ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

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Sinoc
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Sinoc »

reckon luck wrote:Gamemaker has had console support for a while now. Nuclear Throne, Hyper Light Drifter, Risk of Rain and many more are all GMS.
ZacharyB wrote:Wasn't this made with Game Maker? Unless consoles have progressed to the point where they can run executables like a PC, a port is impossible. It would be like expecting a PS4 or Switch to run an RPG Maker game natively.
Yoyo no longer grants console licenses to GMS1 games, fairly sure the console owners won't either. They'll need to port to GMS2 to put it anywhere.
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guigui
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by guigui »

eebrozgi wrote:Note, though, that GameMaker has gotten on with the times too. Years ago, even! PS4 export was a thing since GMS1 and Switch export was publicly released for GMS2 within just days.

ZeroRanger is currently on GMS1, but we're porting it to GMS2 during the oncoming months. We've heard the pleas to bring this over to consoles, and we'd love to! But we're currently having a breather in a crossroad of what to do next, so no announcements on that front for a while.
Well, the possibility of a port to GMS2 then to consoles is a good thing to hear.
If you actually plan to make it happen, please do it sooner than later ;)
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Mortipoil »

Hi!
First, let me introduce myself!
I'm 35, from Canada, amateur (but not connaisseur) of shmups since my youth.
I'm a frequent user of the shmup.com forum.
I have an issue with ZeroRanger and Doudinou advised me I should post it here to get some help :)

I'm not able to launch the game in fullscreen.
Everytime I try I have a blackscreen, I only hear sounds from the menu, but no display.
Pressing F4 allows me to switch to window mode, and then it works, but it's not the ideal condition to enjoy the game (according to me).

In the options menu I tried to desactivate flicker before switching to fullscreen, but that does not change anything, I still have the black screen.
The same with scanlines 25/50/75/100, that does not seem to have any impact.

My computer is a i5 3570k, GTX 660, 24 Go DDR3 and W10.

Have you ever faced this issue? Do you have some advices to share?

Thank you!
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Stevens
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Stevens »

Hmm...maybe try switching your screen res? Not sure though.
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Ebbo
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Ebbo »

Mortipoil wrote: I'm not able to launch the game in fullscreen.
Everytime I try I have a blackscreen, I only hear sounds from the menu, but no display.
Pressing F4 allows me to switch to window mode, and then it works, but it's not the ideal condition to enjoy the game (according to me).

In the options menu I tried to desactivate flicker before switching to fullscreen, but that does not change anything, I still have the black screen.
The same with scanlines 25/50/75/100, that does not seem to have any impact.
Sorry to hear about the fullscreen issue. At the moment we're a bit puzzled by it ourselves.

Just in case, have you tried toggling "VSYNC" from the options?
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schleichfahrt
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by schleichfahrt »

Mortipoil wrote: My computer is a i5 3570k, GTX 660, 24 Go DDR3 and W10.

Have you ever faced this issue? Do you have some advices to share?

Thank you!
Are you by any chance running a tool named "f.lux" while trying to run the game?
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Stevens
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Stevens »

Interesting. I run f.lux but it hasn't been an issue.

You had an issue with it?
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Mortipoil
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Mortipoil »

Ebbo wrote:
Mortipoil wrote: I'm not able to launch the game in fullscreen.
Everytime I try I have a blackscreen, I only hear sounds from the menu, but no display.
Pressing F4 allows me to switch to window mode, and then it works, but it's not the ideal condition to enjoy the game (according to me).

In the options menu I tried to desactivate flicker before switching to fullscreen, but that does not change anything, I still have the black screen.
The same with scanlines 25/50/75/100, that does not seem to have any impact.
Sorry to hear about the fullscreen issue. At the moment we're a bit puzzled by it ourselves.

