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Weekend Space Command (Prototype)

A new kind of location based game, for Android devices. · By Cerol

Prototype B feedback Sticky

A topic by Cerol created 49 days ago Views: 69 Replies: 3
Viewing posts 1 to 2
Developer (1 edit) (+1)

Leave any general feedback and opinions on Prototype B here.  Stuff I specifically am interested in includes:

  • Is it viable to have a location-based game that doesn't rely on showing you a nearby map constantly?
  • Is this minimized-data format good enough?
    • EX: can you figure out where you are and what's around you with just colored circles and a type key on the area map?
    • Do you need the app to be able to navigate you directly to distant places, or are you fine with using Google Maps or whatnot to drive there and then firing the game back up?
  • How far were you willing to travel for this game?
    • The game should work anywhere on the planet, but I know most people aren't going to change continents to check that out. Were the "far" place tasks too far away, or too close?
  • Does the game point out good places to go?
    • If not, which ones aren't good?
    • What good places should this app prefer, if any?
    • The source data used is approaching a year old, is this too out-of-date for where you played?
(1 edit)

I very much enjoyed walking around despite no nearby map. The tile based map made sense to me, although I was kinda lost when it came to the colored circle map because there was no real sense of scale or direction when looking at it. A map scale (A small stick with Kilometers or Miles written on it) would 100% help. It was kinda hard understanding which direction I was facing in the game world so I had to use a map app to get around, it would be nice if it was easier to navigate with it without another app? Maybe a compass could help or maybe a player sprite (a ship?) facing the same cardinal direction as you on the tile map?

I think the minimized-data format is more than enough for what the game's trying to achieve, and I 100% think it's possible to use the minimum dataset for a fully fledged game. Although a nearby map would probably not hurt; I don't think it's necessary.

I would probably walk a maximum of 2 kilometers (About 1.2 miles) for a stop generally considering that my city isn't very walkable

Since I was walking through an old neighbourhood the source data wasn't outdated for me, I was honestly surprised when it gave me actual location names despite being an offline game. It mostly pointed towards nearby parks and a small free library.

One last nit pick is that the game doesn't run in the background so you can't turn off the screen or switch apps while you explore to the points of interest.

Yeah that was about all my experience with the game. Honestly this is fantastic. I'll be following it's progress closely as it goes on

Developer(+1)

Thanks for checking it out! This is great feedback, all of this is clear and helpful. You'll probably see some kind of compass in the next release.

"One last nit pick is that the game doesn't run in the background so you can't turn off the screen or switch apps while you explore to the points of interest."

This is probably not a particularly easy thing to change. I do want to see if I can make this happen eventually, but I am aware that this isn't a thing Android likes to encourage and Godot doesn't have an out-of-the-box answer for doing this.

Oh, don't worry it was just a suggestion, it's more of a "nice to have" rather than a "need to have" feature. Thank you for your prompt reply I look forwards to playing your future prototypes ^^