Synnah

[RELEASE] Business Guys On Planes

Recommended Posts

Quick update: The packaged version of the game didn't work at all! I'm trying to figure out what's going wrong with it, but in the meantime I've taken the download down. Sorry about this!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Okay, I figured out what I'd done wrong! I'd moved two of the blueprints from the template project that I started with, and then deleted the original folder, which presumably deleted the redirectors; when playing the game in the editor it was fine, but for some reason the packaged game was looking for them in the original location. I've fixed this, and re-uploaded the game!

 

Time is Money!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Super fun! I loved how relaxing the whole thing was, I spent what felt like ages just circling around before I lost my first guy. A screenshot of my doomed attempt to end my high score streak (I lost my final guy and crashed before reaching my target).


Businesss.png

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Rilen said:

Super fun! I loved how relaxing the whole thing was, I spent what felt like ages just circling around before I lost my first guy. A screenshot of my doomed attempt to end my high score streak (I lost my final guy and crashed before reaching my target).

 

 

Yeah, I did wonder if I made it too easy to avoid shaking the guys off. As I made the game, I shifted towards it being more exploratory than challenging, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. My initial idea was of a crazy physics disaster, where you struggled to keep the guys on the plane, but that wasn't really fun. With more things to see, a harsher jostle-meter just meant you had to spend more time flying in a straight line while you wait for it to go down.

 

362 is a lot of Business Points, though! Well done, and thanks for playing!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Okay, I've uploaded a new version to fix a couple of bugs. Travis noticed yesterday that the keyboard controls weren't working very well, and it turns out it was actually impossible to take off unless you press both S and the down arrow. I've also fixed an issue where the 'Business Guys on Planes' vocals wouldn't trigger in any subsequent games after you'd hear them once, and another where if you completed the game and then started again, you'd get a Game Over screen after 2 seconds.

 

I'm good at games.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, I couldn't figure out how to use the keyboard controls. Felt good once I plugged in a controller, but you might want to show the controls in the main menu or when you're on the tarmac. Also I never really got how to reduce the jostlemeter...flying straight didn't seem to consistently lower it. I think I got to around 150 points or so and I really enjoyed watching business guys try to keep their balance.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've gone back to this after the holidays (And after shaking the cold I contracted from my nephew), and I've made a start on getting some of the stuff I wanted most into the game! I forgot to mention it in my release post, but I was hoping to have a picture-in-picture mode when the guys fell off, but just didn't have time for it. I think it took me about 6 hours today, but I'm pretty happy with the result:

 

 

I've also added support for LT and RT to brake and thrust on gamepads, as the controls have been an issue for quite a lot of people. Still not as good as a controls page/tutorial, but I'm getting there! Next I want to give some attention to the Guy and plane textures, and maybe do some animations and poses for the former.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I will do, but I want to re-record them first! They're too quiet at the moment, and I could filter them a bit to make them more audible, but the fact is I was speaking quietly when I recorded them, and they'll sound better if I shout them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Okay, my final version of this before Thumbs stream the WJ4 games is basically done and uploaded! Get it at the usual place: https://giraffecat.itch.io/business-guys-on-planes

 

I managed to get quite a lot into the game since the Jam release; the main noticeable additions are multiple Guy variations, selectable Plane skins, new voices for the Guys when they fall off, a picture-in-picture camera that follows the Guys as they plummet to the ground, and the landscape has been redone to look more low-poly and less like a big stupid heightmap with a grass texture applied to it. I also added a lot more scenery, and rings to collect as you explore it.

 

There's so much stuff I didn't get done, though. The main failure was redoing the poses of the Guys on the plane, and adding new poses that they would switch between, and also some poses for the title screen that don't look quite so stupid. I was completely unable to import anything new to do with the Guys' skeletal mesh, though, because at some point something happened to it that made it stop working with Unreal's ragdoll physics again. This was the problem that I initially had, and I never found a fix for it. My workaround was to use Mixamo to rig it, which seemed to work. So, if I want to make any changes to the Guys, I have to re-rig the mesh with Mixamo, make a bunch of changes to it in Blender (I can make some changes and still have it work, but too many and it will break, apparently), and then set up the physics again in UE4, which itself takes about 2 hours. I just didn't have the time! I also didn't get to make female characters, as this would have required me to do all of the above again.

 

Anyway, looking forward to the stream, and thanks to anyone who's played my dumb thing so far!

