DUX for Dreamcast

jochen · Post by **jochen** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:17 am

Yesterday night I reached level four of DUX - without using a
credit. But then ... have to try again today.

I never came to Level Four in Last Hope with one credit -
so I may say that DUX is easier and more forgiving than their
first shmup. On the other hand some players migtht consider
it as too easy ( but if you ... like me ... die twenty times in
level four you have other problems

).

As I said in my earlier post - the graphic is o.k. / good -
maybe a little less colour would have been better ( Last Hope
on the other side was a little bit to dark - maybe the next
game will be perfect

). The music fits to the game - reminds
the of the amiga-era.

My conclusion after day one - a nice game, not perfect, but
worth it´s money. The game seems for me like a mix of
Pulstar, Xexex and Salamander2.

ROBOTRON · Post by **ROBOTRON** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 1:15 pm

jochen wrote:body of text

how is it you're playing it...PA still says it has not been released yet.

Hydeux · Post by **Hydeux** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 1:33 pm

ROBOTRON wrote:how is it you're playing it...PA still says it has not been released yet.

Really good athmosphere...
The game has been developped in Germany, and one could ordered it from a German online shop. That's why German players (and soon European players, I hope so at least...) can already play the game, and obvously "Jochen" is German.

mail from Hucast on the 15th June wrote:DUX is already shipping within Germany. International shipping is next.

16th June: shipment of DUX for Europe
17th June: shipment of DUX to USA and DUX LE worldwide

For the ones who ordered it through PA, it's gonna be a bit longer I assume : from Germany to Hong Kong, and from Hong Kong to wherever you live... (

, not sure of that...)

Moteuchi_Yota · Post by **Moteuchi_Yota** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 3:51 pm

Can i see a photo of the box? I want to see if they used a "jap oriented" package, for this game. I'm considering to buy this new homebrew release, but i'm not 100% sure.

Oh... a little OT: Last Hope Pink Bullets will be in a jap package?

jochen · Post by **jochen** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 4:31 pm

[quote]how is it you're playing it...PA still says it has not been released yet.

As I said earlier in this Thread - it doesn´t happen often
that germany is the first country who get´s a new shmup-release.

Normaly - as we all know - it´s japan - sometimes many months
later the USA - and last and not very often Europe.

In the meantime I ´ve reached level 5 - looks like Xexex.
Maybe I make it to 1´cc this game. Considering my age
that would be something I could be proud of

.

Here´s a little hint from me:

in the middle of level 1 you can get up to 10 lifes at once -
you can get them then you leave space and enter the enemies
base. If you shoot the block here you earn 1life. But if you
use the "magnet" ( your device which consumes enemy shots ),
use your charge shot as often as you can and ... obviously destroy
as much enemies as possible ... your chances for survival become
better.

Jochen.

heavy liquid · Post by **heavy liquid** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:21 pm

There's a good article over at Game Set Watch called Dux and Self-Publishing For Dreamcast:

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2009/06/gam ... ellwig.php

A snippet:

So you’ll be developing further titles for Dreamcast, but what about other platforms? How about PS2 in light of Sony’s recent decision to ease difficulty of the certification process for PS2 software in Europe?

RH: I’ll definitely develop more titles on Dreamcast, for sure. PS2 is interesting as well since it’s an open platform now, but I'm unsure, especially given it‘s only open for Europe. For me it's important to make my games accessible for a worldwide audience, and that's a reason why I‘d rather consider platforms like WiiWare, etc. in these terms.

Platforms like this are a step into the right direction when it comes to making a system as open as possible for independent developers, and they also offer a broad target group. However, this also means that as a developer, you are dependent on the service and a lack of a physical disc, and that's why currently, Dreamcast is the best choice for my games.

Do you envisage Sony‘s decision to remove certification as having the same effect as your ability to publish freely on Dreamcast without Sega complaining?

RH: Sega abandoned the Dreamcast and left the console market. As Sony knows there's still a market for PS2, so it makes sense for them to allow unverified games on their system.

My assumption is that they‘re also trying to get more eastern European developers to make games for PS2 to raise these low budget companies up with the hope that at least some will become capable of developing software for PS3 at some point, kind of like cutting their teeth on PS2. At the very least I don't think Sony has done this purely out of kindness, but instead it has a business purpose too.

Given Sega don't intend to do another console, they couldn't benefit much from removing certification processes for Dreamcast anyway. Even when they do with their consoles, then I'm sure it's only limited to countries like Brazil because there the Mega Drive (Sega Genesis) and maybe even Dreamcast have a market.

Actually, the Dreamcast is already an easy and pretty much open platform to develop for, and it’s well documented too. The only difference is a lack of approval form Sega, which isn't a problem for me.

