Wurtsi Posted March 4, 2010 This game is too awesome not to have a thread. Also, Idle Thumbs is now linked on their site. http://www.blendogames.com/flotilla/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoc Posted March 4, 2010 Yeah I bought it last night and was playing a bit, a the demo today at noon(I need it on steam so i can play anywhere! I'll pay for it again no problem) The damn space elk police caught up to my ass and i was seriously outguned, but there is nothing more satisifying then out maneuvering opponents to win the day. That didn't happen in the case of the bandit penguins... I was seriously a lot faster and flanked like a bojo, but with one ship I couldn't get behind them fast enough to get a quick kill. So I did a suicide run under their torperdo ship in hopes to get behind him fast enough... that didn't work and Captain Bindburn inevitable end occured. Love the game though, I haven't met up with any puffins yet though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miffy495 Posted March 4, 2010 Yeah I bought it last night and was playing a bit, a the demo today at noon(I need it on steam so i can play anywhere! I'll pay for it again no problem)The damn space elk police caught up to my ass and i was seriously outguned, but there is nothing more satisifying then out maneuvering opponents to win the day. That didn't happen in the case of the bandit penguins... I was seriously a lot faster and flanked like a bojo, but with one ship I couldn't get behind them fast enough to get a quick kill. So I did a suicide run under their torperdo ship in hopes to get behind him fast enough... that didn't work and Captain Bindburn inevitable end occured. Love the game though, I haven't met up with any puffins yet though. That post just made me buy the game. Well done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thorn Posted March 4, 2010 That post just made me buy the game. Well done.Really? My reaction was more along the lines of "What drugs is he on and where can I get some?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoc Posted March 5, 2010 Apparently I walked into Bandit Penguin country, or so they told me.... I really would love a shogun style retreat option. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xeneth Posted March 5, 2010 Wait, so this game features anthropomorphic space animals?! Did they just sneak that part in during their talks on the 'cast, or did they really just talk about the mechanics? Interest piqued. (Due to mechanics, not space furries (mostly)) I recall sucking HARD at (and loving) Homeworld though, and there were limits to how truly 3D that got- As I recall, you could certainly attack from above or below, but the camera and ships definitely all oriented along a conceptual universe-wide "Up" Y axis, and they certainly weren't modeling differently angled armor plates. This sounds liek it might break my brain... But maybe in a good way? Advice? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dappleganger Posted March 5, 2010 My favorite thing about this game is the music. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoc Posted March 5, 2010 Alright I managed to complete a full adventure last night without getting destroyed by Bandit Penguins or anything else; though I think that was due to the fact that I avoided red areas a lot. Things that happened: Acquired a Flotilla of five ships, once of which contained a time traveling crocodile who was barking mad. Managed to find the a store operated by a Flamingo and upgrades were traded. Acquired an item from the goddess riding a unicorn in space. Ran into a bit of trouble with some secret police; though I forget what they're species was. Defending a couple of fugitive glowing Toucans. So yeah, if you haven't tried the demo or paid a lunch worth of money for this, go do that, now. I'd love to see an expansion/sequel though to really flesh out the game more. It's a long shot of a wish, but I really love the core fighting mechanic and the adventure element really excites me. I want a diablo/torchlight scenario in this game where my character can go indefinetly with more powerful upgrades and enemies. The encounter/quest generator could be a little more random that would jumble up the species, factions, scenarios a lot more. Also maybe adding a few different "win" conditions in a battle to change it up a bit. Boy, that'd be super sweet, even the idea that upgrades just get more and more powerful would create some pretty insane slick battles at higher levels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted March 5, 2010 I feel the need to note that the animals, apart from talking, aren't really anthropomorphic at all. No anime furries here, just your basic space toucans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vorlonesque Posted March 5, 2010 I feel the need to note that the animals, apart from talking, aren't really anthropomorphic at all. No anime furries here, just your basic space toucans. This is what I love too. Its the difference between being especially creepy and off-putting (anime furries) and being hilariously awesome and surreal (what they're actually doing). I need this game. This and the podcast (hell just the podcast itself...simultaneous turn based combat...bought'd) have sold me on this game and I must buy it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juv3nal Posted March 5, 2010 baby-peanut weak Baby-peanut weak? Your mom's baby-peanut weak. It is ON, Mr. Owl dude. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoc Posted March 5, 2010 Has anyone run into any humans? I think I may have, but wasn't paying attention. I just realized; in the game are am I human? Or am I an animal? Not that it matters, but it's kind of interesting if there are no humans in the game then I should probably not consider myself human in it. Or you can roleplay that your the last human or a puffin, which would explain where the puffins are. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dpp Posted March 5, 2010 I really appreciated his previous game, Gravity Bone... I should definitely try the demo, although the fact that it is 10 bucks and not on Steam makes it not an instant buy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted March 6, 2010 At least a few of your crew are depicted as humans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoc Posted March 6, 2010 At least a few of your crew are depicted as humans. Wow do I have a terrible memory while I'm at work, lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xeneth Posted March 6, 2010 I may just be sold on this. And creepy is in the eye of the beholder where human-animal hybrids are concerned! The approach presented here IS rather hilarious, though. For me, there's a kind of human/animal blend uncanny valley that you can avoid by being near the edges of the graph. For example, a regular person that has a couple of animal traits added, like ears and a tail can be sweet... Or animals that have a few human traits, like walking upright, (if they don't already) or wearing clothes are neat, (think Maus) but there will always be that troublesome midpoint, which I'm guessing is what you mean by "furry". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Forbin Posted March 6, 2010 Was playing this game earlier today with similar mechanics. It's 2D and has a bit of a crimson skies feel to it. http://cache.armorgames.com/files/games/steambirds-5426.swf Flotilla is definitely way better, but if you want to scratch your turn based combat itch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted March 6, 2010 It's too bad that, culturally, the more our society progresses, the more fucked up and creepy and weird our anthropomorphized animals get. In fairy tales and stuff, animal characters used to just be depicted as straight-up animals, even if they could talk. Once we got into the Walt Disney era, they started to become animated a bit more like humans when speaking and gesturing, but still fundamentally animal in their proportions and movement. Then into the Warner Bros. animation era they really started to move into more human territory, and by the time cheap Saturday morning cartoons came around, it had moved pretty heavily in that direction. The rise of anime bullshit just solidified the ruination. Now it's all dumb. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thorn Posted March 6, 2010 Just tried the demo. It just feels like Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space in 3d with really shitty camera controls. Like... really bad. Bad enough to make me give up pretty quickly because I could never get the camera in a good enough position to work out how close my ships were to the enemy. What aren't I getting? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted March 8, 2010 Once we got into the Walt Disney era, they started to become animated a bit more like humans when speaking and gesturing, but still fundamentally animal in their proportions and movement. Then into the Warner Bros. animation era they really started to move into more human territory, and by the time cheap Saturday morning cartoons came around, it had moved pretty heavily in that direction. Your grasp of animation history is all screwy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted March 8, 2010 Your animation history is all screwy. Thanks for that useful comment. I'm by no means a student of animation so I wouldn't be at all surprised if I did have things out of order, but maybe it would help if you'd actually illuminate how? Are you disputing simple chronology, or the events described, what? Disney was, what, 1920s on? Then WB was roughly concurrent but seemed to peak later. And as far as I'm aware (and Wikipedia seems to agree), Saturday morning cartoons weren't really a thing until the 1960s or so. Edit: Oh okay, it was my "grasp." That's helpful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted March 8, 2010 Thanks for that useful comment. I'm by no means a student of animation so I wouldn't be at all surprised if I did have things out of order, but maybe it would help if you'd actually illuminate how? Are you disputing simple chronology, or the events described, what?Disney was, what, 1920s on? Then WB was roughly concurrent but seemed to peak later. And as far as I'm aware (and Wikipedia seems to agree), Saturday morning cartoons weren't really a thing until the 1960s or so. Edit: Oh okay, it was my "grasp." That's helpful. Well to separate both Disney and Warner Brothers eras seems pretty ridiculous to me, because as you said, they were roughly concurrent. But it would be more correct to just separate things into rough decades as most animation historians do. Disney also didn't really have any fame or his own studio until the very late 1920s, and if the studio were to have it's own era, it probably wasn't until Warner Bros. talent was mostly dying off and UPA was finishing it's reign in the 1960s (A lot of thanks goes to Disney himself for attempting to turn competing animators in to the government during the red scare), who had cartoons which were mostly human and influenced everyone back in that direction, although in an abstract way. But anyways, since this is on the topic of anthropomorphism animals, I think it's way more complex than just Disney versus Warner Bros., both which had the output on walking talking animals as mostly the same except for "spring has sprung" type wholesome films Disney put out like Waterbabies, Fantasia, and Bambi where the animals were much more realistic. But since their bread and butter for nearly 30 years was the Mickey world, those realistic films were mostly the exception to the rule, since every "human" was a dog person, while Warner Bros. cartoons at least had characters depicted as typical humans. Either way, I think it has more to do with Felix the Cat, who was the first animation star, being extremely popular from 1918 up to 1930 which is when Sullivan studios killed it by basically refusing to do sound pictures. Felix started off on four legs, very catlike, much like Winsor McCay's animation lead of realistic animals only from the start of the century onward, and became a wailing, beer-drinking, horny, smart ass on two legs by the end of the silent era. The era of cheap Saturday morning cartoons was much less furry than you think with Filmation as the rule for ugly humans with no eye-whites, outside of Hanna Barbara's animal output, until the mid 1980s when the anthropo morphic animals came full force, maybe taking cue from Ralph Bakshi's raunchy movies from the 1970s, which in turn owe a lot to Robert Crumb in style and substance. There was a lot happening in underground comics in the late 1970s and 1980s that isn't well documented that shows a lot of where the direction was also heading. The Ninja Turtles were only one of many animal comics, and a lot of it seems creepy both with strange artist rumors and their output and hard to find information on so I don't have a ton of knowledge of what was going at that time. The motivation and history behind making animals humanized in a creepy manner is not one I pretend to fully understand and I'm sure it reaches far out of the boundaries of animation, but it bothered me that you basically summed up a century of animation with two main studios and Saturday Morning cartoons, which span decades and dozens of different studios who all had their own characters and ways of cheaping out. And this all has jackshit to do with Flotilla. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted March 8, 2010 That was a better response (in that it was an actual response). Thanks. And yes it was inaccurate to nail it down to specific studios. My main point indeed had more to do with general evolution, and I was calling various examples (not particularly representative, as it turns out) to mind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SoulChicken Posted March 8, 2010 My puffins keep getting flanked by the bandit penguins! Help! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites