Zero Zero: Perfect Stop

Player's Guide

Overview

Zero Zero: Perfect Stop is a 3D train driving game for Playdate. Players use the crank to drive the train, and navigate speed limits and other objectives as they try to stop at each station as punctually and precisely as possible. Enjoy the sights of Yamanashi along the Fuji Express!

Fast Facts

• Platform: Playdate
• Players: 1 Player
• Genre: Arcade/Simulation
• Languages: English, Japanese

Other Links

• Zero Zero on Playdate Catalog
• Zero Zero Website
• Zero Zero: Perfect Stop Official Soundtrack
• Itch.io

How To Play

Main Menu

On the main menu, you can select various game modes. Your guide Rei is visible on the right.

• Driver's Mode - Challenge your driving skills across a variety of diagrams. All rules are enforced.
• Free Mode - Freely drive the train along the course, with no rules or objectives.
• Tutorial - View an interactive tutorial about how to play Driver's Mode.
• Records - View saved records about your driving history and performance.
• Options - Adjust various game options.

Driver's Mode

Objective

The objective of Driver's Mode is to properly, punctually, and precisely drive the train according to the diagram. A diagram is a pre-planned route and timetable of stations at which the train continues or stops.

Navigating a diagram effectively demands the driver mind all posted speed limits, while still punctually arriving at each station as close to the estimated time as possible. Moreover, the driver is expected to stop as close to the target location at each station as possible, down to the centimeter.

The core of the challenge is that trains are very large, and have a lot of momentum. They accelerate very gradually, and brake across a long distance relative to other vehicles like cars.

Screen Layout

(Clockwise from top-left)

1. Chronometer - Displays the estimated arrival time according to the diagram on top, and the current time on the bottom.
2. Trust Gauge - Displays your remaining trust. If you incur penalties, you lose trust. If you fulfill objectives, you gain trust. If you lose all trust, game over.
3. Gear Indicator - Shows the current driving gear of the train. The possible gears are
   
   • N (Neutral)
   • 1 - 5 (Throttle 1, weakest, to Throttle 5, strongest)
   • B1 - B8 (Brake 1, weakest, to Brake 8, strongest)
   • E (Emergency brake)
4. Speed Limit - The current speed limit is shown along the bottom of the screen. When a new speed limit is upcoming, it will flash above.
5. Speedometer - The current speed of the train in km/h
6. Lookahead - A preview of speed limits, objectives, and stations along the upcoming 500m of the diagram.
7. Target Indicator - (To the right of Lookahead) Indicates the remaining distance to either the next station, or the next objective.

Driving The Train

The train is primarily driven using the Playdate's crank.

The Neutral gear is set by pointing the crank perpendicular to the screen, towards the player. In neutral, the train will not gain speed. The train will coast along at its current speed, but will gradually lose speed due to friction.

The Throttle is engaged by rotating the crank downwards towards the bottom of the device. There are 5 gradual stages of throttle of increasing intensity. The train will increase in speed when the throttle is applied. Higher gears will accelerate more rapidly, and to a higher top speed.

The Brake is engaged by rotating the crank upwards towards the top of the device. There are 8 gradual stages of the brake of increasing intensity. The train will lose speed more quickly when the brake is applied. Higher brakes will decelerate more rapidly. All brakes will eventually decelerate the train to 0 km/h.

The Emergency Brake is an even more powerful stage of brake that is engaged by rotating the crank upwards past the top of the device. This is the strongest stage of the brake, but using the emergency brake will incur a penalty because it is dangerous for passengers.

It is also possible to change gears by using the A/B buttons, or up/down on the D-Pad.

Rules and Bonuses

The driver has a Trust Gauge which represents their passengers' Trust in them. The driver must complete the diagram without Trust running out. If all Trust is lost, a Game Over will occur.

There are various rules that will incur a penalty if broken, and cause the driver to lose trust from the riders:

• Leaving the station before the doors have closed will incur a penalty. Before you leave the station, wait for the light to change to .
• Idling on the tracks without moving the train will incur a penalty.
• Accelerating near an approaching station will incur a penalty.
• Exceeding a speed limit will incur a penalty.
• Engaging the Emergency Brake will incur a penalty.
• Engaging the ATC (Automatic Train Control) will incur a penalty. The ATC is engaged if the speed limit is exceeded for more than 1 second. It will automatically activate the E brake until the speed has returned to below the speed limit.
• Arriving excessively late (10 seconds or more) will incur a penalty.
• Stopping excessively beyond the target point (10 meters or more) will incur a penalty.

