Satellite Shenanigans

[Fishlore]

I wrote a game called Satellite Shenanigans. It's sort of a mix between a puzzle game and an action game set in space. It uses gravity and Newtonian physics. Each of the levels has a set of objectives. Objectives might include orbiting one to many planets, escaping the map with a certain exit velocity or using atmospheric drag to slow your satellite down enough to enter a good orbit.

Each level starts with the user flicking a satellite into action. You can flick them any direction. A short flick starts your satellite at a low velocity while a longer flick will give you a higher velocity. You can press anywhere on the outside edge of your satellite to fire your thrusters which help fine tune your position. Pressing the top moves you down, pressing the left moves you right, etc. You're given a set amount of fuel however, so you have to make your thrusting maneuvers count.

There are certain times when a LAUNCH button is enabled. This happens after a successful orbit in orbit missions or when you approach a planet in an escape velocity mission. The launch button gives your satellite added thrust to get out of a planet's gravitational field and send you on your way to the next objective or to help you increase your velocity for an escape velocity mission.

Orbiting planets score you points on orbital missions. The amount of points per orbit is determined by several factors. The more circular (less oval) the orbit the better, the closer to the planet the better and the faster the better.

During the course of the game you'll need to use your thrusters, your launch engine, gravity and gravitational slingshots to meet the objectives.

The Apple App Store just accepted it. Right now it's for the iPad only. I'm going to port it over to other devices and get a free version out there in the near future. I'd love to get some feedback; good or bad. I wrote this on my own and it's my first game, but I thought/hoped maybe someone here would enjoy it. I plan to actively update it and release more levels as time goes on.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/satellite-shenanigans/id511153584?mt=8

 

[Eejit]

Looks pretty cool, though I don't have an iPad to test it out.

 

[Fishlore]

Thanks Eejit, should I port it to the iPhone 4 or an Android or Blackberry tablet next? I'm going to get a free version out there too so people can try it first. I've got a list of games I want to build, but I need a master Photoshopper/artist person because I suck at that stuff.

 

[kazsymonds]

I have such a nerd boner for this app right now, this game looks awesome.

Maybe release to Droid and then iPhone 4? Just thinking that your target audience might be the tech savvy people, and they tend to use android? May be generalising with that, though. Also, Droid probably has the biggest userbase? Although it might be easy to port to iPhone? Wouldn't bother with BB.

My housemate got an iPad today, so I'll test later.

 

[Fishlore]

Very good points kazsymonds, and thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate it.

I haven't explored the Android market yet, from the sounds of it, it is much easier than releasing an app for Apple. Maybe I'll go that route. The only Android related problem are all the different screen sizes, resolutions and pixel densities that need to be supported. I could knock out the Kindle Fire and Blackberry tablet in one shot though then concentrate on a few popular phones.

What Android phones are most popular do you think?

Thanks again!!

 

[kazsymonds]

Very good points kazsymonds, and thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate it.

I haven't explored the Android market yet, from the sounds of it, it is much easier than releasing an app for Apple. Maybe I'll go that route. The only Android related problem are all the different screen sizes, resolutions and pixel densities that need to be supported. I could knock out the Kindle Fire and Blackberry
tablet in one shot though then concentrate on a few popular phones.

What Android phones are most popular do you think?

Thanks again!!

I wouldn't be an expert on that dude, but I have seen a lot of Galaxy S2's lately, may be popular place to start?

I wonder if there's any crossover between the apps for the s2 and the samsung tablets?

 

[ríomhaire]

Very good points kazsymonds, and thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate it.

I haven't explored the Android market yet, from the sounds of it, it is much easier than releasing an app for Apple. Maybe I'll go that route. The only Android related problem are all the different screen sizes, resolutions and pixel densities that need to be supported. I could knock out the Kindle Fire and Blackberry tablet in one shot though then concentrate on a few popular phones.

What Android phones are most popular do you think?

Thanks again!!

I have a HTC Wildfire S (and so does Sulkdodds). Do that one.

 

[Edeslash]

I really hope you consider porting it to iPhone too! I'd love to play it.

 

[Maestro]

iOS apps tend to have the best revenue streams, but Android is a bigger market. Blackberry probably isn't worth it, I've heard the cost of getting a dev license from RIM is quite high for a beginner and the market is puny. I have a PlayBook and ****ing no one makes apps for it, despite having Android app support as they claim.

 

[Fishlore]

I figured I'd knock out the iPhone first since I'm already set up in the Apple Developer program and that port should go quick. Then I'll be hitting up the Android market. Probably starting with the higher resolution devices (tablets) and working down. It's unbelievable how much easier it is to package this stuff up for Android compared to iOS.

Maestro, I'd really like to get this out to the blackberry tablet as it would literally be like flipping a switch on the build I have now, I'm still reading up on everything that is required, but if the developer license is too expensive (can't find a price anywhere) I'll probably hold off for a bit. Are you able to download and use Android market apps on a blackberry device or do you have to get blackberry apps only?

Riomhaire, it's good to know multiple people have the same device. I'll definitely get to that device (one of my favorite phones). I'm just not sure how I can get from 1024x768 down to 320x480. It might work, but I might have to restructure some things.

I know that the Karbal (sp?) space program game was really popular here and I don't want anyone to get the idea that my game is like that one with regards to building and launching spacecraft. Just don't want to falsely advertise.

 

[Krynn72]

You should have made it in unity, then you could have released it for all sorts of stuff with a few simple tweaks and recompiles.

Game sounds, neat. I also dont have an iphone though. The game looks like a game someone else was making here though, have you posted it before as a WIP?

