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Yes! Today was the day that I received my own cart! …After a prolonged wait, Greek posts finally decided to deliver me the magic packet! …Hurrah! 🙂
I immediately downloaded and flashed in the latest beta (version 18). My everyday, test machine is a buzzed revision Vectrex.Everything under the hood was totally replaced by nos parts, got both boards fully re-caped 😉
I spent a quite pleasing evening, indulged in a sea of pure arcade nostalgia. This only by playing 5-6 game rounds in a row. Fun factor guarantee…game RoX, no doubt! 🙂
I managed to drive my ships straight to level 25, where I lost all my lives, one after another cause I couldn’t figure the right strategy to beat the big wasp’s head. This was despite of my hopeless trials to kill her countless minions underneath her. They seem to get multiplied endlessly, don’t they?
As a proof, here is my high score (level 25 – 478998) 🙂
https://i.postimg.cc/KYJXJ8YY/DSCN0018.jpg
Bugs:
- When on ‘MineStorm’ stage, after pressing PAUSE and back, all in game sound effects was messed up/got severely distorted (sounded more like white noise / interference).
Suggestions:
- About enemy ships’ explosion: Referring to these little “buggers” (LOL!) coming up in lines, I found the current explosion effect is “overkill” (?) Don’t know, but I was expecting some kind of a simpler graphic effect. Perhaps something like a simple three lines split effect with tiny fractures of debris (simple lines or “spots” like a star dust) moving and fading away instantly to different directions. What do you think about?
- I couldn’t figure out what’s going on, on Major Havoc stage. Initially, I proceed my ship to land on the asteroid’s surface, followed by the Major Havoc game mode. I experience some difficulty to move the little man. Seems that he cannot jump diagonally, can he? Then, I got stuck just in front of a giant square shaped obstacle. I managed to exit by pressing button 1. Sorry, if I miss something here…what is this circle moving in parallel with the little man? (Guess, I had to press button number 1 for instructions, isn’t so? 🙂 )
- I entered the same landing screen 2-3 times for more but this time I avoided to land. Done on purpose. Still, I had my bonus reward (and a message of appraise saying “Successful Landing”) I cannot precisely remember what it said… Well, my point is that ‘Major Havoc’ stage, seriously confused me. I have the feel that this doesn’t bond so well to the whole Vectorblade’s gameplay concept… but again, this is only me and certainly this is only a suggestion 🙂
- On level 25, after loosing 2-3 ships in a row, my remaining ship’s speed and bullet’s rate dropped dramatically to zero ground (following the rule of equipment downgrading after the player’s death), so I was hopelessly left (on purpose? LOL!) to push frantically the fire buttons -alas- without any positive outcome. My suggestion is that in such a stage as before fighting a big boss, right after the player looses a life, the game ai has to offer him the chance to visit the shop (or drop some extra power ups during fight) so he will upgrade the speed or bullets rate/number at a level, he will be competitive again. I found almost impossible to fight (and finally beat) against any big boss at the initial low speed / firing rate such as when game starts… He!He! Those were my 2 cents 😉
Everything else worked nice and smooth. Minestorm stage was a NICE surprise! Diamond Run was amazing! Shmups is the game genre, missing from Vec game library. Overall, Vectorblade is an ultra smooth shooter, enriched with many challenges, secrets and bonus, cunningly crafted and ingeniously designed to keep the player’s keen interest and passionate curiosity over time. Frankly, I believe that many players will play this again and again…At least, I gladly will! 🙂
Hi…
I am in the middle of implementing the thingy Helmut wanted (different title “scenes”) – which is a hassle… so only a “short” answer.
I feel the downgrade upon a death is necessary for the overall game balance I will keep it.
There are situations that when once died – you enter a sprial – I get that.
We already “smoothed” one spiral – The Warp Failure…I don’t like the idea of giving “free” bonuses – after you died and “rightfully” were robbed of your previous abilities, if I do that – than dying in that situation ment nothing.
Idea:
What – if you die during a boss fight – the boss pushes you an random (1-5) levels back in your progress?
That way you get a chance to replanish your “goods” and you ARE punished.Other testers – what do you think?
Explosion stays.
I explained the explosions a long time ago on my blog. The current implementation is absolutly “cheap” cycle wise. The little small explosions you talk about will rob me cycles big time :-).You haven’t read much here lately – have you :-). Major Havoc part is (more or less the only) unfinished part of the game, you can look at it – but do “nothing worthwhile”…
The bug (sound you mentioned – “noted”) – will look into it after the things I’m doing right now…
Thanks for your reports!
Malban
Great to see you around, GeoAnas, and good that you have received the PCB, now!
Other testers – what do you think?
Hard to say: I’m not very familiar with Vector Blade, yet. To me it’s still a bit like a lottery game and each game seems to be pretty different. I like consistent rules and I like games that you can handle because of your skills and not because of luck. Adding random push back when fighting against bosses would mean even even more luck in playing and again even less skill. So I’d tend against a random push back.
That’s just my 2 cents……I feel the downgrade upon a death is necessary for the overall game balance I will keep it.
