Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD45 → CosmiCraft 🌟
By tinycastleguy, ijzm, random-storykeeper, Takeshi64 and Tpcool
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 264 | 3.75 | 41 | |
| Fun | 133 | 3.85 | 41 | |
| Innovation | 298 | 3.55 | 41 | |
| Theme | 155 | 3.92 | 41 | |
| Graphics | 280 | 3.96 | 31 | |
| Audio | 136 | 3.84 | 40 | |
| Humor | 690 | 2.43 | 32 | |
| Mood | 326 | 3.63 | 39 |
Wow, our games are quite similar indeed! You music is amazing. It has a very FTL feel to it, especially the menu music. I just had a listen to the entire thing and it is very enjoyable.
Controls were a bit wonky especially with the aiming at the mouse. You kind of had to move to re-position your craft and then aim at the enemy.
Graphics were really nice as well, and the galaxies in the background had their own unique and pretty feel to it.
Well done!
This is awesome!!! I pitched a very similar idea to my team. I think the controls could use a little bit more fine-tuning, or maybe it was just that I wish there were indicators of how to control in the game somewhere. Also, should enemies still be able to move when I'm in edit mode?
Wow, the building mechanic is really well done! I would like a little bit more explanation about some things though, like what the green gem things do. Also, some on-screen indication that I'm in edit mode would be really cool. Also I feel like the motion parallax in this game is strange, when I move around, the items on screen are slower than the background, and I feel like it should be the opposite. Also while I'm making suggestions, the enemies should get more powerful after each boss fight. Lastly, the music here is amazing! Some of the best I've heard looking through these games. Well done overall!
Very cool game. I encountered a couple of bugs:
First time I loaded up the game, I got awful audio crackling whenever I moved the spaceship. I didn't pick up the ship parts at the start which may have had something to do with it.
After refreshing, I checked the controls and picked up nearby parts, cleared the first boss, and then couldn't proceed to the second boss because it was so far away. I kept traveling in the direction of the navigation arrow (which wasn't moving) for a couple of minutes before giving up.
Refreshed again, everything was fine and I was able to complete the game.
Great job! The building mechanic was impressive and the combat was enjoyable (if a bit on the easy side)
I was a bit lost at the beginning, there isn't much info about the crafting system. Multiple times I just refreshed the page thinking the game had freezed. But once you passed through this, it is actually a great game ! If you decide to work a little more on it, please consider adding an unzoom feature based on number of blocks on you spaceship. Here, you already can become almost screen wide. It can become unplayable real quick.
Cool little game, here are my observations:
Pros: + interesting main mechanic
Cons: - no effects :( - no indication I'm in edit mode (though the game broke when I entered it for the first time) - I died after 1 hit but enemies don't seem to
Great game! My only regret is that there isn't a harder mode so I can spend more time playing :P
the construction phase is a little wonky -- but still i like the game -- nice work
Nice work. Edit mode wasn't super obvious initially, but once I read the controls I was good to go. I liked that the enemies didn't freeze while you were in edit mode and I can see some interesting potential for making players have to decide when to fight or when to position themselves a bit more defensively to attach whatever necessary part they just came across. I enjoyed the music building throughout, nice atmosphere and really fit the tone of the game. The art was really well suited for this kind of game where the ships are modular and pieces have to work together. The background kept it from feeling TOO simple.
Fun game! Can be hard to find regular non-boss enemies though
I've played a few spaceship building games this LD and I have you say you guys nailed the upgrade system the best. I think it's because each module is very noticeable and very different from each other, it really does feel like a proper roguelike in the sense that upgrades feel very satifying to get. As others have mentioned, the combat is on the easy side so you unfortunately never get the chance to use all the firepower you have at the end (I had 30-some modules on before I finished). Either way, similar to a fishing game it's really addicting to hunt down and get a nice catch.
