Cool game! The controls felt really smoothly implemented, and it was really satisfying to get a solid landing. It seemed like I crashed when the checkmark was green, but I think my speed was too high -- not sure. Well done!
Thanks, Ryan! I'm glad you found the game fun! I still have work to do with how the player gets feedback from the ship. Regardless, thank you for taking the time to comment and rate!
I finally beat it! This game is solid and polished! I loved the clean look of this game and how clear the UI was. Intuitive controls, but very challenging.
Well today I learned that I should never be a pilot lol. That was tough! Did the controls get weaker as the game went on, or just less boost time?
This is a great example that graphics don't need to be ultra-realistic to look good. Your water animations and sky gradients are so smooth and well done, it's really nice to look at. And your first Ludum Dare entry?! Great job! Hope to see more from you in the future.
Nice, @subcreation! What was your final score? I spent a lot of time trying to make the UI as clean as possible. I am very pleased with how the final project looks it's really great to hear you like it too!
Fun little game ! Managed to get to landing 8. I think some of the landings might be nearly impossible provided that you don't have a good starting position. On another note, I think the music is a bit out of place, but it's not a major issue.
Regardless, it's a good entry, congratulations on making it to the LD49 ! :)
@mhorth Yes! This first ever Ludum Dare game, and my second only game jam entry!
The ship gets heavier as time goes on to make the game more challenging. The amount of fuel you have gets used more quickly do to the extra weight. Probably should have called that out in the description!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I am really happy with how this game looks and feels and it really makes my day that you enjoyed your time with it!
@fluffy-kaeloky I wasn't particularly happy with the music, but I didn't have much time to do better. The best I could do was add a soundtrack mute key. It's not perfect, but it gets the job done.
Hey, this is quite a nice game. I like the idea behind it, and it was pretty fun to play. I think it could do with a little bit of balancing. The last level was pretty challenging. I beat the whole game in about 42 attempts, which I think is quite a lot. My biggest issue though, was the music. The main menu goes from a nice quiet ocean sound to that, so, I think that could use some work. But, I like this game, it's one of the better one's I've played.
I had a lot of fun crashing a rocket repeatedly - I even landed it a few times (I got to 8 I think. It took a few tries :laughing: ) The music was really well chosen and the process of getting a feel for the controls was very satisfying. Great game!
@mateu The music was the hardest part of this project for me. I really didn't want to leave the game without a soundtrack, but I really didn't have time to find a better piece. I did implement a mute soundtrack key (M) so players wouldn't have to listen to the soundtrack if they didn't want to. Not the best solution, I know, but I just didn't have the time.
Reguardless, thank you for playing! I means a lot to me!
@sarahsprague I happy you enjoyed the soundtrack! I mention in a previous comment that I wasn't able to give the music the attention it needed, but I am really happy you liked it!
The controls took the most time to get right and your description of "Getting a feel" for them was exactly what I was going for!
Cool game! At first I would not think it would be very hard, but the later levels were really tough. It's a simple concept but very well executed. Nice job!
@avareii That is great to hear! I wanted to make the controls intuitive and I'm glad you found them easy to pick up! Thank you for taking the time to play, rate, and comment!
@bridgeonastick I wanted to go for a fairly steep difficultly curve, and I'm glad you enjoyed the challenge! That was my goal! Thank you for checking on and playing my game!
The graphics in this game are super nice! Some of the cleanest artwork I've seen this jam, I think.
I found it extremely difficult to do most of the later levels. I think this is because the ship needs to be aligned, but when I rotate the ship to be aligned, I can no longer slow it down vertically without accelerating horizontally. This makes it extremely difficult to land the ship unless it spawns right above the landing platform. I do think I could probably do a much better job if I developed a more sophisticated strategy, but it's hard to try things over and over and practice due to the RNG.
On that note, I'm not sure if having the ship start at a random point is a good idea or not. It seems like some of the starting positions may well be impossible, or at least orders of magnitude more difficult than the other positions. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but I'm not sure I see the point. If you had a particular reason for adding the RNG I'd be curious to hear it. :smile:
I did eventually manage to win with a score of 91. I think that the physics on the ship are pretty good, overall--definitely captured the usual landing game vibe.
@honey-pony I went with RNG spawn system to try and make the player's experience with the game as varied as possible. I was worried that most players would tire of the game after only a few attempts.
However, I think I make the game too hard in the end. After playing a game solid for 5+ hours, it becomes hard to tell what is a fair balance and what isn't. Based on the feedback I have received thus far, though, the game is way to hard in the later levels for the majority of players. I believe this is mostly due to the lack of fuel and the speed at which the booster falls.
Thank you for your feedback, and for your detailed review! It really helps me out!
Nice and well implemented idea, I always love landing games. Maybe a little less gravity would make the game more fun but just a minor issue. You could easily go for mobile and launch it as a game.
Love that you integrated everything you need to know into the graphics without needing GUIs. Very intuitive controls. And love how quick it is to retry!
@ltyrosine Balancing this game has proven to be a difficult task! I will keep your feedback in mind! Ideally, a future release with have a less punishing learning curve.
