I love Google. Google is awesome. I wish Google would index my car keys. Sure, some people may get a bit worried about how big they are, but I say they're just being silly. I mean, if anything happened to Google, how would we find Wikipedia articles? Seriously, they should just put "The Wikipedia Search Engine" under their name.
Wait… "Giggle"? "Kiwipedia"? "awesome penguin article"? "Search under a table"?!? That's not my Google screenshot! Help, somebody's sabotaging my snobbish fanboy post on Livej—ayisgames? Uhh… Hey, look, a penguin!
Aw, you didn't look fast enough. Anyway, that reminds me of a game I've been playing the last couple of days. In Learn to Fly, by Light Bringer, you play as a penguin who looked himself up on Kiwipedia and took the whole "flightless bird" comment as a mortal insult. So he decides that he's going to learn to fly, presumably so he can visit whoever wrote that and give them a stern talking to.
The controls couldn't be easier. Press [left] to tilt back, [right] to tilt forward. For the first few days, you'll just want to keep your bird as flat as possible, so that he skips like a stone on the surface of the water. Once you buy the first glider, though, you'll see a bit more strategy, as a slight tilt adjustment can make a big difference in how you fly. And when you get the rocket, you'll be tapping the space bar with surgical precision to get the most out of your limited fuel.
Whatever your equipment, your goal is simple: fly as high, long, and far as possible. You get money for flight height and distance, and flight time adds a multiplier, which ranges from 1 to 3. Mastering all three categories can make you a rich penguin.
Once you get the hang of the basics, you should pay attention to the achievements for each level. You need a certain number of them to unlock each successive level, and completing them also rewards you with even more urgently-needed cash to upgrade your not-so-flightless penguin.
Speaking of upgrades, there are six to choose from, all easy to understand. Ramp Height lets you start higher up and Acceleration makes the ramp slipperier, meaning you start faster. Even with a good starting height and speed, though, you won't get very far unless you upgrade your Air Resistance, letting you keep your speed longer. Air Resistance, in turn, requires a good Glider to be useful, because a bad one (or worse, none at all) makes you drop like, er, a flightless bird. If you still need some more speed, you can buy Rockets to give you a boost when you need it, and Rocket Fuel to keep them burning longer. It's so simple, you wonder why the other penguins haven't figured it out yet.
Analysis: It would be easy to dismiss Learn to Fly as nothing more than another "fly to the right, get as far as you can" game or a clone of John Cooney's Hedgehog Launch. I can already imagine the old hands out there looking for some random object to bounce off of and get a boost skyward. I've got news for you: you won't find any. Nope, in Learn to Fly, it's just you, the salty air, and the open ocean as far as your eye can see. And your geared-up penguin, of course.
As I've said before, stripping away the extraneous bits and bobs will sometimes improve a game, because both developer and player can focus on the core fun. This game is another excellent example. By removing the random obstacles and giving the player control, Light Bringer have switched from a game of pure chance to one of pure skill. If something goes wrong out there, you'll only have yourself to blame. And frankly, that's the way we like it.
Still, even with those changes, the longevity would be pretty short, because once you've got your flight technique ironed out, there's really not that much more to do. Which is where the upgrades enter the picture. See, while your starting penguin can only hope to bounce off the water in imitation of those other flying games, as soon as you pick up a glider, the strategy flips completely: Suddenly, hitting the water is a Bad Idea, because while it bounces you upwards, it also drains a big chunk of your speed. With all of the ways you can upgrade your penguin, you'll be adjusting your strategy continuously as you go along.
The fun doesn't even end when you finish the game, either. If you click Continue, you'll be able to keep flying, buy any remaining upgrades, and see how far you can get. As I suggested earlier, though, you will quickly hit a wall where you can't do significantly better, no matter how well you finesse your penguin. If, on the other hand, you select Back to Menu or refresh the page, you will be able to play again from the beginning. Why? Because the game cleverly told you how many days it took you to finish, and gave you one simple line of either praise or scorn. What do you mean, "Think you can do better?" Of course I can do better! Give me one more shot, I'm sure I can knock another day off!
P.S. My personal best is 17 days. Think you can do better? :)
OK, just how the heck I'm supposed to reach 6,000 feet? Bounce off the water?
That's the only achievement I have left
I made the 6000 feet on the 35' ramp before I'd even made one achievement for the 50' ramp. Just max out everything and use the rocket wisely.
It took me a while to figure out what to spend the money on and when but now that I know I'm sure I can beat the 34 days of my first run-through.
@notazombie
If you've maxed out everything then its pretty straight-forward:
Keep an eye on your wind resistance, try to keep this at 0%.
