Xeno Crisis - Sega Mega Drive / Genesis, Dreamcast etc

[BitmapBureau]

Hey fellow SHMUP fans,

I know this may not be a SHMUP in the purest sense of the word, but I thought some of you might be interested in our upcoming Sega Mega Drive / Dreamcast game, Xeno Crisis. It's a top-down arena shooter for up to 2 players that takes inspiration from Smash TV, Mercs, Granada, Shock Troopers, Alien Syndrome, Zombies Ate My Neighbours, and several others.

We're working with legendary pixel artist Henk Nieborg (Flink, Contra 4, Lomax, Shantae etc) and also Savaged Regime, possibly the finest YM2612 musician on the planet right now. Here's a few images to give you some idea of what the game's all about:















We also have a couple of music samples from Savaged Regime for your listening pleasure:

https://soundcloud.com/bitmapbureau

The game is due to be released on the Mega Drive / Genesis this October with the other ports to follow - if you're interested in pre-ordering the game then you can do so here:

https://xenocrisis.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Thanks for looking, and if you have any questions then I'd be very happy to answer them - I'm hoping we can also get a few of you here to give us some feedback on the game once we have the first area or two fully playable!

Cheers,

Mike.

[Sai'ke]

Awesome sprite art! And wicked music!

I will keep an eye on this one.

[J_C]

This looks amazing. I hope it will be ported on other system ASAP.

[BitmapBureau]

Awesome sprite art! And wicked music!

I will keep an eye on this one.

Cheers!

[BitmapBureau]

This looks amazing. I hope it will be ported on other system ASAP.

Thanks! Well it is also coming to Steam and the Switch too, and possibly more platforms...

[Sumez]

October sounds really optimistic, but I'm hoping. This game is really good looking, and I'm of course awaiting the MegaDrive version.

[Udderdude]

I've seen this before, and it's looking pretty good. Is the Steam version going to be a PC port of the game, or is it just going to be an emulator for the Genesis version? Also, if it's a port, will it include the Genesis ROM file as a bonus?

Edit: Looks like it's not included as the ROM file is a seperate pre-order.

I also second that October sounds very optimistic. I'd expect it to come out in December, honestly.

[neorichieb1971]

Its like that other Megadrive game from yesteryear. Smash TV.

[it290]

Bitmap Bureau dropped the Mega Drive rom to backers today (I think the PS4 and Switch versions have been out for a couple of days now). Just plopped it on my Everdrive, will report back after I've put in some play time! Excited for the physical copy to arrive soon.

[Sumez]

Bitmap Bureau dropped the Mega Drive rom to backers today

A few days ago actually.... Thanks for reminding me, I'd completely forgotten that. Really excited to see this game finally released, but I'm considering holding out for an actual cartridge before I start playing it. I wonder how shipping is doing?

[Stevens]

I saw this yesterday on PS 4, thinking about picking it up. MARINES WE ARE LEAVING!

[BitmapBureau]

Bitmap Bureau dropped the Mega Drive rom to backers today

A few days ago actually.... Thanks for reminding me, I'd completely forgotten that. Really excited to see this game finally released, but I'm considering holding out for an actual cartridge before I start playing it. I wonder how shipping is doing?

Shipping is happening now although it's first-come, first-served, of course, so we're shipping to Kickstarter backers first and then those people who bought from our shop, in chronological order.

[Sumez]

Kickstarter says I was backer #59, so hopefully my copy should ship soon then

[it290]

A few days ago actually.... Thanks for reminding me, I'd completely forgotten that. Really excited to see this game finally released, but I'm considering holding out for an actual cartridge before I start playing it. I wonder how shipping is doing?

I thought about holding out too, but I'm glad I didn't... the game is just too damned good! I even busted out the Model 1 so I could compare the audio across setups (M1 vs M2 vs Mega SG, LCD vs. CRT). Currently playing the game with the Model 2 on a PVM which is great, but I need a way to hook up headphones so I can get that pumping audio going!

If you don't have a flash cart I might wait so you can get the real experience, though.

[xxx1993]

Your game is way too hard... I've only made it up to Area 4. I wish you guys gave the game something simple like extended credits after every hour of playtime. It needs something to even the odds. Or at the very least, extend the number of credits total after having bought them in between stages so I don't have to start every new game with only three.

[Arino]

awesome game indeed

[MarioNintendo]

Your game is way too hard... I've only made it up to Area 4. I wish you guys gave the game something simple like extended credits after every hour of playtime. It needs something to even the odds. Or at the very least, extend the number of credits total after having bought them in between stages so I don't have to start every new game with only three.

What you're asking for would be impossible to implement on the Mega Drive version without a save feature. However, were you aware of the cheat menu? There is an "infinite continue" toggle, maybe you will find it useful to practice.

Mega Drive: At the title screen hold "Left"+"B"+"C" and press "Start" on the "Options" option.
Nintendo Switch: On switch press left+L+x+start

(source : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTHu7HfhXNQ)

[xxx1993]

Unfortunately, I tried using cheats too, even that wouldn't allow me to fight the final boss. The game straight up kills me just when I reach it.

[Sumez]

So your complaint about the game is that you can't cheat your way to the end?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Generally the purpose of infinite lives or invulnerability cheats is to allow people who don't have the ability to clear the game fully can still see the entire game if they want. Some people who aren't as good at the games still want to be able to see everything that's in the game (hence why "longplays" are so popular).

It's the same reason Judgement Silversword has both a God Mode and a Debug Shot (that murders everything in the game in the space of a couple of seconds) which can both be used to 1CC Normal mode to unlock the boss rush Special Mode as well as to clear that and unlock the second playable ship. Special Mode is very difficult and there are far more clear scores for the second playable ship than there are clear scores for the first ship in Special Mode, indicating most of the people using the second playable ship did so by eventually clearing Special Mode with one of the cheats. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, and it doesn't diminish my own Special Mode clear if someone else wants to be able to try out the second unlockable ship and has to use a cheat to do so. Heck, I'm all for it, the second playable ship is a lot of fun, I'd rather people get the chance to use it than not.

If the game allows you to enable a cheat but then suddenly decides LOL, NOPE and just murders you at a certain point for using a cheat, it's a bit of a jerk move.

[it290]

You can already fight the final boss in boss rush mode, so it's not like you're 'locked out' of anything for not 1ccing the game other than the ending. I'm not even sure if you need to actually 1cc or if it's enough to just reach the boss without continuing (not sure what happens if you die while facing him or if you can use elixirs at that point as I haven't died while facing him). Moreover, you can also do this in easy mode. I for one am glad they designed the game in this way as it's good motivation to keep playing—I'm still chasing the hard mode clear.

If you really want to cheat through arcade mode, just use one of the numerous game genie codes that have already been released for the game, simple as that.

[xxx1993]

So your complaint about the game is that you can't cheat your way to the end?

That, and the fact that you can't use a single continue before reaching the final boss is harsh enough.

[MarioNintendo]

So your complaint about the game is that you can't cheat your way to the end?

That, and the fact that you can't use a single continue before reaching the final boss is harsh enough.

Bump, this image is from the last Kickstarter update:

[it290]

See? They thought of everything.

[xxx1993]

There we go... Thank you.