XOP Black

[ZOM]

Awesome STG! Very well done. I like the graphics & resolution and the music is outstanding for a doujin...
Only thing I miss is a proper tate mode, if only I could download your tate patch instead of getting that 404 error...

[Udderdude]

Here's a link to the tate .bat files. http://rydia.net/udder/prog/download/tate.zip

Just copy them to the XOP Black folder and run them.

If you just want to do it from the command prompt w/o using .bat files, the commands are ..

xopblack -res 4
xopblack -res 5

[ZOM]

Yay thanks Udderdude! command line is fine.

[mjclark]

Fantastic!I've been looking for some PC shmups to get into-good gameplay and good gfx and XOP and XOPBlack are just the ticket
Two things but-
1) that tate mode doesn't quite fit the screen though
2)what's the bottom row of numbers underneath the DAL total on the top right hand side? (I thought it might be hitpoints but sometimes it stays on zero even when I'm hitting things)
Anyway, thumbs up for two great games

[Plasmo]

- Added Insane difficulty - only unlocked after completing XOP Black on skill Very Hard without using a continue.

Got the 1cc today but there's no Insane diff unlocked??!

[Udderdude]

- Added Insane difficulty - only unlocked after completing XOP Black on skill Very Hard without using a continue.

Got the 1cc today but there's no Insane diff unlocked??!

It looks like I slipped up, you'll have to restart XOP Black for it to be unlocked. There should be a file called xopiu.dat in the folder if you unlocked it. You have to press the difficulty slider past Very Hard, and it should start flashing.

[jonny5]

Got the 1cc today

hats off to you sir!!!!

[Udderdude]

Fantastic!I've been looking for some PC shmups to get into-good gameplay and good gfx and XOP and XOPBlack are just the ticket
Two things but-
1) that tate mode doesn't quite fit the screen though
2)what's the bottom row of numbers underneath the DAL total on the top right hand side? (I thought it might be hitpoints but sometimes it stays on zero even when I'm hitting things)
Anyway, thumbs up for two great games

Glad you like the game. Tate mode doesn't fit exactly because the game was designed for horizontal PC monitors. That bottom row of numbers is a bonus counter for killing enemies simultaneously. You also get more points for point-blanking enemies.

[Plasmo]

It looks like I slipped up, you'll have to restart XOP Black for it to be unlocked. There should be a file called xopiu.dat in the folder if you unlocked it. You have to press the difficulty slider past Very Hard, and it should start flashing.

No new .dat file did appear, but I think I've found the prob. Do you have to clear BOTH loop for the new diff? I only cleared the first one. Two loop games are not my cup of tea...

[Udderdude]

It looks like I slipped up, you'll have to restart XOP Black for it to be unlocked. There should be a file called xopiu.dat in the folder if you unlocked it. You have to press the difficulty slider past Very Hard, and it should start flashing.

No new .dat file did appear, but I think I've found the prob. Do you have to clear BOTH loop for the new diff? I only cleared the first one. Two loop games are not my cup of tea...

Yes, you need to clear both loops. Did you try the EX levels in score attack?

[Plasmo]

Yes, I'm aiming for a highscore on all EX levels (only have a clear on each one atm)
Loops don't offer anything new, you should've made the EX levels, regular ones as level 5-8. But then again 8 stages is too much for an STG.

[Udderdude]

I guess I got a bit carried away, and revamped skill Insane and did a bunch of changes to the boss/miniboss patterns. I have yet to upload this new version, not sure if I should or just leave the game as-is. Any thoughts?

XOP Black Revision 7 Changes

- Tweaked miniboss shot patterns.
- Tweaked boss shot patterns.
- Increased range and value of proximity bonus.
- Second loop removed from skill Insane.
- Reflect shield now turns enemy shots into DAL coins on skill Insane.
- Extend bonus also awards extra reflect shield on skill Insane.
- Combo bonus removed from skill Insane.
- Insane mode extends set at 20mil and 40mil.

[Plasmo]

Sounds like some nice additions especially for Insane, which would make the game much more enjoyable.
Now give us that EX5 stage and release Rev. 7!

