Sturmwind - New DC Euroshmup by Duranik/redspotgames

[davyK]

My initial impressions then:

Graphics - lovely as expected. I'm using VGA for best pic and it's quite lovely. Busy backgrounds can cause some foreground/background confusion and some bullet spotting issues - the former can be learned , the latter isn't that bad once you tune in - bullets are colourful. There are small borders - no doubt to help the old DC along. There are occasional spots of slowdown - but they really are just spots - brief and not severe - not annoying to me anyway and I don't have much of a tolerance for stuff like that. The backgrounds are glorious and at times will morph as you pass by - and the boss fights are pretty impressive firework displays - impressive stuff from the old Sega workhorse.

Sound - really cheesy Euro tunes - but I like them. Effects are big and brash - good explosion sounds and mad Germanic chatter is drowned out but adds to the fun.

Loadtimes - OK. I have little tolerance for loadtime and what there is here is acceptable - there's a load for each level and a load to get back to the menu. But the DC runs quiet - no DC thrashing noise which makes me guess the devs have positioned data favourably which shows attention to detail. Loads are accompanied by an accurate progress bar. (!)

Control - never thought I'd say this but I prefer the pad over the stick - you can't customise controls - only select from 6 pre-defined schemes - and while the default setup with the pad feels natural, I couldn't find a setup on the stick that was - could probaly be learned but its a pity you can't customise. The game does require 6 buttons....

1. Fire
2. Charge shot
3. reverse direction of fire
4. select weapon
5. adjust orb position
6. bomb

Rumble pack is supported - usually I wouldn't mention that but it is used to really nice effect in this game - quite rare. For example when the arms of the level 1 boss thrash against the top and bottom of the screen you get a little nudge off the controller - actually quite immersive in its own way.

The VMU display is supported and it shows the icon of the currently selected weapon - useless but charming in that old DC way.

Play

You start with 3 weapons and you lose one when you take a hit - Get hit when you have 1 weapon left and you lose a life. Weapons are restored but bombs are not. Powerups start life as a point pickup - shoot them to change colour. Pick up colour to requip a lost weapon or power up the weapon currently in use if the colour matches. Requires a cool head and skill to power up - I like the scheme. The 3 weapons really equate to 3 different spreads that can further be adjusted by positioning the extra orbs you get when you powerup. Orbs can be worn out by collisions and lost.

Auto fire is automatic. Charge shot comes with a risk of overheat - the charge bar fills up then starts to refill with the overheat warning so you can risk losing your weapon. Charge shots are on the whole quite satisfying though a chunkier sound would help.

Hits happen without much fanfare which can be a bit offputting for some - a life loss results in screen black out but you restart at the same place. Collision detection-wise the game seems to give you a bit of latitude to scrape a bit - it's not a one pixel hit box job - but it seems to be smaller than the ship sprite. I'll leave formal determination of that to sharper eyed and more skilful players than I.

Arcade mode is 6 levels out of the 16 with no continues
Main mode is 16 levels with progress saved and infinite continues.

There are unlockables so don't know what else is there - I'm no shooting God.

Difficulty is higher than I thought it would be but the audience here will probably handle it OK....3 levels. I'm playing at normal and finding it tough enough after level 1.

It is fun to play which is the main thing - and the main mode allows you to start from any level you have cleared so boredom won't set in - it's refreshing for an old schooler like me from the 80's arcades to play a "new" shmup that isn't bullet hell.

There's a hi-score website and the game gives a code for score submission - go me - I'm No. 25 in arcade mode normal level
http://www.duranik.com/sturmwind.php?mo ... fficulty=1

Overall - this is a polished effort that feels like a "proper" game.

[Brasseye]

Hiya Davy. This looks horrible, although admittedly not as horrible as Soldener X.

[davyK]

Hori shmups are a bit Marmite....love 'em or loath 'em - I find most prefer vertical.

I prefer vertical shooters usually. The only hori series I really like is Parodius - but I like this one. It is what it is - a Euroshmup - but it's a fine one.

[Brasseye]

Get that Xbox sorted

[davyK]

Get that Xbox sorted

Aye - I know. Thought it was going to happen this month but stuff got in the way.....Mushi Futari and DDP Res still in the box.