The art and sound are super cohesive, you guys have a very complete and packaged presentation. It's a total shame that the main menu theme is only on that screen because it's an AMAZING theme that I think a lot of people won't stick around for. It starts off spacey, goes into an Owl City-like vibe, and then this cool, alien-like future that has exploration/hopeful tones. I left this one on repeat for a while. Another thing that caught me off guard was that you used a lot of panning in the game music. I like it but what is the reasoning behind that cuz I never would've thought to use that?
I think it goes without saying that more modules and more enemies could be added to the next version of the game. Are there any other features you had planned but couldn't fit them in? The only twist I can think of is if the trophies were somehow detrimental to you, like they take up 5 blocks or something. That would be one way to increase the difficulty over time w/o actually tuning any enemies. Cool entry and I feel like your logo needs to include that 5th guy ;)
@peachtreeoath Thanks for your feedback. The unfortunate thing about the development process was that enemies never left behind engines up until one of the latest builds. I was one of the people who helped with balancing the game and upped the player speed to compensate, since you'd slow down quite considerably in earlier builds once you started stacking on the parts. When the engine item was properly implemented, it was quite past the deadline, but I'm actually kind of glad that this game is a little on the easier side, as one of the issues we had with the last game we implemented a boss into (Love Love Space Attack) was too unforgiving to the point where getting to the boss was near impossible.
It makes me super happy to hear that you (and jwiggs) like the menu music. I was really concerned that it was going to have a huge disconnect with the game music and was thinking about redoing it during the jam. I guess I'm glad I ended up not having enough time to do that. :joy: Also yeah, the panning in the game music is quite prominent, mostly because it's in the delayed synth at the beginning, which is always heard when playing the game except when fighting the boss. It's just there to add a little more depth and movement to the sound in terms of its placement on the audio spectrum. In the case of the game theme, when the same pattern of notes repeats twice, so I pan it such that it adds this sense of dimension rather than it all being flat and centred. It leaves a bit more room for the instruments, such as the bass, to come through better.
I don't think there were any features we had planned that we ended up having to cut this time around, but that might be a question for @ijzm to answer since he's the one doing the bulk of the programming, haha. We definitely need to get icons made for Tpcool and Frosty at some point (the latter of whom has contributed to a couple of TSC games in the past). I'll have to bug Takeshi about that. :wink:
ooooo "when the same pattern of notes repeats twice, so I pan it such that it adds this sense of dimension rather than it all being flat and centre" that's so smart. I honestly felt that but I couldn't break down why it was working for me.
@peachtreeoath I just realized I screwed up the grammar in that one quote; that's what I get for not giving my long ramble a good read-through before posting. :rofl:
I love crafting games that are made in LD, because they are hell of a fun, and this one took it to another level. I like how you just casually cruise around and build your ship. What I love the most is the variety I can put the parts in order. That's really crafty!
Cool! Reminds me of Captain Forever, but with pixel art instead of vector graphics )))
This is the most fun i had in a LD45 Game so far! This is amazing! i got like 5 cannons that shoot and 4 thrusters i was so fast and i could easily beat the cube all i would want from this game is an endless mode! and then i would probably spend an hour on this game or maybe even more, although i think i found 1 glitch where when there was a space ship and the cube in the corner of the screen then the music tracks would overlap each others, i love this game please keep on working on it!
If you improve the game, it can be very good game. yw.png
Nice game! I really liked the concept especially! I like space games! You can improve it a lot and make it into a full fledged game!
"Impressive game, Very cool concepts. I left wishing that there is more. Had a lot of fun "
Nice little game. I lvoe the concept and enjoyed the game.
Just one thing I can say. I ended the game and I want more. Love the concept of the block and building the ship. It is super fun to play. One of the most fun games I played in the jam.
A wonderful space pixel theme! I really liked the mechanics of your game!
Fun gameplay, although a bit short. The music was really really well done, as others said it feels a bit FTL like. The main menu screen in particular was really beautiful. The music gets a bit loud later in the game but that doesn't really matter too much. The bosses were a bit too easy for my tastes, but that's not really a real problem. Great game overall!
