Self.Recompile() by Kharza

made by Kharza for LD24 (COMPO)

This is a tale of a program seeking to improve itself through upgrades.

If you have an xbox gamepad plugged in, the compo version is fine. However if you don't or don't want to use a gamepad, grab the post compo version. The only difference is that it supports keyboard and mouse.

I had to replace my timelapse link with the post compo version. Timelapse can be found here:

http://youtu.be/9pLlhLW7EzU

It is an XNA game for windows, and thus requires the XNA redist as well as the .net framework 4. I shall link them.

Also I'm using the hidef profile as these are the libs I use to make xbox stuff. Probably won't run on super low end netbooks and the like.

Source code also has my .map and 3dsmax files

Here is a guide to help with the game's crafting. Sorry I made things so obtuse! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/59900676/Guide.txt

And here's a playthru, chopped down a bit (was too long for youtube)

http://youtu.be/V0zuHfiZwRc

Windows	http://dl.dropbox.com/u/59900676/RecompileBin.zip
Source	http://dl.dropbox.com/u/59900676/RecompileSrc.zip
XNA Redist	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20914
.NET Redist	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17851
Post Compo KB/Mouse Version	http://dl.dropbox.com/u/59900676/RecompileBinPostCompo.zip
Original URL	https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?action=preview&uid=5649

Ratings

Coolness	36%	791
Overall	2.72	512

Audio	2.76	250
Fun	2.06	662
Graphics	3.79	97
Innovation	3.17	233
Mood	3.00	183
Theme	2.61	484

Feedback

🎤 Kharza

27. Aug 2012 · 02:56 UTC

I should point out, someone on IRC gave it a go with a gamepad, and apparently you need a 360 pad. I sort of figured gamepads "just worked". And yea the keyboard / mouse is busted. I shall put up a post compo on the morrow.

Pazaz

27. Aug 2012 · 03:35 UTC

I liked what I got to try (I could move around and look, but I couldn't go past a few parts because it required a 'back' button (gamepad) when I was using the keyboard and mouse controls.

Pazaz

27. Aug 2012 · 03:38 UTC

Totally messed up on the format for that comment. Oh well, too late now. Liked game; Has a few flaws, but I understand why.

🎤 Kharza

27. Aug 2012 · 13:22 UTC

I dreaded hitting refresh after waking up. I shall fix keyboard and mouse now in a post version.

🎤 Kharza

27. Aug 2012 · 16:55 UTC

Ok fixed kb and mouse version posted as post compo.

Timster Studios

28. Aug 2012 · 02:53 UTC

Tried the game and it seems to be an interesting concept - however, I couldn't figure out what to do. Could have used some instructions or a readme or something.

🎤 Kharza

28. Aug 2012 · 03:03 UTC

The best way to get started is to pick up the siphon and zap the rocks with it (trigger or left mouse), that will get you some vector instructions to feed into the compiler

There are a ton of recipes I didn't have time to put hints for in the game, if you experiment you can find ways to improve yourself in every way (but I wouldn't recommend it, failure eats the resources)

Also there's a weapon hidden in there but I didn't get time to make enemies so not very useful :)

gamblore

28. Aug 2012 · 03:56 UTC

Interesting visual style. Was not able to get that far. The compiler menu didn't open anything and my instruction disappeared from the linker menu. I think the controller look sensitivity was too high for my preference but the mouse controls were good.

🎤 Kharza

28. Aug 2012 · 04:10 UTC

Uh oh, wonder if I have a strange bug. Did you at least make it to level 2? You have to... need spoiler tags. Make the thingy at the foozle and then use it at the dilly

🎤 Kharza

28. Aug 2012 · 04:11 UTC

BTW thanks for playing those that have. In regards to the visual style, I grew really fond of it. I'll write more in a postmortem, but I might take it post jam.

gustavodort

28. Aug 2012 · 04:35 UTC

The visuals are AWESOME!

I got a little lost on what to do though, I wandered around and eventually got frustrated :/

🎤 Kharza

28. Aug 2012 · 09:46 UTC

I think I made stuff way too obscure. I don't think anyone has made it to level 2 even.

🎤 Kharza

28. Aug 2012 · 10:34 UTC

A wild guide appears! http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?action=preview&uid=5649

Eniko

29. Aug 2012 · 02:07 UTC

I'm in love with this concept. I played it all the way through the end, and was awarded with very pretty music. The problem is that at first it's totally unclear what's going on, and the siphoning isn't the most fun thing. And you can do really dumb things like use your siphon (the blue pickaxe) in a failed recipe and have to start over. So, awesome concept, unfortunately it needed a lot more polish to shine. Very much hope this gets a longer, improved post compo version.

31eee384

29. Aug 2012 · 03:04 UTC

Couldn't figure things out even with your guide, sorry. :/ All I have is Vector Rotate and Vector Scale, and "Scale" isn't even mentioned in the guide. Regardless whether or not I was able to figure that out--how would I even use these materials to upgrade myself? Very confusing.

Other than that, though, good graphics and music. The mining sound was... grating, though, heh. Seems like it would be a pretty cool game if it made sense. :)

🎤 Kharza

29. Aug 2012 · 21:38 UTC

Oops I screwed up and left out scale in the guide

🎤 Kharza

29. Aug 2012 · 21:42 UTC

fixed

🎤 Kharza

29. Aug 2012 · 22:16 UTC

To add to my growing list of failures, a friend playing just discovered that the first hint in the game is actually wrong. It mentions VectorAdd when it should read VectorRotate. /facepalm

MurrayL

01. Sep 2012 · 14:54 UTC

It looks pretty cool, but I mostly had no idea what was going on!

The sound while mining is way too loud :/

It'd be interesting to see a version of this with some user experience improvements.

Gidaio

04. Sep 2012 · 18:34 UTC

Quite difficult to understand. The 'harvesting' sound was EXTREMELY annoying, and the flickery lights didn't do anything good to my eyes.

Skulls

06. Sep 2012 · 08:07 UTC

I spent a lot of time trying to work out how to play, did not teach the player how to play through the game. Having to read a guide isn't much fun but I can tell you had some cool ideas.

triliyn

10. Sep 2012 · 14:38 UTC

In my first try, I destroyed the data siphon in the linker and didn't understand why I couldn't get any resources. After restarting, it took me a while to figure out that something was actually going on when you hold-click on the resources -- the mining sound is a lot like a "failure" noise.