[foxyg]

Any one in the US received their copy yet?

[davyK]

made level 3 of arcade mode - the Kraken boss level - undersea. Lovely looking level if a bit straightforward in terms of layout - though it does introduce requirement to start reverse firing.

Spoiler

The boss just picked up a sunken plane that I thought was background and swatted me with it - game over. Had I been quicker I think I could have dodged even though this was my first encounter so it didn't feel cheap.
EDIT: on second encounter there was a warning clue pointing at the plane that I must have missed first time.

There is some variation in scoring - level 1 can see me scoring 300-500K depending on hits etc. There are combos to go for that activate a level bonus opportunity you have to shoot away the on-screen prompt to gain a star which is tallied at the top of the screen - so while its probably no hardcore scoring scheme there is scope for score chasing - and the power ups also first appear as score pickups before they are hit.

[Stevas]

Further impressions: still not fucking here.

This "game reviewing" lark is a piece of piss.

Next week: a retrospective "article" on how not having Sturmwind and not getting to play it didn't change my life.

[soupbones]

Any one in the US received their copy yet?

Nope - not for me. So glad I paid for that untraceable DHL shipping upgrade.

I don't even care anymore - got my DDP Sai preordered. Sturmwind can suck a dick.

[DEMON212]

Why isn't anyone posting any impressions OF THE GAME? Is that a bad sign?

EDIT: Typo

Apologies, rather than post here I did a youtube review.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6gNDgOdvCA

[HydrogLox]

Apologies, rather than post here I did a youtube review.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6gNDgOdvCA

One hardly has to be a "graphics fanboy" to appreciate 480p (and do DC games justice). Right now there is a window of opportunity to snag a Kuro/Hanzo ($39/$49 + $6 S&H) and if your TV doesn't have a VGA input (but HDMI) get one of these or something like it. As someone already mentioned there are also Cabou's VGA cables but those are a bit pricier as he does customizations.

[davyK]

There appears to be a minor bug in arcade mode - when I complete level 3 in arcade mode I get the message "level 4 completed" and then proceed to level 4.

Hmmmm...maybe its because that level is level 4 in the normal game? Not sure.

Level 4 is splendid and there's an odd big enemy that seems to generate a field that reverses your controls - need to whack that out before engaging with the next section which requires a fair bit of dodging ....just shy of 2million.

I can get around 600-700K on level 1 now - your star count gets reset on a life loss so that can make a difference to level score.

Looking at demos there seem to be higher score pickups that the 1000pt one - don't know if they appear later or can be activated by gameplay somehow.

[the2bears]

Mine hasn't arrived in California yet.

Bill

[davyK]

Given that it took 3 weeks to get to N.Ireland it comes as no surprise that US people are still waiting....I know distance shouldn't matter that much nowadays but it seems that way.. Some US people starting to report delivery on the duranik Facebook page.

I've been persevering with the arcade stick and after a couple of sessions I seem to have adapted pretty well to it - the odd mishap with reverse firing and orb placement but it's early days yet.

Just realised I may have been posting spoilers so I'll refrain from that from now on...

[Super Laydock]

Sad to hear that fellow shmuppers across the Atlantic can't enjoy this.
Normally i'd hate to do this... but here's a rip.

[Udderdude]

Oh you.

[davyK]

The level 4 boss is a nice battle - requires accurate ship placement and use of weapon spread - knowledge of the collision box will help.

Level 5 has a slightly different point of view - still hori but from a top down perspective. Blitzed me... I have to say that I'm really enjoying this - I really want to see the next level. I'm in my mid (to late) forties and it has been some time since I felt this way.

I suspect the overall lower difficulty from the modern norm is helping - we can't all be good enough for the modern trends in shmups.

[shiryu7]

Is there anywhere where I can still pick up a LE copy at a decent price?

Thx

[radirgyman]

PRE ordered STD and LE still nothing here in Australia.
All emails questions ignored...

I guess have no choice but to wait for them to turn up..
A reply would suffice...
Very un professional.