Just in case, have you tried toggling "VSYNC" from the options?
It worked, thanks!
I was accessing visual options via F1 or F2, and the vsync option was not present, but last time I launch the game I got the title screen with the Option settings (first time I saw it) and I could access the visual settings.
Switching Vsync to "on" fixed the fullscreen issue, thanks :)
But if Vsync is not switched on the fullscreen stays black.

Thanks a lot for your help dudes!
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Ebbo
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Ebbo »

Glad to hear that worked! We hope you enjoy the game.
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Mortipoil
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Mortipoil »

Ebbo wrote:Glad to hear that worked! We hope you enjoy the game.
In a nutshell : GREAT!
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WarpZone
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by WarpZone »

The zako are terrifying in this game, moving all over the screen with fast sniper shots. :D
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EmperorIng
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by EmperorIng »

That's a pretty nasty trick the TLB pulls. I am pretty mad.
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by M.Knight »

I got ZeroRanger on itch.io and played it up until the 4th stage. I kinda knew it would be great given Final Boss Raw Label and the demo's quality, but the final version is even more engaging. The pacing is really fast with lots of setpieces that follow one another, and there is a killer atmosphere in the later stages with cinematic moments directly integrated in the game. On top of that, the game is pretty lenient despite its difficulty and lack of bombs thanks to frequent extends.

I don't like credit-feeding so I haven't seen what's there after stage 4, but out of curiosity I am tempted to check out what else the game has in store for me, and it's not every shmup that gives me this impulse.

The only thing I really dislike is the scoring system. Well, I already found that out when I saw runs and gifs of the game where the player kills a huge swath of enemies one by one just to maintain the chain timer even though the weaponry would have easily allowed him to destroy them all at once in a much cooler-looking way. The level-design seems suited for score-play but leaving enemies alive forever just because the almighty god timer in the top right corner of the screen wishes so is not my idea of fun. That said, this is not a complaint against ZeroRanger in particular. I feel the same towards DDP for example. Thankfully, just like DDP, ZeroRanger is very pleasant to play even for pure survival, so it's okay.

By the way, am I missing a setting somewhere or is it not possible to disable the continue screen and the tutorial?
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Herr Schatten
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Herr Schatten »

I've played Zer0Ranger up to the third boss (avoiding continues), and so far it's every bit as brilliant as everyone says. The game's pacing and level deign is shockingly good. This (and Infinos Gaiden) will seriously shake up my Top 25 list next year.
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by OmegaFlareX »

EmperorIng wrote:Someone wire the boys in Japan.
It appears someone did. CAVE staff streamed it on Friday.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/318575065
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by WarpZone »

Lost my first credit on the 2-3 boss, continued onwards and reached an ending, but I was never prompted to enter my 2-3 high score? I was sure even if you continue it still remembers your first credit's high score, prompts you for initials, etc. but not this time. It still just shows my lower 2-2 score on the top of the ranking.
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MEKJIAN
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by MEKJIAN »

For those trying to tate/crt/pixelperfect/scanlinesbaby:

I've been having trouble since the Raw Label demo... Is it 320x240? 640x480? NOPE! It turns out the "Squared" version is 480x320!

Anyone familiar with the NVIDIA Control Panel knows that they can create a custom resolution AND refresh rate to get those scanlines and rotate that PC CRT or what have you.

Here's a reddit post that walks through the general idea (AMD version too): https://www.reddit.com/r/emulation/comm ... _your_vga/

--

So in general, 480 horizontal lines, 320 vertical lines, and a 120 hz refresh (and that CVT timing)

Its so pretty. A photo doesn't do it justice.

Great work Devs! If you have any "DLC/Update" content slated, think about contacting TeamD-13/Monolith Devs and making some crossover content like adding their player ships to your roster and vise versa! A handful of pallettes for "lean left" and "lean right" and you've got P3 and P4 options at the ship select screen! :D
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Durandal »

M.Knight wrote: The only thing I really dislike is the scoring system. Well, I already found that out when I saw runs and gifs of the game where the player kills a huge swath of enemies one by one just to maintain the chain timer even though the weaponry would have easily allowed him to destroy them all at once in a much cooler-looking way. The level-design seems suited for score-play but leaving enemies alive forever just because the almighty god timer in the top right corner of the screen wishes so is not my idea of fun. That said, this is not a complaint against ZeroRanger in particular. I feel the same towards DDP for example. Thankfully, just like DDP, ZeroRanger is very pleasant to play even for pure survival, so it's okay.
I actually like the idea of keeping enemies alive longer to maintain a chain like in DDP, though that game is built around chaining and linking chains in the first place as leaving enemies alive longer in that game is a major risk when everything in DDP is constantly spamming bullets at you. In ZeroRanger linking chains is rather off-putting because the game is for the large part heavily geared around speedkilling as a means of scoring, what with bonus enemy waves who are worth double the points appearing everywhere throughout the game when you kill regular waves fast enough. It's then a bit contradictory when you expect the player to hold off on killing everything as fast as possible at random moments in a stage to maintain the multiplier.
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Udderdude »

Congrats on the release (Yes, I know this post is a little late, lol)
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bitcrush
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by bitcrush »

Until there's a linux release, would someone mind testing with steam proton and posting the results here?
Last edited by bitcrush on Wed Oct 10, 2018 1:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Zaarock »

Durandal wrote:I actually like the idea of keeping enemies alive longer to maintain a chain like in DDP, though that game is built around chaining and linking chains in the first place as leaving enemies alive longer in that game is a major risk when everything in DDP is constantly spamming bullets at you. In ZeroRanger linking chains is rather off-putting because the game is for the large part heavily geared around speedkilling as a means of scoring, what with bonus enemy waves who are worth double the points appearing everywhere throughout the game when you kill regular waves fast enough. It's then a bit contradictory when you expect the player to hold off on killing everything as fast as possible at random moments in a stage to maintain the multiplier.
Having to straight up delay killing things becomes less prevalent after the first couple stages since you gain additional ways to prevent the chain from breaking. I think it's a mixed bag, if it was even harder to drop chains than it is currently then scoring of the first 3 stages would be too trivial. the Overkill mechanic makes 1st loop a bit more interesting and has some risk to it though. I think the current system encourages more balanced use of all weapons than before which is cool
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by M.Knight »

That contradiction between speedkilling and kill-delays is something I haven't fully realized but yeah it is definitely there in the early stages. The idea of a multiplier that you have to maintain by continuously kill enemies could be more pleasant to me if the whole game's enemy spawning was focused on those golden bonus ennemies but there is a mix of both approaches which means you have to remember when you can quickill things and when you shouldn't.

I am not even sure there was a need to have a DDPesque timer like this, as the variety of weapons and the overkill mechanic can make using the right weapon at the right time to quick kill as many waves as possible fun eough. If you add getting the golden bonus enemies while overkilling enemies and unlocking the secret bonuses, that seems good enough to me already, but I haven't tried to score super high so maybe I would understand that risk of boredom without that timer? On the upside, the multiplier is capped unlike DDP so the score doesn't take a massive hit if you mess up once.

I haven't watched the superplays nor have reached the Stage 4 boss yet so maybe this comment is less relevant but i was wondering if one the later scoring mechanics doesn't work against the variety of weapons :
Spoiler
The Drill's multiplier cap is twice as high, so is there even a reason not to use it all the time?
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Rue »

Multiplier bonus lasts for less time the higher it is, so the game becomes about knowing when to use the ideal weapon in a given situation. When it comes to scoring, it's really less about "keeping specific enemies alive" but more about playing in a manner that is both aggressive and controlled to maximize kill count while keeping a multiplier that lasts less than a split second. This is especially true when using the melee weapons, as you only want to use them to increase your multiplier, but you'd need to rely on other equipment to actually keep that 12.8.

