Terror Plant from outer Space by Tetha

[raw]
made by Tetha for LD34 (COMPO)
Ok, this is a turn based strategy game based on a 10x10 tile grid. You are an evil alien plant. Your goal is to grow as big as possible, and to eat as many humans as possible. Instructions are included, as are two difficulty levels. Prepare to meet a challenge if you start on hard mode. :)

Engine: Phaser.io & Typescript (https://github.com/geowarin/generator-phaser-gulp-typescript)
Graphics: GIMP

Ratings

Coolness 52% 3
Overall 3.66 180
Fun 3.66 141
Graphics 2.86 617
Humor 2.09 598
Innovation 3.59 223
Mood 2.85 565
Theme 3.66 541

Feedback

TaoPhoenix
13. Dec 2015 · 22:30 UTC
Hi Gang.

Thanks to Tetha for the shout out!

Tetha said it was okay for me to give y'all a couple of VERY basic tips just to get a handle on what's going on. But you'll need a bit of cleverness to beat hard level!

- The soldiers can sometimes move diagonally to auto-attack in horizontal or vertical directions, and it's the same move, not "attack next move".

- Except for strategic gameplay, "nothing happens" until a soldier gets to your source saproling. About mid game, when you get time, station a ManEater kinda near your saproling just to help prevent last minute disasters and buy you some time to think.

- You have to maintain invaders at *all the towns* to win, so if they break free you're not done yet.

-- Strategy tip. You don't have to spend all your points every round, so bank some points Because it's all about the ManEaters.

Good luck!
GAFBlizzard
14. Dec 2015 · 06:48 UTC
I started on hard mode! It took a few tries, but I finally won. :D

One note, the description says that the Man-Eater destroys soldiers next to itself, but it only seems to destroy ONE soldier if you place it next to two.
Elenesski
14. Dec 2015 · 07:58 UTC
Neat idea. Hard to get going at first. Wasn't sure how protect my source. Liked the game. Fun to play.
doitle
14. Dec 2015 · 09:07 UTC
This is a pretty novel concept. I don't know if there is another game out there that I haven't come across like it but it's pretty cool. It could probably be fleshed out more into a full fledged mobile game or even a conventional board game. Nice job!
oal
14. Dec 2015 · 09:08 UTC
A nice, challenging game. I like that it's turn based, giving you time to think about your next move. Fits the theme well. Good job!
Khamekaze
14. Dec 2015 · 09:13 UTC
Pretty unique and really fun to play.
Going for hard first wasn't the best idea, mistakes were made x)
Ghen
14. Dec 2015 · 10:13 UTC
cool concept, at first quite hard to get into, first "card game" i played on LD34
nice job! :D
paraxite
14. Dec 2015 · 10:14 UTC
Simple, yet solid mechanic. Humans seem to have it too easy, but I guess thats the point? Nice game!
prymidion
14. Dec 2015 · 10:15 UTC
I love board games, so it's great to see the format represented in LD. Once I got the hang of the game, I had a good time sending out swathes of vines to choke out nearby villages and mountains!

Clearer instructions would have helped the learning curve-- I didn't understand that you could stockpile evoPoints. Maybe I was just stupid though!

*Also, TaoPhoenix, I caught you calling those little plants saprolings, you Magic man you.*
justinooncx
14. Dec 2015 · 10:25 UTC
Very well-balanced game! Simple rules, yet surprisingly strategic and challenging! Well done!
jackyjjc
14. Dec 2015 · 10:34 UTC
A surprisingly fun game. This will be the first game I bookmark and come back to play afterwards. I've beaten the simple mode, first I thought I have defense first but turns out rush is better strategy since the enemy troop just keep increasing. Hard mode is actually hard though since I just got outrun by the soldiers. I suspect you need a bit of luck to win the hard mode (where there is a isolated town or something).
Thembi
14. Dec 2015 · 11:34 UTC
I really enjoyed this.
d_0o_d
14. Dec 2015 · 11:38 UTC
That was fun, a turn-based strategy game, I liked it :)
Some transitions between turns would have been cool and maybe animations, when plants / soldiers die, but the concept is simple and fun :)

