Hit and Slide by timtipgames

[raw]
made by timtipgames for LD31 (JAM)
Online-Multiplayer, so please excuse if you are alone on the server :) You may start a second client to fight against yourself though :)

Even though some people consider me a bot, there is no AI in this game. If you see other players they are human.
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Tutorial:
You have to dig down to get snowballs that you can throw at your opponents.

Your life (hearts) are displayed at the top of the screen together with the amount of snowballs you have (you don't have any when you start the game).
Candy refills your life.

Just remember the keys shown on the intro-screen (Ctrl + Space + Arrow-Keys) and you'll probably figure out how things work.
Tabulator shows the current scores.

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All graphics and source created within 24 hours.
We only used some sounds from freesound.org and worked it into something that made sense for the game. Also recorded a little bit by ourselves.

People involved / Tools used:

Tim (Programming):
Engine: libgdx,
Logic: artemis-odb entity framework
Networking: kryo-net
Helpers: universal tween engine

Nina (Visuals):
Graphics: Illustrator
Animations: Spine

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Troubleshooting:

* Game won't proceed after hitting Space Key on title-screen

Solution:
There is a text-input prompt opening once you reach the title-screen. Sometimes that prompt looses focus and becomes hidden behind the game-window. Try to move the window to access it and enter your name. The game won't proceed from the title screen unless you have entered a nickname.

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* The lag is horrible!

There are three likely reasons:
1) Either I messed up something with the net-code (very likely) or
2) you live very far away from Germany (that's where the server is located) so round-trip-times make it very difficult for your game to keep up with the server-side simulation (you should be able to figure out how far you are from Germany I guess) or
3) the last and least likely situation is that there are too many players using the server simultaneously

Solutions:
1) Send me an e-mail with harsh wording and complain how bad of a programmer I am or leave an anonymous comment doing so. It won't help the game, but maybe you'll feel better.
2) Move to Germany ;) No seriously. Move to Germany.
3) Despite the horrible lag, play the game so extremely well that everyone else but the best players leave and let you play in the 1337 environment you deserve.

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* There's a way too wordy error dialog telling me that the game can't connect to the server
Maybe the server crashed. I'll look into it. If you want to help, send me a mail to timtipgames@gmail.com so I can look into it!

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* I don't know how many snowballs I have.
Solution:
It's a bug. Sometimes the snowball counting gets out of sync with the server. Ultimately the server decides whether you have a snowball though. Not really a solution to this unless I fix the code in a post-compo version

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* I haven't slept in days because I am so addicted to this cute little game that uses a winter-snowball analogy for hardcore splatter killing.
Solution:
Keep on playing until you pass out. Rinse and repeat.

Ratings

Coolness 63% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.36 367
Audio(Jam) 2.58 539
Fun(Jam) 3.50 182
Graphics(Jam) 3.61 344
Humor(Jam) 2.76 403
Innovation(Jam) 3.19 403
Mood(Jam) 3.15 424
Theme(Jam) 3.56 497

Feedback

mrhill
09. Dec 2014 · 03:29 UTC
fun game, I couldnt really see how many snowballs I had. Also Leia killed me too many times
OttersDen
09. Dec 2014 · 03:36 UTC
TIM! HOW DID YOU GET SO MANY SNOWBALLS?! I had some lag, but that was fun!
The Walking Kiwi
09. Dec 2014 · 04:22 UTC
Very nice. Had a bit of lag though.
SarahFrisk
09. Dec 2014 · 04:26 UTC
Could not be launched on OS/X
broknecho
09. Dec 2014 · 05:36 UTC
Fun little game! Ice sometimes hard to navigate on but really.....it's Ice.
Sharky
09. Dec 2014 · 05:38 UTC
Couldn't get the file to open
sorlok
09. Dec 2014 · 05:41 UTC
Fantastic! I had a lot of fun, and played far longer than I needed to judge the game. Definitely needs a chat window! Also, controls are kinda wonky. Anyway, great job!
Gluklichman
09. Dec 2014 · 08:48 UTC
On Windows7 in the first screen (where it is said to press space) I hit space but nothing happens
TriSquare
10. Dec 2014 · 03:11 UTC
This game was fun i have to grab my friend to lay it with me and we had fun, so here is a good rate from me. and y u no have sauce code 4 me 2 lern 1337 slick2d coding
EquipeJAM
10. Dec 2014 · 20:45 UTC
Good Work ^^
p1x3lruckus
11. Dec 2014 · 11:12 UTC
Really impressive to get multiplayer to work in such a short amount of time. couldn't get any multiplayer though cause Australia timezones
ChuiGum
12. Dec 2014 · 00:52 UTC
Great graphics and sound. I really like the digging mechanic, good job overall!
Techblogogy
12. Dec 2014 · 19:04 UTC
Very nice game!
Wilou1428
12. Dec 2014 · 19:19 UTC
It's hard to kill the AI players...
🎤 timtipgames
12. Dec 2014 · 19:32 UTC
There is no AI, that was me. Sorry ;)
Pestel Crew
12. Dec 2014 · 19:34 UTC
Very nice and polished game. I think I played with bot and he was smart enough.
🎤 timtipgames
12. Dec 2014 · 19:38 UTC
Thank you all for playing! We had a lot of fun in every single game we played with you.

