Comments on: gglppi’s Project 2: All Terrain Trains

By: doomturtle

doomturtle — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 05:28:43 +0000

This is hilarious. It’s really fun to drift trains and do loops and shit. I just wish I had a mini-map or could move the camera so that I know where I am going. The smoke looks like something out of a comic book rather than photo-realistic smoke. I think this goes well with the popup that appears when you drift and with the entire concept of drifting trains. Good work, dude.

By: npai

npai — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 04:06:27 +0000

…Complimentary?

…Oh, did I not mention…?

By: gglppi

gglppi — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 04:05:39 +0000

Thanks for the complimentary 5-paragraph essay!

By: npai

npai — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 03:55:40 +0000

Sir,

Your game made me rethink the deeply-philosophical questions such as “Why are we here?”, “What is the purpose of life?”, and “Why must a train be constrained by the tracks it was born into?”

First of all, I love the creative idea. Super random, super awesome. I love the idea that the player can choose when to start multi-track drifting, and they are not tied down to only using it in certain cases. It’s really cool. And so is the fact that the train can “fall off the tracks.” It adds the sense that you really are not tied down to that set path, and if you are not careful you will move away from it.

I must say, there is a certain magic to driving a train at grand speeds up a loop and slamming the emergency breaks at the very top. If I am to be completely honest, I half-expected the upside-down train to start sprinkling wallets and cellphones, given the rest of the grandeur presentation, but alas. It was certainly a nice feeling to have the train start rolling backwards, constrained by the powers of gravity, and building up momentum as it roared into its destiny.

The presentation was superb. The addition of the comic piece was wonderful. The sounds actually fit well. The addition of the particle smoke since the last presentation is nice as well. If I were to make a suggestion (other than the raining wallets), it would be to add more varied environments in the final game – I fully expect a tunnel of awesomeness in the final version.

Also, paid DLC. Please, give us Train Armor. Please.

Sir, I salute you and your work.

By: shyp

shyp — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 03:29:04 +0000

You must have spent a lot of time and effort on this assignment, because I felt like I was playing a professional made game. Through the fast and responsive controls and appropriate background, textures and character, I think you achieved enough game feel for this assignment. I really like the sound effects too. There isn’t much I can say about what you can add or fix, other than adding more game features in the future to make it a real game added onto this prototype. Again, great job on your game, I love it 🙂

By: gglppi

gglppi — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 23:27:30 +0000

Hi stonewall, thanks for the compliments! I’m not sure this is destined to be a steam game, but it was a fun prototype to make. I’m flattered to hear the graphics called endearing — I may be good at programming, but art is not my strong suit.

By: gglppi

gglppi — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 23:25:30 +0000

Hi lion, thanks for the feedback! The off-road driving is semi-controlled by rigidbody physics, but all the physics while actually on the tracks is done “from scratch” (as much as anything in unity is done “from scratch”). It did take a while to program =P

By: lion

lion — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 21:04:43 +0000

Wow!
Awesome work man. The particle effects (sparks and smoke)… superb. The entire scene is really well made, and of course, the track drifting is great. Im sure it was not very easy to program either!
I love the way you kinda hope back up onto the track 🙂 I did not expect to be able to keep driving on land.
Most of all, the loop is great. My stomach litterally gave a jolt when I finished the loop and came around the other side. Way to go!
Im curious if you implemented all the physics yourself? I did in my project but the loop did not work as well as yours for sure!! Great stuff 🙂

By: stonewall

stonewall — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 19:13:45 +0000

No offense to the other prototypes, but this one is my favorite. Hands down.

First of all, the core physics of the game feel are great and the controls are very responsive. The speed is intoxicating and the acceleration is just right. I really love the transition from sluggish metal block to out-of-control death machine (who can do loops!). As a gameplay mechanic, the drifting is both fun and rewarding, which is a great combination. I drifted repeatedly until I flew off the tracks and thought I broke the game, but you let me limp back to the track and snap back on. Way to cover those cases.

Polish wise, it’s really good for just a prototype. The smoke and spark particles are good and the sounds are crisp. The volume increase with speed is a great touch. The actual graphics are not much to look at, but it gets the job done. Mixed with the bombastic comedy of the game, the blocky train is actually kind of endearing.

TL;DR. It’s good. Can’t wait to buy it on Steam.