[Udderdude]

Still working on EX 5 (which is now being called EX 0)

Here's an updated list of changes

- Added EX0 level.
- Added EX course, selectable from Main Menu.
- Tweaked miniboss shot patterns.
- Tweaked boss shot patterns.
- Increased range and value of proximity bonus.
- Second loop removed from skill Insane.
- Reflect shield now turns enemy shots into DAL coins on skill Insane.
- Extend bonus also awards extra reflect shield on skill Insane.
- Combo bonus removed from skill Insane.
- Score attack lives reduced to 3 on skill Insane.
- DAL counter no longer resets between levels on skill Insane.
- New scoring mechanic - Scraping bullets raises overdrive meter
Once it's full, pressing shot+autofire puts the ship into overdrive
While in overdrive, enemies killed drop 2x DAL coins.
Overdrive lasts 10 seconds.

[Sasupoika]

Holy shit, that sounds awesome.
I am eagerly waiting for it.

[Udderdude]

Ok, it's done, barring any showstopping issues this is going to be the last update I do to XOP Black.

http://rydia.net/udder/prog/xopblack/index.html

I also kept revision 6 up there as http://rydia.net/udder/prog/download/xopblackR6.zip

You should not really need it, unless you are crazy enough to try playing the original Insane mode or watch some old replays.

[Udderdude]

Yeah really, don't leave me hanging here.

I'm waiting with baited breath. :O

[Plasmo]

Nice going Sasupoika!

I tried to record a better replay, but couldn't get one in the end, so I'm simply posting my 201mill replay. The problem with Insane mode is the amount of points you get from bombing any attack of the second boss. It gives you more than anything else in the game. The later bosses give you roughly the same, but considering you have to play the stage first (and waste bombs), it's not really worth to milk any of the later bosses.
So the best strategy is to use ALL your bombs and ALL your lives on the second boss and your score will be higher than all 1cc scores, which eliminates the challenge to clear this game of course.
I already thought about this while playtesting and I think I even told you about it Udderdude...

Replay

It's maybe a bit too harsh to call it "broken", but actually that's what it is.

[Udderdude]

So the best strategy is to use ALL your bombs and ALL your lives on the second boss and your score will be higher than all 1cc scores

Sorry, but I think you're being a little premature with your judgement. You can get way more out of the final boss (by that I mean blowing all your bombs/extends there) if you time your bombs right and go through all of level 4 w/o dying and start the fight with a high DAL counter.

I don't really want to say more (and spoil all the fun) but trust me, the level 2 boss isn't THAT valuable.

[Plasmo]

Ok let's say the last boss gives me more points, beating all the other stages AND bosses will take a lot of bombs. Probably so many that it's not worth it.
Or let's say that I can somehow no miss/no bomb my way trough the game, which would be an absolutely incredible challenge and my reward will be just a tad more than the score anyone could achieve by milking the second boss. The maximum score you get from milking him should be roughly around 280mill, I don't think you'd be able to get over 350mill with a 1cc. These scores stand in no comparisons just way too close to each other.

[Plasmo]

Btw another bug:

If you get scores above 100mill in any of the stages in score attack, your scores won't be saved. The highscore for that stage will be 10k with your name next to it, but if you break 10k, you still have a new highscore then. If you make replays however this won't matter at all.

[Udderdude]

Ok let's say the last boss gives me more points, beating all the other stages AND bosses will take a lot of bombs. Probably so many that it's not worth it.
Or let's say that I can somehow no miss/no bomb my way trough the game, which would be an absolutely incredible challenge and my reward will be just a tad more than the score anyone could achieve by milking the second boss. The maximum score you get from milking him should be roughly around 280mill, I don't think you'd be able to get over 350mill with a 1cc. These scores stand in no comparisons just way too close to each other.

Alright, I'm going to let you in on a little bonus feature. If you hold down one of the F-keys (F1,F2, etc.) while choosing your speed for boss attack mode, you will automatically skip to that boss (F2=level 2, F4=level 4).

Go directly to the two bosses, blow all your lives/bombs as well as you can, and see what happens. And then keep in mind your DAL counter would be even higher at the end of level 4 than at the end of level 2.

