Frequently Asked Questions About Planet Lander for Sidekick
Q: Planet Lander is too difficult... how can I learn to be a better Planet Lander pilot?
A: Practice, practice, practice! But seriously...
If you are new to motion-based momentum-flight style games, I recommend starting with the Stabilized Ship play mode, since this will remove one of the trickiest parts of flight.
In this mode, you only need to "set" the Thumbwheel control such that a gentle climb or descent is attained, and then use the left/right keys to slide over to your base. Once you have more or less stopped over the base, allow your ship to descend by rolling your throttle off gently, not allowing the vertical speed to get too fast.
If you drift off course while descending towards a base, simply add more power (thumbwheel up) and then use left/right to adjust your position until you are back over the base. Lather, rinse repeat.
When you have mastered stabilized mode, then try rotational mode, because this is where the REAL fun begins!
Q: What is the best play mode?
A: Each play mode has been tuned to be fundamentally equivalent, and it is a matter of the player's individual tastes as to what is the "best" play mode.
Personally, I use the Rotating Ship (Keys) mode if I want to get the best possible score, since using the thumbwheel gives me very precise throttle control.
On the other hand, if I want to have a fast, fun, not-for-score game, I usually play Rotating Ship (Thumb) because it is more arcade-like, results in crazier maneuvering, narrower victories.
When I am showing the game to new players, I usually set them up with the Stabilized Ship, since it is easier to grasp initially, as noted above.
Q: How are the different worlds created for Planet Lander Sidekick?
A: Worlds are randomly generated from a set of world templates.
The first level is always a simple flat one-base world, but then subsequent levels choose from one of four level templates:
- a "flattish" world - largely horizontal
- a "valley" world - much more up/down topography, hills, valleys
- a "cavern" world - you are in an enclosed cavern
- a "cloud" world - your bases float on isolated "clouds"
Q: What determines if a base is 1x, 2x, 3x, or 4x points?
A: This is determined purely by the width of the base. It has nothing to do with how "tricky" the base is to approach, whether there are trees or other obstacles nearby, etc. It is purely a function of how wide the base is, which is chosen based on progressive difficulty on higher and higher levels.
Q: How is your landing score computed?
A: You may earn from 0 to 100 points for your vertical speed, with zero points awarded for a hard landing, 100 points awarded for a feather landing. In practice both 0 and 100 are almost impossible to get, since you will either crash (below zero points) or not actually be descending to land (at 100 points).
You also earn up to 50 points for (lack of) horizontal speed. You may actuall lose points for excessive horizontal speed. Since there is no limit to how fast you can land laterally, it just takes away more and more points. In practice you rarely can go much below zero without crashing in some other way, or missing the base entirely. Try it out though... it's kinda fun to see how negative you can get your horizontal landing points and still successfully land.
The vertical and horizontal points are added, then multiplied by the base multiplier (1x, 2x, 3x, 4x) and added to your score.
Q: How is fuel awarded for landing?
A: Based on your combined vertical and horizontal score, BEFORE the base multiplier, you are awarded from 1/5th to one full tank of fuel, and this fuel is added to your tank during fueling.
If your tank fills up during this process, you will be awarded points for the "overage," and this is called the "Tank Filled Bonus."
In any case, your tank can never hold more than its rated capacity of fuel, which is displayed at the start of each level.
Q: How are golden points awards computed?
A: The first golden point award is 100 points, and each subsequent award goes up by 100 points, until you crash. When you crash, the amount is set back to 100 points and continues to climb from there.
Thus, if you collect a series of golden points awards without crashing, you can earn 100, 200, 300, 400, etc. points, and that can have a serious positive impact on your best score.
Q: How does the purple fuel power pack work?
A: Simple: when you capture a purple power pack, you are given a full fuel tank, no matter where your fuel level was before.
You are NOT given any bonuses for "overfilling" in this case.
Q: Planet Lander is available for PalmOS... is this the same exact game as the Sidekick version?
A: Yes and no. The Sidekick version has been optimized to take advantage of the Sidekick's unique thumbwheel controller, as well as its superior screen resolution and processor power compared with an original PalmOS unit, which Planet Lander was first written for.
Q: How are the golden points awards and purple power packs distributed?
A: These awards are randomly distributed throughout the game, with an average appearance that remains constant throughout. While you may see several in a row, or not see one or the other for several minutes, on average they appear in a constant and consistent fashion, spreading out their benefit more or less evenly from game to game.
Q: How do Strong Winds work?
A: Wind is a fundamental weather condition for any pilot. In this game, the wind is a constant accelerating force, either left or right, that is applied regardless of where your ship is. This means that even if you are deep inside a tight cave "hole," you will still be affected by the wind just as much as if you were out on an exposed hilltop.
In order to successfully land in strong wind conditions, you must anticipate the drift of the wind, by watching your lateral speed indicator at the top of the screen, and make adjustments to allow your ship to safely land before being "blown off course" by the wind
Q: How do Gravity Storms work?
A: Gravity storms are like wind, except that their strength and force direction vary over time. Whereas wind blows constantly from one direction (left or right), a gravity storm slowly rotates, shifting its force vector around you like the hands of a clock, inexorably pushing you in the given direction, which may be up, down, left or right.
It is up to you to judge the impact of wind and/or gravity storms and compensate with your controls to maintain ship orientation and alignment during landing. Practice dividing your attention between the screen-edge speed indicators and your ship, and this will allow you to judge their effects and compensate appropriately.