Astro Port History

[mjclark]

In one of those weird coincidences, I'd been raving about Satazius and then came across a reference to Urban Uprising as a game from Dark Hell Company, the precursors of Astro Port. This led to the other DHC shmups and especially Warmachine Overload which has had a bit of praise on these forums in the past and is the clear spiritual predecessor of Satazius.
I'd never realised that DHC/Astro Port had produced so much excellence over such a long time period:
Can any of the learned doujin pundits on this forum shed a bit more light on this?

[Moniker]

Probably not the history you're looking for, but I've tried out all of Astro Port's shareware titles. A remarkable library indeed.

Satazius (2011) - Fast-paced Gradius tribute.

Gigantic Army (2010) - Run 'n gun with many of Satazius's features. Controls a bit strangely; haven't been able to figure out an intuitive way to aim.

Adobentamu - Some tank game I've been unable to track down.

Witch Bogumeguriro - Has Strania's weapon system (!) and a rechargable warp button that pauses the game and lets you flee to safety/melee attack if you do it right.

Armed Seven (2008) - Somewhat reminiscent of Satazius, but faster paced and more manic. More like R-Type Leo.

ValKaiser - Weird one, maybe based on manga? You seem to have twinbee fists and pick up powerups that change your secondary attack (as well as give you an ecstatic powerup screen).

All these seem to have Raiden-esque scoring based on quickly destroying the larger enemies. Haven't tried the freeware games yet; and the Dark Hell Company games seem to run slowly on my system. Don't know why.

FULL SCREEN GO!

[Udderdude]

I was actually just trying Uprising: Dark New World yesterday. Game goes nuts by stage 3 on Insane, if you die, it's pretty much game over. D:

[BIL]

Gigantic Army (2010) - Run 'n gun with many of Satazius's features. Controls a bit strangely; haven't been able to figure out an intuitive way to aim.

What aspect of aiming is giving you trouble? Up/Down adjusts the angle of the gun a full 180 degrees. To lock aim hold the fire button - it takes a split-second for the lock to kick in. You can lock instantly by initiating, then immediately cancelling a dash (double-tap left or right). I found it pretty easy to get to grips with on a gamepad - haven't tried on other setups.

[Moniker]

Hrm... I just compared my experience with Uprising to a youtube video, the only one I could find, and it's of too low quality for me to tell if my game is underperforming. It definitely feels slower than Astro Ports. Do you get the same experience?

Just cleared Armed Seven and saw the credits. Apparently it's a two-man operation. A fellow named "Sak," and the other one.


EDIT: @BIL, ahh yeah it's probably from using a keyboard... And the delayed aim lock had me befuddled. Figured it was loose/inconsistent controls, but I'm guessing its just a matter of getting used to it.

[Ghegs]

I'm an Astro Port fan, yeah.

Adobentamu - Some tank game I've been unable to track down.

That would be Jouki Katsugeki Adventum or Steam Action Adventum. I believe rancor still has some in stock. It's similar to Gigantic Army but not as refined. Still fun.

ValKaiser - Weird one, maybe based on manga?

Vulkaiser isn't based on anything specific, but it is a spoof/parody/homage on the whole super robot genre.

All these seem to have Raiden-esque scoring based on quickly destroying the larger enemies.

Not sure where you get this from, as none of the five games I own have this. Astro Port's games have fairly simple scoring systems, usually involving picking up powerups when you're already at max strength to get extra points, with additional points awarded at the end of each stage for various things.

Apparently it's a two-man operation. A fellow named "Sak," and the other one.

Sak and Ordan seem to be the main Astro Port, yeah. In Satazius a third person called "Osabishi" did some stuff as well.

[Mischief Maker]

All these seem to have Raiden-esque scoring based on quickly destroying the larger enemies.

Not sure where you get this from, as none of the five games I own have this. Astro Port's games have fairly simple scoring systems, usually involving picking up powerups when you're already at max strength to get extra points, with additional points awarded at the end of each stage for various things.

Vulkaiser certainly has this, so does Meglilo. That's why enemies leave mutiplier messages in their wake post-explosion. Maybe that was added to Vulkaiser in a later patch?

[Ghegs]

Ah, right you are. Vulkaiser seems to have the quick shot -bonus for all enemies, while Armed Seven has it for bosses and large enemies only. I haven't played either game in so long I totally forgot about it and I've never played Meglilo. Three out six, then. The remaining three are the ones I've played the most by far, not surprisingly.

Never really got into Vulkaiser or Armed Seven to begin with...horzies without environmental hazards feel wrong to me. Though I recall clearing both on Normal difficulties.