LD59 SIGNAL STRIKE by GARYglhf

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

An abandoned station on the edge of the galaxy. We're not alone — the planet is infested with bugs, and every shot only buys time. Hunting arthropods is a blast, right up until the moment you hear a dry click from an empty chamber. Our radars never stop, broadcasting signals to nearby bases — that constant hum drives the bugs insane. But we have no choice. We need to get off this planet, no matter the cost.

Ratings

Overall 437th 3.559⭐ 70🧑‍⚖️
Fun 334th 3.507⭐ 70🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 691th 2.89⭐ 70🧑‍⚖️
Theme 699th 3.022⭐ 70🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 505th 3.588⭐ 70🧑‍⚖️
Audio 331th 3.522⭐ 69🧑‍⚖️
Humor 426th 2.767⭐ 62🧑‍⚖️
Mood 481th 3.538⭐ 68🧑‍⚖️
Given 99🗳️ 120🗨️

Feedback

bigfatgua
Apr 20th · 05:53 UTC
Wow, this is incredible! I'm blown away that you managed to pull off this level of polish in such a short time. The helicopter vs. bugs concept is so much fun, and the art style is absolutely top-tier. As a dev myself, I'm just sitting here wondering when I'll ever reach this level. Stunning work!
IndigoWolf
Apr 20th · 13:14 UTC
The only good bug, is a dead bug! I enjoyed it, nice work.
Vadoha5
Apr 21st · 12:14 UTC
I enjoyed killing those fucking bugs!
Vadoha5
Apr 21st · 12:14 UTC
I enjoyed killing those fucking bugs!
LDJam user 426074
Apr 21st · 12:18 UTC
loved the cover image, and yeah I’m a big fan of helicopters
shooting bugs feels great, kinda like starship troopers but from a heli 😄
FRAG MACHINE
Apr 21st · 12:23 UTC
I'm doing my part!
Very nostalgic of many flash games I used to play.
A little sad I couldn't access the upgrade menu.
🎤 GARYglhf
Apr 21st · 13:10 UTC
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to finish the upgrade menu. I am so sorry. There wasn't enough time. Thanks to everyone who played and left a review.
quasilyte
Apr 21st · 13:39 UTC
I ended up liking the controls even though I initially thought "it's not like in the old strike games!"
The only thing I struggled with is cargo pickup. Maybe making the hook stay for a couple more seconds would be a simple fix here. Or perhaps keeping it down while space is being pressed?
bobanko
Apr 21st · 13:42 UTC
Very good game. But have some problems with this beam, a little bit too hard to get a resources. But gream game! "I am doing my part")))
GreatPasta
Apr 21st · 14:13 UTC
It's nice to remember "desert strike" after so many years)
Oleksandr Marynenko
Apr 21st · 16:03 UTC
The visuals look cool. I enjoyed flying around and shooting the bugs. The idea of deciding who to trust also adds an interesting layer. The only thing that felt a bit off to me was the camera, sometimes it moves into awkward positions, and I occasionally lose track of the cursor.
Flashcap20
Apr 21st · 16:21 UTC
Nice music!
sv.verte
Apr 21st · 16:25 UTC
It was such an amazing experience, I loved the art style and killing the bugs while flying, it was super fun. I encountered a bit of a problem with picking up the cargo, but it's not a big deal to me.
Overall, the game is incredible, I'm amazed that you managed to make so much in such a short time. ♥
Janku
Apr 21st · 16:30 UTC
Very nice! Love the feeling of flying by and shooting. I really like the graphics and UI design. I only had an issue with helicopter spawning again but in different place than the spot, which was like the true position of it and camera centered around it. Would be fun to have more consequences to getting destroyed. I really enjoyed it though :D
OLEGATOR0270
Apr 21st · 18:45 UTC
Nice work
xotraz
Apr 21st · 19:09 UTC
There is a bug :wink:, I had no fuel but had no issue and could complete the mission.
LDJam user 342640
Apr 21st · 22:30 UTC
Cool diagetic choice with destroying the signal radars - felt like I was being tricked, but it seemed like the more interesting thing to do so I went for it and was rewarded. Nice job!
Aquaaa
Apr 22nd · 07:37 UTC
I love squishing the bugs! It’s so stress-relieving—you’ve made something this polished in such a short time
Eugenik
Apr 22nd · 08:16 UTC
The premise of having to escape while using your own radar signals to drive the bugs crazy is super clever. It gives the whole shoot-em-up a wonderful sense of desperation and constant tension. I really enjoyed the frantic atmosphere of clearing out that station.
LDJam user 424326
Apr 22nd · 10:54 UTC
The game has a solid foundation: great music and strong visuals.
While playing, I found it hard to tell when I was taking damage and how many more hits I could survive.
🎤 GARYglhf
Apr 22nd · 12:25 UTC
Dear friends, thank you very much for your feedback and for sharing the problems you've encountered — what is convenient and what is not. This is very important to me. Thank you.
MaruMari
Apr 22nd · 13:58 UTC
Music fits well and Art looks really good. The enemy projectiles were difficult to see. All in all still a good game 👍
LDJam user 423872
Apr 22nd · 17:17 UTC
It's a very dynamic game. The tense music creates the right atmosphere.
bobanko
Apr 22nd · 21:18 UTC
к сожалению падает с ошибкой на ЛД
у меня такая же проблема была изза внешних ресурсов, пришлось удалить и оставить только на итче.
![Screenshot 2026-04-23 at 00.03.56.png](///raw/74b/76/z/725e5.png)

