{"author_link":"\/users\/terrapass","author_name":"TerraPass","author_uid":"1033853","comments":[{"author_name":"Justin Toyo","author_uid":"1053162","time":"2017-12-05T03:05:20Z","epoch":1512443120,"modified":1512443120,"text":"This was a great game. I just wish the window was bigger. This would save me from accidentally clicking out of the game. Otherwise, this was fantastic!","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"ahintoflime","author_uid":"1039305","time":"2017-12-05T03:08:08Z","epoch":1512443288,"modified":1512443288,"text":"I love the graphics & animations!  I wish there were multiple enemy types or multiple guns.  Also repeatedly clicking got tiring, maybe an automatic weapon?  ","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"pkenney","author_uid":"1002840","time":"2017-12-05T03:38:48Z","epoch":1512445128,"modified":1512445128,"text":"Simple core mechanic, but well done with nice art and sound, a good difficulty curve, and a short play loop.  I played through a couple of times and managed to deliver a 15-crate train without losing any.\n\nI definitely had some moments of panic, and I thought it was kind of funny how the calm friendly music juxtaposed with the violent slaughter.  Those bandits must be desperate!!\n\nNice entry.","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"AndrewJAdams","author_uid":"1027819","time":"2017-12-05T17:04:21Z","epoch":1512493461,"modified":1512493461,"text":"Great concept and wonderful animations. I also would like a little more variation in weapons, and bandits. Maybe a carriage?\n\nThis could be an amazing game with more time. Nice work.","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"TobiasNL","author_uid":"1054062","time":"2017-12-05T17:06:34Z","epoch":1512493594,"modified":1512493606,"text":"Whereas the style of the game is really nice, the gameplay itself is a bit to simple (for me anyway). The shooting mechanic works well, but it's just that, resulting in spamming the mouse button. However I like the vibe of the game!","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"dom","author_uid":"1009837","time":"2017-12-05T17:08:11Z","epoch":1512493691,"modified":1512493691,"text":"That looks really cool! Sadly the one platform that's not available is the one I am on (macOS) :(","likes":1,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"Hugimugi7","author_uid":"1032224","time":"2017-12-05T17:09:01Z","epoch":1512493741,"modified":1512493751,"text":"Very simple but interesting little game.  \nHoped more depth than just shooting bandits though...","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"FSKR","author_uid":"1066797","time":"2017-12-05T17:29:18Z","epoch":1512494958,"modified":1512494958,"text":"fun little game. visuals were nice. shooting sound was kind of irretating after a while. songs were a good fit, though. well jammed!","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"Hiken","author_uid":"1056799","time":"2017-12-05T17:49:19Z","epoch":1512496159,"modified":1512496159,"text":"This was fun, I liked to kill those robber. The music is great for your game, it makes me want to shoot all cowboys. Congratulation everyone !","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"Luther","author_uid":"1010512","time":"2017-12-05T18:37:04Z","epoch":1512499024,"modified":1512499024,"text":"Very fun to play, great music and nice graphics. But was a little confused if the game was over after a run. Turns out if you keep going the game will become harder. also when I hit another run the map turned glitchy: https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/ZwKmTV5.png","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"LanceJZ","author_uid":"1052245","time":"2017-12-06T00:06:40Z","epoch":1512518800,"modified":1512518800,"text":"What a cute game! The mouse needs to be locked to the window, I kept clicking outside of it, and the window behind it would cover it. Of course, I could have just made a new desktop to play it on. Love trains and the music is perfect. Thank you for not forcing full screen.","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"Priom","author_uid":"1057759","time":"2017-12-07T09:17:40Z","epoch":1512638260,"modified":1512638260,"text":"It's a bit weird with the theme since you don't exactly have control over whether you have more of something or not but dayum I'd be lying if I said it wasn't frantic