Titanion - new Kenta Cho game

[the2bears]

Titanion, a bit like Galaga with a twist on who has the capture beam.

Bill

[Pixel_Outlaw]

WOW Great Find Bill. How do you find info so darn fast? You must have pwnlings many many pwnlings.

[the2bears]

WOW Great Find Bill. How do you find info so darn fast? You must have pwnlings many many pwnlings.

Figured he was ready for a new release, so I've been watching his site. Got lucky when I looked today

Bill

[ArcticXC]

Aw, just popped over to make this thread. Good job. I figured it was about time and have been checking the site daily. Off to give it a try.

Edit- Played a quick round before bed, one of his better games as of late I'd say. Basically it's a bit of a mix between Torus Trooper and Galaga.

Initially seems to play somewhat like a normal vert shmup. Basically there are phases where a number of bugs come onto the screen, and there's a bonus multiplier. The more enemies onscreen, the faster it goes down, but kill an enemy and it goes up.

However, there's also a grapple beam that will grab up to 10 (or so) enemies which will line up with your ship and work like options. If they get hit by a bullet, they fall off.

Got to Phase 27 before I got overwhelmed, definitely got pretty manic.

[sjewkestheloon]

Will be d/l this one later...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

It's about damn time that another Kenta Cho doujin shmup title came out...no really, I understand that it takes time to craft a new program from the ground up and to implement new concepts and ideas to see if they mesh well with said gameplay -- and viola, one has a new game to d/l..... ^_~

Wouldn't it be cool if Kenta Cho could produce a limited-edition arcade PCB of his past shmup titles (especially with titles like rRootage) and play them on a true RGB monitor/arcade cabinet setup?

Will there be another update to his classic shmup title of rRootage?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Frederik]

Wouldn't it be cool if Kenta Cho could produce a limited-edition arcade PCB of his past shmup titles (especially with titles like rRootage) and play them on a true RGB monitor/arcade cabinet setup?

Or a console compilation for that matter (PSP ports aside)!

[MadSteelDarkness]

Yer a good man, Bill. Thanks for the heads up.

[Dave_K.]

OMG this game is frickin awsome!

[dave4shmups]

Wouldn't it be cool if Kenta Cho could produce a limited-edition arcade PCB of his past shmup titles (especially with titles like rRootage) and play them on a true RGB monitor/arcade cabinet setup?

Or a console compilation for that matter (PSP ports aside)!

Heck yeah; I'd go for that! And I think it would sell pretty well, too.

Thanks for finding this gem, Bill!

[Frederik]

Okay, maybe I am not getting this one, but my initial impression is so-so. Great graphics, looks a bit more cel-shaded instead of simple vectors, but does anyone know a bit more about the scoring system? Does catching enemies do anything besides shooting along with you, a´la Tumiki?

[benj]

There isn't much to know about the scoring system. The more enemies there are on screen, the faster your multiplier drops. Shooting enemies raises your multiplier. With a full set of options you can clear the Phase faster, which keeps your multiplier high. I think they also act as a shield, as in you don't lose a life if you take a direct hit but rather lose all your options.

I like all the Kenta Cho games, but this is his best IMO.

[Zach Keene]

The scoring system in a nutshell:

• Small bugs are worth 10 * multipler points.
• The larger enemies are worth 100 * multiplier points.
• The end of phase bonus is 10000 * (hit ratio)^4.
• Destroying any enemy increases your multiplier by 0.1.
• While any enemies are on-screen, your multiplier is periodcally reduced by 0.1%. (The actual number of enemies doesn't matter, though generally the more there are the longer you'll be stuck with them.)

[Pirate1019]

Freeware shmup nuts rejoice.

[Thunder Force]

Basically there are phases where a number of bugs come onto the screen, and there's a bonus multiplier. The more enemies onscreen, the faster it goes down, but kill an enemy and it goes up.

However, there's also a grapple beam that will grab up to 10 (or so) enemies which will line up with your ship and work like options. If they get hit by a bullet, they fall off.

Sounds like a Kenta Cho take on Gaplus.

[Zach Keene]

Version 0.2 is out with a new Modern mode and a redone Classic mode (the capture beam now has to recharge between uses and enemy collisions destroy your ship.) I actually preferred 0.1.

