Oops! Too Many Signals! by TBK_David

[raw]
made by TBK_David for Ludum Dare 59 (JAM)

Computers are too expensive these days, so humans are used to route trains along old and very inefficiently laid out tracks. Keep an eye on the upcoming trains and route them to where they need to go. Make sure they don't crash!

First ever solo game and Ludum Dare. I know it's way too hard but I hope someone gets a minute or so of enjoyment from this.oopsallsignals.png

Ratings

Overall 728th 3.053⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 594th 3.105⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 487th 3.289⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 308th 3.947⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Humor 539th 2.467⭐ 17🧑‍⚖️
Mood 818th 2.471⭐ 19🧑‍⚖️
Given 8🗳️ 9🗨️

Feedback

qwesasuke
Apr 20th · 20:35 UTC
Congratulations on the first jam! The idea is very interesting. To be honest, it was difficult for me. I didn't have enough time to pave the tracks for the trains. For more than 3 minutes it was not possible to exercise. There were a lot of trains. I wish you success and hope to see you at the next jams!
Loig
Apr 20th · 21:00 UTC
Interesting idea, but it is quite difficult to handle the trains, lots of them arrive very quickly. I would have liked a more progressive difficulty scaling (for example with less trains and less spawning points at the beginning).
carterjbx
Apr 21st · 04:52 UTC
I love the idea! difficult to manage the trains right from the start, but if the routes started easier and got harder over time it would be much more enjoyable.
timhugh
Apr 21st · 04:55 UTC
Nice! Great idea, great execution. Like others have said, super hard, but I dig it
nathmate
Apr 21st · 05:46 UTC
Nice work. I like the concept.

A couple of times trains would leave a station right as one was coming in, which felt pretty unfair. Agree with @loig that a more progressive system would be a better player onboarding experience.

![2026-04-21-154414_457x582_scrot.png](///raw/102/b5/z/71d0e.png)
MostLikely
Apr 21st · 05:49 UTC
Great first game jam game! Super fun, great challenge. The best part was that it was particularly challenging while still making me feel like I could do better, which made me want to play more. I think for feedback, I would just spend some more time on original assets instead of images just to stick with the theme of the game itself. Great work!
ZungryWare
Apr 21st · 06:13 UTC
Man, this game gets very hard very fast. My best was 4 trains which doesn't feel like that strong of a score. A lot of little things add up to make this pretty frustrating. The map is large and has lots of weird intersections that aren't immediately intuitive. It takes a lot of mental energy to figure out how to get a train from A to B. The junctions are not easy to read at all with the red-green lines thing. When you click on the switch, it's not very obvious which state the switch is going to cycle to. If two trains are on a direct collision course, the only way to prevent the collision is to send one of those trains down the wrong path. That will usually end up with a train getting destroyed anyway since getting the wayward train back on track is now added onto your plate with the other trains being sent in constantly. There's definitely potential for interesting gameplay here. I like these kinds of challenges where you have to keep increasing numbers of balls in the air and things get more and more complicated to manage as time goes on. And that idea is present here. When things were going as planned and the trains were going where they needed to go, I was having fun. But it needs more polish and definitely more playtesting and balancing.
II-P
Apr 21st · 06:25 UTC
Engaging and mind-breaking, haha! My best is 310p, holding on to 3 at once is pretty challenging.
Reed Molbak
Apr 21st · 06:34 UTC
I love the concept, I was considering something like this myself and then pivoted to planes.

There were a few moments where it felt like there was nothing I could do -- I set up train that I think was on the fastest track to get to route 6, for instance, and as it was about to arrive a train from 6 spawned and they crashed.

Overall I think it just needs difficulty tuning though, and a lot of polish/juice to give the player more feedback. Some upgrades could be good.
ikado
Apr 21st · 20:14 UTC
quite fun and challenging! as others have said would benefit from slightly more progressive scaling and disabling unfair spawns e.g. 2->5 shouldn't spawn when 5->2 is already running since on most tracks there isn't a way to divert one, but there was something interesting about having to race to intentionally crash one of the trains so that the other could make it through (maybe if you have little safety circular tracks around you can divert into).
Nikorych
Apr 22nd · 18:05 UTC
Good game, but the train controls are not very convenient. There is also a big lack of background music.
clymm
Apr 22nd · 23:13 UTC
I Like the take on the theme, quite challenging but interesting. Good job :clap:
Mastoast
Apr 25th · 14:12 UTC
It's an impressive work, especially if it's your first jam.

The core concept is well made. some of the destinations are harder to go to. I never managed to bring a train to the destination #2, because you have to bring it at the top right of the map first.

Also, you could really bring more life to the game with simple juice, visuals and SFXs, particles and screen shakes for exemple, but i know that we don't always have time to implement thoses :smile:
Yanato
Apr 25th · 15:40 UTC
The game is really difficult. As mentioned above, sometimes the trains are driving towards each other, making it impossible to save them
dqso
Apr 30th · 16:03 UTC
Really interesting simulator, though oh so difficult! Only made it to level 4 :D

Would love to see the map randomized with stations in different positions each run. Also having a moment to study the map before things start would help a lot.

And the black wagons are barely visible in the route list
Euler Moises
May 03rd · 03:16 UTC
I really enjoyed the game. A true exercise for memory, attention, coordination and patience.

I got lost several times along the way, especially when the trains passed through the same location, but the forks were different.

I dismantled paths that were already ready several times due to sheer inattention.

Even though it's not a very easy game to manage, the gameplay is quite easy. There are no complicated controls, and this allows the player to focus on what's most important: building the path.

The art is simple and objective, and it matches the spirit of the game well (simplicity).

One thing I missed was the sound. Even simple effects (like train noise or feedback from actions) would make the experience much more vivid.

Another thing that could be greatly improved would be the presence of levels, starting with one train and gradually increasing. This would help the player learn gradually and increase engagement.

How did you think about balancing the game?

I'll leave this game saved here on my computer to practice more later. I refuse to believe I only managed to get 3 trains to the right place.

Congratulations on making a game all by yourself. That's admirable.