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Dr. Statnil's Dodo Egg
Dr. Statnil's Dodo Egg
By voidsay
View on ldjam.com
| Category | Rank | Score | Count |
|
|---|
| Overall | 846 | 3.03 | 43 | |
| Fun | 638 | 3.15 | 42 | |
| Innovation | 804 | 2.93 | 42 | |
| Theme | 949 | 3.00 | 42 | |
| Graphics | 848 | 2.86 | 43 | |
| Audio | 721 | 2.56 | 42 | |
| Humor | 158 | 3.56 | 41 | |
| Mood | 888 | 2.66 | 42 | |
Comments
voidsay
2020-04-20 11:50
Known Bugs: - Camera doesn't play animation, when reloading main menu - When reloading level it starts in paused state, but doesn't display it (appears frozen). Workaround is to press Esc and Resume. - jump locks up in certain cases (probably because the ground impact isn't detected that unlocks it, in any case it's my fault) only back to menu and reload works here. - in certain screen resolutions parts of the UI are partially off screen. - AI may get stuck on net and keep the egg to itself (bad AI)
voidsay
2020-04-20 11:55
Tested Systems: - Linux Mint 18.1 Cinnamon 64 bit - Linux Mint 19.2 Cinnamon 64 bit - Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
All executables where moved to my itch.io site. Mac should now work.
If someone owns a mac I would love some feedback!
arcus
2020-04-20 14:45
Just tried to play on a mac, and the MacOS version that has been linked will not run. I think you've got an export error!
This games work fine on Manjaro KDE, thanks for including a Linux build! The gameplay is better than I expected, even if the controls do feel a bit off/sluggish sometimes. I think you could've drastically improved the graphics by adding an HDRI, you can get plenty free online.
zeggamer
2020-04-20 15:02
Very creative way of interpreting the theme, it just was a bit difficult to get working and it was somewhat glitchy. Glad you pulled it off thought!
voidsay
2020-04-20 15:04
@spaceguy99 Thank you for playing!
I would have made an HDRI, but I completely ran out of time.
Quick Question, is using a HDRI from the web compliant with the rules?
robinerd
2020-04-20 15:42
Not too bad as a first timer :D Hope you had a good jam :) Also think that tweaking the lighting and color scheme would have helped the graphics.
voidsay
2020-04-20 16:07
@robinerd
Thank you!
Jam was great fun!
voidsay
2020-04-20 16:08
@arcus
I recompiled the project and moved it to itch.io. Hopefully the mac version runs now!
robinerd
2020-04-20 17:06
@Voidsay Nice! Glad you had a good time, hope you'll be back for more jams! I love jamming, this was my 10th ludum dare and I've probably done 10 other jams too hehe. Maybe you'll be stuck like me!
attala
2020-04-20 19:14
Nice little game. I sucked at the game though :) Is the AI on singleplayer at all beatable? Some animations on the Dodos would do wonders for this game. Good job!
voidsay
2020-04-20 21:23
@attala It's actually very easy to beat.
The AI has precision over the human player, so I balanced it by reducing its horizontal speed. The AI doesn't go to a strategically advantageous position and sticks to the net. This is why a long distance shot will overwhelm it.
Since the AI is rudimentary and let's you have the first move, you can in fact beat it with your first jump, if you hit the egg just right. (I like to pretend the first move thing is for game balance but it's actually me being too sleep deprived to figure out a working function)
the extinction of the dodo birds colorized
akenoq
2020-04-20 22:37
very funny idea =) good job! its interesting, how bot play?
voidsay
2020-04-21 09:22
@akenoq You can check out the code here: https://github.com/Voidsay/LD46 it's in Assets/Scripts/AI
it is very messy and poorly documented, so here's the general idea:
- every frame it compares its own position + an offset to the position of the egg along the x-axis - if it is to the left it checks if it is legal to move left - if it is to the right it checks if it is legal to move right - when the invisible bumper-sphere collides with an egg the AI jumps
the other parts of the code where copied from the player and are just there to make sure the game object stays in the boundaries.
remco
2020-04-21 10:16
I had some issues with the game cutting off the lower fifth of the screen on my linux (also mint) machine ... (maybe something to do with having two screens of different sizes), so I had to switch to the other laptop for the windows edition.
It's nice to see a game with (what is technically) a working AI, handling physics, in a compo submission. It may be very simple, but you just don't see that everyday :smile: ... also I'm tired; I lost to the AI 5 to 21 against.
