FlashBang Studios is back! The creators of the entertaining and CPU-intensive Off-Road Velociraptor Safari have just released an alpha version of their next game that also uses the Unity browser plug-in: Jetpack Brontosaurus. Please note, the game is still in the alpha stage of development.
To control the dinosaur, use the [WASD] keys and the [space] bar for engaging the jetpack itself. Pressing space while stationary allows you to raise directly up and the mouse can be used for camera movement.
So far, the game sports various time and skill related missions to complete, such as landing on pads within a time limit and flying through rings. There are presently two difficulty modes: 1) simply complete the mission, and 2) expert challenge, which is, as the name suggests, is against the clock and is therefore much more difficult. Completing missions unlocks "portals", the purpose of which seems unclear at this time.
As with Off-Road Velociraptor Safari, some have experienced framerate/performance issues. Please, please remember that this is a very early version of the game and—as with Safari—will continue to be updated and optimised as time allows. For now, though, and for those whose computers have the guts to run it, take a trip skyward and
I've been looking forward to this for some time. I'm sad that I didn't enjoy it.
It is still alpha, though.
I wanted to enjoy it but found it painful. The main thing for me was waiting for the dino to slowly float downwards.
It seems like they're going for the opposite of velociraptor safari, which was manic. This is downright ponderous and dream-like. It's almost like they want it to be a relaxing zen kind of experience. I just found it painful.
Could use a better camera angle system. Well, that's alpha for you.
oh my god the controls. how...how bloody hard is it to allow me to maneuver without activating the jetpack? The way it currently is, if I want to change direction I must be constantly ascending even if I don't want to or can't. And why can't the brontosaurus walk on the ground???
Maybe is it because it doesn't exist? - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatosaurus
:p
The idea of a large sauropod with a jetpack sounds fun and I was really excited to play something like that when I saw this post, but the visual design is so soft and - as someone mentioned above - zen-like that it really didn't feel quirky at all. And to clarify - that's a criticism, not a compliment. I liked the floaty island environs and especially how the water looked, but it seems like this is gonna need a lot of work to get into even a beta stage.
It may be something with my graphic setup but I could only see shadows - blacks and greys - I saw no "landing site" or pillars - just "stars" above and darkness (black) below with a feint shadow of something that might be wearing thrusters! I do not have any problems with any other graphics, games etc.
Pretty fun, I guess... It definitely is an alpha version. Interesting concept. Oh, and to the person above, the main character is an apatosaurus NAMED brontosaurus... for some reason... There are a lot of elements in the game that I don't get, but it is pretty fun for a while. They still have a long way to go, though, to make it a worthwile game.
I have a crappy integrated video card, the game ran acceptably. Better performance than the Safari game. It got a big sluggish and I had to quit.
The controls are actually fine, it's the camera angles that mess you up. I'm not sure what everyone is complaining about... I could jet around fairly smoothly.
I thought my computer couldn't handle it when I started noticing the bones of the dino, thinking it was wire frame.
...It puts me in mind of a 3D version of that old helicopter flash game, or that Rocketbarrel jet pack thing from the later Donkey Kong games. Of course, everything's better with dinosaurs.
Apparently, everything's also better with peanut butter, or possibly also monocles. A webtoon involving a dinosaur with a monocle looking for peanut butter to eat sounds like something that'd take Newgrounds by storm.
I love the graphics and the game LOOKS like fun..
..but the controls are horrible, at least for me. I guess it IS logical that a brontosaur with a giant jet pack must move sluggishly, but gameplay-wise trying to finish those missions is downright painful. And landing is the worst of all - it's pretty common to undershoot and overshoot the landing constantly because it's not just the controls don't really allow fine-manoeuvering but the camera angle constantly wants to make your life miserable even more.
I the Tunnel Run is quite indicative - you must score 1:30:00 to beat it, yet the current Internet best is 1:44:00!?
I think I'll wait till this goes out from alpha.
@Kirkpad: It's not so much the jetting around in the open (which is indeed kind of fun) as it is the maneuvering, like baba said. Trying to wrap my mind around the down button meaning backwards and needing to hit the thrust button in order for left and right to work is just not something I feel like doing right now. Or really ever. And that there's no option to thrust downward, nor an option to move about on the ground just makes things worse.
And of course the camera, which prefers looking at the sky than the dino. If they focused on fixing that, and put a little thought into making the controls a bit more (a LOT more) user friendly, this could have the potential be fun. Like a helicopter game, but with a dinosaur. In a jet pack. Possibly on drugs.
Firstly, please remember this is an alpha release. Not a finished game.
As for the concerns raised - at first I thought the controls were difficult, then I learned to control the [WASD] keys with the left hand and [space] with the right. That made it easier, least for me.
The tunnel run was the first mission I tried and quit it both times I played it. Only because I had no idea what I was doing and navigating the caves was impossible.
The other concern raised is landing and moving on the ground. I agree there. Once you touch down, you have to wait before raising again: a burden to time related landing missions.
Aside from the cave (the only obvious flaw) and the landing/ground movement - the game was quite nice in my mind. It looked great, and isn't really like anything around at the moment. Any of the minor annoyances - camera, landing, etc. I could overlook for now in anticipation of what's to come.
Although it looks like a lot of other players had difficulties with this game, I found it incredibly enjoyable. The whole time I was playing, I was thinking of Pilotwings for the N64, a flattering comparison in my mind.
I like the way how the game is broken up into challenges to give the player goals. The "Portals" seem like they could allow the player to travel to new areas, which, if it meant a gradual increase in Bronto's roaming area, would give the game plenty of depth, rather than the random roaming in Dino Safari (which was fun, although it wears out quickly for me).
I'd love to see a variety of environments and challenges in the finished game. The cave, while challenging, is a very beautiful area to traverse. Put in some decorations to reward the player for wandering off the beaten path outside of a challenge, and JPB will have recreated all the elements that made Pilotwings enjoyable for me. That would encourage me to play through with eager anticipation.
Has anyone made a tree detach from the ground yet? I figured it out today cuz I wanted to play as a REAL apatosaurus and I went up to a tree and rubbed against it, and it fell over (I rubbed a little to hard!)has anybody else done this?
just kidding
I would recommend checking out the full version, available since a while,
after all is said and done, its not a bad game, I think the thing that threw me off when I first played it was probably the racing and controls, I just played it again recently, and the game has changed a bit, I never noticed the opposite portal, or the invisible raptors until now.
...not exactly what comes to mind when I hear the words "brontosaurus" and "jetpack"
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