к счастью там удалось сыграть:
прикольно, напомнило ретро шутемапы с сеги про вьетнам :)

по игре:
вначале когда ученый озвучивает цели, то я читал их, и пропустил как взлетать.
также с прогресс баром здоровья тоже не сразу понял где он и сколько его осталось - короче интерфейс в этом плане тяжело читаемый. а вот жизни жуков наоборот хорошо читаются (жизни жуков важны).
в общем, я бы выделил больше жизнь самого вертолета, может даже забрал бы у жуков градацию цвета и сделал её вертолету. а им оставил одноцветные полоски.

по камере я бы сделал чтобы она центрировалась все таки на вертолёте, или даже лучше -- между вертолетом и курсором игрока, чтобы стрелять издали с безопасного расстояния, но сохранить динамику.
Stepanoff
Apr 23rd · 08:10 UTC
Very enjoyable gameplay, responsive controls. I tlike this game.
LOLOLO
Apr 23rd · 10:05 UTC
I was waiting for the release of the game с:
The game turned out to be quite good in my opinion.
An accurate hit on the topic! At first, I couldn't even imagine that they would be helicopters!
Excellent graphics and interesting gameplay. Unexpectedly pleasant musical accompaniment of the game.
The controls are convenient, I had no problems lifting the load.
Shooting bugs is a lot of fun, you can test your accuracy)
The helicopters and beetles are beautifully rendered and dynamic.
Very cool, in the same spirit! :D
evgenii-petrov
Apr 23rd · 10:16 UTC
Nice game, very good response and dynamic, and absolutely cool music. Interesting to see what desert strike with more enemies would look like! Only thing is that heli should be easier to see.
🎤 GARYglhf
Apr 23rd · 13:49 UTC
Yes. There is a problem with an error on the LD, but I haven't managed to solve it yet. Thank you for your feedback and suggestions. I'm writing everything down in a notebook and will be preparing an update.
II-P
Apr 23rd · 15:21 UTC
I, as a fan of the genre, am happy to see RTS-inspired games (which are, moreover, quite original on their own, haha). Still, bugs and the lack of game feel spoiled it a bit :< I definitely recommend adding some camera shake — it would make it feel much juicier! What engine do you use? I might be able to suggest some packages for Unity, haha. Besides all of that… I really enjoyed the entry! (I even beat it twice, haha)
kremlebot
Apr 23rd · 21:35 UTC
HELLDIVERS на вертолете, нормас. Но тема, конечно, притянута за уши)
TurboLaser
Apr 24th · 08:03 UTC
Воспоминания Desert Strike на Sega Mega Drive открыты! Круто сделано, приятно полетать и пострелять как в старые добрые. Из того над чем еще поработать - слепые зоны у врагов, все цели можно безнаказанно расстреливать с расстояния. В остальном - отличная игра!
aruseus
Apr 24th · 10:36 UTC
Haha, cool plot twist. Fun game :)

Your github link doesn't seem to work though. Maybe it's a private repository.
LDJam user 409682
Apr 24th · 12:53 UTC
I really liked it! The music is very energetic, and the gameplay is similar to Alien Shooter — only you’re a helicopter!
NonDev
Apr 24th · 18:33 UTC
Oh wow, I've not thought about Soviet Strike in a long time. I think some more feedback on taking damage and making enemy projectiles a bit easier to see would help, like others have mentioned.
Eric Nguyen
Apr 24th · 20:08 UTC
Super fun! I really like the animations of the helicopter. Also the plot twist was really cool!
amirrajan
Apr 24th · 20:35 UTC
Love this type of game. Art and music are fantastic. Input/movement was a bit sensitive and made it difficult to pick up ammo boxes. Super polished overall!
anku
Apr 25th · 19:36 UTC
Отличная игра, прекрасная динамика, хороший визуал. Напомнила старые сеговские игры, отсылка к которым есть в названии.
automatonvx
Apr 25th · 20:54 UTC
Heh reminds me of playing desert strike back in the day a bit. The visuals are a little bit hard to tell whats going on, so much bright colours, all feels a little bit harsh on the eyes. The aliens are pretty creepy, feels like the inputs need a bit of polishing to give more feeling of inertia or something. Also it seemed I ran out of fuel but nothing happened. The signal got to 100% so I guess I won, or maybe I didn't was kind of confused what I was meant to be doing apart from shoot bugs and pick up stuff. :shrug: Still kind of cool anyway.
VenomousMouse
Apr 27th · 09:32 UTC
Nice game, cool mechanic and great sound. What can be better than to control a chopper and kill bugs.
Grizwhirl
Apr 28th · 14:29 UTC
Impressive given the time constraint, the hook for the grates was a touch hard to see depending on where the chopper was. Had a fun arcadey feel
Allax
Apr 28th · 15:01 UTC
Inetesting concept, like it
nikitose
Apr 28th · 15:37 UTC
йооо анимации реально крутые!!
tinykidtoo
Apr 28th · 19:49 UTC
Really neat art. I like the chunks flying out when you kill something. Needs a big explosion sound! I also really liked the story. Don't believe what they tell you!
Honor_Takayama
Apr 28th · 20:38 UTC
Wow, that was a cool plot twist !
attentionadmin
May 01st · 00:31 UTC
когда всплывают диалоги лучше сделай так чтобы игрок подтверждал что он прочитал, потому что я не успеваю... чисто с точки зрения геймдизайна, не все так быстро читают)))
Tomssuli
May 01st · 21:04 UTC
Cool game!

I can see you've played your Desert Strike back in the day. I liked the mechanics of picking stuff up. It was cool to have at least one alternate ending too.

Animations were smooth, but could have used more ballsy sound effects for stuff happening.

Overall a good job :)
deadjolly
May 03rd · 23:43 UTC
Nice little shmup! Music was pretty hype, was fun shooting the arachnids. Enjoyed the variation in the small and big bugs. There's a sound effect for the machine gun, seems like the missiles would benefit from a sound effect as well. The missiles were pretty spammable, didn't realize how effective they were at first. Maybe make them hit harder, but have a slight cool down?

Enjoyed it overall, nice game!
AO-85
May 04th · 21:16 UTC
Art and music are fantastic. Input/movement was a bit sensitive and made it difficult to pick up ammo boxes.
Scottyartt
May 09th · 07:26 UTC
Nice game overall, would be great to polish it with shot traces at least and some VFX (even simple) to make fight more interesting. Love the music but helicopter controls are not smooth as for me