When your speed gets below 100 or your alt starts getting low (below 30) then gain altitude and level out again back to 0% and get your speed back into the 100's with rockets.
I actually did it when half of the distance I used rockets when I climbed but I think just gaining altitude then using rockets to pick up speed once you've leveled out worked out better for saving fuel.
Then just try to judge between distance/speed/alt once you are out of fuel. Around 5k mark just nudge up a few % if you need to slow your descent over the finish line.
I was disappointed in the ending.
But only because I was already expecting the ending to be the penguin flying to the U.S. and rocket-punching the Kiwipedia article author in the face.
Oh, wait. It's 6000 feet travel distance? I was under the impression it was 6,000 feet altitude. My mistake.
Geez, I just want to fly, and there's all this UI in the way...
Flight distance is a dollar amount? Achievements aren't named when you unlock them? There are some weird problems with this thing.
It looks like they started with a fun mechanic, then sunk the idea by attaching the economics to it. In Super Mario World, you can immediately fly long distances after collecting the cape. I guess I was expecting the same thing here.
Some of what you say is true, Z, although some information is part of the upgrade process which is kind of a nice mechanic. It'd be good to know that in advance, though, since at the start it doesn't seem like much.
Not that it is much of a game overall; I probably only played it more because I like penguins. The most annoying thing is that at the start it's impossible to do anything at all, even skip the way penguins do (at least no matter how much I leaned on the key, I had neither speed nor angle to do it). Making upgrade mandatory is a terrible gameplay decision.
I haven't been able to get above 350 feet altitude...I was wondering if you can get into orbit somehow....anyone get any higher??
I can't figure out how to get 6,000, even with maxed stats. Is it better to angle high and trade speed for altitude, or angle low to reduce resistance? When should you use a rocket? Should you make a long burn at the start or at the peak of your flight? I can't really tell how much impact these things have, so I'm just lost.
It took me about 20 days to get to 6000 ft with maxed stats. Here's a way to do it:
After you launch, tilt the penguin so that the penguin is facing almost horizontally, slightly upwards - the air resistance should settle at a value of 4%.
Use the rocket to give yourself sporadic boosts to keep your speed around 100-150. You should cruise along at that speed for about 3500 ft. Your fuel will run out around there. Keep gliding until you see the altitude increase slow down and start to fall. You should have enough speed and altitude to glide the rest of the way - tilt back and forth to balance altitude against speed. I made it to almost 6400 ft.
It's best to
keep the speed just below the red zone on your glider
for distance. For velocity, I
jetted straight up and then down again
Good luck!
A more effective method I just discovered. 7200 ft!
Penguin horizontal as before, but with air resistance at a constant 3%. Use frequent rocket taps to maintain speed at 175. Your fuel will last until about 4700 ft and you can easily glide a long way afterwards.
Tom nailed it. THANK YOU!
I'd been trying a long time but it's just as Tom says: 3% resistance @ 175 speed. Boom done.
BTW: Very disappointing ending.
[edit: spoiler added. -eileen]
My bad for not using a spoiler. Can someone please fix it? Sorry. :(
[Got it, thanks! -eileen]
My best distance: 7459.
How to do it:
1. Max out everything.
2. After you come off the ramp, get the air resistance to zero asap.
3. Burn the fuel to get it up to 200, just under the red line. You're going to keep it there as long as possible with short quick bursts. Anywhere between 175 and 200 will do. With zero air resistance, you won't lose speed, but you will lose height.
4. When you get down to less than ten feet (which happens quick), you need to hit the arrows in short quick bursts. Just enough to where you stabilize your altitude. As much as possible, keep your altitude *STABLE* and *LOW*. Neither rising nor falling. Whatever air resistance this is, so be it. The water on the screen below will help you gauge your height better, you want to be skimming the water.
5. Use your fuel to keep the speed up!
6. When the fuel runs out at around 5000 distance, you'll start losing speed and then height. As you do so, keep adjusting to keep the altitude as stable as you can. This means more leaning back. As you do this, the speed drops more and more. You finally won't have the ability to stay above the water at almost 7500 feet.
This strategy pretty much maximizes your distance.
Just pulled 7705 with that strategy, actually. Timing is everything. :)
I agree that in the ending
a penguin punching a dude in the face would have been much better. The ending that's there is just... sad.
How are people making it to 7000 feet? Once I get to 6000 the game ends automatically and goes to the ending scenes.
That's a good point: how are people making it past 6000 feet? I can be whizzing past the 6000-foot mark and the game will end for me as well...
...unless you do this before you've gotten all the other achievements? I don't know, that's just a guess.