The 100mil score attack bug was something left over from the original XOP that I had completely forgotten about. Whoops. I will upload a new version that fixes this, but it's still going to say revision 7.

Anyway, I'm willing to make a slight compromise, since I don't want to break demo compatibility at this point. Clearing Insane mode gives you 100m points (only if you didn't continue, of course). How does that sound?

[Plasmo]

I was taking the other bosses already into account since I've practiced them in boss attack mode before. I forgot about that one super crazy attack at the third boss though (no other attack gives you significantly more than any attack of the second boss). So my point is still the same: It's not worth the effort to 1cc the game, it's all about milking this ONE attack at the third boss.

100mill end bonus would probably not be enough considering how hard a 1cc would be.

[Udderdude]

I did notice that 3rd level boss attack, but I didn't think anyone would be nuts enough to go through his entire attack cycle repeatedly to milk that one pattern. You'd have to avoid all his attacks about .. 17 times in a row to milk it with all your lives/bombs. Anyway, I can also change it so his pattern there gives less points.

What do you think a good end bonus would be then, 200m?

[CptRansom]

I really love the Overdrive addition! I'm not posting a score yet because I need to re-familiarize myself with the game, but so far I'm thoroughly enjoying the new revision. =D

Soundtrack please? I love the music in this game so much. =)

[Udderdude]

The music is right here : http://rydia.net/udder/prog/download/xopBlackMusic.zip

I uploaded an update to XOP Black, it still says Revision 7. The changes are pretty minor.

Clear bonus for Skill Insane - 200m
Boss 2 final shot and Boss 3 eye beams shot give less DAL coins from reflect shield on Skill Insane
Insane mode DAL coins from reflect shields changed from red to pinkish-purple (makes them easier to discern from bullets on levels 1 and 2)
When scraping bullets your ship has a slight glow (makes it easier to see when your overdrive meter is increasing)

[Plasmo]

I'm not sure if 200mill is enough. You have to keep in mind the difficulty of clearing the game versus how easy it is to milk the second and third boss. If you're going for the clear you'd need ALL your bombs and lives and can't really sacrifice them anywhere. If milking gives you so many points everything else has to give you even more than that to justify doing it.
It's hard to say how high the endbonus actually has to be...

[Udderdude]

I'm not sure if 200mill is enough. You have to keep in mind the difficulty of clearing the game versus how easy it is to milk the second and third boss. If you're going for the clear you'd need ALL your bombs and lives and can't really sacrifice them anywhere. If milking gives you so many points everything else has to give you even more than that to justify doing it.
It's hard to say how high the endbonus actually has to be...

I'm sure at this point milking the level 4 boss + 200m will beat any amount of points you get from the 2nd and 3rd boss, especially since I reduced the biggest shot pattern bonus from both of them.

I'll throw out some numbers since you still seem skeptical. You're looking at about 700m if you manage to milk the level 4 boss and clear the game. This is from my own internal testing so your mileage may vary.

Keep in mind you get 2 bombs just from finishing each level, so that's 4 bombs you'd be missing out on if you just decided to end it at stage 3.

Also, your max bomb stock is 5, so you can't stockpile every single one for the level 4 boss anyway. You have plenty to spare, you don't have to get to him w/o using even a single bomb.

[Plasmo]

I'll throw out some numbers since you still seem skeptical. You're looking at about 700m if you manage to milk the level 4 boss and clear the game. This is from my own internal testing so your mileage may vary.

I would've expected such numbers. But did you know that with the old stage 3 boss attack you could get around 1,5bill+ from him alone (tested and verified)? That's why I said that it wasn't worth it to milk the fourth boss or clear the game. If this attack gets fixed + endbonus, it might be alright again.

Keep in mind you get 2 bombs just from finishing each level, so that's 4 bombs you'd be missing out on if you just decided to end it at stage 3.

Good point! But considering that you'd need one or the other bomb during the stages itself, the bonus bombs can not really be used for milking anyway.

[SFKhoa]

Plasmo: Expert playtester.