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Lunar Limit

NESShooterGame jam

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    Overview

    Pubby made Lunar Limit for the Ludum Dare 38 game jam, whose theme was "A Small World". The game is described as an early 1980s-esque arcade shooter about blasting space ships and dodging bullets, playable on an emulator or on NES hardware.

    You steer Mini Earth around the screen while your faithful satellite, the Moon Cannon, orbits it and fires without pause. Waves of evil Atari invaders sweep in from every direction, and shot-down ships sometimes leave behind power-ups that Earth can pick up and save for the right moment.

    Made by
    Pubby
    Released
    2016

    Controls guide

    Playing

    Button and keyAction
    D-padArrowsMove Mini Earth
    AXSwing the Moon Cannon clockwise
    BZSwing the Moon Cannon anticlockwise
    SelectShiftUse the power-up you are holding

    Title and game over

    Button and keyAction
    StartEnterStart a new game

    Cheatsheet

    Power-ups

    1UP
    Extra life at once, up to 9; at 9 lives it gives 10 points instead
    Shield
    About four seconds of immunity to bullets
    Bomb
    Wipes every enemy and bullet off the screen; Earth stops moving and firing for a moment
    Rapid
    About eight seconds of double fire rate and faster shots

    Rules

    Lives
    3 at the start
    Enemy ship
    1 point
    Power-up drop
    1 chance in 8 when you shoot a ship, if none is already on screen
    Holding
    One power-up at a time; a new pickup replaces it
    Hits
    Only enemy bullets hurt Earth; ships pass through harmlessly
    After a hit
    Earth respawns in the centre with two seconds of safety, and the cannon holds fire for most of it; held power-ups are lost

    Tips

    1. Enemy ships cannot hurt you, only their bullets can, so slip between ships freely and keep your eyes on the bullet patterns.
    2. The cannon never stops firing, so your real job is pointing it. Keep turning it into each new formation as it arrives rather than chasing ships around with Earth.
    3. Dropped power-ups drift with the starfield, and the stars move the opposite way to where the cannon points. Turn the cannon to steer a power-up toward Earth before it slides off the edge.
    4. Save the Bomb for a screen packed with bullets. It clears everything, but Earth freezes briefly afterwards, so do not count on dodging straight after using it.
    5. A held power-up is lost when you are hit and replaced when you grab another, so use it rather than hoarding it once a second one appears.