Play Solar Express
Solar Express: High Velocity Mail Delivery's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Community's Voice | #82 | 3.179 | 3.179 |
Ranked from 28 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Creative Vision / Rationale / How Did You Incorporate the Theme
The player character has generously offered to first find then hand-deliver the community's missing mail. The NPC's express gratitude for the effort. Even though there's a speedrun timer, taking the time to hangout with the NPCs isn't penalized.
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Comments
First playthrough time was a sub-10 minute run. I'm a prolific speedrunner yaay!
Physics-based games are fun and I love flinging myself into the air, but it was a bit frustrating sometimes. I liked the other elements of the game! Music was popping and the character designs were sick yo!
Perhaps there could be some AI grapplers that are also swinging around so there is other movement going on besides your own. The collectables could've stood out more too imo.
Brain doesn't go brrr anymore it goes swinggg now
Fun once you get the "hang" of it!
Really interesting take and cohesive design!
I had a lot of fun with the grappling mechanic, though it did take some time to get used to at first. Figured it out after some a bit of time though! I'm personally not a huge fan of scavenger hunt games where I have to search for specific items, but I think the grappling mechanic was fun enough to counter that. I liked being able to fly around the area, and in doing so I would spot the items I needed!
I did encounter a small bug with the pause menu. When pausing, opening the "Options" menu, then clicking "Back" on that menu, the cursor becomes locked and I can't click on the pause menu buttons. However, it's a very small bug compared the the well functioning rest of the game!
This was a fun game, but as others have pointed out, the grappling mechanic is a bit tricky to grasp. The maneuvering itself was enjoyable, but sometimes I would end up flinging myself across the map unintentionally. I was able to find all but two of the items, I think it might be nice to have a hint option for the item locations if you're struggling to find them. Still a great concept and the art of each of the characters is also very cute, kudos to your team!
I really like the ideia of the grappling hook and the art.
I had a really hard time with the mechanic though, as it's quite confusing and not really explained.
I also had a hard time to recognise the towers sometimes, as they are the same colour.
But great job to everyone!
I feel similar with stanchyk7's feedback, but honestly so far it's really interesting and fun (maybe because I haven't played grappling games in a while).
Having a timer changes the tone of the game for me completely--I know it's my problem, but it's hard to take time and hangout when there's a clock on your screen. Another thing is, I don't know why but when I play on the web version, the camera always slowly pan towards the right; I think that's a bug. Lastly, the text keeps popping up weird numeric symbols (screenshot shown).
Thanks for playing! I’m glad you enjoyed the game even despite a few rough edges.
The text is a rendering issue. Thankfully I think I’ve got it solved, just waiting for the jam to end to release the fixes
Ah, another grappling hook enjoyer, I see. While the controls and and physics of the hook were a little unintuitive, it didn't take long for me to get used to them. And once I did, I found it really easy to maneuver around the space. I found all the items in the first couple minutes except for the last leaf for the cat. I really searched for about 15 minutes. When I finally got it, I'm not even sure where it was. I just noticed that my objective had changed.
Still, I quite enjoyed the game. The environment was complex enough to allow an interesting space to fling myself through, while still remaining simple enough so as to not be cluttered. And the character illustrations are cute. Good job!
Thank you so much for the notes! Feedback on item pickups seems to be a spot this game struggled, so it’ll definitely be a place I’ll look towards improving next time.
I like the idea, the character art, the setting. It can be really difficult to make grappling mechanics feel right, there were a couple of times during my playthrough where it felt a bit finicky, but I think your really close. I’d love to see this setting explored after the jam, reminds me a bit of Citizen Sleeper. :)
Thank you! If you don’t mind me asking, any particular parts that we’re falling short on?
The aesthetics were on point. The grappling took some getting used to but once I figured out it was more about momentum shifting than web swinging I got the hang of it!
I had fun flying around the map!
Thank you for playing! Hearing that you had fun flying around means I did exactly what I set out for <3
Grappling mechanic is really cool but a but difficult to use. Great work guys!
Thank you! I agree, it still needs a bit of love and easing the player into it
While the grapple physics are finicky at first, once you get familiar with them, they are pretty fun.
I think the level's design could be changed to accomodate for the grapple.
I think using the right mouse button to retract the grapple instead of allowing the player to press the left button to send it and release the button to retract it is a strange solution.
It's kind of hard to built momentum by bunnyhopping too.
In terms of graphics, perhaps the game's terrain would benefit from having more contrast and overall being more gritty, like in its thumbnail.
Also, I think you could include some sort of minimap, so the player can see where the hidden items and other goals are. You could also take a sort of "compass" approach, like in Fortnite.
Maybe the game's music should be more dynamic and punchy to compliment the gameplay.
Other than that, it's a pretty good game.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful and in depth critiques! If this project were to continue, I know some even more in depth level design is on the radar. I don't want to speak for the rest of the team (so if you guys read this feel free to correct me!) but I was hoping I could provide some clarity to some of the issues you have!
The extend/retract button was set as the default just to make both actions super clear to even beginner players and just improve accessibility all around. But luckily, we have fully customizable controls! It still isn't possible to bind both actions to one button, which may be something we address if we continue work, but if you continue playing, we hope you are able to find a control scheme that suits you!
As far as bunny hopping, although it is implemented , it's mostly for maintaining speed not necessarily increasing. That being said, bhopping is a little out of scope for this jam, and the level design was not made specifically trying to highlight that mechanic, although it is definitely something to keep in mind for expanding upon this game further!
I wanted to ask for more specifics about the graphics. I may be misunderstanding, but our game was intentionally made with "grit" in mind hence the intentional grittiness of the graphics in game. If there's something specific about the graphics you think doesn't quite fit, we are all ears and would love to hear any suggestions!
As for locating items, that definitely seems to be a struggle for some, but we wanted to really encourage exploration and using the swinging mechanic to it's fullest during gameplay. That being said, clearer item locations is definitely something to consider for a full release!
Finally, as for the music (which is what I worked on specifically) I definitely understand the critique. I actually did have something more upbeat and punchy in the works, but ultimately landed on what you hear in game due to the gameplay not NEEDING to be fast paced. Obviously, the game has a timer and speed running is a factor we heavily considered and emphasized, but as the description says, you aren't penalized for taking the time to hang out with our characters, or to simply take your time and enjoy the swinging mechanics. When writing the music, I wanted to really emphasize the grandeur in the freedom of swinging and freedom of player choice, while also highlighting some of the more techy elements, while also still making the song sound as though you're bouncing on clouds and bounding through the sky, hence the overall sound and instrument choices. It definitely won't be for everyone and that is totally ok! Again, maybe something to consider in a full version!
Thank you again for your feedback! If we do end up doing more work with this, we will definitely consider everything you've said! These are some really great notes!
I debated long and hard about putting waypoints on the delivery items, but decided I wanted to go for a scavenger hunt type experience. I can definitely understand why that wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Still thank you so much for playing and the detailed notes.
I agree on the level design, if I revisit this game I think it’ll benefit from even more straightaways and more varied heights
The movement is very enjoyable, but there is little feedback when collecting key items. Without an audio or visual cue, aside from a counter in the corner increasing by one, players may not realize they have obtained anything.
The character illustrations are very appealing.
Thank you for playing and even more for the notes! I agree, adding some more player feedback will be high priority on the next project
The bouncing mechanics is really fun, art and music are amazing too! Great work!
Thank you for the music compliments!
This is excellent design! Brings me back to the Tony Hawk Pro Skater days, when I was trying to pull off crazy tricks to find those collectibles. The gritty sci-fi aesthetic vibes perfectly with the gameplay direction. I feel a connection with classic anime like Cowboy Bebop and Megalo Box.
The character dialogue hints that there's something more beneath the clouds. I'm curious to know more. Why do they live so high in the sky? What do they use all this tech for? Why is the dog's medicine hanging out on the power lines?
The controls were intuitive and responsive. I even got a sense that I could swing out more by holding the back button even when facing up which is really thoughtful as I would have been the kind of player to get stuck under a roof with the zipline. I can imagine you could make some really creative levels with these mechanics to explore. Maybe even a series of entire maps. I love the direction on this one and I hope to see more in the future!
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment! We're super glad you enjoyed the game! As the member who really wanted to give lore and meaning to out world, it makes me super happy that you have such thoughtful questions! We actually had quite a few worldbuilding sessions during the jam and have answers to the majority of the questions you asked! That dialogue option was a nod to the full lore behind our project as we didn't quite have enough time to implement all of the lore and worldbuilding in the way we wanted to for this jam, but if you (or anyone else who stumbles upon this thread) wants to know more about the world we've created, I would be more than happy to answer anyone's questions here or on discord! (my user is the same as my itch user.)
I’m glad you were able to experience some of the hidden depth of the grappling/air movement! Most of it is relying on janky implementations of Source Engine style movement, so there’s definitely a lot of maneuvering you can do with the grapple once you get the hang of it
The Tony Hawk/Cowboy Bebop comparisons made my day! I grew up with those, so even if it wasn’t on purpose its neat to see my inspirations coming through <3 Thank you so much for the detailed notes!
I felt like spiderman, it was lit! Also felt the movement was nice
yay!! Mission accomplished
I really enjoyed the game, the character designs are really amazing, I also enjoyed the level design, the gameplay is very clean, you have a good feeling of freedom to move around the map, neat work, good job by the team!
Thank you so much, this is all too kind <3
Really unique game with some cool swinging mechanics! I never really got a handle on them and usually wound up lassoing myself out into the ocean, but it was fun nonetheless! Great job!
I felt like that was bound to happen to some folks! Been looking at some of the feedback and I think my level design needs to be a bit more beginner friendly, at least for the intro.
If it makes you feel any better, I’ve found myself under those clouds A LOT while testing.
If ya don’t mind me asking, how many times did you yeet yourself out into the ocean before you quit?
Haha yeah a little tutorial-esque beginner area might be just the thing. I went flying out of control around 4-5 times before I threw in the towel. I only found the one collectable on the bridge near the entrance and when I couldn't figure out how to climb the towers to find the other ones, I tapped out
I really like the character art and the mini world you created. Core gameplay feels really good as well! Really nice
Thanks so much for commenting!
The game’s style and artistic vision are so amazing and beautiful! Loved the music and the game’s icon - they’re so pretty!
We're glad you liked it! And a personal thanks about the music compliment!
That’s so sweet thank you!!
Love the gameplay its so FUN to just swing around!! I even manage to find a technique to find the parts easily by just swinging around the pillars and looking out for parts haha!
Fun game!!
Excellent!! These are just the types of experiences I was hoping for: people finding clever ways to use the movement that even I wasn’t thinking about. Very glad you had fun