December 13th-16th 2013 :: Theme: You Only Get One
[ Real World Gatherings | Ludum Deals | Warmup Weekend ]
0RBITALIS is a game about defying gravity. With just one click.
=== FULL VERSION ===
0RBITALIS is now a full game. Try it on Early Access at http://alanzucconi.itch.io/0rbitalis .
== CONTROLS ==
- Move the [MOUSE] to decide in which direction to push your satellite. The dashed line indicates its predicted orbit.
- [CLICK] to launch it. You only have get one shot: use it wisely.
- [F] Enters in fullscreen mode. Only available for the Windows version.
== LINKS ==
- Web: www.alanzucconi.com/extra/0rbitalis/ld48
- Windows: www.alanzucconi.com/extra/0rbitalis/win/0RBITALIS.zip
- Source: www.alanzucconi.com/extra/0rbitalis/source/0RBITALIS.rar
- TIGSource DevLog: http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=37774.0
== TWITTER ==
If you liked the game and want to know more about its future updates, follow me on Twitter at @AlanZucconi .
Downloads and Links
Ratings
![]() | Coolness | 100% |
#14 | Overall | 4.07 |
#34 | Fun | 3.81 |
#41 | Innovation | 3.93 |
#60 | Graphics | 4.06 |
#61 | Mood | 3.69 |
#231 | Audio | 3.04 |
#235 | Theme | 3.36 |
#641 | Humor | 1.93 |
Comments
Awesome little game! I'm having plenty of fun just goofing around with this.
Beautifully atmospheric! Works just as well as a serious strategy game as it does a casual game. I'd love to see it on mobile someday just so I can play it from anywhere. Fantastic!
Looks and sounds great. Easy to try, fail, and try again, and it feels awesome to get it right. Good show!
I really enjoyed your game! The visuals are great, the mechanics are wonderful and the path prediction is really helpful. It only lacks a nice and dark soundtrack!
Thanks for your game!
By the way, you know you have a mobile hit there, don't you?
@ Andrew Adams:
I with it had more levels as well! :-) Unfortunately I ended up wasting 12 hours on a failed prototype... I wanted to do a procedurally generated thing, but levels were either unsolvable of all the same! :p I'll try to add some in time! :-)
@ Calahagus
@ cdgugler
@ madjackmcmad
@ Samsturai22
@ RedPanda
@ tklovert
Hey guys, thank you! *_*
Brilliant execution, great atmosphere. It calls for mobile version!
@ BeardoGames
@ DavidErosa
I am not an expert of mobile *cough cough* I barely have a phone! :p But it seems that you're right! I'll try an AIR port. Even thought... the game will probably be TOO SLOW! :(
I know. I kinda wanted to have proper music and sound. But you know... there's not sound in space! :p :p :p
Wow, this is an awesome game! Graphics are beautiful and the mechanics are fun! Only drawback: How is the game related to the theme?
I adored this game.
It feels good and it looks good, couldn't ask for much more.
Well done!
Really neat to see this pop up, as it's quite similar to an idea I've been toying with for a non-LD game for quite some time. I recognize some of the star names, but not all, are they all in some way based on real stars?
It does feel a little like the physics are working in ways that are subtly wrong to me, but that may be me at fault and not the game. Had a lot of fun once I got used to it, and love the sound and visual design.
@ SilentBunny
HAHAHAH MEE TOOOO! :-) My first prototype was about ODEs and how you can affect the long-term evolution of the system making one small change in one single point! :p It failed miserably though! :D
@ vrld
In the game you can only give to the satellite one push! I have to say that Gravity (the movie!) kinda inspired me on this. There are few scenes in which they have to "launch" themselves and once they're floating... it's all about the gravity. :-) You only get one shot: use it wisely! :D
@ EatThePath
The equations to calculate the gravimetric gradient are perfectly accurates. Planets usually follow circular orbits, rather then elliptical ones. Unfortunately there are some inaccuracies and frame-rate issues that make the simulation not-perfect. Have you noticed that sometimes the dashed prediction changes? It shouldn't do that, since gravity is completely deterministic! But... meh. :p Damn approximations! :D
Intriguing. Simple to play but it presents a very complex system of movement. good job.
Pretty decent idea. Simple to play and understand and nice to look at. Good job!
