Space Exterminator VS Shape Shifters! by OrangeeZ

[raw]
made by OrangeeZ for LD35 (JAM)
Space Exterminator faces his most dangerous enemy yet... The terrifying shape shifters! They turn into people, hide in the ventilation ducts, and even disguise themselves as boxes and rubbish.

IN THE OUTER SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SHAPE SHIFT

HOW TO PLAY
Controls: WASD to move; LMB to shoot; Space to activate the sonar

Initially the base is full of civilians, and you should avoid shooting them; as noted above, some of them can actually be shape shifters waiting in ambush. Your goal is to destroy all of them, and after that doors in the center of the base will open, leading you to the final battle. If all the civilians die, well, that's another story...

Ratings

Coolness 58% 3
Overall(Jam) 3.44 346
Audio(Jam) 3.81 94
Fun(Jam) 3.19 490
Graphics(Jam) 3.91 232
Humor(Jam) 2.57 474
Innovation(Jam) 3.58 190
Mood(Jam) 3.88 90
Theme(Jam) 3.62 326

Feedback

AuthorX
19. Apr 2016 · 03:41 UTC
Good graphics and sound, but unclear on how I was supposed to determine which people or things were shapeshifters. When the sonar was click, sometimes I just got lucky, other times I killed a necessary crew member. The darkness was jumpy, but otherwise a really good idea that added a lot to the atmosphere.
Freank
21. Apr 2016 · 13:59 UTC
Hi, nice game ! We're realizing a video with several games of the Ludum Dare #35.
Can you add your game on indiexpo.net ? (it's free)
So we can include also your game in the video ;)
p.s. write #LDJAM in the game's description
rodobodolfo
22. Apr 2016 · 02:19 UTC
Really nice ambience and graphics. Once i discover that I shoulkd be killing all the crew members it made sense. The lighting can be buggy when close to a wall... Good job!
w1n5t0n
22. Apr 2016 · 02:43 UTC
perfect audio
Benjamin-L
22. Apr 2016 · 05:20 UTC
Very nice graphics and audio. My main complaint is that the FOV is very buggy but overall I liked it.
MightyToastStudio
22. Apr 2016 · 09:54 UTC
Great concept, cool graphics and thrilling atmosphere, it could be one of the best games that I played during this LD, but the bugged FOV makes it nearly unplayable. I'm really sad about it :(
HoldMeImScared
22. Apr 2016 · 11:55 UTC
I could not figure out how to read the sonar. It looked like it just always displayed the same image upon activation, which doesn't seem right. So losing Security didn't even seem to matter.

But I really liked the idea, and it was very atmospheric. I killed things/crew in the reactor room very early on and that made things a little difficult, and definitely heightened how atmospheric it was ;)

Nice work!
jakass
22. Apr 2016 · 17:12 UTC
I love the art! but i think you miss some tutorial...:o
HuvaaKoodia
22. Apr 2016 · 17:28 UTC
This is one of those titles. The idea is marvellous, but the design is a bit all over the place.

First the good news; the presentation is great. The shadows need some more work, but that's about it. The atmosphere is excellent as well.

Unfortunately the gameplay clashes pretty bad with the simulation. Hunting down the enemy is arduous, random and finicky. Here's why:

- Only one weapon charge at a time. Why would anyone create a weapon like that, let alone use it against a menace like this? Just give me an assault rifle or a shotgun. Do they still make those in the future?

- The shapeshifter can move though vents. A cool feature on its own, very Alien, but it makes the enemy pretty much impossible to eradicate effectively (which is what the Exterminator is supposed to be good at!)

- Different departments of the ship control different parts of the ship. Once again a cool idea which makes sense in the setting, but in its current state renders the game impossible to finish. The sonar is your only chance of locating the enemy, but it's gone in a jiffy (the guys in security seem to be incapable of defending themselves). All doors locking down with the bridge takes the cake though.

These problems are relatively easy to design around, so no worries:

- Add more weapon charges and a melee attack just in case. The exterminator is supposed to be a tough SOB. The fact that you cannot be everywhere is the problem, not crappy equipment.

- No more vents. The shapeshifter's special ability to turn into any object should be its only ability. If you start shooting up the furniture in a room, all (or most) shapeshifters will run away from the room possibly attacking civilians as they go. They only fight you when cornered. Eradicating the enemy should be easy, figuring out where to shoot and what (and being ready to deal with the consequences) is the problem.

- The sonar should not go down with the security department. Maybe they could have camera access and give you hints whenever they see the enemy move around instead. This would be a nice bonus, but losing it is not the end of world. Another possibility is to make them patrol around with guns. A bit of help goes a long way.

- If the doors lock up there should be a manual override (or a blowtorch) you could use to get through. Doing this is very slow to balance it out.
You should also be able to request the bridge to lock down doors to quarantine areas (if the bridge is functional, that is). The downside is that enemies locked into a room with civilians tend to kill said civilians with ease and the room cannot function while locked.

- Less shapeshifters, more civilian activity. The enemy is willing to wait for the right movement for as long as needed. With people walking about, working, eating, etc. there are bound to be many avenues for the beasties to go for the kill. Stepping or sitting on a shapeshifter is a death penalty of course.

With chances like these the gameplay becomes much more manageable and, dare I say, interesting. After all games are about decision making so choosing which areas to secure first and how to do that become the key questions.

I love ideas which elicit lots of analysis. There's potential in this one, so I hope you continue developing it.
kaovhmf
22. Apr 2016 · 20:18 UTC
Great atmosphere done with the audio and the lightning. I didnt really know i could die until I did so maybe a better feedback on hp would be nice. The shadows are quite buggy and that doesnt help much, but it was still fun to play!
Aaranos
22. Apr 2016 · 22:01 UTC
Nice game, it is a bit hard to see with the way line of sight works, but it is manageable.
jacobturn
22. Apr 2016 · 23:42 UTC
i like the idea...
but,the gameplay is wonky
16BitsOfAwesome
22. Apr 2016 · 23:45 UTC
Cool!
tentacode
24. Apr 2016 · 17:28 UTC
Watch out for non azerty friendly inputs next time :) nice concept and graphics
KairosXIII
28. Apr 2016 · 04:16 UTC
Nice art, interface, and audio. They really did their job in setting the perfect mood for this game. The lighting/fog of war was really distracting though, made the game a bit annoying at times. Reminds me alot of those user map setting games from Starcraft!
Uson Chen
29. Apr 2016 · 08:53 UTC
Cool idea~
guoboism
29. Apr 2016 · 10:35 UTC
Wander in a dgn and kill anything that moves?
Khaoz_Fang
29. Apr 2016 · 11:12 UTC
Nice game. There are some bugs but good idea.
SUNFURY
29. Apr 2016 · 12:50 UTC
Nice mood and graphics,
I didn't like the lighting though, I couldn't see anything.
Beside this, a very nice game! :)
sndr
29. Apr 2016 · 13:39 UTC
Nice entry! I really like the theme idea!! :), although at the beginning I found it a little bit hard to figure out whether I was doing the right thing or not.
TheCain
01. May 2016 · 16:46 UTC
This game had some issues, but it was pretty fun.
The shadows were broken on mine, it made it very difficult to tell where i was.