That's No Moon

November 7, 2006 1:30 PM

Physics Phun [Phlash, not Phriday]. Orbit is a game where you try to set up, well, orbits. How many levels can you finish?
posted by The Bellman (23 comments total)

Fun and cool!

... but the decision to 'level up' seems odd at times -- congratulations on crashing into a planet! LEVEL UP!
posted by flibbertigibbet at 2:03 PM on November 7, 2006

I couldn't establish a stable orbit on any of the levels. Stopped playing at 8. Seems kinda random.
posted by econous at 2:03 PM on November 7, 2006

Fibber -- you level up if you can last for the entire blue bar before you crash.
posted by The Bellman at 2:09 PM on November 7, 2006

If you make it through the slower orange bar without the comet crashing, then you advance two levels.

I made it to level 8, and it looked like there was just too much going on to figure out any way to keep the comet from crashing for long enough.
posted by evilangela at 2:36 PM on November 7, 2006

Level 9
Planetary Killer
I play no more.
posted by blue_beetle at 2:40 PM on November 7, 2006

Now, see, if they'd make this into a slot machine, that's the sort of game that might induce me to donate to the palaces of luck. I wonder if it could actually be a game of skill?
posted by gregor-e at 2:51 PM on November 7, 2006

Don't miss the menu at the bottom of the window. It's got a level editor, replays, the whole works!
posted by Richard Daly at 2:54 PM on November 7, 2006

Stuck on Level 13 and out of patience.
posted by Sprocket at 3:00 PM on November 7, 2006

Something about the physics doesn't ring quite true. No offence, but I prefered Spaced penguins.
posted by Luddite at 3:21 PM on November 7, 2006 [1 favorite]

I've seen this before, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. It'd be nice if there was any way to intuit a solution, though. I don't know too many people (Ph.Ds included) who can look at a system of bodies and map all the LaGrange points in their head. It's just kind of a plinkoesque, let 'er rip and see where she goes type dealie.
posted by Eideteker at 3:22 PM on November 7, 2006

made it to 12. have taken refuge on a small moon , while i look for ways to repair my ship.
posted by nola at 3:40 PM on November 7, 2006 [1 favorite]

I managed to smash into my small planet on my very first attempt. I'd be the worst--or best--cosmic dictator this side of Zeus.
posted by The God Complex at 3:52 PM on November 7, 2006

I couldn't establish a stable orbit on any of the levels.

Well, stable orbits would probably require that the limits of our playing surface weren't walled in as they are, creating strange gymnasium cometry.
posted by The God Complex at 3:55 PM on November 7, 2006

Google found this. No walls!

Any other gravity-games out there? I seem to remember one with a rocketship.
posted by Eideteker at 4:26 PM on November 7, 2006

Ah, found it.
posted by Eideteker at 5:11 PM on November 7, 2006

Ah, found it.
posted by Eideteker at 5:12 PM on November 7, 2006

strange gymnasium cometry

That explains it. I failed cometry in high school.
posted by dhartung at 5:39 PM on November 7, 2006

Galactic Gravity Golf, Extra Levels.
posted by Eideteker at 6:24 PM on November 7, 2006

Level 11 is teh hard. But what a delightful, Zen-like, just-one-more-go game.
posted by Hogshead at 6:33 PM on November 7, 2006

Anyone else read Vernor Vinge's "the Peace War"? This is making me think of the game Celeste.

And since I thought it, of course, I had to say it.
posted by modernerd at 8:18 PM on November 7, 2006

Kepler is rolling in his grave.
posted by anomie at 9:28 PM on November 7, 2006

Stopped at 15
posted by aye at 9:33 PM on November 7, 2006

Stopped at 11, 10 took me so long (must have been a good 5 minutes) I kind of lost interest in continuing, wish we could compare solutions, some were just too cool and I bet that, like in linerider, what I think is cool pales by comparison to your friggin' helicopter finish.
posted by The Monkey at 12:49 AM on November 8, 2006