shmups.system11.org

The encode's audio isn't as good as I'd like, that's true. But there's no continuous explosion sound either, there's the very annoying static-like sound in the very beginning of the video (which is in the game itself, I don't know what they were thinking...) but other than that I'm not sure what you could be referring to. Maybe the sound quality just creates the impression that there's something like that there. I'm going to have to see if I could improve it somehow.

Yep, turns out I'm incapable of checking the settings are correct the first time. My apologies to your auditory nerves. I re-recorded the video and now it's much more pleasing to the ears. So, here you go, the good version of Gigantic Army 1CC on Insane. The previous one has been removed and the downloadable video at my site has also been replaced with the better version.

So yeah, any word on whether Gunhound is worth it? Can you change the awful keyboard layout in the full game?

Back to Gigantic Army:

***WARNING SPOILERS***

Can someone tell me what's going on with the story here? Why do you suddenly join forces with the aliens and attack Earth? Were you pawns of a greater scheme? Are you under Alien mind control? Was there a coup after you destroyed the Alien Core and you're part of a small force of loyalists joining forces with the aliens?

So far it doesn't feel as fun as Gigantic Army. Let me quickly scribble down the stage layouts for the first two stages:

_____________________________________

Alright, the first stage has a downward slope at the end, but that's basically it. It isn't until Stage 3 when you need to actually aim some jumps.

There are some things in the game that makes it feel less tightly designed than Gigantic Army. The most stupid thing is how sometimes, in the middle of a stage, the game decides you absolutely need to pay attention to the talking heads and refuses to proceed until you acknowledge the lines of dialogue with a button press. When this happens while you're fighting against the enemy, as it sometimes does, it's utterly annoying and distracting. There doesn't seem to be any way of disabling the story parts, either.

The weapon system is nice and I think you can unlock more parts to equip your mech with, though I haven't managed to get any yet. But I'm assuming that's why the game tracks your total score between runs, like Mars Matrix' DC port or Crimzon Clover. Even though the game has only five stages it's pretty hard, I've been unable to beat the third stage yet. There are health pickups but they're rare and it only takes a few big shots to destroy your mech. And personally I don't like the graphical style much, I much prefer nice, clean sprites over this.

Considering how you can get Gigantic Army far easier (Gunhound is only sold through Amazon.jp) and for far cheaper, I'd recommend getting that one first. This one so far hasn't justified its price.

And no, you can't change keyboard configuration in the full game either. I've been playing with a pad and those buttons can be configured any which way.

Hell yes, this game rocks. Got my copy from rancor earlier this week, finally sat down to play it this evening. Unlocked Insane, will give finishing that a go tomorrow. Everything feels just right, you get punished for flailing about clumsily but rewarded for finesse with a nonstop flow of shrapnel-spewing destruction. I love how the melee attack comes out near-instantly, as a quick and dirty answer when things get too close for comfort.

The one tiny complaint I have is the generic "radio chatter" samples in some BGM. Nothing wrong with that per se, but it's easy to make them out, and they don't exactly mesh with the grimy atmosphere. SOLUTION: kill the music in config, and put the supremely industrial/epic G-Darius OST on loop in a music player with stage/boss BGMs only. Perfect.

Between this, Sora and Crimzon Clover, I've enjoyed doujin stuff more than anything else lately.

Does the full version have double tap for dash too? It's The Rapid Angel all over again. What's with this three buttons fetish? As if your average controller didn't have more of them these days. Surely Valken veterans do not fear more complex control schemes?

It does, but it shouldn't cause anyone trouble. The dash input is very forgiving, the move itself sends you a good way forward (cancellable), and you need timing and forethought before using one (similar to jumping or using special weapons, both of which leave you unable to block). At least on the highest difficulty, which isn't exactly "insane" but does punish mistakes and is awesome.

It's not a twitchy game like Wolf Fang, where I always use crouch+jump rather than the double tap.

I hate to say it, but The Rapid Angel looks like an absolute POS, poor man's Strider 2-style. Is it actually any good, or are you just bringing up other games with double-tap dashes? You had me thinking there was another killer 2D mech game out. I hope Astro Port does some more games along these lines.

The Rapid Angel doesn't look too bad on a CRT. Pixel art and character animations are rather excellent (colour palette is odd, though). All around it's not quite the same league as Silhouette Mirage or Panzer Bandit (not as demented and busy) and there are certainly better PSX sidescrollers. Not worth paying over the roof, that's for sure (but I'd rather play The Rapid Angel than Dynamite Headdy).
As for double tap, in Symphony of the Night it's justified by most buttons doing something else. In The Rapid Angel (and Gigantic Army), however, it's just odd.
Oh, and The Rapid Angel doesn't seem much like Strider 2 to me. I think it was supposed to be something in the vein of Treasure sidescrollers.

