Planet Quest by Corporation

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

You were sent to the planet to look for resources

Order delivery of defensive structures. Clip1.gif

Use cruiser on the orbit for powerful attacks. Clip2.gif

Upgrade cruiser to defend longer. Clip3.gif

Gameplay guide and hints:

Game is not easy, here's some tips if you're stuck: place buildings in the begining carefuly, you will need fire power and protection. Good pattern is turret behind the wall. Don't be greedy to place credits miner early, you will get overwhelmed. Place rocket launcher as soon as possible, after a couple of turrets, it will help you with big enemies and is mandatory to kill flying. After that a good idea is to place mines thrower behind the wall and wave generator to the left, it will kill enemies in mass and keep them from destroying defensive structures. Place buildings on top of each other to replace them when they are almost broken or just weak, like walls or upgrading turrets with mines thrower. The game is winnable so you can do it)

More

I have plans to continue development of this game, will post more stuff in twitter (https://twitter.com/FiveHeadGames).

Credits:

Game created using my own engine (https://github.com/filscorporation/Steel). All art created using Aseprite.

Ratings

Overall 49th 4.027⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Fun 32th 4.153⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 207th 3.319⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Theme 294th 3.528⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 61th 4.139⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Audio 81th 3.729⭐ 37🧑‍⚖️
Mood 59th 3.875⭐ 38🧑‍⚖️
Given 29🗳️ 49🗨️

Feedback

KyleTheCoder
01. May 2023 · 11:52 UTC
Absolutely incredible palette! Interesting that you used your own engine - how did you find that to work in terms of efficiency for the compo?
🎤 Corporation
01. May 2023 · 14:16 UTC
@kylethecoder glad you liked the palette! I really spent some time to find the one that fits the mood.

Using my own engine is really has it's pros and cons: the game isn't performance intensive, so no real benefits here, but where it does matter is the overall flow of work - it supports a lot of shortcuts and instruments that can increase the speed of me making games, like full aseprite integration, that alows me to get all animations right from .aseprite file without import.
But at the same time there's a lot of fighting with missing features and bugs when using it, and you can't just google the answer like you would with Unity
Firebelley
01. May 2023 · 15:26 UTC
Really fun overall, love the concept of delivering various buildings and having to manage the delivery time and cost carefully. I do have a couple of minor points of feedback:

- It seems turrets are incapable of killing an enemy without taking damage. This didn't feel great as a player, but I understand if this was a gameplay decision
- I couldn't figure out if there was a way to cancel a building once I clicked on it. It would be nice if this was a feature.
- It was not obvious at first that dropping new buildings on existing buildings would destroy them. This caused me to accidentally set myself back quite a bit.

Overall I had a lot of fun with this! Love the concept, felt like the right level of difficulty, and the art is awesome. Excellent work!
🎤 Corporation
01. May 2023 · 15:38 UTC
@firebelley thank you for the detailed feedback!
Yes, the turret should take damage, that's why you need the walls asap) Canceling buildings unfortunately was not implemented, you can click new building and it will replace current draft, but you will lose money for the first one. I tried to warn about it in the dialogs, in the game description and also by drawing red cross on top of the building you are going to replace.
I hope learning curve was not too steep and you managed to beat the game)
TasakaSama
01. May 2023 · 16:29 UTC
One of the most beautiful game I've tried on this jam, but it's difficult for a start. It's a shame because it's really impressive
🎤 Corporation
01. May 2023 · 16:34 UTC
@tasakasama glad you enjoyed it) I thought that I made it too hard, probably was trying to avoid making it to easy so player would not get the feel of all the mechanics implemented. I posted some tips in the description, they should help if you're struggling, there's a winning strategy when starting with turret -> wall -> turret
TasakaSama
01. May 2023 · 16:40 UTC
We also have a little trouble knowing where the attack is coming from and how to place these units, close or not.
MoebiusMeow
01. May 2023 · 16:53 UTC
Good interpretation of the theme. In the end I have more than 1k credits but I can do nothing without delivery.