and fun","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"Siepiau","author_uid":"1067338","time":"2017-12-08T02:21:40Z","epoch":1512699700,"modified":1512699700,"text":"I had a blast playing this simple but addictive game. It would nice to allow full screen mode to minimize clicking outside the window, because the action gets intense real fast. Excellent work!","likes":1,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"TerraPass","author_uid":"1033853","time":"2017-12-08T02:29:52Z","epoch":1512700192,"modified":1512700192,"text":"Thank you all very much for your wonderful feedback. You've given us plenty of suggestions and ideas for a postjam build.","likes":0,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"TerraPass","author_uid":"1033853","time":"2017-12-08T02:36:33Z","epoch":1512700593,"modified":1512700593,"text":"@dom If you'd like to try the game, [there is now a macOS version](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/40\/desert-express\/desert-express-arrives-onto-macos-mostly), though it comes with a caveat that some Homebrew packages need to be installed before running it, since I haven't yet figured out a way to properly package all of the dependencies.\n\nIf that's not a problem, check the prerequisites section and do give it a go.","likes":0,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"SerpentWorks Games","author_uid":"1055131","time":"2017-12-08T02:44:16Z","epoch":1512701056,"modified":1512701056,"text":"A little too simple for my tastes, but its a great starting place. I'd love to see a score, or different enemies or some sort of \"you gotta get X amount to the stop\". It's got great potential though!","likes":1,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"TerraPass","author_uid":"1033853","time":"2017-12-08T02:44:29Z","epoch":1512701069,"modified":1512701069,"text":"@Luther Thanks for reporting this issue.\n\nAs for the difficulty of each subsequent run, it is actually randomized in the jam version: the number of crates is randomly determined for each run, so the game can become easier as well as harder. Obviously, this was just a quick and dirty way to make the theme more apparent by getting the player to play with different number of crates to ensure that indeed the more you have, the worse it is :). In the postjam version we'll of course add some sort of proper progression.","likes":0,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"Noah Beckman","author_uid":"1015329","time":"2017-12-08T04:21:23Z","epoch":1512706883,"modified":1512706883,"text":"Cool concept. reminded me of zerg rush. it woulda been cool to see a mechanic to recover stolen boxes. Overall great game!\n\ncome check out our game \nhttps:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/40\/virus-detected","likes":1,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"moonlightbomber","author_uid":"1004212","time":"2017-12-08T12:29:27Z","epoch":1512736167,"modified":1512736174,"text":"When the second level started, the railway starts to \"glitch\", but that doesn't affect the gameplay whatsoever. Guess it's a unique take on the \"the worse it is\" part.","likes":1,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"TerraPass","author_uid":"1033853","time":"2017-12-08T12:35:55Z","epoch":1512736555,"modified":1512736555,"text":"@moonlightbomber Yeah, it's a known bug, that I believe we have a fix for, but we can't actually apply it to the game yet, since we're not sure if this qualifies as a \"game-breaking\" bug or not (probably not?).\n\nAnyway, on the machines we tested the game on, the bug occurred pretty rarely. Does it happen to you every time on the second run?","likes":0,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"crdmrn","author_uid":"1005875","time":"2017-12-08T23:15:34Z","epoch":1512774934,"modified":1512774934,"text":"Very simple, but with a lot of room for more depth :) I honestly enjoyed it, could impagine as a mobile game","likes":1,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"TerraPass","author_uid":"1033853","time":"2017-12-08T23:59:15Z","epoch":1512777555,"modified":1512777555,"text":"@Luther @moonlightbomber Thanks again for reporting this issue. We uploaded a `bugfix` build, where it [appears to be