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[bornander]

Hi,

I've recently pushed my game Hovercraft to Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bornander.hovercraft) and I am looking for feedback.

The game is free and has no ads (nor any in-game purchases).

It's pretty much feature complete so I am mainly looking for comments on gameplay, is too hard/easy, what would make you want to play it more (if at all), was it easy to figure out, and so on, but I would also appreciate any other comments as well.

Blurry video of alpha game play





Gameplay


Achievements


Level completed


Again, any comments appreciated.

[wizered67]

This game is seriously hard (but in a fun way). I'm really bad, but a few of my friends saw me playing in class and also downloaded it. They are much better! Overall, I love the game. Graphics are very nice and game play is fun and challenging.

[bornander]

This game is seriously hard (but in a fun way). I'm really bad, but a few of my friends saw me playing in class and also downloaded it. They are much better!

As long as you're on a fairly recent version (I know I'm updating it too frequently), try changing the Controls setting under the Settings menu, move the slider to the left for a more rigid but easier to control hovercraft.

Overall, I love the game. Graphics are very nice and game play is fun and challenging.

Thank you! That makes me super happy to hear. Comments like that makes it worth while writing free games in ones spare time I think.

And if it's any conselation, you're not the only one finding it hard. Here's a screenshot a user emailed me where he crash-landed hard enough to lose both engines and landing gears (he argues there should be an achievement for getting it onto the landing-zone in that state  )


Again, thanks for trying my game, and thanks for the feedback and kind words.

[wizered67]

My friends and I are still loving the game, and I am happy to report that I have gotten much better. Unfortunately I encountered a critical bug on level 6-4, lunar lander. You start with 0 fuel, but it takes a few seconds to land on the blue mushroom. By the time you do, the game gives you an out of fuel gameover. It is impossible to do anything. A possible quick solution would be to start the player with 1 fuel so that they don't have enough to do anything but they don't get an immediate gameover.

[bornander]

Unfortunately I encountered a critical bug on level 6-4, lunar lander. You start with 0 fuel, but it takes a few seconds to land on the blue mushroom. By the time you do, the game gives you an out of fuel gameover. It is impossible to do anything.

I think the reason I havent spotted that bug is that I have my Controls setting at a higher setting than you, so for me the hovercraft settles quicker. One quick work-around for you could be to turn the Controls setting up higher to see if it will get you past the issue.

Still, it's obviously not acceptable so I am pushing out a fix for it today, I shall call the update the wizered patch , it should be available in a couple of hours.

Apologies for the bug, and thanks for finding and reporting it!

[wizered67]

Thanks for the patch by the way. Any plans for some new levels in the future?

[bornander]

Thanks for the patch by the way.

You're most welcome, sir. Thanks for playing my game.

Any plans for some new levels in the future?

Not in the normal sequence of levels and chapters, but I am adding a time-trial mode where you compete not for a three-star rating but to beat your previous time. In this time-trial mode each level (and there will be only a few) have it's own global leader board scored by time rather than points. I hope that will work better for the competitive players.

The level-pick screen will look something like this (with your best time in seconds above each level);


Is that something that would work for you, or would you prefer just more levels?

[wizered67]

That sounds awesome! New levels would be nice also, but I would totally be happy competing for fastest times on levels.

[Torfi]

Nice, simple concept and I liked the level design. That being said, there are a few things I would change.

I turned off the sound almost immediately. The thruster sound is grating and the bounce sounds get annoying really fast.

The lander seems to roll really easily when the controls are set towards easy. It is pretty frustrating to land slightly crooked and have the lander roll off the pad which you cant stop because the thrusters are so slow on easy. I can understand why you would make the thrusters less responsive to make it easier to control but is there a reason to change how the lander bounces?

Maybe its just my phone but the thruster buttons seem unnecessarily small and tucked into the corner. Moving them slightly inward or expanding their hit box a bit or both would make the controls more comfortable.

[bornander]

Nice, simple concept and I liked the level design.

Thank you.

I turned off the sound almost immediately. The thruster sound is grating and the bounce sounds get annoying really fast.

Fair point. I'll see if I can find better sounds for the bouncing, and I'll try to soften the thruster sound.

The lander seems to roll really easily when the controls are set towards easy. It is pretty frustrating to land slightly crooked and have the lander roll off the pad which you cant stop because the thrusters are so slow on easy. I can understand why you would make the thrusters less responsive to make it easier to control but is there a reason to change how the lander bounces?

This is something that I find hard to get right. Right now, when controls are set to easy I increase the inertia of the craft making it turn slower. That way it's easier to control but harder to do quick maneuvers (something that I think is important for the scoring system, i.e. it's harder to score high using easy controls). The problem with increasing the inertia is that it takes longer for it to "settle", which you observe as it rolling off the landing pad too easily.
I've also played with changing the amount of thrust exerted but that makes it difficult to recover from a spin if the thrusters aren't powerful enough.
My point is; I agree with you but don't know of a good way to fix it just yet  .

Maybe its just my phone but the thruster buttons seem unnecessarily small and tucked into the corner. Moving them slightly inward or expanding their hit box a bit or both would make the controls more comfortable.

This one can be adjusted in the Settings menu, change the Buttons setting to make them bigger.

Again, thanks for the comments, I know the game is lacking in many areas so I appreciate any feedback I can get.

[bornander]

That sounds awesome! New levels would be nice also, but I would totally be happy competing for fastest times on levels.

Well then, you best update your version of Hovercraft to the latest one and see if you can set a good time on any of the three time trial levels. Good luck

[squarechainz]

Hey, I really enjoyed your game controlling the thrusters was confusing at first but super satisfying once I got the hang of it.

I particularly liked being able to smash bits off the hovercraft and spin into oblivion! (That was the point right?)

It would be fun to get some music in there to round off the experience, not always essential on mobile but gives a good feel.

I'd also like to know exactly what the goals are to get 3 stars for the levels, it's usually pretty satisfying to complete but doesn't compel me to replay if I don't know what I am aiming for!

[bornander]

Hey, I really enjoyed your game controlling the thrusters was confusing at first but super satisfying once I got the hang of it.

I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it. The controls are confusing to most people I think and they scare a lot of players away. I do think that for the few that perservere it get's quite fun though, once you figure out how to control it.

I particularly liked being able to smash bits off the hovercraft and spin into oblivion! (That was the point right?)

Of course, no game is complete without a way to effectively spin into oblivion.

It would be fun to get some music in there to round off the experience, not always essential on mobile but gives a good feel.

You're not the first to request this and I agree with you that it would add to the experience. The reason it's lacking is that I haven't found any free music that fits the game.

I'd also like to know exactly what the goals are to get 3 stars for the levels, it's usually pretty satisfying to complete but doesn't compel me to replay if I don't know what I am aiming for!

Time, stars are awarded based on time only. You want more stars? Go faster then!

Other users have asked for this to be more visible as well, and I might add something that shows how far off from getting the next level star you were.

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide me with some feedback, it is very appreciated.

[squarechainz]

Might be worth checking out soundtrack sunday on reddit. We put our soundtrack on there for feedback but I am sure there would be some people who would love to get some music into a game!

http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/2l1fpu/soundtrack_sunday_60_catchy_tunes/

[bornander]

Might be worth checking out soundtrack sunday on reddit.

I wasn't aware of soundtrack-sunday on /r/gamedev, thank you for pointing me in that direction.
Some of the music there is both very cool and affordable, I might just add something to Hovercraft.