FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD39 → Escape Velocity

Escape Velocity

By bonelazy and dilaragurlek

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall2933.5627
Fun3803.2027
Innovation2323.4027
Theme964.0427
Graphics2284.0027
Audio4162.9524
Mood1593.7227

Comments

laaph 2017-08-01 06:55

Here is says there is a mac build, but on itch.io I didn't see it?

bonelazy 2017-08-01 06:59

@laaph

Sorry about that, I will upload it later in the day. For now I'm removing mac and linux build links. Sorry!

hijomo 2017-08-01 07:01

Nice idea. really wish there were some gauges so that I knew which direction I was moving.

elit3dgaming 2017-08-01 07:24

Surprisingly difficult and scary (space is scary)

bonelazy 2017-08-01 08:27

@hijomo

We thought about putting a 3D minimap style of visual to indicate direction, but ultimately decided to hide that information to keep it simple and barebones to give the feel of being lost in space better. It also encourages more controlled bursts to keep your direction in control :)

We hope you enjoyed it :)

@elit3dgaming

Keep practicing and once you get the hang of maneuvering, it gets better. But yeah, space *is* scary! :)

xsior 2017-08-01 15:45

The space movement simulation feels really realistic, but because of that is also hella confusing. I wasn't even sure where is my target most of the time. It looks great and is interesting concept. I feel that minimap and some more things going on would improve gameplay tremendously.

bonelazy 2017-08-01 19:01

@Xsior

Thanks for the feedback :)

As I mentioned on a previous comment, it was a deliberate choice to keep information to a minimum to convey that "lost in space" feeling. Once you get used to the controls and keep your character in control, you shouldn't lose your target as often. But again, feeling like you lost your target means we wanted to convey the feeling we wanted to :)

Nonetheless, I hope you had fun :)

bonelazy 2017-08-01 19:22

To @Laaph and all others, we have now added Mac and Linux builds as well as Xbox Controller support. Have fun :)

evil-as-shit 2017-08-01 20:42

Great graphics! Controls were fun to learn and get good at. My years of KSP have taught me well, made it on my first try. Getting hit my an asteroid was surprising and fun.

bonelazy 2017-08-01 21:11

@Evil-as-shit

Thanks again for the feedback :) We are very happy that you enjoyed our game.

bonelazy 2017-08-01 21:11

@Evil-as-shit

Thanks again for the feedback :) We are very happy that you enjoyed our game.

egn 2017-08-01 21:34

cool game!

josehzz 2017-08-01 21:39

Graphics are great, nice job. But are the controls working fine on windows? The movement felt snappy, hit one key and only moved once.

xero560 2017-08-01 21:48

This is pretty cool. Def in the spirit of simulation games. I played with controller, and I think most flight sim games would have inverted controls for pitch though? Took me a bit to adjust to it. I think it controls well (and probably appropriately difficult), but it was a little irritating to pass the dock and have to spend so long thrusting to reverse my velocity, although I'm sure the astronaut actually piloting this thing would be much more patient in the initial approach than I was. Game is a visual and atmospheric treat and I enjoyed my time with it.

yetman 2017-08-02 00:02

I generally enjoyed the game, it is really challenging. It also makes me stop taking gravity for granted; floating in space is indeed scary. The visuals were nice and felt realistic.

pio 2017-08-02 00:13

Interesting mechanics. The game is pretty difficult. I kept getting hit by asteroids which caused me to spin. I had no idea in what exact direction I was spinning, but I learned that I can find out by trying to rotate in different directions and checking my angular velocity to see when and how it changes. How did you make the skybox? It's really nice!

rijnswand 2017-08-02 02:56

Awesome game! My first idea for the jam was also a spacesuit losing power, so I was curious about what would you do with it.

Enjoyed playing it a lot and think I finished it in my 1st try, but I'm feeling a bit dizzy now. All was going well at first, but an asteroid hit me on the back and sent me spinning, managed to stabilise and keep making my way to the skylab.

When I was really close to it I hit one of the solar panels that made me spin even more violently than before, but since I was going the right way I ended up where the lights were. After getting the message to stay there the astronaut seemed to float away to earth and the screen turned black.

bonelazy 2017-08-02 06:16

@josehzz

Thanks for the feedback. I don't know what you mean by that. Key presses should give you a thrust, increasing your velocity the longer you hold the button. Once you let go, your velocity should be stable (since you are in space) and you will drift in that direction unless you apply an opposite thrust. If there is something wrong please let me know so I can fix it.

@xero560

Terribly sorry about the pitch issue, I wish I had put an inverted option. Thanks for the great feedback I'm glad you had fun :)

@Yetman

That's exactly how I felt while developing the game :) I'm glad you enjoyed the game and thanks for the feedback

@Pio

Thanks for the feedback. I see you adopted my way of getting back in control after a spin :) The skybox is actually one of the few assets that we didn't make ourselves, I put a link up in the description.

@rijnswand

Thanks a lot for the feedback :) I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'm sorry also that the game made you dizzy. Maybe we should have limited angular velocity so it doesn't spin as fast. Actually the game is currently lacking a "victory" screen so what you saw was you getting rescued and winning the game. Good job. With the final sequence we tried to convey the feeling of turning back to the earth, getting dragged from behind into the Skylab, and then doors close from the sides once you are inside.

hadik 2017-08-03 17:20

Very nice and polished entry :) I really enjoy your game. But my stomach not like your game :D

bonelazy 2017-08-03 17:41

@Hadik

Haha thanks man :) And sorry about your stomach :D

aurel300 2017-08-04 15:05

We streamed your game with Danae plays on Twitch. :) Here's a link:

[Danae streams Ludum Dare 39: Day 1, part 2: Escape Velocity](https://youtu.be/AXdZR4HVHxc?t=12m40s)

A simple concept, but still fun to try. Maybe it's not super replayable, but that's okay :) The minimal UI and audio actually helped this game, it made it feel quite space-y, in a genuine / realistic way. I really liked the chromatic aberration effect on the UI and the models (I think). Just a little detail that made it look a lot more polished :D One thing that worried me was the gigantic space station though – according to the velocity readings it seemed to be hundreds of metres across. Scary. But good job with the game :)

biocrust 2017-08-05 06:56

Looks interesting! My game's a bit similar https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/comms

remzo 2017-08-05 09:22

This was fun! I was worried the movement would be too tricky due to the thrusters being too strong but they're perfect. Ideally, I would've inverted the pitch controls but that comes down to personal preference. It was a bit hard to find the lights, maybe a series of flashing lights indicating towards the ones you needed to go to would've helped (like airport runway lights). The thrusters sounded great but I feel some eery ambient music would've strengthened the feeling of helplessness. Cool game!

bonelazy 2017-08-05 10:33

@Aurel300

Thanks for the incredible feedback. Watching you play our game live was really amazing :) And about that distance reading, maybe our distance calculator wasn't up to scale. Oops :D

@Remzo

Thanks for the great feedback. We're glad you liked the controls. We tried our best to configure the little details to make it feel "perfect". Having no music in space was a deliberate choice, and some people actually liked having no music since it adds to the whole "emptiness" aspect of space.

vegard1992 2017-08-05 21:12

alright, but a tad confusing. nice graphics!

xmiwah 2017-08-10 13:16

Lol! This is almost the 3D version of our gamejam. Hihih if you like.. want to check ours? ;D Fun to see your version. https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/last-chance-to-mars

It's so annoying that you keep rotating in space. Makes me a little bit nauseous. To controll the ship is also very difficult but in overal it's a good concept ;D I really like the 3D space.

lamm 2017-08-14 01:20

You did a great game congratulations.