LudumData

They Launched a Probe! by daredevildave

[raw]
made by daredevildave for LD29 (JAM)
This is probably the most ridiculous game I've ever made!

Control a space probe by writing javascript programs to read sensor data and direct the engines. Scan planets to gain science. Try not to run out of energy or crash into a planet.

Your probe has 3 CPUs, one for targeting, one for navigation and one for the scanner. Write javascript programs in the in-game editor and upload to the probe.

There's a whole load of documentation here to help you with the programming. https://bitbucket.org/dave_e/they_launched_a_probe/

I suspect this won't get too many plays, but I really enjoyed making it, and I'm going to keep working on it. :-D
Web http://apps.playcanvas.com/dave/surface/they_launched_a_probe
Source https://bitbucket.org/dave_e/they_launched_a_probe/
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=5182

Ratings

Coolness 30% 1877
Overall(Jam) 3.17 394
Fun(Jam) 3.18 264
Graphics(Jam) 3.00 514
Innovation(Jam) 4.44 2
Mood(Jam) 3.07 364
Theme(Jam) 2.53 633

Feedback

coquinounet
29. Apr 2014 · 12:11 UTC
It's a bit hard when you don't know the language but i will try to learn it ;)
PlasterPhantom
29. Apr 2014 · 13:04 UTC
Really cool concept, even though not as accessible as others. But that doesn't matter, all developers will love playing around with this! Good job.
CupcakeMedia
30. Apr 2014 · 07:57 UTC
Had this been in C#, I could see how this would have been interesting for me. Overall, had I known Java, this would be an interesting way of doing things.
calrk
30. Apr 2014 · 08:19 UTC
this looks awesome. definitely playing it next weekend
Nezzhil
01. May 2014 · 10:32 UTC
Cool concept but it's too fast if you aren't a programmer.
Crefossus
01. May 2014 · 14:42 UTC
This is crazy impressive! Collecting the science was super satisfying and really not all that hard/that much code. There is just that initial difficulty curve that needs to get addressed. If the player diligently reads the bitbucket guide that helps, but all that info needs to be in game somehow.

Some ideas:
Introducing the three systems one at a time. Also giving more feedback on screen. Uncommenting the debug info works right now, but maybe that should happen by default when you open the code menu (like the colored thrust/velocity info do - label those?).
Flashing out of energy and displaying text if it remains drained for a while - "you can access how much energy you have left by using input.systems.energy".
A reset all script button.
Control+s saves.
ovenchips
16. May 2014 · 12:53 UTC
Awesome. Very original use of PlayCanvas.
Moosefly
16. May 2014 · 13:52 UTC
Took me way too long to create a somewhat working solution, which probably only works for the specific planet I was trying to scan (lightest planet the probe could find) and only when starting from the specific position it always started from :D. Even made a gif out of it https://www.dropbox.com/s/7x6lgieefsj930z/spaaaaceeeee.gif (I don't think dropbox plays it in the preview though)! The gif also shows a few bugs, namely velocity vector not disappearing after closing the code-editor, science meter going haywire. I also liked that accidentally leaving the page (happened a few times with backspace) didn't erase your progress!

Really interesting concept and execution, even if it isn't the most accessible game out there like others have mentioned. Had been putting it off for a few days because the starting curve was somewhat steep, but I'm glad I decided to give it a go in the end :).

PlayCanvas also seems really interesting, I wonder why I haven't run into it before.

Anssi@MooseflyGames