Running out of time

by pcarl
Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.15
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.05
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.30
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.75
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.60
You're stuck in orbit without enough oxygen. Pick up the o2 tank to refuel and keep breathing.
Genres: simulation
Tools: PICO-8

Comments12

Aarimous
Aarimous4 Apr 2022, 02:27
Love what did there, fun to mess with orbital mechanics. But this felt a bit too touchy. Like I'd go retrograde for a hot second and then my orbit would go boom. It would be nice to have some way to prevent the player from flying way out of the window. Butttt, I liked the small pixel art you added.
kory
kory4 Apr 2022, 02:28
Woah! I love the physics they are fun to play with :)
Dorren
Dorren4 Apr 2022, 06:26
Simple but effective, great job!
rex64
rex644 Apr 2022, 06:44
Cool game! Inputs are a tad too sensitive but great mechanics nonetheless!
tengusheath
tengusheath4 Apr 2022, 21:28
Pretty hard game. I was able to get the oxygen a few times in a row, but I would make a terrible astronaut. I flung myself out into space so many times.
Shawn Moore
Shawn Moore5 Apr 2022, 01:30
Nice game! Love to see Pico-8 entries. I feel like all my time spent playing Kerbal Space Program has finally paid off :)
minibobbo
minibobbo5 Apr 2022, 03:09
Wow, I'm horrible at this. I played a few times and only managed to get a single oxygen tank. Is there a way to do anything after you bounce off the Earth and go flying out into space? I had to reset the cart each time.

I think that if you hit the Earth it should explode. Then the game could restart immediately :smile:
Jibberwocky5 Apr 2022, 09:05
Really cool game, very clear how you are supposed to do things with nice feedback with the little trails but actually executing it is interestingly tricky. Also very funny when you accidentally achieve and escape orbit.
pcarlauthor7 Apr 2022, 07:50
:face_palm: I didn't realize I could post in my own comments. Thanks for kind words!

@rex64 & @aarimous & @minibobbo totally hear you on the inputs, it's really easy to accidentally rocket off into space, and then you're stuck just waiting on the timer. Adding some kind of distance limit that ends the game might help. I don't have a great idea about making the button less sensitive while still allowing really short and longer bursts, will have to think about that some more.

@minibobbo I really like the earth idea, see below :laughing:

I put together a slightly more polished version post-LD-deadline based on all of your feedback and some helpful tips (ty Shawn!). If you want to give it a whirl after trying the compo version it's here:
https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=47279

Some things I added:
- Switched from a rocket ship to a little dancing astronaut
- Particle effects for the tank and burns
- Sound effects & music
- Minor screen shake
- Earth collision easter egg
- start screen
- smaller status bars
alanxoc3
alanxoc38 Apr 2022, 03:11
Agree with other comments. It was fun to mess around with the physics, but the physics were also a bit too sensitive for me.

I think it would look nicer if the earth was bigger, and maybe you did some zooming out if you get too far away from earth, instead of going off screen.
LDJam user 243193
LDJam user 2431939 Apr 2022, 05:48
I can see the concept and them of this game. Too bad that it's so hard to control player without getting out of border nor hitting the earth.
zimny11
zimny1121 Apr 2022, 18:43
Awesome art style. The controls take a minute to get used to :) Cool game!
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