 

[Fishlore]

You should have made it in unity, then you could have released it for all sorts of stuff with a few simple tweaks and recompiles.

Game sounds, neat. I also dont have an iphone though. The game looks like a game someone else was making here though, have you posted it before as a WIP?

I haven't mentioned the game here before. Now that you mention it, I think I do remember a while back someone posting something about a similar idea.

I used Flash Builder 4.6 and it sounds like it is similar to Unity in that you only need to code once and then compile for the different OS's. I admit I didn't build it up front to take full advantage of this so I've got a small amount of re-coding to do. The only tweaks required are changing the sizes of images and the sizes of a few windows and the width of the left-side HUD. Once I make those changes the first time I'll be good to go going forward, it'll just be a matter of image sizes. This was mostly a learning experience, and this was one of the big lessons learned.

 

[Vegeta897]

Man you need some work on posting your game. A small paragraph that doesn't describe the game in any way besides the fact that it's your first and what platform it's on, and then a link to the, *gulp*, itunes store?

Bro, start the post with a 1-2 sentence description of what you do in the game. The hook to get people interested. Post screenshots right in the thread. Don't make people click a link after reading a boring paragraph.

Just some constructive criticism to help the success of your game.

 

[Maestro]

I figured I'd knock out the iPhone first since I'm already set up in the Apple Developer program and that port should go quick. Then I'll be hitting up the Android market. Probably starting with the higher resolution devices (tablets) and working down. It's unbelievable how much easier it is to package this stuff up for Android compared to iOS.

Maestro, I'd really like to get this out to the blackberry tablet as it would literally be like flipping a switch on the build I have now, I'm still reading up on everything that is required, but if the developer license is too expensive (can't find a price anywhere) I'll probably hold off for a bit. Are you able to download and use Android market apps on a blackberry device or do you have to get blackberry apps only?

Riomhaire, it's good to know multiple people have the same device. I'll definitely get to that device (one of my favorite phones). I'm just not sure how I can get from 1024x768 down to 320x480. It might work, but I might have to restructure some things.

I know that the Karbal (sp?) space program game was really popular here and I don't want anyone to get the idea that my game is like that one with regards to building and launching spacecraft. Just don't want to falsely advertise.

The PlayBook, as described by someone I know who's fairly high up at RIM, is a Fischer Price toy. It has almost no apps (the ones it does have are either overpriced or shitty), and despite the claims that Android apps are now supported, I still haven't seen hide nor hair in the BlackBerry app store of them.

Far as I know, the dev license for RIM products is 200 bucks, but the upshot is that most BlackBerry apps are more expensive than their iOS or Android counterparts, so you could feasibly charge a premium in that market but still succeed.

 

[Fishlore]

Man you need some work on posting your game. A small paragraph that doesn't describe the game in any way besides the fact that it's your first and what platform it's on, and then a link to the, *gulp*, itunes store?

Bro, start the post with a 1-2 sentence description of what you do in the game. The hook to get people interested. Post screenshots right in the thread. Don't make people click a link after reading a boring paragraph.

Just some constructive criticism to help the success of your game.

I really appreciate your comments and you're absolutely right. I guess after waiting weeks for the app store to accept it, that's where my focus and excitement was and not on the game itself. I'll revisit my OP, because again, you couldn't be more right. Thanks!

 

[Fishlore]

Edited the OP. Submitted a new version to the app store to take care of a few missing images. Waiting for them to approve it. I should have the iPhone version and MAYBE Android tablet versions uploaded this weekend.

 

[Sloth]

Keep us updated, will be happy to grab this for my Droid, looks like a great idea.

 

[Edeslash]

Still no iPhone version. ;_;

 

[Fishlore]

Funny you say that Edeslash... I submitted the iPhone version a week ago. It's "in Review". The iPad version was in review for three hours. The iPhone version has been in review for 4 days. I'm starting to get a little ticked. It takes weeks to get from Waiting to In Review.

I'll have some Android versions complete this weekend. I don't know if there is a wait to have it accepted like Apple, but I'll be sure to let everyone know when everything else is out.

 

[Fishlore]

The iPhone version has been accepted and is available on the app store. I also released the phone version on the Android market. If this goes okay then I'll release the full tablet version for Android tablets. I'm a little uneasy with this one because I don't have any Android devices to test it on. If anyone experiences any problems with the Android version, let me know and I'll get on top of it immediately.

 

[ríomhaire]

Are you sure the Android version is up? I can't find it in the market (or Google Play as they have stupidly renamed it). Can you post a direct link?

 

[Fishlore]

Are you sure the Android version is up? I can't find it in the market (or Google Play as they have stupidly renamed it). Can you post a direct link?

Right now it's only on Play and they said it could take up to a day to be visible. If you still can't see it, let me know and I'll see what I can do tonight. The Wildfire is 480x320 right? That would make it a "normal" screen size and should be supported by this version. I'll check the exclude list just to be sure that the Wildfire wasn't accidentally selected as well tonight.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...mlzbGVyLnNhdGVsbGl0ZXNoZW5hbmlnYW5zcGhvbmUiXQ..

 

[ríomhaire]

When I searched I wasn't filtering by phone. It's there now anyway but it says it's incompatable:


This app is incompatible with your 3 HTC HTC Wildfire S A510e.



3 HTC HTC Wildfire S A510e
This item is not compatible with your device.


Doesn't give any sort of reason.

 

[Fishlore]

WTF. Hmmm, that's really strange. I'll try to get it sorted out tonight. Sorry about that. I'm just so new on the Android side of things. Glad you told me, thanks again.