Signal Garden by LDJam user 235694

Signal Garden
A small dark incremental game set in a deep underground garden within a megastructure.
You grow plants and collect signals from them. Create chains of plants to amplify signals, unlock new species, and buy creatures to increase their efficiency.
Controls - Move - wasd - Interact - lmb/e - Collect signals - hold lmb - Send signals - hold rmb - Remove plant/creature - r


| Link | https://kenforest.itch.io/signal-garden |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/59/signal-garden-2 |
Ratings
| Overall | 1th | 4.586⭐ | 31🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 39th | 4.138⭐ | 31🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 26th | 4.276⭐ | 31🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 11th | 4.621⭐ | 31🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 6th | 4.758⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 6th | 4.6⭐ | 32🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 1🗳️ | 0🗨️ |
It would help to be able to try this on web, or have a build for other OSs, but maybe the game is too heavy ;v;
Great job!
the graphics are a 12/10, the gameplay is addictive—it's my favorite game from this jam so far
Был незначительный визуальный баг, когда насекомые после удаления растения оставались кружиться.
Overall - Сильная заявка на кубок Ludum, отличная работа!
Great game. I'd like to play extended version
While playing, I immediately thought that you must have also made Metal Undergrowth before I even checked. I discovered that one during the last game jam and was completely blown away by it too! And this one is every bit as good as that one, congratulations on another fantastic project!
(though I should note, the visuals are amazing).
Then the next phase kicked in—I realized it’s actually a fun, addictive incremental game.
After that, I tried to break the game and ended up looping the bonus plants. I noticed that this case is actually handled—there’s a cap of 64 signals (which is great) for basic plants. Though I didn’t fully understand how it works, since with other chains it can go up to 512.
For a long time, I didn’t notice the numbers above the door acting as a global goal.
Honestly, replacing plants/creatures is very неудобно. You have to check first, then delete, then go pick a new one. It would be much more convenient to:
pick what you want
go to the desired spot
replace it
This whole “you can’t pick it up because there are no free slots” thing feels unnecessary.
Continuing that point: to reach a million, you basically have to remove everything and rebuild properly from scratch. You can’t reposition already placed, purchased objects. Sure, you can rotate them, but major mistakes with expensive plants can happen right at the start.
For me, even 100k would’ve been more than enough as a target.
I also felt there was a lack of tools or objects for intercepting signals outside of plants. Yes, you can run around the room catching them with the phone—but that becomes tedious in the later stages.
Overall though, it’s really enjoyable. And the fact you made this in three days is genuinely impressive. I’m just sharing my experience—thanks for it.
Oh, and one more thing. I left the game running in the background to farm signals. When I came back a couple of hours later, I had reached over a million. I opened the door and… nothing. I was about to get annoyed, but it turned out the game had just frozen.
The catharsis hit when I took the elevator down and saw THAT. And honestly, in that complex farm setup, I would’ve liked to interact with it a bit more. I get that it’s more of a joke—and a way to show how far the game could theoretically expand—which is great. So yeah, you definitely achieved the intended effect.