Project

Space Explorer

Physics-based planetary missions: manage gravity and fuel, land to collect minerals, and escape back into space.

Objective

Real-time physics-based landing game, part of the Arcade monorepo. Pilot a rover through the atmosphere of 12 progressively unlocked planets, land gently on the designated zones to collect mineral samples, and lift off back into space. The game engine runs on pure HTML5 Canvas, with per-planet gravity simulation and resource management.

How it works

Descent Cross the atmosphere with the thrusters while managing fuel and the planet’s gravity.
Landing Set the rover down gently on the designated flat zones without exceeding the impact speed.
Collection Touching down on a landing area automatically gathers the mineral samples.
Escape With every sample collected, fire upward and exit off the top edge of the scene to complete the level.

Mechanics

Gravity physics Each of the 12 planets has its own gravity, which completely changes how the rover handles.
Resource management Fuel and electricity are limited: every maneuver counts to avoid getting stranded.
Water turbines On levels with liquid, turbine mode lets you navigate underwater and collect submerged samples.
Laser On certain levels, while grounded, the laser carves pits to expose buried samples.
Progression 12 planets that unlock progressively with increasing difficulty.

Controls

Arrow keys Left/right thrusters and the main thruster to ascend or brake.
M key Toggles between propulsor mode and turbine mode.
X key Fires the laser when the rover is grounded on levels with that capability.
Escape Opens the pause menu.
C key Shows the controls help. On mobile, on-screen arrow buttons are available.

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