fixed](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/40\/desert-express\/train-crashes-are-much-less-likely-now-say-railroad-engineers).","likes":0,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"arly","author_uid":"1034296","time":"2017-12-09T08:15:52Z","epoch":1512807352,"modified":1512807352,"text":"Nice game! I enjoyed the art and music, and the game itself had a fun mechanic and setting. Some notes I had were that the ability to click really fast and basically clear out everything made it a bit too easy - maybe something like shoot, then a reload delay + sound? Then you could adjust the number of bandits down in turn, to make the shooting more deliberate rather than gunning them down en masse. Also, the shooting sound effect felt a bit overly artificial and distorted to me. Really like it overall though, very cohesive and enjoyable!","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"secretstage","author_uid":"1067229","time":"2017-12-11T01:41:26Z","epoch":1512956486,"modified":1512956516,"text":"Nice little time killer and finger muscle trainer ;) Good selection of midi-western tunes. While the idea of different game dynamics according to the amount of boxes is good and keeping things simple definitely is, too, I longed for a little more variation. Maybe some power-ups and different enemy types?","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"Yohoho Games 2","author_uid":"1064233","time":"2017-12-11T15:12:48Z","epoch":1513005168,"modified":1513005168,"text":"an excellent game), I also thought this way, the theme of the trains is well revealed and very coolly done with boxes) I was impressed to admit) and management is simple, this is plus of course :wink:","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"TerraPass","author_uid":"1033853","time":"2017-12-14T17:58:40Z","epoch":1513274320,"modified":1513274320,"text":"@lancejz @justin-toyo @siepiau Thanks for your feedback! We've constrained the mouse cursor to the window in the [postjam version](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/40\/desert-express\/$71011) of the game, in order to avoid accidental clicks outside of the window.","likes":1,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"PUR3","author_uid":"1013210","time":"2017-12-14T18:51:22Z","epoch":1513277482,"modified":1513277482,"text":"Wow, amazing game. Love the artwork! The music is really nice too. Really fun to play, nice job! Honestly don't have any suggestions on how to improve lol.","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"Indie Gaming","author_uid":"1065819","time":"2017-12-16T16:14:30Z","epoch":1513440870,"modified":1513440870,"text":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/oCMTfqy0KUg","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"DDRKirbyISQ","author_uid":"1001883","time":"2017-12-17T16:55:38Z","epoch":1513529738,"modified":1513529738,"text":"(played and rated the bugfixed jam version)\n\nProps for still using SDL in this day and age!\n\nThis was simple but well executed as a concept.  Your postjam changes make sense too!  As others have pointed out I think some more mechanics around actually shooting down the bandits would make the game more interesting.","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"profan","author_uid":"1008483","time":"2017-12-17T17:30:41Z","epoch":1513531841,"modified":1513531841,"text":"Interesting, I really enjoyed the music associated with the game and the background giving the feeling of actual motion with some variance in the landscape, it's a shame the shooting mechanics didn't have a bit more juice to them as that alone would have brought the game along quite a bit!\n\nQuite curious what you'll end up doing with the postjam version though, the progression being entirely random proved a bit anticlimactic as you started on a level with something like 19 crates then suddenly jumped down to 5 something and far less enemies!\n\nInteresting to see you used your own engine (though this meant it didn't run on my Ubuntu 16.04 machine as i've yet to jump to 17.04.. finally tried the game on Windows now!)\n\nNice work :)","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"jjjjason","author_uid":"1048483","time":"2017-12-24T03:50:13Z","epoch":1514087413,"modified":1514087413,"text":"Pretty solid gameplay, the top down shooter genre adapts well to this pretty fun setting. The graphics are pretty quaint as well, and pair with the active but relaxing music. The MIDI guitars though in the music aren't the most pleasing sounds though, are a bit harsh.