One more thing, I don't know how constrained you were, but instead of just text as a tutorial in the beginning, I would have preferred an actual Tutorial, that guides you through the game. It's hard to memorize everything in the beginning when you don't know about the mechanics.
rantt
14. Dec 2015 · 14:35 UTC
Fun and challenging game. Nicely done!
pparke
15. Dec 2015 · 00:40 UTC
Fun! I had to win! There was some challenge and enough strategy to keep it interesting. Good job!
dekart
15. Dec 2015 · 11:36 UTC
That's very interesting game, took some time to master it! I'll play once again in hard mode, give me a minute :)
psychonull
15. Dec 2015 · 14:45 UTC
Nice idea. Fun to play. Well done!
TaoPhoenix
16. Dec 2015 · 00:13 UTC
Haha Prymidion!

I think in our early testing it was called a Sapling, so a Freudian error!

But yes, paraxite, a few clever strategies suddenly turn things around!
Imagos Softworks
17. Dec 2015 · 01:22 UTC
Enjoyed the strategy element of the game. Extra units, sound and animations could make this into a sweet mobile game!
TaoPhoenix
17. Dec 2015 · 08:55 UTC
Me again.

Let's bump it up a notch.

- Place your center sprout 3rd from the right or left edges.

- Do some quick math because the first 3 moves will make or break you. You have to get the optimal combo to get drillers running *pronto*.

- We did some test runs for data but basically you need all eight drillers running on both rocks. Anything less is either a stunt or a mistake and start over.

- It's all about the Maneater Point Count. If you drop a leaf because it "does something" and trash a ManEater in the process, you goofed. There's about three spots in the middle when you make sure "nothing can be legally attacked" and then you make those small moves (after dividing by five!) and then *do nothing* and then with 38 points they both wasted a turn getting closer to you, are easier to kill, and you now have 38 points to switch it around.

- Do that *twice* - the first one removes danger - skip a round - the second one secures the lock, then it's mop up.
TaoPhoenix
17. Dec 2015 · 09:26 UTC
2nd from the edge is even easier because you get a crucial two more tempos.
Xeke_Death
18. Dec 2015 · 12:52 UTC
Got me hooked enough to finish the game... I enjoyed the strategy of it...
The tiles looked pretty cool... Good work...!
euske
18. Dec 2015 · 15:12 UTC
The idea of monster plants scares me, but the game itself was fun!
Jupiter_Hadley
18. Dec 2015 · 23:17 UTC
Seemed like a neat game but it wouldnt let me place a monster flower! I included it in my Ludum Dare 34 compilation video series, if you’d like to check it out :) https://youtu.be/w1ddlauRQRk
Sir Magic
19. Dec 2015 · 09:10 UTC
I really liked this concept, nice!
g12345
26. Dec 2015 · 20:45 UTC
Very fun. I've played it a couple of times. Haven't tried the Hard mode.
TaoPhoenix
27. Dec 2015 · 03:11 UTC
Hi Jupi if you ever see this!

Tao here.

It's far from clear why you couldn't drill the first rock. You should have been able to.

And while the game doesn't give "buzzes for errors" when you placed the leaf under the higher rock, that was a strategy error because you basically need 7-8 drillers on rocks on *adjacent* files. So that leaf "locked up" a driller slot.

It's one of those I am beginning to ponder "legal in the rules but at what level do we tell players it's an error?"

As for the Man-Eater plant, he/we didn't include a "combat animation" so I think you placed it fine, it ate a guy 1-1, and they both vanished.

But thanks for reviewing! Good to know these First Impression things!
thynnmas
02. Jan 2016 · 16:02 UTC
Turns out, if you surround the town in leafs no more army spawns. However, I couldn't figure out a way to replace leaf with soldiers or drills, so this left the game unwinnable. Being able to "rebuild" or destroy tiles for extra cost would be useful.

Otherwise a nice concept and fun game.