The gameplay is solid and strategic. After a few attempts I figured out that it's a good strategy to use wall + weapon delivery to clear large swarms of enemies. And the simultaneous delivery is the key upgrade to this play style.

As mentioned by others, the palette is great and it really goes well with the other parts of the game. I also like the mood switching between the spaceship and planet surface. Nice work!
DSFAN
01. May 2023 · 17:45 UTC
Game is definately cool and have a lot of potential. Delivery theme is a bit strained but overall is fine considering you really need to plan the deliveries wisely with upgrades. Also my micro-controling skills from sc2 helped me at finishing line when things went messy and fast.
Love the camera movement when clicking on the ship.
Would be great to see:
- ability to cancel the choice of the order before placing if I change my mind
- upgrades for buildings
- building's health bars, range info/visualisaion
- difficulty choices (too easy for a guy like me). After the first try I came up with a strategy which leaded me to the victory pretty easily
- maybe different colors for enemies to distingwish them more easily

Keep up the good work!
LDJam user 240168
01. May 2023 · 19:39 UTC
A very interesting game! Spent quite some time in it (but still didn't beat it, got to something like 95%). Love how you combined a classic tower defense mechanic with delayed delivery, although it didn't feel like that much of a difference after you've upgraded your ship, so maybe this concept can be explored somewhat deeper. Agree that cancelling a selected building (e.g. by mouse right-clicking) would be great. I've felt that the shooting range of turrets & mine throwers was just too small, which was a bit frustrating at times. I also didn't realize at first that rocket launchers can't attack the smaller enemies, which was a bit disappointing as well. Overall a very decent entry, enjoyed it, good job!
🎤 Corporation
01. May 2023 · 19:54 UTC
@lisyarus agreed on the most parts) interesting that you managed it till 95%, as for me it felt like after you passed first part, it gets much easier and you just steamroll to the victory.
Some of your points match what I've ended up thinking after the game was done: the initial idea with delayed placement requires much more of balancing to make this game unique, I think I'll work on it.
And rocket launchers can hit any enemy, they just prioritise them in specific order (flying-tank-others) to not waste rockets on the weak ones.
LDJam user 280707
01. May 2023 · 21:41 UTC
Wow! This is definitely my favorite entry I've played!

Beat the whole thing, was a whole lot of fun!

Sound, art, animations, everything was so good!

Intro/tutorial was really good, straight to the point!

I can't believe I got left behind :,(
The Hat Guy
01. May 2023 · 22:55 UTC
Very fun game! I got to 100% research just as my base was being destroyed
LDJam user 258850
01. May 2023 · 22:56 UTC
So goood! ^^ love turret defence, wish it was waaay longer. gives me dome keeper vibes
Lex
02. May 2023 · 18:57 UTC
Whoa! I also got my research done just as my base was being destroyed, which led me to be a bit confused if I actually won or not. But I think the game is well balanced and the graphics and audio are pretty consistent. I loved the aesthetics.

Thanks for this game!
Firespike33
02. May 2023 · 21:36 UTC
Oh man this was fun. The main points of criticism I have are that I would have liked to see a preview of the building's attack range before making it, I also would have liked to be able to cancel building something if I changed my mind, and I think there should be a preview of buildings that are being delivered so you can make a few at the same time without accidentally destroying one.

Game was pretty hard until I realized that with all ship upgrades I can spam the hell out of the laser attack and kill everything. I pulled myself back from the brink of destruction this way lol
Alfredo Cossetin Neto
03. May 2023 · 01:18 UTC
I love base-building games and this is definitely a good one. Excellent ambiance and gameplay. Great work.
kierogi
03. May 2023 · 14:13 UTC
I like the art style and you did a great job with the animations. Cool narrative and a nice short progression. It's kind of very difficult then extremely easy I found once I got established, so possibly some balancing with another bigger enemy?

