| Endless Doves | ← | Submolok | → | Roller Polar |
Submolok: Explorer of the Unknown, primarily known as Submolok, is a metroidvania game released on November 27 2014, and Nitrome's last developed and released Flash game - not counting Fluffball, which was completed in 2007 but remained unreleased on Nitrome.com until 2015. The player controls Submolok looking for treasure on Earth.
Gameplay[]
The player controls Submolok's ship, set mostly underwater. With the ship, the player can access holes found in the hub and within other rooms. Each hole contains a number of satellite parts that, once all collected, completes the area. Some areas also have powerups, upgrading Submolok and further allowing it to obtain more satellite parts.
When all satellite parts are taken from an area, the player must exit that area via an access point to save the pickups they have attained. At any time, they can deposit the satellite parts they have to the hub's satellite. Similar to Aquanaut, the player must thrust around to move in water.
Levels[]
Submolok consists of fourteen levels, these being the game's thirteen regular levels and the hub. Despite having thirteen regular levels, only twelve of these levels can be accessed from the hub; room 1 is inaccessible upon being completed.
Introductions[]
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Upon completing Submolok, the introduction is translated. The following is the translation of the captions: Somewhere in the Tadpole Galaxy… The rapidly shrinking class M planet of the Cuboids is on high alert. “Submolok - good luck on your mission to find us a new home.” “Mr. President, we are under alien attack!” “Fire at will!”
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Room 1[]
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The player starts the game off in this area and from it gains access to the hub. This room cannot be accessed again once the player exits it, thus, any satellite parts they do not collect they will be unable to collect once exiting the room.
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Hub[]
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The hub is a large area in the game that contains access to other rooms, except for the first.
Room 2[]
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Placed directly to the left of the communications satellite, this room contains the floppy disk.
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Room 3[]
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Can be joined after leaving room 2 and contains the water container. This level can also be accessed from the hub once the bomb is obtained (room 5).
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Room 4[]
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This room can only be accessed once the water container (from room 3) is obtained. This room is blocked off by a metal beam, and in order to access the room the player has to use the switch positioned on the rock above the satellite.
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Room 5[]
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This room can only be accessed by completing room 4, or accessed with momentum gained by the booster (unlocked in room 7).
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Room 6[]
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This room can be accessed after obtaining the bomb in room 5, this room situated behind the second encountered impassable stone blocks in the hub.
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Room 7[]
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This room is accessed after completing room 7, and can also be accessed through use of the booster's extra thrust capabilities. This room is located on the highest up platform in the hub.
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Room 8[]
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This room is located at the very bottom right side of the hub, and contains the red bomb upgrade.
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Room 9[]
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This room is located close on the right side of the map below room 6, and is blocked off by red blocks.
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Room 10[]
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This room is located at the bottom left side of the hub, and is accessed right after completing room 9. This room contains the yellow bomb upgrade.
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Room 11[]
This room is located in a room next to room 10, behind several yellow blocks, and contains the silver bomb upgrade.
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Room 12[]
The final room in the game, this room is accessed by activating the first switch above the communications satellite, then through use of the extra boost granted by the booster, thrusting up over the left towering platform in the level and moving over to the left.
Dropping down, the player has to go down past room 5's entrance and past the unblocked gate, destroy the silver blocks, and activate the switch. The player then can pass the next gate and go to room 12.
Room 12 consists of two rooms - room 12-1 and 12-2 - and is the only room in the game to do so. Despite consisting of two rooms, collecting satellite parts in room 12-1 and progressing to room 12-2 will save the player's collected parts so they do not have to be recollected, the same as if the player collected parts in a room and exited the room through its whirlpool.
Room 12-1[]
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This room starts off with the player entering into a short hallway, coming across some silver blocks that have to be destroyed in order to progress further. This stage is structured with a small middle platform at the top-middle of the room with short sloping platforms with a torpedo pod at each side of the wall that have alcoves below them, these alcoves concealed by stone blocks.
Below both of these platforms are large platforms that slope down and are lined with torpedo pods, these platforms having caverns with satellite parts, these areas accessible below the slope. The middle area of this sloping area has a small platform with mines. The very bottom of the stage contains a whirlpool with mines around it and under the effect of pressure.
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Room 12-2[]
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This room is accessed after completing room 12-1.
This room is structured with a small room at the bottom with a middle platform and spikes at the top of the edges of the room, the top having a short sea anemone lined shafts that opens to a large shaft lined with torpedo launches on each side, this shaft widening as it gets taller. This particular torpedo area has entrances to three small rooms that contain satellite parts.
This widening shaft is connected to an even longer shaft that opens up above water and stretches upwards with several platform on the side that have soldiers and tanks, at the top of the room being a platform with a whirlpool that leads back to the hub.