My first try was 28 days, but on my second try I shaved off a week. I think I might be able to shave off a few more days... maybe later.
Double post: I suppose it would help to read the review thoroughly--hitting "continue" when you finish allows for you fly as long as you want.
*sheepish grin*
I managed to cut two days off my time, to 19 days, but I don't know how much lower I can go. I also managed a distance of 7,227 feet.
I was having fun until I had to turn it off to receive a call.
Attention Casual Game Developers: A lot of people play your games while at work and no Mute option means we can't :-(
Made it in 15 days
Most computers and speakers have volume control. If the game does not have a mute option, mute the computer or turn off the speakers.
Just got 7715, and I think that it is about the best I think that can be done. I got an almost perfect flight, at most, even with perfection, I couldn't get more than 20 or so more feet on it.
I wish the game would remember progress so that I don't have to rebeat it every time I load it up, just to go for the top distance.
I love this game! It doesn't hurt that I'm an aviation buff, but dangit, it's very well-constructed, and just plain cool. Best penguin-as-projectile game since the start of the genre! :)
And I love the back story. Fly, 'lil penguin, fly! :P
Am I the only one who had the sound off at first and started humming Tom Petty's "Learning to Fly" while playing this?
Yeah, I'm weird.
@AJ
For me, it was Pink Floyd's "Learning To Fly." :)
@Otto
Not sure what you mean, but I think the Continue button does what you're wanting.
He looks quite a bit like the penguin who hates being poked. Is this made by the same person/people?
Great game! :D simple, fun... put a smile on my face!
Btw, how high can you get? I can get 350 ft :P
rofl i nice poking game, and i got to 10000 distance (:
How do you get it in less than 20 days?
@Mashimaro: It's not even about playing games at work, really. The fact that most computer speakers can be turned down or muted does not excuse the designer from building in a mute function. What if I want to listen to my own music while playing? Or maybe I need the sound up to hear some audio notification (like an incoming email or something), but I don't want to listen to the game music. It doesn't really matter what I want to do, though--giving the user options (within reason) is generally a good idea.
For distance I get the best results by
hitting the rocket as soon as I come off the ramp and angle myself upwards so that my speed doesn't exceed 220 (red zone) but stays as close to it as possible. When fuel runs out tilt down with as good timing as you can so that your speed remains at 220. Keep that speed until you reach the water and then stay as close to the water as possible
15 minutes of trying this yielded 7938 so far and it wasn't a perfect run.
Lawl. As soon as you get to the end of the ramp go up up up up and use all your fuel, then go straight down. I got to altitude 314 ft, then down to about -40ft. :D
To fnish the game-43 days, I stink XD the last bit was reaaaallly hard, I got like 5900 ft after 32 days, but it took me ages to get better than that.
Good game.I managed it in 33 days first time.The ending was very dissapointing though.And there should be a save button.
Took me 41 days the first time didnt catch the middle set of upgrades LOL.... next try when was 27 but man i cant that penguin moving at all until he has the gliders any tricks to getting a bit better skips with just the penguin
How do you bounce off the water? It's day 60+ for me, I'm maxed out on my upgrades, and I can't progress beyond Fly Up To 225 Feet and Glide For 35 Seconds in the 50' ramp stage.
I bounced off the water exactly once by accident, and I don't know how I did it.
Sorry, also forgot to ask how in the world do I hit 225 mph? I can't seem to break 212.
Woah, harsh ending
@ray9na,
You might want to buy a glider and some rockets, that would help you. Otherwise, hit space to use the rockets.
ray9na:
To hit 225, you can't do it with just the best glider and the big rockets, because using the rockets causes added resistance when you go into the red on the speedometer.
You need to accelerate in some other fashion.
Think gravity.
Go up as high as you can, then divebomb the water.
How to bounce off the water:
Keep the guy perfectly level when you hit it, like skipping a stone. Belly flop it, basically.
I end the game in 15 days.
http://img269.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pajgwin4.jpg
GUIDE!!!
Here's the list of what to buy each day.
If you don't get the "distance & time" achievement on day 7, then start over:
1) Acceleration (Get 5 dist)
2) Glider (Get 5 height)
3) Ramp x3 (Get 5 time)
4) Accel x2, Air (Get 10 Height)
5) Air (Get 5 speed)
6) Rocket (Get 10 dist, time)
7) Accel, Fuel x2, Ramp x2 (Get 10 speed)
8) (Get 20 height)
9) Glider (Get 20 time)
10) Ramp x3 (Get 35 height)
11) Rocket, fuel, air x3 (Get 20 dist, speed)
12) Fuel x3, accel x1, air x2 (Get 35 time)
13) Accel x2, Fuel (Get 35 dist)
14) Glider (Get 35 speed)
15) Ramp x2 (Get 50 height, speed)
16) Rocket, Fuel (Get 50 dist, time)
17) Fuel x2, air x3 (Win!)
