LudumData

Planet Waves by attagcatc

[raw]
made by attagcatc for LD23 (COMPO)
The Game - Match 3 or more planet types together, to remove them from the grid. This is done by shooting a quantum planet toward the grid, which has a chance of landing in any row - Change the probability of landing in a particle row by changing the wavelength of the planet.

The game mechanics are slightly broken given that it is incredibly difficult to clear a stage, but I ran out of time trying to fix it.

Windows http://dl.dropbox.com/u/75047185/PlanetWaves-Windows.zip
Source http://dl.dropbox.com/u/75047185/PlanetWaves-Source.zip
Original URL https://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-23/?action=preview&uid=3010

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 2.28 811
Audio 1.88 643
Fun 1.84 838
Graphics 2.32 718
Humor 1.62 715
Innovation 3.44 193
Mood 2.05 778
Theme 2.80 543

Feedback

Geti
23. Apr 2012 · 01:52 UTC
Needs offset to really be playable, but its certainly an interesting mechanic. Just feels like I need a little more control than "roll dice, get cookie or not".

Come to the jam next time :)
netmute
24. Apr 2012 · 12:16 UTC
Can't rate because I'm using a Mac. Sorry :(
orgarus
24. Apr 2012 · 12:20 UTC
HI!
I think that you have a good idea, and another point of view of the connect 4, but I can't play comfortably because I don't get how control where the ball goes ¿Maybe if you draw the objective direction with a white rect?
Cheers!
jason.bakker
24. Apr 2012 · 15:02 UTC
The wavelength stuff was a bit confusing for my dinosaur brain to fully comprehend. It's a cool idea though! Would be interested to see a more developed version :)
🎤 attagcatc
24. Apr 2012 · 23:23 UTC
Yeah I agree it isn't particularly intuitive. Thanks for the comments.
Milo
25. Apr 2012 · 00:09 UTC
I cleared one group before I died, and I don't think that was because of any skilled play on my part. Definitely make it more definite where it will land, and make it possible to have a low probability on the lowest row.
Jedi
25. Apr 2012 · 05:01 UTC
VERY innovative! I probably managed to clear ten sets or so and felt very good about myself for managing it. However, at the end of the day, I didn't find it much fun to have so little control. If "winning" means clearing the board, I don't see it happening :).

Like Geti said, it needs an offset; seems like the bottom row or two are always favored.
🎤 attagcatc
25. Apr 2012 · 05:35 UTC
I do have a version that fixed the bottom row bug and added offset available here (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/75047185/PlanetWaves-Windows-PostCompo-v1.zip) if you would like to try. Still seems way too difficult though.
🎤 attagcatc
25. Apr 2012 · 05:36 UTC
Use left and right to change offset
robcozzens
25. Apr 2012 · 05:38 UTC
I would have tried it if it had a web or osx version.
chambers
25. Apr 2012 · 06:23 UTC
An interesting approach for the theme "tiny world", lol. If there was a prize for "tiniest planet", this would win for sure XD
daandruff
25. Apr 2012 · 08:21 UTC
Really nice idea but the gameplay feel a bit too random and the sound is hurting my ears. Still, a fair entry though :)
Catman
25. Apr 2012 · 10:05 UTC
It's a bit confusing, I think you should add an explaination of the reason the planets go in a row or not!

Otherwise, cool!
BenW
26. Apr 2012 · 04:56 UTC
Interesting concept but ultimately I didn't feel like I had enough control over what was happening to play well. Also the sound is a little harsh.
SonnyBone
27. Apr 2012 · 01:31 UTC
VERY innovative approach to the theme! I dig the concept, but I'm not sure that it actually translates well into a 'fun' game. You could keep tweaking this to find the sweet spot, though.
invaderJim
27. Apr 2012 · 01:34 UTC
Kudos for thinking outside the box! It does feel a little too random in its current state, but it's a good base for a unique game mechanic. Keep developing it!
Jezzamon
27. Apr 2012 · 12:16 UTC
:C Unfortunately I cannot play this on my mac.

Good luck for this Ludum Dare though! I hope whatever happens you're happy with your game!
Tomalla
27. Apr 2012 · 19:00 UTC
Yeah, like the others already have said - it shouldn't rely that much on luck. Other than that - it's a material for a good game.
Jiggawatt
28. Apr 2012 · 10:00 UTC
i_have_no_idea_what_i'm_doing.jpg
Arkazon
28. Apr 2012 · 10:23 UTC
A nice take on the genre, unfortunately it felt more like luck than skill when things went well. If left and right are supposed to change the offset then that didn't seem to be working for me.
jwolf
28. Apr 2012 · 19:46 UTC
Oh god, why did someone make probabilistic Match-3? It shouldn't even work, but it does! (kind of)

Nice entry! This was actually rather amusing to play. Might take the right mindset. :)
Tourgen
01. May 2012 · 23:33 UTC
It works, I don't know I thought it was pretty easy to understand after reading the help screen. I just didn't find the game mechanic fun. It's a cool idea though and maybe it could be applied in some other way?
Mårten Jonsson
02. May 2012 · 10:07 UTC
Seriously confusing.
jmaasing
02. May 2012 · 11:30 UTC
Sorry, can't rate since I'm on a Mac.
Johnicholas
02. May 2012 · 12:02 UTC
Neato - animating the planet moving to its eventual destination would be nice, as well as animating the match-and-removal process (blink or similar). One thing that would make it easier (and possibly winnable) would be fewer colors of planets.
DaveDobson
02. May 2012 · 12:51 UTC
Neat idea; I like the probabilistic delivery of planets, but it seems particularly unsuited to a matching game. It felt like drunk tetris or something. The program worked well and looked nice, and the probability thing was very nicely displayed.
Shifty
02. May 2012 · 12:52 UTC
Col to see a puzzle game :)
evilseanbot
05. May 2012 · 08:44 UTC
My favorite interpretation of the theme so far!
gavin5564
11. May 2012 · 22:05 UTC
The controls where a bit strange, apart from that the concept was interesting. Good job.
trylle
12. May 2012 · 11:28 UTC
Very interesting mechanic. Seems a shame though that you always have a high probability of getting a planet dumped on the base frequency/slot(?), though. Maybe part of the spectrum shouldn't be included, or have some switch to invert the probabilities? The audio was pretty annoying; would have preferred no sound, I think. :D
Valeour
12. May 2012 · 13:22 UTC
Very confusing and just feels like rolling a die half the time.
Jiddo
13. May 2012 · 09:40 UTC
I like the idea. Using the wavelength to control the launching of planets was a quite original idea. I kind of feel that it is too difficult tho since there is so much depending on random chance and so little depending on the player's actions. The sound when changing wavelength also got a bit annoying quite fast. The game runs just fine on Linux using Wine. Nice work!
apfrod
13. May 2012 · 11:33 UTC
can't run it as I'm not on Windows. Concepts sounds very complex and interesting but not necessarily fun!
JellyFame
13. May 2012 · 15:02 UTC
Unfortunately cannot play, don't have access to windows box.
HTML5 :)
lorancou
13. May 2012 · 21:27 UTC
Hum so you're breaking a few rules in video games. 1) Direct control: tuning random chances isn't really fun by itself, it needs at least good incentives (think about gambling). 2) Explicit feedback: we can't see clearly the little planets going through the grid (at least I don't), so the game feels buggy. But still, this has potential, maybe introducing a bit a "air control" after the shot could help.