Down Under by JALgames

[raw]
made by JALgames for LD30 (JAM)
IMPORTANT: If the game crashes, try the version without music. If the game runs slow while placing buildings, press R to increase the performance. This game might take some seconds to load and doesn't display a splash screen. Be patient

In down under, you have to build your own town. You construct huts for your workers, cut down trees and generate food. But suddenly, one scientist discovers a second world, right below the world you used to live in. The new world provides new opportunities, like very efficient power plants and mushroom farms. But down under is very dangerous, so no you can't build any buildings made of wood.

Controls:
arrow keys: scroll map
The rest will be explained in the tutorial, so please don't skip it! After you finish the tutorial, you will be able to go to down under, but not earlier.

Menus (might not be visible from the beginning):
bottom-right menu: select building category
bottom-left menu: select the building in the current category (hover to see its name and the resources you need)
top-left: resources
top-left button: switch worlds (if down under has been researched)

Credits:
Programming: Johannes Lehmann
Art: Jonas Wagner and Fabian Meinert
Additional art: Laurenz Winter and Johannes Lehmann
Music: Laurenz Winter

Software used:
Programming: Visual Studio 2013 professional, C#, Monogame framework,
Art: Paint.NET, some icons done in Photoshop
Colors: mainly Dawnbringer's 32 color palette, but we weren't super strict
Music: cubase SE

Feedback

MaddeStudios
25. Aug 2014 · 21:09 UTC
Would love to play this game, as it looks cool, but every time I launch it it crashes completely after about 2 seconds, so I can't play it :(
Altourus
26. Aug 2014 · 19:51 UTC
Unfortunately I couldn't run it for the same reason as MaddeStudios
puppetmaster
26. Aug 2014 · 19:51 UTC
crash (Xna error play song)
RawboSaurX
26. Aug 2014 · 19:56 UTC
Yeah, crashed for me too. Too bad, screenshots look great.
ice cold muffin
26. Aug 2014 · 23:19 UTC
Game works fine for me. The graphics is great and the gameplay is descent. Also, ++ for MonoGame :)
StMatn
26. Aug 2014 · 23:25 UTC
Crashed for me too with the binaries on Win7.
Hope you can fix it since the screenshots look great.
xandy
26. Aug 2014 · 23:25 UTC
won't run here either. after the first start, a window shows up but it crashes before anything is drawn :(
Phaix
27. Aug 2014 · 05:31 UTC
Crashed here too. Binaries version on Win7 x64
rustybroomhandle
27. Aug 2014 · 05:37 UTC
Crashing here too as soon as the installer finishes - Win 7 Ultimate x64.
Dietrich Epp
27. Aug 2014 · 06:31 UTC
It looks beautiful (I used the same palette!), and I can tell there's a lot going on here, but it's a bit hard to figure out without a manual.
Satyre
27. Aug 2014 · 11:16 UTC
Nice a strategy game :) The graphics are really great.
dancingmad
27. Aug 2014 · 11:19 UTC
I have the same error as MaddleStudios, exception thrown from MediaPlayer.Play() from Core.update(float) line 77
from Game1.Update() line 44
🎤 JALgames
27. Aug 2014 · 12:19 UTC
I am currently working on fixing the crashing which seems to affect almost everyone (but unfortunately, not my own machine). Actually, I'm planning to just remove the audio and add it as another version. Thanks @dancingmad for providing the details on the error
43iscoding
27. Aug 2014 · 12:50 UTC
Graphics are extremely well done and have that old-school feel of Dune 2!
JNyknn
27. Aug 2014 · 13:05 UTC
Unlike some I got this working. Not a bad game made in a short time. Graphics need still some improvement and at firt the game is very confusing.
MaddeStudios
27. Aug 2014 · 19:18 UTC
Yay for the workaround version! Glad to get it running, I really enjoyed after all :). I liked the SimCity feel to it.
Only thing I would prefer is clearer indicators as to what the numbers mean when purchasing. I figured it's cost/gain-per-second, but an indicator would be nice :).
Anyway, good game!
runvs
28. Aug 2014 · 08:22 UTC
Sorry, but this is not working for me.
OinkIguana
29. Aug 2014 · 21:36 UTC
Getting that crash issue too.
Binaries on Windows 7 64-bits.
Nooner Bear
31. Aug 2014 · 07:11 UTC
Neat visuals!
magmaCrab
01. Sep 2014 · 11:54 UTC
I really like these construction games! The versoin without music worked fine for me. However, I didn't figure out what to do with the second world. I also would like a deconstruction button. Besides that, nice entry!
jprogman
12. Sep 2014 · 01:25 UTC
The game didn't crash for me, rather the music went mute.
Neat take on SimCity.
I've stopped getting help after I got to where I can add stone quarries, coal mines, and such. I quit after I got the privilege to add water turbines, but there's no way to add them on the map. (Was that a glitch?)