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Cave City Taxi's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Mechanics | #11 | 2.647 | 2.647 |
| Direction | #18 | 2.471 | 2.471 |
| Overall | #25 | 2.153 | 2.153 |
| Use of Themed Item | #26 | 1.588 | 1.588 |
| Visual Creativity | #35 | 2.235 | 2.235 |
| Audio Creativity | #36 | 1.824 | 1.824 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
This game is reaally fun!
I liked Poppys rotating head quite a bit
Thanks, I had really a bit of fun doing it :-D
Really enjoyed the taxi driving and car's physics. I also found it really cool to discover that I could go to the moon halfway through the level and pick people up from there. I'd love to see the next update and polished version (visuals could be a little bit cleaner tho) :)
The opening screen has good info bubbles to get the player started.
I like all the extra details from the Info button. Using the scroll wheel in there it jumps a large distance for each click of the wheel. That could use with being dropped down to be closer to what you get with the arrow keys. A lot of the text is also repeated between sections. It would be better to trim it down so there is less repeating. Maybe add a line about seeing more details in the other section. I read the first 2 sections, then saw the spoiler warning and skipped the others for now.
The levels unlocking as they introduce new concepts is good. I do find it odd that the level auto-ends after delivering one person, though. If I need to refuel, it would make more sense to do it after dropping off the passenger, especially since the refuel is on the other side of the drop off point. I had to use extra fuel to do it in reverse order.
It is convenient that the Friendships can happen while you are sitting still. No need to try to hover around burning fuel and having to focus on it... of course most passengers would probably not be happy that you are just sitting around, even if they are enjoying their chat.
After the Friendship there was another text bubble mentioning what the icon meant. The game is largely keyboard based, but adding hover text for the icons would be nice as well for new players to be able to double check their meaning after the popup is gone.
On the first level where you have some freedom to pick up a bunch of passengers, that last one took a while to find. I saw the crystal earlier, but was concerned about damage from it. After covering the whole area twice and not seeing anything else, plus seeing the other crystal just out of range, I decided to touch it, and was able to finish the level. I think it is a neat thing to have, but it would be better as a secret/optional thing, rather than required. Even after getting it, there is plenty to explore to find the last person. Even if this does become a common thing, I think that your first free roam level should be a bit more simple for players to explore the mechanics they already learned. The moon and going to space was fun, and created new things to try, but up to this point players have been on rails with very little freedom. Let them explore and try out what they know before throwing in a fancy new mechanic. I'd say that a level similar to what you have, but without the moon stuff. Maybe set a goal so they only need to do that level once. Then the next adds the moon. Still, I think the moon being a secret bonus would be better than a requirement, though with it being the jam theme item, I can see wanting to make sure players see it.
The first time I was on the moon I landed and took off from the top. It was easy and I just moved like normal. As I was flying around it I did notice some flipping of the car and gravity effects, but nothing big. The second time 2 people were there and I landed more towards the side. When I left I started to curve around the moon and ended up on the bottom. This mean that the controls were reversed so that I needed to press up to thrust away from the moon, while going down on the screen, but at a certain point, I needed to switch and press down, or I'd go right back up to the moon's gravity. It is certainly easier to leave from the top and go off to the side to leave.
For a first game in Godot, this is pretty good. I got to level 6 and day 10. I had 369 currency, with 12, 4, and 31 for the other stats. I'm needing to move onto other things, so will be ending my playthrough here. I refreshed and see that it did save my progress, so I may play more later.
Hey, many many thanks for this so detailed feedback. I am happy you brought up actually new issues that I did not know so far. That's why we're here for. Thanks again. This helps a lot. Step by step, I will have a look at each of your constructive ideas.
The problem with the gravity around the moon is actually really tricky. I am nearly thinking I should reverse the thrust there, such that, when I pressed DOWN I would be thrusting away from the moon and with UP I would thrust towards the moon (so inverse of how it is now). This would finally help with the problem that thrusting down would always feel to bring you more "back to earth" and thrusting up is more "up to the moon". I will try this out soon. I am actually glad that somebody else, that is you, also found it weird how it is now!
Regarding the crystal (I wanted to call it moon stone): Do to heavy time pressure, I did not make it to introduce this to the player, which is just sooo bad. I will try to fix this and tell the player in level 4 about it, also that is takes no harm. I should also make the sprite a bit more gem-like and give it visually a less harmful look, maybe also animate it blinking (like the secret diamonds are). It's true the current version is bad here, I totally agree and understand. Well described in nice detail on your side.
