Solar System Hero by X-0r

[raw]
made by X-0r for LD30 (COMPO)
=Solar System Hero= (Now with tutorial!)

===Genre===
Economy based RTS (Don't kill me, if you'd know a better genre name. :) Please!)

===Background===
Many systems are encountering problems - their balancing of Food, Water and Energy are totally off. It's up to you to place the correct buildings at the correct places, and take the resources to where they are needed the most.

===Note===
Oh wow. That was fun. I never created a game that close to my initial imagination. I hope you have as much fun with the result as I did. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section!

If you found a bad bug in my game, please let me know, so that I can get it fixed :)

===Controls===
Mouse - Almost everything
Keyboard - Any key will toggle an overview of names and ship numbers.

===Tips===
Try the name overview - you'll avoid being lost in space that way.

Ever rightclicked on the waypoint planner's [+] and [-] signs? You'll be able to handle resources 10 times as fast!

Each sun that is lit up means you beat the level already :)
However, I didn't include cookies, so the "progress" is lost.

===Sound===
Did you ever hear a sound in space?
Seriously - I was working on a track on the first day, but it never turned out as I wanted it. Sorry about that :(



===Level walkthrough===

Level 1 [Baby steps]
The goal is quite simple - each planet needs to meet the demands for at least 10 production ticks.
Both planets on screen will have resources that the other planet needs - so what you need to do is clicking the gearwheel of the spaceship in order to plan it's route.
To add waypoints to the route, simply click the planet you want to visit. You can adjust the resources you [S]ell and [B]uy from the planet.
[B]uy at least 1 Food and 1 Water and [S]ell it at the outer planet. Don't forget to [B]uy energy there, which the inner planet needs. If you did everything right, your spaceship landed three times, before the level is completed. Also note, that the atmosphere color will change, once a planet is "happy".

Level 2 [Buildings?]
Probably an even easier level. Since the buildings can't produce resources without their demand being fulfilled, they are better removed. Since the planets don't demand anything on their own, their atmospheres will soon have a nice blue - which ends the level.
If you don't know how to handle buildings - click on a planet, then click on a slot in the top-right. This will show you 4 new circles, holding the 3 buildings, and an empty slot. Feel free to build and destroy as much as you like - but you'd probably be better off in the next level.

Level 3 [Buildings!]
The point of this level is to construct buildings at smart places. Each planet has different pros and cons. Ice planets offer a lot of water, but are very limited with food. Lava planets lack water, but have the potential of great energy production. Experiment with the different variations and use your fleet to supply the planets and their buildings.

Level 4 [All your base...]
In the outer orbit, there's one large earth-like planet. It's capable of creating a self-sustaining economy. However, the smaller planets and asteroids have their very own demands - they will consume the resources even without buildings (the poor asteroid creatures are starving :( )
Become the hero that you are destined to be and create a massive trade haven, to feed everyone in the system!

Level 5 [Random map]
Well. It's a random map. Replayability and such.
Just use what you've learned and supply every planet with enough resources, making use of your trade fleet and buildings.
You'll lose, when the time runs out.

Level 6 [Sandbox]
Same as above, but you can't win or lose.

===Bugfix Updates / Major Balancing Issues===
The resource calculation has been fixed - a planet will now consume resources correctly. It will eat everything down to zero, if there are any base values of inhabitants. If not, it will only use the buildings, if there are enough resources to complete the production.

Fixed an erratic setting in the random map generator, and edited the level files slightly to avoid planet overlaps.

Ratings

Coolness 72% 3
Overall 3.03 738
Audio 1.94 889
Fun 2.54 970
Graphics 2.84 734
Humor 2.27 587
Innovation 3.05 641
Mood 2.67 829
Theme 3.35 485

Feedback

rantt
25. Aug 2014 路 16:08 UTC
I tried to run the game on my Mac and got the message "LD30" is damaged and can't be opened.
馃帳 X-0r
25. Aug 2014 路 16:09 UTC
Damn, sorry about that =/ I'll remove the link...
Mali
25. Aug 2014 路 16:30 UTC
Got confused by controls, felt funny and I would have preferred and ingame Tutorial because I wasn't sure what I was doing. I'm still not really sure what I'm doing. Balancing them is really difficult, no idea how to use the ships either. I'd make a minor gripe about planets overlapping sometimes but my game is equally as guilty of it. >.<
馃帳 X-0r
25. Aug 2014 路 17:31 UTC
It's supposed to be impossible to solve each map without using carrier ships... Depending on the planet type, some resources can be produced more efficiently - the rest needs to be taken in by carriers.

To guide your ships, you need to click on the "gearwheel", it's to the right of the screen, next to each ship in your fleet. If you click the "help" button in the overview, you can get more information about how to play... I also included a detailed walkthrough in the game description. I initially planned for an ingame tutorial aswell, but the time wasn't really sufficient for that :(
Markavian
25. Aug 2014 路 17:40 UTC
I really struggled with the interface, I couldn't tell if my way point was loading or emptying resources, and I kept accidentally adding waypoints. Seemed like a nice idea but really difficult to play.
stephenhaney
25. Aug 2014 路 18:04 UTC
High barrier to entry for sure! It seems like there's a really interesting and well thought out game in there, but I can't figure out how to get at it. And in-game tutorial would be well suited for this type of interface (obviously that's asking a lot in 48 hours). I really like where this is headed, but I mimic the other comments that it needs to be easier to access.
Tanner
25. Aug 2014 路 20:09 UTC
Nice planet names.
Seraphic Media
25. Aug 2014 路 20:54 UTC
Definitely tricky to figure out, but it's a really cool idea and an impressive game for only 48 hours
馃帳 X-0r
25. Aug 2014 路 23:04 UTC
A YouTube-tutorial is now online, for everyone interested :)
Boodog
26. Aug 2014 路 23:44 UTC
Nice game!
Floko
27. Aug 2014 路 01:04 UTC
I'm not sure about what I'm doing, haha x) It was a bit difficult to understand my objective in the game,or how to attain it properly ...

But the graphics are looking neat :)
馃帳 X-0r
27. Aug 2014 路 12:46 UTC
Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

@Floko: You might want to check out my YouTube video, it should show you the mechanics^^
KigurumiDevs
28. Aug 2014 路 07:51 UTC
I really love this simulator :) Well done!
Benjamin
14. Sep 2014 路 22:31 UTC
Fun game. It was not obvious what a planet need to be happy. The trade stuff definitively remind me of anno 1403 :) Really well done. I like that you took time to make the little space ship animations it add a lot to the ambient.
The flash player debug trace some bug when you try to use + and - buttons and there's nothing to scroll.
Shmackson
15. Sep 2014 路 00:15 UTC
I was impressed at the depth of mechanics and general complexity. Fit a good amount into a game in such a short time.
lkr
15. Sep 2014 路 20:48 UTC
I was confused at first, but the video cleared things up.

The game could use some small icons on/near the planets to show resource stock and the production/consumption delta. It was hard keeping track when I was setting up routes, and forgot what a planet needed. I'd also have wanted to quickly cancel a ship route without removing each waypoint separately :)

Fun game though - would be nice to see more made out of the concept!
馃帳 X-0r
15. Sep 2014 路 21:23 UTC
I totally agree! Putting the surplus/demand values next to the planets would have made the game both easier to understand and easier to play.

Depending on the results, I'll either work with the concept, refining the mechanics and everything (and most importantly UI and controls), or try creating something new entirely :)