that it does get too difficult too quickly. If there were a bit more time, I definitely would have attempted to balance the difficulty ramp a bit better.