HÜVER

by Sean Hüxter

Yeah, the executable is called Rolling Ball PHysics Tutorial A because I started this project as a rolling ball game, but also as a tutorial, since it was really just to get the ball rolling. 

Ba-dump-bum!

While doing a lot of learning with a rolling ball game I came up with more than a decade ago, I tried to make the ball jump, so it could avoid traps on the game board. Instead of making it jump as an impulse, I accientally made it jump on an Update loop, so it gave an upward force every frame, rather than just the once - and suddenly my ball was hovering above the board.

I thought - wait... this is already way more fun!

So I pivoted entirely towards a flying car game. 

Space Taxi is a Commodore 64 game that was hugely popular back in the 80s and early 90s. It was a 2D physics flying taxi game that had challenging levels, and the aim was to pick up and drop off passengers while preserving fuel, making money, and not getting yourself and your passengers killed.

It seemed natural to make an homage to that game. "Pad Four Please!"

This game is currently in development, a few hours here, a few hours there. This is the result of aout a year of that kind of involvement. So yes, at this stage, there is no sound, there is no way to save a game, but these things will be tackled next, if I can.

The game requires an XBox 360 USB controller. I bought mine at Game Stop and it really works nicely.

The controls are laid out at the start of the game, but here they are:

Left Stick - Forward and Backward. Later, Left and Right strafe (but you have to earn that)

Right Stick - Forward for Up and Backward for Down, for hüvering. Also Left and Right for turning.

Left Trigger - Turbo (but you have to earn that too)

B starts the next shift

Left Joypad - Up/Down tilts the camera. A button resets it to default. (I find the default quite good, but you may want to update the angle of the camera when first searching for Passenger Pickup/Dropoff Pad Beacons across the city

At the end of each shift you may be able to purchase upgrades, if you have enough money. A few are free. To select, use the Left Stick up and down. Centered will select the center of 3 upgrades.

Y button confirms your purchase.



Flying

At first, flying is done using the Right Stick for up/down, and turns. The Left Stick is for forward/backward. This may seem counterintuitive to some, since you may expect turning to be on the left stick. But it becomes very obvious once you purchse the Strafe Control that you really want the Left Stick left/right to strafe, since it gives the car a complete plane of control when landing.

But you don't get strafe right away.

Be gentle on landing and avoid hitting buildings. You can damage the car, and while that can cause a crash (and therefore a §500 Deductible penalty) but before you do, your tip can be reduced, as passengers dislike being shaken up. If you happen to collide with an airship, you may bounce around a bit, but you won't take damage.



Fuel/Charge and Repair

Watch your fuel gauge. If you run out of gas, you will crash, and incur a §500 Deductible.

You can fuel up at any Service Station (red beacons) or your Huver Home Base. While fueling up, you will also automatically be repaired, if you have taken any damage.

If you fill up at Home Base, gas is half-price. Repairs are half-price. Fill-up and repair rates are also much faster, so you save money in two ways. But you may not always be able to make it back to Home Base.


Shifts

Your Shift comprises of a number of pick-ups and drop-offs. Find the Pickup beacon and land on that pad. After the timer ring counts down and the beacon disappears, take off towards the next lit beacon.

At the end of a successful shift, your car will fill up and all reapirs will be done at Home Base rates.


Upgrades

At the end of each shift you will see 3 possible upgrades. Some are free. If you do not have enough cash to purchase the upgrades offered, a red indicator will appear, meaning you cannot purchase at this time.

If you can afford an upgrade, select it by using the Left Stick up/middle/down, and hit the Y button to purchase. There is no confirmation screen, so if you hit Y, you bought it.

Then hit B to start the next shift.

Upgrades include:

- Home Base Radar Enhancement - Directional indicator to home
- Platform Radar Enhancement - Directional indicator to your next pick-up
- Service Station Radar Enhandement - Directional indicator to the nearest Service Station
- Strafe Control (Left Stick left/right)
- Turbo Control (Left Trigger while going forward or backward gives extra speed)
- Larger Gas Tanks
- Extra Shielding
- Lowered Deductible
- More coming



KNOWN ISSUES:

There is currently no sound. That's coming at some point.

You may see airships blip into view for a frame. That is an animation issue I have to fix.

The game does not allow saving your progress. I hope to add that at a later date.


