Giveaway of the Day - greenTech Plus

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of ‘potential’ cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you’ve checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain why your reasons for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with a levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen

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greenTech+:

Installation:

greenTech+ downloads to a 10Mb zip file that unpacks to a dual activation and setup module and a readme document. The installed game is 10.1Mb in size and installs to the following path by default:

C:\Program Files (x86)\greenTech+ (64bit)

C:\Program Files\greenTech+ (32bit)

Shortcuts are installed to the desktop and Start Menu/Programs list where you’ll also find an uninstaller. The game works in Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit, Win 7 Pro 64 bit, Vista Home Premium 64 bit, Vista home Basic 32 bit and Win XP Pro 32 bit . The game automatically starts up when the installation wizard has completed unless you uncheck the box that says ‘Start greenTech+’. The installed folder has no folders containing music or other files just the games executable and an uninstaller, so if you wanted to change the music you’d need an editor capable of opening up the executable, then you’d have to find the specific script associated with the music and any references to the in game music that you could find.

Introduction:

GreenTech+ was originally given away last year (Nov 27 2010) where it received a positive user rating of 31% out of 353 votes and 28 comments, which you can read accessed HERE. There is no indication that this is a newer version to the previous one given away.

greenTech+ has been redesigned to be a more action-oriented game, putting players in charge of a hurricane that can steer polluted winds into cleansing factories. But be careful, because if that cloud hits a high pressure zone, it gets dispersed into the atmosphere, causing global warming to go up. Once global warming reaches 100%, it’s game over.

The new controls in this game puts the hurricane on a grid instead of mouse control, giving me better control of how I could design the levels. Now that I knew exactly where the player can and can’t go, I can pack levels to the breaking point with a ton of obstacles and factories, even more than the original.

Not only that, but I’ve packed in thirty levels with fifty un-lockable monitors! If you thought greenTech was hard, well, greenTech+ isn’t quite as hard in the beginning and then ramps up a bit before being really hard. But it’s a much more natural progression than the original was.

Now I know what you’re thinking: man, if only this game utilized some form of 3D! Well I have news for you: (A) that’s a really weird thing to think about, and (B) greenTech+ has built in 3D support! Now, if there’s one thing I don’t like about red/blue glasses, it’s that the colour is all washed out from the image. Well, given that greenTech had no colour to begin with, this 3D works better than I think any other game out there with anaglyph support. But don’t take my word for it. Throw on your red/blue 3D glasses and view the future with one of the screenshots I’ve posted

Edited reference and images accessed HERE on the 27th Nov 2010

The Game:

You can change the colour of the screen display while in game via the options menu. There are 50 different screen colours such as red, sepia, orange, white, teal and even anaglyph screens that give you a 3D effect if you have those red and green glasses., but each one has to be unlocked by completing a level first. Each successive level you complete will unlock one of the screen types/colors. The game comprises of a set of three tutorials (you can see all of these via the link I’ve provided in the images section below), which have to be worked through before you can start a new game. These are avoided if you are returning to a previous game. Once you’ve worked through the tutorials (basically reading several pages and navigating through them using the X key) you start with tier one levels. There are six tiers each one getting successively harder.. The following are the key bindings you will need to know, though they are always displayed on the screen, so there’s no need to memorise them.

Controls:

Arrow/cursor keys – Navigate through menus and levels
X – load game or next page
S – toggle music
E – options
Q – levels
Z – New game or credits

In Game Controls:

Esc – close game
X – Move clouds faster
Z – Move clouds slower
Arrow/Cursor keys – Move

greenTech+ is a strategy game released by Vertigo games and recently updated from greenTech to the + version (see below for differences between the original and the + version). The aim of greenTech+ is to successfully manoeuvre pollution clouds from factories to one of many air cleansing facilities using your mouse while avoiding touching you or the high pressure winds. Touching these increases global warming. Although the message about global warming is present, it is small enough that the player could ignore it if he or she felt they needed too.

greenTech takes a step back from many of Mr.Chubigans other impressive works of art, not because it’s not good, far from it. But because it remains a stunning piece of art while staying both casual and simple. This is certainly not a bad thing, as the game play included in greenTech is easy enough to understand that it could be enjoyed by people of many ages while being in-depth enough that even the most hard-core of gamers could sink their teeth into. Before playing, the game requires you to complete the tutorial which although is very easy to understand, can occasionally feel like it drags along a bit and takes too long which isn’t ideal for a casual game. However, overall the game play is easy to pick up but as with all good games, challenging to master.

The art style in greenTech is very unique as it attempts to mimic the graphic style of the old excessively green, flickering CRT screens seen in the early 70s. Thankfully, the game does this very well with simple and elegant graphics complementing the game play nicely. The game includes no particle effects as such to keep the graphics style simple. For some people it may feel as though the game features too much green however for the most part the game gets away with its innovative art style very well.

In addition to the unusual graphics (by today’s standards) and unique game play, greenTech also features an excellent soundtrack. Most people would probably expect some dorky 8-bit tune to coincide with the graphics, however thankfully this is not the case as the game includes a beautiful 11 minute classical soundtrack that almost makes the whole process feel romantic.

