Billiard Hero by thyoi

[raw]
made by thyoi for Ludum Dare 52 (COMPO)

Here is a table, come and play billiards.

T1.gif

your goal is to knock in all these crop balls into the hole.

But wait a minute, there seems to be something unusual

Do not scroll down, beware of spoilers. CLICK HERE

I uploaded the HTML version, but it is not in HD. I recommend downloading it and playing it in full screen

T2.gif

T3.gif

T5.gif

T4.gif

Tips

* Most of the balls have 4 points, except for the initial balls. * * Gold transparent balls have 8 points. *

The Death Swamp spell was indeed very difficult as it was supposed to be the last spell, but there was some time left at the end so I did Sans' spell (which was even harder)

It's a shame that you won't see Sans if you don't pass the Death Swamp so I'll explain the idea of the Death Swamp here and hope it helps you.

The Death Swamp can be broken down into five parts. The first part is a lot of yellow explosions that are used to drive the cue ball to the left side of the table.

The second part is the swamp ball and more explosions. There are two safe spots between the swamp balls and the area of explosions.

t1.png

Originally the second safe spot was covered by the explosions in the first part. Avoiding the cue ball getting too close to the right side before stage three. However, to reduced difficultys, stage one removes some of the explosions, allowing you to stay in the second safe spot.

The explosions in stage three start from left to right and you need to reach the right side before they catch you. There is also a bomb ball on the far right side of the table, whose purpose is to help you clear the dense swamp balls. If you stay at the second safe spot of stage 2, you can easily reach the right side after the bomb ball explodes.

Stage 4 is a mirror of stage 3. It is also the most difficult part of the Death Swamp spell. The third GIF shows the fourth stage of the Death Swamp. The original stage 4 was horribly difficult, but I have reduced the explosions' speed (originally it was the same as stage 3). It is extremely difficult to reach the left side of the table directly, as the swamp balls on the left are very dense. So you still need to clear them with the bomb balls. Here comes the fourth stage key. There are three bomb balls on the left side, however they are wiped out by a yellow explosion a split second before they explode. So what you have to do is push the three bomb balls away from the yellow explosion area with the right click and make sure they destroy as many swamp balls as possible. Just as GIF3 shows.

The design of stage 5 is very obvious, I won't reveal it to you here, you can solve it.

You don't have to go through Sans Spell, which has two chapters. The second chapter named COMBO is very, very difficult. I thought it was just a little bit hard when I tested it, however I didn't take into account that I am an experienced Touhou Project player.After watching jitspoe being abused by Sans for an hour on stream I realised that the difficulty did get a bit out of hand.

These Spells are definitely passable to clear, I've tested them many times and if you want to challenge yourself you can try to get through them. If you don't have the patience, I'll do a clearance video afterwards.

Although the difficulty has been reduced many times during the test, I still made a greater difficulty adjustment

1, 15% reduction in the collision box of explosion.

2, Gaster blaster judgment area narrowed by 20%

(they originaly equal to the visual range)

3, the death swamp stage 4 explosion delay of 0.5 seconds

(This is a big delay)

Ratings

Overall 20th 4.12⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Fun 23th 4.054⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 26th 4.022⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Theme 328th 2.233⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 16th 4.351⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Audio 47th 3.878⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Humor 43th 3.722⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Mood 43th 3.889⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Given 15🗳️ 32🗨️

Feedback

profundity
10. Jan 2023 · 20:08 UTC
This is a gorgeous game. The visual design is really high level for such a short development period. I also really enjoyed the gradual build-up of chaos, and new powers. I did feel like I wanted to have a stronger sense of my goals (maybe an indicator of what is needed to unlock the next stage?), though it was legitimately entertaining just to bounce around and knock in anything I could.

As of the time I am writing this your game didn't have a cover photo - so I will admit I came in assuming there wouldn't be much to look at and was surprised it was so polished. Would definitely recommend adding even just a screenshot as a cover photo if you want to draw more people in (in addition to giving other games reviews, etc.)
LDJam user 277851
11. Jan 2023 · 02:08 UTC
@profundity
Thank for your feedback.
New stages are unlocked based on the score. To control the number of balls on the table, the score changes between stages so no hints are made.

