Starfire - Ares Assault. Free shooter now released.

[Sui]

"Starfire - Ares Assault" is now released (and FREE)!

You can download it from here:
http://www.suisoft.co.uk/starfire/index.htm

The main games page is here:
http://www.suisoft.co.uk/games/index.htm

Don't forget to use the secondary weapon on the bosses. There are a couple of tips on the web page.

Enjoy and please pass on or follow me on Twitter / Facebook.

The website is pretty basic at the moment. It needs more work to add screenshots, videos, artwork etc.

[ciox]

Not bad, let's see here:

- not sure how bombs work, just a piercing shot? "bombs" usually grant you invulnerability of some kind
- first stage music has that imperial feel, gives a cool feeling
- first stage is decently challenging (on hard) but has you fighting the same type of enemy for a pretty long stretch
- invulnerability period seems awfully short (death)

[Sui]

Not bad, let's see here:

- not sure how bombs work, just a piercing shot? "bombs" usually grant you invulnerability of some kind
- first stage music has that imperial feel, gives a cool feeling
- first stage is decently challenging (on hard) but has you fighting the same type of enemy for a pretty long stretch
- invulnerability period seems awfully short (death)

Thanks for the feedback.

The bombs are charged up by holding down the second gamepad button (or LEFT ALT). When released they just do a lot of damage. A bit like R-Type's plasma. They also fragment when they hit a smaller enemy. They are critical for taking out bosses.

By first stage, how far through the game do you mean? Up to the first boss?

I'll maybe adjust the invulnerability time in the next release. Some players are being killed by a boss then immediately re-killed on respawn.

Ta,
Gary

[Sui]

I have blogged my development plans for the game:
http://suisoftgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012 ... plans.html

[Sui]

"Starfire - Ares Assault" version 1.01 is now released.



Following feedback (thanks all), the difficulty has been adjusted. In particular boss behaviour is less frustrating and enemies do much less damage on Space Slug / Easy settings. The full release notes are included at the bottom of this post

The next release will aim to fix performance problems on machines with certain video cards, in particular those with limited memory.

You can download the latest version from here: (for PC and Mac)
http://www.suisoft.co.uk/starfire/index.htm

(please refresh your browser to ensure you see the v1.01 download links)

Don't forget to use the secondary weapon on the bosses. There are a couple of tips on the web page and more in the game manual.

I have also posted a play through video on hard: (spoiler alert - shows end boss fight)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOWapqbIj7M

Enjoy and please pass on.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please get in touch.





Release Notes for Game: Starfire - Ares Assault
===============================================

Version: 1.01
=============

Cosmetic
--------

* Asteroid and gun turret explosions now retain some of the velocity of the asteroid/turret.

Enhancements
------------

* When bosses are approaching from below, a red warning bar flashes at the bottom of the screen.

Fixes
-----

* Plasma bomb charge now shows on front of ship when spawning.

* Button height corrected on 'Start New Game' screen.

Gameplay Changes
----------------

* Enemy ships have less energy on lower difficulties. This makes them easier to kill and reduces damage inflicted when they crash into a player.

* Numbers of bombers are reduced on lower difficulty settings.

* Number of enemies in waves reduced for lower difficulty levels.

* Number of asteroids reduced on lower difficulty levels.

* Bosses are now slower when moving sideways and go back up when they reach the bottom of the screen. This gives players more of a chance to dodge and reduces instances of getting trapped in a corner.

* Damage taken by player is reduced on Normal, Easy and Slug modes. Enemy ship speeds are also reduced.

* Player is invulnerable for twice as long when spawning.

[tiaoferreira]

Very beautiful game.

[Sui]

Very beautiful game.

Thanks. I'm pretty pleased with the way it looks.

The production values are much better than my previous game.