Xtreme Crop Duster Simulator '82 by rjhelms

[raw]
made by rjhelms for LD34 (COMPO)
Xtreme Crop Duster Simulator '82 is a Commodore 64-style side scrolling flight simulator, made in 48 hours for Ludum Dare 34.

Controls are just up and down arrows on a keyboard, or up and down axis on a gamepad/joystick. Even though the in-game text all refers to keys, it's the most fun with a joystick.

This is my first compo entry - while I've done Ludum Dare three times before, each time I overshot my planned timeline and had to submit for the jam.

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UPDATE 1: 12:52AM EST 12/14/15

Had keyboard sensitivity wrong - must have made the edit in Unity in play mode so it didn't persist. Uploaded a fixed version.

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UPDATE 2: 3:30AM EST 12/15/15

Unity project settings were causing the default resolution to be 640x480 despite allegedly being set to default to native resolution. Should be resolved now, but either way the game should be resolution and aspect-ratio independent.

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UPDATE 3: 2:15AM EST 12/17/15

Linux and Mac builds now available! These are not as well tested as the Windows build, but have both been confirmed to launch and be playable on at least one system. Please let me know if you have any difficulties with them.

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UPDATE 4: 7:05PM EST 12/28/15

Launch script in Linux build didn't check architecture properly, resulting in "unknown architecture" error on some 32-bit machines. This should be resolved.

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.83 96
Audio 3.71 83
Fun 3.88 57
Graphics 4.07 91
Humor 3.15 171
Innovation 3.49 267
Mood 3.52 154
Theme 4.01 231

Feedback

bushmango
14. Dec 2015 · 04:59 UTC
DO A BARREL ROLL FOX! Cute. You can do some sweet tricks.
mactinite
14. Dec 2015 · 05:00 UTC
Fun idea, though the controls don't seem that responsive.
guoboism
14. Dec 2015 · 06:05 UTC
Great old school style! It took some practice to fly over the fist tall building!
Eigen
14. Dec 2015 · 06:54 UTC
Gotta love them 80s simulators ;) Pretty tricky and fun to play. I like the music.
batmanasb
14. Dec 2015 · 08:29 UTC
It's feels entirely like playing on an arcade machine! I wish I had a joystick, but this game is a rare gem either way. 5/5 and I hope you win!
manabreak
14. Dec 2015 · 08:29 UTC
Awesome! I grew up with C64 and this really brings back memories. Nice touch with the TV effect there! :p
Jstank
14. Dec 2015 · 10:01 UTC
Oh man this game is awesome. I am surprised you even put it here because it would have done really well on steam (with more levels) You have the Super Amazing Wagon Adventure aesthetic down to a T. Well done SIR! I am definitely going to be saving this one on my hard drive to play more of later. GREAT!
pkenney
14. Dec 2015 · 17:31 UTC
Right on! This is a nice all-rounder compo entry. The gameplay, graphics, and sound are all strong.

I love the stall mechanic that creates this tension between wanting to fly slow to see what's coming, vs not having enough airspeed to quickly climb out of the way of trouble.

The classic graphics would be good on their own but the TV effect pushes it over the top and really capitalizes.

It's difficult, so good thing you had the quick retry and continues. I wouldn't have played nearly as long if it was full GAME OVER every time.

My brain can't handle inverted flight controls in a non-first-person POV, so I was really hurting for the lack of a flip option. Until I realized I *did* have a flip option and turned my keyboard upside down to play. Of course, then I hit down instead of up and restarted instead of continuing, but only once or twice. ;)

