
Flappy Space Program - ski
http://corpsmoderne.itch.io/flappy-space-program
======
T-hawk
I'm incapable of playing something like this without laying out some strategic
principles:

When launching, hover the bird at the edge of the atmosphere for a few clicks,
to give it time to tilt into horizontal orientation, so your thrust can affect
the orbital parameters. If you don't do this, you'll just thrust vertically
into the outer barrier.

Circular orbits are best. Two objects in circular orbits at different
altitudes can never collide.

High-altitude orbits are best, where there's more room for more objects.

So circular high-altitude is best, but it's not easy to get there. Standard
orbital astromechanics apply: to circularize, thrust at apogee to raise your
perigee. Problem is, it's not easy to tell when the bird is at apogee, and it
may not even occur before you lose control of the bird and the next appears.
Also, the thrusting resolution is rather coarse: if the apogee is any higher
than about halfway to the edge, two clicks will send the bird into the
barrier, so you only get one attempt. These details and coarse controls make
the game a lot harder than it looks, just like the original Flappy.

Finally, if you just need that one more point to break your high score, launch
the next bird into the lowest fastest orbit possible. That altitude should be
clear if you launched all the other birds higher, and it will register quickly
before any more collide. I managed 8 thanks to this.

~~~
sddhrthrt
Perfect! Thats almost all the points covered, and it took me an hour to get to
this. Although, I should say, it was more like a physics practical tutorial, I
learnt to apply thrust at apogee, say, just by intuition. So since this game
is based on physics, there has to be strategy.

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thewarrior
I read through the source and was surprised at its simplicity and readability.

[http://storage.googleapis.com/itchio/tmp/main.js](http://storage.googleapis.com/itchio/tmp/main.js)

No funky frameworks , just plain old jQuery and some JS.

I've just begun learning JS and the source was very informative.

~~~
elwell
Meh, don't use best practices for assigning functions to variables, but other
than that looks pretty readable.

~~~
seniorsassycat
What are the best practices for assigning functions to variables?

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mxfh
Once you figure out the space bar cadence, that _Flappy Kessler Syndrome_ [1]
is gonna hit you hard any time above 3 bird's.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome)

~~~
Timshel
You get the gold medal with 16 flying birds. By the time I reached it I had
prevented 12k collisions. Spanning at random position would help to create
different orbits.

~~~
Crito
I've had some success with doing sub-orbital hops before taking off finally
for orbit, to move myself to a new launch position. Doesn't really work well
if you have birds in orbits with very low peris though.

~~~
T-hawk
This is unnecessary - it's functionally equivalent to just waiting a moment
before launching for the orbiting birds to progress. There's nothing absolute
about the positioning of the launching bird, it's all only relative to the
orbiting birds.

~~~
Crito
Changing the initial launch position makes it easier to choose what area of
the planet the periapsis will be over. When I launch the birds, unless I take
great care to do otherwise, my periapsis tends to slightly after my launch
position.

With periapsis's in different positions, you can get birds into rarely
colliding 'resonances' of sorts. Making sure that the periapsis of birds is
not over the default starting location is also good to ensure that you do not
lose orbiting birds to a pre-launch bird.

------
geuis
Suggestions. Decrease the number of clicks slightly when using a mouse. The
fingers hurt trying to go that fast. Alternatively, add spacebar support.

Absolutely unplayable on a phone. Bind to touchdown events on mobile. Click
events have a 300ms delay. Make the game full screen for mobile.

~~~
userbinator
_space_ bar, how appropriate..

~~~
kordless
To the moon.

~~~
bitwize
Ducks! Yes, ducks in outer space...

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valtron
Are you supposed to get it to go through the space between the "stars"? Is it
even possible?

Edit: Got my first point (50 - 100 tries?). You need to make it go a full
orbit without touching the outer circle. This seems obvious in retrospect.

