Enceladus Explorer

spliter 2017-08-01 00:12

I'm a total sucker for science so I knew I was gonna like it, but it was better than I had expected. First off, I love the design of the probe and the way it moves is very natural. The atmosphere was great, completely selling the empty ocean. Design wise i have some critiques though. First off I like that you've added the tiny specks of light (algae?) you can collect for energy and to extend your stay down there. However after some time they become very scarce, stopping you from exploring. Second: even though tne environment is really nice and sells the idea of being in underwater ice caves very well, the distinction between cave walls, ceiling and bottom needs to be much clearer, otherwise is extremely easy to miss the passages to other areas. Third: this games' strongest feeling is exploration. I wanted to see more, i wanted to find the fish or worm that I know you had to put in there somewhere (if you didn't then come on. A game about exploring an existing alien world and NOT have it some kind of animal? How could you miss an opportunity like this?) However, despite that, the game pushes you to return to the surface to deliver your cargo. The light spots were a nice exception to that rule, encouraging me to explore more, but after a while they ran out so I had to return. All in all, really loved it, but could have gone one step further.

faulkin 2017-08-01 09:34

Wow, thanks for the feedback spliter! :)

I agree with everything you say. I had plans for a lot of these things, but ran out of time to get it all done. Unfortunately the fish was a casualty of the time kraken and never made it in, but I have a model ready to go. I also get what you're saying about disorientation and missing passages (I designed the level and even I get lost lol!) I think maybe it needs a minimap that fills out as you explore.

Maybe I'll try to work on finishing a few thing off and releasing a more completed version when I have time.

tompendergrass 2017-08-03 05:44

Nice simulation. The vessel's animation is well done. I had to play it on Fast mode to get good frame rate on my laptop. Is your ice cave broken up into small meshes? Unity's default occlusion culling does not play well with large objects.

It was fun to go down as far as I pssibly go (ran into 2 or 3 dead ends), But it was more fun going from bottom back to the top. I left behind some green orbs to help me return home!

faulkin 2017-08-05 12:45

Thanks for the feedback Tom, I'm glad you had some fun with it! :) Yeah, the cave is made out of modular sections. I'm guessing the performance issues on higher quality settings are probably due to the full screen bloom effect on the camera, or possibly the 2k textures I used for the environment.

Cheers!

zgragselus 2017-08-05 17:51

The game is quite nice. I enjoyed and although I think score counter is broken (it was showing 37 for me all the time, yet I was collecting examples for quite long). So few points I have:

I missed more shadows and more water-like look and feel of the game (the lower you are the less light there should be), maybe even volumetric light effects - that would be very cool. The controls are good, although the terrain seems quite boring (at least from texture point of view, yet it is a jam game). This could really use something like Tiled resources (Sparse Virtual Texture ... aka Megatextures).

I couldn't read tutorial fast enough, the vessel stars going down immediately - I'd suggest moving the text down with vessel and let it disappear after 15, 20 seconds.

Does the game have an ending? I thought it is lacking some, but maybe that is because I didn't pick up everything.

crass-sandwich 2017-08-05 18:15

This is a fantastic looking game that really nails the mood it's going for. I love all the little graphical touches like the lens flaring, the texture work, and the vignetting when the power is at certain levels. The audio also fits perfectly. My only real complaint is that it's easy to lose the starting area.

sir-daniev 2017-08-05 18:16

Nice ocean exploring simulator. Really enjoyable and atmospheric (the sound of the ocean IS your soundtrack, basic but fantastic :) ). Loved the little touches, but I thing some particles or effect coming from the turbines would give a better movement feedback. And some sort of "deep meter" would help to know how deep we are.

Good Job.

futil 2017-08-05 18:53

This is a neat little game! I absolutely loved the robot's design and the way it moved! Exploring the caves was pretty fun with the movement system, though I wish that there were some more flora and fauna in the caves. All in all, great work!

davideperozzi 2017-08-05 19:46

Great little game! Very relaxing. The graphics great and the character design is amazing! Good work :)

faulkin 2017-08-06 15:18

Thanks for the feedback folks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

@zgragselus - Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I'd like to add some more water effects and more variety to the textures. I was planning to create a custom blend shader that would add a sediment texture where the normals are pointing up, and maybe some different rock layers based on world space depth.

I'm not sure how the counter could break, did you realise that you have to return the samples to the starting area to score points? I'm sorry the tutorial texts moves out of screen too quickly, I literally threw it into the game at the last minute.

There isn't an end game atm. I'm not sure what it could be, maybe I could add some special samples you have to hunt down to complete the game (fish or something?)

@crass-sandwich - Thanks for the feedback, I totally agree, even I get lost! It really needs something like a minimap or maybe a compass to guide you back.

@sir-daniev - Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, it would be pretty easy to add some particle effects for the turbine and it would really help to sell the movement. I'd also like to add some layers of marine snow and maybe some sediment to kick up when you move close to a surface. A depth gauge would be a nice touch too, I'd not thought of it.

@futil - Thanks for the feedback. I probably spent too much time getting the robot movement right, but I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out, and it's given me some ideas for another game I'm planning. Yeah, I had plans to add a bit more life to the caves but didn't have time in the end.

@davideperozzi - Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! :)

kr4ft3r 2017-08-07 08:51

Nice work for a 24h compo. In my case the controls felt horrible at first until I realized they're 2D, even then it took a bit of getting used to until I started liking them, the look of it all remind me of the way aquarium fishies move when near some surface. Picking up samples is no challenge, but nice graphic and atmosphere, the vehicle appearance and the way it moves looks legit.

faulkin 2017-08-12 19:36

Thanks @kr4ft3r! Yeah, the controls can be a bit confusing, it really needed a better tutorial at the start but I ran out of time, glad you got the hang of it in the end though. :)

xaedes 2017-08-16 19:36

Yay awesome game! Kinda reminds me of "Made in Abyss", an anime I am currently watching. I personally like the underwater artifact searching concept. The theme resonates very well with the game concept and the "running ot of power" feeling was well conveyed. The graphics are awesome! Had quite some fun playing that Good job!

lythom 2017-08-16 19:55

** What I liked **

__ + __ Environment __ + __ Sounds

** What imo could be improved **

__ - __ Intro text that fly away before you can read it __ - __ Soooo long to move down then up again with little to do while travelling __ - __ Graphics are detailed but did felt very consistent

** Overall **

I didn't get a lot of fun with your game, but I appreciated the hard work on realization, graphics, ambiant and sound. Now that you are good at modeling and setting a mood, I'd suggest to get deeper into game design =) Good work anyway, thanks for the game !

faulkin 2017-08-21 17:27

@xaedes - Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! :)

@lythom - Thanks for the feedback! I agree with everything you say, next time I want to focus more on gameplay and fun. :)

zzq 2017-08-21 22:56

Great job on graphics and mood! However the game needs some rewards for exploration or player quickly become disappointed.