As a Jam Game, Extra Ordinance is very fun, which is more than I can say for most entries, and which is probably the most important aspect of the game. However, this game is more than a winning Jam entry: it is a glimpse of the future of Luanti. The author pushes the limitations of Minetest. The engine limitations are obvious, but do not break gameplay. The multiplayer support is ready, if only client-side prediction were available. The map sometimes flutters in and out of exisitance due to Luanti's lack of realtime client map control, but the gameplay is too fun for that to break it. None of these limitations prevent the game from being engaging.
What the game does show is that Luanti is almost ready to break out of the mold of Minecraft-likes and become a full-fledged engine. It points the way toward the next steps in that direction. It thwarts the too-common vicious cycle of no one working on features because no one is doing anything that requires the features, by creating something that works but could be (and ought to be) better.
If the engine limitations that are holding this game back are resolved, we can likely expect this game to reach its full potential, and we can expect many more high-quality mold-breaking games in the future.
This game is what the Jam is all about, thank you Sumi for making it!
As a Jam Game, Extra Ordinance is very fun, which is more than I can say for most entries, and which is probably the most important aspect of the game. However, this game is more than a winning Jam entry: it is a glimpse of the future of Luanti. The author pushes the limitations of Minetest. The engine limitations are obvious, but do not break gameplay. The multiplayer support is ready, if only client-side prediction were available. The map sometimes flutters in and out of exisitance due to Luanti's lack of realtime client map control, but the gameplay is too fun for that to break it. None of these limitations prevent the game from being engaging.
What the game does show is that Luanti is almost ready to break out of the mold of Minecraft-likes and become a full-fledged engine. It points the way toward the next steps in that direction. It thwarts the too-common vicious cycle of no one working on features because no one is doing anything that requires the features, by creating something that works but could be (and ought to be) better.
If the engine limitations that are holding this game back are resolved, we can likely expect this game to reach its full potential, and we can expect many more high-quality mold-breaking games in the future.
This game is what the Jam is all about, thank you Sumi for making it!