Nebula by UrbanLogicGames

[raw]
made by UrbanLogicGames for LD31 (JAM)
UPDATE - Added Mac/Linux builds. Game is currently a bit awkward on a Mac if you don't have 3 mouse buttons though, sorry about that. I'll fix it at some point.

The game places you in command of a lone starship hiding in a nebula with 5 enemy ships. You have to find them using probes, which can scan over a short range. If the probe picks up emissions from an enemy ship it will mark the direction the emissions came from (it should only take 3-4 of these to triangulate the ship's position). If an enemy ship falls within the probes inner-radius it's exact position will be marked on the grid. Once you think you know where a ship is lurking you can destroy it with torpedoes.

I didn't get as far as I'd like with it. Enemy ships don't have AI and are essentially sitting ducks. The scanner is probably a little too precise, I think some sort of analogue waveform readout with more ambiguity would work better, just didn't get a chance to try it. Torpedoes can be customised by allocating power between speed and yield, though admittedly this doesn't affect the game as much as I'd planned.

Controls
Left Mouse Button : Fire probe/torpedo
Right Mouse Button : Rotate the camera
Middle Mouse Button : Pan the camera

Ratings

Coolness 90% 2
Overall(Jam) 3.65 178
Audio(Jam) 3.81 75
Fun(Jam) 3.16 423
Innovation(Jam) 3.28 342
Mood(Jam) 4.02 35
Theme(Jam) 3.46 589

Feedback

DesignerNap
09. Dec 2014 · 13:58 UTC
Excellent work. This is placing in my top 10 entries so far! :) great job. Add a splash screen with that art from twitter and you have yourself a hit! Top marks for mood and audio from me. It would be great to have an option to turn off the grid too.
allurious
09. Dec 2014 · 15:48 UTC
Great mood for the game. Reminds me a lot of battleship. Would be a great concept to expand on!
mahalis
09. Dec 2014 · 15:51 UTC
Love the graphics—surprised you’re not asking to be judged on those, it’d be an immediate five-star. Gameplay is fun if a little slow. Good audio as well, very spacey.
🎤 UrbanLogicGames
09. Dec 2014 · 16:09 UTC
Mahalis - Thanks! I disqualified myself from the graphics category because I borrowed some assets from another game I'm working on, it's my understanding that you're only supposed to use assets created during the jam if you want them to be judged.
SojaBird
09. Dec 2014 · 16:25 UTC
Wow !! Just wow.
Very clever design and art is sweeeeeeet
Ekilibr
09. Dec 2014 · 16:25 UTC
It's great being honest for the assets!
The mood is awesome, and game is great. I'll take some time to play it more these days !
Nice job :)
psychomonster
09. Dec 2014 · 16:26 UTC
Okay... you're doing a game with fantastic gfx... and you won't get the benefits of it :D Okay... I understand your point... Gameplay is cool... a little to slow for my taste... Well the mood is the next best category and you'll get the bonus point on it that would have been at the gfx ;) Nice work!
Random Seed Games
09. Dec 2014 · 16:30 UTC
Interesting approach with a grid-less battleship style. I like how the probes point out the direction of the nearest enemy ship. Cool mechanic.
BMacIntosh
09. Dec 2014 · 16:46 UTC
Beautiful game! Sometimes the probes missed their destination and kept flying forever (you're probably doing a distance check? I was getting a fairly low framerate). It was also sometimes hard to make out things in the back reaches of the screen at my resolution.
RedPanda
09. Dec 2014 · 16:51 UTC
I loved your game dude!
Submundo Games
09. Dec 2014 · 17:22 UTC
Bom jogo, mas dificil de entender como se joga
kruemelkeksfan
09. Dec 2014 · 17:47 UTC
Would have been 5 * 5 (all except theme) if there were any "real" enemies. The game shows lots of potential, but in the end its pointless at the moment. Still a great prototype :)
Like others said, the graphics are great and I liked the sound, too. I haven't seen the Gameplay ever before, so thats the 5 stars for innovation. (although it reminds me of Battleships somehow)
Luke Molnar
10. Dec 2014 · 06:14 UTC
People are saying the sound is great... I don't know why it didnt work for me. :-/

Very pretty game!
DevWouter
10. Dec 2014 · 12:05 UTC
The art is nice and sits well with me and the audio isn't too bad. It would become really cool game if everyone could move and have some kind of failure state (which would it make more of game). Also I would love to have some kind of explanation about the controls (why do I need 3-mouse buttons? It worked fine with my touchpad)