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Ending[]
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Upon collecting at least six hundred parts, the communications satellite will call home when E, I, X, and M are pressed, which causes the satellite to fire up a beam of light. The player is then brought to the ending, which at first appears in the alien language but then is slowly translated. The following are the captions from the ending: Congratulations! Submolok successfully jury rigged the satellite and called back̂ [sic] home Sup (image of a cuboid on a screen giving Submolok the thumbs up gesture) The cuboid armada soon warped in They blasted the earth with hydrogen fusion cannons (sound of electrical cannons charging heard) And completely covered it in water With the humans gone submolok and the cuboids had a new home!
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Alphabet[]
The majority of the text for the game is written in a fictional alphabet created by Nitrome. The alphabet can largely be gleaned from the options on the main menu and the text from the opening cutscene. The alphabet and some translations are provided here.
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| All alien text is translated upon completing Submolok. |
Messages[]
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The controls message (room 1): Use the E I X and M keys to control the ship. Obtaining the floppy disk (room 2): Press space to view the map. Obtaining the water holder (room 3): I can control the ship out of water. Obtaining the bomb: Press all 4 keys to fire the weapon. MUHAHAHA! Obtaining the red bomb upgrade: More power, more power! Obtaining the yellow bomb upgrade: I still need more power! Obtaining the silver bomb upgrade: Now I have all the power I need! Communicating with the other Cuboids when the communications satellite is operable: Time for the invasion. Futile humans! | |
Scoring[]
Players' scores are based on the percentage completion of all areas minus the number of times they die. Each part collected is worth 10 points, for a maximum score of 6420 if all parts are successfully obtained and deposited into the communications satellite. For every instance Submolok dies, 100 points are subtracted from the score. It is possible to attain a negative score if the number of deaths multiplied by 100 surpass the number of parts deposited multiplied by 10. If the player tries to submit a negative score, it does not register in the high score system.
The latest player to obtain the highest score will occupy the number 1 spot on the leaderboards, even if previously high scoring players have an identical score.
Announcements[]
- October 16, 2014 - Submolok is announced to be in development and a picture of the game is shared.
- November 24, 2014 - A Vine video showing some of the game's gameplay is shown, along with the game's name revealed.
Development[]
Submolok's irregular control scheme of four letter keys being used to control the thrusters instead of arrow keys or WASD (a common alternative to arrow keys) was due to most modern keyboards not sending information on all keys when all four of these keys are pressed. The 
, 
, 
, and 
keys were chosen because they are not affected by this problem.[1]
Glitches[]
Geyser dash[]
It is possible to use a water geyser to dash through walls. The player has to find a geyser that has a single wall block next to it with a one-block empty space between the wall and the geyser, and place themselves in the space between the geyser and the wall. This setup can, for example, be found at the right end of the hub level. This glitch will work underwater or above the water level, but if performed underwater, the player has to hold the and keys to maintain themselves on the floor next to the geyser in order to perform the dash.
If the player is correctly placed and holds the button to go to the left, they will collide with the geyser, which they are not supposed to go to. The game will then try to push the player out of the geyser, which will result in the player dashing inside the right wall. Like with most 2D platformers, when the player is stuck in a wall, the game will quickly try to push them away from it, moving the character at high speeds in the direction opposite the one the player is facing (in this example, the game will push the character to the right since Submolok is trying to move to the left). This will result in the character going out of the level, which is not supposed to happen. The game corrects this by teleporting the player to the opposite end of the level, which in this case is right above another water geyser that will transport the player inside a level.
Trivia[]
- Submolok backwards is "kolombus", which is a reference to Christopher Columbus.
- This is the first game not to use the English language. Menu, the cutscenes and even the hints are written in an alien language.
- Although the game is in an alien language, because the game's text can be translated through the observation of the text on the title screen, technically the game is in English, just in a non-Latin alphabet.
- Not all of the text is written in this language, though. The help screen, scores screen, credits screen, and settings menu are all written in English.
- SpoilerWhen the game is completed, the text for the intro and the game's main menu are translated into English.
- The game's intro sequence is similar to the one in Alien Hominid.
- SpoilerIn the first caption of the ending, the lowercase K in "back" appears as a k̂.
References[]
- ↑ Jay is Games: Submolok - Walkthrough, Tips, Review → comment by Aaron Steed (st33d):, 1 Dec 14, retrieved 1 Dec 14.
| v • d • eSubmolok: Explorer of the Unknown | |
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| General | Submolok • Submolok (character) • Cuboids • Communications satellite |
| Enemies | Soldiers • Tanks • Missile pods • Torpedo pods • Piranhas |
| Hazards | Mines • Sea anemones |
| Interactive objects | Upgrades • Satellite parts • Health packs • Whirlpools • Switches • Blocks • Water canisters • Pressure |