However the hiting section is just a tutorial for the game to help you understand the new abilities. the main point of the game is Spell Battle(unlock around 500 score), You haven't played Sans battle have you?
simsax
12. Jan 2023 · 18:32 UTC
The art is incredible, I hope you will get more ratings!
limered
12. Jan 2023 · 19:19 UTC
Wow, crazy game. Really deep for a compo game. I'm impressed. Awesome effects, and it gets really hard once the action levels start.
It would have been nice to know how mutch points each ball gives.
Overall a great game.
Keep it up
Torban
13. Jan 2023 · 02:17 UTC
Really flashy design and polish of this one. All the effects are so well done. Incredibly well done!
frozenfire92
13. Jan 2023 · 02:32 UTC
WOW! You did all this yourself in 48 hours, I'm impressed! This was so much fun and such a cool take on a classic. I absolutely loved the art style. I found the "boss" levels to be so frustratingly hard that I ultimately gave up on the swamp of death. Would love to read/watch a devlog on this, I think it would be very interesting. I really hope you keep going on this! Keep on making games :smile:
ghostbomb
13. Jan 2023 · 04:59 UTC
Very cool and colorful game! This is amazing work as a compo. All the balls look fantastic as they roll around and the effects are gorgeous.

I will say that trying to perform ultra precice dodging as a slow, heavy, billiard ball with tons of inertia that ricochets off of the edges of the board is very frustrating.

Sorry Sans.
neilcorre2k6
13. Jan 2023 · 06:37 UTC
This game is just art - absolutely nice piece of art. Kudos!
jitspoe
13. Jan 2023 · 09:06 UTC
Dang, this is a really solid game! Maximum juice! My main complaint is that the hit detection goes beyond the visuals and is extremely punishing. Definitely the most challenging game I've played this jam!

I did technically get to the end of the game after my stream, but I somehow cheesed it. I guess it balances out all the times I got cheesed by things that didn't look like they should have hit me. 😄

I had to record a video because I couldn't figure out where ti was safe to go during one of the last SANS attacks (didn't realize it was safe up top), and when I alt-tabbed back to the game, my ball was gone, and all the attacks played without hitting me.
Peter Jonsson
13. Jan 2023 · 17:32 UTC
The visuals are really satisfying.
I absolutely love the vibe.
Well done!
Mastoast
13. Jan 2023 · 18:07 UTC
really solid entry,impressive art and visual feedbacks. I loved the 3D effects on balls (well until you can't see the effect anymore because of all the stuff happening :laughing: )

The game have a nice pacing, the progression is very effective, it's just a shame that i was spoiled by the GIFs on the project page, I would have loved to discover everything within the game, but i understand that i can motivate people to play and finish the game in a jam context

Playing the game was still very fun, and some suprises worked on me anyway :thumbsup:.
Multipixels
13. Jan 2023 · 20:06 UTC
Amazing how much you got done within 48 hours! The art is fabulous, gameplay was exceptional! Loved it, well done!
Kilirane
13. Jan 2023 · 21:09 UTC
It is a really great game! You did an incredible job on the artistic creation, everything works wonderfully and it's very juicy! I really liked the progressive evolution of the gameplay and the challenge. And the easter egg at the end was a nice surprise. If I had to criticize something I would say that the balancing can be improved
, the beginning is too slow, you could almost get bored... and the end is way too frenetic! it brought back memories of elden ring: ') Great job! Bravo !
NoelOskar
13. Jan 2023 · 22:17 UTC
This is amazing, love the art, the idea, this games keeps the player constantly engaged with new stuff, only issue i can find is that, i don't see much connection to the theme, but for a game this good, it doesn't really matter
neowhoru
13. Jan 2023 · 22:37 UTC
I saw this in the twitch stream and directly played it. It is a really awesome game.
I want to say that THIS game will definetly win the compo.

In just 2 days (!!!!) so a great game. I really loved it and was hooked over a half hour about it :D And i think i will play it again to reach the end haha.
Szieberth Adam
13. Jan 2023 · 22:55 UTC
Brilliant Billiard! Unbelievable progress in 48 hours!
KeithSwanger
14. Jan 2023 · 01:19 UTC
Wow, the amount of polish in your game, and it's a COMPO GAME? Seriously, congrats on this fantastic entry. I will admit, it is extremely hard, and I almost gave up at the swamp section, but I'm so glad I stuck it through. I'm just imagining the world of a full version of this game, you really nailed the Toby Fox magic. I want to see more! Congrats again, you made something very special!
eddrw
14. Jan 2023 · 04:19 UTC
The effects look soo fantastically juicy, this is really impressive and polished.
Lomby
15. Jan 2023 · 04:02 UTC
Thanks for submitting your game on the stream!
Here’s the start of your game if you wanted to re-watch initial thoughts youtu.be/y26fNN5FUi0?t=11003

Amazing artwork, mechanics, and polish! Loved the challenge of the last two spells! Congrats on such an awesome game!
koboldskeep
15. Jan 2023 · 06:40 UTC
Best pool game I've ever played. Great job on this one!
LDJam user 300745
15. Jan 2023 · 10:05 UTC
I love the effects and how the bars are filled. Great job!
His the Unknown Painter
15. Jan 2023 · 10:54 UTC
AWESOME GAME!
I really in to it when i paly this game on stream!
Thanks for made this fabulous game ;)

Cheers!
Alex Garbus
15. Jan 2023 · 21:52 UTC
I've always wanted to be a billiard ball in a magical girl's basement! This game looks and plays fantastically! It's quite challenging, but I managed to make my way through! Now, I never wanna see a billiard table ever again. :8ball: :skull:
Krassenstein
16. Jan 2023 · 15:57 UTC
Hey there, this was pretty awesome! I ended up playing your game on stream!

Here's the VoD so you can jump to your chapter and see it again!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYvmJ8_8kww
Chase of Bass
16. Jan 2023 · 17:00 UTC
This was really cool!! Loved all the crazy juicy action towards the end! The vfx were fantastic and the art was great too! Had a lot of fun playing this one! Awesome work! :D
Strega
16. Jan 2023 · 23:28 UTC
Amazing game! Super impressive for Compo. I loved the visuals, VFX, and feedback effects super polished feeling. The dialog worked really well with the cute character. I like that you threw in some easter egg interactions like clicking on the character lol. The game started off slow for me, I really sucked at the billiards gameplay, but it ramped up so quickly after a certain point. I got past the swamp, but Sans was too hard for me! I tried the WebGL build at first, but clicking and dragging outside of the play space kept messing up the controls, so I ended up downloading the windows version and that was so much better. Amazing job!
LDJam user 2331
17. Jan 2023 · 04:09 UTC
Loved the overall look and aesthetic of this- incredible polish for a compo game! Finished it and whew, that escalated lmao
Matank
17. Jan 2023 · 06:09 UTC
Very cool game!

What I liked:
* Great particle effects! The overall feel of the game was really polished and very fun to look at
* Very innovative mechanic, and I like how they keep changing throughout the game
* Amazingly complex for a compo game! I have no idea how you managed to do so much in 2 days, this is crazy!
* Last levels felt very challenging but still masterable.

Issues I had (all pretty minor):
* I felt the first half was a bit tedious with every time getting a new score objective, and it wasn't clear what the "real" objective is and when the game is going to advance - I think this part could have been much shorter.
* I have no idea what's the relation of this game to the harvest theme :smile:
grid96
17. Jan 2023 · 22:11 UTC
the visual effects are so crazy! so much content and such a polished feel overall. Did you get any sleep at all in those 48 hours? :D
Lee Reilly
04. Feb 2023 · 03:17 UTC
Hi! Happy to share that Billiard Hero is featured on the GitHub Blog in our [Ludum Dare 52 wrap up post](https://github.blog/2023-02-03-ludum-dare-52-staff-picks/).