LudumData

Altitudes by PolymathLD

[raw]
made by PolymathLD for Ludum Dare 57 (COMPO)

Fight at multiple altitudes and defend your airbase in this frenetic WW2-themed top-down shooter. Move up or down elevations to fight different types of enemies and keep the screen clear of enemy bombers and fighters. Land your seaplane fighter in the ocean to collect crates and upgrade your fighter plane. Defeat wave after wave of bombers and fighters and see how long you can last!

UPDATE: Quick morning-after patch to address some technical/performance issues with projectiles and explosions causing lag.

screenshot.jpg

Tips

  • Try to destroy enemies over water, money crates don't appear when they're flying over the island.
  • Bombers have a 50% chance to drop money, Fighters have a 25% chance.
  • Crashing into bombers insta-kills you, don't do it.
  • Crashing into fighters hurts a lot, but destroys them.
  • Drop all the way down into the ocean to avoid all enemy fire and pick up loot. You can't land on the island, though.
  • The three upgrades available in the shop are randomly chosen each wave out of a pool of six. The most powerful upgrade is the Extra Gun, which gives you two shots every cycle instead of one, in a slightly spread-fire formation.
  • You can buy Damage, Durability, and Extra Money upgrades multiple times to continue buffing those abilities.

If you can make it to Wave 3, you're doing well. Wave 4, you're a beast. Waves 5 and later, you're a monster.

Link altitudes_source_code_complete.zip
Link altitudes_source_code_tech_patch.zip
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/altitudes

Ratings

Overall 70th 3.739⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 58th 3.674⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 64th 3.761⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 101th 3.761⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 149th 3.413⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Audio 136th 3.304⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Mood 150th 3.391⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 25🗨️

Feedback

Psedera
07. Apr 2025 · 01:36 UTC
The title font and music really put you in the right headspace to enjoy this. The altitude control is a bit frustrating when swooping down to the lowermost enemies, I find myself staying above land to avoid dipping into the water. There's also some lag during explosions. Good work!
Lazyanttu
07. Apr 2025 · 11:06 UTC
I liked the game atmosphere, but the up/down control scheme was a bit frustrating, as having "bullet hell" when some shots can't hit you and some can was disorienting and bit against the typical idea of bullet hell (if it moves, it hurts you).

But overall nice work for a gamejam! The assets played very well together, giving a nice presentation.
coatline
07. Apr 2025 · 17:09 UTC
Hey, this is a pretty interesting idea! Aside from the lag, I only wish that there were more enemy types and maybe make the waves shorter. I was really surprised to see the shop that you added, that definitely adds a lot to the game! I also really enjoyed the landing in the water effects, that was really neat.
Well done!
Sicosiber
07. Apr 2025 · 17:11 UTC
Saw a lot of other games that tried to do similar stuff, but they didn't do it nearly as well as this one, the blur was an amazing way to tell depth rather than just size!
LDJam user 412745
07. Apr 2025 · 17:32 UTC
Changing depths is a cool idea and I think it's pretty well executed here, even though switching can be a bit frustrating sometimes. But the visual effect is cool and it was definitely fun to play!
ssiannas
07. Apr 2025 · 18:28 UTC
Very cool idea and a great deal of gameplay for a compo game. Some interactions especially on the lower layers could use more polishing but the general aesthetics are very nice!
Vladcfg
07. Apr 2025 · 19:50 UTC
The plane controls feel great, and the way the theme is explored is really interesting and unique! The visual style also looks cool and original, but I’m afraid the game might be a bit too hard for me :)
Inferno123
07. Apr 2025 · 23:43 UTC
Great game overall, very fun and polished especially for a Jam game. Admittedly the field of depth for the height makes it real hard to know what layer I'm on and what layer enemies are on
Aune
08. Apr 2025 · 01:43 UTC
Great mood! I'm not very good at bullet hell games, but this one suits me just fine. Nice use of the theme. Bonus points for the music theme, which I find very fitting.
ibandurist
08. Apr 2025 · 11:06 UTC
I really enjoyed the game! The idea is awesome, and the space is really well designed. The only thing is that my plane is gray, so it doesn't stand out much against the background, and it often flies off the visible screen, and I lose track of it. The sound is nice.
meskaline
08. Apr 2025 · 15:53 UTC
Very cool game, and nice concept. The effects go well with graphics. Congrats
fusionnist
08. Apr 2025 · 18:14 UTC
Ah man! Still only reached wave three, although a few times now - crashed into a bomber right off-screen :(
This is really fun though! I love the concept of layers used here, and the upgrade system actually makes a good difference! Great job!
Frib
08. Apr 2025 · 18:42 UTC
Very interesting take on depth for a topdown flying game! Don't think I've seen that before, and the visual effect works really well :D the game itself is also pretty fun but unforgiving. Good stuff!
🎤 PolymathLD
08. Apr 2025 · 18:53 UTC
@psedera @lazyanttu @coatline @sicosiber @reaktori @ssiannas @vladcfg @inferno123 @aune @ibandurist @meskaline @fusionnist

Thank you so much for taking the time to play the game, rate, and give feedback! Much appreciated!

Regarding the difficulty, I would have liked to make the curve a little shallower, but I didn't have time to playtest and tune as much as I would have liked. That's Compo for you!

I've also seen mixed feelings on the "changing altitude" mechanic. I personally like how it turned out fairly well, all things considered--but I can definitely see how it could be frustrating!
fusionnist
08. Apr 2025 · 18:56 UTC
@polymathld Honestly, this is the sort of curve I prefer for jam games, it's a bit awkward when you have to spend 30 minutes or more per run in order to give a fair rating afterwards :) So I think you're fine!
P1x3lc0w
08. Apr 2025 · 20:07 UTC
Great work! The altitude changing mechanic was an interesting spin on the genre although i sometimes found it hard to tell whats above or below me; maybe shadows or some kind of UI indicator would have helped for that. Nicely done and thanks for the game!
thisyc
08. Apr 2025 · 20:18 UTC
Really clever approach to the theme and bullet hell games. I gave it a couple tries and couldn't get past Wave 3.. I never had problems telling which layer the enemies or myself are on, but it was a bit hard for me to tell which layers the projectiles are on, so there's this inconsistency of 'why didn't this hurt me'. Other than that I have no complaints, solid gameplay and I had a lot of fun playing. Great job getting all the effects done in two days!
Nepturenus
08. Apr 2025 · 21:37 UTC
Such a cool take on the theme. Quite hard to master, but plenty of room for replayability :)
dstoc
09. Apr 2025 · 04:33 UTC
Very neat concept.

Gamepad support would be nice. I was hopeful when the gamepad got past the "press any key" screen.
woe
10. Apr 2025 · 14:29 UTC
hmm, diving under/rising above incoming fire is an interesting mechanic to have, makes me wonder how could the readability be improved...
Interesting entry! nice work!
very dark lord
14. Apr 2025 · 16:24 UTC
The web version doesn't really work for me :( The game starts, but it takes none of my key inputs, only mouseclicks work. Looks very cool though!
designernap
20. Apr 2025 · 08:00 UTC
oooh lovely mechanic playing with the idea of depth, fun shooter with a nice mood. Great stuff
thomz12
21. Apr 2025 · 12:10 UTC
Impressive game! I really like the art and how the height changes focus. Like others said, readability here was my biggest issue as well. But it felt nice being able to go under/over projectiles! The effects of hitting enemies and landing in the water are very satisfying too.

Very well done!