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Hey Fort, remember me and this game? I have worked on it hard, and my steam page is now online! Maybe you want to try it again some time. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4165740/Vena/

Thank you for playing!

Looks really cool. Love the retro vibes.

Yesterday I released a big update for my indie game "World of Vena" improving the overall experience and game loop. I would love to collect feedback to improve it further.

World of Vena is a round-based, hex-tile strategy game set on a strange, alien world. Build, expand, and survive by placing tiles wisely to shape the flow of resources through mysterious veins that spread across the land.

Every phase (game round), the consumption of the central tile, the Nexus, grows more. Draw tiles from your deck and expand the world in a way to generate as many resources as possible, and don't let any fall below zero. With the order of tiles randomized, no two games are ever the same. Plan strategically, adapt quickly, and watch your creation either flourish or collapse.

With a bleached red-and-green palette, blending gore, nature, and postmodern structures, World of Vena feels alive, alien, and unpredictable. Every choice matters, every vein you build shapes your world’s fate.

Play it here!

In the big update released today I have addressed some things you talked about!

In the big update released today things should be clearer!

What would you suggest instead then?

Wow, you got pretty far. I haven't had many rounds that went this far, so I don't know how (im-)balanced the game gets as you go further. Well played! The visual bug with the ribbits (and factory) is one that existed since the start of the project and has something to do with Godots TileMapLayer. I don't know how to fix it, because almost nobody uses such a tile system. It doesn't affect the gameplay anyway. I will try to add something that makes the 3rd resource production easier in the later rounds. (They have no official name on purpose!). Currently I am also experimenting with the a shuffle mechanic. Instead of the shuffle button, you right click a tile to put it at the end of the deck, for the cost of 1 6th resource. In this way, the hotbar feels and works more like an "inventory" for the player. Generally I am trying to improve the user experience, as it seems like some things keep players from playing. The game doesn't get much attention. I'm glad I have at least one "pro" at my game, haha. As you know the game quite well now, if you have any cool ideas, let me know and I might implement them.

Hey again! Check out the update.

Thank you for the feedback! I will make an update and address the things you mentioned!

I have thought about this for a bit longer. How can I keep the game function time-based (as it is a simulation game) while not stressing the player and forcing decisions? I found a hybrid solution for this. When you place a tile, the timer is paused. In this way, the strategic playing remains, as the player can take time on the decisions, while also the challenge of combining tiles cleverly persists. I have already gametested this a bit and I think it improves the game experience. There are also a few other advantages: This doesn't complicate the game further, as it is complicted enough. I don't have to change much of the code.

Weird. Does it also not play for you? The music is about 8,6 MiB.

I thought about this for a bit. How can I make my game be based on decision-based difficulty instead of stress-based difficulty? So one way would be to make the game turn-based. You get X tiles to place before the round goal has to be reached. The problem with this is that the game itself is time-based, as resources are produced over time. One idea would be to stop the time at some limit. This limit increases by a few seconds for each tile placed. This way, the game function can remain time-based, while there is no stress factor anymore, and a challenge still remains. I still have to develop this idea further, if you have any thoughts on this let me know.

First of all, thank you very much for taking the time playing, analyzing and reviewing my game. Your feedback is incredibly useful. I watched your video and wrote an A4 paper on what to improve. 

One thing I have to think about a little bit. When there is no timer, there is no way to lose the game anymore. I'm thinking about if this is a bad thing, because the game loses its "challenge" aspect through this.

It seems to me you have a lot of knowledge about game design, do you work something in this direction? I hope if you come back in a few weeks I have changed the way the game works to make it feel more fun.

On no, I'm sorry for that. Are you able to see the main menu, or does it crash instantly? I think when you press F12, you should be able to see the crash log itself, which can be useful. I hope I can get this fixed. I tried it on three different browsers and 2 different OSes but it works on all of them for me. :/

Edit: So it seems like it is a browser problem. Some browsers limit the amount of memory they give to WebAssembly, which the game runs on, and then various issues occur. Try using a different browser or change some setting.

As I can tell you played a bit of the game, can you give me some general feedback on it? Do you think this can be put on Steam? What would be missing to do so? :)

You are probably right, haha. Shouldn't be able to time travel easily!

Hey! I think I have fixed it. Load your save and see if it pops up again. If it does, just press continue. :)

Interesting. I'll push an update in a few minutes and we'll see if it is fixed...

Hey again! I have updated the tutorial. You have to reset your game data (clear cookies maybe?) and then start the game normally. Now it should be clearer. I hope you give it another shot.

Thank you for the feedback. I will extend the tutorial in the update tomorrow. I realized how complex my game is when I saw other people play it.

Hey, just wanted to inform you the update is released! :)

Thank you for the feedback, it is worth really much. In the update which I will be publishing in a few hours I tried to improve those things you mentioned. Maybe you want to take a look. Thanks for playing.

Hey, thank you. I have been developing all week, and depending on the feedback I get I might publish it on Steam. I'm really excited to release the big update.

Thank you very much. This is included in the huge update I have been working on all week, which I will be releasing on Sunday!

Thank you very much for the compliments, it means really much to me.

Hey! Maybe this game is not for everyone, we are all different from each other. You could try out the sandbox mode if you are more the builder type. Thank you for the kind words, I will keep developing it even further :)

Thank you! More is definitely coming after the jam.

This bug will be fixed in the post-jam update. Thanks!

Basically I worked the most in the initial phase, about 9-10 hours every day to get a prototype running. A bit crazy, I know. I had the idea for longer and the theme fit perfectly. I also have a lot of experience working with music, art and programming which makes me work quite fast. I worked a lot with cellular automata and fluid dynamics at university, so I had that implemented quickly. Most time went into the art and programming. I also reused some general stuff like screen transition and animation code to save time. Mostly those optimizations and general good planning and organization got me that far. Get yourself an analog notebook and a pen, don't do it digitally!

I'm a bit annoyed that I can't publish updates during the jam, haha. With tile rotation it is even more fun.

Yes, I plan to take the game further. Currently I'm working on tile rotation to make the map feel less cluttered and give the player more strategic options. Glad you're feeling this way, this gives me confidence! Thank you!

Balatro was a major influence for this game. I'm honored to be your inspiration. Glad you liked it!

Thank you for the long feedback, glad you enjoyed it! A few things I already adressed but I can only publish the update after the jam! I'm hoping to create a long living game. :)

Thank you. It means a lot to me, as I sat many many hours in front of my PC struggling. This is the price you have to pay to create a work of art. I remember your game, it was great as well.

Really really nice idea and funny game. The implementation is great, you nailed many details.

Great art style. I liked the use of dithering and the way the things are drawn. It reminds me a bit of The Case of the Golden Idol. Good job.

Thank you for the nice compliment. It means a lot to me.

Thank you! The game has a learning curve, you get better the more you play it. At the beginning it may feel a bit hard. All resources are implemented in the same way, they flow equally quickly. I hope you still had fun playing my game. :)

A player randomly exploding doesn't sound game breaking - it sounds horrible! ;)