Disaster on Aero VI

● ARCHIVED · READ-ONLY

Started by MobiusXVI Jun 28, 2014, 04:40 PM 11 posts View original ↗

MobiusXVI

#1 Jun 28, 2014, 04:40 PM Source

CONCEPT
You're the captain of a spaceship that's just experienced a serious malfunction. You're now in a race against time to repair your ship before everyone dies!

DOWNLOAD
Download the full game (v1.1): here
Note: Please open "READ ME BEFORE PLAYING.txt" before playing game!

GAMEPLAY
Explore a fully realized spaceship. Repair core ship systems vital to survival. Balance three distinct resources - fuel, power, and oxygen - to stay alive.

UPDATES

v1.1 Released

- Numerous bug fixes

- Added AI "guide". Talking to the ship's AI gives tips on how to progress as well as reminding you what you've already accomplished

SCREENSHOTS

Spoiler

CREDITS
Game Designer - Mobius XVI
Art Assets - Enterbrain, Sithjester, Game Character Hub
Sound Effects - GRSites.com, Soundjay.com
Music - JDB Artist, Joel Steudler
Scripts - CCOA, Wachunga, Minero Aoki
Paladin-Cleric of Awesome

#2 Jun 28, 2014, 04:57 PM Source

Looks awesome!
Matseb2611

#3 Jun 28, 2014, 06:44 PM Source

Heya. I've decided to give this try because I like the concept. I haven't come across any bugs, and so far I've managed to restore the life support system. However, really stuck on the other two. There's a lot of stuff to do and I am not sure in what order it all has to be done in. The time pressure really doesn't help with this, but I think a little more guidance on the systems would've been nicer, otherwise this is way too technical and confusing. Like perhaps some kind of instruction manual to explain some of the systems that the character has on him at all times would be a great help. Right now I am just walking in circles all over the ship and clicking on every object I see in a hope to find something useful.
MobiusXVI

#4 Jun 29, 2014, 08:06 PM Source

Matseb2611 said:
Heya. I've decided to give this try because I like the concept. I haven't come across any bugs, and so far I've managed to restore the life support system. However, really stuck on the other two. There's a lot of stuff to do and I am not sure in what order it all has to be done in. The time pressure really doesn't help with this, but I think a little more guidance on the systems would've been nicer, otherwise this is way too technical and confusing. Like perhaps some kind of instruction manual to explain some of the systems that the character has on him at all times would be a great help. Right now I am just walking in circles all over the ship and clicking on every object I see in a hope to find something useful.
Check out version 1.1. Talking to the ship's AI now offers some guidance on how to progress.
Indrah

#5 Jul 3, 2014, 09:11 PM Source

Here's my very quick and sketchy take on the game (link for info on why it's so short and all that jazz)

+Overall good mapping and presentation.
+The subdued tone is good as it leaves you intrigued rather than impatient.
+The amount of stuff you can investigate is nice.
+It’s not bogged down with initial long exposition.
-That said, the initial dialog goes for a SMIDGE too long. Just a bit. The two characters repeat the same general idea of “I have to fix it” for too long.
-The initial camera pan at the intro goes on for WAAAAYY too long. It totally saps any energy or ambience from the intro.
-The font is really not suited for the game, as it’s too hard to read and does not suit the futuristic tone. I’d recommend switching to a simpler font for readability.
-There are TOO many things to manipulate and no distinction of what is important. Some signals such as shiny spots or floating arrows would help a LOT to guide the player to the main machines and boxes.
-Some of the manipulation of machinery is not visual at all (closing those vents does not change them at all graphically, which is a bit awkward).
-The machinery menus have a very confusing background that does not help with readability.

To the developer: I feel like this game would be very good if a couple things got fixed: the font, the menu background, and the interactivity cues. Those are what I feel keep this game from being very nice, since they turn an otherwise intriguing game into a sudden “everything can be touched and I have no idea of what I’m doing at all since everything looks the same as before”. With some edits here and there (visual cues mostly) I think It’d be pretty nice. I may give this a twirl calmly and to full once the game list is over.
Jesse - PVGames

#6 Jul 4, 2014, 04:05 AM Source

I just wanted to say that I really, really enjoyed this game very much. I put up a bit more detailed of a review here: http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/29297-rate-each-game-out-of-5/page-9

Really, very fun game and I really, really hope you expand on it!
MobiusXVI

#7 Jul 4, 2014, 07:20 AM Source

Jesse - PVGames said:
I just wanted to say that I really, really enjoyed this game very much. I put up a bit more detailed of a review here: http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/29297-rate-each-game-out-of-5/page-9

Really, very fun game and I really, really hope you expand on it!
Thanks! I really enjoyed making it. There were a lot of things that didn't make into the game given the deadline, but I'm definitely hoping to expand on the game once the contest is over.
Alkorri

#8 Jul 6, 2014, 04:02 AM Source
Hi there, MobiusXVI. I just finished your game and wanted to say I enjoyed it...eventually.
Spoiler
I enjoyed going around the station, jumping onto various problems like a firefighter (sometimes literally). The puzzles were seamlessly incorporated into the setting and nothing was out of place, so immersion was high. (So high that I was stressed about the ticking clocks!)

I ran out of power the first time. This wasn't helped by the fact that:

I couldn't dash, which is extremely frustrating (you're think the Captain in a life or death situation would hustle a bit)

I can be a slow reader, so I had to spend time reading all the text and understanding the instructions

I prefer to take my time exploring my surroundings and interacting with objects, so I can get a sense of the setting. Thus you can tell I am biased against timed games.

I am still getting used to the layout of the (admittedly small) ship

it took me ten minutes alone to fiddle around with that orientation mini-game where you have to s l o w l y control that evil tiny ball

By the time I was done I only had two minutes of power left. I ran out of time, nearly quit but decided to give the game another try anyway. This time I gave up exploring and went straight for the objects I needed, did the orientation puzzle first, and pretty much completed my second playthrough in about 35 minutes.

I really like the premise of the game and how you needed to fix things. Judging by the features you left around, like the first aid kits, med station and the cryo support panels, I could tell you apparently cut short some features/puzzles to make the deadline. Nonetheless, what puzzles you kept there were fun and engaging.

I liked the Captain's comments about his crew members. I wish there was more text to give a sense of a backstory, but this wasn't one of those games where you could take your time.

Typo: The ship is too heavy for us to be able to complete the maneuver burn. We'll need to lose some weight by dumping the cargo.

Typo: The cargo hold panel in the bridge lists them as Dumpped instead of Dumped.

I'm not a great fan of the font but it's serviceable.

The music was creepy enough that I half expected a Xenomorph to crawl out of a ventilation shaft! It also feels a bit too laid-back for a timed game, but that's just my opinion.
I can tell you put a lot of work into this, so I hope I didn't come off as too harsh. You did a great job and I actually wished there was some kind of cutscene at the end as a reward! Thank you for all your hard work :)
MobiusXVI

#9 Jul 7, 2014, 06:18 AM Source

Thanks for the feedback, Alkorri! I went through a lot of iterations with the puzzles to make them all fit together, and as you guessed a lot were left behind. Believe it or not, but the orientation mini-game used to be a lot harder. :) Thankfully, my playtesters got me to make it easier but it sounds like I should still take another pass at it. And typos... Man, you can never find all of those buggers. lol. But seriously, thanks for the feedback and thanks for playing my game! (And no, you weren't too harsh.)
Tenchizard

#10 Jul 7, 2014, 01:10 PM Source

I was very intrigued when I saw both the high and low scores some people have given to this game, so I decided to give it a go myself. And boy, I'm glad I did.

Graphically, the game is not impressive but I don't really care, because the word here is COHERENCE. It really is what I'd like to see as a sci-fi spaceship! All the environment is really inmersive, and I really liked it a lot. Not because it was flashy or beautiful, but because it's just what I expected. So congratulations on getting that.

Music and sound effects were nice, but also nothing special. At least they were not intrusive, and didn't get bored of them.

Now, about the gameplay... this is more of a graphical adventure than anything else (no RPG or the like in this one), but I think it's quite well executed. At first, the puzzles are a bit overwhelming (OMG how many things do I have to repair???), and the time limit seems daunting... but once the initial panic is gone, you just have to start looking around, asking the nice AI, and then everything makes sense. Just read carefully, because everything is clearly pointed out, and that's it. I like how I had to move from room to room, asking the AI what I had to do there, and the clues I got. Everything was pretty intuitive after all.

Then, the only moment you can get stumped is when you discover you need some items that are not in the cargo, because some people may not realize that everything in the ship can be interacted with, but I guess everyone gets it after a while.

What I missed in the game was a bit more of a challenge. The time limit is just too long, and there's nothing that can surprise you at all... but that may well be out of the scope of the contest. It's just that I didn't see the risk of failure after I got into the game. I just hope you keep evolving this game because it is really nice.

So, as a whole, I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes relaxing adventure games. Don't play this in a rush, because you won't like it. Just give it some time and enjoy the ride.

I'll be posting a shorter review on the other thread, along with a score (I don't like scoring games on their own thread if they didn't ask for it, It seems a bit rude to me).
MobiusXVI

#11 Jul 7, 2014, 11:00 PM Source

I think you're the only reviewer who thought the game was too easy lol, but thanks for playing it and giving detailed comments. This is my first published game, and I'm really enjoying getting this much feedback; it's really helpful! Thanks again! :)