That said, the AI can get stuck in a holding pattern very close to the net. Luckily the ball is close enough by then that you can touch the ball and get the AI out of the pattern. (... or even standing _on_ the net.)
I find that I don't have much more to say, except that I'd have appreciated some music. Some nice beach tunes?
voidsay
2020-04-21 10:33
@remco Thank you for your kind words!
I am pretty sure that the UI debacle is either caused by unity when it adjusts the position of the text to the screen resolution or by me putting everything to close to the edge. A more rectangular resolution "fixes" this issue.
Unfortunately my music writing skills are too poor to pull off decent music. Still need to learn how to use fruityloops.
bongo227
2020-04-21 12:54
I liked the intro sequence :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:. The controls did feel a bit floaty.
Well done! A bit dodgy controls for the precision needed but still fun! Liked the concept!
Love the bird models. It's a fun game but it's a bit too slow, I had to wait for the computer to get the egg back for quite a while sometimes, and one time it just kept the egg on its head and refused to bounce it back to me :joy:
The intro was great. The gameplay was a little slow, especially when the egg gets hit up high or far back. Seems a little difficult to hit the egg as well.
Very impressive for your first time though. Great job.
kirbloid
2020-04-21 16:51
Fun use of physics and an actual ai opponent to play against. The theme came through with the egg volleyball as was very satisfying to launch the egg across the map to score the first point (after fumbling for 3 lost points)
Welcome to the Ludum Dare and congrats on your first entry! The first one is always nerve-wracking but you get a rush after its finished. I hope you continue to do them!
I actually think this is a good start and would love to see this expanded on further. You clearly took some risks and time thinking outside of the box, and I think that though you played it safe with the theme, your execution was good and on the right track.
Congrats on your first entry! Great job. I would like to see the AI be a bit more "dumb", I didn't manage to land a shot (perhaps that was my fault, I wasn't very good haha) he seemed glued to it. Otherwise, great job and well done!
voidsay
2020-04-22 08:30
@stolen-biscuit I had much better ideas for the AI script, but I realized that it was not realistic for me to implement it in such a small time frame.
If I would make a proper game I expect people to pay for I definitely would implement my initial idea:
easy: - Predicts location the egg is going to land on and offset it by a random amount. - use my cleaned up script that dose the moving and jumping
medium: - Predicts location the egg is going to land on - use my cleaned up script that dose the moving and jumping - sometimes try to defend flat balls
hard: - Predicts location the egg is going to land on and chose a good attack angle (take the player position into consideration) - use my cleaned up script that dose the moving and jumping - allways try to defend flat balls
I am positive that this would make the AI feel more organic and user friendly.
Hey ! Unfortunately I could not get the game to work ! It went full blast full screen and the dropped egg landed on the net and I couldn't do anything else. If you'd fix this, please tag me so I can try again ! Cheers and thank you for making a game ! :)
goutye
2020-04-23 12:25
Amazing AI for such a tiny amount of time, on top of the game and the other things around. Was able to beat the AI 5-2, after which the red dodo decided it's time to stop playing with the egg, and kept the ball for him(her?) alone :cry: I guess, that's why some dodo may survive, some just don't share the ball(egg) anymore when they start loosing :laughing:
voidsay
2020-04-23 13:47
@javasaurus From your description I suspect that you came across "bug 3". I would like to verify, that your problem was the inability to jump, but you could still move left to right. (The AI stands there inactive, but that's normal)
By the way what system are you using?
If it's not that there are other issues I cannot help you with.
Usually I recommend the classic IT fix 1 "turn it off and on again", but that will delete your score, so:
I uploaded a quick new build 1.1 that adds a reset objects button in the menu. This can total be used to cheat, but it's fine for Ludumdare debugging.
voidsay
2020-04-23 13:58
@goutye hey! those dodos have multi personality disorder they prefer the pronouns "they/them"! :laughing:
But you're right the AI isn't actually to good at getting the egg across the net. It dose it slowly and gets stuck regularly. I will work on improving my AI skills for the next ludumdare.
overmolo
2020-04-23 14:49
AI is a cheater! No more than 3 hits should be allowed... ¬¬
voidsay
2020-04-23 17:50
@overmolo Oh :grimacing: Totaly forgot this was a thing in volleyball...
mikouaji
2020-04-24 14:54
hahaha very nice :) reminded me of blobby volley :D as @overmolo said a 3 touch rule would be nice as in real volleyball
Very funny idea but execution is lacking.
