Suicide Burn
Ok, so I did the whole Project Boost game thing, but my creation wasn’t very inspiring. So I decided to use what I’d learned (and a few other things I’d picked up elsewhere) to build a slightly different game, which I’m calling “Suicide Burn”, based on the same sort of technique that SpaceX uses to land the first stage either on land or on the barge.
So this very simple, single level game gives you the stage 1 rocket just before the landing burn at an altitude of around 2.5km (the starting height is randomised but around this height), and offset from the barge by a random amount too. You control the rotation (in one axis - the game was a bit too difficult if I tried two axes!) and the thrust. Unlike Project Boost, you increase or decrease thrust. The idea is simply to land the rocket stage on the barge. Be careful to control your speed - if you touch down faster than 1.5m/s, you will crash. And keep an eye on that fuel!
The level reloads 3 seconds after landing or crashing with a new randomised start position.
Link
http://www.sharemygame.com/share/ad6abe2e-50f5-4169-afd6-79dbe6e1d7c5
Keys
Q - increase thrust
A - decrease thrust
Left Arrow - rotate left
Right Arrow - rotate right
P - pause game
UI Hints
X Position - shows your position from the centre of the barge. If the number is negative, rotate to the right. If it is positive, rotate to the left. This will thrust in that direction to move the rocket towards the barge.
Vertical speed - as you near the barge, reduce the vertical speed by increasing thrusting to less than -1.5m/s.
Fuel - you have a limited quantity of fuel, so don’t burn too early, don’t slow down too much too early.
Video
Notes
I don’t plan on releasing this game or doing a lot more development on it - it’s just a learning process for me at the moment, but any comments or criticisms welcome!
It’s a bit of a rough game because I put it together in about 2 hours.