Either way, it's not a big issue in Gigantic Army. Much like Strider 2 the input window is very forgiving and takes momentum into account, so it's easy to get a feel for the timing and dash even out of jump landings, when sliding down / up inclines, etc.

I couldn't see myself using a dedicated button, and I detest some game's double-taps. The choppy-feeling dash inputs in Mega Man X4-6 immediately come to mind. SOTN is barely even an action game in my book, with the lack of pressure, but it got double-taps (and the rest of its controls) dead-on. Those controls could've easily supported a vastly more demanding game.

*Not that I dislike SOTN, mind. It's one of the most relaxing games I know, and one of the prettiest. Hence why I prefer to call it Magical Vacation Dracula.

So does anyone with a copy of this game have enough command of the japanese language to tell me what in the world is going on from stage 4 onward?

This was hinted at in the Satazius thread, but it looks like this game is being localized by Bactriana Entertainment. They are also planning on releasing Steam Action: Adventum. I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere and only found out through a recent update to Astro Port's website.

Finally got the full version of this and I've been loving it. I haven't tackled Insane yet but I agree with Ghegs that the Beam Cannon makes boss fights a little too easy. I think after an initial clear I'll stop using it. The missiles look cooler anyway.

Beam Cannon is so wrong but it feels so right. I love ripping bosses in half with it, as cheap as it is.

I think grenade launcher + mortar is the most rewarding weapon setup for challenge. The former requires high accuracy and the latter careful placement to do optimal damage, whereas you can afford to be a little sloppier with the other weapons. Haven't quite managed to finish Insane with them, but had a lot of fun trying. My usual setup is machinegun + homing missiles, a good balance of ammo stock and power.

I hope Astro Port revisits this style of game - GA is fantastic but I wish the later level designs retained the battlefield groove of the first one (lots of uneven terrain) instead of getting progressively flatter. I'd like a whole game's worth of mountains, valleys and rivers to battle through, with urban terrain interspersed. Battling up inclines and down slopes really emphasises the feeling of controlling a massive war machine, especially when you get a good head of steam going and crash the pilebunker right into a large target.

Localization ahoy, alongside Armed Seven and Vulkaiser.

In all seriousness, looking forward to knowing WTF is going on in this game's plot. I'm never sure if it turns out HUMANS WOZ THE ENEMY ALL ALONG ala Shin Contra and you join the aliens to overthrow the Earth forces, or if you were incapacitated by that Götterdämmerung-splosion at the end of stage 3 and brainwashed somehow.

We now have a release date & price for our western release of Gigantic Army: Feb 5th & $5.99!

More details + the playable demo are available now at the GA HP http://GIGANTICARMY.com.

& please vote for it on Steam Greenlight at http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=218444700

TIA for your support!

Best Gelman title since Variant Schwanzer?

Good for Astro Port, hope GA makes it on Steam.




Einhander?

Hope Steel strider gets an English release as well.

Aaaaand it's out!



Price is $5.99 and you can pick it up from any of the purchase links at http://GIGANTICARMY.com.

As of now, Gigantic Army is 56% of the way toward the Steam Greenlight, so any love you can show us there would be much appreciated!

Here is a link to the Greenlight page: http://bit.ly/1mFmCB4

Any purchases made prior to GA being greenlit will receive a free Steam key when the Steam release happens. Natch!

We've been looking forward to releasing this for a long time - hope you guys enjoy it!

Is the military radio chatter still a police dispatch scanner talking about a white van in a parking lot?

No. It was cute & the tone matched the game well, but it was irrelevant & repetitive, so we removed it.

Update: GIGANTIC ARMY is now available on Steam for $5.99 and comes with 42 achievements, Steam Trading Cards, a Linux version, plus bonus items: a printable DVD case insert and CD/DVD label file.





GIGANTIC ARMY at Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/278930

Awesome. Probably finally get it tonight!

Thanks! Just bear with us while we iron out a couple of launch wrinkles!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uossu7akyp4

Well I'll be damned, it's getting ported to Switch and should be out later this month. The graphics have gotten a huge splash of color as well, and the UI's been tweaked.

Well shit, what are the odds of those changes being ported back to the PC version?

Astro Port's own website doesn't mention this at all...maybe they just sold the rights to this new publisher who got a totally different developer to port it, and Astro Port doesn't have any direct involvement with it? If that's the case, the changes will probably be Switch-exclusive.

Nice, be having some of that. Switch is rapidly becoming the essential indie machine for me.