itch.io

Very charming game that evokes the era that inspired it effectively. Short, but with enough variety and little touches of polish that you get the sense of something larger. Certainly worth a play.

Just started playing and I'm having a lot of fun. Jotted down a few things as I noticed them. "Bugs" are features with broken functionality, all of which I attached media for. "Minor Issues" were things I wasn't confident enough to call bugs but thought I might still call attention to. "Suggestions" were just some minor design suggestions that felt relevant as I ran through the build. And "Thing's I loved" is my mom's secret apple pie recipe. No, wait, I filed that under "Mom's secret recipe" because I am terrible at naming things, so that last list must just be a list of especially brilliant things I wanted to make special mention of.

Version: 0.1.1

Bugs:

1. Attempting to place an object in an impossible space will result in a Softlock. An Impossible Space is one where the cursor is highlighting an area on the ground, but the character and cargo model are overlapping with a wall, which would result in the object being placed in a wall (I've attached media if this description is unclear.) To repro this bug: Pick up an object > maneuver the character to an area where there is a wall in the square below them, but nothing in the square to the left of them > step halfway to the square to the left > look down towards the wall. The highlight/cursor should be in the square to the left of the wall (see media for positioning) > attempt to place the object
2. On the character creation screen: clicking into the naming box and entering a name, and then hovering over another box with the mouse will result in the entered name appearing in the new box. To repro this: Open the character creator > click the First Name editable text box > enter a name > do not click enter > hover over the Last Name text box
3. When interacting with a distress call ship, any cargo on the cargo platform will be invisible, but can still be interacted with, when the platform lands on the other ship. The cargo will then show up inside the distress call ship, on their cargo platform. To repro this: Interact with a distress call ship > place cargo on your cargo platform > Ride cargo platform to distress call ship > inspect cargo platform for invisible objects.
4. The "Back" button in the trading post "Sell" menu has no mouse interaction / cannot be clicked. To repro this: Land on Lake III > Place a piece of cargo in the loading bay > enter the trading post > enter the "Sell" menu > Attempt to click the "Back" button with the mouse.

Minor Issues:

1. During the tutorial section, when you are called upon to align the warp ring, I could not get the broken ring to go back fully flush with the others. It repaired to 100% and was functional, but the model was still slightly askew.
2. When asked to confirm your character after character creation, clicking "back" kicks you back to the main menu instead of back to the character screen. This isn't a huge issue, but the character customizer is randomized when you reenter it, meaning you have to remake your character ag, which breaks flow slightly.

Suggestions:

1. Maybe it's just cause I'm a big, dumb idiot, but when I started the tutorial and it asked me to open the doors while the power was out, I spent like 45 seconds running back and forward trying to hit the space bar before I realized I was supposed to hold it down. Again, this could easily be a me problem, but having some sort of "hold space" that is visibly different than the "press space" one might be helpful. It's stops being an issue later on when you realize holding the key is the norm in the game, but just a first impression to think about.
2. This one is definitely me being dumb, but it took me like a good 30 seconds to figure out how to leave the "Diagnostics" menu. The "Back" button at the top is small and doesn't really pop out, and hitting the escape key doesn't back you out, so I was just trapped in there for half a minute before I decided to actually read the list and saw the button at the top.

Things I loved:

1. With Yahtzee at the helm, we all knew the writing, and in particular the comedy, was going to be top notch, but I still wanted to shout out how absolutely delightful it was. Special marks goes to the nursebot saying "Roll over onto your side, YOU HAVE 20 SECONDS TO COMPLY!" A line that made me emit a bark of laughter loud enough that my roommates had to come ask me what I was doing.
2. This may seem minor, but the colors of the tools are really effective and pop-y. When it asks me to use the cleaner or the welder, I don't have to stop to think for a second and be like "which one is that, again?" because my brain just automatically goes "Green" or "Blue" and then I'm good to go.
3. The moment I first stepped out onto the hull of the ship, the beeping and wooshing sounds of space were awesome. The combination of sounds there is so evocative of being on the hull of a ship that I actually glanced around my room by reflex, just to recenter myself. I love it.
4. So, so much more. I was blown away by how stable, well constructed, and fun this build is. I feel lucky to have gotten my hands on it. I know it can be scary to release your art to an audience who are going to, by necessity, fixate on its flaws, but this game is really coming along nicely and I'm excited to see where it goes. Please, keep up the good work, and know that we are all rooting for you.