The most casual of glances at Last Hope and DUX highlight some of the inspirations for these titles, the R-Type ‘Force’ weapon is an obvious one. How much do you set out to refine the ideas of 2D shooters and, perhaps, pay homage to them and how much do you attempt to create from scratch?

RH: R-Type is a classic of the strategic shooter sub-genre, so naturally Last Hope and DUX are inspired by it -- quite simply the R-Type series has set too many standards to ignore. Many people call a game which uses an R-Type force-like weapon an ‘R-Type Clone‘ but I disagree with this. In games of this kind, some sort of defence is necessary to highlight the potential for strategy.

In strategy games of any kind, you need some sort of defence, just like a knight character has a sword and a shield time and time again in various titles, but you wouldn’t claim that something like The Behemoth's Castle Crashers is a ‘Zelda clone‘ just because the protagonists have the same default weapons. With DUX, however, I just took the ideas of these kinds of games and combined them with modern standards to give a retro-like yet modern gaming experience.

To be innovative with shmups (shoot ‘em ups) isn't very easy anyhow, since it is a highly developed and sophisticated genre. Many people call Ikaruga innovative, but I see it as borrowing elements of an existing game, in this case the game of chess with its set patterns of movement and striking two-tone colour scheme, and making it a shmup. So, for me, innovation in shmups is mainly in the details.

XERO · Post by **XERO** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:32 pm

i ordered mine from PA....let's see how long it takes to get to the n.y.c. area.....

lilmanjs · Post by **lilmanjs** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:36 pm

I will ask this again. you guys were using DHL for all shipping to the states but with them being gone now, what company will you ship your orders to the states with?

jonny5 · Post by **jonny5** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:42 pm

you are confused...DHL is not out of business and they still deal with international express deliverys....

all they have done is pulled out of the 'domestic'(read:inside the US) express shipping in the USA

they still do express deliverys internationally to and from the states

piotre · Post by **piotre** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 6:51 pm

Moteuchi_Yota wrote:Can i see a photo of the box? I want to see if they used a "jap oriented" package, for this game. I'm considering to buy this new homebrew release, but i'm not 100% sure.

Oh... a little OT: Last Hope Pink Bullets will be in a jap package?

+1

Jockel · Post by **Jockel** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:01 pm

Judging by the original Last Hope's design, i'd assume it's in a japanese-styled box.

piotre · Post by **piotre** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 8:06 pm

dvd case....
it's ok, doesn't matter

Last Hope: Pink Bullets JPN DC

Offset printed Inlaycard
Offset printed full color manual
DVD Casing
Game CD

Item Price: 29,95 EUR or 15.95 EUR with 50% discount (+ shipping)

DUX
Dux for Dreamcast is a shooting game combining traditional gameplay with modern shoot 'em up features such as many bullets on-screen and a Risk & Reward scoring system. 1 Disc DVD casing

ave · Post by **ave** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:00 pm

Photo of the "first 100 orders" preorder edition:

(not mine though)

emphatic · Post by **emphatic** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:47 pm

aventus wrote:Photo of the "first 100 orders" preorder edition:

(not mine though)

Wow, it's nice to see that CAVE aren't alone in selling pillow cases and other bed items along with their games...

Moteuchi_Yota · Post by **Moteuchi_Yota** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:20 am

The package is... orrible? It seems a Wii game!

Play-Asia says that the LE will be in a jpn style double box (like Last Hope LE). But i can't find an image.

NAVVARR · Post by **NAVVARR** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:11 am

Moteuchi_Yota wrote:The package is... orrible? It seems a Wii game!

Play-Asia says that the LE will be in a jpn style double box (like Last Hope LE). But i can't find an image.

I think it looks good- i'm now really keen to play this game.

Probably keener than i've been in a long time to play a game... all this waiting has raised my anticipation.

jochen · Post by **jochen** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:15 pm

Today at 7.20 am I finished level 6.

Level six looks like the white dvd-case

- white,
simple, but stylish ( we can argue about the DVD-case).

Next game : REDUX ???? ( this name appears in the end credits ).

One or two more levels would have been nice - but on the other
side who would have wanted to wait longer ....

To make it short ... a nice shmup with six levels, good enemy-design,
fitting music . Better players than me might miss hard mode ( hope
I didn´t overseen something). I am glad I invested my money
in this game ... and no ... I am no family member or relative of
the programmers

.

Definetly better and more fun than Thunderforce 6.

Jochen.

piotre · Post by **piotre** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 4:23 pm

please someone could post the back and the side of the package?
anywhere dreamcast logo?

bel · Post by **bel** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 7:46 pm

The regular and limited edition have the same cover and package. Very good shit

lilmanjs · Post by **lilmanjs** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 8:31 pm

jonny5 wrote:you are confused...DHL is not out of business and they still deal with international express deliverys....

all they have done is pulled out of the 'domestic'(read:inside the US) express shipping in the USA

they still do express deliverys internationally to and from the states

they may still do shipping, but we had a DHL center up in kansas city and it totally closed down when they laid off 300 people at the headquaters. and if they still do shipping to the US from outside of the states, then my first copy of the DUX soundtrack should have arrived and I should not have of had to ask for another copy to be sent.

