Interplanetary Postal Service
Games
lunar lander game
SHOW HN2018
Legend
Interplanetary Postal Service
Lunar lander-type game with computational fluid dynamics
github.com#fluid dynamics#lunar lander#webassembly#navier-stokes#js13kgames
660points
127comments
#12of 2,155 in 2018
Top 1%of 2018 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
25 positive, 30 neutral or asking, 6 mixed, 12 critical, out of 73 comments about the project. Thread score +0.22.
Execution: 2 for, 9 againstIdea: 9 for, 0 againstPerformance: 3 for, 3 againstDesign: 5 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Fun game with the fluid mechanic at its core
From 3 comments
It's really fun. Well done!
speeq on HNThis game was brilliant fun, just got over 12k after playing it over and over again. It really reminds me of white water rafting, you really can move very efficiently, quickly…
bmillare on HNThis is great! I made it all the way to 8, but couldn't win :) I like the idea of having to examine wind streams to plot your way through the map. This is an awesome tech demo,…
hazz99 on HN
Technically impressive use of WebAssembly and fluid simulation
From 2 comments
Maybe one of the more interesting technical aspects is the usage of WebAssembly here. I used Emscripten, so the main part is written in plain C. But I threw away all the…
s-macke on HNVery cool and great use of webassembly. Bug report: if you get low enough in the last level and thrust upwards, the black smoke somehow mixes with the purple smoke outputs and…
artursapek on HN
Nostalgic for classic lunar lander games
From 2 comments
Beautiful! Great job. Lander used to be the first game I would program when I got a new computer as a kid. I remember writing it for the TI-99/4A, Commodore 64, and the Amiga 500…
ibarrac on HNoooooh, the memories... thank you very much for this 45 (!) minutes of great nostalgia :)
b__d on HN
Objections
Keys get stuck on some browsers, mainly Chrome and Windows reports
From 4 comments
Am I the only one experiencing a game-breaking bug/behavior? The D thrust gets stuck on if you press it once, and randomly the W comes on and gets stuck too. Also, after the…
blunte on HNYep, happening to me as well - MacOS and Chrome.
luckettpat on HNKeys get stuck for me too. Windows, Chrome 68.0.3440.106.
stevenhuang on HNHad the same issue with Windows 10 and Chrome, but no problems with Firefox
wongarsu on HN
Performance drops and fans spin up on some laptops
From 2 comments
After playing for < 10 minutes it started getting noticeably slower and my MBP Retina was spinning up its fans. I am using latest Chrome. Is this a sign that web games are not…
sgt on HNhttps://i.imgur.com/EksA6Rw.png Woo! +1 to the comment about larger levels. Though I'm only getting about 20fps on my laptop as is. Multi-core? GPU? Awesome little game, in any…
zaq_xsw on HN
Ship physics feel too damped, like flying through molasses
From 1 comment
This is cool! However, you know space is ... empty, right? ;-) It also seems like the physics is off. Like you're flying through molasses. There's just a lot of damping. Finally,…
lutorm on HN
Requests
More levels
From 2 comments
Really cool and fun game. I really wish there were more levels! Also, like some people suggested, it'd be nice to have an option for running the game at a higher speed.
eatitraw on HNMore levels please! ;-)
emilga on HN
Mobile touch support
From 1 comment
You might be surprised that a lot of phones can run this at a decent frame rate. Adding mobile touch support could be good. It runs the start screen well on my Nexus 6P.
sourthyme on HN
Rotating ship with thrust vector control
From 2 comments
This is cool! However, you know space is ... empty, right? ;-) It also seems like the physics is off. Like you're flying through molasses. There's just a lot of damping. Finally,…
lutorm on HNGenuinely interesting as a game, there's potential for interesting level designs. A hardcore mode would be rotating the ship instead of it always staying upright—like in Atari's…
aasasd on HN
Option to run at higher speed
From 2 comments
Really cool and fun game. I really wish there were more levels! Also, like some people suggested, it'd be nice to have an option for running the game at a higher speed.
eatitraw on HNCool! Can it run faster? This might need more roomy levels and stronger thrust, but faster speed would mean more feedback for a better feel of the physics.
anotheryou on HN
Questions
Are there other games with realistic fluid dynamics?
From 1 comment
Author here. It started as a technical demonstration for fluid dynamics in the web browser. Then I saw the js13kgames competition and the decision was made to make a game out of…
s-macke on HN
Can the simulation be run on the GPU or with Lattice-Boltzmann methods?
From 1 comment
Awesome! Couldn't win yet, but I'll keep trying :) On a more technical note, I wonder if you could use a Lattice-Boltzman-based flow simulation instead of classical CFD. Could be…
gusmd on HN
Alternatives named
Plasma Pong and Pixeljunk Shooter
From 1 comment
Author here. It started as a technical demonstration for fluid dynamics in the web browser. Then I saw the js13kgames competition and the decision was made to make a game out of…
s-macke on HN
Ichor
From 1 comment
Was it Ichor[1][2]? A bit later than the "early Windows" days I think (I remember hearing about it around 2007), but it also matches your description and it was the first thing I…
kylewlacy on HN
Spirits
From 1 comment
Spirits can basically be described as Lemmings with fluid mechanics. https://store.steampowered.com/app/210170/Spirits/
lukeschlather on HN
Liquid War
From 1 comment
> Does someone know more games […] with more or less realistic fluid dynamics? There’s always the classic Liquid War: https://www.gnu.org/software/liquidwar6/
teddyh on HN
Atari Lunar Lander
From 1 comment
Genuinely interesting as a game, there's potential for interesting level designs. A hardcore mode would be rotating the ship instead of it always staying upright—like in Atari's…
aasasd on HN