Played through the set, fantastic game! Everything about it was great. Thank you so much for putting this together!
@ madlee
@ DaanVanYperen
@ arkeus
@ Chris Mondok
@ ENDESGA
@ adnzzzzZ
@ PsychedeliCanary
@ Loren
Thank you! :p It's 5am here. I better go to bed hehe! :p
@ WojWorks
Well... I take the credit for the coding, even though all the movement is just... ... ...gravity! :p Thank you, Newton!
Took a while to get used to, but once I understood what was going on, it became pretty fun.
This might be one of my favorate games ever...
Crazy good idea/job. Really.
I really liked this game. It's interesting to see how many different ways you can finish each of the levels (if only there were more!). The graphics and the audio are really good and fit the "spacey" theme. My one gripe with it is that if you fly past a planet too fast, you are able to see the "line" estimation of your path. Apart from that, it's the best game I've played so far!
This is an absolutely fantastic game. One of the best Ludum Dare entries I've ever played.
Oh man, this game is fantastic! I had a ton of fun with it. The feeling when you actually manage to get a stable orbit is awesome. The sounds (even the white background noise) fit perfectly.
I got as far as the galaxy in the main screenshot :-)
One thing that I would suggest is a menu where you can pick previous levels to play again in any order.
Cheers!
Ah, is there ever anything as fun as gravity. Amazing polish and great fun.
It was amazing I spent a few minutes absorbed in the gameplay and just couldn't want anything more then what I got.
This is pretty neat! It took me awhile to understand it at first, but that's probably due to my lack of sleep. A very relaxing game nonetheless.
Awesome! But a bit too hardcore to be enjoyable and able to get far.
I like this a lot. It looks nice and the sound are wonderful!
Very fun journey through the galaxy. The difficulty in some levels makes finally achieving stable orbits feels so satisfying. Great work!
@ haveric
@ conormn
@ benedict
@ Bogden
@ junt74
@ Piat
@ ParaPup
@ Xezko
@ Juno Nguyen
@ xk
@ embero
@ ThatGuy
@ ApoorvaJ
Thank you! :p It starts to be hard replying to each one individually! XD
@ cBit
Ohh, I know! This is also why the game is so slow on old machines! Predicting gravitational gradients is computational expensive! Thus, I am making some approximations. Plus, there are small inaccuracies due to round errors end non-constant frame rate. But I like to see that the red trajectory "changes" a little bit sometimes! :-p
@ caranha
I didn't really have time to make a proper start, ending and menu hehe! This is why levels are just... looping! :p But yes, that's something I al definitely going to do in a post-update! :D
I don't think I've ever played anything quite like this. I'm in love with the interface, so many beautiful lines. I love the orbit prediction lines and the gravity field lines. So jealous of your maths.
One of those games that makes me jealous. :) Getting the satellite to perfectly orbit a planet/meteorite feels really satisfying. The sounds could have used a bit more oomph but still the best game here I've played so far. Great job. :)
I'm loving this! The added challenge of timing your launch just right is brilliant.
@ nicotuason
Hahah thank you! :p It actually took forever to make the maths working properly! Predicting gravitational gradients is so expensive because I have to simulate two seconds of system evolution. 60 times per second. :p
@ Hypnohustla
@ OriginalBigDan
Thank you! :p I was playing in my mind with this gameplay for such a long time! :p I'm glad I had a chance to implement it! :D
Absolutly amazing work, the gameplay and the mood are fantastic.
Amazingly well made. Can't believe you've made this in 48 hours! Well done.
Best game I4ve seen so far, and probably the closest one to the Theme. Graphics are incredible too. Congratz.
@ meek
Actually... less than 48! I wasted 12 hours on a prototype that didn't led me anywhere! :p
It looks and feels really good, a lot of fun. Would have loved to seen more innovation with the theme. Overall though, great job!
Beautiful! This is a very fun simulation. I think, though, that it doesn't do the theme great justice: any arcade game is a "one-shot" deal by default.
Still, graphics gameplay and fun: and its web based!
I've seen a post about this game while creating, so now I'm damn interested in trying it out!
After first level: HOLY CRAP, IT SERIOUSLY HAS GRAVITY! I CAN ALREADY FEEL WAY TOO MUCH AMOUNT OF FUN IN THE AIR!
