FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD40 → Manystar

Manystar

By alexfalkenberg

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall6152.7332
Fun5322.8632
Innovation6692.0332
Theme6362.5031
Graphics5292.7832
Audio5041.4120
Humor5581.6123
Mood5992.2727

Comments

lawzy93 2017-12-05 05:05

I collected them all!!!!

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Not bad at all for the time you had to work with. Hope you're feeling better for the next one :)

tiberiusuciu 2017-12-05 05:15

Arrrrgh these pesky fast enemies that jumps on my loot!

They are well implemented these ones hahaha

What you may consider finished, I see potential, I see a working game with missing sounds only.

Yeah you are right the theme is sort of lacking from this game, but with the few hours you had. I must say, this is pretty good. You don't have to be so hard on yourself and be proud of what you have. You have published this, all you need now is some sweet sounds and you have a full game. Then it's only touch-ups.

Keep up the great work, I admire your effort you put in with those few hours. Everything counts!

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-05 06:08

Haha, yeah, that pesky invulnerability. ;) There's a short laundry list of other things I need this game to do, and I'm really hoping to work on the overall feel more. I do plan on spending a few more weekends on it here and there until I'm satisfied. The controls aren't quite twitchy in the way I'd like, and the enemies (other types in the works) need to be a little smarter. Even in this early version of the game, they're all actively hoarding the crystals they're collecting, and they were supposed to have big--BIG--plans for them! Thanks for the ratings and the comments! Cheers!

bradur 2017-12-05 07:51

My game had a pretty similar idea to yours :). I thought this was a nifty little space shooter. The controls were a little hard though, the rotation could have used some more intervals. Maybe accelerate the rotation if player holds down the rotation key?

Otherwise I liked the graphics and gameplay :).

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-05 08:22

@bradur: Yeah, the controls in the game are just roughed in; I have a few other ideas for tweaking it because I really do want it to be more twitchy and fast, but responsive and smooth at the same time. I have a few ideas, but a "FIX THE CONTROLS" item lives at the top of the Yet To Do list. Thanks for giving it a go! Gonna check yours out right now. :) EDIT: Aaand I'm back, and it was incredibly good. Anyone else reading this, go check out @bradur's game. :)

dusho 2017-12-05 09:02

It's really hard to control the ship.. turn rate is way too fast to steer it where you want it Nice try, through.. Keep on working on this..

bobombe 2017-12-05 09:11

That's really good, in particular with the little time you get ! The only thing I would need is to control direction with mouse instead of arrows which is not very precise.

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-05 13:07

@dusho @bobombe Thanks for the comments! Controls will definitely be getting fixed. :)

skipyc 2017-12-05 15:24

The ship controls are a bit too sensetive. And those damn thieves taking all my asteroid loot! Great work! Hope you feel better!

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-05 16:34

@skipyC Still not feeling great, but really appreciate the support and feedback. :)

yetman 2017-12-05 16:49

I was never and probably will never be good at asteroid games, but those annoying creatures (or ships) were very fun to shoot. My only complaint about the graphics are the tiling star background. Overall, this game is fun. Great work :)

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-05 17:05

@Yetman: I have more plans for those enemies. :) And that background, well, just programmer placeholder art to check I had parallax working, then never got around to swapping it out. :\ Thanks for the feedback! :)

fractalsunrise 2017-12-06 02:31

That's really great for just 12 hours of feeling sick! It was fun to play with; the red ships seemed to have so much personality. Thanks for making it!

talon 2017-12-06 03:09

This is a good start to a game. It's a pity it isn't ready: I think it has great potential. I hope you're able to complete is post-LD.

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-06 04:25

@fractalsunrise @Talon I appreciate the comments, very much! :)

And yes, this attempt has sparked an idea I'd definitely like to continue to explore! I'm gonna go and check out your games now--thanks again, and have a great LD! :) EDIT: Hey, I had already played and rated your game--d'oh! Good stuff!

arron-fowler 2017-12-07 12:30

I think it is well worth finding the time to finish off. I like the race for loot mechanic.

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-07 15:32

@arron-fowler: Thanks for trying it out, and for the comments. I've got a whiteboard covered in ideas; the plan is def. to take it further. Take care!

gurbx 2017-12-07 22:01

It's pretty fun, but the controls are way too sensitive. Overall it's pretty good considering your time constraints.

