LudumData

Ocean Explorer by MintArcade

[raw]
made by MintArcade for LD29 (COMPO)
Very simple game where you exploring ocean floor, fighting pollution and researching a strange swimming objects. Game have autosave feature, so you can continue any time. Many other not finished things like missing (or not at all) textures and UV mapping, sounds and key rebinding are here due time limit, so please be patient.

System requirements - if you can play Skyrim/GTA-5, you are OK (probably).
Web version (slow download) is provided with official ShiVa3D web player

[Controls]
Movement - WASD/Arrow keys
Q/Insert - Up
Z/Delete - Down
Space - Beam

[Big issue]
If gameplay is SLOW and waves appears to be WHITE - unfortunately your PC or graphic card is not powerful enough. Try to tweak RenderLevel, AALevel, PostRELevel and ShadowLevel in S3DClient.cfg config file.

[Known Bugs]
- Outside Camera mode only when your vessel above surface
- Particles clipping through vessel body
- Lightning issues on slower GPU (Setup file included).

[Links]
Trailer: http://youtu.be/ll4VJ67S62Y
And this is time lapse of how I did it. http://youtu.be/Dl144e-yWQw
My son's LP: http://youtu.be/9yjxwUAm8UY
Post compo version will be available here: http://www.indiedb.com/games/ocean-explorer
Web http://mintarcade.com/games/LD29
Windows/Mac/Linux https://www.dropbox.com/sh/njspwzolt5tew9y/K832aDc1j8
Twitter https://twitter.com/MintArcade
Source http://mintarcade.com/games/LD29/Sources.zip
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-29/?action=preview&uid=35966

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.16 586
Audio 3.02 391
Fun 2.73 818
Graphics 3.81 190
Humor 2.16 763
Innovation 3.13 505
Mood 3.16 406
Theme 3.34 490

Feedback

shotiris
28. Apr 2014 路 09:38 UTC
Very nicely done :) Could be the start of a great exploration game!
Zed
28. Apr 2014 路 15:22 UTC
Unfortunately ran like butts on my PC, which is obviously not your fault. Won't be rating, just wanted you to know I'd at least attempted it. :)
馃帳 MintArcade
28. Apr 2014 路 16:02 UTC
I see. Probably graphic is to extreme. There is file called S3DClient.cfg set parameters: RenderLevel=1 (fast) and AALevel=0 (less nice) to make it faster. Didn't have time to implement this menu ;>
Hyoga-3D
28. Apr 2014 路 16:03 UTC
Nice art! Good job
Zutty
28. Apr 2014 路 17:02 UTC
Either I haven't figured out the controls, or the ship moves so slowly that I couldn't tell that it mas moving. I will try again later on my more powerful home PC.
馃帳 MintArcade
28. Apr 2014 路 17:13 UTC
Ship ( bathyscaphe ) is actually slow. If I to improve this game, I'll do some bonuses like speed boost, sonic cam etc. Thanks for playing.
Marcellus
28. Apr 2014 路 17:49 UTC
Nice theme using, the inside subjective view of the bathyscaphe is a very nice idea. Damnit the abyss are scary !
SmilingCat
28. Apr 2014 路 17:57 UTC
Nice graphics, I like the use of bordering to be able to see profiles of far-off shapes.
aaronjbaptiste
28. Apr 2014 路 18:01 UTC
Struggled with the controls, but with the toon shading and water reflections the graphics are amazing considering the time limit.
iJohnF
28. Apr 2014 路 18:52 UTC
This is amazing considering the 48 hour time limit! The sense of exploration is really good
Conchlab Games
28. Apr 2014 路 19:15 UTC
Amazing graphics. Very impressive.
kbm
28. Apr 2014 路 19:18 UTC
Nice play on the theme, also liked the graphics! Well done! :)
DustyStylus
28. Apr 2014 路 19:24 UTC
This is beautiful! Je suis Jacques Cousteau!
twelveplusplus
28. Apr 2014 路 23:19 UTC
loved the stylized graphics. the gameplay was a bit on the slow-side for my tastes.
colludium
28. Apr 2014 路 23:26 UTC
Great effort for 48hrs! Game was very slow to start up / my sub was hardly moving - probably true to life accurate but made the pace of the game slow.
archaeometrician
29. Apr 2014 路 13:19 UTC
Great graphics ! Nice exploration game !
hexagore
29. Apr 2014 路 13:54 UTC
Impressive graphics. Controlling the bathysphere felt really nice too :)
DarkEngineer
29. Apr 2014 路 13:55 UTC
Nicely done!
Seraphina
29. Apr 2014 路 14:04 UTC
Really liked the atmosphere in this game. Kind of peaceful. The first time a fish clipped through the ship scared me a little, though. =)
Dramentiaras
29. Apr 2014 路 14:09 UTC
This is great! It's fun to explore and I love the cellshading!
DarkMeatGames
29. Apr 2014 路 14:24 UTC
Wow, absolutely beautiful, especially above the surface! Really impressive how you made a world that seemed so big in just 48 hours.