The ship music was a little hectic but the sound overall is really nice.
🎤 Corporation
03. May 2023 · 16:14 UTC
@cosmo8 those corporations are all about money, you know(
@the-hat-guy amazing to hear! Seems like the difficulty was perfect for you then)
@lex 100% is the ending, yes, you won) But there was a dialog in the end explaining what happened next. Anyways glad you finished the game)
@firespike33 thanks for suggestions, they are all matching the feedback I hear and something I will implement for sure.
@kierogi glad you enjoyed) I was affraid it would be too long for the jam, not it's about 10 minutes to complete, more would be risky. Good suggestion with big enemy in the final stages, agreed that after you made a setup you can just spam attacks and chill)
Luke Parker
03. May 2023 · 19:25 UTC
Firstly, big props to you for doing this in your own engine. Really enjoyed playing this, and found that I really enjoyed how you did the ending of it. I think my main issue (but may also be a great design choice) would be the fact that there's no indicator of where you're placing buildings that are in progress, I found this made the gameplay a bit more difficult but no less fun.
ugly_robot
03. May 2023 · 21:23 UTC
Ahhh such a refreshing entry! Well balanced, polished, a feast for the eyes, and a complete, succinct experience!

So much love clearly went into this project - I adored all the enemy designs, and had a tremendously fun time learning each of my tools, and deploying them in just the right orientation to form an impressive bullwark.

\- of course, until my capitalist masters left me for dead, that is!

Right at the end, that epic flood of enemies was just barley what I was able to keep up with, giving me the joy of calling successive laser sweeps and a satisfying hail of misses to decimate their numbers. The perfect amount of challenge for our final showdown!

Using the 'deliver time' as a core aspect of the difficulty was a genius idea, and shows what a strength the theme can be when considered carefully - excellent work there.

And the color pallet can't be praised highly enough - it gives such a distinct, harrowing beauty to this game that perfectly fits the themes and pace of gameplay. Zipping up to the mothership, leaving the gentle pastel hills and atmospheric music below, and witnessing the industrial, grating might of the corporation that sent me - it just works wonderfully to deliver that emotional impact.

"Who is the _real_ enemy", as they say.

Astonished to see this was 'compo'. A brilliant entry! I enjoyed every moment of it. You should be very proud!
katamary
03. May 2023 · 21:42 UTC
Nice idea with split screens. The game looks polished and well balanced. Specialty respect for changing music when player switches between the planet and the ship. Good luck!
LDJam user 250825
04. May 2023 · 00:14 UTC
Neat game, the 1D level design introduces interesting constraints. Cool to see a custom engine and even more impressive that you support C# scripting for it! I lost the game at 92% as I think I didn't prepare enough cannons and it took me a short while to realize you can visit the ship for other upgrades. Solid entry all around!
milq
04. May 2023 · 10:23 UTC
Impressive that the game has been made with your own engine. I understand that the game engine did not do it during the compo, right? If so, I would make you a statue. Now seriously, congratulations on the game, really!
🎤 Corporation
04. May 2023 · 18:02 UTC
@ugly-robot thank you a lot! By far the most pleasant feedback I've got to my games. Really gives me confidence to continue what I'm doing.
Very glad you noticed the story and how the mood shifts when switching to the ship view, that's something I really tryed to achieve.
Kilthorne
05. May 2023 · 04:04 UTC
Two worlds meets Luftausers meets kingdom two crowns
Belle
06. May 2023 · 08:21 UTC
BASTARDS COME BACK!!

I loved everything about this game. The scope was beautifully handled, you have a very good sense of which building blocks are important to finish a game and where to allocate resources, which is also appropriate as you made a resource-based tower defense!

The colours you picked were great, they added a lot to the atmosphere and mood, music was great as well. The addition of jumping between the surface and the spaceship was a fantastic addition that did a lot in regards of adding a sense of scale. It's hard to describe it, but it did a lot for the feel.

I managed completing the whole game in the first try, much thanks to reading your tips prior to starting the game, I know I would've perished otherwise as I'm always greedy in these types of games and start with resource gathering.

