Project Tethys by vilya
Scientists working in an undersea lab have developed a powerful new weapon, codenamed "Tethys". Bad guys have got wind of this: they're coming to destroy the lab and abduct the scientists, so they can claim it for themselves. Your job is to defend the scientists and the lab. You have a submarine equipped with all the latest technology; how long can you keep the attackers at bay for?
Project Tethys is a fast-paced underwater shoot-em-up inspired very heavily by the likes of Defender and Resogun. The objectives are simple:
1. Defend your base. If it's destroyed, game over.
2. Destroy all the enemies. Get them before they get you!
3. Stay alive.
The controls are arrow keys or WASD to move, left mouse button to fire. Friendly forces above the surface will occasionally air-drop shield recharge cannisters. Keep an eye out for them, they might just save your life.
My highest score so far is 37300. Can you beat it?
Project Tethys is a fast-paced underwater shoot-em-up inspired very heavily by the likes of Defender and Resogun. The objectives are simple:
1. Defend your base. If it's destroyed, game over.
2. Destroy all the enemies. Get them before they get you!
3. Stay alive.
The controls are arrow keys or WASD to move, left mouse button to fire. Friendly forces above the surface will occasionally air-drop shield recharge cannisters. Keep an eye out for them, they might just save your life.
My highest score so far is 37300. Can you beat it?
Ratings
| Coolness | 100% | 1 |
| Overall | 3.12 | 625 |
| Audio | 3.18 | 292 |
| Fun | 3.07 | 508 |
| Graphics | 3.16 | 566 |
| Humor | 1.76 | 995 |
| Innovation | 2.19 | 1134 |
| Mood | 2.92 | 619 |
| Theme | 3.43 | 408 |
oatsbarley: I actually had drag and gravity in the game early on & it was more submarine-like, but I thought it felt less fun so I took it out.
If I had any feedback it would be that it could do with being a lot harder, just to raise the tension a bit. Although quite why anyone would build a big fancy underwater station and defend it with just one submarine is beyond me. ;)
icereci: I do actually limit it, but it's allowed to go a little way beyond the edge of the screen. What you might be seeing is that the enemies sometimes bomb each other, because they're spawned randomly & I didn't have time to add logic to keep them separated.
martinysa0311: well spotted, thanks! I used one light per bullet & I think it ended up being too much over to one side of the bullet geometry.
aaronjbaptiste: the enemies keep spawning at the same rate, so I guess if you're fast enough at clearing them the difficulty will remain low. I should have thought of that & had the spawn rate going up over time, or something. Thanks!
Franklins Ghost: I agree about the bomb noises. Sorry about that!
Romko: great tip about the sounds, much appreciated!
littleball: a mini-map was one of those things I kept thinking about while I was making the game, but kept putting off for "later". In hindsight I really wish I'd done it.
GarethIW: it's not just any sub, it's a super advanced attack sub which can... um... defy the laws of physics when it moves. :-)
JayPC: awesome, Defender was one of the main inspirations - and it's a great game. Thanks!
Regarding the movement, a few people have been making that point. I thought it was more important to have fast & responsive controls, but perhaps that was the wrong choice? In hindsight I think maybe I could have kept it sub-like and had a speed boost power-up, to get the best of both worlds. I'll try that out in the post-compo version. Thanks!
Pretty decent shmup though, good job. Also I love Resogun.
I also do agree that a bit more challenge/difficulty would be welcome and reinforce the interest of the game.
Very nice light effects on the base when the projectiles move over it.
Congratulations on making a game in 48 hours and submitting it to the compo.
JimmyBoh: that's an excellent idea! I'd originally hoped to have little people coming out of the base that you had to protect as well, but didn't have time to fit them in. Adding additional bases is a much simpler way of getting the same result. Thanks!
Jupiter_Hadley: thanks a lot for trying the game, it's awesome to have a chance to see what someone does in the game when you're not watching over their shoulder! I think I agree about the base, in hindsight.
It's action-packed and has great lighting effects. What more can you wish for?
I think it would be good with feedback (audio and visual) whenever the base is hit. When the base is hit, it should feel bad. :-)