LudumData

S-Cargo by floralvikings

[raw]
made by floralvikings for Ludum Dare 54 (JAM)

S-Cargo: Elite Snail Mail Delivery

IMG_0427.png Welcome to the S-Cargo Space Delivery Service, the only snail mail service run by actual space snails!

You will need to make use of limited cargo space, choosing between equipment to upgrade your spacecraft and valuable cargo.

Then, navigate treacherous hyperspace conduits, dodging destructive asteroids to put your flying skills to the test!

Controls

  • W to Accelerate
  • S to Decelerate
  • A and D to rotate
  • E to interact

Mechanics

The goal of S-Cargo is to get to the end of each course as quickly and safely as possible, while balancing cargo with equipment. Snail Mail is valuable and increases score on delivery, but equipment makes maneuvering in the treacherous wormhole dimension easier.

Upgrades

  • Inertial Dampener
    • This powerful device suspends inertia in a small area, meaning that when you stop accelerating, you stop moving. Heavy, but great for maneuverability
  • Booster Rocket
    • This large rocket engine allows for much faster acceleration
  • Deceleration Booster
    • This modified Inertial Dampener is lighter, but requires active deceleration to work
  • Streamlined Hull
    • This specially-designed hull increases increases maximum velocity, which is odd because there's no air resistance in space

Screenshot 2023-10-03 at 8.09.50 AM.png

Screenshot 2023-10-03 at 8.10.29 AM.png

BugFixes

10/2 The right dialogue shows up at the right time in one area now.

Link https://gary-the-enchanter.itch.io/s-cargo
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/54/s-cargo

Ratings

Overall 700th 3.436⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Fun 711th 3.256⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 904th 2.908⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Theme 714th 3.423⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 790th 3.192⭐ 41🧑‍⚖️
Audio 353th 3.553⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Humor 171th 3.763⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Mood 688th 3.395⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Given 40🗳️ 58🗨️

Feedback

smilewood
03. Oct 2023 · 00:24 UTC
Cool concept, interesting take on the theme, and a wonderful pun for a game title. I like the concept of having to decide between cargo and ship upgrades, it thought that it lead to an interesting decision point (more info on what the parts did could have been nice). I am not the biggest fan of the “solve a maze from the inside” game, but this was an interesting implementation of it with the use of momentum to keep moving around the maze interesting. The dialog that went along with both sides of the deliveries was fantastic, I thought you nailed the comedy of the game jam. Overall a great jam game, well done!
JOZGames
03. Oct 2023 · 00:26 UTC
Achei carismáticos os personagens
TrebleColby
03. Oct 2023 · 00:29 UTC
I like the idea of adding a maze to this type of game!
Subsage
03. Oct 2023 · 00:30 UTC
This reminds me of Frog Fractions with how quirky the whole package can be. My score was always 0, not sure if intentional or a bug. Good work adding various elements/systems into a weekend jam.
🎤 floralvikings
03. Oct 2023 · 00:32 UTC
@smilewood Thank you so much for taking the time to play! I only just now realized that we didn't include descriptions for the various equipment pieces :face_palm:
🎤 floralvikings
03. Oct 2023 · 00:33 UTC
@jozgames Muito obrigado!
Axelrod777
03. Oct 2023 · 00:33 UTC
I like how you can get more points if you make the controls harder. I collided 5x without the inertial limiters and got more points than using the limiters, so that's interesting.

The current level design feels a little bit like the focus is on finding the exit rather than navigating the course. I think the camera could have zoomed out so the player can move faster more confidently.

Nice work overall!
🎤 floralvikings
03. Oct 2023 · 00:34 UTC
@treblecolby Thanks! We struggled to find a good game to fit the theme for the first day so I'm glad the concept turned out to be fun
🎤 floralvikings
03. Oct 2023 · 00:36 UTC
@axelrod777 Awesome, yeah that's kind of the idea we were going for; sacrificing maneuverability for increased cargo capacity to up your score. We really weren't able to play-test all the different equipment/cargo combinations so it's cool to hear you found a more "optimal" loadout!
Sarenei
03. Oct 2023 · 00:36 UTC
Bonk! The audio and the dialogue were especially great.
🎤 floralvikings
03. Oct 2023 · 00:37 UTC
@sarenei Hah thanks! The "bonk" sound is my favorite :smile:
🎤 floralvikings
03. Oct 2023 · 00:38 UTC
@subsage Ah yeah, we forgot to add descriptions to the "shop" screen. You need at least one piece of "mail" to get any points, adding equipment helps maneuver but doesn't increase your score. Thanks for playing!
Strato
03. Oct 2023 · 00:41 UTC
I like the idea of choosing how much cargo to take with you, but it didn't seem like there was any actual downside to just grabbing everything. The movement felt good and I would have liked to see it utilized in more interesting ways. Maze navigation isn't super exciting imo.
Gary the Enchanter
03. Oct 2023 · 00:49 UTC
@strato The Snail Mail gives you points, and the other things help you fly more easily.
I agree though, if we had more time, we would have definitely explored the level design more.
Thanks for playing it!
johnnysix
04. Oct 2023 · 00:24 UTC
I came for the pun and stayed for the maze :smile:

Nice dialogue and plot - the one thing I'd say is , if you continued to develop, is to not 'damp' the inertia, it felt more fun ( and more spaceship like ) to have the inertia in space.
Gary the Enchanter
04. Oct 2023 · 02:22 UTC
@johnnysix Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, we were talking about messing around with how the physics worked more to find the optimal fun zone, but it's 72 hours doesn't last quite as long as one would think it does!
VerttiXPertti
04. Oct 2023 · 07:56 UTC
I really liked trying to complete the different levels as fast as possible, because the movement especially without the inertial dampener was very satisfying. Nice game!
nathmate
04. Oct 2023 · 09:07 UTC
![2023-10-04-200527_433x362_scrot.png](///raw/102/b5/z/5f87e.png)
Nice game. I really appreciate the "choose your own difficulty" with the different loadouts possible.
Alpie
04. Oct 2023 · 14:34 UTC
Cool version of idea of open-ish world with dungeons!

When I tried first time I thought I have to pick that instant stop upgrade and the game became really boring.

Second time it was way more fun and I could solve puzzles much faster!
Great that the player can choose when and how to do challenges!
Gary the Enchanter
04. Oct 2023 · 15:22 UTC
Thanks @verttixpertti & @nathmate! I was feeling less confident about this one, so I'm pleased to hear that y'all liked it!
Gary the Enchanter
04. Oct 2023 · 15:25 UTC
@alpie Thanks! I'm glad you were able to figure out the configurable equipment. Finding the right balance of how much to explain can be difficult.
fabula_rasa
05. Oct 2023 · 13:12 UTC
I really enjoyed your writing! It made the game form me. I am tempted to go back in and count how many times "limited space" is repeated - might make for a truly deadly drinking game :laughing:

The concept is fun. Balancing your configuration to your own playstyle to achieve the best score feels good and allows for trying different approaches. Great work on that! Controls fell good with Inertial Dampener equipped.

I liked your snail graphics as well. All very nicely done!
BlueDandelion
05. Oct 2023 · 18:47 UTC
This game reminds me of that one show with fast snails I forgot the name of.

I really liked how you can choose what "upgrades" you can have to make your life easier. My favorite part about the game has to be the art of the avatars. Nicely done team!
Lizik Vin
05. Oct 2023 · 19:13 UTC
I love that “Bang” when you hit a meteorite!
Gary the Enchanter
06. Oct 2023 · 02:16 UTC
@fabula-rasa Ooo yeah, I might fear for your health if you do that. :grimacing: I may have went a little wild with the theme title drops…

I’m glad you liked it, thank you for the kind words!
Gary the Enchanter
06. Oct 2023 · 02:22 UTC
@bluedandelion I feel like I might have seen an advertisement on Amazon about that when my kids were watching TV some time, but I also have no idea what the name is.

I’m glad to hear the art worked out for you! For these jams I kind of just have to run with my first idea cause I never leave myself any time to iterate on them.
Gary the Enchanter
06. Oct 2023 · 02:22 UTC
@lizik-vin Ha yeah I did too! @floralvikings is a masterful sound engineer.
Quoclon
06. Oct 2023 · 06:36 UTC
I enjoyed this. The Introduction, with the quirky characters lead to a laugh out loud moment. I appreciated your take on the concept, and some tongue-and-cheek commentary on it within the game. I thought the parralex background was rad, and overall the graphics felt cohesive. I felt that the decelerator (dampener) with the abrupt stop felt not idea... but still, made it through some mazes and had a good time. The music and background of the maze zones REALLY amped up the urgency - I could feel it in my bones! Haha, anyway, solid entry :)
mofox
11. Oct 2023 · 02:34 UTC
太棒了！
nullval
17. Oct 2023 · 15:06 UTC
what a charming presentation and world, everything felt really cohesive. It felt like the abrupt stop of the decelerator did remove some of the challenge of the game for me, but at the same time, when I tried to not stop I bumped into a lot of things so it might be smarter to have it than to not have it.
EgorMnc
19. Oct 2023 · 22:15 UTC
I liked the game interesting gameplay