Is it possible for you to post a video of this? Unfortunately I find your guide just a bit confusing. :\
Guide for the guide!
Sorry, I typed that thing up in Notepad as I was playing and just copy-pasted it in here without really paying attention to if it made sense or not. :)
I'll re-paste it below with a description on how to use it:
If you don't get the "distance & time" achievement on day 7, then start over.
Each row is a time when you are able to purchase an enhancement. It lists what you are supposed to buy, then which achievement you are supposed to get.
Example:
Row 1 says "1) Acceleration (Get 5 dist)"
That means the first time you get to the store, purchase an acceleration. Then, select the 5' ramp and get the distance achievement.
2nd Example:
Row 11 says "11) Rocket, fuel, air x3 (Get 20 dist, speed)"
That means the 11th time you get to the store, purchase the next rocket, the next fuel, and three more notches of air resistance. Then, select the 20' ramp and try to get the distance and speed achievement.
This does not explain how to try to get a specific achievement, but it should be fairly obvious after playing the game for a while. To get a height achievement, pull your penguin to fly straight up. To get a speed achievement, get some altitude quickly, then aim a slightly downward angle and hit your rockets. To get a distance & time achievement, try to aim around 4% resistance and use your rocket to keep your speed about 1/2 way up your speed dial.
For the first two days, you need to tilt the penguin to land on the water on his stomach so he skips across the water.
Hope that helps!
1) Acceleration (Get 5 dist)
2) Glider (Get 5 height)
3) Ramp x3 (Get 5 time)
4) Accel x2, Air (Get 10 Height)
5) Air (Get 5 speed)
6) Rocket (Get 10 dist, time)
7) Accel, Fuel x2, Ramp x2 (Get 10 speed)
8) (Get 20 height)
9) Glider (Get 20 time)
10) Ramp x3 (Get 35 height)
11) Rocket, fuel, air x3 (Get 20 dist, speed)
12) Fuel x3, accel x1, air x2 (Get 35 time)
13) Accel x2, Fuel (Get 35 dist)
14) Glider (Get 35 speed)
15) Ramp x2 (Get 50 height, speed)
16) Rocket, Fuel (Get 50 dist, time)
17) Fuel x2, air x3 (Win!)
can anyone get it in 18 days or under?... walktrough please?
There is a mute in the options, at least on the one in Kongregate, and I doubt that he would have made a special one for Armor Games without a mute.
It's a recent addition. -FunnyMan
35 days to fly, thanks to Tom. Thank you!
I love this game so much, I'm going to try Hedgehog Launch.
Made it in 14 days
It was tough going down from 16, but it looks that 13 is doable, 12 looks impossible.
Tom, you're a life saver! 4 hours ago, I tried to get to 6000 and have been trying since I use your 3%@175 method and, boom, it works.
to everyone on here, if you press continue you can get past 6000 feet and get farther. I got to almost 8000 feet.
Once more, thank you, Tom!
8240 in 16 days
epic
Just made it in 15 days! I'm super-happy!
wow
thanks to tom i made it took me 39 days to complete all of that but i tried again and did it in only 20
thanks again
i can get 6000 feet and its killing me
my best is 11 days
cleared it in 27 days on second try. First I did it in 76 days.
I love the ending it it sooo awesome
alright im noob at this game ok. but with what he said keep at 175 mph and at 3% resist. it actually helps
Try and stay at about 125 to 175 with 3% resistance. Your fuel will be gone by about 4000 to 4500 feet, but you can glide in the rest of the way.
Woo! I finished! Now time for shopping cart hero
just lıke to say thnx tom and love thıs game people ıts 6000 dıstance not altıtude ı thuoght ı was altıtude aswell them ı read toms walkthrough ıts sımple funny endıng
My best was 12.
Is it possible to get to 1500 feet without a glider? I can't unlock the 50 level without it and everything else is complete...
I completed thisgame in 19 days.
But how do people reach beyond 6,000?
Because in my game, when I completed a cutscene came
Maybe they are lying.
My record is 8915 What I did was I was
going at 4% Resistance and keeping at 150-175 mph, you should run out of thruster at about 32-3400, and then glide, keeping watch of your altitude, for the rest.
