Racing on a map with inverse square gravity forces. Slingshot Speeders is a free to play browser game, no account required to play. I've done a lot of work to teach myself how to design maps to be tighter and quicker, this tight trio is an example of that. Previously maps were more spread out, less maneuvering, and now I'm building new ones that are tighter and faster.
Getting a proper orbital mechanics inverse square gravity simulation running in the browser has been a challenge, but it's working out. Rust is what was needed by far, and it's make achieving this on much more solid ground. Free to play in browser with no account required. Already 3 founders and many players. Player driven in game map making system to create all the new maps. Cosmetic customization with exclusives. Pure server authoritative design with complete replay system. The next visual thing I'm thinking of adding would maybe be like a cosmic background, swapping out the solid lines and arrows with something a bit more visually interesting looking.
If you have any questions or suggestions let me know, it's a continued work in progress. Is there anything from the video you think could be improved?
The original post is here if you want to see it: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedevscreens/comments/1wsux07/prototyping_a_new_racing_game_idea_and_i_need/
https://www.reddit.com/r/sliprace/
EARLY ALPHA STATE for those who have experience playtesting.
Mostly to prove the racing mechanics. You need to know how to run the SlipRace sh script. Once you have it downloaded, and run that, it should load immediately. Works on Linux Mint tested without having to download any other dependencies. If there's further interest I will make a windows build.
Feels fun to me so far, I hope you enjoyed the video. Please comment and let me know if you have any suggestions or feedback, I read everything and I'll try to respond to everyone.
Thanks for trying it out!
This is a representation of how a single stage to orbit could work with a rocket sled launch at high altitude near the equator. By gathering all that momentum without needing to use any fuel, it has the energy to get into orbit, unload a 1000 kg cargo, and then return to the surface all in one piece.
I did this because I think this is the only way we can ever expect us to scale launching mass into orbit. I think of a rocket sled launch system kind of like an orbital airport, but would need to be at high altitude to get most benefit (think Colorado or Ecuador). The energy it provides is what makes it possible to use an SSTO, simplifying the design considerably, thus unlocking a huge efficiency gain. I think this system could be used to launch hundreds of payloads every year, and would pay itself off rapidly compared to tradition two stage launches. Could even lead to helping remove debris from orbit to fight against Kessler syndrome.
Anyone have any suggestions about this? Prototype in the browser using JS. Will consider putting it on gitlab if anyone is interested.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_sled_launch
I used Opus 5.5 and Grok 4.7.
Original post from 2 months ago where it was trending back down at the start of August.
What do you think?
Game Title: Slingshot Speeders
Playable Link: https://slingshotspeeders.com/
Platform: Web browser
Description: Slingshot Speeders is the first orbital racing game. The first game whose race is the act of executing an orbital trajectory and capturing a closed orbit under real gravity. Browser-native 2D real-time orbital-mechanics racing game in which players use real inverse-square gravity and slingshots to capture a closed orbit, with time/fuel performance and a public leaderboard as the competitive loop.
Free to Play Status:
Involvement: Creator and developer
A bit competitive at this point. That map is called "Hopscotch". The specific link to it is here: https://slingshotspeeders.com/m/o5jugegg
Free to play in browser, with no account required. Race within real inverse-square gravity.
Slingshot Speeders is the first orbital racing game where you get the highest score by getting the most efficient runs, fastest time with the lead amount of Δv. This map shows a really quick tight challenge around a single static body where you have reverse your orbit to complete all the checkpoints.
Free to play, no account required. The competition is getting higher. https://slingshotspeeders.com/
Slingshot Speeders is a browser-based orbital racing game where you pilot a spacecraft using real inverse-square gravity and gravity-assist slingshots to capture closed Kepler orbits inside goal rings. Built by Masland Tech LLC in Rust with a Bevy WebAssembly client, it emphasizes orbital mechanics over arcade physics: your trajectory line shows the coast, thrust is force-based, and scoring rewards fast captures with minimal Δv on public leaderboards.
Free to play in browser, no account required. https://slingshotspeeders.com/
Free to play in browser, no account required. https://slingshotspeeders.com/
If you have any suggestions or issues please mention them.
Free in browser, no account required. https://slingshotspeeders.com/
Slingshot Speeders is the first orbital racing game. Yes GenAI was involved in my game's development, as a solo developer. There's no possibility that this could have been created by a single individual. AI is used as a tool for coding assistance and problem solving, but not the creativity that was needed from me to come up with the idea. To use Bevy 0.19 was my idea, not an AI. To create an authoritative server client system was also my idea, cheating is impossible, because the server only accepts your control input.
We still have yet to see the first orbital racing champion.
Here's the tutorial I made for Slingshot Speeders today, which explains the basics of the orbital mechanics for a unique racing experience.
Play free in browser, no account. https://slingshotspeeders.com/
The first orbital racing game now has a premium and free cosmetics shop. This is the anime ship skin for the Founder's Pack Spear exclusive hull. The current version is the test before the full v0.2.0 wipe and update to Season Zero. I look forward to seeing the first orbital racing champion!
Free to play in browser no account required. https://slingshotspeeders.com/
Slingshot Speeders is the first orbital racing game, built in Rust with Bevy 0.19 using Cursor. Players fling spacecraft around gravity wells with real orbital mechanics, steal speed from gravity, and plot insane trajectories to beat their rivals, while a server-authoritative simulation ensures fair, equitable competition for everyone. The skill of thrust vectoring and modifying your trajectory create a huge opportunity for skill based racing. Free online in browser, no account required, alpha state.
Bevy 0.19 has been very clean fun with these animations. This video shows the thrust exhaust from the space ship, and the checkpoints lighting up successfully. The line with the icons is a historic replay of the users input. What is are my best options moving forward to have consistent game art? I've seen free online sprites, unsure whether I want to go that route as of now. If you have any suggestions or feedback please feel free to comment, thanks for reading!
Play for free, no account required. https://slingshotspeeders.com/
Free online in browser, no account required. The first orbital racing game. Sign in with Google to be able to create one map a week for others to play, experiment and try to break it!