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Thanks man.  Being solo in this project and only doing it in my spare time means a lot of time needed LOL!!  Slowly, I'll get there ;) 

CONGRATULATIONS for winning the best Corona Game in the CoronaDefoldJam !!  More power to your game as well as to your team and for your future games :)

Thanks for the kind words.  There is a point there, and considering new models are rolling out the market every 3-6 months, more and more older devices will become obsolete by then.  It's the same thing when I was a hard-core PC gamer in the 90's to around 2008.   Games were always at the mercy of the hardware's  capacity, so you end up constantly upgrading lol... and that "Minimum Required Specs" on the game box weren't always honest ;) 

Just curious, do you make games in other engines?  Corona is my very first and currently the only engine I use.  I've been looking at Defold and Unity for some time now but I have limited time and I want to finish what's on my Corona plate first ;) 

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear your device can't handle the game very well.  You unfortunately cannot play it well too if it doesn't run smoothly on your device. 

I consider it my mistake from the start.  I should have considered much older devices so more people can play it.  I just hope the judges and most community members have devices that are "modern" enough so they can run the game smoothly.  This is a dilemma I'm facing right now while working on more levels.  Should I downscale the game in terms of graphics, resolution and visual effects in favor of much older (slower) devices or just carry on with what I have on the drawing table and hope for the best.

The full version definitely has a story line and later levels will begin to show aggression and hostility by "other" forces.   You work for one of the largest mining corporations in the galaxy as a Lifter pilot, mining neighboring planets.   Later in the game you will have assets like Sentry Drones that escort you to ward off hostile avians,  you upgrade the Drone skills and firepower, you will fly through "danger zones" where you have to evade enemy-installed turrets, etc...  The version I completed for CoronaDefoldJam is an early beta and doesn't have the goodies I  planned for it, nevertheless it is playable (considering your device can handle it).  

Planet Blue will be much "busier" as it is a planet teeming with live species of plants and creatures.

More work!  :)

Thank you.  That helped a lot.   

I got you on that one, and thanks for the feedback!  I agree.  Yes, I actually made an update so that in level one, the player can just let it drop straight without hitting a rock until he's near the base :)     The steering also doesn't require too much tilt on teh device. Slight and brief tilts will move the ship sideways.   

May I know what device are you testing it on?  I am a bit disappointed on some feedback that it is horribly laggy on older devices.  DOes it run like a real 60fps or does it show choppiness?   

Two things:  I guess I have to limit future downloads to minimum Android 5 or downscale the whole thing  :(   It's a mistake I made from the start.   

hey bogomazon that is a refreshing info! Thanks! there are indeed some other factors that contribute to the game being laggy. 

on my Galaxy  S7, S8, Note3,  it runs perfectly smooth at 60fps.

Sad news...... I made a fundamental mistake of not testing my game in as many devices as possible :( :(

Saw it running on a Xiaomi Redmi device, running Android 4.2.2, 2G RAM, 1.2gHz CPU... and also a similar-spec older Samsung Tab... and they are horrible laggy!!! :( :(    Have to halt further levels design and reconsider downscaling the resolution - *IF* that is the cause. 

Hi peeps,

I made a last-minute update with 14hours left  :)    For those who have downloaded it previously, I recommend downloading the latest build. It has some very minor fixes and another "Milk Run" level to give new players more chance to familiarize the controls.

Thanks,

Santi

So I got my first feedback from the first players.  The common reaction is , they can't control the ship - it falls so fast and hit stuff!  :D

To get the hang of the controls,  the first trick is to resist gravity by tapping AND holding your tap long enough so the rocket thrusters begin to make your fall slower and slower.   While your craft starts to hover (or begin to move upwards), you can make small sideways movements by making SLIGHT tilts of the device left or right, and make small drops by momentarily letting go and tapping on the screen to control your descent.     It's basically a controlled fall !  It's a combination of gravity, sideways movements and bursts of the rocket thrusters  :) 

As you gain familiarity of the controls, you can actually make use of gravity to your advantage to conserve fuel, shorten your travel time and keep engine temperature at bay.  

There is also a maneuver I call "swing-sling", where you swing your load in a direction, let go of the touch and then use the load's heavy momentum to tug (sling effect) your Lifter into a point in the air, or use the cargo as a pivot point while you apply thrust.   The cargo is always heavier than the lifter so you can make the cargo your pivotal point in making lateral movements.   This is useful in non-straight tightly-spaced cave corridors, or when dodging harmful objects.  It takes practice to master this manuever but once you get it right, it's really fun!    Where there is a load dangling in your lifter, there is always a constant tugging between the cargo's weight vs your resistance to gravity by thrusters, and you can make use of these opposing forces to effectively manuever your Lifter.

Above all,  have fun!  

Played it :)  It's fun and fast-paced.  Loved the sound effects. 

Thank you.  Hope you'll like it  :)

Thank you! Glad you like it. 