I shouldn't rate graphics in a 48h game that has such precise physics, but I1m gonna do, because it's not even ugly!
great 5 overall for me! In every aspects! (okay, except Mood, but that still deserves a 4)
Wait a minute...!
Your name was familiar for me somehow, and now I just realized that you are the guy who created that "Tower of Pixel" game I spent hours with!
Goddamn glad you are back! You are great!
@ Katamori
Hahah thank you very much! :-) To be honest, I felt quite bad for the way "Tower of Pixel" ended... :p ...some people spent HOURS to reach for the sky and then... :p ...nothing! XD I promised myself I would have made a proper ending... but then I never did that! XD
I'm glad you didn't mention AUDIO! :D I had to push everything together very quickly so I didn't have time to put anything more than a simple white noise! But there's not sound in space... let's use this excuse! :p
Oh, you can follow me on Twitter at @AlanZucconi if you want! :) I am working on another title! :p
You deserve this long list of comments, it's a great, solid game.
@ etabubu
@ arrogant.gamer
@ TobiasNL
@ Terry
@ TwitchSeventeen
Thank you! :p
@AlanZucconi: I think, rating those categories which are bad either for purpose (Humour) or because of the lack of time (mostly Audio) in not ethical. So I don't rate them.
Also, I thought endings were good in that game, my only problem was the lack of reset.
Awesome! Definitely checking out the source for this game later.
Newsground is forbidden in Ireland (with three). If you can upload it on Kongregate or else :)
@ Masadow
Seriously? I didn't know that! :o
Anyway, you can check it THIS version on my website! :)
www.alanzucconi.com/extra/0rbitalis/ld48
@ mobyvb
NUOOO! :D DON'T REAAAD IT! :D It's sooo dirty it will drive you crazyyyy! :D
@ nerial
I didn't know Osmos! And that's kinda strange, considering that was in the IGF!
This game is awesome! The screenshots don't really do it justice, because the art direction is fantastic in motion. Gravity slingshot games are often boring but this is a fresh new twist!
Outstanding and clever game. You did an excellent job and I love it.
You can create an infinite orbital path on Alpha Centauri, haha. Loved the game, fantastic work!
Love this, really great atmosphere, sound and everything. Top notch!
Amazing game, really enjoyed myself. The aesthetic is mesmerizing!
Non sei l'unico, ma mi sa che sei uno dei più tosti! :)
@ CaptainKraft
@ Kyle Mac
@ joekinglake
@ 01010111
@ Pixelulsar
@ Anachron
@ YsenGrimm
Thank you guys! :) All this support means really a lot to me! *_*
@ Giovanni Cappellotto
Haha grazie Giovanni! :) Se hai Twitter... aggiungimi li! :p
@ thedeadlybutter
You can theoretically create a stable orbit in *almost* every level. Alpha Centauri, Canis Majoris and Sagittarius A* have such a gravitational pull that it gets closer to a real solar system. :p And of course, orbits are almost perfect there! :) Anyway, you can always click to go to the next level! :p
@ rezoner
Haha thank you! :p Now I'm blushing! XD
I had a go with your game and it seems quite deep! ;p
Wow, this was seriously great. It was a bit unintuitive at first, but after I took the time to start to figure stuff out it was very enjoyable :) certainly one of my favorites so far XD
Not really my cup of tea, but I appreciated how well made it was and it's consistent aesthetic.
Oh man this is awesome! Extremely well executed. I like the gameplay and the atmosphere. Well done!
Wow.
Just wow.
Such an innovative and well programmed game. I had a blast with this. The only thing missing is better audio.
Would love to see this expanded.
GREAT GREAT JOB
Very nice gravity simulator, I'm curious how you made the prediction path, since I noticed that I't changes on the fly, maybe the further the prediction the less accurate it is?
sticks to the theme, looks and feels awesome and is a great game overall. congrats!
Nice little puzzler. Easy to make a mistake and sometimes hard to figure out the right course of action, but since every action is quite short it doesn't get boring or annoying. I like it
@ KunoNoOni
@ zconnelly13
@ Sean Noonan
@ KWL_TW
@ angelk
@ chiguireitor
@ finefin
@ bitserum
@ strong99
@ xrm0
Thank you! :-) I am working now on new content, so hopefully there will be new levels and mechanics soon! :D
@ Vladp995
@ bitserum
You can have a look at the source code if you are curious! Even though I must warn you: IT'S SO DIRTY! O_o
I have a function that evaluates where an orbiting planet should be at any given time (it's fully deterministic, no simulation is done here). At every frame I evaluate positions of all celestial bodies from now to two seconds ahead. Then, at fixed time intervals, I calculate gravitational vectors and predict orbitalis' acceleration accordingly.