Post by **undamned** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 8:59 pm

jochen wrote:Yesterday night I reached level four of DUX - without using a credit.

And to think I was proud of myself for doing it with 1 credit!
-ud

Plasmo · Post by **Plasmo** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:58 pm

Just played 5mins of DUX.
First observations:

-Explosions still do look like shit
-I had no visibility issues with Last Hope, but I have lots of trouble seeing what's going on even on stage 1. Explosions, background graphics, bullets, enemies, your own shot - it all looks kinda similiar.
-It seems incredibly difficult and often unfair
-You have like 20 lives on default????
-My score after stage 1 was already in the billions (and I had no plan what I was doing), either this game is easily counterstoppable or it'll challenge the Giga Wing series.

I want to repeat that I've only spent 5mins on it, maybe I'm completely wrong after all. I'll play more on satur- and sunday.

Hydeux · Post by **Hydeux** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:49 am

(got mine yesterday : great packaging, game realy cool, played something like an hour)

Plasmo wrote: -I had no visibility issues with Last Hope, but I have lots of trouble seeing what's going on even on stage 1. Explosions, background graphics, bullets, enemies, your own shot - it all looks kinda similiar..

I agree with this ! I can play only with the "visibilty" option set on "perfect", which means no background !

Plasmo wrote:-It seems incredibly difficult and often unfair.

It's actually the kind of game you GOT to know by heart, much more than the first R-Type IMO...

Plasmo wrote:-You have like 20 lives on default????.

?
"only" 6, but by the end of first stage, I have something like 16 (don't know how exactly...)

Plasmo wrote:-My score after stage 1 was already in the billions (and I had no plan what I was doing)

same : I managed to end the first stage with more than 7 billions, got to stage 3, but never reached 8 billions : I really have something to work out !

The game is great, but the "100% by heart" may be a problem for "modern players".

P_HAT · Post by **P_HAT** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:43 am

The game is great, but the "100% by heart" may be a problem for "modern players".

Sounds like it's a memorization hell with buggy score system

Casey120 · Post by **Casey120** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:56 am

Maybe they need to make it a bit less hectic with better visible bullets , extra background color options and all that at a 50 % discount if you already bought the original version ?

Just an idea

Hydeux · Post by **Hydeux** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:32 am

Casey120 wrote: Just an idea

Dux Black Bullets !

Plasmo · Post by **Plasmo** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:27 pm

Just got the 1cc.

-Scoring system is broken. You sometimes get that 6billion points bonus in stage 1 and sometimes not. That means stage 1 is where 99% of your score comes from (if you're lucky). Kinda reminds me of that Darius Gaiden bug where you sometimes get ridiculous amounts of points out of nowhere.
-You can not not continue. Yes, you've read it right. You HAVE to use 3 continues or you have to clear the game before you can enter your final score.
-Game froze during stage 2 once
-The game obviously is too easy. There's no loop, no difficulty selection, no score attack mode and no practice mode. Playing the regular game for score is probably not possible due to the bugs. Replay value = 0

I really like the art direction, it's perfect. The scoring system is quite awesome once you get the hang of it, it feels a bit like Psyvariar. The soundtrack is wondeful! The colours! The enemy design! There's so much I already love about this game, it makes me just sad to see that it's messed up.

This game could've been ace if it wasn't for some small issues that could've easily been solved with play-testing....

jochen · Post by **jochen** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:32 pm

Compared to the first level of R-Type the first level of Dux
has a higher difficulty level.

But later it doesn´t become so hard like level 5, 6, 7, or 8 of R-Type.

You must get used to the game-/ play-mechanics of the game.
On my first tries I died many times in level 2. No I can get
through the level without loosing a ship ( yeah - not every time ...
but it happened once

).

Now - after four days I managed it to 1´cc the game -
I never accomplished to 1´cc R-Type 1 or 2 ( one reason
might be that the player get more lives in Dux).

The game is shurely not as hard as Last Hope - good for players
like me - less frustration and higher replay-value.

Scooring in this game seems a little weird - you make most of
your points in level 1. For me this is no problem - I am only
interested in scooring then I can get extra lifes from it. But I can
understand if others have trouble with that.

Jochen.

P_HAT · Post by **P_HAT** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:33 pm

There's no loop, no difficulty selection, no score attack mode and no practice mode.

WTF RHE, just WTF...

I can explain ur narcissism, all those crap like "we make STRATEGIC GAME not the R-Type clone" but this...

charlesr · Post by **charlesr** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:53 pm

FYI: Just arrived in the UK direct from Hucast too.