Hi folks!

Just to let you know I finally managed to upload a playable Beta APK  of Heavy Vertical.   

For those who have uploaded their games, how long does it take before your game appears on the 'Entries' page?  I uploaded mine for about 4 hours ago but still not appearing on the Entries page. 

Cheers!

Santi 

hey i tried playing your game!  it's fun and really is a gymnastic for brain memory  :)  I like the music. 

Hi there!  Oh yes, trying to iron out some very minor issues mate....  Nothing that stops it being uploaded though ;)    

Thanks!

Hi guys and gals,

Sharing you another bit of progress :)

https://santiagoluib3.itch.io/heavy-vertical/devlog/9464/heavy-vertical-build-9-...

Santi

Thanks!  

Sorry, please try this link again...

Hi guys and gals,

Hope you all are well :)

Listed below are my development progress with HeavyVertical.  Still in early alpha but already very playable so far! 

- added menu system (basic at this point)
- added World and scrollable Level selection screens (thanks to Rob Miracle for a sample at Coronalabs)
- mid-game pause dialogue with  Retry/Level select/Exit options box now fully working (again a big thanks to Rob Miracle of Coronalabs and other Corona devs in helping me out with some issues).
- scoring and star-rating system
- end of level 'where Next?' dialouge box
- added camera shake when player (ship) bumps with objects.  Adds more juice to the physio-visual aesthetics ;)

- much thicker and puffier smoke when engine is on sustained high throttle with high temperature

- added cooling power-ups to ease engine temperature (not sure if that Fan icon is a good idea!)

- Fuel Up sound 

- added force-sensitive collision sound effect on the cargo.   the stronger the impact, the louder the impact sound.  
- added ship lateral tilting - worked some math with it so the engine exhaust plumes follows the exhaust pipe during rotation

With the above in place, I am soon going to upload a playable prototype in a few more days for Android (APK) with about 4 or 5 levels to play around, and I hope you guys with Android devices can help me improve the game with your feedbacks :)

More non-essential but cool plans for visual (and audio?) enhancements:  
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- Subtle camera shaking when the ship is about to explode from engine overheating.  In addition to the audio warning and blinking red-lined temperature gauge, I feel this is a good visual cue for players to let go of their touch or else blow to kingdom come :P 
- Camera shake when the cargo impacts hard  
- 2.5D realtime lighting!!  I so want this.  Imagine maneuvering in pitch-dark mining caves with your ship being the only light source!!  (Need to acquire a paid Plugin for this, and see how "Heavy" the app would be with all those extra normal maps )
- Background music?  What do you guys think?  With the continuous engine thruster sound, I would think background music only adds audio clutter, no? 

So many things in my head, so little time!!  Essentials first !!

Other Future enhacement plans (likely not included in the Jam version - not enough time!):
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- Ship upgrades  (via in-game currency using gems, or in-app purchase):
             1) additional shields/armour

              2) engine upgrade (some cargoes are impossible to hoist with the default ship)

              3) Engine coolant upgrade

              4) turret gun AND a gunner (say whaat???).. Yes, future levels will lead you in harms way, so you need an AI turret gunner for defense - I'm still thinking about this.   Allowing players to operate the guns is too much of a workload.   Of course, the Gun and the AI gunner skills can be upgraded with in-game currency (gems). ... your overall airborne weight too naturally increases with these fittings, and then it connects to fuel consumption, more engine heating, etc etc, the list can go on. 

There will be many types of gameplay challenges.

Here is a gameplay video of the latest build.   Please note the movement of the ship is a little jerky because I played this on the Corona Simulator (Windows) with mouse click/drag as controls.  I use FRAPS to capture the video.   In actual device, you tilt slightly left-right to steer, tap/tap-hold to engage/sustain the thrusters.

Cheers!

Santi

1. What's your name? Where you from?

Santi,  Philippines

2. What's your reason to be here?

Motivate myself;  Time management; Make new friends with same interests;  Make something fun; Improve my game designing skills

3. Your favorite games

most FPS (COD, series DOOM series, Battlefield series, etc.)  and all civilian and combat Flight  Simulators 

4. Favorite engines and tools

CoronaSDK (LUA), Photoshop, Level DirectorX, Audacity, Physics Editor, Texture Packer, Sprite Illuminator

5. What do you want to make in this jam's game the most?)

Something fun and physics-based., and new online friends with same interest/hobbies. 

6. Something cool and motivational for others :)

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve” - Napoleon Hill 

Thanks Rob.

I'm just curious... Is one participant only allowed to submit one game?  :)  

Hi,

My very first post :)

Does the game need to be a 100% complete in terms of levels?  I have a concept and a framework that I think I can use as an entry but this game need lots of levels.   For this jam, is it okay if I just have.. say just 10-15 levels?  The core framework and UI should be considered 100%, just that I may not have enough time to design/create all levels I want :)

Cheerio!

Santiago