Stella Vanity V0.2 & 0.21

[Hydeux]

A new version is now available, and already patched (download the game, and change the SV020.exe with the SV021.exe, if this isn't already done)
http://www.feathered-ether.com/ (first link, patch is right below)

Seems great but the system has been completely changed (????) and I'm quite lost so far...(How can you score now ???)
If someone may help, he's quite welcome !

[Ravid]

There's some info in the high score thread, which you should post in btw. The changes seem good as far as I can tell; the characters now play very differently from each other. There are four difficulty modes, but Hard mode is rock hard and Pandemonium is just ridiculous, so I suspect most people will steer clear of them and stick to Normal, which is pretty respectable difficulty, especially for a freeware doujin.

[Hydeux]

oooops sorry : as there was no post in "shmups chat", I thought no one had talked about it...
I'll read that then, and probably will post a few scores soon !

[TrevHead (TVR)]

I can't wait to play it but ill wait for the full version and it's demo before i try it out. That way Ill be able to enjoy it to its full pertential without the flaws that are usually in a beta.

Same goes with Eden's Aegis and Altenex 2nd, when these titles are finished ill be a happy chappy

[Aliquantic]

Some thread necromancy because it doesn't seem like it's worth starting a new thread for it... but are you a happy chap now Trevhead?

While Feathered Ether posted an ominous post on their blog at the end of July saying that development was basically over, there was an update yesterday here that seems to imply development may restart... The only thing I really got through Google Translate was an unambiguous "so we will resume in the near future", and a "NOT AT ALL" in red letters that's basically there to mislead casual readers apparently...

I can't really parse the rest of it but it seems to be a lot of miscellaneous thoughts, but I'm still curious to see where this will be going... I'm not holding my breath for it, though, and I suspect another radical gameplay change isn't unlikely.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

It would be great if they have restarted development but due to the dodgy translation I still think the game is still cancelled or "on hold". untill i see clear evidence in plain english will i wont think overwise.

Im not goona lose any sleep over SV as theres plenty of other doujins to look forward to namly crimson clover and refrain plus this game Black Art.
It uses ikarugas polarity system but with 3 colours and adaptive difficulty, I dont know much about it but if its made well could be quite fun to play

vid http://www.nicovideofire.jp/watch/sm11736464
homepage http://tucc.aa0.netvolante.jp/~yumeneko ... index.html

[Aliquantic]

A new screenshot went up on their blog, which seems to be fairly solid evidence that the guy did say he'd restart development and, more relevantly, that he has actually done so!

[TrevHead (TVR)]

This is good news it allways sucks when a good shmup is cancelled. I do expect many of the ppl whose played the demos to be other the moon. For me personally I tend to stay away from the best doujin betas and wait for the final version so I can enjoy it more. Even Crimson Clover Ive probably only spent a couple of hours playing it. Usually Ill just watch a video to get the info I need on a game

[Aliquantic]

Stella Vanity 0.30 should be out in the relatively near future, and Trisgram has started summarizing his blog posts in English too! One of the biggest changes is the addition of a melee weapon (see thisvideo) and several such changes to the 0.22 gameplay, and his most recent post sums up his recent efforts.

He did say the STG part remains his priority, and I'm very curious to see what the next version will look like... hopefully it shouldn't be too far away now!

[TrevHead (TVR)]

One of the biggest changes is the addition of a melee weapon

oooohhh that looks quite good. Im starting to look forward to this game. THX for the heads up

[LtC]

It was pretty sad when the game's developement was discontinued so I'm very happy to see it back in development now.

One of the biggest changes is the addition of a melee weapon

I wonder if it's only for the first character since in 0.2X it had already completely different mechanics than the second character. In 0.21 the character with the green shot wasn't nearly as fun to play as the blue one. I'm hoping the sword gets added only for the first character.

The 0.2X version of this was already way more polished than Crimzon Clover's 0.20 trial (And had even features full version of CC doesn't have like TATE and Replay function) so I expect great things from this game.

[Naut]

Holy shit hype get

Can't wait for the next trial! His YouTube implies it should've been out by now though.

[Treasurance]

"mini games"?

[ZoDiaC]

Does anyone have a working link for the Stella Vanity demo/s? The few links I could find are dead.
Is there any chance someone could upload it on a filehoster? It looks like a great game so there must
a way to get it somehow?

[Aisha]

Does anyone have a working link for the Stella Vanity demo/s? The few links I could find are dead.
Is there any chance someone could upload it on a filehoster? It looks like a great game so there must
a way to get it somehow?

I don't have links, but the developer has resumed work on the game recently and is set to release a 1 stage trial pretty soon, if things go well. The gameplay will probably be pretty different from the old trials, though.

[Naut]

All I have is 0.1b, which I re-upped here if you want to play an older (but still very fun) version.

[ZoDiaC]

All I have is 0.1b, which I re-upped here if you want to play an older (but still very fun) version.

Tanks for the upload, you just made my day. Had my first run on normal... this game is quite challenging. and very colourful anf flashy. but thats great. Gonna spend some time playing it this weekend.

[Aliquantic]

I'm uploading V0.22 here if someone is interested (it'll be up in a few minutes). Tris-Gram is planning to release all the stages with the old mechanics for free at some point, and to sell the new one as a doujin around the end of the year. Speaking of which...

A Youtube video of the "new" stage 1 uploaded earlier today... I'm not really sure what to make of it yet

[Observer]

I'm uploading V0.22 here if someone is interested (it'll be up in a few minutes). Tris-Gram is planning to release all the stages with the old mechanics for free at some point, and to sell the new one as a doujin around the end of the year. Speaking of which...