Well done, it's actually quite fun! The controls (too stiff) and the AI (too robotic) need a bit more work to make them really interesting, but the base game is good, and its already a very good job for a jam :clap_tone1:
voidsay
2020-05-04 22:50
@nico-thomas yeah... to be fair this game is basically five Brackeys tutorials in a trench coat made from a reskin of a game I made on the blender game engine a few years ago when i had no internet and was bored out of my mind.
But in my defense this game is a step up from the things I usually make. Before the Jam I had no game that I could show people and now here I am. Made a game from scratch in 48 hours and the assets I created are even better then most of my private stuff!
This is incredible motivation to refine my skills and i promise come October I will be back in full force!
Look 27 people and a cat rated the game. I see this as an absolute win
voidsay
2020-05-04 22:58
@azathothep I was thinking of making a forum post to gather a "platformer controls taskforce" :tm: to create a nice control script that feels right and can be used for many projects, but I fear it will just get berried in the "try my game" and "postmortems" posts.
The conclusion from my attempts:
rigid body is too sluggish
straight up transform (what i used for sideways motion) is too stiff
Send help or something :shrug:
keyvote
2020-05-06 18:54
To be honest I had more fun with this game than most other game jam games. The AI was good for such a small amount of time! Animations and something more in the background would make the game even better. Anyways a good game, well done!
Nice game! Very fun to play. The AI worked pretty well. I think adding a bit of background elements, props, animations, particles could improve the graphics. But the gameplay itself was very cool, congrats! :)
f1krazy
2020-05-10 13:11
Despite its flaws, this is really fun! I love the premise, and the opening narration was hilarious, although the fact it was accompanied by a static logo made me worry that the visuals had locked up or something. The gameplay is solid enough, and kept me entertained for a surprisingly long time, and the graphics are great by jam standards.
My main piece of feedback is that the AI is unfairly hard. It's able to slow right down, so it's always precisely positioned underneath the egg, whereas you're stuck moving at a set speed. The only way to beat it is to strike the egg exactly front-on, which gives it enough forward momentum that the AI can't keep up, but that's a lot easier said than done. I kept hitting the egg straight up or backwards, or missing entirely, and the AI never did anything of those things, so I was losing 4-8 by the time I stopped playing.
For a first-timer - and especially someone who's never coded before - this is still a very promising and enjoyable effort. If you can improve this after the Jam is over then I'll definitely give it a second look.
voidsay
2020-05-10 13:34
@f1krazy Well it's less of "I haven't programed before" and more of "I lack the experience to create good code in a timely manner". My time management and engine knowledge needs to be improved by the next jam.
I am currently having a lot of fun studding other peoples entries and researching platformer controls. Will probably revisit this project and implement all the things I had to cut.
red-ash
2020-05-12 14:10
I love dodos. Thus thank you for your game. Controls are a bit stiffs and i think the ground is too big as the ai in single player tends to get stuck at the over end of it (well so do i to be honest). Well done for a first game jam though :)
It would be nice if controls were smooth.. Overall gaming experience was good.. Seems dodos need glasses to see that they are playing with their egg.. not a ball.. or maybe they learnt a new way of hatching eggs.. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
voidsay
2020-05-12 17:14
@abdulla-shuhair originally I planed that after the egg falls and cracks different contents appear depending on the number of passes. Yoke and eggwhite as well as a baby dodo. Sort of ran out of time, so scrapped it. Currently planning on revisiting the game and overhauling everything as well as adding the cut features
Cute dodos! 💜 You say "equivalent of an asset flip", but did you make the graphics? Despite what you say, I thought the coding was pretty well done, getting both local multiplayer and an actual computer player in there is pretty good for a jam! The hilarious framing and the intro story add a lot to it as well. 🤓
voidsay
2020-05-12 20:40
@ava-skoog I did make everything except the fonts. What I meant to express is that the game looks like an asset flip you can find on steam. Clearly I wasn't thinking too highly of it when I submitted it. I can't wait to see how it did in the competition!
avitt
2020-05-12 21:00
Fun gameplay, I enjoyed playing but then I realized you could win against the Ai, off the serve almost every time. That wouldn't be a problem in local multi player though or with some tweaks to the Ai. Nice work.