Even with the task list, I felt unsure about where to go, and wasn't crazy about the 'home key/end key' for controls.

Really beautiful work though, if the world had some variety, I'd cruise around without any objectives at all. Keep it up!
ArcturusDeluxe
29. Apr 2014 路 16:09 UTC
Considering the time limit I'm impressed. The atmosphere is really cool with the in-cockpit view, sort of claustrophobic but also serene at the same time. I like the cel-shaded style too.
_adamturnbull
29. Apr 2014 路 19:36 UTC
Good job! Amazing how you made this in 48 hours!
pansapiens
30. Apr 2014 路 04:32 UTC
That's an impressive cockpit - would work well on the Oculus Rift. I didn't hear sound - maybe there was none - if so, I think even some minimal sound would have really helped the atmosphere. I quite enjoy these slow paced exploration games, however I still ended up feeling like the craft could have moved forward faster, or had a 'boost' for short bursts of speed. It may not be realistic, but I guess it depends on style of game you are aiming for (more casual fun, or a simulator for purists). The sonar as a pickup bonus is a good idea too.
馃帳 MintArcade
30. Apr 2014 路 07:36 UTC
Thank's all for great comments. I've worked hard for you to enjoy. There is sounds in the game BTW, but only engine sound, bubbles and very quite background music. May be volume levels is to low by default - that something to be done in future releases.
frankbsad
30. Apr 2014 路 08:51 UTC
you need to make it so it doesn't display the mouse, it's kinda annoying having my pointer in the middle of the screen while playing. Other wise this could be a good game with some tweaks.
javifugitivo
30. Apr 2014 路 15:19 UTC
Very good first impression, and awesome graphics. As others said, it can be the seed of a great exploration game, nice job!
TheZiggy
30. Apr 2014 路 20:31 UTC
Game just opened and crashed every time. It looked good though, too bad i can't play it :/
Ragzouken
30. Apr 2014 路 20:46 UTC
interested in seeing a post compo version of this :)
ZeppelinCaptain
01. May 2014 路 19:07 UTC
Nice exploration aspect, but controls were a little awkward at times (especially when switching between surfaced and submerged). Very nice environment, great job with the fish.
Suyo
02. May 2014 路 12:56 UTC
As I've said on the stream, I love the mood and the look - but my biggest problem was actually finding something to do. All environments look the same, especially when underwater, so you never know whether you are currently exploring a new area, or the glow in the distance which you're driving towards (very slowly) is just the delivery platform again.
It also had a lot of things which were left unexplained - I couldn't figure out how to close valves, had no idea how to interact with the plasma blobs, and didn't even notice the O2 gauge until halfway through the game. Still haven't figured out what the right gauge is.
A little more guidance at the start and varying underwater looks would be great, but the audio and look create a relaxing experience which I still enjoyed. I'll just most likely never find all the barrels.
馃帳 MintArcade
02. May 2014 路 13:34 UTC
Thanks Suyo for in depth explanation. I'll consider your (and most other people) requests for bugfix and later releases.
Jupiter_Hadley
02. May 2014 路 16:14 UTC
Really sweet graphics and cool game. I included it in part 8 of my Ludum Dare Compilation video series! http://youtu.be/0CjJInaKTls
whilefun
03. May 2014 路 16:51 UTC
This was a really cool game! I found the finer controls a bit difficult for moving barrels and turning valves (i got stuck on things). Great feel and atmosphere though, and impressive graphics and audio. Nice work! :)
soy_yuma
03. May 2014 路 21:24 UTC
Cool graphics! And cool exploration game! Grats!
Mekuri
04. May 2014 路 11:07 UTC
A big world, in such a short time. I liked the graphics, and the idea is great. The sub was well designed and I liked how buttons and levers responded to input. Good job!
gre
04. May 2014 路 14:41 UTC
Awesome game and especially done in 48 hours!

PS: I love your kid video! I just became a father and you must be proud of your son playing your game^^
pinkmonkeyhead
04. May 2014 路 17:12 UTC
The gfx are AMAZING!!
Oddly Shaped Pixels
04. May 2014 路 20:29 UTC
Really nice cell shading, exploring the ocean is really relaxing. Impressive work for 48hrs!
SnoringFrog
05. May 2014 路 04:31 UTC
Looks beautiful, and initially seemed like something I'd like, but it felt really slow/boring to me. I was able to track down one barrel and one valve before I lost interest. Just wasn't my type of game, apparently.
pichifino
10. May 2014 路 16:03 UTC
Like it