The overall goal of Squirrel Launcher is to get to the moon. So, it makes sense that the final stage is space. This level is going to be the longest, most unique, and most complicated of the four levels.

Unlike the previous level, the space level is going to be divided into parts.

Part 1: Rocket Launch

The goal of this part is to get into space and get above the atmosphere line.

The rocket body is divided into stages. Each stage has its own engine and fuel. You need to time switching stages. Poor timing will result in failure. This part will last about 10 seconds.

Part 2: Getting into Orbit

The goal of this part is to get into orbit

To get into orbit you will need to get up to a certain speed. The diagram above lists 17500 mph, but in the game, it will probably be a lot lower. There will also be obstacles such as satellites you need to dodge in this part.

One thing that is going to be a development challenge is the speed. It is obviously impossible to dodge something that is moving at multiple thousands of mph. Also, the game will not be able to handle chunk instantiation at these speeds. I will need to make a new system for handling speed on the space level.

Part 3: Travel to Moon

This part will be based on time. You will have to stay alive for 5 minutes make it to the moon. This isn’t really realistic as you don’t just travel to the moon once you reach orbit in real life, but I’m not really going for realism.

During this part, gravity is no longer a thing. You travel at a set speed and can adjust to dodge obstacles. There will be enemy space ships and opportunities to use a weapon.

Part 4: Landing on the Moon

During this final part, you will need to slow the vehicle down while conserving fuel. If the fuel reaches zero, you can’t slow down any more. If the vehicle hits the surface too hard, you lose. But if you land softly, you beat Squirrel Launcher!

Vehicle Upgrades (Orbit and Travel Only)

These are very subject to change. I haven’t made the gameplay yet so we will see which of these get added. These only apply on the orbit and travel segments.

• Instruments
  • Sensors for speed, etc.
• Thrusters
  • Behaves just like the engine but isn’t restricted by fuel
• Hull
  • HP
• Gun
• Ammo
• Shield
  • Recharging HP
• Reaction Thrusters
  • Allow quick movement to dodge obstacles

Notice lift is no longer a thing. The ship will no longer be affected by aerodynamic forces so there are no wings.

Switching Between Level Segments (Technical)

These levels work very different from each other. So, how does the game switch between them? There is only one scene for all launching of squirrels. Currently, many behaviors on this scene are hard-configured to work with a gliding / flying mechanic and nothing else.

Here is what needs to change for each segment.

• 1)Launch
• 2)Orbit
  1. Start at middle of altitude
  2. Fail at Minimum / maximum altitude
  3. Special speed
  4. Completion based on speed (instead of zero altitude)
• 3)Travel to Moon
  1. Start at middle of altitude
  2. Fail at Minimum / maximum altitude
  3. Locked speed with slight adjustments
  4. Completion based on time
• 4)Landing
  1. Custom vehicle
  2. Vertical Launch
  3. Start at top of altitude
  4. Cutscene overriding finish screen on landing

Each segment effectively changes the loaded level so all of the things that are spawned are different.

Anyway, implementing all of these things is going to be a challenge. I will try my best to share my experience if anything interesting happens.

Also, check out version 0.3. It is play in browser so you don’t have to download anything.