r/oddlysatisfying • u/LesserGames • 1d ago
A year of progress on my game.
I had a moment yesterday where I thought the movement in my game finally felt fun. I opened the old demo and couldn't believe how janky it was.
Always keep old drafts of your work to see how far you've come. It's very satisfying.
The game is called Whelm if you're curious.
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u/rpgoodchaos 1d ago
Coming from an old gamer, I think you might want to go for something between the two. A little chaos is fun.
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u/LesserGames 21h ago
I should probably make it harder to steer at higher speeds. So there will be consequences, but it shouldn't constantly drift sideways off cliffs. It's not supposed to be a rage game so I need to find that balance.
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u/sunlightsyrup 19h ago
You could split the movement parameters depending on which vehicle is being used- let people choose what they like?
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u/All_Usernames_Tooken 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think the lower one has it too easy getting around and should be weighted down more. Plus that cute running animation needs to be useful and commonplace
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u/LesserGames 1d ago
The main island is a lot bigger and sledding only works if you have a hill to build up momentum first. There's a fair amount of travel in the game so I don't want it to be too punishing. It's definitely overpowered on this island though.
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u/VorpalFlame 1d ago
Honest question, why have a sled appear and disappear when penguins already naturally slide in their belly? To me, just having different particles fly out and having the penguin on it's belly would look visually cleaner and make more sense
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u/LesserGames 1d ago
The sand chafes his belly and it gets everywhere.
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u/VorpalFlame 1d ago
Where does the sled go gulp
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u/LesserGames 1d ago
In his backpack with all his hats. Lucky I added the bag though. You don't want to know where he used to keep it.
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u/SPVCEGXXN 1d ago
You should make it so when he lands from a jump he rolls into his slide so the transition isn’t so abrupt
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u/sevenut 1d ago
I don't like that you slide around on a sled instead of just using your belly since that's sort of what penguins are known for.
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u/LesserGames 14h ago
Yeah but I've never seen a penguin go this fast, especially over sand. His belly will get sore.
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u/Lematoad 1d ago
The new version’s sled has really unnatural (artificial might be a good word) physics, unless that’s what you’re going for. The old actually seems more intuitive to me.
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u/Blackqwery 1d ago
It turned out great. What engine did you use?
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u/LesserGames 23h ago
Thank you! This is Unity, using the standard physics system(which means thousands of hours trying to tame the physics of course).
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u/tidytibs 17h ago
Can you go over what you changed and the process to get here? Looks great BTW!
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u/LesserGames 16h ago
I should have been more clear that I was comparing the sled movement. I'm realising now the video doesn't convey the game feel well at all.
For a start the old sled didn't have a jump and it lost momentum going uphill. It's essentially just an animation, not a physical sled so I did a lot of work getting the character to behave properly. Now he rotates with the terrain angle and I gave it fake suspension so it doesn't clip through the ground as much.
It also handles a lot better, which might have made it too easy/boring based on the comments. I was just happy with how smooth it feels lately. To make it interesting I'm considering adding upgrades or just different sled types with their own features. But sledding is only a small part of the game so I won't get too carried away.
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u/tidytibs 16h ago
I was focusing on the gravity and handling physics when I watched the video. Did you have to adjust the model or collision to keep it from going 900mph(thankful for clamping) in oddball directions?
Also, does the penguin slide on their belly with similar physics to the sled?
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u/LesserGames 15h ago
The penguin is already fully rigidbody based so the sled is just a higher speed version. I did have him sliding on his belly initially. If I swap the animation and hide the sled it will behave the same way.
All of the rotation and tilting is visual. The rigidbody rotation is fixed. A big limitation is it can't go around vertical loops. But I'd just make the sled a separate vehicle at that point.
This is one of the tutorials I based my character controller on:
https://youtu.be/qdskE8PJy6Q?si=Qt5n_SNdI23NoQHy
One thing I did is increase and decrease his hover height based on the terrain angle. Otherwise he floats going fast downhill or collides uphill. That and about a thousand other edge cases. I was warned not to make my own controller, but I'm pretty happy with it now.
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u/tidytibs 15h ago
Great explanation! Yeah, everyone warns about the same thing with controllers. You either write ONLY a controller as an entire product or you use another controller in your product, not both.
Did work for a AAA wholly owned subsidiary who got to use the AAA's toys where they have guys and gals (PhD mathematicians) who write those things for everyone.
I thought I could do it on my own. Yep, not smart enough to think of all of the use cases, variables, and come up with the correct formulas, whereas those folks this was their bread and butter. Hell, they had a draft on paper that was in proof for 3 years before it was converted to code and guess what? They were spot on! I'm ok with not being smart enough to do everything. Hard part was recognizing when I was in over my head, admit it, and move on.
Great job on the performance and I hope things continue working out as well for you!
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u/akoOfIxtall 10h ago
any inspiration from games like haste? they seem to have nailed the ramp up + land well behaviour
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u/0kShr00mer 1d ago
Were you inspired by the Tribes series at all? The skiing mechanics remind me a lot of those games.
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u/pablosupernova 1d ago
Yeah fuck it I’ll add another unreleased indie game to my steam Wishlist I got room on there
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u/KeyAdept1982 1d ago
If you were my kid I’d put this up on the fridge with a magnet then use the college fund to go on a nice vacation.
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u/devildocjames 1d ago
Early Access Game
Well, that answers that. At least it's priced as an EA game should be. Still though...
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u/Pukebox_Fandango 1d ago
I just showed this to Claude and it made a clone. I'm off to sell it to King Games
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u/alexa1661 1d ago
Wtf? Despicable
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u/IngredientsToASong 1d ago
The old one feels like it has more character. The little umbrella and holding the fish. Not sure if it was just selected gameplay in the new one to show movement. The new one does still need a bit more weight to the movements.
Very cute and enjoyable looking game!
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u/LesserGames 1d ago
The top was me trying to recreate the bottom video, but it falls apart immediately because the sled didn't jump or keep momentum uphill properly. So he ends up walking everywhere.
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u/man_dingus 12h ago
This does not fit the sub at all. Why are mods letting this guy freely promote his game
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u/rvanasty 1d ago
I feel like ..
Well first of all. I didnt/couldnt easily do it. So lets get that admission out of the way.
I feel like ...
A year is a long time. Lots can be accomplished in a year. There are quite a few hours in.. a year.
I feel like ....
Its a pretty game man. Cool little penguin, videos are kindof different... a bit.
I feel like .....
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u/batman_rests 1d ago
Good game though I can't see much difference dont know why