Is quite expensive because it's a simulation within the simulation. Orbits are not calculate perfectly because I assume a constant framerate during the prediction (values are interpolated). Plus, there are inaccuracies due to value approximations.
However, I like sooo much the "uncertainty" that you can see when steering around a star... approximations are worse with high speed, and this gives to the game a feeling of "we don't know yet". :p
@ SonnyBone
Unfortunately I didn't have time during the competition to make some proper music! I decided to go with the "no-sound-in-space" excuse! :-) I hope to put proper assets soon though! :D
Nice work!
This game really awesome and break my mind =)
Simple and genius!
love the gfx but had no idea what i was doing.. i either crashed into something constantly or went out of the screen.. could find a way of not doing either ..good job tho :)
Hard, but interesting. Has a bit of an unpredictability factor, though.
Alan, this is ace!
Great work, so simple in principle, but brilliantly executed and beautifully presented.
Wow, this my kinda game. Every aspect is well implemented, and I especially like the graphical style you went for. Good work.
Very nicely made game good art style and interesting gameplay. Only thing I would say is it would be good to have the instructions in game but other than that, a great game! Well done.
Really well designed, definitely the best game I've played so far. :)
Hte gravity proportion between the different bodies feels awkward.
@ SaintHeiser
@ nka
@ howieV (binarygirl)
@ OddballDave
@ reecpj
@ BradleySmith
@ alcorrius
@ Kayelgee
Thanks! :p
I hope you'll enjoy the new contents, when the next update will be released! :D
@ GBolt
@ Kayelgee
The simulation is not perfect and the prediction is affected by the current framerate! However, I like the consequence: the faster you go, the less accurate you are! In a way, is quite closer to the reality and keeps players "attached" till the end! :D
Bodies are out of scale. Totally out of scale! :p Of course such systems would collapse if planets were so big! :D
@ daredevildave
Thank you! :D Don't make me feel guilty for not having used Play Canvas! :p
Great concept! Fun to play and original. Really liked it. Some atmospheric music would have been nice.
Cool graphics with nice attention to detail. The silent background (with some noise, I think?) was really fitting.
I like the path of objects and the shoot movement, the gravity is really excellent!! I like it!
Really great game. Love the aesthetics.
It took me some time to understand how it worked, but instead of being frustrating it was a rewarding process.
Only, the game seems to freeze once in a while, I am not sure if it's intended or if it's flash or my PC. Kinda annoying.
Great game overall!
Nice use of 'fuzz' in the backing audio, gives it a really nice atmosphere that fits with the whole vibe. I found the audio "smash" noises that happen after you've won the level annoying - maybe have a different sound once it no longer matters if you've hit the target? But nice one, would love to see more levels!
Very pretty graphics, and a fun game mechanic. Took me a while to get the hang of it, but really rewarding. Congrats!!
Great concept, and great use of audio to reinforce the concept!
Played it for almost a solid hour great fun.
Though it doesn't feel like it fits the theme and I'm almost certain I've played this exact game multiple times in the LD gravity theme.
What a wonderful little game! Great atmosphere and a lovely idea well executed.
beautiful art and really atmospheric sound. good use of the theme. Even with the prediction dash I had a little trouble planning my path.
Love it! Simple mechanic but engaging and challenging. Awesome use of minimal graphics which really supports the space theme.
@ JaJ
@ Zhrack
@ Nisshoku
@ van noctar
@ Nikteddy92
@ xhunterko
@ omaha
@ BrothersT
@ Coblynau
@ Kimau
@ recursor
@ Keith Evans
@ AaronGordon
@ glovecat
Thank you! :p
I really appreciate all those feedbacks hehe! :)
@ MaTX
Yes, there is actually a nasty bug that freezes the game sometimes. Is very unlikely to happen and... is related to the library that draws the dashed line. It ended up in a loop, but I haven't had the time to dig properly into it! XD
Playing with gravity/physics is always fun, at least for me :P
nice graphics and nice set of levels!
