(11/12) The Magic Poo Machine
A downloadable game for Windows
When your dog begins emitting a magical substance that can take on the properties of any matter, it's time to capitalize on his talents by building complex networks of conveyer belts, lifts, moulds and alternators to manufacture sought-after goods and deliver them to the shipping box. Meet the quotas before time runs out! The eleventh game in my 12 games in 12 months Dev Diary challenge.
Status | Released |
Platforms | Windows |
Rating | Rated 3.9 out of 5 stars (7 total ratings) |
Author | Yahtzee Croshaw |
Genre | Puzzle, Strategy |
Tags | dev-diary, Dogs, factory, production-line, technology, toilet-humor, yahtzee, zero-punctuation |
Download
Download
The Magic Poo Machine for Windows 8 MB
Install instructions
Unpack the zip file into the folder of your choice and run devdiary11.exe.
Development log
- Dev Diary Episode 23: Bunker Bustin'Mar 17, 2020
- Dev Diary episode 22: Hot Starts & Wet FartsMar 10, 2020
- Dev Diary Episode 21: The Magic Poo MachineMar 10, 2020
Comments
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there needs to be a way to restart without completely restarting the machine, I have run into multiple small bugs that require a restart which is really annoying (a two wide conveyor could only send stuff to the right even when set to left, and an alternator running directly into a liquefier not dropping things into the liquefier). Also feels annoying that you don't get refunded for placing stuff in the setup phase, it seems weird to expect no mistakes on setting up the machines, it feels like the difficulty should be in figuring out the optimal setup, not also remembering exactly how every part of the optimal setup needs to be placed. Fun idea and generally good execution, but it gets real tedious real fast in the later levels where stuff gets more complicated.
Got a crash:
___________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of Draw Event
for object obj_pipe:
Array index must be positive
at gml_Object_obj_pipe_Draw_0
############################################################################################
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
stack frame is
gml_Object_obj_pipe_Draw_0 (line -1)
Also, it's anoying that deleting itens dosen't make your money comeback, so you end up having to restart all the time and that the leftmost square in the grid dosen't register if you have a conveyer belt there
This was an interesting idea but it really, really needed a way to move machines around after placing them. I had to remove a conveyor belt after realizing a paint sprayer couldn't fit above it far too many times. I also noticed that you weren't refunded for the cost of a machine if you deconstruct it, which seems unfair.
The game was fun aside from that, but I'm not sure if it has enough to distinguish it from other factory-style games if expanded.
I wish there was a way to restart a level without losing everything you placed. Often the requirements are very tight, and getting one simple thing wrong can immediately doom your entire machine. It's frustrating to have just one tiny thing in need of adjustment, but you have to build the entire machine again from scratch.
I second this.
Loved the gameplay. Wish there was a way to turn off sound or adjust volume, but whatever. The most annoying thing was that once I 'd placed a piece on the grid, I couldn't' move it without removing it. And deleting a piece doesn't give back all the money, so if I misplaced a few pieces, it would be easier to start the level over - but there isn't a restart button. I had to close the game and reopen it. And at that point, if I'm upset, I might as well leave the game closed. Just a way to make it easier to keep playing would be nice.
Gah. Ok. Never thought to hit Esc. I assumed there would have been a button on the main screen for it.
This thing is very pleasing especially with the sound effects and the music it catchy.
I'm having trouble telling what color I'm being asked for. Some sort of mouse-over popup saying what color things are would be helpful for the color-blind-ish
One of my favorites so far
Fun game. It would be nice to get an unobstructed view of your machine when the level is complete so you could take a screenshot of the final result with the layout.
Some kind of "undo" or move function would be good for when you're just one block off, which leaves you with the choice of starting from scratch or losing money before you've even begun.
This layout scored me $436 on the final level. I'm interested if anybody can score higher and what their designs are.
Note: you do have to force the poo into the liquidizer at least 3 times after you start the machine.
See I didn't think to use two joiners, I used one with one belt feeding heads and another feeding bodies
$544 with this layout. First poo was used for the dog's legs, 2nd went into the liquidizer, 3rd to head, and so on.
I tried to leave enough space between molding, painting, and joining so that I never ran out of liquid or needed to manually toggle any alternators after feeding the dog. Using 1 less joiner means you don't need the extra tank which will save a good bit cash.
That's a real good design. I love the way you used the alternator at the end.
450$, I overcomplicated things a tad, but the perfect timing on the heads and bodies joining on the belt is quite satisfying.
I accidentally discovered the timing for my design and I definitely agree with you that it's very satisfying.
Why did you use two liquefiers?
I got $574 with this design. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible, but that meant I did have to sacrifice the satisfaction of having a machine that did everything itself. Instead, I had to change the colour of one of the spray painters and delete the final conveyor belt halfway through.
I earn $496 with this design, and it runs completely automatically.
I managed $728, but needed to switch color after meeting quota of red heads, also deleted the last conveyor, but it can be direction switched instead.
The alternator direction switching is unintuitive, which matters for levels where timing is important. Currently, it switches direction before outputting the poo, sending the poo in the opposite direction of what is shown when you build it.
Broader feedback: having to constantly restart levels is annoying. If you forgot to put a piece in your machine, had an alternator flipped the wrong direction, or misplaced a piece of machinery (losing cash, since you aren't refunded when you delete things), you have to completely restart the level, building your machine all over again. The Zachtronics games are the gold standard here, having separate edit and run sequences so you aren't penalized for going back to fix mistakes.
The flickering is painful, should definitely put an epilepsy warning. But other than that, this is one of my favorite puzzle games! I just wish I could test and edit my machines rather than having to restart all over again if the machine failed
Like it except that you have no way of undoing things which feels weird and unsatisfying.
The game is flickering from time to time during loading and i think that might be because, from what i saw in your video, you put all your code in the draw event and i think that slows down the draing of frames causing a flicker. If you instead separate logic from drawing that flicker might go away
Figuring out what color the product must be is really hard for colorblind people (especially on the last level). But other than that the game is great.
___________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of Draw Event
for object obj_pipe:
Array index must be positive
at gml_Object_obj_pipe_Draw_0
############################################################################################
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
stack frame is
gml_Object_obj_pipe_Draw_0 (line -1)
If I don't post this crash report here it will 100% get lost forever. Even though you plan on never fixing anything about these games.
P.S. The game is a lot of fun.
Found a bug where objects dropped on a conveyor will move in the wrong direction, rather than following the conveyor they were dropped on.
The balls should land on the left conveyor and then move towards the left, but instead they follow the path in pink as if they were on the right conveyor.
The fact that failure means completely restarting, as well as the fact that you aren't refunded for misplaced parts, means that if you're stuck on a level you'll have to rebuild nearly identical machines again and again. Plus, some direction-specific parts, like the joiner, can't be flipped, which means that you're limited in how you can orient your machine. Despite these annoyances, I still had a decently good time with the Magic Poo Machine.
Pretty fun game Yathzee! I managed to get to level 9, but couldn't make enough money in the time period. There is also this annoying bug where the liquefuir doesn't accept poo and it just fall through the machine. Another frustrating part is that your machine gets deleted when you fail. Meaning that you have to make it all over again. Though, it is nice that the machine can be changed during run time.
The liquidizer lets poo fall through only when it is turned off. Since we never get told that it's possible to turn something off, I thought I'd mention it here. You can click any machine to turn it on or off, signaled by the lever and light on it's main component.