next »

[ClaudioA]

Hello everyone, I just released the 4th alpha of my first game Power The Grid, a Renewable Energy Tycoon. I don't have previous experience and I am learning as I go. I deeply appreciate any feedback you can provide.

It is a strategy game designed not only to be fun, but also to provide a better understanding on how the different energy sources can work together to power our society. A nerve racking, but fun experience is what I can promise you.

Check it here: https://powerthegrid.itch.io/power-the-grid

Screenshot - https://media.giphy.com/media/l4FGFEDtdhoK7LIiY/giphy.gif

[Jembo]

I had quite a lot of fun playing this, and it was definitely a tense experience!

The different mechanics for the power plants were really interesting and gave me a lot to think about when managing the power. Being able to see when the power demands are about to rise also allows for some strategic planning.

My main criticism relates to UI and presentation in general. From a technical standpoint, I had some non-responsive buttons (I failed on level 3 and couldn't click replay, and the biomass upgrade button took several clicks to work). I'm not sure if this is something to do with the WebGL player, or me playing on a mac, but have a look into it.

In terms of UI/world design though, the game itself has some issues. The town is static and basically non-interactive for the duration of the level, so unless there's stuff that happens there later on, the game would play exactly the same without it.

So as a visual, it's okay to have it there, but it does mean that the UI that the player spends 99% of the time with is pushed to the edges of the screen. This also means that the toggle buttons for the power plants are a bit small and difficult to hit. From what I played, the game could take place entirely from the point of view of a person in front of a big console, and you could potentially do some awesome stuff with filling the screen with nifty UI controls.
If there is stuff that happens in the town that I missed, then this feedback isn't relevant, but I didn't see any in the 3 levels I played.

Alternatively, maybe the town could sort of represent the rising and falling power demand graph, so the player has to really keep an eye on what's going on in the town to figure out if the demand is about to spike. If snow starts falling, everyone begins turning on their heaters, indicating that the demand is about to shoot up. A neighborhood could suddenly spring up, and people quickly start moving in, so you know it will rise. Or alternatively, a storm could cause 2x production from your dam power plant.

Anyway, I think the management game in there is a lot of fun, but I'd just like to see something done with the town.

Looking forward to seeing more of this

[ClaudioA]

Thanks so much for your feedback!

There is definitely a bug with the Replay button, I will correct this in the new update.

About the town, I am also working on the animations to make it more engaging like night/day cycles, water flowing, smoke and turbines spinning. Do you have any idea on how to make the water flow?

I loved your suggestion about the placing the UI in the city, like the turbine controls on top of the powerplants, I had already thought about it before and it is nice to hear it from you.

I will take note of the snow, rain and people coming suggestions, they are very good.

If you want to get notified about the release of new updates, follow my game channels:
https://twitter.com/PowerTheGrid
https://www.facebook.com/powerthegrid/

I am trying to build a community of engaged players to help move my game forward it would be a pleasure to have you.

[Jembo]

Sorry ClaudioA - I haven't been on the forum in a while, and I just saw your response. You're most welcome, I'm glad the feedback was helpful

It'll be awesome to see more of that feedback in the town, I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

In terms of the water - if the river is going to be a fixed feature (and that same shape) in each level, I guess you could have a few frames of the entire river, and just cycle through them as an animation. However, if you have more than a couple of frames, this may be costly in terms of texture size. Alternatively, you could probably place a couple of smaller animated ripple sprites at different intervals along the river. I imagine that just a few of these will do the trick - I often find that even a subtle suggestion does a lot to communicate the effect of something.

Good luck with the project! I'll keep an eye on it

[ClaudioA]

Thanks for your input, I made something like you described.
I like the outcome but I will still try to improve it a bit:

See the movement here: http://gph.is/2hiG4sp

In case you are interested you can find a link for the game in my newly launched Patreon campaign: http://goo.gl/J2ZmT0

Already have the day/night cycle implemented too and have several other animation in progress to release soon;)

[ClaudioA]

See first post, new build released with an exciting 3rd level!