PS: Next time make downloading a bit more a simple process since this already counts as a first impression. And asking for money when we just want to try to play the game... well... it didn't sit well with me. But enough rambling.
SoulGame
10. Dec 2014 · 12:08 UTC
The game mechanics are well implemented. It's not the most intuitive but it works fine. It's currently a bit difficult to evaluate the game without any kind of opponents but it does look good and could be promising => staring at a map, scanning around, planning torpedo, etc. I do felt like a bad ass commander for a minute. Good luck if you plan to work more on the project.
Phask
10. Dec 2014 · 12:11 UTC
Awesome game, really enjoyed it and would love to see it developed further!
Only caveat: LD Theme was not met entirely.
Yaroslav Kravtsov
10. Dec 2014 · 12:11 UTC
Very stylish. Quality of art is one of the best that I ever seen on this LD. I like clear and understandable gameplay, but little bit boring without challange.
pk
10. Dec 2014 · 12:12 UTC
A fun search and destroy game concept.
Too bad the enemies don't search for you and shoot back.
Binary Gambit
10. Dec 2014 · 12:13 UTC
Wow, with some AI and a little innaccuracy in the scanner this game would be amazing. Love the effects as well.
PixelCrust
10. Dec 2014 · 13:05 UTC
Great visuals and mood. I like it.
SushiDestroy
10. Dec 2014 · 14:49 UTC
What a great game, good work !
Code Medicine
11. Dec 2014 · 03:51 UTC
Neat entry. I was only able to find one enemy, and the game had a bit of trouble staying at a consistent framerate for me. Loved the visuals, audio was solid although the probe could be a bit more dynamic!
FergusonTV
11. Dec 2014 · 09:44 UTC
Loved the graphics, great job :)
Damdoshi
11. Dec 2014 · 10:26 UTC
That's pretty. The sound is cool and the work is nicely done. I do not know if I have understood well the game itself, I have just won two games and I've never been under attack.
Damdoshi
11. Dec 2014 · 10:28 UTC
(Just read the description and saw that I was normal)
ViliX64
11. Dec 2014 · 15:12 UTC
One of the best visuals I've seen in this LD :)
voxel
11. Dec 2014 · 15:18 UTC
This is exceptionally well presented. It looks, sounds and even tastes great. A pity you didn't get to finish it as it has the mood and makings of happy fun space times
Valandre
11. Dec 2014 · 17:53 UTC
Wow very "arty" for a space battleship game, I love this! great mood!
Elendow
11. Dec 2014 · 22:17 UTC
Very fun game, great concept with a lot of possibilities. Congrats!
Kuality Games
12. Dec 2014 · 00:06 UTC
Nice quality graphics, wish I could vote for it. Well done.
Meral
12. Dec 2014 · 15:57 UTC
Fantastic entry. Well executed in all aspects. Thank you for the keyboard shortcuts "1" and "2".
Verz
13. Dec 2014 · 11:27 UTC
Really good work! I like the mood of the game a lot. Even though graphics are not a category to rate, I really liked of they look on the game :).
billrizer
14. Dec 2014 · 19:20 UTC
Nice concept - love the GFX and atmospheric music

Would have really enjoyed a great pace though and maybe a little time pressure?
Sartemis Smart
14. Dec 2014 · 19:33 UTC
There's something really awesome about the slow missiles and their lense effect, while you wait to get the info. Nice game !
rnlf
14. Dec 2014 · 21:02 UTC
Wow, really cool game. I REALLY like the sound design and gameplay. Very well done!
DonovanWu
14. Dec 2014 · 21:42 UTC
Looks very cool!
Nikteddy92
14. Dec 2014 · 21:50 UTC
Wow great work!
It's a little too slow the peace of the game but quite an interesting experience!
Well done!
cxsquared
17. Dec 2014 · 05:41 UTC
The mood and concept are really great. This could be a great game if ai was added.
radmars
19. Dec 2014 · 01:58 UTC
Cool concept! Wish everything moved a bit faster, or maybe making multitasking (like sending out probes while torpedoes were in flight) a bit more meaningful/useful could be cool too. Nice work.
Simon
19. Dec 2014 · 18:25 UTC
Great mood! Well done.
Jupiter_Hadley
22. Dec 2014 · 02:53 UTC
Neat concept! I Included it in part 15 of my Ludum Dare 31 compilation video series, if you would like to check it out :) http://youtu.be/feGcEIoOFjA
SK16 Games
28. Dec 2014 · 01:13 UTC
You really get that atmosphere, with the impressive graphics and music :) There could be more "things to do" though and it could be a little faster, but great entry!