shmups.system11.org

Here's René of NG:DEV.TEAM and I'd like to introduce my shmup side-project DUX.

This game is going to be a memorizer shooting with focus on blasting action, which means the memorizing aspect will make a rather small extent of the game but is still required for progressing further. But don't be confused with the vertical shooting game, which will come next year to the NeoGeo, this here is Dreamcast only. Given that, it can take the advantages of the Dreamcast system to bring some smooth high-resolution CGI visuals on screen and various other modern features.

Anyhow, enjoy this teaser pic.



DUX does get an Dreamcast release via HUCAST.net on a physical disc around June/July (update: December 2008). Pricing is about 20 EUR.

More to come soon.

The objects in the foreground have a nice sense of 'volume' and there's nice use of colour. I would tone down the colour of background graphics though. Of course I don't know how it looks at speed.

The R-type influence is obvious of course.

Wow this looks very interesting!
And for 20€ I'm probably going to buy this.

I SEE A MEGASHIELD
also wow so many digits

For RHE,

Is there a single stage demo of your horizontal-side scrolling shmup, DUX, to download and try out on the Dreamcast console for now?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

hell yeah, i hope you will release demo

This is especially nice to hear from someone who seem to prefer low-res and hand-pixeled graphics, which I do by myself actually.

And yeah, the background is pretty bright and that's part of the overall look and I also hope it will work well for the most players. I will consider towning it down though, when this turns out to be an issue.



Probably?



Not yet, but I will discuss with my team if it's technical easy to realise.

I actually like the ship. You don't see colors like orange in newer spaceship shooters anymore.

However, I cannot say the same for the background. A bright ship in a dark background may be blinding, but it makes excellent sense, to me at least. (light in the darkness)

the only thing keeping that screen from awesomeness is the font.

nice.

Ok. Let me check...


Dreamcast? check

Shmup? check

promising? hmmmm check I guess.

real? certainly hope so....

Hehe when I read memorizing and watched the VERY R-Typesque screen... I giggle a little

Anyway, go man! Might be worth a shot. Reminds me of the Last Hope hype

Quickie edit for visual reference, but I think the idea of making the background a bit darker is a good one. It really makes the foreground ships and objects stand out, and it gives a better sense of depth...




Edit: Updated image link.

Yes. Remember that was one of the biggest complaints with Last Hope.

Also, I thought that it'd have something to do with Dynamite Dux, at first glance.

Portal in space?

The Coop's edit looks way better allready, easier to see everything. I would go and make the background even darker myself. The more contrast, the better.

Totally agreed.

Completely agreed.

I agree with Coop's edit as well.

That said, I will definitely be buying this game on day one.

Someone mentioned going darker, so I did one with the BG darker than my first edit...



I wouldn't go any darker than this though, as you'd be in danger of losing BG details, and losing too much of the almost pastel look.


Edit: Updated image link.

That one is good, but I think the first edit was better since it balanced out the contrast between the background and the foreground, while maintaining the overall pastel stylings.

I'm glad to hear the positive responses so far.

Perhaps I will include an background brightness option so everyone can adjust this by themselves depending on the preference. This seem to be necessarily, especially as I prefer to have it bright.

@RHE

See how helpful it is to get feedback from the "pros" before it's too late?

PS.
The first edit of The Coop looks very good, the second one is too dark.

please keep 'us' informed as to availability...i'm all in !!!!!!!

Looks interesting...

Ok let's say: I'll definitely buy this game, 100%.
I don't like Rajirugi's/Karous' style but this screenshot just looks too cool. I simply love abstract looking shmups like this and some Kento Cho ones. PLEASE don't mess up the rest of the game and get some fitting music.
Oh yeah and making the game a bit darker could help.

Yeah. Please make sure it's fun. And make the music go plinky-plonk and the sound effects doopy-doop. We need blue skies in our games.

Looking forward to a more blasting action-based game this time. I'll have to buy it since I can't let my DC shmup collection get out of date...

Any info on the new Neo Geo game you mentioned, or is that one still under wraps for now?

looks really cool! i sure will buy this

Yes of course, it's nice to have the complaining when its not too late. Anything else would be useless anyway.



It's going to pull the NeoGeo on it's technical boundaries and is already in a good shape. That's all for now.

As for blasting action, this is one of the most significant differents between Last Hope and DUX. Instead of getting punished for every little mistake, the player will get much more accessible experience with a selection of powerfull arms. Several checkpoints within every stage will support that.

I also feel the first one I did is the best one for the darker backgrounds. It's dark enough to make the separation quite noticeable, but it doesn't eat away at the pastel look like the second even darker edit I did. But, since it was suggested, I figured I'd do it and put it up for comparison's sake if nothing else.

Anyway, put another vote down for my first edit's look.