Degica Shmups Thread

[Blackbird]

Update V1.1.1 for Eschatos is coming later this week.

I'll post complete notes when it's out, but here's the quick overview:
- Options and optimization to better improve framerates for users affected by low performance.
- Texture preload (reduces load time between levels)
- Bug fixes

There's also support for the Eschatos AST, which is coming soon! (most likely in the next couple weeks, earliest date is 11/9, but it might be moved around due to proximity with Mushihimesama)

[drunkninja24]

Ooooh, an AST for Eschatos? Who's behind that one, if I may ask?

[Bonus!]

Ooooh, an AST for Eschatos? Who's behind that one, if I may ask?

The AST is not new. It had a physical release, and is also available as DLC for the X360 version. It's excellent, IMO.

[Bonus!]

Blackbird,
would you mind updating the first post to include all shmup-related releases of Degica for easy reference? Also, it would be cool if you mentioned the confirmed upcoming releases (two more from Cave, Dariusburst SP), and if you're in a really generous mood, maybe drop a few hints about what else is in store.

[Friendlyfriend]

ESchatos update is live. Update is 70.7MB:
http://steamcommunity.com/games/378770/ ... 6796685780

Eschatos V1.1.1 Patch Details - 11/09/2015

This update adds several new settings intended to improve game performance, especially for users with choppy framerates.

The options aren't enabled by default, so be sure to look in the options and enable these settings as needed!

Added Options -> Screen Settings -> V-Sync toggle setting.

This option enables or disables vertical sync control. Toggling this may reduce screen tearing or input lag for some users.

Added Options -> Screen Settings -> Framerate Smoothing.

Turning this option on optimizes framerates for a smoother appearance, especially on lower-end hardware. Turn this on if you are having problems with choppy framerate.

Added Options -> System Settings - Texture Preload.

Turning this option on loads additional textures to the GPU VRAM before the game begins. This creates a longer load time at the start of the game, but my reduce or eliminate load times between levels during the game, allowing a more seamless experience.

You need to restart the game after enabling this option for it to take effect.

Increased compatiblity for XInput and DirectInput controllers.
Corrected an error where the BGM would skip/not play correctly.
Additional tweaks to English menu localization.
Added support for the upcoming Eschatos Arranged Soundtrack.

[Blackbird]

Blackbird, would you mind updating the first post to include all shmup-related releases of Degica for easy reference?

Done.

[Satan]

Thank you, that is extremely helpful.

Rllmuk.co.uk have a Shmups thread.

[eebrozgi]

Tested the Eschatos patch with my budget-friendly 2010 laptop. Notable improvement in performance! I boldly cranked up the resolution a bit and was delighted to see for example that the final stage - which ran at a consistent 30fps for me earlier - ran in near 60fps all the way through.

Now, I want to ask about the "Framerate Smoothing" setting... What exactly does it do? I tried it very briefly and it mostly gave some pretty confusing results, since the framerate seemed even choppier. Didn't have much patience to test if there was something else to or behind it, I turned it off and did a Time Attack run, and the game ran much better than pre-patch.

[Shepardus]

Strange, I'm not sure if I'm imagining stuff or if it's the placebo effect or what, but I didn't notice any improvement last night but after fiddling around with some settings just now it's running at a consistent 60fps according to the Steam FPS counter. I even tried changing my settings back to what they were before and it still ran smoothly. I'll have to get to the later areas to see if the framerate holds up there but if it does I'll be very pleased.

And yeah I have no idea what framerate smoothing does either.

Edit: Cleared Time Attack, 60fps all the way through except for that laser barrage the TLB does, which slowed the game down to around 30-35fps.

[eebrozgi]

A nastier report from my kusomputer: When the game runs fine, it runs fine consistently. But when it "boots badly" or something, it also stutters pretty consistently. I once got it to boot to run at pretty much half speed, not just skipping frames. Rebooted the machine and it ran perfectly. Then on some other tries, it ran somewhere inbetween, mostly on the full speed side but with constant stutter.

For the record, I've set the new settings like this:
Vsync: on
Framerate Smoothing: off
Texture Preload: off

Edit: Ran the game after writing this post, without a reboot, runs like dream again. Cool yet strange.

[Blackbird]

Nice to hear performance is (mostly) better. It seemed pretty solid on my HD 3000 when I was giving it a go on 1080p, which was better than the 720p windowed res it was capable of before.

