Laser Rails: Chase! by Alex_ADEdge
My Ludum Dare 42 COMPO Game: 'Laser Rails: Chase!'
Note 16/08/18 - POST-JAM version is now also up, see details below
Play as a robot - with a jetpack - chasing a train - in a western-cyberpunk mashing of genres.
*If youre a streamer/youtuber and you play this, please let me know!
Features: - A Jetpack equipped cyberpunk-western-robot to play! - An infinite track/world with different areas! - A randomly generated train so every game is a bit different! - Evil robots with cannon-arms! - Laser turrets that scramble you and your jetpack! - Canyons and other hazards! - Like rocks that get in your way! - Poorly modelled cacti! - A good few bugs!
Chase the train with your jetpack and stay in as close as you can for as long as you can to score the most points. If it gets away from you, you can still catch back up. But the train will only keep getting faster! I didnt get around to adding the laser whip unfortunately, so combat is lacking! :(
Controls: - WASD/Keys - Movement - Space - Jetpack (also helps you get back up when you fall) - R to restart - M to toggle music
Let me know in the comments what your highest score is!
Notes:
Ive opted-out for Audio because I ran out of time to make any sfx or music so whats in the game wasnt made by me - I just threw it in last minute for some ambience! Music: BenSound https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/electronica Track: 'Scifi'
(Ive updated the game since the deadline with some minor fixes for some major bugs that webGL seemed to be having. An update file is included in the source download that specifies changes. Main issues fixed: Camera was glitching out like crazy, colliders werent working initially AT ALL in the initial upload and the character was tripping on collider edges at high speeds which would ruin an otherwise smooth run.)
*Edit - Update!
Post-Jam Version of Laser Rails: Chase! is up.
I fixed a couple of big flaws, such as some physics issues and camera problems (losing track of the player, jerky camera etc) But most importantly based on feedback I added a tutorial area at the start - sheltered from enemy fire and with basic instructions on how to play (and a easy obstacle to get you to use the jetpack). My main regret with this game was how you start off getting shot at, not good for a lot of players!
You can play the POST JAM (version 1) here: http://delta-edge.com/LaserRails_PostJam/
Full Changelog:
| Source code | https://www.dropbox.com/s/chfy73e483wjc0w/LudumDare42%20LaserRailsv4.zip |
| HTML5 (web) | http://delta-edge.com/LaserRails/ |
| HTML5 (web) | http://delta-edge.com/LaserRails_PostJam/ |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/laser-rails-chase |
Ratings
| Overall | 533th | 3.098⭐ | 48🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 565th | 2.83⭐ | 49🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 553th | 2.798⭐ | 49🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 722th | 1.844⭐ | 47🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 117th | 3.883⭐ | 49🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 376th | 2.3⭐ | 42🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 475th | 2.698⭐ | 45🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 42🗳️ | 37🗨️ |
(By the way, how does the game relate to the theme? :sweat_smile:)
All in all, good job!
@psychead Cheers! Yeh something I didnt get around to implementing was a bigger scarier 'hazard zone' - I had a better canyon in mind and a zone with robots that would chase and attack you. So along with the chase you were meant to have a countdown timer to each hazard zone which would warn you that you were 'running out of space' until that zone came up! Or something like that :)
@alexey-akulovich Haha damn you! XD I dont even know how you managed to fall there so perfectly. I had to do it in-editor. Should have added a pointed collider on the plow...
@suve Thanks heaps! Yeh walking is pretty rough, I'll have to go with some other setup rather than using colliders to smooth it out in a post-jam version. Scoring simply takes place when youre close enough, depending on the exact distance youll slowly get points. Could have been conveyed a lot better tho I agree - Ive got some better ideas like having a number appear above you whenever you get points. Then at least theres something to go by.
@dangogamedev Yes the jetpack turned out really nice! I actually originally planned to have a laser whip, which youd use to attack enemies (adding it to a post-jam version) AND to lasso robot horses to ride. But the jetpack worked so well I didnt bother with the horses (not that I had time anyway)
And yeh you can use the area as a halfpipe if you get fast enough, Ive cleared canyons that way ;D
Thanks for the feedback!
I don't understand how it fit to the theme neither.
Since audio is not by you, it couldn't fall in compo competition if i'm not wrong ?
It would have fit the goal better if I'd gotten around to implementing a hazard warning system, but I ran out of time :/
I think audio is ok - given I opted-out of that category and it was still allowed as a compo entry. Not ideal, definitely my main weakness when it comes to gamedev so planning on working on that!
Cheers!
- The Koala Squad
But the gameplay...
- There's very little control over the robot, and even just walking a couple of steps could cause it to fall over.
- With the jetpack on you can move really fast but with almost no real control.
- The train zooms away super quickly and catching up involves turning as little as possible while flying forward. Not fun.
- Any bump while you're zooming and you'd go flying off and probably never see the train again due to the bad controls.
- The scoring is a mystery. There needs to be some visualisation of when score is added, how much, etc.
- Just really the controls man, it's the whole game. And so important.
- There's no display of how much life you have? Getting shot doesn't even tell you?
- Also... Theme?
Music wasnt by me sorry, opt-ed out and just threw it in there last second. And solid score. Getting a few hundred points seems like quite an effort. Its a bit easier now in the post-jam build.
@nightmaresdev Haha sounds like you were playing 'Laser Rails: Race!' perhaps? I should really set it up so the terrain generates for the player as well as the train, then you could just keep going haha
@red-pill Not sure whats going on there. Theres a link for the version on newgrounds. Do html/webgl games usually work for you otherwise?
@tony-redmer Thanks! Im certainly happy with the visuals, but next gamejam I'll be putting a bit more time into gameplay/tutorial stuff cause this one was a bit of a last minute dash in those regards.
But heres an interesting shot, hour 1 vs hour 48, its great to see a game come together and evolve!
@flashviper I had an idea in the works for a laser whip (see my twitter https://twitter.com/Alex_ADEdge), which you would use to whip the enemies and also redirect/reflect bullets. It would have been super cool, but I ran out of time. Buuuut I still plan on adding in a future post-jam version, v1 having just gone online today.
@koala-squad (also @gregklein @bladesides) & @Everyone else for that matter, I added a post-jam version today with a much nicer start area with a mini tutorial in it, it lets you get to your feet with the controls before you start getting attacked, check it out if youre keen on seeing an improved version of the game.
And @koala-squad yeh Ive done the jam in the past, I wish I could have for this one to get it more complete but I'd already taken 1 day off work to do the compo, so I was just out of time and had to make do with what Id made (lacking in the theme was also caused by this). But I'm still working on it atm, theres a few features Id really like to see in the post-jam version. But thanks for your feedback! :D
P.S. Nice music choice.