Ad Astra by Cosmologicon

[raw]
made by Cosmologicon for LD29 (COMPO)
A Metroidvania-style platformer set deep underground. Stay alive, explore the caverns, unlock new abilities, and maybe discover what lies on the surface.

This JavaScript HTML5 browser game was written using UFX, a set of modules I wrote. Sound effects: sfxr. Music: autotracker

For best performance, use Chrome or resize the window smaller.

Ratings

Coolness 69% 3
Overall 3.10 640
Audio 2.89 472
Fun 2.86 700
Graphics 2.54 958
Humor 2.08 815
Innovation 2.90 674
Mood 3.05 499
Theme 3.31 517

Feedback

awanegenebayo
28. Apr 2014 · 03:56 UTC
Very nice!
Tanner
28. Apr 2014 · 15:03 UTC
I like the concept :)
Skywilly
28. Apr 2014 · 16:16 UTC
Great concept !
stenol
28. Apr 2014 · 16:56 UTC
Great !
gigitrix
28. Apr 2014 · 17:53 UTC
Interesting concept! I found it a bit fiddly but I think that's more my fault than the game's :)
Conchlab Games
28. Apr 2014 · 19:47 UTC
Great music and sound effects
miwuc
28. Apr 2014 · 20:41 UTC
Very impressive for 48 hours! The gameplay has much more to it than you'd think at the beginning and the game seems quite long. The graphics are simple but effective.
I went quite far but I have to admit I gave up when it asked me to visit three houses to repair the sun.
It would be nice if the arrows pointing to the houses also showed the distance.
🎤 Cosmologicon
28. Apr 2014 · 22:12 UTC
Thanks, good idea about the distances. I guess I can't add that feature to the game, but I think I can provide a world map for the curious. I've added a link at the top.
rfgpfeiffer
29. Apr 2014 · 06:02 UTC
The platforming seems very hard this early in the morning, so I have to postpone judging on this game. I loved Flajora's Flask and Tondie & Zupe so I have high hopes.

I have added a --big command line switch so you do not have to strain your eyes on the tiny pixels. I think this counts as "porting" to high DPI screens.
miwuc
29. Apr 2014 · 06:03 UTC
Thanks for the world map, it's very interesting :)
🎤 Cosmologicon
29. Apr 2014 · 10:43 UTC
rfgpfeiffer: command line switch? Are you sure you're talking about this game? If the graphics are too small to see you can just fullscreen your browser window. It'll zoom in.
rfgpfeiffer
29. Apr 2014 · 14:35 UTC
I meant i have edited *my* game because you complained about the tiny pixels. I posted it under your game so you can see it better, because I did not think you'd watch my comment page.

Sorry about the confusion. I can see your game just fine. Is there a way to pm someone or reply to his comments so he is notified?
borrismoose
29. Apr 2014 · 22:01 UTC
Those are some interesting platforming physics, in a good way.
Gwinnell
29. Apr 2014 · 22:21 UTC
I was skeptical at first when I jumped, but it made sense when I realised all the platforms are the same height! I didn't get very far because I suck at platformers and kept dying, but it seems pretty cool. :)
AngryPriest
29. Apr 2014 · 22:22 UTC
Pretty cool, but it kept stalling for me. I couldn't get very far. Still impressed with what I did play though
🎤 Cosmologicon
29. Apr 2014 · 22:55 UTC
If it freezes for no apparent reason and you're feeling helpful, you can open the JavaScript console and tell me if you see any error messages. (In Chrome pick Tools > Developer Tools and look for red messages.)
Nezzhil
30. Apr 2014 · 09:15 UTC
Good concept but the game crashses sometimes... :( Try to repair it please, i want to play it again.
🎤 Cosmologicon
30. Apr 2014 · 11:36 UTC
Okay I fixed one potential bug. If it still freezes for you, let me know!
pancakecity
30. Apr 2014 · 19:47 UTC
Neat game!
madmaw
01. May 2014 · 02:43 UTC
I really enjoyed this and loved the premise. Great work
MunkeeBacon
01. May 2014 · 18:20 UTC
The background music was nice!
sharpcoder
01. May 2014 · 18:43 UTC
Quite fun! I found the level design a bit frustrating, but at the same time, the challenge of it hooked me in! This has quite a long story, and it's staged quite interestingly. Overall, nice job!
hbocao
02. May 2014 · 01:56 UTC
You've done a bunch of work for 48 hours. Dang! Very Metroidvania indeed. The wings remind me of God of War. Keep rocking!
HybridMind
03. May 2014 · 16:57 UTC
The controls/jumping really killed this for me. Not too mention way too many enemies. I must have died 50 times trying to even get a few screens away from my starting point. By control issues, I mean that sometimes it wouldn't register the jump at all and I'd fall to my death. The hard limit on jump height was very awkward, and the collision seemed odd sometimes and I'd just fall to my doom. Seems from the other players comments that people have liked this and from your screenshot and the initial eldar story text, it sounds cool, but I seem incapable of playing it as is.
🎤 Cosmologicon
03. May 2014 · 18:52 UTC
Hmmm, if it's not registering jumps and the collision seems off, that sounds like a bug. Do you mind telling me your browser? It could also be an extreme framerate issue; I can see that happening if it falls below 5fps. If you feel like it, check out the debug link and tell me what framerate it shows for you: http://universefactory.net/astra/?DEBUG - if it's really low, you might consider a different browser and see if that makes things any better.
Tifu
04. May 2014 · 12:32 UTC
I was able to accidentally sequence break and get the wing upgrade before visiting Brite :P Unfortunately it crashed two towns later when I was on the way to Querda :( I assume I was almost at the end, especially judging by that map.
Idea of using a jump as an attack is pretty cool, makes you need to think about your surroundings before trying to kill enemies. Cool game.
TheSheep
04. May 2014 · 17:07 UTC
I'm so bad at platformers :(
Myyyvothrr
09. May 2014 · 12:50 UTC
I like the graphics style, but I found it too hard to control.
loxo
19. May 2014 · 16:25 UTC
Nice idea. The game fits the theme and seems to have an interesting plot. Sadly it's too hard for me. I wish I could jump higher.