Amazingly well done game, gratz on a job well done. Only thing is maybe a slightly better representation of power? That might just be me though
Finished it -- really well executed. Particularly impressed with the predicted paths. Are you using RK4 for integration, or just good ol' fashion Euler?
Loved the use of real star systems, very interesting game to play! However, the orbital mechanics feel a little .. incorrect. They seem to almost ignore velocity and mass relative to one another, but it's all excusable as artistic license, this game is glorious :)
Dig the graphics and the atmosphere! Otherwise wonderful as well! Do continue working on this!
I love games based on gravity. And yours is one of the best I ever played in this category! Really great work
@ raisedmedia
@ Colorvade
@ Chaoseiro
@ Ghost Pixels
@ Diptoman
@ Aaants
@ Sylence
Thank you! :-)
@ Nelien
@ Halfire
Weeeell.... :p I am using neither of them! My prediction is actually a FOR LOOP to simulate future trajectory in advance. I know, I know, is crazy. But is very accurate also because I might use in the future planets with slightly different type of gravities. So it helps A LOT! :-)
Gravity is dealt in two ways. The way planets orbit around stars is completely fake. At the moment they are just doing circles. And I put them where I liked them. They ignore mass, gravity etc. The REAL gravity kicks in when you lunch an orbitalis, and then you can actually see it's moving according to planet masses. Usually planets have a mass equal to 2 times their radius, and 4 for stars.
The atmosphere, the gameplay, the sound, everything works very nice!
Nice one! I like how you get to see the first part of the orbit before you launch, stops it being ridiculously hard
Count me as another gravity/orbit game fan. This is the second one I've tried from this Ludum Dare. It feels great. I managed to get a pretty stable orbit around Sagittarius B which turned into something pretty after a while:
http://imgur.com/oXvBalX
You did a nice job on the orbit prediction visualization. It was the right length to make sure you wouldn't hit anything out of the gate and it gave you the "oh no oh no OH NO" moment when your perfect path became a perfect collision course.
The antigravity sources were a nifty addition. I'm not sure I've seen those before. They were a little less fun to play with because they usually added a lot of unpredictability. Flying over to an antigravity body usually made your trip shorter, not longer. But they extended the possibilities for level design, which is good.
It would've been cool to see an overview of all the stars at the end of the game.
@ mize_VS_mildmojo
Whoa! :D That's a nice orbit! :D I'm wondering how long will it be stable... :p ...the evolution of these systems is very unpredictable in the long run, often because there are inaccuracies and approximation errors that sum up until they break everything. :P
I am working on lot of new things for the next version of 0RBITALIS. There are asteroid clouds, comets, elliptical orbits... :p ...and some other things that will REALLY make the difference in terms of gameplay! :D But I can't spoil anything yet hehe! :D
Best gravity game and simulator! Sometimes it hard to aim when your mouse is outside the game's screen, but that's a minor problem.
Really entertaining. I played it a lot, even being kinda laggy in my computer.
At first I thought I was too dumb... but then I made my first orbit and after that the game just pulls you in. Great job!
Very nice entry really !
Totally fan of it, the game i have play the most at the moment !
I need to know how you draw those elliptic arch with the physics, it's awesome (and i need it for my game :D )
This game is AWESOME! I really love that simple graphics and move paths (btw, how did you do that?)
@ Nazariglez
@ JoeManaco
@ Jgpicatoste
@ aviktorov
@ Jishenaz
@ Lipedal
@ GarethIW
@ Carduus
@ severus
@ Pol
@ MaxguN
Thank you! :p
@ Carduus
I draw the orbits by calculating where planets are going to be in the future. To do this, I'm just using Newton's law! :p
Oh wow, this is one my faves so far. Really clever idea. Well done :)
Great job! I've loved it. Really addictive, spent a good amout of time playing it! Really cool! :)
If you have time, please consider rating my game! I would really appreciate it!
@ somepx
@ Idovoodoo
@ javifugitivo
@ Flyinpig5
@ squibbons
Thank you! :-)
@ Threef
If you ended up in a looping orbit, just click when the red cursor appears and you can skip to the next level! :-)
Absolutely perfect. Usually when I play one of these really great LD games, I want to give a little bit of feedback on how it could be even better. For this one.. maybe some background music..? that you can turn off... that i'd probably keep off while I played.. Great game, good work!
