Asura the Striker

[m.sniffles.esq]

I honestly can't remember the final deductions of the "What Exactly Constitutes a True Shmup" debates--because that shit bores me to the core--but I think it's Space Harrier = yes while Star Fox = no. So while it's against all laws of nature to discuss Ex-Zodiac here:

This Space Harrier clone/tribute/whatever looks real nice

If this does violate the great shmup accord of 2019, feel free to delete/transfer to Siberia

[kid aphex]

I never liked Space Harrier/Afterburner style gameplay: It always felt extraordinarily shallow (even for a Sega arcade game)
But the vibes and quality of the production on this will likely force me to play… it LOOKS absolutely awesome.

[xxx1993]

Oh, please port this baby to consoles. I love me some Space Harrier.

[m.sniffles.esq]

Oh, please port this baby to consoles. I love me some Space Harrier.

Yeah, I'm just under the "recommended" (1030 instead of 1060), which means it'll probably run like shit.

Besides, I'll play much more if it's on console.

[xxx1993]

A port for the PS4, PS5, or Switch definitely looks ideal for a game like this.

[Lander]

Wow, that looks gorgeous. Just the right degree of stylization to look faithfully Space Harrier, but also super smooth and FAST into the bargain.

If anything, it makes me wonder why we never got a Space Harrier Climax equivalent. Seems like a no brainer, seeing it in motion.

[m.sniffles.esq]

The whole half cel shaded/half pixelated thing is really strange, but it also kind of works.

It's like objects in the background are from a really good looking Saturn game, but they turn into a comic book as they reach the foreground.

Spoiler

It the damndest thing...

[Sima Tuna]

Rail Shooters are such an unexplored genre for me. But also generally, in the industry, there just aren't all that many. I played Star Fox 64 as a kid and I had Star Successor on the Wii. I remember owning Omega Boost as well, and Rez. But I think that was about it for rail shooters I played. Of course, nowadays I know about Space Harrier, Afterburner and a few others. But I still can't find all that many rail shooters out there. Not even talking about "oh the genre is dead now but it used to be thriving." I mean, when was this genre ever alive?

I would love to see more indie developers producing quality rail shooters. I think this is a genre that can provide a similar experience to shmups but appeal more strongly on a presentation level to non-shmuppers. Rail shooters have served as tech demos in the past and could do so again.

I've been thinking this forum could use a dedicated rail shooter love thread, but I'm not at all the person to create it. I'm enthusiastic but inexperienced when it comes to this subgenre.

[m.sniffles.esq]

I've been thinking this forum could use a dedicated rail shooter love thread

One exists in Siberia

I'm not sure if anyone remembers, but another cel-shaded Space Harrier update/tribute/whatever was announced in the fall for Switch: Angelian Trigger

[Jeneki]

Yeah this looks like something I'd try, thanks for sharing!

Although I saw the topic title and my mind immediately thought Asura Blaster, lol.

[Lander]

The whole half cel shaded/half pixelated thing is really strange, but it also kind of works.

It's like objects in the background are from a really good looking Saturn game, but they turn into a comic book as they reach the foreground.

Spoiler

It the damndest thing...

There's certainly something striking about how the robot seems to take on more depth as it nears the camera, but squinting at the various footage, I can't see any particularly machiavellian GFX tricks going on (ex. compressing objects into orthographic billboards based on depth, using per-object projection, etc.)

I think it might be a combo of the stylized aesthetic and some perspective tricks; i.e. setting a high FOV to exacerbate the projection and augment the sense of speed, but composing the scene in such a way that everything looks 'normal' in the background / middle distance.

Looking again, there may be a subtle form of fisheye / pincushion projection occurring; specifically in the way the silver columns and buildings appear to 'bend' as they near the edges of the frame, like a subtler version of the way VR stuff is rendered.

[m.sniffles.esq]

Looking again, there may be a subtle form of fisheye / pincushion projection occurring; specifically in the way the silver columns and buildings appear to 'bend' as they near the edges of the frame

Low to the ground + Super wide-angle = SPEED (i.e. French Connection El Train chase)

[Necronom]

Finally!

ASURA THE STRIKER will launch on April 24, 2025 on Steam.

Check out the really nice new release trailer:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2389 ... E_STRIKER/

[DietSoap]

It's out. Anyone know if the finished product runs any better on Steam Deck than the demo did?

[StarLightMoonLight]

Holy shit it's out! I was afraid this game was going to be in development hell but it's finally here.
So far I'm in love with the game, absolutely amazing music and pretty great visuals, I wish the punching attack had more usage though, it would be amazing if it could punch through obstacles you can't shoot down, and I think you should be able to punch down those ball enemies that usually come in a group of three.

It's out. Anyone know if the finished product runs any better on Steam Deck than the demo did?

I'm playing on my Deck OLED, IMO the performance is fine, it can feel a bit sluggish at some points but it's not too bad, I haven't played it with gamescope so I can't say for sure what framerate it's running at yet.
My main issue with playing on Deck right now is how hacky the screen resolution is, this is pretty common with games that haven't been configured with the Steam Deck yet, but it seems like changing setting that aren't even related to the screen resolution can fuck with it.

[DietSoap]

I'm playing on my Deck OLED, IMO the performance is fine, it can feel a bit sluggish at some points but it's not too bad, I haven't played it with gamescope so I can't say for sure what framerate it's running at yet.
My main issue with playing on Deck right now is how hacky the screen resolution is, this is pretty common with games that haven't been configured with the Steam Deck yet, but it seems like changing setting that aren't even related to the screen resolution can fuck with it.

Could you try setting GPU clock to 1600 MHz (max) to see if that actually makes it run at 60fps? I just saw this, which coming from the demo sounds crazy.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/2389830/ ... 5622103973

[StarLightMoonLight]

Could you try setting GPU clock to 1600 MHz (max) to see if that actually makes it run at 60fps? I just saw this, which coming from the demo sounds crazy.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/2389830/ ... 5622103973

I just tried this, I get a slight performance boost but not enough to reach 60 FPS in-game, it's mainly around 40-45 FPS and 35-40 FPS in more demanding areas. Any other tinkering (lowering resolution, disabling v-sync, enabling cryoutilities) did not prove to be effective. If you have any other ideas in mind let me know.

[Jackoz]

Seeing subpar performance on me Steam deck. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to mod?

[DietSoap]

Well I caved and bought it despite the Deck performance concerns, and holy FUCK the actual game itself is amazing. The performance is indeed a bummer, though. I really, really hope a patch comes out that improves it.

Seeing subpar performance on me Steam deck. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to mod?

I would love some suggestions as well. I tried a bunch different things in the "Launch Options" box and the boot.config file and nothing has made any difference.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The Steam port of Asura the Striker finally received a much needed 75mb+ update d/l including "disabling V Sync on Default" for improved framerate according to the developer, Left Over.

I've noticed if you're playing Asura on a Steam Deck setup, lowering the resolution to 720 (with a resolution of 1280 x 720 rather than the optimal default 1280 x 800 resolution with an SD) allows you to see the entire screen as intended. Unfortunately, it seems that by "disabling V Sync" (as listed within the Options sub-menu settings) on a Steam Deck really doesn't improve the overall framerate, performance-wise.

Still nice that the developer, Left Over, did some "QoL" improvements with this latest update for their Asura 3rd-person based stg -- it's about damn time that they did so. Yes, it'd be the "ideal sweet spot" if Asura could run at the targeted "arcade-spec" 60fps (frames per second) framerate, especially on a Steam Deck setup.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~