Edit 2: And they knock each other out of orbit. This is fun.

~~~
ribasushi
No, just have as many "satellites" in orbit as possible simultaneously. The
game is continuous. I got up to 5 and gave up ;)

~~~
ghayes
I got 4 and was very, very proud of myself. That said, if it were controllable
through spacebar, I'd play a lot longer.

~~~
Blahah
I've been playing using the spacebar... Debian/Chromium

------
salmonellaeater
For a real treat, try Desert Bus[1]. The scoring works like soccer: 1 point
and you've basically won.

[1]
[http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/07/the-w...](http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/07/the-
worst-video-game-ever-created.html)

------
catfive
I hope I'm not at all stepping on the developer's toes by pointing out you can
fullscreen it by going to the iframe's source, where you can also have some
fun trying to script it.

I'm in the early stages of designing a junior high programming curriculum and
think this may be a great example of an engaging, practical experiment.

    
    
      boost = function(duration, interval){
          setTimeout(function(){
              clearInterval(window.kp)
          }, duration)
          window.kp = setInterval(function(){
              $(document).keydown()
          }, interval)
      }

~~~
kingnight
I know I enjoyed playing with that snippet! Thanks for sharing.

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sharkweek
Speaking of orbiting... [http://www.kanyezone.com/](http://www.kanyezone.com/)

~~~
brokenparser
That game is even worse

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jff
"The developer has not uploaded a game yet..." are we overloading the server?

~~~
corpsmoderne2
It's fixed! The itch.io team has be great on this issue

~~~
lnanek2
still getting that error

~~~
leafo
Sorry, the page was cached for 10 minutes and it wasn't cleared after
deploying fix.

------
kzrdude
It's an infinite game -- you don't die and score can go both up and down. This
is a new kind of game for me.

~~~
TeMPOraL
Never tried to play Kerbal Space Program, or Minecraft, or... well... pretty
much every sandbox game out there? ;).

~~~
seniorsassycat
Neither of those have hard point metrics, psychologically it's a different to
see a number that represents your progress in the game drop to zero in a
spectacular three bird crash.

------
qwerty_asdf
The graphics are kind of blurry and fuzzed-out by scaling. It seems to be a
by-product of re-rendering the the sprite images within a <canvas> object.

[http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/itchio/html/4923/spr...](http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/itchio/html/4923/spritesheet.png)

[http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/itchio/html/4923/bg....](http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/itchio/html/4923/bg.png)

This would be top notch if the images were resized to provide crisp, well-
pixelated edges. The spritesheets look great, in and of themselves, but the
browsers scale them poorly.

~~~
hansjorg
I think that's an homage to the original.

~~~
qwerty_asdf
Sure, but compare the relative size to the flapmmo.com sprite sheet:

[http://flapmmo.com/atlas.png](http://flapmmo.com/atlas.png)

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improv32
Anyone else getting "The developer has not uploaded a game yet..."?

~~~
fallinghawks
yep

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aabalkan
So bad, why don't they support the space key and instead use click?
Trackpads/touchpads are not good for that at all.

~~~
rjuyal
You are right on that. I can't send any bird to space. my bad luck.

------
blueskin_
Flappy Bird meets KSP.

This is possibly the best Flappy Bird -type game I've seen.

------
rtkwe
I wish there was a way to control when a new one spawned, I had loads in
really good setups to make nice circular orbits and then a new one spawns.

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jonmrodriguez
I set up some really crazy orbits :-D

[http://imgur.com/3HA4ubl](http://imgur.com/3HA4ubl)

One of those birds is in a circular orbit one bird-height above the ground!

Another is in a very eccentric orbit that skims the ground when it comes to
the bottom-right of the screen, then almost grazes the asteroids in the top-
left.

~~~
jonmrodriguez
The one thing I don't like is that this game's physics don't seem to behave
properly. In real life (and in Kerbal Space Program) you burn at apogee to
increase the height of your perigee, or burn at perigee to increase the height
of your apogee. But that rule doesn't seem to apply to Flappy Space Program,
making this game anti-educational. :-(

