Transmission by ljdp

[raw]
made by ljdp for LD30 (COMPO)
Launch satellites into space and let cities communicate and connect over interplanetary distances.

A few things not mentioned in the game:
- To further you launch from a planet the more it costs to launch, this cost is exponential.
- Each satellite costs you $$ per second.
- Each city pays you $$ per second for every other city it can connect to.
- Scroll wheel to zoom in and out.
- Hold Q to slow down time.
- Hold E to speed up time.

What was cut during development?
There was a spaceship you could launch and a predicted trajectory would be drawn. The only way to maneuver the ship was to turn on/off the back facing thruster and front facing thruster and the idea was you could only launch satellites from planets you were landed on. I cut it because I was running out of time and needed to work on the satellite and connectivity code, but you can still see it in the source code.

Built in Unity3D.

Ratings

Coolness 33% 1730
Overall 3.70 139
Fun 3.26 366
Graphics 3.58 267
Innovation 3.63 211
Mood 3.17 404
Theme 3.84 131

Feedback

wolfmother
25. Aug 2014 · 09:28 UTC
Cool idea, very literal interpretation of the theme. Oddly satisfying to connect every city in the system - I don't think there's much strategy that can be had, but who cares? It's fun.

Graphics are very good. Complete lack of audio is a fault, though.
Overall, one of the best I've seen so far.
stimpact
25. Aug 2014 · 09:39 UTC
I really got into this! I played 6 times or so before I thought to check out other planets. Then I discovered that you start on the hardest planet in the solar system :) Enjoyed this, I think you have an interesting mechanic and would like to see where you can take it.

@stimpact
iSamurai
25. Aug 2014 · 11:02 UTC
Quite interesting to play with. The graphics is very nice, a bit cartoon and yet very clean. The idea is very intuitive. The strategy lies in how to position the new satellites to save cost and generate most revenue at the same time. This may require some more adjustment to make it more challenge. But anyway great job!
Anshzinc
25. Aug 2014 · 11:09 UTC
I really liked the gameplay. Graphics look pretty good as well. Overall it is an excellent game.
midgard
25. Aug 2014 · 11:11 UTC
Couldn't play it
goffmog
25. Aug 2014 · 11:15 UTC
I think it shows how hard it is to come up with original or unusual mechanics that have some strategic depth to them, but it's definitely fun and challenging. Solid game, high marks from me!
g_o
25. Aug 2014 · 11:22 UTC
WOW addictive ^^ !
This was fun, I made it to hold on 100% connectivity
The only problems: it lagged when the amount of connections went a bit big; which is kinda akward cause I don't think the calculations on this game are heavy..
But yeah, I liked the fact that at some point some are colliding and so you lose some sattelites;
The audio was a bit lacking, and the theme wasn't absolutely
fitting, but yeah it was overall pretty fun :)
Slooowpoke
25. Aug 2014 · 11:24 UTC
Really fun connecting all the planets together. I loved watching the percentage of connectivity go up. Also really like the font. I think that a few more levels would be great but still very fun! :)
PTSnoop
25. Aug 2014 · 11:46 UTC
I love this game! I think there's real potential here for a more complex-strategic post-compo version - and I'd love to see one.
Jupiter_Hadley
25. Aug 2014 · 16:31 UTC
Interesting concept! I included it in part 4 of my Ludum Dare 30 compilation video series :) http://youtu.be/ydSxZiryhsI
Hypnohustla
26. Aug 2014 · 13:22 UTC
Great take on the theme. I was thinking about doing a game with satellites myself, decided to leave it to people who can do a better job at it than myself. Like this one. :)

Could have used even a tiny amount of sound effects tho.
MunkeeBacon
29. Aug 2014 · 21:27 UTC
Very interesting from a technical standpoint, nice job.
Snicklodocus
05. Sep 2014 · 20:47 UTC
Cool idea that is strangely fun. I missed audio but the graphics were nice. Good job!
invader
05. Sep 2014 · 21:54 UTC
fun to play - simple and intuitive mechanics, good feedback - it's easy to understand what is going on... Nice visual style and good production quality.

Excellent game!
🎤 ljdp
06. Sep 2014 · 21:22 UTC
Thank you all for the feedback! I've uploaded a new build with audio and music which you can see at this link: http://www.locogame.co.uk/transmission.php

I've kept the link on this page to the old build as the audio was added in after I had made my submission.
flap
12. Sep 2014 · 17:20 UTC
Thank you. cool game !
4 suggestions to make it more fun :
- More realistic orbits (the further from the planet, the slower it orbits. The heavier the planet, the quicker the satellites has to orbit.)
- Planets rotating around themselves. So we could try to set satellites in geostationary position
- When placing a satellite close to another satellite orbit, it could automatically set on the same orbit (so the orbit at the same speed)
- Same with the geostationnary orbit
apiotrw
13. Sep 2014 · 15:57 UTC
Really nice