SMTP by InitialPosition

[raw]
made by InitialPosition for Ludum Dare 53 (COMPO)

Welcome to SMTP, the most advanced email server simulation you can find on the market.

Did you ever want to manage an ever increasing fleet of email servers in real time while filtering out spam mail? Then this simulator is for you.

Features

  • Real time email management action
  • A Zen™ approved soundtrack™
  • High speed intense spam mail filtering action
  • Compete with your friends and see who can manage emails the best!
  • Graphics

Screenshots

scrsh1.png What a nice and friendly menu

scrsh2.png Managing a probably very important email. In real time!

scrsh3.png Deleting spam is an important part of the job of course.

Changelog

This will be updated over time.

1.0

  • Added a game

1.1

  • Fixed music not working in HTML5 version

Ratings

Overall 12th 4.293⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Fun 31th 4.155⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 21th 4.196⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1th 4.69⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 22th 4.414⭐ 31🧑‍⚖️
Audio 5th 4.411⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Mood 4th 4.442⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Given 18🗳️ 34🗨️

Feedback

Cinterre
01. May 2023 · 02:47 UTC
Cool game! Like the artwork. Good idea for the theme too, wouldn't have thought of it.
Seemed very easy but the difficulty ramps up for sure. Scored 18000.
johnnysix
01. May 2023 · 02:55 UTC
I think there's a bug on the web-version - at least for me in Firefox, the mouse exits the window/canvas to the left, and the cursor in the gaem/canvas never makes it to the edge/past the orange bar.

I've not rated yet , just letting you know. Love the pixel art style btw.
![bug.jpg](///raw/028/2/z/58965.jpg)
Joe Cowman
01. May 2023 · 06:06 UTC
Very beautiful, relaxing game! I really like the tranquil atmosphere and your take on the theme is clever as well. I found the difficulty ramped up pretty quick after a couple of minutes. I feel like this mechanic would be especially suited for a touch-screen interface!
🎤 InitialPosition
01. May 2023 · 08:21 UTC
@johnnysix that is a known bug with the web build unfortunately. I have found that resizing the window to exactly the canvas size is a workaround for now but I'll try to fix that bug today.

EDIT: expertly hotfixed the bug by moving the canvas to the upper left corner.
TumblingPuffin
01. May 2023 · 08:41 UTC
Really nice game. I love the art style and audio. Very satisfying to play.
MikoziQ
01. May 2023 · 10:56 UTC
As a software engineer myself, I approve this game with my whole heart.

What I liked:
- The visuals are fantastic for such simple design
- The audio effects are so chill I didn't ever felt a need for a rush
- The difficulty is nicely scoped
- The visual ques about filling the servers and that you cannot send accidentally a mail to other server is a very good touch
- The `delivery` theme is so out-of-the-box here. I know that it feels so rewarding when someone says that (it happened to my entry), so you'll have your moment!

I actually thought that maybe this is how SMTPs work IRL haha :joy:

I don't really have much to say here. It's a really great and properly scoped entry. Great job!
haselkern
01. May 2023 · 16:45 UTC
I'm pretty sure this is how mail servers operate IRL, so good job on given an accurate representation! The feeling of stress I get when playing this is also probably what the servers feel when they need to deliver lots of mail. The sounds are really relaxing and the graphics are great, I very much enjoyed playing a few rounds! (19950 points :sunglasses:)
johnnysix
01. May 2023 · 19:09 UTC
Alight! Well done on such a quick bugfix haha :smile:

Very cool, I thought it was too easy until the 6th+ mail server appeared.

It's one of those games that has a satisfying feel to it. If you developed as a mobile game beyond the compo, adding some thing like snapping ( and multi-touch support for the pros ) would be fun additions.

Also having a sever kill-switch would be cool, to sacrifice a 'life' to then create some space to move the mail into again.
![ld53_03.jpg](///raw/028/2/z/590df.jpg)
LDJam user 261245
02. May 2023 · 08:34 UTC
really nice game the amazing sound and great pixel art give it a surprisingly polished look for a jam game :smile:

had a score around 16000 but closed the tab by accident before i could copy the exact score
Cmdpancakes
03. May 2023 · 01:43 UTC
This game was pretty incredible. Started out real slow but definitely picked up pace nicely! Great job
jaydubbyasee
03. May 2023 · 01:49 UTC
Love this. Super simple mechanic, but really fun and addictive. Love the clean spritework as well.
spacemyname
03. May 2023 · 18:09 UTC
Very clever and unique take on the theme, gameplay is solid! After 4 servers I started to struggle haha
Arthurds
03. May 2023 · 22:53 UTC
![Screenshot 2023-05-03 195322.png](///raw/3de/c2/z/5b270.png)
MAT4DOR
04. May 2023 · 19:03 UTC
Very fun. Enjoyed the mood. When I came in I had expected it was something to do with real smtp servers :joy:

![too much mail](///raw/fd3/z/5b4d2.png)
Phlip45
04. May 2023 · 22:28 UTC
![2023-05-04 15_24_20-SMTP.png](///raw/68a/3/z/5b536.png)

Very good game. Gave me a very "Mini Metro" vibe. Music, Graphics, and SFX all felt cohesive and solid. I can't think of anything negative to say about the game at all! Best Compo game I've played all Jam!
Rocket and Blanky
05. May 2023 · 19:48 UTC
What a fun game, great job. The audio design is fantastic. I increased the sensitivity on my mouse and was able to get 23k or so. The 8th/9th server really ups the difficulty! I kept wanting to use the number pad to sort faster!

Bravo!
WetBurritoSupreme
05. May 2023 · 19:50 UTC
ooh tough game, I like the clarity on this game, everything was crisp and clean but still got overwhelming! Audio is tricking you into thinking it's going to be a chill time
Dzugaru
05. May 2023 · 19:50 UTC
This is really good! The sound design is brilliant, and the desperation slowly sinking in when you observe the 8th server appear feels real. I would really like if there were some waves/valleys in the difficulty - to give me at least a resemblance of hope I can do it ;)
Jozef
05. May 2023 · 19:53 UTC
![Screenshot 2023-05-05 215056.png](///raw/c3c/22/z/5b6a3.png)

Loved the slick clean graphics, zen sound and the way you slowly but surely get overwhelmed. Solid entry!
aevek
05. May 2023 · 19:57 UTC
Really loved the vibe here! Things started out so simple and then ramped at a nice rate to finish feeling chaotic. But the music remained so calm. Loved how the overwhelming volume of mail as it progresses gives the game a really nice play length and natural end point. Great work!
arron-fowler
06. May 2023 · 09:33 UTC
Simple, beautiful and classy. It's a really well pulled of concept. Made my brain feel nice up until it didn't. Got Metro vibes in a good way. Audio is excellent. Nothing bad to say. KUDOS
Aune
07. May 2023 · 10:05 UTC
Simple and effective, love the minimalism of your game it works well.

![Capture d’écran 2023-05-07 120215.png](///raw/6ab/82/z/5b876.png)

To add complexity (even if at the end it is complex) I would add a timer for delivering the email (like they become less and less saturated if they are not deliver in 2 seconds or something like that)

Well done! :love_letter:
Hakro
07. May 2023 · 21:52 UTC
Really awesome little entry.
I liked pretty much everything about it, it simplicity, graphics, sounds ...
The game gets naturally more difficult as well, but crescendo.
Well done for this one
vidarn
08. May 2023 · 18:48 UTC
Fantastic! I loved how it was both very relaxing and very stressful at the same time :laughing: The art, music and sounds were super nice and the animations made it feel super polished. Great game!
Blue Pin Studio
09. May 2023 · 07:23 UTC
![Score.PNG](///raw/052/d2/z/5ba14.png)

Excellent entry! One of my favorites of the jam. It was calm, it was fun. My only complaint is that the game gets so difficult that its impossible to go any further. Maybe some upgrades, or some sort of ceiling towards how many nodes can be spawned or something :D
PavelDlouhy
09. May 2023 · 16:59 UTC
Very nice and polished entry! I managed to make score 9700 and then I lost ability to recognize right colors :D
Adrien Tremblay
13. May 2023 · 22:23 UTC
Bro the sound design on this game is FUCKING AMAZING
theguy
17. May 2023 · 08:39 UTC
![smtp.png](///raw/0b8/25/z/5bd0b.png)

Calm and relaxing, until the 7th server. The sound is really nice. The idea with additional spam filtering is also really nice and well timed. The only issue I have is that the colors are quite similar, not sure if this is because of red-green-weakness or for everyone, but I could only use the numbers when it got faster, since the colors where not different enough to distinguish as quickly as needed.

But that's just nitpicking. The game is really well made. Nice job!
Nekuake
19. May 2023 · 09:21 UTC
A relaxing game... until the work gets piled up! I really love these kind of ramping up games in which a easy to understand mechanic gets complicated and makes you to do the 110%. Good work!
Linus Lindberg
19. May 2023 · 09:35 UTC
Beautiful art and sound design. Very nice and relaxing in the beginning but it gets really intense after a while. Great compo game!
LDJam user 279622
20. May 2023 · 19:04 UTC
my best score was 36300
arron-fowler
20. May 2023 · 19:13 UTC
Congrats on your place. Well deserved
gord10ahmet
20. May 2023 · 19:18 UTC
Well done! A game I'd love to see in mobile.

My only complaint is, some colors get too similar.