On a different note: looks like I am smart enough to be considered a bot. That's something, isn't it?
TheNewPhoenix
12. Dec 2014 · 19:45 UTC
Fun game but I think there should be more snowballs spread around the world.
Kuality Games
12. Dec 2014 · 19:46 UTC
So much fun! I love multiplayer games in general and the lag wasn't even too bad. wish I had more snowballs though, had trouble killing enemies. Cute graphics overall, really brought me in a wintermood. well done!
Nikteddy92
13. Dec 2014 · 09:21 UTC
Nice game! I had some real fun! Well done graphic.
Good Job!
Madball
13. Dec 2014 · 12:47 UTC
Wow, are you in-game 24/7?
I noticed that I can't jump on the bottom of the screen and I can't climb sides.
Also, snowballs/hearts twinkling when an enemy gets one is confusing. I see enemy collect a snowball, and I see the same effect as if it was me, especially if I have 1 more snowball than I thought.
There is another problem: sometimes, something strange happens. For me, players start moving faster, but server doesn't think so (At least that's my guess). I can destroy blocks both from client and server positions, and enemies shoot my server position.
The game is very entertaining. Minecraft mechanics are very fun and fit the theme. Though I wish there were more players. You should think about adding AI, you aren't going to play it forever, are you?
🎤 timtipgames
13. Dec 2014 · 13:01 UTC
Thanks for playing so long with me and thank you for the detailed feedback Madball!

I am aware of the sync-problems you are describing. They really are a result of too much dirty coding under time-pressure. All points you state would need fixing if we continued working on this.

I am on the server whenever I think that there may people come to play, like when I make a blog-post or when I hit the title page of the rating category. So not really 24/7 :) AI was and is on our wish list. Thanks again, I had a lot of fun playing with you!
5you
13. Dec 2014 · 13:17 UTC
sadly, I didn't have any opponents.
puppetmaster
13. Dec 2014 · 16:32 UTC
Beautiful snow effects and player animation

There is some problem with recognition. Where the player is and what he can do! (climbing, digging)
pkenney
13. Dec 2014 · 18:10 UTC
I played but there was nobody else on, so of course some of the experience I did not get and I had to use my imagination.

But I thought it was very nicely done. The sound was particularly good, and the art was nice. I also liked the controls. It must have been tricky to design them, because there are a lot of scenarios to cover. It took a little experimentation (good thing nobody was throwing snowballs at me I guess!) to figure out the various combinations, but I think you made a lot of good calls on how to use the buttons for things like climbing, digging up, etc.

Nice work!
gmaker
13. Dec 2014 · 18:49 UTC
Awesome graphics. I loved it all! Good Job!
Pulsartronic
13. Dec 2014 · 18:59 UTC
jajaja .... I waited for a while, then another player appeared and we fought together ... very funny tim ... works fine on linux ... 5 stars on fun definitely :D
galman
13. Dec 2014 · 19:16 UTC
Great game! Played with friends, well done :D
LuthienCeleste
13. Dec 2014 · 19:38 UTC
I was alone so that detracts from the experience.
But making a multiplayer game in such time frame is amazing and the graphics were nice also.
RHY3756547
14. Dec 2014 · 18:01 UTC
Nice one! There seem to be a ton of multiplayer games this time around. Me and Mach some fun playing this one (ie. running up to each other's faces then spamming space) but felt that it needed some sort of round system, so that people could win a round by getting the most snowball kills. Apart from this, nice work for just 24h!
Mach60KAS
14. Dec 2014 · 18:02 UTC
Hey, I really liked having a snowball fight game! :P The graphics were quite nice and the game was pretty fun. I'd have liked a time limit or some invincibility frames: I could knock out anyone I was playing against by getting a full volley of snowballs and waiting until they cornered themselves. Still, great entry, good job and I hope you stream ld games again soon! :)