Suggestions on current Missle Simulator project

ok, calling it like i see it....

you should have obvious buttons / hot spots or somehow make it more obvious where to click on the "select controls" screen. research on user interface design is recommended.

controls are awkward. you should probably use arrow keys. then the "select controls" screen is unnecessary. again, research on user interface design is recommended.

real rockets usually turn opposite fins (left and right fins, or top and bottom fins) at once, and usually in the same direction (i was an aerospace engineering major before i switched to software engineering when the cold war ended). always research your topic before you build a game about it. otherwise your game will just look stupid. research on how rockets fly is recommended.

your flight model is backwards. the ship turns the opposite of the direction it should, based on fin deflection. again, research on how rockets fly is recommended.

and obviously you're not using real physics for the flight model either. research into the physics behind rocket flight is recommended.

the big hud obstructs the view, but will be unnecessary once you fix the awkward controls and make it fly right. the player won't need to see the fin positions. again, research on user interface design is recommended.

didn't even notice the graphics, the controls and flight model were so bad.

and quit doesn't work! . major fail there dude!

keep at it, you'll get there.

ok, calling it like i see it....

you should have obvious buttons / hot spots or somehow make it more obvious where to click on the "select controls" screen. research on user interface design is recommended.

controls are awkward. you should probably use arrow keys. then the "select controls" screen is unnecessary. again, research on user interface design is recommended.

real rockets usually turn opposite fins (left and right fins, or top and bottom fins) at once, and usually in the same direction (i was an aerospace engineering major before i switched to software engineering when the cold war ended). always research your topic before you build a game about it. otherwise your game will just look stupid. research on how rockets fly is recommended.

your flight model is backwards. the ship turns the opposite of the direction it should, based on fin deflection. again, research on how rockets fly is recommended.

and obviously you're not using real physics for the flight model either. research into the physics behind rocket flight is recommended.

the big hud obstructs the view, but will be unnecessary once you fix the awkward controls and make it fly right. the player won't need to see the fin positions. again, research on user interface design is recommended.

didn't even notice the graphics, the controls and flight model were so bad.

and quit doesn't work! . major fail there dude!

keep at it, you'll get there.

Thank you for your robust input! Allow me to adress a few points:

Controls are awkward on purpose - this is not a real-life simulation, it borrows its spirit from Surgeon Simulator 2013, amongst others. I believe that having simpler controls neglects the purpose of the game, which is to fly missle from point A to point B without crashing. A player can learn this control scheme fairly easily, but mastering it takes both time and precision - a sense of achievement is gained when you manage to consecutively hit the target square on.

Each fin is controlled separatelly for the exact same reason. The backstory/explanation behind this is that this missle isn't military grade, but a kind of home-made-contraption-that-can-fly-somewhat. The player has to manually turn the fins in the opposite directions to achieve rotation.

Thanks for the tip with the flying! I was never sure which way it was. I will deffinetly reverse it.

Real physics is a thing worth investigating, but then with the current control scheme it would make the game hardly playable. I believe that I can somewhat sacrifice realism to achieve a sense of fun.

The HUD piece is too big? Hmm, that might be an issue. I think I'll add an option to scale it down a bit. I found it a very important thing to implement, since the wings do not return to their starting position and even the slightest rotation can put the missle into a spin. Would you have any suggestions on replacing it with something more aestherically pleasing, while at the same time informative?

Good thing the graphics are invisible, they definetly need some work xD

Quit doesn't work simply because Unity3D does not support quitting from a WebPlayer :)

Controls are awkward on purpose - this is not a real-life simulation, it borrows its spirit from Surgeon Simulator 2013, amongst others. I believe that having simpler controls neglects the purpose of the game, which is to fly missle from point A to point B without crashing. A player can learn this control scheme fairly easily, but mastering it takes both time and precision - a sense of achievement is gained when you manage to consecutively hit the target square on.

i'm going to have the simley guys help me out here... (ready to go!)

perhaps you should use something other than a missile, if its not going to behave like one. (hint, hint!)

from http://surgeon-simulator-2013.en.softonic.com/

"Quite addictive until you get it right"

"Very hard to control surgeon"

This says to me that mastering the awkward controls is the the main draw of the game.

personally, mastering an obtuse interface (no offense) doesn't strike me as a fun game. but that's neither here nor there.