~~~
corpsmoderne2
Hi, dev here. I certify you that the physics are OKish. You should burn at
apoapsis to circularize, etc. What prevent you to realize this is that it's
hard to know when you're at apo/periapsis, so you're burning with some
vertical velocity and that changes how your orbit change. Anyway, this game
was really a joke, if you want an educational game, I've also made this:
[http://deltav.corpsmoderne.net/](http://deltav.corpsmoderne.net/)

~~~
exDM69
+1 for the delta-v game!

Here's a reddit thread about the game with a "high score list":
[http://www.reddit.com/r/gravity_games/comments/1fks9v/oc_del...](http://www.reddit.com/r/gravity_games/comments/1fks9v/oc_deltav_a_small_2d_game_where_you_program_a/)

If anyone wants to test out their orbital mechanics skillz, you can try to
beat my unofficial world record, a grand tour of the Jovian moons:

[http://deltav.corpsmoderne.net/game.html?s=Jupiter&prg=QlVST...](http://deltav.corpsmoderne.net/game.html?s=Jupiter&prg=QlVSTiAwLjAxIExFRiAxMApCVVJOIDQ3Ljg2OSBSRVQgNDkuNjUKQlVSTiAxNDYuNjc5IFBSTyAyLjUKQlVSTiAyMDMuNTQxIFJFVCAxOApCVVJOIDI1OCBQUk8gOC42MjUKQlVSTiAzMzIuNjk5IFJFVCAxMgpCVVJOIDM4MC4zIFBSTyA1CkJVUk4gNDM5LjExNyBSRVQgNwpCVVJOIDQ4Mi41IFBSTyAxMApCVVJOIDUxNC43MDEgUkVUIDEyCg==)

~~~
nimasmi
I took on your challenge, determined to do it from scratch with no copying,
and I have this:

[http://deltav.corpsmoderne.net/game.html?s=Jupiter&prg=QlVST...](http://deltav.corpsmoderne.net/game.html?s=Jupiter&prg=QlVSTiAwIExFRiA3CkJVUk4gNDcuNzM4IFJFVCA0My41CkJVUk4gMTk4LjExIFJFVCAyNwpCVVJOIDIzNy4wNSBQUk8gOC43CkJVUk4gMzIzLjMxNCBSRVQgMTUKQlVSTiAzNzkuOTUgUFJPIDQuNwpCVVJOIDQzMy45MDQgUkVUIDcKQlVSTiA0NTUuMDk0IFJFVCAxCkJVUk4gNTIzLjEyIFBSTyAxMC44CkJVUk4gNTU4LjUyOSBSRVQgMTgKQlVSTiA1ODguNyBQUk8gMTgKQlVSTiA1OTcuODcxIFJFVCA1NwpCVVJOIDcyMy4yNzkgUkVUIDMK)

More points, due to orbits of and impact with Jupiter, but slightly less
efficient and elegant overall I dare say - some burns not really at peri-/apo-
apsis, and my orbits are generally higher and less circular. Kudos also for
motivating me.

------
allochthon
I am very much enjoying the new flappy meme. It's pretty cool that a game came
and went and became a legend in such a short time. And now the "flappy"
adjective is a byword for simple, nearly impossible games.

------
chrismorgan
There, I _finally_ got a bird to stay in orbit and a new one appeared on the
ground. Score: one. I triumph!

(Now I'd better leave it alone or the next hour or two will disappear.)

------
kosei
Neat idea. Probably would improve if you go with click-hold rather than tap-
tap-tap-tap-tap, or at least enable the ability. Also, needs more Mario pipes
:)

------
kookiekrak
for a simpler game, try [http://kookiekrak.itch.io/flappy-
pipes](http://kookiekrak.itch.io/flappy-pipes)

------
sarhus
Would you mind sharing how you've made the game?

~~~
Kluny
[http://storage.googleapis.com/itchio/tmp/main.js](http://storage.googleapis.com/itchio/tmp/main.js)

------
etler
When I double click on the canvas it selects it.

You can fix it by adding:

    
    
        user-select: none;
        user-drag: none;
    

With appropriate vendor prefixes.

------
egypturnash
Doesn't work on my ipad (ios7). The screen just tries to constantly resize to
fit all the content, and my taps are thrown away before they ever get to the
game.

The recent "Flappy Bert" [http://www.sesamestreet.org/cms-
static/flappy_bert/](http://www.sesamestreet.org/cms-static/flappy_bert/)
doesn't have this problem.