Simple, beautiful, satisfying and calming. This is amazing. Great work!
I played through all the levels. Very nice and addictive game. One of my favorite games so far. The visuals fit very well, like the sound effects. Very good job - I have nothing else to say!
Excellent game! I'm a physicist and this game deserves all my love <3 <3 Good job!
This. This is my favorite so far. Beautiful, cleanly executed expression of orbital and launch mechanics as puzzle game. So cool. Splendid work!
@ tripleVisionGames
@ Jeremias
@ OtherAlexy
@ Reverend Speed
Thank you! :D
@ ocmu
Hehe unfortunately I didn't have time to make any music! But I am working on a new post-compo version... :-)
@ soy_yuma
Thank you! :-) Have you ever seen Star Trek Generations? I *LOVE* the scene when they are in Stellar Cartography and shows how they can trace the movements of the Nexus ribbon according to gravity. I guess that inspired me a lot! :-)
Damn you 7472 Kumakiri! I must have made swiss cheese out of all your planets by now! I felt the audio was a bit too crunchy for the rest of the aesthetic.
Really great game play ; it has a bit of the addictive quality of Angry Birds in being simple to start but difficult to master. I definitely think I 'lost' rounds sometimes but it sent me to the next galaxy ; allowing the player to repeat lost galaxies would probably feel better for a real game (although I imagine you made it the way you did due to the ludum dare ' you only get one')
Not exactly my kind of game, but definitely one full of innovation with great use of theme.
Nice entry! Even though the concept has been seen before, you still managed to make the game look pretty and fun. Good job ;)
@ erebusman
Aaargh! :D I knew someone would have mentioned Angry Bird at a certain point haha! :-)
Yep I am trying to think of a menu that is not invasive and is well integrated with the game. Maybe menues will be level as well! :p
Challenging and beautifully executed game. I predict a good placement for this :)
Now this was really cool! I love the concept of keeping your probe in orbit, I did pretty well too... all that Kerbal Space Program practice I think! :)
@ unusualcadence
Haha thank you! :D You're the second one from the Kerbal Space Prorgam! XD
Wow. Simple game play complemented by great visuals! I have to agree with others here: this game is made for mobile!
I really suck at this type of game but I included this game in my Ludum Dare Compilation series, if you'd like to check it out :) http://youtu.be/0DcB_uEEmYE
Whow, for me as a physics student this was really fun!
I did not like the sounds very much. Some Background music would also have been nice (instead of this ac hum thing).
Despite these things, you manage to create some mood. The graphics are appropriate and have their own style, which i really like!
Wow, this is definitely one of the best games I've seen so far.
@ koe415
@ Techblogogy
@ DanielSnd
@ runvs
@ errorage
@ Bruno Massa
Thank you! :D
@ Jupiter_Hadley
Ohhh thank you! *_*
I really appreciate that! :-)
I wasn't always sure what I was doing, but I was sure I really liked doing it. And looking at it. Excellent!
I really like this type of game, and your execution of it was really strong. You found some good ways to make the puzzles challenging yet solvable. Good work!
Highly interesting. Personaly, i'd like to have some side informations on each system (gravity, periods, velocity, apoapsis...). Some data to try to find stable orbits after finishing the game.
Great to make a newton based game! On the first student-semester we had to code this too. Great work!
@ Gungnir
@ Atmospherium
@ PEBKAC
@ kristoffer zetterberg
@ SiENcE
@ gre
Thank you! :D
@ nSun
All the planetary orbits you can see in the LD48 version of 0RBITALIS are made out of... perfect circles. The main problem is that those systems are not in scale, so generally they are too unstable to support stable orbits for a long period of time. Plus, there are inaccuracies and approximations and the simulation makes some changes to the way gravity works that I am sure will make it almost impossible to use already developed techniques to achieve stable orbits. :p
Some systems however, like Canis Majoris, are made "in scale" and you can see how easy it is to achieve stable orbits with them! :p
This is brilliantly done, i like just watching it orbit about even after completing the level. One of my favorite entries so far, great job!
Very neat use of gravity. I think the range of trajectory certainty conveyed by the fading paths.