Nice job and congrats on making it in for the compo. I remember playing your old trench warfare game, this one is a nice step forward because it's fully realized.
@SamPotasz
14. Dec 2015 · 21:28 UTC
This is excellent. Easily the best entry I've played so far! Such a great job setting the mood and marrying the gameplay with the visuals and sound. Well done!
VascoF
14. Dec 2015 · 21:31 UTC
I had this very same idea for my entry (to control a plane with up/down and fertilize crops)! Although, I ended up doing something different. I loved this, I don't think I would have done better. Great gameplay and very complete. Well done!
refreshgames
14. Dec 2015 · 21:39 UTC
Yes! Very nice game, cool music to go with it also, I love the old CRT effects going on there, CBM font and, well, I want to dust off my old Commodore Plus 4 / C16 now! Very cool, made it to level 5 I think, will see if I can get further later on.
blohod
15. Dec 2015 · 02:51 UTC
really nice style, so hard though
fishtrek
15. Dec 2015 · 02:55 UTC
Love the art and visual effects like the CRT monitor curve, the music was nice too. The game itself was really hard tho -- only made it to level 2 once and then got game over soon after haha
Sourtrance
15. Dec 2015 · 02:56 UTC
Very fun and challenging game. It implements both themes very well. I really like the graphics and the music, too!
dvdfu
15. Dec 2015 · 03:54 UTC
Really great job simulating the commodore-64 style! The mechanics were fairly inventive, music catchy. It's hard to tell when landing is safe, but otherwise pretty good.
eerongal
16. Dec 2015 · 01:14 UTC
The windows build doesnt seem to work. it just downloads a .exe file and when you try to run it says that there should be a data folder alongside the .exe
batmanasb
16. Dec 2015 · 02:52 UTC
You broke it! "There should be 'XtremeCropDuster_Data'
folder next to the executable"
🎤 rjhelms
16. Dec 2015 · 03:11 UTC
Yikes, sorry folks! Have been trying to get Linux builds working and noticed the resolution issue, must have packaged it up wrong once I resolved that.

I'll get a fixed build up later tonight when I'm back at my PC.
🎤 rjhelms
16. Dec 2015 · 05:20 UTC
Download should be fixed now - thanks for letting me know!

Serves me right for trying to upload a fixed build at 3:30 in the morning.
Henez
16. Dec 2015 · 07:43 UTC
Very difficult but great fun. Love the super old school look. The idea of extreme crop dusting is hilarious. Well done
Krafty
16. Dec 2015 · 07:49 UTC
The graphics are great! I really like the old-school aesthetic, although the music sounds a little bit out of place for some reason (it's good though!). You might want to make the controls a bit more responsive, and maybe make it a little bit less likely to stall. This was really unique and I liked it a lot!
Fartenko
16. Dec 2015 · 18:38 UTC
I like this one ;) Good job!
Ybalrid
16. Dec 2015 · 18:38 UTC
I love the old school feel, and the game is fun!
recursor
16. Dec 2015 · 20:38 UTC
Nice C64-style game. It takes me back, and I don't have to wait minutes for the 1541 drive to load it. My only problem was knowing if I was going to crash on the runway or be ok. I was never sure. Well done!
lawendt
16. Dec 2015 · 21:06 UTC
Loved how you could control your plane upside down.
batmanasb
17. Dec 2015 · 00:36 UTC
Thanks for trying to get it to work on linux, but don't be too worried if you can't figure it out, cuz it's been running fine in WINE for me all this time.
🎤 rjhelms
17. Dec 2015 · 06:47 UTC
batmanasb, glad to hear it works well in WINE. While there's been no particular demand for a Linux build, I'm a big supporter of game devs releasing for Linux so figure I should do that myself.

Bad news is that the latest version of Unity seems to have some frustrating quirks with how builds work on Linux. The good news is, I think I've got them sorted out - should be a Linux build (as well as a Mac one) along very shortly.
inbetweengames
17. Dec 2015 · 20:53 UTC
Awww, C64.. was my first "computer". Awesome game which brings back memories. <3
I really liked your attention to detail - like those 4th wall screen artifacts - brilliant! Amazing entry! :)

Was wondering for a brief moment if left/right arrows wouldn't be a better option instead of up/down.. but than again - I guess you wanted to mimic an actual control yoke..
Kenneth Ng
18. Dec 2015 · 06:49 UTC
This game is so hilariously difficult and addicting. Well done. You've bested me.
Warboys
18. Dec 2015 · 10:31 UTC
Fun game overall. I'd have loved to have seen some more feedback when pressing up or down. I thought the only way to move down was by pointing your nose for a lot of it, so it was ultra hard because there's no feedback for when you're just descending with a single down press.