The friendships also need more explicit information to the player - most players don't get it themselves that the friendships only happen when the 2 passengers are alone in the taxi. Also which persons like ghosts (in the car) is not obvious enough. The "shady" over-head-display seems not enough a hint.
Thanks again. I really appreciate the time for you playing and creating this nicely detailed feedback! :-)
The pickup and drop-off mechanic feels simple but really satisfying, and driving around the map was pretty relaxing. I also liked the fuel and repair systems they add a nice little challenge without making the game stressful. The whole game has a chill vibe to it. Great work!
A cool and relaxing game with an interesting concept — I really enjoyed it! I’d love to see more content in the future.
Good luck with the development :)
Really fun and relaxing game! 🚕 The pickup and drop-off mechanic feels smooth, and I really liked exploring the different areas. The fuel and repair system was a nice touch too. Great job!
I played this for a while, reached 17 days and 7 levels around.
Things I like about this game
What I would like to see
Overall, solid job! The tutorial was clear and precise. And the onboarding experience was very smooth!
Looking forward to where you take this project!
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask!
Thanks A LOT for this nice, detailed feedback!! I am happy that you got the flawless rides after some time - that was what I hoped.
Did you happen to find the hidden moon stones and visit the moon in the sky?
And minor: Did you find some hidden caves, too?
More content should be done definitely.
1) "Problem" here: This was my first game ever and I used TileMaps to create the levels. It took me hours and days to create one level. I wish I could either generate them automatically or let users create levels or something clever. In my 2nd game (Billiard Ocean) I totally went away from manual level creation and generated them all using an RNG-based algorithm.
2) I feel that the 2D is actually more in the way than helping. So I currently think: What about having this game be like a "Version 1" and then create a 2nd version in full 3D... Then I could more easily use cool lighting and stuff to make things even cooler. What do you think about 3D vs 2D her?
I did not find the hidden caves.
I saw on discord that they were on the cave ceilings. In my playthrough I was very careful about not hitting any walls because the passengers started complaining. So that led me to not find any secrets I think.
I think a game like this would demand manual level design. Because that’s the most fun part for the player. Exploration!
Procedural generation might not be as fun in my opinion.
I understand the time it takes but then that’s almost anything game dev. 😅
I think if you go 3D many things about the game will change and you might need a lot more? Like minimaps and stuff. ( Or do you want to make it 2.5D? Then the transition would be easier. )
You might also need to create more interesting 3D backgrounds to keep the players hooked. 🤔
This game is fun, I enjoyed delivering people to their homes. Even though I spent about 45 minutes on this game, I still haven't finished it and didn't get all achivments, so I'll probably have to come back to it later. The game is interesting, the music is good and idea was good too, but the art was a bit blurry in some places. I don't know if you used the Godot settings to remove the blurriness in the game and cutscenes (if you need help with that, then I can help you), but the game is still good. Great job :)
The blurriness, indeed, really annoying. Particularly as the graphics are all SVGs. It seems Godot's import ruins this when "importing"!?
Thanks for the offer to help me here! I will definitely want to come back to that!! :-)
No, the problem probably isn't that you "imported" it. It's more likely that you forgot to set something in the project settings. First, here's what you maybe forget to do:
Project → Project Settings → Turn on Advanced Settings (checkbox in the top right) → Go to Rendering → Textures → Set Default Texture Filter → Nearest
I'm also not sure, but maybe this:
Display → Window → Stretch → (Mode → canvas_items or viewport) and (Aspect → keep)
Try this. As far as I remember, this should help. If it doesn't, I'll have to learn Godot all over again.
Wow! Awesome, thanks! I answered you on Discord in more detail.
IMPORTANT THINGS I did not hint this in the game yet (stupid me):
- Starting with Level 5 there is a Moon Stone to be found. You need to find it to activate lower gravity -> makes things easier and enables you to get to the moon. It is hidden in the caves below.
- There is optional caves and diamonds (and the moon stone) hidden in the levels. Hope, you find them!
- Achievements are an important thing (for me) in the game. I hope, you get some of them - be it accidentally or on purpose.
- Stupid me: The cool credits level I am so happy with is only available when you finish the game (play all 10 levels). This is really a pity. I have to find a way to watch it regardless of the levels.
Thanks for playing! :-)
great game
yo,that was nice intro u added. im all about keeping em customers satisfied now
this made before the jam starts
More than a year ago, yes.