Altum by tigerfinch

[raw]
made by tigerfinch for Ludum Dare 48 (COMPO)

My jam entry for the 48th Ludum Dare. The aim, such as it is, is to collect the trash!

Screenshot from 2021-04-26 22-10-17.pngScreenshot from 2021-04-26 22-10-09.png

The web version will only work on a subset of modern browsers/platforms so if it's not working for you, please try the downloads!

A gamepad is highly recommended. The control schemes are:

SPACE = pause

Gamepad: Steer with left analogue stick. X (where it is on PS controller) = accelerate Circle = brake R2 = fire trash compactor

Mouse: Steer with mouse, click to fire trash compactor. W = accelerate S = brake.

Ratings

Given 6🗳️ 10🗨️

Feedback

samguy
26. Apr 2021 · 21:32 UTC
Cool idea and I've love to be able to give it a real try. Unfortunately it's just too finicky to play with a mouse, at least on my end. Maybe if you put a crosshair in the middle of the screen mouse users would be better able to control movement by adjusting their cursor position relative to that midpoint. I'm sure there are alternatives but that's the fastest, simplest option I could think of right off the bat. If you do end up making changes please ping me and I'll give it another go
danvil
28. Apr 2021 · 07:07 UTC
I couldn't steer - the camera was just turning around quite randomly. Maybe it's because I don't have a game pad..
s1lv3r Dr4g0n Games
01. May 2021 · 19:48 UTC
That was neat! I tried it on gamepad and mouse, the gamepad controls much better. I've tried flying controls for jams, and it's not easy to make it feel good. There's a lot of moving parts that need to work, and you got pretty far. The major issue is that it's hard to tell what way is up.
sorlok
07. May 2021 · 14:09 UTC
Definitely got the mood right, although I noticed it was possible to rise up infinitely. Even though gamepads are preferred, I think "mouse mode" would have been significantly improved if you had captured the mouse (so it always stays centered). Neat idea and good use of theme!
Stepan Ilin
10. May 2021 · 21:56 UTC
mouse controls and camera are too weird, but I like the concept of the game and would be glad to play an improved version of it
Hunter X
10. May 2021 · 22:04 UTC
A good start! You definitely achieved the sense of swimming through water as opposed to just flying a plane through the air, and I liked the different terrain styles for each level (I did clip through the floor at one point but I think that's more the game engine's fault than yours). With a few additions like more variation on tasks the player needs to perform/hazards they need to avoid, and a bit of polish to the control scheme, this could definitely shape up to be a decent game!
LMB
10. May 2021 · 23:00 UTC
I essentially agree with @hunter-x: I think what you have here works quite well, but would still need some work and additions to become a more interesting game.

Some comments:

* Controls worked well for me on an X-Box controller.
* Web version ran smoothly on Firefox.
* I think at some I flew a couple hundred of meters (or feet?) above the water surface, then the controls went weird and I could not return to the water.
* A design philosophy question: I kept the trash compactor button pressed almost all the time, because that was easier than thinking when to turn it on, and had no drawback.
* I was feeling like "hey, why do I have to do this? It would be better if the trash compactor was always active".
* Curiously, I don't feel like this in shooting games with infinite ammunition, which have the same issue. Go figure. (BTW, I am guilty of creating shooting games in previous Ludum Dares which have this same issue -- if this is really an issue.)
* I'd say you did a good job creating an underwater feeling. Graphics and audio worked well together in this regard!
Tim77
13. May 2021 · 23:37 UTC
Impressive that you created a 3D game in such a short time! Simple graphics were fine, but the ship seemed to take up a lot of the screen space especially when moving slowly. Unfortunately I don't have a game pad and was using keyboard and mouse. It was exceptionally difficult to control. Perhaps some attention to the control scheme would go a long way - maybe more airplane-like controls with WASD? Well done!