[davyK]

I've heard some people in New Zealand have got their copies - its seems to be a case of waiting and it will eventually arrive. Communicatons from redspot have been poor - maybe they underestimated the demand - but I find that hard to believe and a simple email would ease peoples' anxiety.

Started to dip into the main mode and - early days - but even the early levels of this mode make the arcade mode look like an appetiser - the first level is the same but so far the main mode levels seem to be more complex and I'm looking forward to working my way through all 16 (it saves your progress in this mode and you can start from any level you have unlocked.)

[radirgyman]

I've heard some people in New Zealand have got their copies - its seems to be a case of waiting and it will eventually arrive. Communicatons from redspot have been poor - maybe they underestimated the demand - but I find that hard to believe and a simple email would ease peoples' anxiety.

Started to dip into the main mode and - early days - but even the early levels of this mode make the arcade mode look like an appetiser - the first level is the same but so far the main mode levels seem to be more complex and I'm looking forward to working my way through all 16 (it saves your progress in this mode and you can start from any level you have unlocked.)

Cool thanks for that.
I literally deposited my copies a day after the announcement.
Thanks again.

[DQuick]

PRE ordered STD and LE still nothing here in Australia.
All emails questions ignored...

I guess have no choice but to wait for them to turn up..
A reply would suffice...
Very un professional.

I'm in the same boat. No idea how they plan on posting to Australia, could be months if they've posted by sea. These guys are a complete joke when it comes to customer service. I'm wishing I'd gone with play-asia but I thought supporting them directly was the way to go. Never again.

[Stevas]

Yeah, I ordered from Play-Asia, still waiting for mine too.
It's weird. I've never had issues from PA before.

[scrilla4rella]

They're selling this, along with the NGDev team games at Trader in Akihabara, the last reasonably priced retro game store in Tokyo. I might pick it up one day. It's kind of cool to see these Euro-shmups getting some attention in Japan

[davyK]

There are a couple of bugs - I've posted about them on duranik's facebook page and to their credit they have responded pretty quickly....

In arcade mode , when you finish level 3 you get the message "cleared level 4" and you then proceed to level 4.

"Should really be level 3 cleared, we missed that one, sorry"

Also the arcade stick controls are all messed up - the setup screen shows the button mappings (6 different presets to choose from) and they bear no resemblance to what the actual mappings are in play (at least with my setup they don't). I'm using an official Sega DC stick.

Hi, there are 2 known issues with the game, you found them both There is a workaround for the arcade stick, start the game with the joypad, after the level is loaded, remove the pad and put in the arcade stick, after this the settings are working.

The thing is that yes - the buttons are "messed up" but it is consistent - and I am now used to the setup I have as muscle memory has built up - so it isn't an issue as long as you know about it!

The thing though - the setup screen has an image of the stick with labels pointing to their relevant buttons - and the "pause" label is pointing at a bevel at the bottom of the stick that is admittedly the same shape as the pause button on the standard pad!. On the Sega DC stick the pause button is actually a small round yellow button at the top of the controller - makes me wonder if the devs had an actual stick to test it with!!!

[HydrogLox]

Sturmwind LE has landed.
Condition: intact (plenty of bubble wrap)
Postage: €7.00 (S&H €11.40, 2nd Class, redspotgames direct)
Ordered: 2013-Mar-31
No way to determine when it was actually shipped as stamps were not cancelled.

[davyK]

Competitions are being arranged by duranik - they are giving more time for deliveries before announcing them.

Support for the SD card adaptor is stated at facebook/duranik. Basic features - hi-score code saves and replays or screen shots can be saved to the SD card. - but - also talk of new levels.....

[foxyg]

I ordered this from NCSX, but they have not received their shipment yet either. I wonder if they will ever receive them.

[radirgyman]

Sturmwind LE has landed.
Condition: intact (plenty of bubble wrap)
Postage: €7.00 (S&H €11.40, 2nd Class, redspotgames direct)
Ordered: 2013-Mar-31
No way to determine when it was actually shipped as stamps were not cancelled.

You ordered in march yet we ordered in 2011???

[Kollision]

I ordered this from NCSX, but they have not received their shipment yet either. I wonder if they will ever receive them.