LD games are always so damn difficult, I feel like a very inadequate gamer :p
MemoryLeek
19. Dec 2015 · 22:14 UTC
Best Unity game played to this point.
Taffaz
19. Dec 2015 · 22:18 UTC
That game was cool, really retro.
Blobo
19. Dec 2015 · 22:51 UTC
This is pretty cool. i love the retro feel, you did a great job with it. A winner is you!
architect404
20. Dec 2015 · 00:26 UTC
very challenging but fun. great cohesive retro feel with the graphics and audio. nice work!
nunesbarbosa
20. Dec 2015 · 00:27 UTC
Loved the old school theme.
Every time the game starts I switch the up and down and have a terrible death.
TerraCottaFrog
20. Dec 2015 · 01:43 UTC
Easily the best game I've played so far. The moments of panic leading up to a tricky landing are just brilliant. Five stars across the board.
Geti
20. Dec 2015 · 03:14 UTC
Cute and nostalgic but pretty frustrating controls, and looks like there's either a bug in the score or just very aggressive negative scoring :D
sP0CkEr2
20. Dec 2015 · 05:02 UTC
wow - simply great game - love the retro feel - loved the controls - reminded me of some old atari games - well done
scorched
20. Dec 2015 · 12:57 UTC
Liked the music and the idea!
Nega Drive
20. Dec 2015 · 16:14 UTC
Great job with the C64 stylings on this. It's pretty effective! You even got the music right! The game is pretty fun with interesting mechanics, though I found the controls a bit slow and weird to get to grips with. I think its the lack of feedback of exactly which direction the plane is going, but then a C64 wouldn't have been able to do smooth rotation very easily, so its sort of understandable in this case. Nice work overall though!
uthamon
20. Dec 2015 · 17:41 UTC
It looks awesome and overall the atmosphere is great. Once I learned the controls it was a blast.
crazya02
21. Dec 2015 · 16:55 UTC
The aesthetic is spot-on!
Suaave
21. Dec 2015 · 19:25 UTC
Though it's not from the past (but certainly feels like it), still had a blast doing some good old 2D crop dusting!
Like a proto farming simulator. ;)
Flygamer101
21. Dec 2015 · 21:48 UTC
Nice Game :D This was a great game! It held my interest for some time. SOme Things I want to note:
-Music was great
-Textures looked nice
-The overlay on the screen and sounds gave it a nice NES kind of look

One think was that the version of the plane that went UP, it looked kind of squashed.
Dmitrix
22. Dec 2015 · 08:55 UTC
I love airplanes... O_O
tayl1r
22. Dec 2015 · 23:03 UTC
Very nice! Really captured that old school vibe.
kabel
25. Dec 2015 · 03:25 UTC
It's retro, that's for sure. ..but nostalgia alone is not enough to satisfy... The game is very basic, and the two things that stand out are the bent screen look and the music.
It's fine for a three day game jam.
Jace239
26. Dec 2015 · 18:44 UTC
Thanks for leaving a rating and commenting on my game! I included your game in an episode of my Let's Play Ludum Dare 34 series to show my gratitude! :D

Below is a link to the post with details, and you can find out my opinion of your game in the video as I play!
http://ludumdare.com/compo/2015/12/26/lets-play-ludum-dare-34-episode-03/
yuigoto
26. Dec 2015 · 19:36 UTC
Great concept! The retro feel of the game is awesome and the concept is great and challenging!

As one comment said, a trick system could bring even more challenges to the game!

Great work! Congratz!
speciesUnknown
02. Jan 2016 · 01:17 UTC
I kept sucking at this, but I like how it kind of relates to both themes - the post process effect of being a C64 game rocked as well.
LukeZaz
02. Jan 2016 · 01:47 UTC
Fun little game, but the controls threw me off a bit, as I'd often end up pressing the opposite key as to what I wanted. Was also a little confusing as to how high above the crops was acceptable.
Zanzlanz
03. Jan 2016 · 19:08 UTC
Very nicely done! The mechanics are super cool and feel very retro-arcade (the visuals and sound helps with that too of course, haha).

I would have rather had the controls inverted though; it makes more sense to me to press up to go upward instead of downward.

Either way, I got used to it. Very solid game. Good luck!!
GeorgeBroussard
04. Jan 2016 · 13:18 UTC
Loved this. The music was perfect as were the C64 style graphics. Game was also a lot of fun, and very challenging. Could easily have been a shipping C64 game :) Great job.
Jupiter_Hadley
12. Jan 2016 · 21:19 UTC
Quite challenging to master, nice graphics though! I included it in my Ludum Dare 34 compilation video series, if you’d like to check it out :) https://youtu.be/lBXur6KZCzs