10,000 Space Leagues from Delta Station by Dan C

[raw]
made by Dan C for LD22 (JAM)
Something bad has happened and now you are alone in your escape pod drifting through space.

Make your way to Delta Station to seek rescue.

By Dan Cassidy and Nick Griffiths.

Ratings

Coolness 87% 2
Overall(Jam) 3.11 37
Audio(Jam) 3.06 45
Community 1.95 564
Fun(Jam) 2.94 31
Graphics(Jam) 3.03 73
Humor(Jam) 3.26 16
Innovation(Jam) 2.47 67
Mood(Jam) 2.32 69
Theme(Jam) 2.89 44

Feedback

Zutty
21. Dec 2011 路 21:43 UTC
Spectacular intro! The President of Space really makes this. The game itself is really difficult; haven't completed it once! I've found that turning opposite to the direction of motion, allowing me to reverse, works ok. I always just run out of fuel though!
馃帳 Dan C
22. Dec 2011 路 12:50 UTC
Be reassured that it is quite possible to get to the end, although I didn't get a chance to make a proper ending so there will be scant reward for your efforts.

There is a trick to it, you need to be a bit clever to make very frugal use of fuel.

At risk of giving too much away, you generally only need to apply rotational thrust once per game.
Daniel X. Moore
24. Dec 2011 路 03:13 UTC
Dodging the asteroids was impossible for me. I just aimed towards the station, blasted the booster and prayed. Never made it.
Make A Game
27. Dec 2011 路 21:54 UTC
Cool intro, but this is really hard to play (even if I'm using very light key presses)
Shigor
01. Jan 2012 路 22:50 UTC
I am disappoint (together with mr. President). Even after getting your hint (start rotating ship at start and then just use good timing for dodging) I wasn't able to get to the end. Well... maybe if I'd fly really slowly, but then my tea wouldn't be no good probably.
馃帳 Dan C
03. Jan 2012 路 22:27 UTC
Set the ship rotating fast at the start, and then apply forward thrust in *short* bursts while you're facing the correct direction to get yourself moving in the correct direction and to avoid the asteroids. You can't slow down much at short notice, so keep your speed down to avoid crashing. It's really not that hard.

It is however practically impossible to reach Delta Station before your tea freezes, but that doesn't actually make any difference to anything. We only really put the timer in for a laugh, I should have slowed it down to avoid discouraging players :(.
ned366
03. Jan 2012 路 22:57 UTC
I enjoyed playing this game, I couldn't beat it however. I kept running out of fuel or into an asteroid. Still I enjoyed the humorous theme. Is the president of space a decedent of Teddy Roosevelt? The graphics and sound were good too!
馃帳 Dan C
04. Jan 2012 路 00:51 UTC
Here's a video demonstrating how to play: http://youtu.be/T9AY9W6EKfA
kosinus
07. Jan 2012 路 16:48 UTC
Incredibly hard, but I must say fun as well. Best I got is a distance of 1200.

The hint is rather unintuitive; wouldn't have discovered it without your help. Perhaps this would've worked better if there was no rotational thrust at all? Just have the ship spin at all times, with only forward thrust available. Can even advertise it as a one-button game then, which is all the rage these days. :)
Kelly Thomas
08. Jan 2012 路 12:54 UTC
I always seem to die, its a shame because I do like my tea.
馃帳 Dan C
08. Jan 2012 路 13:15 UTC
@kosinus It did occur to make it a one-button game, but unfortunately not until after the deadline. It would be a better game with that change, I agree.
wgemigh
08. Jan 2012 路 17:08 UTC
The intro definitely makes the game! It would have been nice to see the asteroids from further away, maybe with arrows along the side of the screen.
seagaia
08. Jan 2012 路 17:31 UTC
Similar feelings as the above. In addition I thought this game was really, really funny - with the space units, the space president, and watching the video ending "Your tea is delicious" (and frozen!)
Milo
08. Jan 2012 路 22:22 UTC
I think this was a bit too difficult, or at least it relied on patience a little too much. It'd be nice if the thrust was more powerful.

Best intro I've seen yet by far!
callidus
09. Jan 2012 路 17:14 UTC
good intro and audio, I to found the game hard but kept going back for "one more go" :-P good stuff