Good job with the game. I had a fun time flying around and piecing together my ship. I also especially enjoyed the music. I really like the salvaging parts from the ships you destroy idea and I thought it was executed well. One thing I suggest is making the build mode more clear. Having some type of overlay to indicate it was active would have made it easier to understand at first and possibly having a small text box say "gun turret" or "power cell" when you mouse over pieces would have been helpful. Overall, nicely done :smiley:
A solid core of a game, what brings it down for me is mostly the rarity of enemies, felt like I killed three of them(getting mostly engines) and then I was just alone with the bosses. It didn't really give much chance to experiment with upgrades. A few more enemies and a radar/minimap could've done a lot I think. Screen also felt very cramped, a bit more zoomed out during fights would've been nice. Overall a game I can really see myself enjoying if expanded.
Really great rendition of the build a ship type game, given the time limit. Would have been cool to see some variation in the enemies, but other than that, great job.
What a great game you guys made. Is so fun to play, I couldn't win but I did try several times, so that means I was enjoying it quite a lot.
I do have some comments on what could have been better. If you lose the first Gun Tower you're screw, because you cannot defeat enemies to get another one. Also, playing without a booster is quite slow, frustratingly slow. My other copmplain would be that the music changes quite abruptly, a nice fade transition would have help.
But I have more things that I love about the game. I love how if you have a bigger ship it becomes more difficult even when you have more abilities. Also, it took me a while to realized that you can attach things not only on the back of the previous block but on the sides. Imagine my super long thin spaceship. But I do love that you can organize your spaceship however you want.
Overall, an amazing entry for the jam. great job!!!
(P.S. Thank you for an amazingly in depth feedback on my game @random-storykeeper)
Wow, great game, it was fun to make my big spaceship and destroy everything on my way! Every aspect of the game is good: graphics, gameplay, music... Well done :)
Really fun game, I loved the way the music was layered in and out, even though it may have been a little rough around the edges sometimes. It would have been nice to have an indication that the player is in edit mode, but otherwise this is a beautifully crafted little game.
I like the concept here a lot - it's fun to build up your ship, become unstoppably fast, and fill the screen with bullets. Looks and sounds quite nice too.
Some critiques:
- It took a bit to figure out how to add ship parts; it would be nice if there was a visual indicator like glowing squares showing you where on your ship you can attach parts - and if the parts locked in place when you brought them close since sometimes I thought I was attaching a part but didn't put it in quite the right place and had to move and try again.
- It was on the easy side especially since the enemies don't get stronger as you do. The enemies and bosses weren't very threatening, so you can defeat them easily with just about any ship build. Once you get three guns, the enemies go down in a single hit. The bosses outrun their own bullets, so if you simply stay in front of them and reverse you can defeat them at your leisure with no danger. Bullets in general move too slowly; with just one rocket beyond the one you're given at the start you can outrun bullets. It would have been cool to see the enemies ramp up in power as you collect trophies until they're huge behemoths.
- Sometimes, especially early on when I was slow, I had to wander for quite a while to find enemies
Overall neat game and fun to play, just suffers a little in the balance department. I'd be interested in an expanded version if y'all chose to keep working on this.
Cool concept, the theme was quite on pint. It felt a bit random for the powerups and I felt just a "little" overpowered while playing, probably you should balance it a bit more to make it a bit harder.
The controls were a little clumsy, but once I got used to them the game was a heck of a lot of fun. Loved the build-up of music as you acquired parts. Great use of theme!
Excellent spaceship building game!! I remind me Galaxy Siege 2, a favorite mobile game of mine! Big plus the fact that you take the parts as loot from your enemies instead of buying them!! Excellent graphics that complete a very polished gameplay! I also liked that the game don't pause where your are in edit mode. The only thing that could be improved is the notification of the player that he is in edit mode! Still a excellent entry!!!