Since you keep mentioning Donpach, chaining in the Donpach series usually involves killing things in a careful and calculated manner, but ZeroRanger provides you with not one way to keep your chain, but 5 ways to keep your chain depending on your weapon set, giving you a number of options to approach waves, where you position yourself, and how you attack. As you learn the game and learn the weapons, you'll quickly realize that despite having chaining as a scoring mechanic, there's somehow a surprising amount of freedom in how and where you want to chain. With charge for instance, you don't necessarily need to kill anything to keep your chain, and instead choose to absorb/parry specific bullets. 3 of the 4 melee weapons can hold chain too by simply continuously attacking/holding bullets, namely white ones.

As for the contrast with speed killing and keeping chain, that's pretty much only relevant on first loop and parts of stage 3. Stage 4 in particular just asks you to find and kill things as fast as you can with a full arsenal, and second loop forces you to utilize the equipment you've chosen in the best way you can. You end up switching between melee a lot, and every weapon gets a chance to really show how it can assist in both survival and score.

Loop 1 is really just a tutorial to know the stage layout, level design, and how/where to use your weapons. Stage 4 intentionally places you in situations where you want to switch between your weapons and use them effectively for survival (which is probably part of the reason it was made long in comparison to other stages). Once you get to loop 2, survival or score, you're in for a magical time.
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Danbo »

bitcrush wrote:Until there's a linux release, would someone mind testing with steam proton and posting the results here?
I'm sure nobody really cares but I tested it this evening and it works flawlessly, couldn't notice a difference between running through Proton and running on windows
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by bitcrush »

Danbo wrote:
bitcrush wrote:Until there's a linux release, would someone mind testing with steam proton and posting the results here?
I'm sure nobody really cares but I tested it this evening and it works flawlessly, couldn't notice a difference between running through Proton and running on windows
Well I certainly care! I'd wager the folks at system erasure would care too as it just got them another sale. Thanks for testing!
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Stevens »

The further I get the better ZR gets.

The more I experiment with my weapons the better ZR gets.

Basically the more you play the better it gets. Fully expect this one to crack the top 25 for years to come.

Thanks for such an informative post Rue.
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by docRobot »

Danbo wrote:I'm sure nobody really cares but
Well, at least one person cared enough to ask. What an odd thing to say. Glad it's working in Linux though. Patiently waiting for a native port.
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by M.Knight »

Rue : Those are fair points and I agree that the chaining in general is not always rigid given the tools you have and the ways to keep the chain going. I also realize I tend to play very aggressively and destroy everything during stage 4, and most of stage 1 and 2. I think stage 3 is probably the one where the chain keeping can make you play the least agressively, as you'll be cancelling bullets and stalling medium-sized enemies or locking on background ennemies one by one to keep the multiplier, whereas this necessity to play defensively does not appear as obvious in the other levels where there are a few choke points where you should hold your fire but not as long and not in ways that look too deliberate.

Loop 2 might be yet another thing entirely so I look forward to that. Especially since the survival difficulty might be high enough to forget about chaining altogether lol.
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Danbo
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Danbo »

docRobot wrote:
Danbo wrote:I'm sure nobody really cares but
Well, at least one person cared enough to ask. What an odd thing to say. Glad it's working in Linux though. Patiently waiting for a native port.
Guess I'm just used to folk being dismissive of games on linux, whoops. Anyway, works fine, though I don't use a controller so there might be some weird stuff around that
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Re: ZeroRanger - Out Now! (PC)

Post by Stevens »

kane wrote:Woah. Forget scoring, some sections in loop 2 I have zero clue how to handle after repeated credit feeding. It's obvious that weapon juggling is key, but I freeze and stick to the basic shot. Reminds me of times when I played Touhou strictly in focus mode, I feel like a shmup newbie again.

This one will need an in depth guide. On a related note, I think this is the very first shmup that folks hesitate to discuss strategy in fear of spoilers :)
I've only just scratched 2-1 and 2-2, but holy cow does it get good.

Which ship and weapons you using?
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