Who knows? Maybe I will go for a mobile release if the final ratings are favorable!
@bunnybones I wanted to reduce player frustration with restarts, as this game requires multiple attempts on basically every level. With regards to the GUI, my approach is to integrate as much as possible into the game world itself. It just makes the game look a lot cleaner, which I personally like. I am glad you liked it as well!
45 attempts to win! Very cool control scheme, clean information about the rocket state, I appreciate the danger/checkmark symbol a lot, it's 100% clear when the landing will succeed and when it will fail - the game feels tricky but at the same time it feels fair - if I mess up I know it's my fault
I muted the soundtrack at the start, but in my head the music from the SpaceX Video "how to not land an orbital rocket booster" was playing :D (nice classical music)
very elegant game and it matches the theme beautifully, very solid entry
I would love to see some nice explosion debris to make the crash more juicy and have a little reward after you mess up
Thank you for your insightful comments! I also want to share one of my favorite games with you guys. You can play this entertaining game alone or with friends. Give it a shot you will love it! bluey
Comments64
I'm glad you liked that art! I'm happy with how it turned out!
Thank you for checking out and rating my project!
This is a great example that graphics don't need to be ultra-realistic to look good. Your water animations and sky gradients are so smooth and well done, it's really nice to look at. And your first Ludum Dare entry?! Great job! Hope to see more from you in the future.
I spent a lot of time trying to make the UI as clean as possible. I am very pleased with how the final project looks it's really great to hear you like it too!
On another note, I think the music is a bit out of place, but it's not a major issue.
Regardless, it's a good entry, congratulations on making it to the LD49 ! :)
The ship gets heavier as time goes on to make the game more challenging. The amount of fuel you have gets used more quickly do to the extra weight. Probably should have called that out in the description!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I am really happy with how this game looks and feels and it really makes my day that you enjoyed your time with it!
THANK YOU!
Starting RNG is very helpful!
I am happy to be a part of the Ludum Dare 49!
My biggest issue though, was the music. The main menu goes from a nice quiet ocean sound to that, so, I think that could use some work. But, I like this game, it's one of the better one's I've played.
Reguardless, thank you for playing! I means a lot to me!
42 is the best score yet!
The controls took the most time to get right and your description of "Getting a feel" for them was exactly what I was going for!
Thank you taking the time to comment and play!
Thanks for playing!
Thank you for your feedback, and for taking the time to play. I appreciate it!
Thanks for playing!
Thank you for playing and commenting!
I found it extremely difficult to do most of the later levels. I think this is because the ship needs to be aligned, but when I rotate the ship to be aligned, I can no longer slow it down vertically without accelerating horizontally. This makes it extremely difficult to land the ship unless it spawns right above the landing platform. I do think I could probably do a much better job if I developed a more sophisticated strategy, but it's hard to try things over and over and practice due to the RNG.
On that note, I'm not sure if having the ship start at a random point is a good idea or not. It seems like some of the starting positions may well be impossible, or at least orders of magnitude more difficult than the other positions. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but I'm not sure I see the point. If you had a particular reason for adding the RNG I'd be curious to hear it. :smile:
I did eventually manage to win with a score of 91. I think that the physics on the ship are pretty good, overall--definitely captured the usual landing game vibe.
However, I think I make the game too hard in the end.
After playing a game solid for 5+ hours, it becomes hard to tell what is a fair balance and what isn't.
Based on the feedback I have received thus far, though, the game is way to hard in the later levels for the majority of players. I believe this is mostly due to the lack of fuel and the speed at which the booster falls.
Thank you for your feedback, and for your detailed review! It really helps me out!
Those thrusters graphic and sound effects are so outstanding! Overall, this is a wonderful game.
I agree that is cool some else had the same idea like me. If we would bring our ideas together, it could become the best next spaceX game. ;)
But which engineer placed those satellites so close to the landing platform?!?! He should get fired!!
Congratulation to your wonderful entry!
Yes, I think they fired that engineer! What was he thinking???
I'm glad you enjoyed your time with my game!
- Technically, we have four of them.
- Hush JM, don't scare them off!
Congrats.
Ideally, a future release with have a less punishing learning curve.
Who knows? Maybe I will go for a mobile release if the final ratings are favorable!
Thank You for taking the time to play and rate!
With regards to the GUI, my approach is to integrate as much as possible into the game world itself. It just makes the game look a lot cleaner, which I personally like. I am glad you liked it as well!
Thank you for playing!
I muted the soundtrack at the start, but in my head the music from the SpaceX Video "how to not land an orbital rocket booster" was playing :D (nice classical music)
very elegant game and it matches the theme beautifully, very solid entry
I would love to see some nice explosion debris to make the crash more juicy and have a little reward after you mess up
The "How not to land an orbital rocket booster" video was the inspiration for the game!
I really wanted to use a similar music track, but I was unable to find a copyright free version in time! :(
If the game is well rated I might go for further development and then the crashes will be extra satififying!
Thank you for playing and rating! Your feedback really helps me improve!
Thank you for taking the time to play and rate!
Thank you for rating and commenting on my game this late in the jam!!!