Nice little puzzle game, it's more fun as a toy I guess, since you don't have that much influence over the outcome. Simple audio, good graphics.
Interesting mechanic and a nice entry. A little bit hard to master the mechanic, but it's not because there's anything wrong with the design.
A great job on the graphics, too.
I like it, and I feel it's complete as it is. Thumbs up.
This game is good. The physics are awesome, but somehow I didn't actually find it all that fun. It's very well made and I can praise heaps for it, especially being 1-man in 48 hours, that is really impressive. But the fun factor, for me at least, is a bit lacking. I know that's a bit subjective though. Overall this is awesome, congratulations on your awesome entry! =)
I kinda wish that the planets didn't start moving until after you launch. It would be more puzzle-like in that regard, but I suppose this has it's own challenge as well. Very cool.
Wow. Stunning visuals, perfect audio, and an utterly mesmerising mechanic. Amazing
This game is absolutely amazing, everything is integrated so well. The presentation has just the right amount of minimalism as well.
Man your game is a jewel! It kept me hooked until I've beaten it.
Sometimes it generated strange results, or it felt like it did (probably I didn't understand all the rules, but then they should be told in a tutorial). For example I thought my satellite would crash into the central star, but instead of that it went trough the star and got it's trajectory strangely twisted. I am not sure if the pulsation of the star has some effect over the trajectories? More feedback about the types of the planets, attract/repel, would be nice too.
Making looped orbit, ellipsis or 8-like was a great pleasure! If you add some kind of score or achievement for it will be a great bonus to the warm feeling! :)
Also, some Solaris soundtrack-like music would fit perfectly.
Anyway - a perfect game! Respect!
@ lightsoda
@ Kvisle
@ pele
@ x70x
@ tompudding
@ y2bd
@ OneDee
@ auto_suggestion
@ xerysherry
Thank you! :p
@ Denis Chakarov
Thank you so much Denis hehe! :-) The solar systems in 0RBITALIS are waaayyy out of scale. Planet sizes, for instance, is ENORMOUS. In a scaled system, The sun would be as big as the screen and planets would be like 1 or 2 pixels. In order for the gravity to work properly, orbitalises cannot collide with planets. However, they collide if they enter within 10 pixels from the centre of mass/gravity. This happens as well with stars so you can "enter" inside them as long as you don't touch the 10-pixel-area-of-death. In a way it is as if you were going "3D" OVER the star. In a way, is just a feature-bug. :p
The other problem you are referring to is called... TUNNELING! If the velocity of an object is higher than 10 pixel, it might "skip" the deadly area. This is what happens close to the centre of a star! :p There are fixes, but in a way I kinda like the unpredictable outcome! XD
Very fun game, though a bit laggy calculating trajectory on my machine.
really awesome graphics and mood and i love the mechanic! lovely work
Seen it done before, but still very welcome to see this concept done well :) The field lines were a great touch.
I loved this game! Setting up a crazy trajectory that turned out to be stable was really rewarding. This brings to life just how hardcore NASA/ESA etc are when sending probes to distant planets - by literally playing this game to work out how to transition using the right amount of fuel etc (Orbitalis V2?!) The serene mood and peaceful sound effects work well. I liked the stability of the integration as well - was standard first order Euler enough btw? Great entry!
@ jsjwooowooo
@ mcapraro
@ lekochen
@ nicotr014
@ DDRKirby(ISQ)
Thank you! :D
@ jimmypaulin
Haha thank you! :D Even though I seriously hope NASA/ESA won't use 0RBITALIS to send stuff in space. Or it won't reach space. EVER! XD
While many games come out of LD, this game needs to go further. This game has the perfect trajectory to shoot to the top. Would love to see this game with more levels, elements, etc. A mobile port might be tricky, but I would love to see it done. So much yes in such a little game.
@ timothyolt
Thank you! Yes, I am working on a very big update for 0RBITALIS! The version I am working on has a proper galaxy to explore with 100 star systems with asteroids, comets, pulsars and nebulae. I am also working on new mechanics, for instance probing missions, landing missions and... well, I can't spoil what's next! XD
Heh, nice game.
