The Ether Collector

by ophiene
Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.50
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.17
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.21
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.44
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.18
Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.48
Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.95
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.64

GAME NAME: THE ETHER COLLECTOR


We are a student team! EVERYONE is AMAZING!!! ✌️

Note:

This is not the final version of the game — we're still working on debugging and several optimization updates.
A new build will be released very soon which would be NOT POSSIBLE to disappoint you!



📢 Please stay tuned to this page for update announcements.

💬 Leave a comment so we can notify you when the Optimized Version is uploaded!

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Now, please welcome our protagonist to present the game! ⬇️


The game takes place in an age where steam and alchemy coexist.

Traditional gunpowder and coal-driven steam power massive machinery, while alchemists harness the five essences Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Ether to compensate for the limits of steam energy. Together they form the foundation of this world, powerful yet fragile, mechanical yet mystical.

You play as an automaton created by an alchemist, sent to mines and wastelands to collect alchemical materials, enhance your body, and search for clues to the location of the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

It is said that the Philosopher's Stone is the zero point of all alchemy, a perfect medium of transmutation, capable of granting soul to machines. But as you are built by an alchemist who defected from the Academy, you can't help but suspect, perhaps your master's pursuit of the Stone is driven by more than scientific curiosity…

[LOG_07A_CORE]: query > Can machine dreams of...(metamorphosis)?

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· Collect [Mechanical Modules] to modify your body and alter each part's function.

· Collect [Elemental Ampoules] to fuse elemental properties, further enhancing or evolving part effects.

· Gather [Ether Crystals] to earn points (and unlock ADDITIONAL ENDINGS).

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UPDATE NOTICE:


1.0.0

This is our first version of the game!



1.1.0

All known bugs have been fixed. We cordially invite you to experience the game!
Due to its large file size (mainly because of the visuals,1GB for all), we weren’t able to upload it directly here.

itch is not available because the maximum of it is 1GB :(

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Comments31

Artalasky
Artalasky7 Oct 2025, 15:46
Amazing visuals and atmosphere. Your team did a great job.
Agnira
Agnira7 Oct 2025, 17:10
Tried the latest version. Unfortunatly I landed in the third person template map, and you also forgot to put your "package content" on shipping since I can see the prints XD
Let me know when this will be fixed so I can test your game.
Ry0
Ry07 Oct 2025, 20:17
The game is cool! It looks great and is interesting to play, but imho unfortunately the topic is poorly disclosed. After all, great work!
GreenRadiation
GreenRadiation8 Oct 2025, 00:40
OMG, 3GB for game in LD....

The scene I saw barely resembles what's happening in the screenshots. It's sad you didn't manage to finish the game in time, but from what I can see now in the latest build, it looks pretty cool. So, well done!
SkySakura2005
SkySakura200522 Oct 2025, 05:51
It seems to be a great 3d game and good job for such a game in a few days. Unfortunately, I can't download the game from google drive TAT.
evil23
evil2322 Oct 2025, 08:19
I can't download it either. Maybe upload it somewhere else.

How about itch.io?
Rol
Rol22 Oct 2025, 14:57
Google Drive link shows needing to request for permisson and the Dropbox link shows 400. Maybe you can adjust the Google link setting?
l6ria
l6ria22 Oct 2025, 17:15
Looks amazing! Great visuals and atmosphere)
eloc
eloc22 Oct 2025, 20:17
This game looks absolutely amazing. However my many failed attempts to progress played out much like your gameplay at the top of the page lol Kept dying, couldn't figure out how to progress past my base form, or even find anything other than ether crystals. The tutorial menu in game wasn't much help. After a while, I gave up being so much slower and weaker than 90% of the enemies.
Game looks amazing though.
Fiordarancio
Fiordarancio22 Oct 2025, 22:01
I am impressed by the amount of content you put in this game. The visuals are stunning and the tutorial is maybe the richest I've ever seen in a jam. I kept dying but overall it was fun xD

As a developer that has already used UE in a jam, I'd like to suggest giving a look at how to optimize the packages next time. Big downloads penalized me as well in previous ludum dare-s! But you deserve your game to be played :D
MARP
MARP22 Oct 2025, 23:02
I tried running the game with wine (since I use linux) and I could not because it uses Visual C++. Next time it would be nice if you use another compiler such as clang
Zshandi Krahn23 Oct 2025, 04:54
Drive link said I need permission, and Dropbox gave a 404. I would highly recommend uploading to an itch.io page instead and just link to that, as it looks better and won't have such errors.

Edit: I tried the other drop box link and it didn't 404, but it's asking me to make an account on drop box to view it lol, don't want to do that. Like I said, just upload to itch.io page instead next time so more people will enjoy your game (or at least use something that doesn't require extra steps to download).
Transkuja
Transkuja23 Oct 2025, 08:26
You seem to have put quite the effort into it, great job!
I thought that double clicking for attacking was a bit tedious (and hard to understand, felt a bit buggy at first), also our hitbox doesn't feel very generous especially when there are lots of enemies everywhere and we are so limited in our actions
Well done !
PatUwU23 Oct 2025, 09:51
Graphics are just awesome and it was fun to play. Great job!
anima_animus049
anima_animus04923 Oct 2025, 11:45
I can see your effort in it, it's really cool! I love the graphics and the music, it's a little hard for me, I'm keep dying, but it's still very fun for play! An amazing work
darianifakina
darianifakina23 Oct 2025, 12:25
The art style is great, and the mechanics feel streamlined. I was hooked from the first moment — great job!
Ginger_Kyoko
Ginger_Kyoko23 Oct 2025, 16:15
Unfortunatelly it didn`t run on my PortProton :(

But I watched your trailer instead and could say that your game looks really good, I really like graphics and atmosphere, but it seems to me that it laks of strengh balance between enemies and main character. It seems to me too hard to finish game tasks in game by now.
So, hope u will fix everything after jam. Good luck, guys!
Arwen Sylveck23 Oct 2025, 16:36
I would love to play your game, but the google drive link has restricted access.
Cislaru Corneliu23 Oct 2025, 19:45
there is a problem with google drive when I want to open the game
treenut
treenut23 Oct 2025, 21:08
i'd love to play and rate this, a web version would help. the drive is giving access denied
kayrum
kayrum23 Oct 2025, 21:21
Looks very ambitious. Great style. (The dropbox link has debug log and gizmos visible)
huihang24 Oct 2025, 06:58
I can not open the game. However seeing the cover and the video if the game, I have a roughly know of this game. In my opnion it is very absurd to have this kind of game being true,for such kind of game with too many beatiful items. What's more , I like the graph alot. And the atmophere in the game look like relaxing.
Amiuke
Amiuke24 Oct 2025, 10:02
I love your UI, it’s so unique and visually appealing. The music is great too!
LDJam user 246128
LDJam user 24612824 Oct 2025, 18:25
That's a very impressive entry! Solid style, great art direction. Also impressive size, damn :)
oller12524 Oct 2025, 18:43
An impressive game for a jam entry. I could imagine just trying to coordinate so many people was a challenge. The contrast between the pixelated character sprites and the landscape was a bit jarring though.
Volkolak
Volkolak24 Oct 2025, 19:31
It looks interesting and has a sense of potential. However, I haven't quite figured out the collection mechanics yet; I'd like a tutorial at the start.
esh_k
esh_k24 Oct 2025, 20:13
The game looks great! Good job!
yness24 Oct 2025, 20:45
Big team- big game! Looks great, and I hope you keep developing it further. Really impressive work!
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