Cosmic Commander by UnorthodoxGames

[raw]
made by UnorthodoxGames for LD27 (JAM)
ABOUT:

You're a Commander, and the objective is to destroy all opposing ships before they destroy yours. You get to do this by planning out each 10 seconds before they happen and then watch them play out. Repeat until victory!

The game will automatically select your ship, represented by a large green arrow, and you give it orders. You first select it's movement, and then which direction to shoot. You then move onto the next ship and repeat until they've all received orders, and watch the conflict ensue.

There is a phase bar to help you keep track (though in hind-site it's not the most intuitive!)

On each turn you can also choose to divert power between shielding and firing-rate, but this is optional (though highly effective). This slider is located in the bottom left of your screen and can be changed during the planning phase for each ship.

CONTROLS:

Left Mouse Click - Place Movement Icon, Place Firing Target.

Spacebar - Confirm selection and move onto the next placement/ship. You can also click NEXT.

W A S D - moves the camera.

Thanks for looking! The jam was so much fun!

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall(Jam) 3.29 210
Audio(Jam) 1.47 505
Fun(Jam) 3.04 244
Graphics(Jam) 3.13 325
Humor(Jam) 1.61 468
Innovation(Jam) 3.34 138
Mood(Jam) 2.70 360
Theme(Jam) 3.41 150

Feedback

Anachron
27. Aug 2013 · 01:06 UTC
Good space battle game, thankfully there appears to be no friendly fire.
sittaman
27. Aug 2013 · 01:26 UTC
Very funny. The 10 seconds fitted perfectly with the turn based gameplay, great work!
Pixelfan Games
27. Aug 2013 · 10:48 UTC
awesome idea, i love graphics, but i missed sounds :(
Will Edwards
27. Aug 2013 · 10:49 UTC
Really like the sprites :D Beautifully drawn.
MrRoboman
27. Aug 2013 · 10:58 UTC
Nice Game! I like how you used the theme for setting up the attack. Good concept. I would have liked to be able to scroll around the view to see enemy ships when making my preparations. Also, I thought my ships were acting a little silly firing at nothing for seven seconds after their targets had moved. :) I did win though. Woot!
kristof
27. Aug 2013 · 10:59 UTC
Very nice strategy game. Sometimes I would have liked to see more of the battlefield. But I guess that would make it too easy. Very good!
truiton
27. Aug 2013 · 12:49 UTC
Nice game, there is room for improvement, but there's a big potential for a very fun game :)
Is there a way to move the screen around?
GSM Productions
27. Aug 2013 · 12:55 UTC
Very very nice game, and one which I would love to see expanded. There was a bit too many ships the first time around to really grasp quickly what was happening. But with a difficulty curve well adjusted, or a tutorial, this could be really awesome! (Oh and with sound too :) )
🎤 UnorthodoxGames
27. Aug 2013 · 13:27 UTC
Thanks for all the awesome feedback!

For those wondering, you can move the camera around with the WASD keys.
TeamFlare
27. Aug 2013 · 15:34 UTC
Nice, abit hard to grasp but nice :)
panurge
27. Aug 2013 · 23:03 UTC
Excellent idea, nicely executed. Would have been great if the view were zoomed out just a little. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this!
Tainted_Code
27. Aug 2013 · 23:10 UTC
Good game, and should have friendly fire ;)
Thermite
27. Aug 2013 · 23:27 UTC
Nice concept, and surprising amount of depth
nintendoeats
27. Aug 2013 · 23:31 UTC
That was a lot of fun! My MOBA skills came into play very strongly and I felt like it was pretty easy, but for a single game that's probably good. I would play more of this.

I sure do wish that it had sound though.
olafurw
28. Aug 2013 · 00:02 UTC
Not exactly my game type, but I get the appeal and it's well impliemented. Specially for LD.
TheBlueRage
28. Aug 2013 · 00:23 UTC
All I can say is... fun!
Kad
28. Aug 2013 · 00:27 UTC
I felt like a tiny ship taken by the waves at times. Like, "noo dummy, go back, the red ship is running away" =p.

