LudumData

Unstable: Incendiary Cargo by LucasGlass

[raw]
made by LucasGlass for Ludum Dare 49 (JAM)

Drive the truck to deliver the unstable bombs. The terrain is rough, and the truck is bouncy, so be careful. Reach checkpoints to refill on gas. Blue checkpoints are where bombs are picked up and green checkpoints are where they are dropped off. Reach all 3 green checkpoints without exploding or running out of gas to win.

Bombs that leak will run out of fuel after 7 seconds. They can not explode, but you will miss out on points at the drop-off checkpoints if you let them run out of fuel.

This is my first Ludum Dare and game jam. Shortly after the theme was announced, someone in the Ludum Dare Discord said they hoped to see lots of explosions. I tried to not disappoint that person. I barely managed to get any sound in the game in time, I'll remember that for next time. I look forward to playing everyone's games and getting feedback on my own game.

The HTML5 version of the game is up and ready at the itch.io link. The desktop (Mac and Windows) versions are available to download on the itch.io page as well.

Don't go too fast or you'll explode.

Buildldgj49 2021.10.05 - 16.59.03.06_4.gif

If you run out of gas, you can still roll your way to victory or the next checkpoint. Sequence 01_1.gif

*Updated right after submission, there was a bug in the total score tallying if you made it to the final checkpoint.

Web Version, Desktop Downloads and Source Code https://lucasglass.itch.io/unstable-incendiary
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/unstable-incendiary-cargo

Ratings

Overall 893th 3.417⭐ 14🧑‍⚖️
Fun 569th 3.583⭐ 14🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 511th 3.542⭐ 14🧑‍⚖️
Theme 9th 4.625⭐ 14🧑‍⚖️
Humor 445th 3.417⭐ 14🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1008th 3.167⭐ 14🧑‍⚖️
Given 10🗳️ 16🗨️

Feedback

Rayredd
05. Oct 2021 · 21:59 UTC
Boom! A game that tries to slow you down instead of speed you up. Great job.
ditam
05. Oct 2021 · 22:08 UTC
Very cool game, I had a lot of fun! The mechanics are very smooth, straightforward but polished.

I was wondering, is it possible to maneuver so as to "throw" a rocket from the truckbed so that it explodes without killing you? I never managed to pull it off, but that would allow some next level tactics.
🎤 LucasGlass
05. Oct 2021 · 22:10 UTC
@ditam yes its possible! If the bombs are leaking (spitting out fire) for more than 7 seconds, they are empty and can be thrown out of the truck without consequence. They will be returned (still empty) to the truck once you reach a checkpoint. I wasn't sure if anybody would pick up on that.
🎤 LucasGlass
05. Oct 2021 · 22:12 UTC
@ditam additional note, this is only completely true in play mode. In practice mode, once you explode or run out of gas, all the bombs are refilled when it resets you.
Nexis Game Dev
05. Oct 2021 · 22:17 UTC
I like how you can't just hold W and get to the end. I played through the entire practice mode only to read that checkpoints are only in practice haha. Challenging.

Good job!
ditam
05. Oct 2021 · 22:17 UTC
@lucasglass That explains it, once I had a bomb on fire, I probably never went an other 7 seconds without exploding! (Club Full Throttle represent)
🎤 LucasGlass
05. Oct 2021 · 22:22 UTC
@nexis-game-dev challenging indeed, that's why a practice mode was deemed essential. I have actually beat it once to prove to myself it was possible. Lost several bombs along the way. Let them leak and that's one less bomb to worry about exploding.
Kapricorn Media
05. Oct 2021 · 22:25 UTC
This was so fun but so hard!! To be fair, I was making it hard for myself by trying to go full speed, even though I know the real timer is just the gas bar. It was fun trying to figure out what the fastest bump-free/bump-cancelling path was. Also highlight of my play time was one time where I floored the gas and did a crazy jump on the hill after the 1st checkpoint and almost got to the valley of the 3rd checkpoint. Obviously exploded on impact, lol...

Well done overall ! It might be nice if it was more obvious where the bumps are visually. The terrain graphically all blended together so it was hard to pick up on height cues. Maybe that's intentional though - definitely added some suspense.


also made me laugh at "your kids might tolerate this kind of driving, but these bombs won't" haha
🎤 LucasGlass
05. Oct 2021 · 22:34 UTC
@kapricorn-media thanks for the awesome feedback! I ran out of time for making a detailed world, so I agree the visual cues could be better. I spent too much time on the explosions and movement, but I think it was worth it.
Achila eranga mohottige
06. Oct 2021 · 03:06 UTC
Hair pulling moments in this game agh 😂
Aret24
06. Oct 2021 · 08:08 UTC
Cool game, but sadly I only could go to the three medium sized bombs thing. It fits the theme really well 👍
LDJam user 237913
06. Oct 2021 · 18:44 UTC
That truck is seriously unstable! :smile: I like this idea and I felt like the bombs were giving _hints_ that they were being rocked too much ... I'm assuming that wasn't a fuse and they were going to explode after a certain time anyway.

I noticed that if you can get one to bounce out that's OK, but it has to clear the truck :smiley:

Thanks for letting me play!
Arttu Halonen
06. Oct 2021 · 18:45 UTC
A simple idea but well executed! The ground texture made it a bit difficult to see the bumps before it was too late, though. Nice job, keep it up!
🎤 LucasGlass
06. Oct 2021 · 18:52 UTC
@doc-kaos the bombs were giving hints haha, but they are not on a timer to explode. If you managed to throw a bomb out of the truck, that means the bomb leaked fire for 7 seconds and was empty. There will be a small hole on the bomb if its empty. Either that or you discovered a bug :laughing:
Simon Rahnasto
09. Oct 2021 · 23:20 UTC
It was a lot of fun to play this on stream, even though I am apparently the worst unstable incendiary cargo delivery person in the world. I intend to return to it and try to beat it later though :)

The idea is great btw and you executed it really well too! If I remember correctly you said this was your first gamejam, that's insane! Congratulations on being awesome :trophy:
🎤 LucasGlass
10. Oct 2021 · 01:47 UTC
@simon-rahnasto yes this was my first and I can't wait for the next. Thanks for taking the time to stream my game, its much more informative than just seeing what people comment. I had no idea truck flipping was so easy!
I've just got back into game development, I messed with it a ton in college. Also did a lot of youtube back in high school, I'd like to get back into it with some game and software development content. Hope to see you around on Twitch!
Ceetjeuhh
10. Oct 2021 · 10:27 UTC
Great fun, very solid physics! I'm glad I tried practice mode first though or I probably would have given up after the first few checkpoints. Funny detail about the bombs flaming out their fuel and becoming dud, I certainly didn't realize that while playing. On the final checkpoint I managed to flame out all three nukes, lol.