Each fin is controlled separatelly for the exact same reason. The backstory/explanation behind this is that this missle isn't military grade, but a kind of home-made-contraption-that-can-fly-somewhat. The player has to manually turn the fins in the opposite directions to achieve rotation.

i don't know, seems somewhat contrived...

I believe that I can somewhat sacrifice realism to achieve a sense of fun.

right now, its so unrealistic it interferes with suspension of disbelief. (bummer dude!)

maybe it'll be better one you get it turning in the correct directions. that's probably a lot of the problem, the rocket turns left, but the camera turns right, etc. trivial to fix actually, you just have a sign flipped. you're adding where you should be subtracting or vica versa. (yeah!) but it messes up gameplay all to hell. (oops!)

the fun should be in flying a rocket (BIG yeah!) , not overcoming difficult controls (GGGRRRR!). once they master the controls, whats left? (oh no!)

The HUD piece is too big?

Quit doesn't work simply because Unity3D does not support quitting from a WebPlayer

major fail there Unity!

I'd cut the size in half, put it up in a corner, and make it so you can toggle it on and off. then make sure the fins move the right way, and enough so the player can get good visual cues from them alone. they're not too bad right now as to how far they move.

I tried that on a first pass and found that I was too focused on the corner piece and wasn't paying attention to the missle at all. I heard it was bad design, and I learned to rely on it much more than the actual model (which was made by a horrbiel, horrible model maker, namely me xD).

This says to me that mastering the awkward controls is the the main draw of the game.



personally, mastering an obtuse interface (no offense) doesn't strike me as a fun game. but that's neither here nor there.

Yeah, pretty much what I was going for. At first glance I was unsure whether or not it would be fun for me too, but I'm the kind of person who likes to master a certain mechanic and then perhaps compete at "who does it better". A scoreboard system seems like a logical follow up, so I'll add it to my list of "to-do"

maybe it'll be better one you get it turning in the correct directions. that's probably a lot of the problem, the rocket turns left, but the camera turns right, etc. trivial to fix actually, you just have a sign flipped. you're adding where you should be subtracting or vica versa. smile.png (yeah!) but it messes up gameplay all to hell. huh.png (oops!)


the fun should be in flying a rocket biggrin.png (BIG yeah!) , not overcoming difficult controls angry.png (GGGRRRR!). once they master the controls, whats left? ohmy.png (oh no!)

Luckily, this isn't the only level available for the player's amusement. A little ways from there, but I'm working on a campaign mode (where flying the missle serves the purpose of defeating enemy structures on a strateguc map), an additional Star Wars themed map (one in a million shot anyone?) and a mode that makes the game easier/harder depending on selected properties (wind, controls that work like you mentioned in your first post, more realistic physics perhaps even).

I sincerely thank you for your time and creative input ^^ Despite this being just a small project that will be free to play and perhaps live no longer than an hour on a player's HDD, I'd like it to be as enjoyable as possible :)

I tried that on a first pass and found that I was too focused on the corner piece and wasn't paying attention to the missle at all.

that should tell you something right there if you have to use IFR when you have VFR. something is VERY wrong! again, it could be the turning backwards thing.

I heard it was bad design

Don't tell the Air Force that! They kinda gotta thing for HUDs. .

Perchance did you hear that from the guy who told you how rockets fly? .

Sounds like the kind of guy who'd say: "HUDs?! HUDs?! We don't need no stinking HUDs! This baby flies Grrrrreeeeaaaattt! Now - which one is my left again?" .

I'm working on a campaign mode (where flying the missle serves the purpose of defeating enemy structures on a strateguc map)

now THAT'S starting to sound like a game!

get it turning the right way and start a new thread to get new feedback perhaps. i have a feeling that making it turn the right way will do wonders. I'm a hard core flight sim fan, and even turning backwards, i found myself learning the controls quite quickly. But then again, i'm the kind of guy who will fire up a new flight sim, immediately toss it into a dive, and do a barrel roll while flying under a bridge, then throw down the joystick and say "too easy!" Microsft flight simulator v1.0 1916 mode and Jet by Sublogic - that's how long i've been splashing bogies.

Updated the project a bit. Added a second mode, fixed the wrong rotation. Still mourning lack of art assets ^_^