Fun game ^^
hoqjed
28. Aug 2013 · 00:35 UTC
Nice job for 72 hours, especially for coding AI.
TeamQuadratic
28. Aug 2013 · 00:50 UTC
Insanely fun and original. I would have loved to see that as a multiplayer battle game.
🎤 UnorthodoxGames
28. Aug 2013 · 00:58 UTC
We'd love to do multiplayer, among some other improvements!
Thanks for all the feedback everyone!
DavidErosa
28. Aug 2013 · 01:09 UTC
Nice one. Not a gender I like but I do appreciate it. Thanks!
Feffers
28. Aug 2013 · 01:11 UTC
Took a bit to get the hang of it, but decently fun once I figured it out.
Solifuge
28. Aug 2013 · 01:24 UTC
What a simple, pretty, and cleverly made game! It wasn't very difficult (I've won every play-through) but the concept of a strategy game that combines the micromanagement and action of real-time strategy, with the strategic thinking and planning of turn-based strategy games, is very cool. Nice work!
zlowrance
28. Aug 2013 · 02:01 UTC
Great graphics and fun game. Great job!
Supercannon
28. Aug 2013 · 02:08 UTC
Cool concept. Kind of easy but otherwise a great game.
fgielow
28. Aug 2013 · 02:10 UTC
Movement its a bit difficult, bet very well made for the time.
Nice idea, very different.
Jayjay
28. Aug 2013 · 02:11 UTC
Very cool! It was awesome to see this one as you guys were developing it in the posts =D
jwolf
28. Aug 2013 · 02:17 UTC
This is a rather interesting and fun strategy game that you have here. It definitely could use some sound effects, though.

I don't want to overstress this, because the game is fun enough as it is, but (for future projects?) consider taking a look at some of the audio tools and generators like BFXR or others mentioned on /compo/tools/. You can crank (useable) stuff out more quickly than you might imagine, and don't really require any technical knowledge. They're definitely worth the time spent.
🎤 UnorthodoxGames
28. Aug 2013 · 02:27 UTC
Thanks! The lack of sound is definitely something we regret, and we'll be all over those tools for any future projects (and if we return to work further on this!)
Reaperguy
28. Aug 2013 · 13:59 UTC
Really like it, and some sounds and some upgrades for the ships and it will be awesome
ratalaika
28. Aug 2013 · 16:39 UTC
good job
Jason
28. Aug 2013 · 17:31 UTC
Thats cool. I definitely like the turn based approach. Maybe a collision zone around a ship to keep them from getting so close to each other would help keep the battlefield spread out. Would be cool to have a way to zoom out too. Definitely a good base to move forward on!
Capro
28. Aug 2013 · 18:06 UTC
Very well made game. I love this. :)
Alexander Ponomariov
29. Aug 2013 · 12:32 UTC
Great game! Some sound would be also nice)
Anyway, suits theme perfectly!
Volute
29. Aug 2013 · 21:51 UTC
Great idea ! Perfectly fits the theme.
DanHayesGamer
29. Aug 2013 · 23:01 UTC
I really liked this, could make for a grat tactical sci fi. though music or at least sound effects would have been nice!
TomCooper3D
29. Aug 2013 · 23:57 UTC
nice work this game plays quite well
lcarpentier
30. Aug 2013 · 16:08 UTC
I like a good spaceship battle. You are definetly onto something, I enjoyed playing yoru game.
tamat
30. Aug 2013 · 17:07 UTC
Great idea, maybe movements are too slow but I liked a lot the concept.
Raiyumi
04. Sep 2013 · 06:28 UTC
Really nice game, would like to see more. :)
DaanVanYperen
04. Sep 2013 · 13:59 UTC
Nice game, reminds me a bit of the starwars boardgame that I can't quite remember the name of.
OldPeculier
04. Sep 2013 · 20:59 UTC
That is pretty darned sophisticated for a weekend game. Cool!
theholychicken
05. Sep 2013 · 10:07 UTC
I just love strategy/tactic games like this!!
The AI still has room for improvement but the gameplay is just pure awesome!
Great work!
ZYXer
08. Sep 2013 · 15:40 UTC
Wow! Awesome game concept! I love the strategy-aspect of the game. Great job!
infernet89
14. Sep 2013 · 15:45 UTC
Very innovative idea! Controls are a little bit complicated the first time, but after 2 restart we can get used to them.
Mekuri
14. Sep 2013 · 17:03 UTC
As you commented on my game, we went for the same concept, so I can only say "I really like the idea!". Good job.
porglezomp
14. Sep 2013 · 21:20 UTC
Managed to win immediately after my last ship was destroyed. Love the art, fun game.

I do wish you had some keyboard shortcut for next.
porglezomp
14. Sep 2013 · 21:20 UTC
Oh wait you do have one.
PaperBlurt
15. Sep 2013 · 15:27 UTC
This big feels huge. Turn-based is a favorite. Good job, but maybe a bit slow start..
kirbytails7
16. Sep 2013 · 03:42 UTC
Not too bad. Audio would be nice.