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Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by 0x3f on Saturday April 11, 2026 @09:01AM (#47730201)
I would make restarting much much faster than it is now. That's the most annoying part and it breaks the satisfying chain completely for me. I miss and then have to watch it slowly fall, or struggle to find the reset button. And even if I hit the reset, I have to go through the menu.

At the very least, put the reset and play again buttons in the same spot, so I can just keep tapping/clicking there.

Super Meat Boy is how all games like this should be.

Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by cachius on Saturday April 11, 2026 @09:23AM (#47730377)
I nearly stopped playing because of this, before reaching 11. Just leave out the interstitial when clicking restart at the bottom.
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by igravious on Saturday April 11, 2026 @10:51AM (#47731151)
Tampermokey userscript -- <space> to launch and restart <esc> to give up

```javascript

   // ==UserScript==
   // @name         StarFling Spacebar
   // @namespace    https://playstarfling.com/
   // @version      2026-04-11
   // @description  Spacebar to launch and restart StarFling
   // @author       Claude Code
   // @match        https://playstarfling.com/*
   // @icon         https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?sz=64&domain=playstarfling.com
   // @grant        none
   // @run-at       document-idle
   // ==/UserScript==

   (function () {
     'use strict';

     document.addEventListener('keydown', function (e) {
       if (e.code === 'Escape') {
         e.preventDefault();
         // During play, click give-up to trigger the death/restart screen
         const giveup = document.getElementById('giveup-btn');
         if (giveup) giveup.click();
         return;
       }

       if (e.code !== 'Space') return;
       e.preventDefault();

       // If the game-over screen is visible, click retry
       const gameOver = document.getElementById('game-over');
       if (gameOver && !gameOver.classList.contains('hidden')) {
         const retry = document.getElementById('retry-btn');
         if (retry) retry.click();
         return;
       }

       // Otherwise simulate a tap on the canvas (start from menu / release orb)
       const canvas = document.getElementById('c');
       if (canvas) {
         canvas.dispatchEvent(new PointerEvent('pointerdown', {
           bubbles: true,
           clientX: window.innerWidth / 2,
           clientY: window.innerHeight / 2,
         }));
       }
     });
   })();
```
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by hirako2000 on Saturday April 11, 2026 @12:53PM (#47732071)
I got so annoyed I fixed the annoyances.

https://orbitup.surge.sh/

- FPS tweak to fix variable speed - Can bounce - Life points instead of sudden death - Levels - A few effects - Better adjusted difficulty

Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by beAbU on Saturday April 11, 2026 @01:09PM (#47732187)
No attribution to the original game?
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by hirako2000 on Saturday April 11, 2026 @01:12PM (#47732211)
yes, I should. In case someone outside this thread comes across that 'fork'.

Edit: I added due credit. thanks for pointing that out.

Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by grimgrin on Saturday April 11, 2026 @08:26PM (#47735132)
Publish yours un-minified like OP, so we can easily riff w/ or w/o an LLM ;)
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by hirako2000 on Sunday April 12, 2026 @01:37AM (#47736437)
The author hasn't complained (yet). I will open source it if he wouldn't mind.

Regarding moat, I doubt the logic behind a server would prevent anyone to copycat game concept and graphics. Games have always been cloned as community remakes, with little recourse to take them down.

Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by grimgrin on Sunday April 12, 2026 @08:48AM (#47739033)
I wasn’t suggesting you open source it, for what it’s worth
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by arcza on Saturday April 11, 2026 @01:13PM (#47732223)
Nice! Some ideas: Please can you remove the text that hides the main game view. This is the biggest annoyance on both games and slows you down a lot. Also the gravity / physics feels off. Orbit is too slow.
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by CyanLite2 on Saturday April 11, 2026 @02:38PM (#47732932)
you removed the "spacebar" functionality
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by rustyhancock on Saturday April 11, 2026 @04:28PM (#47733750)
This thread is a perfect showcase of "You NEED a moat".
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by 0x3f on Saturday April 11, 2026 @06:23PM (#47734539)
Also, put your business logic on the backend
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by Cort3z on Saturday April 11, 2026 @02:57PM (#47733083)
I would add long-press to restart
Re:Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a ... by akaBruce on Saturday April 11, 2026 @09:06PM (#47735340)
I'm not sure if it was added after your comment, but there's a restart button at the bottom center of the screen that you can hit while the ball is falling.