Hovercraft racing game release

hovercraft racing game I've been sitting on for a year or two is finally out. Might as well post it here and get some feedback and test how dead or undead flashkit really is ( reference to that other post ).

Seems that mochi forum guys have a very hard time passing opponents. So this may call for an example of a video player within the game, to show how it's done, but I hope some of you can make it without that.

You know how it is when you've spent a long time with a game, becomes too easy and as a result you make it too difficult for the others, new to the game.

Cool game, bet your glad you've finished it.

I just thought the perspective of the ship was weird looked like it was on an angle when driving straight.

Very nice game. There's a great impression of speed.
Crits : The countdown before the race is not very intuitive. The race begins at "one" ??
The backgrounds (behind the track) are not very beautiful. Blue sky would have been better than those weird things I think.
I do think it's too hard !

Ohh WOW it really has a nice depth to it. i like the music and the way it moves when i hit the arrow keys.
Good job over all.

Definitely too hard, you crash once and you've lost. Very nicely made though, technically and visually good, though I also didn't get the background.

Oh and I assume those things that make you jump are supposed to be boosts? I didn't really get the feeling I was going faster, it kind of threw me off more than anything. Would have been nice if the screen blurred a bit and an obvious speed increase happened.

Nice game though, well done on finishing it :).

Ali

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Originally Posted by fil_razorback

The backgrounds (behind the track) are not very beautiful. Blue sky would have been better than those weird things I think.

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no need to start insulting - Tony

btw great job on the game and yes it is hard :O)

Woah, Chill out there. Fil was only expressing his opinion which I happen to agree with. Not that there's anything wrong with the background Mike has in there but as you say, different people like different things. No need to resort to name calling.

Ali

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Originally Posted by mixedtrigeno

I actually liked the backgrounds. I guess different people like different things.

Go figure

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I did like the backgrounds too, especially the first two. They were distracting but oh so pretty. Same goes for the slow guitar music and the reversed version. Absolutely loved them. The other songs were a bit of a putdown for me.

The gameplay was a bit too hard, like the others said. I noticed that when the race starts, the AI just scoots off to the horizon accelerating faster then I am. Probably my timing, but that would be require some pretty dead on timing. I get the impression that the AI drives (hovers?) a perfect race. I'd like a difficulty setting or at least a map, so I can see what's coming up ahead.

Nice game, but I really think it's to hard right now. Did you manage to beat the AI yourself?

mixedtrigeno >> This thread was created so that MikeMD receives opinions about his game. I gave mine, you may give yours too.
I'm pretty sure he is smart enough to draw conclusions without you telling him how my opinion sucks.

All opinions are valid. I understand some people will like the backgrounds, some will not ( some think the first background artwork is better than the game itself ). Same with music. Music was one of the reasons this game sat on the shelf for so long. I played the guitars myself, but never got around to recording any more tracks for this, so finally just ended up using some of my old loops. It probably would have been better if it had same style heavy guitars on all tracks.

Looks like I will have to add an easier mode. I've been playing this on and off for at least 18 months, and I more often than not I can catch up even after being bounced one.

The yellow arrows are not speed boost. They launch you into the air and while in the air you have less control over steering, speed remains the same.


Other crafts race a different race each time, with some of them being a bit faster than others. Your hovercraft's top speed is better than theirs while they take off faster.
I catch up to them after 20-22 seconds.

Anyway, the key to catching up is finding a good line, learning how to throw yourself into turns ( like rally racing ) and avoid being launched into the air while turning hard ( that usually ends up in you going into the fence ).
Passing is not easy, but you can actually follow close behind and wait for opportunities when they open up.

Thanks to everybody for checking it out, looks like game speed is not an issue, which was my main concern. And I didn't expect the game to be this hard for most people.

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Originally Posted by .hooligan

Cool game, bet your glad you've finished it.

I just thought the perspective of the ship was weird looked like it was on an angle when driving straight.

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This is what I experienced as well. It was as if I needed to turn when it seemed like I was going straight. That is the only issue, other than the fact that i sucked and couldn't pass anyone. Maybe if you implemented a jumping thing so we can attempt to jump over the jumpers. Also the numbering was off (4 3 2).

The game has a very good feel to it though. Good job on that, the game speed is fine.

Another version with smaller hovercrafts and slower opponents. Now it's much easier to pass ( way too easy for me ), so curious to see how it is for others.

I think my main complaint is I actually managed to almost win;


(After 7 grueling tries)


but the enemies appear to have absolutely NO AI.
hmmm.

they just stayed on the track and went impossibly fast and never crashed.

try to copy mario cart or something,
in my opinion that is the best racing AI I have ever seen.


also, I found the speed a bit too much, I think that if you lower it, it will improve control, and interest in the game. After all, what's the most fun thing about a race?

PASSING PEOPLE.

well, don't take my opinions too hard, I really love the game.

I could never make something like this.

great job, just remember all the criticism on this forum is to help you make your game the best it can be.

Original and the second Mario Kart were probably my favorite racing games, but they were not exactly intelligent, they cheated, if you were to get far ahead of everybody they'd just magically speed up and get better powerups. Likewise if you were too far behind you's always get one of those great powerups that shring everybody and/or speed you up.

In any case Mario kart was if not #1, definitely in the top 3 of my favorite racers list.

Anyway, this is why I am posting here. I made crafts smaller and slowed down the opposition, so passing should be much easier than in the original version. If it's not I'd like to hear about that too, so no problem, any criticism is welcome.

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they just stayed on the track and went impossibly fast and never crashed.

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In this version you are actually a good deal faster then them when running at top speed. True, they do not crash, but they do have to slow down in turns and occasionally make slower starts or have to slow down for whatever reason.

I like it. It seems about the right speed for the opponents now, and my only comlaint is what was said before. The craft seems to want to turn when it should be going straight.

I believe this may be caused by the craft registering the upcoming turn before it is actually on the turn. I have noticed that going straight works fine until about 2 seconds before the turn. the car is compensating for a turn that isn't there yet.
[EDIT]I played it again and I noticed that if I caught up to the cars they were "Hovering" in formation... there was no variation. Maybe add Math.random() for a bit of speed difference? I didn't see any slowing down.

Anyway, amazing game, I love the others on your site.

keep up the masterpieces!

cheers,
xenElement

Great game!! I quite liked it. I'm very impressed that you made the guitar loop, that was totally awesome and sounds very neat!!!

About the game itself it is very good, but as others said it is too difficult. I could never beat a single dude. I tried like 6 times and in the 5th almost got it, but no success. I think that it needs to ease things up a bit cus it has to make people wanna play more and not make them feel they can't beat it from the beginning. Maybe people should get that feelin in later levels, when they've got enough experience. I totally understand you because that happens to me very often with my games, which end too difficult and then I have to lower the difficulty too much for my taste, but the necessary for the public. Something that could help you make your game easier is to make the tracks longer. It can be very hard to pass your oponents in such a short time. Also you can make some opponents have less acceleration, so they have skills close to yours, and make the first ones in the row as they currently are so its harder to beat them.

I liked the 3d bunches. The speed feels awesome, specially on the first track. I liked the backgrouds too, but they can distract you sometimes, specially the one of the 2nd track which got my attention trying to figure out what it is (btw, what is it? :P). I think the one of the 1st track is just right, it is dark and doesn't call your attention that much still being pretty cool. Maybe darkening them, or blurring would help. Though its no big deal, if you concentrate that is not a problem so don't take this matter that seriously.

I also liked the design of the hovercrafts. Good design! The movement on curves is also very well done.

Overall great game. Big congrats on finishing it, it requires discipline and effort to finish a game that takes that long. Making some tiny final changes would make the game show its full potential so I suggest you to make some final tweaks so it appeals as it deserves.

Thanks guys on compliments and for taking time to check it out.

You're probably right, wouldn't hurt if races were a little bit longer.
I'm still unsure which looks better , these smaller hovercrafts or original larger ones, but it is definitely easier to pass now with smaller ones.

The second background look like it could be some alien planet mining/industrial area. It is actually a close up of giant spider statue ( photo I took in Tokyo )

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Making some tiny final changes would make the game show its full potential so I suggest you to make some final tweaks so it appeals as it deserves.

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That and wanting to include an original soundtrack is what kept it on the shelf for at least 18 months. What you are playing here is the same thing that existed back in late 2007. I never got around to those little final tweaks and figured it's good enough anyway. I can always ad it later, in the meantime it can be played on the site.

wow, what an awsome job. wish I could do this. I like the rock guitar sound as well as the fantastic graphics. the design of the hovercrafts is also very good. good job have to go and play it again ;)

Like you said yourself about the Mario kart strategy, they sort of cheated, but because of it they made the game more intense and interesting by never allowing you to start simply cruising your way through the level. I think you should try to implement a similar system that keeps all the racers close together (Not that I had a problem with that...I was always trailing).

Otherwise, a very nice game. Shouldn't say "otherwise"...because it's all a good game actually. Solid, except for the AI and maybe a bit more varying gameplay. After a while a turn after another same-looking turn does get a bit tiring.

Great job!

P.