My applaus to Light Bringer! simple, light and very fun, my kind of games... and a funny ending! Great job!
try to go as high as you can and try to get 1500 feet then start using the rocket until you get the 6000 feet
Yeah, the 3% and 175 mph really works. I got 7001 distance and beat the game in 34 days. So happy!! Thanks Tom.
Now for the REAL challenge ;-) How DEEP can you go? I have managed a depth of 43.6 (-43.6 altitude) feet so far. I leave the ramp, gun it straight up until I am down to about 1/3 to 1/4 fuel, wait for my momentum to stop, nose straight down and burn the rest of my fuel.
I figured a way to to reach -45 ft.
Jump off the ramp with everything maxed and reach 30 resistance while constantly using your rocket and keep going till you lose momentum at about 350 ft the just dive bomb it from there
i beat in 67 days. first time :P
anyway, keep at 175 mph and at 3% resist. it actually helps! thanks tim!
you helped me beat it! yay!
noooo!! i got 5998 ft and then my laptop ran out of power >:( why do these bad things always happen to me.
It took me 89 days to do it...so i'm ashamed of that...the ending was a bit harsh wasn't it?
I think 13 is optimum, but really hard to get.
because
1 nothing here
2 get 1 Reward on 5 ramp
3 get 1-2 rewards on 5 ramp
4 get 2 rewards on 10 ramp
5 clear to get all rewards on 5 ramp
6 get 2 rewards on 20
7 clear 10
8 get 2 on 35
9 clear 20
10 clear 35
11 get at most 2 rewards on 50
12 get all but speed on 50
13 learn to fly
14 well now you should be able to beat 6000ft
My best is 14.
How the heck do you guys get the distance award (or any other, for that matter) on Day 2? Regardless of how I spend my money on Day 1, I can't get an award that quickly. It takes me 3 days to earn enough for the glider (without spending any elsewhere), and then I start getting awards.
I did it in 50 days, but I probably spent at least 30 on the last level. I finally got it, and now I'm happy. Cute ending.
I got 7700+
Here's how I did it:
Right when you get off the ramp, hold the space bar and tilt your penguin backwards at about a 45 degree angle, make sure you're going at at least 200mph reach an altitude of over 250 feet. (keep holding the space bar). then when your fuel runs out, quickly position the penguin forward so that it's traveling between 175-200, everytime you lose speed, tilt forward to gain speed (because you'll have a nice altitude). By the time you get to about 10 feet above sea level you'll be at 5000 feet going 170 mph, the rest of the way just glide and be stable. 7713 was my best.
yes just beat the game in 15 dayz!!!! that's gotta be a record or something lmao btw top distance was 10385
The way Madsen does it is the best, and some other people did that too- use the rockets right when get off the ramp to get high up, then keep your speed at about 200 the rest of the way. But I didn't use all of the fuel at once- I save some to keep my speed going.
heh, guys, try to see how LOW you can go. I can hit -43 =D
got to -44.2 altitude!
i made it 365 feet altitude, and 11023 feet in distance :}
im only ten and i beat the game like 100 times it is soo fun. I found out about at this place called the boys and girls club of america because they have computers there right now i am playing it i'm at day 80 please tell me if you think that's good for a ten year old.
this is my first time playing this so.. i typed in the same thing as the penguin did and i came here P.S. What on earth are the achievements for?
hi its me again ijust wanna say that i luv the game and the wirdest thing is 'look in a basket' if you did not see that. and what is the ending?!?!?!?!???!
Tom was right, got to 3%, with 175 Speed!
i got 29 days than i thought easy...(5 Minutes Later) WAIT! I Wanna Beat That, lol i totaly beat that with 16 days
LOL at the ending :D
Your personal best is not 17 days there is no way. If you look up the personal best on google it shows a high score table and the lowest anyone has ever gotten was 25 so try again hunn(:
how the heck I'm supposed to reach 6,000 feet?
Actually, there is a way to mute it. You wave your mouse over 'options' and then cross the 'mute' square.
13 days is my best. Somebody said that 17 was not possible and 25 was the best that anyone has done but if you know what to upgrade and when to advance to the next level it is easy. 14-15 is easy. I've done 13 maybe twice. I don't see how 12 would be possible. If anyone can do 12 please post.
omg i swear i just finised in 1 day!!!
16,745.8 hahah im a beast... ive beatin some of you guys scores in a 25,000 challenge...best there is 8,235, oh and also 11 days.
i press space a gazillion times but the rocket won't work!!
I swear to you all. i just got 10689 for my distance no joke. no lies. not kidding or making any fun. i just got it for real.
I just 16527 in 32 days :)
no joke!!!
JIGUEST,
can you tell what upgrades you bought each day to get 15 days? thanks!
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