Gameplay, story, art, music, it all comes together. Cannot emphasize it enough, you've really made a balanced, great, complete game which is really enjoyable. All of it is extra impressive considering you did all of this yourself during a compo, applause, applause, and more applause!
🎤 Corporation
06. May 2023 · 15:48 UTC
@belle glad you enjoyed my game, and it is truly a joy to read such a great feedback)
Wuppos
06. May 2023 · 17:31 UTC
I loved this game a lot! This kind of management game, where you have to balance risk/reward all the time is really something I enjoy. The execution was also really good, so there was some actual cost/value decisions you had to make. Thanks to the hints you gave I was able to beat the game in the end :D The art and music were both also amazing and gave the whole game an amazing atmosphere.

One thing which I kind of forgot was the upgrades I could buy from the spaceship. Maybe it was just me, but maybe the fact that the button was on the other side of the screen made me completely forget about it. When I remembered I could buy stuff I realized those upgrades are really helpful :P

At first I was also thinking that it might have been nice to give your buildings some healthbar or some change of art to indicate how broken they are. Now, however, I am not entirely sure what would be the right call, because not letting the player know this gives another dimension of the risk/reward decisions.
One final thing I noticed is that, in moments of stress, I would accidentally place one building on top of the other (which would then be destroyed.) I was wondering, is there a reason to allow the player to place one building on top of another? Maybe just not allowing the player to place buildings on top of each other would suit just as well?

Anyway, thank you very much for making this! I really enjoyed it a lot :D Amazing submission and really impressive for a compo game!
automatonvx
06. May 2023 · 18:09 UTC
Great game, kept me hooked for quite a while, got to 82% but didn't manage to beat it. Might be nice to display the health for the base, also seems to be a bug if credit miner is destroyed the credits still keep coming. Visual design is really nicely done, the minimal palette works well, you can understand everything you need without getting overly distracted. The main planet background music fits nicely and is atmospheric (the ship one not so much, but hey) Interesting set of choices for upgrades to keep things interesting and give a good level of strategy and the balance is pretty good, hard enough to be a fun challenge, but not so hard that i didn't feel like i was learning with each run, probably with a few more goes i could figure out the optimal strategy and win. Always cool to see someone using their own engine too, so Kudos there. I hesitate to say a 'perfect' compo entry, but certainly not far off. :tophat:'s off to you sir.
nardandas
06. May 2023 · 18:25 UTC
Really fun kind of linear defense game! I do think I broke the game, at the end when I'd bought all the ship upgrades, I just spammed the ship's laser and killed EVERYTHING... until it left. I think giving buildings a bit more range would be good. I think with the current design relying primarily on buildings, it's optimal to have several layers of defense you constantly refresh, which doesn't feel very good as a player. Overall really cool!
LDJam user 259103
07. May 2023 · 08:19 UTC
Well made tower defense game. I like the sort of silhouetted graphical style. I got to around 55% before dying. It's quite difficult. I agree that showing health would be nice, since I never knew whether one of my defenses was close to breaking.

Also, it's really neat that you're using your own engine.
Alexascher
09. May 2023 · 20:53 UTC
This game is awesome! I've been trying to beat it for a while. It has a great balance, and I especially loved the ship upgrades. The ending almost made me cry.
Lyxali
11. May 2023 · 14:23 UTC
I love it! Feels finished, looks cute, has strategy in it and an interesting ending - meaning you delivered the whole package :)
I also like the take on the theme, its not as straightforward, making it more interesting.
One thing I didnt like is that the rockets poof when their target is destroyed. Meaning synced up rocket launchers caused some loss of structures.
Played three times, beat it in the end. Could use a fast forward as well.
Brigart
14. May 2023 · 20:10 UTC
Really nice game! I like this style
LDJam user 242971
15. May 2023 · 02:01 UTC
Very good tower defence. I love the graphic and mood. Music is great as well. The art has a very unique feel to it. Fun entry!
LDJam user 371030
20. May 2023 · 16:14 UTC
I just **love** this type of art. Great, very interesting and fun game. Captivating tune and those old-school sounds... I feel I am going to play this for a bit more than other games. Will comment more after I finish it. Awesome pixely animations!!!

This kind of retro art goes straight to the heart... several colors... reminds me of those very old computers and gaming systems and **great** gameplay! Thank you for bringing this back / I may be a bit oldschool...