I agree. Many arcade shooters follow the same rule. (…but I honestly enjoyed the “machine gun” firing rate…missed it a lot after I died first time. It kind reminded me EXERION, a classic arcade game I am in love with 🙂 )
What – if you die during a boss fight – the boss pushes you an random (1-5) levels back in your progress?
That way you get a chance to replanish your “goods” and you ARE punished.I like this idea! Sounds like Justice to me. That certainly will help the player to replenish all the missing power ups and to fight against the boss in a fair way.
I explained the explosions a long time ago on my blog. The current implementation is absolutly “cheap” cycle wise. The little small explosions you talk about will rob me cycles big time :-).
…and I was thinking of the opposite, that a smaller explosion will probably save cycles. Excuse my ignorance on that 😀
You haven’t read much here lately – have you 🙂
Got me again…but I am trying to catch up 🙂
I am in the middle of implementing the thingy Helmut wanted (different title “scenes”)…
Thanks for your time! Anything else, I will let U all know here. Wish U success with your work 🙂
Regarding what happens if you die during a boss fight, here is another possibility (which I have seen in some other arcade shooter but cannot recall the name):
When the player’s ship explodes, all the previously aquired power-up items are scattered across the screen and then start falling down. The next-life-ship appears and joins the action and now has the chance to regain at least some of the power-ups. Usually, it is impossible to catch all of them. A good and experienced player might catch a lot of them, a bad player might catch none of them. So how you end up after losing a life is neither pre-determined, nor totally random, but to a certain degree depends on the player’s skill.
Yet, such a mechanism would probably require a smother transition between two lives (ongoing game play rather than the current level-ends-and-then-restarts scheme).
When the player’s ship explodes, all the previously aquired power-up items are scattered across the screen and then start falling down.
Neat idea! Many -and I mean it 🙂 – many Japanese shmups do that. That will definitely add a more Japanese arcade “essence” to the overall look of game.
What – if you die during a boss fight – the boss pushes you an random (1-5) levels back in your progress?That way you get a chance to replanish your “goods” and you ARE punished.
Ouch, I just realize that at first I didn’t understand right. Pushing you some levels back in the game (not in your equipment) is a good idea, I think. This way you do not learn about the boss too quickly plus you don’t loose all your lifes one after another when fighting against the boss.
Hi again,
(I moved my previously posted commend as published on the topic related to high score here, to this section as I found this place more appropriate…)
May I ask you Malban for something? Anytime the player achieves a new high score, his initials stay for the next time he gets again to the high score wheel. Is it possible to add a special character (a right arrow perhaps) to permit quick letter skip only by pressing fire, leaving exactly the same initials behind without the need for another letter spinning? Many shooters have this option (Ideal for lazy players like me or too eager to get back to the combat quickest as possible… 🙂 )
… and exactly like you said IS already implemented…
The initials are taken from the score place that you “overwrite”.
Button 3 accepts the letter the cursor is on at the time.
(Button 1 help – also tells you that…)
Gee – I thought you “old” guys could always figure stuff out of your own?
🙂
What – if you die during a boss fight – the boss pushes you an random (1-5) levels back in your progress?That way you get a chance to replanish your “goods” and you ARE punished.
Hmm, I’m not sure whether setting-back some levels really helps much. And I’m not sure whether the game design should be helpful to the player at all.
If you happened to catch a single shot in one of the four (or five?) levels before the boss fight you are in big trouble: Best power-up you can get is a “two shot” and there is no shop before the boss fight. So you might have lots of money but this money doesn’t help you at all. So once you picked up a single shot you see yourself fading away step-by-step and/or you have really big trouble in the boss fight.
Perhaps adding a shop right before the boss fight might solve this problem. But again: I’m not sure if Vectorblade is supposed to be helpful at all. (BTW: Fighting level 25 boss with a single shot is possible but it depends ony your bullet and shot rate. And your stamina.)Hm.
Not too helpfull.
If the player is doing something stupid – he might as wrll die. But teleporting him back – well I like to think I at least give him a chance – even if it depends much on random. It is possible to get an “EXTRA” in one level …
If Instead you get a one shot – yes sure you are screwed…
Also – it fits (sort of) into the story – the player gets a new ship from mother earth, and has to approach the boss again, which has built up its defenses…
Hi there!
I’ve being playing beta 27. Autofire and (especially) laser at their best! Really enjoyed shooting. This is my fav beta!
…but I have noticed a weird behavior when in shop @ level 5. I don’t know if this is already mentioned before but sometimes a bar pointing upside down appears underneath the ‘B’ indication. Here is a proof of the “glitch” (?)
I have also to confirm some other mis calibration tiny bits and pieces but they are all reported already by fellow testers.
There is also some wired noise on later levels, like a sound effect’s getting stuck or something. It comes and goes when the level moves forward. This happened just once and I am still not being able to reproduce it. I can neither remember the exact number of level. Nevertheless I felt I should also report that.
Beta 27 ROX! Did I already mention that? LOL!
Great work Christopher!
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