A Youtube video of the "new" stage 1 uploaded earlier today... I'm not really sure what to make of it yet

I have the answer for you: Crimzon Clover meets lolimechs in fantastical winter TEAPARTY. With lock-on guided laser missiles and ETEREARU SHIFUTU MODO.

Hopefully, a trial might be coming soon.

[BPzeBanshee]

I'm uploading V0.22 here if someone is interested (it'll be up in a few minutes). Tris-Gram is planning to release all the stages with the old mechanics for free at some point, and to sell the new one as a doujin around the end of the year. Speaking of which...

A Youtube video of the "new" stage 1 uploaded earlier today... I'm not really sure what to make of it yet

I have the answer for you: Crimzon Clover meets lolimechs in fantastical winter TEAPARTY. With lock-on guided laser missiles and ETEREARU SHIFUTU MODO.

Hopefully, a trial might be coming soon.

Someone's been taking that drug called Charlie Sheen.

It's not available cause if you take you'll DIE!
Your face will melt off, and your children will be weeping over your exploded body.


Seriously. Friggin. Mindblown.

[RNGmaster]

Wow, this is really great! Loving Version 0.22, but I don't get the scoring system in the new version. Anyone manage to figure that out?

[Tetsuo]

kudos for 2.2

[RNGmaster]

Shit just got real. I figured out that in 0.22 you can hold down the counter button to activate a second Overdrive mode with even more bullets. One I figure out how to survive, I'll be posting much higher scores.

[Observer]

Ok, shit just got serious!

Tris-Gram posted an update explaining the mechanics, which seem pretty neat. He also mentioned he wanted to implement lock-on guided lasers before but they take too much CPU power for a Pentium 4 (... Japan really is behind when it comes to PC right? Even here I have an AMD X2 64 dual core and all) so he might add an option to tweak down effects. Ah, well, as long as it guarantees full 60fps I'm happy.

It seems he's going for a Mars Matrix of the mechanics. If Mars Matrix was choose your own adventure and decide when to make cubes, here you will be able to decide which mode/scoring method you are going to apply. Some seem to have a focus on helping new players because STGs have gotten way too hard.

Now I see more similarities with Hellsinker in terms of complexity and this is why he's going to release a "System Trial" instead of a regular trial. So we can test the different modes and systems.

The gem exchange is now present again but resembles more the gold goblets from Espgaluda than the annoying ring/jewels mess from Progear (sorry, guys, I just want to like Progear but I can't, it's pretty and all but I can't =P).

[RNGmaster]

Shit just got even more real. Will have to look into the new mechanics myself.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

FRom what Observer's discription of the scoring mechanics this game is shaping up to be hot. I just hope it isnt proximity based, while I love the mechanic there seems to be too many new games using it and im getting sick of sucky deaths

[Aisha]

It seems like a cross between Espgaluda and Hellsinker.

So basically:

-Assault Laser: Lock-on guided lasers. We all know what these are.
---Can be set to Auto-Assault, in which lasers are released immediately after cross-hairs are locked onto targets.
-----Manual control can result in high Overkill damage, which is important for score.
-Blade: Sword attack. Think Radiant Silvergun. Makes Overkill damage.
-Raid: It gives you a period of invincibility to attack large enemies with the Blade weapon. Only works against large enemies. Imposes a Blade cooldown penalty.
-Overdrive: Hyper. It doesn't make you invincible, however. Meant to be used in tight situations instead of wasting a bomb.
-Shifts:
---Delayed Shift (aka Kakusei): Bullet speed decreases, bullet density increases.
---Ethereal Shift: Bullet speed increases. Increases number of coins generated.
-----Can activate both Delayed and Ethereal Shift at the same time.
---Each shift increases player (?) firepower.
-Counter Burst Mode: Only used during boss fights. Defeating bosses while Ethereal Shift is going keeps them alive until Ethereal Shift ends. Boss fires desperation-level bullet patterns, but additional damage you do adds to Overkill and you get rewarded with a Time Bonus.

-Only Assault Laser and Delayed Shift are available at the beginning. Other systems must be unlocked.
-You don't have to utilize all systems to survive, but doing so rewards you with higher score.

Scoring Outline:

1) Get coins with overkill;
2) Get jewels by canceling bullets with Delayed Shift going.
-In addition to Overkill, there's also a MultiKill bonus.

I can't tell what the relationship between coins and jewels is, if there is one. There are also different colors of coins and jewels; will have to wait until trial to know if this has any relevance. I also can't tell how Delayed Shift and Ethereal Shift are metered.

Edit: Added some more detail.

[Observer]

It seems the "raid" melee attack will also be useful for the bosses as well as an aid to for newbies, yet also integrated to the score.

All in all, the system looks really daring as in, trying to attempt something different. And thank god it's not proximity based. I still have nightmares with the Touhou Ten Desires demo...

Manual lock-on laser ftw. PRESS START, OMEGA BOOST.

I will probably clear the game based only on those, hell, it should even be a feat or challenge, lol.

Now, if he ditched the second character or is planning to add even more quirks to them to increase the Hellsinkeresque complexity.

edit: also, guys, go show your support and webclap the posts, comment if you have insight or something. If anything, we should try to report our system specs once we get the trial.

[RNGmaster]

New post up! More clarification about the two types of Shift, and some enjoyable instances of mistranslation towards the end of the post. He mentions (in Japanese) that he had a toothache which made it hard to focus on programming, but he promised to have some new music for us by the time of the system trial.

Also, I tried to post a comment but kept getting an error. Any ideas about what I did wrong?

[Observer]

Yeah, I couldn't help but to smile at the misinterpretation. And lucky that it didn't lead to any sore situation like the GwangeDash thing...

The username has to be in full fledged alphanumeric to be taken as valid by the japanese server. Try setting your keyboard to japanese and selecting "full width alphanumeric" to type the username.