[Blackbird]

The Eschatos AST is up!

- New, rock-style soundtrack in game.
- Soundtrack is also in album files with mp3 and lossless flac.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/409480/

[Bonus!]

Very cool! Don't forget to add it to the DLC list on the Eschatos main page on Steam.

[gimebe]

Any bigger discounts incoming for the AST? The Crimzon Clover one had a -80% discount at release, but this one only has -20% and 6 euros is pretty steep when the base game is 15 right now.

I'm interested, but I think I'll wait for price drops.




More to the topic, the v1.1.1 patch didn't help with the framerate issues I was having (running in Wine on Linux, i7-2600K, GTX 750) - most annoying on the final boss, where the framerate drops significantly for the duration of the battle. It could be Wine-related in my case.

Other than the framerate, there's a few minor annoyances. The stage select feature doesn't fully replicate the conditions in a real run with extends dropping at different points. The option to play Stage 4 and Stage 5 shows up only after grinding up option levels for a good while - I wish the game just had practice features available from the start.

The camera can glitch out briefly at some points on Stage 3. It seems to be triggered by killing the purple balls at certain times, so it's avoidable if you learn to do the stage. I caught two of those in a run (1, 2).

[Bonus!]

Are you sure all those issues aren't just due to Wine?

[mastermx]

Ever since the new patch the game runs much much better for me. It runs perfectly, and also this new AST is amazing, totally worth the purchase. This game's music was crafted by god.

[GSK]

Now that DBCS has a confirmed release date, I just wanna say: please, start testing the PC version now. I'm genuinely impressed by how quickly you've worked to patch Mushihimesama but I don't think anyone wants another launch like that one (especially if DBCS is full-price).

[laolao]

Hello,

I have some problems with Crimzon Clover on steam.

Several time, i play the game and suddenly i have a black landscape whereas i can see and shoot the ennemy. So i quit the game and restart it. But each time i lose my progression medals, and Z ship. I play in the resolution of my screen 1920*1080 i have a GTX 970, i7...
Someone can help me ?

Thanks for your help and sorry for my bad english.

Have a nice day.

[Bonus!]

It's probably better if you post in the Steam community. There should be a thread for technical problems.

[laolao]

agree with you but no answer...

[Blackbird]

Hi Laolao! To get more information about the error - you can still see enemies and fire, but all the stage backgrounds are completely black?

[laolao]

yes if i want i can continue to play but the stage backgrounds are completely black. Exactly

[Blackbird]

I'll ask Yotsubane about it - I haven't heard of this exact bug before, so I'll need to figure out a solution.

[Elixir]

I'm still having an issue where the "High Score Detail" resets whenever I close the game. Come to think of it, local scores have never saved for me.

Also, if .11 is coming out, what happened to .9 and .10?

[Blackbird]

We just decided to roll a series of smaller patches into one medium-sized one.

[Skykid]

Can I ask you guys to ensure the track "Freedom" that's been used for some of the DBCS promotional material doesn't make it into the game. Or if it is there, could you remove it and replace it with any of the other amazing compositions created for the game instead?

Really, it's so horribly bad it's like a black stain on a perfectly good product.

[laolao]

Thanks Blackbird

[Friendlyfriend]

Can I ask you guys to ensure the track "Freedom" that's been used for some of the DBCS promotional material doesn't make it into the game. Or if it is there, could you remove it and replace it with any of the other amazing compositions created for the game instead?

Really, it's so horribly bad it's like a black stain on a perfectly good product.

I'd like to ask for an option to make every stage play Freedom.

[shadowhaxor]

Can I ask you guys to ensure the track "Freedom" that's been used for some of the DBCS promotional material doesn't make it into the game. Or if it is there, could you remove it and replace it with any of the other amazing compositions created for the game instead?

Really, it's so horribly bad it's like a black stain on a perfectly good product.

To late! It's literally the first thing you hear as it's on the first stage in CS mode. And I rather love the song

[CloudyMusic]

Can I ask you guys to ensure the track "Freedom" that's been used for some of the DBCS promotional material doesn't make it into the game. Or if it is there, could you remove it and replace it with any of the other amazing compositions created for the game instead?

Really, it's so horribly bad it's like a black stain on a perfectly good product.

I'd like to ask for an option to make every stage play Freedom.

I'm getting flashbacks to Street Fighter IV.