Stargust by eggnog
Well, here it is: Stargust!
POST-RATING NOTE Now that Ludum Dare 39 is officially done, I think it's safe for me to post the finished version of Stargust! Here it is:
https://eggnog.itch.io/stargust
If you'd still like to play the original version, the link is in the thread!
The UI and audio aren't done, but the gameplay is more-or-less finished. Ludum Dare was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to putting some spit and polish on this in the coming weeks. I hope you all enjoy it!
Controls:
Arrow Keys - Move Cloud
Z - (When Water-Charged) Water Plants
Z - (When Wind-Charged) Attract Missiles
X - (When Water-Charged) Charge Battery with Lightning
X - (When Wind-Charged) Gust Attack
Instructions:
You are a cloud with a gorgeous garden, full of star-flowers: magical plants with the power to create stars. Gardens take a lot of upkeep, so hop to it!
Star flowers must be watered frequently if you want them to produce stars. Fill up with water from the tap in the top right of the screen and press z to rain down water on your field. Healthy flowers will make stars, which you can collect to increase your score. Wilted flowers don't produce stars at all.
You can also release an electric charge by pressing x when you are full of water. Lightning is dangerous for flowers but if you can hit the battery, the battery will receive a charge. Remember, the game ends when the battery runs out of charge, so make sure to zap it with lightning as often as you can.
Occasionally, missiles will fall from the sky, directly at your battery. Water power has no effect on missiles, so charge up with wind power instead! When charged, press z to turn your cloud into a magnet and pull the missile away from your battery. Don't get too close to the battery though, as the magnet might drain your battery!
Chompers are ravenous creatures, hungry for the taste of flowers. Press x when you're full of wind power to push chompers away from your fields. Be wary though, as if you're charged up on water, you might drop some lightning on your plants by accident! Lightning has no effect on chompers, since they have thick, nearly indestructible hides.!
Ratings
| Overall | 484th | 3.276⭐ | 31🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 503th | 3⭐ | 31🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 146th | 3.593⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 209th | 3.828⭐ | 31🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 175th | 4.138⭐ | 31🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 267th | 2.783⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 498th | 3.08⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 14🗳️ | 12🗨️ |
You missed your chance to put some easter eggs above or below the tutorial text, though ;-)
But yeah, not having any sound hurt it a bit. It's not too hard to add some basic ones during the jam, it's worth doing that at some stage.
The game itself was kinda confusing because I'm not sure how you survive the missile? Seems like it destroys the battery every time.
The rocket can be redirected from the battery by using magnesis (wind power + Z). In the final release, I'll make sure that the instructions are a little more clear on this! Sound and music will be in the final version as well! ;)
And yeah, Jezzamon, I'll put some gifs up for sure! Thanks for the suggestion! :D
The instructions are a bit long, but when you have multiple interacting mechanics like this, it can be hard to break up the introduction well. But the gameplay itself seems good.
I actually didn't miss much in the UI, so I'm not sure what more you wanted to polish, but sound would definitely have made it better. A pity you didn't have time to get to it.
Ultimately though, I had fun raining on flowers and being a magnetic floating thing.
Also, I love clouds too! They should totally be in more games. :P
I'm not sure if I'm just bad, but I couldn't get rid of that missile. I opened a whole can of magnesis on that thing and I couldn't stop it!
It'd be nice to use one power without wasting the other, so I can prepare for threats. I kept getting pinched where I'd water the plants then the chomper shows up and it's impossible to get the gust and use it on him before he ruins my beautiful garden x)
Peter Sheehan: The chompers were fun to animate, so I'm glad you liked them! If I ever release a sequel or an enhanced version, I'll definitely consider easing players into the concept a little more smoothly! Thanks for the feedback! :)
PBG: I'm super proud to rep PICO-8, it's just such an awesome program, with such a great community! I definitely agree that the water and wind powers would be easier if mapped to a 4-button controller instead of the 2-button system. Perhaps that'll be rectified in a sequel down the road! :D Thanks for your input!
VarelseGames: Thanks so much! :)
Phobos001: Keeping your lightning power up is a little tricky, as it uses nearly 3/4 of your water power! Only one lightning bolt at a time can be used, so it can indeed be a little tricky to stay on top of! I'm glad you found it fun to keep the chompers out of the garden, thanks so much for the feedback! :)
prettylucky: If you sit on the Wind Power Generator, you can just hold Z and use magnesis when the missile is close to the ground, so it'll just land in the garden. In any future versions, I'll make magnesis a little more powerful, or the missile a little bit easier to redirect. A scrollable power menu might have rectified the current 2-button system I'm using ... hmm. I'll keep that in mind for any future version! Thanks so much for your thoughtful response! :D
I liked the game overall i wish it didn't lack the sound.
Thank you for making this game I enjoyed it!
ArticNet: Thanks! Simple & effective is what I was aiming for here; avoiding unnecessary graphical complexities helped me nail down the feel of the game more quickly! Thanks for the comment!
stevenjmiller: It seems that the rocket difficulty is a running theme in my player feedback! I definitely agree, sometimes it's hard to see past my own ideas while developing, so it's great to hear that there are some things I need to tweak. I'll definitely adjust the rockets before the official release! Thanks for the feedback!
oab: Yeah, that seems to be in line with how people are feeling. I'll adjust the difficulty before the official release, so hopefully it'll be a little more accessible at that time! :) Thanks for the comment!
Turncoda: I might try to avoid this feeling of stress or powerlessness by draining the Wind and Water bars a little more slowly, even by 5-10%! Hopefully that will help players feel more like they're not constantly wandering back to recharge! Thanks for the comment!
arctic_allosaurus: That seems to be the theme here! I'm taking notes on what's making the game so tricky for people to pick up, so hopefully people will be able to enjoy the cuteness more fully when I officially release it! Thanks for playing!
franfox: The new tutorial will fully explain the use of electricity, but maybe I can make the electricity bar flash when it gets low ... something to convey its importance. Thanks for the suggestions! :D
The little cloud is charming, and the use of the two power sources is rather clever, having to choose not only between water and wind, but also choosing the way you want to use that power.
The interactions could have been a little more obvious, but for a jam is fine to rely in text explanation when you're running out of time.
To sum up: solid entry!
But a cool idea to do this charging multitasking challenge as a cloud-gardner. The lack of sound was a shame but the little animations were all great. Nice work.
pkenney: I agree that it's a little too hard to balance the four tasks (Rain, Zap, Gust, Magnet), so I'm currently polishing the balance on these moves, so they're a little easier to work with, and the game is a little more lenient on beginner players. People really seem to enjoy the feel of the player, and the idea of being a cloud gardener - perhaps I should release a sequel with a more relaxed vibe? :P Thanks for the comment! :D
By the way - I totally didn't recognize the key at the beginning ("Press <key> to play"). Is it a down key, maybe?
The button was likely 'X' or 'Z', which along with the arrow keys, are the keys that PICO-8 generally supports. In the final release, I've removed the button keys from the instructions, as it seems that all my playtesters had trouble understanding the symbols. Thanks so much for the input! :D