[ArcticXC]

Yeah... ver2 classic mode is pretty terrible. The charge time on the grapple beam is far too long. I can't imagine how that would work at all on the later stages. I got annoyed and suicided after a few phases.

Modern mode however is fairly interesting, but does have its problems. I love the chaining of bullets stuff, but while it's pretty fun to play, the provoke beam seems to be pretty useless. I think I used it twice at the begining phases and then never really bothered. There were usually far too many bullets on screen to worry about getting even more.

[Zach Keene]

Well, the good news is that the capture beam recharges faster the less enemies you have captured. It still takes 50 hits to recharge with zero captures, though.

Looking through the source code, it looks like the original v0.1 mechanics were originally intended to still be selectable (and called "Basic Mode"), but was removed from the title screen menu for some reason. Hopefully it'll be back eventually.

[Necronom]

Same on my side. That's the first time that I really prefer the earlier version over the updated. As already mentioned recharge time in classic mode is way too long and destroys the whole flow. I must admit that I'm also having my problems with modern mode...not that it's too dificult but I just don't get it. Can you "provoke" any enemy with the beam or just the big crystal thing that Cho calls "middle enemy" in the readme?

"When you destroy a middle enemy, bullets flying side-by-side are
changed into a bullet multiplier in a chain reaction.
Use the provocation beam to the middle enemy to get higher bonus."
Erm, does that mean that the more you "provoke" the crystalthing the more bullets it sprays and the more bullets are on screen while the thing blows up the better?
Imho, this whole provoking with the beam doesn't really work. In Gunroar, forcing the enemies to spray more bullets by rushing upwards felt MUCH more natural. Well, just my opinion. Hope basic mode makes a comeback.

[Twiddle]

I like v.2 Modern mode a hell of a lot better, actually

the game doesn't last too long

[Zach Keene]

Can you "provoke" any enemy with the beam or just the big crystal thing that Cho calls "middle enemy" in the readme?

It seems to be just the midsize enemy.

Erm, does that mean that the more you "provoke" the crystalthing the more bullets it sprays and the more bullets are on screen while the thing blows up the better?

Pretty much. Killing the midsize causes a chain reaction: bullets near it are destroyed, then bullets near the destroyed bullets are destroyed, then bullets near those bullets get destroyed, and so on. I haven't yet figured out exactly how many points you get for this, but effective use of the provocation beam does make a huge difference.

[Dandy J]

Well at first this game was garbage, but the new modern mode is a billion times better. You actually struggle for survival and die before you get bored! Around phase 50 the game starts feeling like ESPGaluda on crack. Really fun.

[Dale]

Freeware shmup nuts rejoice.

That would be me. Great game, haven't figured out all the finer points of the game yet but so far it's been a blast.

More then 50% of my top 25 is gonna be freeware now. The hits just keep on coming. It seems that the modern day shmupper just needs a pc with internet access for all his manic needs.

[Pixel_Outlaw]

I could only make it to level 35 or so.... I'm a jr. Shmuper it would appear.

[Zach Keene]

I haven't yet figured out exactly how many points you get for this, but effective use of the provocation beam does make a huge difference.

Turns out it works about how you'd expect: the bullets are worth (chain multipier * overall multiplier) each, then the big cheese is worth (100 * chain mult * overall mult). So basically the chain reaction bonus is roughly proportional to the size of the chain squared.

[eretsua]

can anyone host / point me to a link where i can download Titanion v0.1? would love to see the differneces that you people are mentioning.

thanks in advance,

~eretsua.

[Zach Keene]

I posted a link to it in the high score thread.

[eretsua]

thanks Zach, wouldn't have looked for a link there.

~eretsua.

[the2bears]

More then 50% of my top 25 is gonna be freeware now. The hits just keep on coming. It seems that the modern day shmupper just needs a pc with internet access for all his manic needs.

There are definitely a lot of good, indie titles out there and more coming. Freeware especially... it's a good time to enjoy these types of games.

Bill

[ArcticXC]

Bump for new version up.

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/windows/ttn0_3.zip

No time to play it, but from the page it looks like he brought back ver1 (or something like it) and called it BASIC mode. Not sure if any of the other modes changed.