I actually made similar game for LD when theme was exploration, doing solo run back then(now in Jam team)
http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-16/?action=preview&uid=232
@ teamMightyFingers
Oh yes, I can definitely see some similarities here hehe! :-) I like the "expand" thing hehe! It took me a while though to understand how it worked! :p But is a nice idea! :D There are probing missions also in the new version of 0RBITALIS... :p
This is cool, though it runs pretty slowly on my laptop, which makes it really hard. I got past a few levels with extra patience!!
@ Tom 7
Sorry to hear that Tom! 0RBITALIS is quite computational expensive, I know! Simulation gravitational gradients for two seconds in the future EVERY frame *is* quite a task! :(
As you probably notices, trajectories are not always accurate and this is also due to this... I tried to optimise it to get some speed. Unfortunately on old machine it just doesn't run smooth, I know! :(
Simple and lovely. The simulation could use some tweaking on the numerical analysis part, although I'm not sure how much AS3 can keep up for real time.
@ BNeutral
The way I am using to calculate the gravitational gradients is... a little bit floppy. I tried few approximations to predict trajectories, but they were based on the *real* gravity, not on 0RBITALIS one! XD So, the most accurate way so far is just to... simulate gravity. :\ Is heavy, I know!
@ ViliX
Hehe thank you very much! *_*
So far 0RBITALIS is both the most commented and the most voted entry in the 48 hours competition! ...so my fingers are crossed! :-) I'd love to make a full game out of it and I'm already working for it... so winning would be an amazing push also to find a publisher, get on Steam, etc! :-)
Anyway, it seems your game is doing pretty well too hehe! :p
Played this one again on a faster computer and it is much more fun that way. Ultimately I found it to be kinda random trial and error, and not enough variety in the levels, but it was actually quite fun trial and error. Nicely done! :)
The difficulty progression was really good. Played until Beta Cruicus (Or something like that). Really good type of puzzle, simple but very effective graphics. Could of course had a little more sound/music to it. But in all really impressive entry.
Nice game. The mechanic was well done although I felt that it was a little too "launch and hope" sometimes. Maybe a bit more control over the satellite would be be good. Your use of the theme is original and well done.
Solid gameplay, nice graphics, great fitting to the theme. Congrats, Alan! Orbitalis is awesome!
@ SoundGuy
@ lotusgame
@ isaacmarco
@ oxysoft
@ Yoni
@ Tom 7
@ local minimum
@ mmickyman
@ havana24
@ ashen
@ Beavl
Thank you guys! *_*
Pretty addictive game with a really awesome concept. Loved the visual style and the difficulty curve as you progressed was just perfect.
Very well made physics engine and it's very clever the way it predicts the movement of the projectile thingy, nice game! it's a cheap representation of the theme however.
Great fun to play around with. Sometimes it felt luck-based that some of my launches worked and some didn't, but maybe I was just doing it wrong. Great graphical effects too!
Wow, what a beautiful atmosphere you've created here! Inspiring aesthetic too.
Fun game that looks cool, quite a gem that still have simple mechanics.
That's weird. I wouldn't think this was an obvious idea, but this is the second orbital simulator I've seen this Ludum Dare.
Still very original. Ah! if only orbits in Kerbal Space program were so easy to change.
It looks very polished (very nice graphics!), simple but good sounds (I would like to have music, but it's hard to have music for a game that you play for a long time, like this one so it's better not to have music than annoying music).
The different constelations make it also more fun.
This was fun to do.
Nice game, I enjoyed playing it. It took me some time to beat all the levels, but in the end it seems there is not really a progression in difficulty. The graphics are awesome, except the jagged font. And I didn't like the waiting between failed attempts. But nevertheless it's an addictive game.
@ Xanjos
@ Grafter says
@ crockid5
@ patrickgh3
@ Sebastian
@ oskardevelopment
@ goerp
@ henrykun
@ loxo
@ ukasinho
@ themachinestarts
@ supremefist
@ rincewind_cz
Thank you! :D
Fingers crossed for tonight guys! XD
Great game, I had a lot of fun. I even got into a perfect orbit!
Normally these type of games are not my thing but this one is very good. The color scheme, retro sounds and beautiful and tasteful animations won me over. Definitively one of the best overall.
Would have liked to try a bit slower and trickier levels where the goal is more about attempting to predict the path. The current gravity system makes me feel is simply unpredictable.
Beautiful and challenging. Exceptional work for a compo.
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I really like the different levels of difficulty, but wish it had more levels. Good job!