The majority of the above review was taken from a YoYo games review. Reference and images accessed HERE on 26th Nov 2010

Images:

You can see all the tutorial screens plus some in game images showing a selection of the different color schemes you can choose once they are unlocked accessed HERE

Video:

You can see videos of greenTech+ game play HERE , HERE , HERE and HERE

greenTech+ Forums:

If you have any issues or bugs with greenTech+ you can post them in Vertigo’s greenTech+ forums which you’ll find HERE.

Conclusion:

I was quite surprised when GreenTech+ only got a 31% positive vote out of the 353 when it was given away last year. That was just over 10% of those who downloaded the game. There were just over 3000 downloads which is one of the lowest download number since the project began over four years ago. As with all Vertigo games you can expect something different from the usual match three, hidden object or time management game, which for me is one of the reasons I like this game. There’s nothing wrong with those genres. I have loads of examples from all three of the mentioned genres, but there comes a time when there’s very little you can do to add more originality to an already oversubscribed genre, well at least with the technology we have at the moment.

The retro graphics and classical music may put some players off this game, but don’t let that happen, this is an excellent game that i’d say is ideal for filling those moments when you can’t decide what to play, or are looking for something totally original. It’s not earth shatteringly brilliant, but it definitely has a charm of it’s own. It was released by Vertigo last year and IMO deserves a place in any serious gamers indie games folder. The need for 3D glasses for some parts of the game is a bit of a downer if you don’t own any, but they are not essential as you can still play these levels due to the monochrome feel to the game, plus you don’t necessarily need to use the 3D effect as there are oads of different skins to choose from (em>once you’ve unlocked them). The 3D effect just adds a different flavour to the game. It’s possible to buy those glasses from some toy stores; (I got some for the kids when I bought them a 3D poster each a few years back and the glasses were always conveniently stuck to the bottom of the poster with blue tack. They are the traditional green and red lens glasses, (or blue and red), not the more modern grey ones you now get when you go to see a 3D movie. You could even adapt an old pair of glasses by using acetate sheets which are readily available from arts and crafts stores.

Scoring:

Graphics – 6
Game play – 8
Audio – 7
Re-playability – 7

Total 28 out of 40 which equals 7 out of 10

Overall I’d give greenTech + 7 out of 10 for originality and solid game play. Unfortunately it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but personally I think it’s worth at least one more point, but then, I like unusual games. Give me something like this compared to a Time Management or HOG any day. (I’ve never liked Time Management games apart from Alawars Farm series and I over did Hidden Object games a few years ago when I was Beta testing arcade games; that said I still like the better ones like the ‘Dream Chronicles’ series

My advice is don’t let the graphics put you off this game and at least give it a try. Once you’ve mastered the game you may find it quite rewarding.

Suggestions:

1) … Add more events to the game including attacks by akien space craft that try to destroy the cleansing factories. This would give the game more re-playability and add some new points of interest; also opening the game up to shmup fans.

2) … Include a levels editor

3) … Create a multi-colored level or re-create the game in full color graphics; this could either be a total replacement for ths game or an add-on

4) … Add different types of storm clouds that have different effects

5) … Include difficulty levels

6) … Add a better tutorial, maybe a video tutorial accessible from a help menu, plus a document detailing all the nuances of the game plus walkthroughs for those who find it too hard to cope with.

7) .. Release the game as open source so that it could be modded by the gaming community

8 ) … Enable the user to toggle off the radar effect that causes the screen to flicker.

9) … Create multi language versions

10) … Add some mini games

11) … Include achievements and awards

12) … Include some secret levels

13) … Include power-ups

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Alternative Games:

If todays game isn’t for you then definitely check out tomorrows game. it’s one we’ve not had before. There has been some decent free games posted over in the forums. Just look for posts beginning with Week…… or check out the Free games synopsis which you’ll find on the front page in the stickies. alternativelt all the major digital games suppliers have games for sale at knock down priices, Impulse and direct 2 Drive plus Steam are well worth visiting. My platform of preference Steam have a great weekend sale that includes the latest version of civilization (version five) for 66% off or some indie games including altitude and cogs for 50% off each (you can play the full version of altitude all weekend for free with no obligation to purchase, plus theres a 24 hour sale that at the moment has Eufloria for sale, though that ends in a little over 5 hours (6pm GMT).

you can find the Steam Sales and others via the didimatic link:

http://didimatic.com/dd/en/onsale/

it llists all the games that are on sale and how much they cost from the US, UK, australia and Europe. you may find them cheaper in some countries, so if you have friends in those countries ask them to gift the games to you. (of course pay them via PayPal or some other method).

If I remember well you have already published this game …

………………..Moderator comment……………….

Yes the game giveaway team do re publish games. It’s become very hard to get new games from developers. some of the developers who used to contribute to the project such as Alawar and Realore now have their own game giveaways as does several other game developers. That and the recession has hit the gaming side of the giveaway project hard. Still we do get the occasional original game that hasn’t been published. tomorrows game is one that we’ve not seen here before.

There will always be new community members who won’t have seen these games before, so repeats can be a good thing.