Windward Rush (alpha)

Alpha v0.0.2

Windward Rush is an arcade racing game where players fly a variety of jets through several different environments and collect powerups to help them gain an edge on their opponents.

Currently, there is only one map and 2 airplanes to choose from in this demo (the F15 and A10). The F15 is a faster plane with a wide turning angle while the A10 has higher acceleration, tighter turning, and is heavier (can push other planes out of its way).

The final game will contain several more planes and levels as well as different game modes. I wanted to put this early version out first though for playtesting and to collect feedback to make changes to the game if necessary, so feel free to comment below with your thoughts!

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Demo Notes

The content in this demo represents a very early version of the game and everything is subject to change.

Especially the placeholder menus, UI, and sounds. The current main menu in particular is only for testing purposes. There may also (most likely) be some bugs, especially in areas I couldn't playtest as thoroughly, like split-screen multiplayer. If you find any feel free to report them to me so that I can fix them. The game is also not as optimized as it could be but that will be improved as development continues. I have also not tested the Linux build, but hopefully, it should work.

Finally, while the game supports mouse controls the recommended way to play (and the required way to play in split-screen) is using a controller. I have tested the game using Xbox controllers but any XInput controller should work. If playing with a mouse do report any issues you find still (I know there may be some with high DPI mouses especially).

Powerups

There are also 9 powerups in the game at the moment, which can be picked up from ammo boxes scattered throughout the race:

Missile: the missile locks onto an enemy in front of the user and chases it until it either makes contact or blows up. The tracking isn't perfect so with skillful flying a pilot can lead them to hit the terrain.

Machine Gun: once used a player will fire a burst of bullets for several seconds.

Shield: shields last for 10 seconds and protect the user from being destroyed or hacked by any of the other powerups.

Mine: once used a mine is dropped behind the player. Any planes flying too close to the mine will be blown up. Mines can be disabled temporarily by an EMP blast, or destroyed with some of the other powerups.

Railgun: the rails gun fires a quick straight shot that can go through several opponents at once. Useful for medium to long-range shots.

Smoke: when used the smoke powerup leaves a trail of smoke behind the user for several seconds. This smoke slows down other players and also breaks the lock of any missiles or drones that go into it.

EMP: the emp will discharge a pulse around the player using it for a few seconds, temporarily hacking anyone caught in its radius. Hacked players will lose their powerups, get slowed down, and have their controls reversed for a few seconds. Hacked missiles and drones will lose their lock, and hacked mines will be disabled for a few seconds.

Bomb drone: bomb drones behave a lot like missiles, except they have better tracking and if they hit a player they will stick to them for 10 seconds, after which they will blow up. Drones can be passed onto other players by making the drone come into contact with them and they can be disabled by using an EMP or protected against with a shield.

Turbo: the turbo powerup once used gives the player a short boost.

Other mechanics

Knife's Edge Turn: in order to make certain tight turns you can use the A and D keys or the right thumbstick in either direction to turn your plane 90 degrees in that direction. This will allow you to turn faster in that direction.

Turbo rings: these rings are scattered around the map, often in places hard to navigate. If a player manages to fly through them without colliding with the ring or the walls, they will get a short boost, similar to the turbo powerup.

Daredevil boost: flying close to the ground or behind other players for a couple of seconds will grant a short boost. This isn't as fast as the turbo but used well it can be a great help.

Fuel: scattered throughout the maps are fuel canisters, if collected these will increase the plane's fuel meter. The higher the fuel meter is, the faster the plane can go. However, fuel decreases over time so it must be replenished by picking up more canisters.

Checkpoints: to win the race players must fly through the checkpoint arches in order. The arrow on the top center of the screen points towards the next checkpoint. Checkpoints are also color-coded so that in instances where there are two checkpoints of the same color, flying through any of them is sufficient.

Controls

Steer: mouse/left thumbstick

Use main powerup: LMB/X

Use secondary powerup: RMB/Y

Accelerate: W/RT

Knife's Edge Turn: A&D/right thumbstick

Pause: ESC/Start