Available Now on Google Play!
Release History
Version 1.0: 2021-Feb-25 - initial version
Description
- This is an ad-free game.
- The game takes place in an alternate universe, where the 1960s space race never ended. You are a contract pilot based on the moon, flying a converted surplus Apollo spacecraft, fitted with the latest electric gravity drive. Your mission: capture a fleet of mining drones that have gone haywire. The catch? Limited power and limited time. In the limited time you have, catch the most drones you can, and rack up your highest score.
- The free version of the game gives you 2.5 minutes to catch as many drones as you can - there are 3 different types, with different movement patterns. Play as often as you like. And if you really like it, why not unlock the full version? The full version bumps you up to 5 minutes, double the power, and the full set of 7 types of drones, as well as the ability to save your high score. You also get to use additional controls. For example, you can turn off your radar, which gives you extra points for captures. But, please - play the free version for as long as you like, to make sure you think upgrading is worth it! Extra controls that the full version has include turning off the radar in the lower right corner (playing without the radar gives bonus points), as well as locking your target indicator to track a single drone at a time (rather than always finding the closest drone), making pursuit easier. The full version also lets you switch targets, as well as toggle the music and the sound effects, and pause the game.
- Hit the RESET button to restart, and the ABORT button to quit the game.
- How many drones can you capture before time runs out?
How to Play
- There is a brief instruction screen. It is only the single screen you see, no scrolling required. Tap the screen to start.
- You are the spaceship in the center. There are controls on the upper right to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise. There is a control on the upper right to engage or disengage the throttle. Both are the kind of button you have to hold down if you want them to keep going.
- Your maximum velocity is 50 meters per second. Continuing to fire your engines in the same direction when you are at maximum velocity only wastes energy. However, as you are floating above the surface of the moon, in vacuum, you can turn to face in any direction, even opposite the direction you are flying in. This, in fact, is how you hit the breaks - fire your engine in the opposite direction of your travel. This is hard to get used to at first, but I find it becomes more intuitive over time. It takes just as much energy to slow down as it took to get you up to your speed. Manage your energy level. It will slowly regenerate over time, but you have a limited amount of time.
- The playfield wraps around top/bottom and left/right - it is 1000 meters by 1000 meters.
- Fly to capture floating drones. You capture them by touching them. There are seven types, and they are color coded. They differ in how they move, and how many points capturing them awards you. The progression of colors is: White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet. White is the easiest to capture and Violet is the hardest. The harder the drone, the more points capturing it is worth.
- There will be a color coded indicator near your spaceship. This points in the direction of your current target. A basic strategy is to watch the indicator direction as well as the readout on the bottom of the screen showing your target's movement direction and speed. If you can align your motion of travel with the indicator, and your direction is the same as the direction of travel of the drone, then as long as you are faster, you will overtake it. Note that only two of the seven drone types always move in a straight line, and one does not move at all. The other four types will need a more advanced strategy.
- The indicator will target whatever the nearest drone is, which may change. If you want to stick with a specific target, turn on the target tracking switch. You can then use the "switch target" button to choose a new target. If you target is far away from you and moving away, you could think about heading in the opposite direction, to take advantage of the wrap-around.
- Turning off the radar doubles the points you earn.
- You can get bonuses for capturing multiple drones within a few seconds of each other.
- Clearing all the drones of a single color earns a bonus.
- Clearing all the drones on the screen before time runs out earns another bonus. A new batch of drones then becomes available to capture, before your time runs out.