\n\nI think there definitely needs to be some sort of cooldown\/slowdown on the gun, as you can pretty easily just spam click and rarely have any issues even with high amounts of bandits. Also I wish there was a way to just shoot the bandit and not kill the horse :cry:","likes":3,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"nikchernyakov","author_uid":"1052829","time":"2017-12-24T09:33:18Z","epoch":1514107998,"modified":1514107998,"text":"Very good game, I love it! Good work! Very fun and pretty that you create christmas verion and fix bugs!\n\nNotes from me:\n- Create screen size in full screen\n- Maybe add cooldown (but I don't know, maybe with cooldown you must generate less enemies and it's not good)\n- Add bullet visualisation (raycast seems not so nice for me)\n- You have many variants how expand your game: new guns, new enemies, new goals, new train and etc\n\nOverall, I enjoyed this game","likes":2,"format":"md"},{"author_name":"YouBeStrong","author_uid":"1000823","time":"2017-12-25T01:03:19Z","epoch":1514163799,"modified":1514163799,"text":"Ohhh! Nice work on submitting a game with a custom engine! Very cool!\n\nI had quite a bit of fun with it! I actually enjoy being able to spam the mouse button. Using one hand to click and the other to aim help a lot in the tight spots. The progression being random did seem weird like some people have already said. And the rest of my other suggestions seem to have been said too... like a better visuals for the projectile and also a wider range of weapons. Again, nice work!!","likes":2,"format":"md"}],"format":"md","images":["ld40\/56448-709a9db90a6c20ff4f83835b4beaa185.png"],"links":[{"url":"https:\/\/terrapass.itch.io\/desert-express","text":"Windows"},{"url":"https:\/\/terrapass.itch.io\/desert-express","text":"Linux"},{"url":"https:\/\/terrapass.itch.io\/desert-express","text":"macOS"}],"metadata":{"g_key":"51556","g_author":"1033853","g_event":"LD40","g_eventkey":"70","g_subevent":"JAM","g_urlkey":"235144","g_title":"Desert Express","g_status":"USEAR3","g_place":"248","g_commentcount":"33","g_site2_node_id":"56448","g_hide":"N","g_has_icon":"Y","g_rqueue":"0","g_random":"0"},"nds":{"n_key":"56448","n_urlkey":"235144","n_parent":"49883","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/40\/desert-express","n_slug":"desert-express","n_type":"item","n_subtype":"game","n_subsubtype":"jam","n_author":"33853","n_created":"1512050504","n_modified":"1514083513","n_version":"210850","n_status":"COMMIT"},"node":{"id":56448,"parent":49883,"superparent":9,"author":33853,"type":"item","subtype":"game","subsubtype":"jam","published":"2017-12-05T01:59:04Z","created":"2017-11-30T14:01:44Z","modified":"2017-12-24T02:45:13Z","version":210850,"slug":"desert-express","name":"Desert Express","body":"In Desert Express your job is to protect your train from bandits, attempting to steal your cargo.\n\n![express0.gif](\/\/\/raw\/d34\/8\/z\/d923.gif)\n\nEvery train run starts with a random number of crates loaded onto your train. The more cargo there is, the more cars your train consists of and the slower it travels, requiring you to spend more time on the run and making those crates an easy target for pursuers.\n\nIn addition to slower movement, having a large number of crates on board makes your train a more attractive target for bandits. You'll find that there will be more pursuers when your train is full, but as the number of crates you carry dwindles, so will the interest of the bandits: less and less of them will be inclined to join the chase.\n\n**How to play**\n\nUse your mouse to shoot at the bandits. Only the first enemy on the way of your shot will be killed (the shots don't pass through enemies).\n\nYour aim is to successfully protect your cargo so that by the time the train reaches its destination there are as many crates remaining as possible. Can you finish a run with a full train without losing a single crate?\n\n**Credits**\n\n- **Art:** Kyrylo Cherkashyn (@lobster)\n- **Programming, music:** Taras Denysenko (@terrapass)\n\n**Tools and resources used**\n- Aseprite (pixel art & animation editor)\n- Tiled (tilemap editor)\n- Early version of a nameless custom engine, using SDL2 library with SDL_image, SDL_ttf and SDL_mixer extension libraries\n- bfxr (shot sound effect)\n\n**Updates changelog**\n---------------------\n\n`desert-express-*-jam-original-bugfix` builds on itch.io contain the following bug fixes:\n- Fixed a crash which sometimes occurred on mouse click on the 2nd and subsequent runs.\n- Fixed a graphical glitch, which sometimes led to the corruption of the background on the 2nd and subsequent runs.\n\n`desert-express-linux-jam-original` and `desert-express-windows-jam-original` downloadables on itch.io contain builds of the game in the state it was submitted in before the Jam deadline, *including all of the bugs*.\n\n`desert-express-osx-jam-original` contains a macOS build of the game. The two mentioned bugs were fixed while the game's code was adapted for macOS, so this version does not suffer from these bugs but, for the sake of consistency, a `bugfix` version for macOS is also provided, though it is identical (save for the window title) to the initial macOS version. Additionally, for macOS the soundtrack format had to be changed from .mp3 to .ogg to allow for its playback on macOS via the version of sdl2_mixer from Homebrew, which does not have .mp3 support.\n\n**`jam-original` and `jam-original-bugfix` builds on itch.io are identical in terms of mechanics and content. The only difference of `bugfix` versions, except for using .ogg, is that they are not affected by the aforementioned crash and visual glitch.**\n\n`postjam-xmas` build on itch.io is the latest postjam version of the game, which has a winter theme. The changes it contains, compared to the original Jam version, are described on the itch.io page.\n\n**Prerequisites and troubleshooting**\n-------------------------------------\n\nOn **Windows**, if the system complains about missing `msvcp140.dll` and\/or `vcruntime140.dll`, make sure you install [Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Sutdio 2015](https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/download\/details.aspx?id=48145) package. If it complains about missing dll files, which are present in the game zip, such as `SDL2.dll`, make sure that you have fully extracted the zip to some non-temporary folder on your drive and that your antivirus hasn't gobbled up some of the files.\n\nOn **Ubuntu 17.04 and up**, all of the packages, on which the game depends, can be installed using the following command:\n```\nsudo apt install libsdl2-2.0-0 libsdl2-image-2.0-0 libsdl2-ttf-2.0-0 libsdl2-mixer-2.0-0 libboost-log1.60.0\n```\n\nOn **macOS**, unfortunately, the .app is not yet bundled with the libraries, on which the game depends, so some Homebrew packages will have to be installed for the game to run. (Sorry about that.) Here's the command, which can be used to install the required packages:\n```\nbrew install libvorbis sdl2 sdl2_image sdl2_mixer sdl2_ttf boost\n```\nDepending on your security preferences, **macOS** might refuse to launch the .app, due to it being \"from an unidentified developer\". In order to override it, right click on the .app file in Finder, select \"Open\" from the context menu and then click \"Open\" in the dialog that appears. \n","meta":{"author":[33853,58682],"link-01-tag":"42337","cover":"\/\/\/content\/d34\/8\/z\/cbbb.png","link-01":"https:\/\/terrapass.itch.io\/desert-express","link-02-tag":"42341","link-02-name":"Linux (built on Ubuntu 17.04)","link-02":"https:\/\/terrapass.itch.io\/desert-express","link-03":"https:\/\/terrapass.itch.io\/desert-express","link-03-tag":"42339","link-03-name":"macOS (see prerequisites)"},"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/40\/desert-express","parents":[1,5,9,49883],"love":0,"notes":33,"notes-timestamp":"2017-12-25T01:03:19Z","grade":{"grade-01":47,"grade-02":46,"grade-03":45,"grade-04":46,"grade-05":48,"grade-06":44,"grade-07":37,"grade-08":44},"magic":{"cool":104.07182884306,"feedback":8,"given":47.25,"grade":44.625,"grade-01-average":3.767,"grade-01-result":248,"grade-02-average":3.716,"grade-02-result":204,"grade-03-average":3.302,"grade-03-result":454,"grade-04-average":3.83,"grade-04-result":264,"grade-05-average":3.957,"grade-05-result":296,"grade-06-average":3.702,"grade-06-result":173,"grade-07-average":2.914,"grade-07-result":567,"grade-08-average":3.643,"grade-08-result":274,"smart":5.9852664870395}},"text":"In Desert Express your job is to protect your train from bandits, attempting to steal your cargo.