 

Oh, and for Ben (And anyone else who's interested): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3250291/Games/BusinessGuyVoices.zip

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Is that the new voices or the old ones?

 

Also: it takes loads of extra effort to build female characters? Give me a break, you misogynist dev!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Played this for the first time, and it's hilarious! The concept, the barks (funnily enough, the very first one I got was a shout out to me!), the slow realisation of what the music comprises, the ragdolls and especially the picture-in-picture. It handles well and looks really nice too.

 

I see from this thread that you decided to make it more exploratory, but I feel like it would have benefited from some speed/jostle mechanic, where you have to balance the need to go fast enough to meet time limits or to keep collecting enough rings, with the need to keep your flying smooth enough to keep your guys onboard. Even if it was very easy, it would give the player extra motivation to explore... Also, a tiny suggestion would be captions for the barks to help a) the hard of hearing and sunglasses) the moments where the music makes the words harder to pick out.

 

Now excuse me while I go listen to those bark sound-packs over and over...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
19 hours ago, Ben X said:

Played this for the first time, and it's hilarious! The concept, the barks (funnily enough, the very first one I got was a shout out to me!), the slow realisation of what the music comprises, the ragdolls and especially the picture-in-picture. It handles well and looks really nice too.

 

Thanks! Having that bark come up first is basically the ideal sequence of events.

 

19 hours ago, Ben X said:

I see from this thread that you decided to make it more exploratory, but I feel like it would have benefited from some speed/jostle mechanic, where you have to balance the need to go fast enough to meet time limits or to keep collecting enough rings, with the need to keep your flying smooth enough to keep your guys onboard. Even if it was very easy, it would give the player extra motivation to explore... Also, a tiny suggestion would be captions for the barks to help a) the hard of hearing and sunglasses) the moments where the music makes the words harder to pick out.

 

It is kind of dumb that the game's tagline is 'Time Is Money', and yet there's absolutely no time pressure in the game. Having a fixed timer that constantly ticks down would ruin the exploration aspect, I think (And it would suck if you were on the opposite side of the map with only a minute left, and it takes you a minute an ten seconds to fly to the target runway). The best way I can think of is to start with a fairly small amount of time, but collecting rings gives you a pretty substantial time bonus. Maybe I'll do this in time for the Thumbs stream.

 

Also yeah, even after re-recording the barks there are still moments where they get lost in the music once more of the elements are introduced. At one point I intended to implement ducking, so that the music would get quieter when the barks were playing, but I sort of forgot about it!

 

Thanks again for playing!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
31 minutes ago, Synnah said:

It is kind of dumb that the game's tagline is 'Time Is Money', and yet there's absolutely no time pressure in the game. Having a fixed timer that constantly ticks down would ruin the exploration aspect, I think (And it would suck if you were on the opposite side of the map with only a minute left, and it takes you a minute an ten seconds to fly to the target runway). The best way I can think of is to start with a fairly small amount of time, but collecting rings gives you a pretty substantial time bonus. Maybe I'll do this in time for the Thumbs stream.

 

Perhaps you could also have more exploratory items that are visible from afar (e.g. put Gobbler on a column) and a little distance from any rings, so the player is tempted to let their time run down in order to go look at them. So it'll be like the business guys are in a hurry for their meeting but the pilot insists on taking the scenic route!

 

Also: there's a target runway? I thought I was just flying over the same one! Is this actually mentioned anywhere in the game?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 2/13/2017 at 8:27 AM, Ben X said:

Also: there's a target runway? I thought I was just flying over the same one! Is this actually mentioned anywhere in the game?

 

Yeah! It was a lot more obvious in the first build, when following the rings from the start would point you straight at it. Then I saw this Let's Play of the game, where the guy just heads straight for the destination runway, and figured I needed to make it considerably less obvious. But I made it too hard to find, I think! Right before releasing the latest version, I thought about adding a huge arrow floating over it, but didn't, presumably because it would look dumb. I might do that, though, and have it gradually fade out as you approach it. Also I forgot to set the starting runway to destroy you if you try to land on it again, so if you try you just sort of slide along it unconvincingly. Don't tell anyone!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh yeah, I mean to say; the only place it's mentioned is on the game's Itch.io page, which reads: "These Guys mean Business, and you've got the Plane, so get them to their destination in time for the big meeting". So yeah, poor communication on my part, due mostly to me forgetting what the goal of the game was supposed to be.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now