CG Petrel MK II Simulator

gonutz 2017-07-31 20:19

This seems way too complicated and unfinished. Aren't there suppoesed to be some asteroids coming my way or something. Also I cannot tell which systems are currently enabled, whenever I click a button it just gives me the same sound and nothing else. Also the button texts are confusing. The tutorial does not help, I cannot remember more than 5 +-2 things at a time, average human being that I am.

I know you still put a lot of effort into this, so please do not take my critique too much to heart, keep making games and they will improve, keep up the good work!

dagegen 2017-08-01 19:23

You need to activate the radar to see the asteroids. The monitor in the upper right tells which systems are active.

sgstair 2017-08-02 22:38

Wow, this game's UI is terrifyingly complex. After accidentally turning on the radar in the first run (shortly thereafter self destructing while poking buttons to try to figure out what they do in a glossy-eyed fashion), I failed to even realize it was necessary to run the radar and tried to conserve power, dying very unexpectedly for the rest of my attempts. The function of most of the buttons is practically impossible to work out...

I'm sure you have a bunch of ways in mind to improve this game but these would be my suggestions: * Make the radar actually graphically change the display, maybe don't show the grid without it, or have some other visual indicator that it's enabled. I didn't connect the presence of any visible data with the radar button (though in hindsight and with your comment it's obvious) * Simplify the UI; I recognize the appeal in having a super complex looking UI, but there are tricks you can use to make a complex UI that's still easy to navigate. Highlighting the color of important buttons is a good option. Self destruct out in the open looking like any other button is something no UI designer should do. :) * Going with the above, just don't rely on the human capacity to read and understand a lot of complex instructions. You can only reliably remember at most 2-3 complex ideas that you're not familiar with (this is why it's useful to playtest, because when you've built the systems, you are SUPER familiar with them and it doesn't register how much cognitive load you are forcing on your player) - If you can demonstrate or provide repetition for your mechanics, it will start to become intuitive and players will pick it up naturally.

I played this on stream at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/163826993 - Timestamp 0:03:00

eshudra 2017-08-06 13:47

Good Game. I like it.

It is hard to detect what systems are currently on/off.

You have to read each time. It would be cool if offline systems highlighted with red color.

:metal: **Overall: 3, Fun: 5, Innovation:2, Theme: 5, Graphics: 2, Mood: 3**

phi 2017-08-20 15:03

Once I got the hang of it, I actually quite liked it. Although I can't really say I fully understood it. I think taking a simple game and over-complicating it with a lot of (partially useless) buttons isn't generally a good idea. The way you executed it is consistent, but not very user-friendly (though that might be the point...). A lot of the information could have been shown graphically in a simpler way (shield, energy, etc.). That way, the end screen also wouldn't appear so unexpectedly. I generally try to follow the rule of "always giving feedback", for every constructive and destructive action the player takes. Your game shows information very clearly and exactly, but it doesn't give a lot of immediate (visual or auditory) feedback, which makes it hard to understand the mechanics and to develop a playing technique.

I like the coordination challenge, and you applied it to a very simple and known minigame, but the challenge itself might be a bit too cryptic. Otherwise, I always like to see original ideas, and you've definitely got one here. The graphics style is wisely chosen and the UI is intuitive. Nice work! :)

lythom 2017-08-20 15:56

** What I liked **

__ + __ Feel like controlling a complex ship __ + __ UI theme, mood

** What imo could be improved **

__ - __ Clarity of UI __ - __ Is it actually possible de refill the battery ? Victory condition was not very clear __ - __ Adding some space atmospheric music + realistic sounds would have fit your graphics better I think

** Overall **

Enjoyed the play even if it was not easy to figure out how to play, good work on it ! Thanks for the game =)

urbanhelsing 2017-08-20 19:00

This is really my kind of game, thanks! Complicated controls is exactly what I want. Reminds me of old submarine games. I would really like to see this evolve to something bigger. Here are some suggestions on how to improve: Add more features so that all of the ship's functions are useful. Some more/better sounds. More responsive/interactive control panel so that the player sees that a button is being pressed.

yuigoto 2017-08-21 02:43

I kinda enjoyed playing and trying to manage the ship's energy and network load, but I got stuck on how charging works for the battery, since it's not 100% clear to me at least. I do like these types of games, even though I get lost in the UI sometimes, but I prefer when we have more visual feedback than "look into the main display".

Since we have to look at the radar, think that it's easier for the player to trust in his/her peripheral than to look for textual information on a display. ;)

The game, though, with its mechanics, has some really great work done, so Good Job! ;)

joebeard 2017-08-22 01:55

Oh man this wins the most realistic simulation award for sure. I didn't read the tutorial as I saw the screenshot and wanted to see if I could figure things out. I eventually got the hang of it! If I may, there's one suggestion I'd like to make - during some of the more hectic moments, it would have been nice to have had an "on state" for the ship's system buttons, so that it would be easier to tell at a glance, what systems were powered up. I realise that the power consumption is noted, but it takes just a hair too long to read the green text when you're right in the thick of things.

commanderstitch 2017-08-22 03:43

This is a really nice and interesting things. i probably had a minute left before making it to earth. then i ran out of energy. :-)

pcmaster 2017-08-22 08:02

Pretty tricky to micromanage :) Nice!