\n\n![express0.gif](\/\/\/raw\/d34\/8\/z\/d923.gif)\n\nEvery train run starts with a random number of crates loaded onto your train. The more cargo there is, the more cars your train consists of and the slower it travels, requiring you to spend more time on the run and making those crates an easy target for pursuers.\n\nIn addition to slower movement, having a large number of crates on board makes your train a more attractive target for bandits. You'll find that there will be more pursuers when your train is full, but as the number of crates you carry dwindles, so will the interest of the bandits: less and less of them will be inclined to join the chase.\n\n**How to play**\n\nUse your mouse to shoot at the bandits. Only the first enemy on the way of your shot will be killed (the shots don't pass through enemies).\n\nYour aim is to successfully protect your cargo so that by the time the train reaches its destination there are as many crates remaining as possible. Can you finish a run with a full train without losing a single crate?\n\n**Credits**\n\n- **Art:** Kyrylo Cherkashyn (@lobster)\n- **Programming, music:** Taras Denysenko (@terrapass)\n\n**Tools and resources used**\n- Aseprite (pixel art & animation editor)\n- Tiled (tilemap editor)\n- Early version of a nameless custom engine, using SDL2 library with SDL_image, SDL_ttf and SDL_mixer extension libraries\n- bfxr (shot sound effect)\n\n**Updates changelog**\n---------------------\n\n`desert-express-*-jam-original-bugfix` builds on itch.io contain the following bug fixes:\n- Fixed a crash which sometimes occurred on mouse click on the 2nd and subsequent runs.\n- Fixed a graphical glitch, which sometimes led to the corruption of the background on the 2nd and subsequent runs.\n\n`desert-express-linux-jam-original` and `desert-express-windows-jam-original` downloadables on itch.io contain builds of the game in the state it was submitted in before the Jam deadline, *including all of the bugs*.\n\n`desert-express-osx-jam-original` contains a macOS build of the game. The two mentioned bugs were fixed while the game's code was adapted for macOS, so this version does not suffer from these bugs but, for the sake of consistency, a `bugfix` version for macOS is also provided, though it is identical (save for the window title) to the initial macOS version. Additionally, for macOS the soundtrack format had to be changed from .mp3 to .ogg to allow for its playback on macOS via the version of sdl2_mixer from Homebrew, which does not have .mp3 support.\n\n**`jam-original` and `jam-original-bugfix` builds on itch.io are identical in terms of mechanics and content. The only difference of `bugfix` versions, except for using .ogg, is that they are not affected by the aforementioned crash and visual glitch.**\n\n`postjam-xmas` build on itch.io is the latest postjam version of the game, which has a winter theme. The changes it contains, compared to the original Jam version, are described on the itch.io page.\n\n**Prerequisites and troubleshooting**\n-------------------------------------\n\nOn **Windows**, if the system complains about missing `msvcp140.dll` and\/or `vcruntime140.dll`, make sure you install [Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Sutdio 2015](https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/download\/details.aspx?id=48145) package. If it complains about missing dll files, which are present in the game zip, such as `SDL2.dll`, make sure that you have fully extracted the zip to some non-temporary folder on your drive and that your antivirus hasn't gobbled up some of the files.\n\nOn **Ubuntu 17.04 and up**, all of the packages, on which the game depends, can be installed using the following command:\n```\nsudo apt install libsdl2-2.0-0 libsdl2-image-2.0-0 libsdl2-ttf-2.0-0 libsdl2-mixer-2.0-0 libboost-log1.60.0\n```\n\nOn **macOS**, unfortunately, the .app is not yet bundled with the libraries, on which the game depends, so some Homebrew packages will have to be installed for the game to run. (Sorry about that.) Here's the command, which can be used to install the required packages:\n```\nbrew install libvorbis sdl2 sdl2_image sdl2_mixer sdl2_ttf boost\n```\nDepending on your security preferences, **macOS** might refuse to launch the .app, due to it being \"from an unidentified developer\". In order to override it, right click on the .app file in Finder, select \"Open\" from the context menu and then click \"Open\" in the dialog that appears. \n","title":"Desert Express"}