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-08 02:02

@gurbx I'd been experimenting with different values for a while, but I was mostly working on enemy behavior toward the end and left the player control to just "be". I had a very different control scheme in mind anyway, knew I'd be changing it at some point... just never got around to it in the version I've submitted. Rest assured, I'm on it. :) Thanks for giving it a shot and for the feedback--I really appreciate it!

sbarrio 2017-12-08 12:06

You should totally finish it in the next few days (talking from experience here), you will feel a ton better when the game is in the state you originally planned :)

Anyway, I liked the slippery control of the ship, and maybe it would be even more fun if you made it so that each time you shoot the ships get pushed a bit backwards, so you can get even more fine control over it just by shooting. Joy of movement, as they say.

Keep up the good work!

goloso-games 2017-12-08 19:47

I like the asteroid games, yours is a good one. Turning is a bit sensitive, but except that, game is fun ! I enjoyed playing it, the red stealers are a great idea. And don't be disappointed, your game is better than some finished games I played before, great work :)

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-08 21:04

@sbarrio: You're thinking like I'm thinking! Ship control and behavior, though not terribly obvious in the build you've played, is high on my list. I want a lot of the more subtle interactions like bits of pushback, from all the entities, player and different enemies and obstacles alike. The control scheme will be changing from the straight Asteroids style to the Sinistar style, where I eliminate the thrust button altogether and control ship vector by stick alone. So when that happens I hope it results in (at least the feel of ;)) finer control. I don't know if you noticed, but there is braking in the game (down arrow); just tossed in for now, but I think I can implement some microbraking via stick that helps control and feel even more.

As for finishing in the next few days, it won't be that soon--wife and kids stuff, ahh--but I'll be making at least some weekend time available over the next month or so at least. @goloso-games: Control is definitely a thing I'm aware of and planning to fix (see paragraph above). The red collector behaviors will eventually be more than just stealing. :) Thanks for the feedback and compliments, both of you. I appreciate it a LOT! Have a great LD!

galan 2017-12-11 02:50

I was going to give some suggestions, but it seems you already have plans. I do really like the twist on an *old* classic, and I look forward to seeing the final version.

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-11 03:02

@Galan: I'm always open to (more) suggestions. :) Thanks so much for taking time to check it out. :)

clachipso 2017-12-11 05:50

I love the way the ship handles. I think the turning rate might be a bit too fast, but I love the crazy moves it lets you pull off. Keep working on it, I think you'll have something you'll be proud of!

elemel 2017-12-11 12:55

Nice game, especially for the limited time you had. Thought it was cool how the enemy ships would rush to gather the resources before you. Turning was too fast, as others have noted. With tweaked controls, and some simple music and sounds, this is a complete game that you could still continue to add a ton of stuff to.

mathijs750 2017-12-11 13:02

I could repeat what others have said, but that wouldn't help you much. Still impressive for 12 hours with sickness though. Looking forward to the post jam version.

lieropart 2017-12-11 13:03

I think you did a great job. I've seen Asteroids-inspired entries for LD40 made with more people that had worse graphics and much worse controls. The controls of your game actually feel surprisingly fluid and responsive.

Compo is hard. Don't be to harsh on yourself for not finishing it in time. You learn, and then you are better prepared in the next jam! Keep up the good work!

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-13 05:48

@clachipso: Turning is def. too fast in this version. The control scheme will change a bit yet, so we'll see how it turns out. I definitely want to retain the crazy-moves aspect. :) Thanks for the feedback!

@elemel: I hear you re: controls/etc. Still much to do. I love the enemies going after crystals, but I want to vary their reactions a little bit; right now it's a little too aggressive, and I want to find a balance. I'm also working on some cooperative behaviors so they work together each with its own role to play. Hoping I can work it out the way I see it in my head. Thanks for the kind words!

@mathijs750: Thanks! Once I'm feeling 100%, I'll be looking forward to the post-jam version myself. ;)

@lieropart: I accept the reality of my situation. :) I really appreciate the kind words and advice. :)

ribout-horace 2017-12-19 16:24

A really good little game ! I play on keyboard so, it was hard to be precise, but I love the overall idea and the tribute. But, I just never succeed to take even one yellow dot, due to precision and these little sneaky quick ennemy who are simple but effectif !

alexfalkenberg 2017-12-21 07:50

@ribout-horace: Thanks for giving it a go. And yeah, they're aggressive. Too aggressive. I've got a state machine for all their shenanigans that's growing on my whiteboard, still. That will include toning down their hunger just a liiiiittle. ;) Hope you've having a great LD! :)