This was my second full-game in Pico-8, and this time, i decided to go a bit "bigger" and a bit more ambicious, using a lot of RNG to create something that feels almost like a roguelite, with a non-repetive world / gameplay in a turn-based, grid-locked movement, resource management game.
With a sci-fi setting of a decaying space station, your objective is not only manage everything for 1000 turns, but also flip two switches at both ends of the station to get the true ending. I designed the game to feel barren and lonely, like the last chance of surviving a hostile enviroment. And i think i did manage that, but also, i think i relied too much on RNG.
The gameplays in a such a way that each time you want to replenish a resource, you can take a normal action, which is safe, but does a simple refill +1, or you can take a risky action, which relies on RNG to determine if you gain + 1, or +5 or a jackpot of +20, but also, can gain 0, or lose -5 or -10 for the resource. All the resources are interlinked as follows:
**Power**: Electrical power, you can repair failing generators to increase power levels. If it drops too low, lights and other systems may fail. Hull damage may happen at lower power levels.
**Cooling**: Keeps everything running cool. You can repair cooling pipes to keep optimal cooling. If cooling levels drops too low, you will start overheating and all other systems will decay faster.
**Computer Systems**: Keeps all defense systems under control. You can hack terminals to keep it in check. If the system starts to glitch, the onboard defense system will attack you.
**Hull Structure**: Self-explanatory, if the hull is breached, outside gases will poison the atmosphere, if hull structure reaches zero, its game over.
If the cooling system fails, all other systems will decay faster. If the any of the systems go below 30%, the hull breaches will decay faster. If 2 or more systems go below 30%, all systems will decay faster. Every single system has a visual side effect, if it achieves critical levels.
I think overall, the game is cool and works well, and it has plenty of replayability, but i'm also the dev, so i'm not a reliable source for any opinion on it.
This time, i kept the source code for myself and while the game is free to play on itch, you can buy the source from itch as well.
You can play it here: https://tibone.itch.io/unable-to-stabilize.