~~~
alextingle
Get yourself a proper computer.

~~~
egypturnash
Is it too much to ask that a web-based clone of a single-input game originally
designed for phones and tablets also work on a phone or tablet? Apparently for
you, it is. Either that or this was some kind of platform flame. I can never
tell any more.

~~~
alextingle
Platform flame, FYI.

~~~
egypturnash
An, I suspected as much. Let me respond in kind, then. Ahem.

Kindly insert the antiquated, unfriendly device that you dignify with the name
"proper computer" into your excretory orifice of your choice.

Hmm, not very good. I'm really not very good at platform flames any more.
Especially when it's such an unspecific one as "tablet" vs "not tablet". I
dunno, I'll take a shot in the dark and urge you to go back to fellating Bill
Gates and his heirs, or Linus? Or pick up on the British English and suggest
that you go back to your precious Speccy. I mean, really, give me something to
work with, man.

------
gbl08ma
I was going on pretty well, really enjoying the game and taking advantage of
the fact that I have two mouse buttons (external + laptop's) to avoid breaking
a single mouse (or my finger) with so many furious clicks. At some point the X
server crashed - I wonder if due to so many clicks, or due to clicking on both
mice. Did anyone experience the same issue?

------
rblatz
Looks cool, but I'm traveling and on mobile. Maybe add touch events so us
mobile users can enjoy too?

~~~
corpsmoderne2
This version should work on mobile:
[http://corpsmoderne.net/fsp/](http://corpsmoderne.net/fsp/)

------
PhasmaFelis
It appears that _any_ mouse or keyboard button works, additively. Tapping any
two keys at once will put the bird just above the clouds in one hop. Three
rockets it straight into oblivion. Holding down several keys produces
impressive fireworks.

------
cpeterso
I'm surprised no one has made "Flappy [Lunar] Lander" yet.

------
dgant
The game also serves as political commentary on
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris)

------
sdegutis
Out of all the Flappy variants, I played this one the longest (20 sec) and had
the most fun with it! Kudos! I could really see a lot of people buying this as
an iPhone program.

------
scotthtaylor
Well there goes my spacebar from ferociously whacking it.

------
ximeng
Six birds in space at
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7vNInUbhZU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7vNInUbhZU)

------
apunic
Flappy Bird will be the biggest merchandise for free in 2014. There will be
more Flappy Bird teddies than Angry Birds and nobody needs to be paid.

------
judegomila
So this is the ornithological version of Gravity

------
cpncrunch
Excellent game - congrats!

Just wondering what the revenue is for your donation button vs having adverts.

Also, have you considered creating ios/android apps?

~~~
jaredsohn
>Just wondering what the revenue is for your donation button vs having
adverts.

I doubt he'd make much money with either option. People rarely donate to
software projects and you need lots of traffic to make money off of
advertising.

~~~
cpncrunch
From my own sites, I'm averaging $1.50 per 1000 pageviews with adsense
adverts.

------
joelgreen
I couldn't get past 5 without them colliding, at least with the minimal effort
I put into this game. Really cool though.

------
mauricio-OH
It is so addictive I just lost 20 minutes of my life for no reason.. and got
only 4 birds in orbit!

------
szatkus
Fun fact: this game is much easier on my gaming mouse than using mere Dell
mouse at work.

------
taigeair
Makes me feel like Elon Musk.

------
vxNsr
5.

Really cool though.

------
bdamm
7.

------
randall
HOLY COW THAT IS SO FUN.

------
entelect
if you zoom out on the page the icon and points board do not scale well.

Nice game

------
neals
Great! Now add the green tubes for extra difficulty :p

------
jdipierro
This.. Is the best flappy game ever!

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gdiocarez
Not working.

------
TheSOB888
Hey. Dude. This game is awesome.

------
sreyaNotfilc
Good God is that game addicting!

------
btbuildem
Way more fun than the original!

------
data-cat
This is a fun game. Good job.

------
pawelkomarnicki
It's just awesome ;D

------
robodale
We have a winner, folks.

------
piyush_soni
Ha. Nice game :)

------
snake_plissken
all 3 of mine are in polar orbits!!! :0

------
badusername
These flappy clone brigade is just dumb.

~~~
elwell
that partially the point I think.

------
Ryel
wtf hard

------
alperkosaxpower
alper slym