There are also bonuses which give the driver opportunities to gain trust:

• Fulfilling objectives such as target speed points, target time points, or horn honks will grant a bonus.
• Stopping very close and very punctually grants varying degrees of bonuses, depending on the level of accuracy.
• Passing a station at the expected time also grants a bonus in the express diagram.

Stopping At Stations

At the end of each segment, there is a train station. In most cases, the driver will stop at the station. If playing the express diagram, the driver is expected to pass every station until the last station in the diagram.

The train must be stopped within 500 cm, or 5 m, of the target point at each station. The closer, the better!

A perfect stop is achieved by stopping 0 seconds off schedule, and 0 cm away from the target point. Can you achieve a Zero Zero?

Results and Scoring

After successfully completing all scheduled stops in a diagram, the driver will be presented with a results screen, and scored according to performance. There are several categories which add up to the total:

• Schedule - How close to the estimated timetable at each station
• Distance - How close to the target position at each station
• Speed - How consistently the driver minded speed limits
• Skill - How consistently the driver met objectives
• Eco - How well the driver is controlling emissions by sparingly using the throttle

Free Mode

In Free Mode, the driver can freely operate the train along the track. There are no rules, objectives, scores, or schedules. A free mode session will continue indefinitely until the player returns to the main menu.

Tutorial

Enjoy an interactive tutorial, teaching you how to drive the train and the rules of the game. Provided by your guide, Rei!

Records

Look at records of your previous high scores, or see how you rank on the online Leaderboards.

Options

• Language - Change the game language. The game is playable in English or Japanese.

Strategy and Tips

• Try getting used to the physics in Free Mode
• The brake is hydraulic, so it takes a moment to change pressure
• Try letting off the brake gradually before doors close to get going quickly
• Use full throttle when leaving the station
• Don't be afraid to brake hard (B7 or B8)
• Try starting to brake around 200m - 250m away from the station
• Experiment with your own driving style

Changelog

1.0 Build 9 - 2024-08-20

Initial Catalog Release

• Re-rendered video to fix a couple more visual bugs
• Updated pronunciation for "Shimoyoshida" announcer line
• Increased volume of English and Japanese in-car announcements by +2 dB

1.0 Build 8 - 2024-08-19

• Implemented Title Screen
• Implemented Staff Credits
• Implemented Announcements
• Implemented Station Melodies
• Slightly reduced Trust Gauge fill scale
• Clamped Trust Gauge fill width
• Stopped all audio on scene change
• Disabled Dev Menu
• Fixed dialog box sounds being heard in Driver's Mode after exiting from Tutorial
• Adjusted font tracking for lowercase i and l characters
• Re-rendered video

0.5 Build 7 - 2024-08-12

• Implemented Records menu
• Implemented global records tracking
• Implemented Leaderboards
• Fix for scene transitions to always happen between frames
• Further balance tweaks for Eco score calculation
• Increased starting Trust by 5 on all diagrams
• Increase Trust gauge scale by 2x
• Wrapping fix to make sure Chronometer doesn't display hours outside of 00-23

0.5 Build 6 - 2024-08-08

• Implemented Tutorial
• Fixed Eco score calculation
• Moved Target Time Point in first segment 100m farther
• New sprite frames for Rei

0.5 Build 5 - 2024-07-22

• Changed Japanese text for "1 stop" from "ワンストップ" to "1駅"
• Added a button prompt progression indicator to various screens
• Updated Lookahead to display O for passing stations (instead of X)
• Implemented Japanese sprite strings in the HUD
• Updated video scene visuals to include buildings and stations
• Separated video asset into smaller chunks for better performance
• Updated High Score row on results screen to display properly
• Other stability fixes

0.5 Build 4 - 2024-07-07

• Changed English name of 富士山 to "Mt. Fuji" (was "Fujisan")
• Made cycle timer properly take delta time into account
• Optimized loading speed for game package metadata
• Removed requirement for player to return gear to N after the ATC auto-brake engages and releases
• Prevented HUD elements from flashing while gameplay is inactive
• Changed target time point-of-interest to update every second, instead of every frame, in order to prevent the number changing rapidly in the HUD
• Fixed a bug where running out of Trust during the station arrival sequence wasn't properly causing a game over
• Fixed a bug where the HUD flash message was not fading out properly before the diagram clear sequence
• Other stability fixes

0.5 Build 3 - 2024-06-29

Optimized font loading to reduce launch time.

0.5 Build 2 - 2024-06-24

Initial playtest release

Questions, Comments, and Feedback!

Please feel free to send me feedback on Discord, either in the playtesting thread in Playdate Squad, or to me directly via DM.

I will also be emailing all testers who signed up, so please feel free to email me as well.