TxK for Vita - Jeff Minter's new game out next week Feb 11th

[antares]

Just played my first credit and got a little over 1 million. It seems it takes a few minutes until your score shows up in the online leaderboards.

Anyway I'm already loving it, it's like a super polished version of T2K and runs totally smooth (my only really complaint about the Jaguar version).

If anyone wants to compare scores add me on PSN: redwasp-antares

[RaidenViper]

Got my Vita today. This is the first game that I bought. Love it! by far the best Tempest game

[antares]

The current number 1 in the Pure leaderboard is Smelly_Beast. Could it be Jeff Minter himself?

[gameoverDude]

Are the songs level dependent or something? All I ever seem to hear is "Space is Everything," unless they all blend together.

Every 8 levels you get a new BGM.

[spadgy]

I keep hearing more and more good things about this. Very glowing review on Eurogamer by Martin R, who I know, and he knows enough about shmups to have a cab and a woody for Gradius. Can't wait to find some time with it. I need something to get me off my OlliOlli addiction.

EDIT: Upped crudity/puerility.

[Skykid]

I keep hearing more and more good things about this. Very glowing review on Eurogamer by Martin R, who I know, and he knows enough about shmups to have a cab and a woody for Gradius. Can't wait to find some time with it. I need something to get me off my OlliOlli addiction.

EDIT: Upped crudity/puerility.

Will, buy this now, you'll absolutely love it. It's right up your street, and even if you're not familiar with Tempest, it's still probably the best game on the Vita.

It's amaaazing!

I'm on the leaderboards as of tonight. Currently 49th on Survival and in the top 100 on Classic. Username: Hyperjaw

Tea with the Vicar!

[Daigohji]

Played a couple of credits and I'm enjoying it so far. It's less weird and experimental than Space Giraffe, but gameplay feels tighter.

Check the final page of the manual to see what Minter thinks are the real essentials of game development!

[Skykid]

This is amaze. Woke up this morning thinking about it and jumped straight back on. Been a long time since I did that with a game.

Antares, spotted you on the leaderboards last night. It seems to me that Pure and Survival are probably the best scoring challenges - what's everyone else gunning for?

[antares]

I really like Survival a lot, will try to break one million today

Did you notice you can lean left and right while pressing the L button? This way you can kill enemies that are already on top of the web without the risk of being caught by them. I also like the new feature of bombing yourself free immediately after you got caught.
The only new thing I don't like is that you keep all your powerups after dying, makes it a bit too easy.

Let's hope this game sells really well so we may see more Llamasoft games on the Vita in the future!

[Skykid]

Yes, I read the manual last night and I've been working on perfecting the lean tactic. I think it has huge potential in surviving, but it's a hell of a balancing act. Your claw moves fast, and sometimes I end up captured by enemies just trying to steer close enough to lean, or end up boxed into a corner while they all line up! It definitely goes wrong if you camp too long, as you can't reach powerups effectively.

I'll get the hang of it though. I love the game, a total Tempest resurgence in every respect. Survival is awesome (my highest leaderboard achievement so far) but Pure is alluring too - seems to be a lot of strong competition on that board.

[spadgy]

Will, buy this now, you'll absolutely love it.

Your wish is my command!

[Daigohji]

Have you ever had that experience after spending too long on a shmup session where you close your eyes and can still see bullet patterns shifting around behind your eyelids? I can play most shmups for a couple of hours before getting that. With TxK, it takes five minutes.

[null1024]

When I close my eyes after playing TxK, I see silly words in a vector font zooming into my vision.
But yeah, the game does manage to linger in your mind quite easily.


I haven't seen too much use in the lean other than changing the side the shots come from without moving -- usually, just inching near the enemies on the rim seems to work fine.

Those lane-zapper enemies are annoying as hell though, especially when playing in Survival, bleh. You go around to get rid of them, they pause their movement just before you reach, and then zap! Dead.

[Skykid]

Crept up just under 1 mil on Pure last night and leapt 300 spaces on the LB.

I can do better - so many stupid deaths - and yes, mainly down to those damn lane zappers. Those guys are scum.

[wariomona]

The zappers aren't too bad. Shooting them before they spawn prevents the insta-death thing mentioned.
But those Oxen! Dang invincible suicide bullets.
So far though, this seems easier than Space Giraffe by several magnitudes, and much more enjoyable because of it.

[Skykid]

I haven't played SG but I hear it's very divisive.

Checked the boards this morning and holy shit Antares, dem scores! Good work.

[antares]

The zappers have been dumbed down though, on the Jaguar version they zap twice as much and if you let one reach the top it zaps the whole rim and you're dead.

Have you ever had that experience after spending too long on a shmup session where you close your eyes and can still see bullet patterns shifting around behind your eyelids? I can play most shmups for a couple of hours before getting that. With TxK, it takes five minutes.

I noticed this too. But you made the wrong smiley, should be this

I haven't played SG but I hear it's very divisive.

Checked the boards this morning and holy shit Antares, dem scores! Good work.

Thanks. What should I say, I really like Minter's games a lot

SG is still my favourite of his works, I guess I was lucky to get 'in the zone' with it.

[Skykid]

The zappers have been dumbed down though, on the Jaguar version they zap twice as much and if you let one reach the top it zaps the whole rim and you're dead.

I remember! I'm sure there are fewer of them to deal with at once? It's been a while since I played the Jag version, since mine was exploded by a bad multi-plug.

Had a quick session on Classic this afternoon and managed to edge into the 2 million bracket. Game is joyous.

EDIT: Coming for you Antares, 1.8 million on Pure! Spot 35.

[antares]

I still feel the urge to get my Jag out once a year to get my T2K and Defender 2000 fix. Plus two or three other exclusive games

EDIT: Coming for you Antares, 1.8 million on Pure! Spot 35.

Keep it coming!

[antares]

Behold the Tempest Trilogy!

[system11]

That's a sad photo. There is no physical version. When PSN for Vita dies, TxK dies.

[antares]

Stage 89 in Pure mode. My thumbs hurt...

[Skykid]

That's a sad photo. There is no physical version. When PSN for Vita dies, TxK dies.

At only 100mb it should be a permanent fixture on any Vita.

Some dl only games deserve to die, but I'm confident the best will resurface by popular demand.

Stage 89 in Pure mode. My thumbs hurt...

89 you say?

I dare not look at the leaderboard. That's got to be the top spot?

[antares]

Nah, the top scorer finished the game for sure.
Will try again in a few days. It was a really exhausting session, many stupid deaths at the end.

[antares]

I finished the game in Classic mode today and was a bit surprised to see that the game just ended. No '2nd loop' with higher difficulty like in Jeff Minter's other tube shooters
That's a bit of a disappointment as in T2K or SG the fun only really started at that point :/

Or maybe you have to finish Pure mode to unlock the higher difficulty?

Anyway I made some interesting observations, it seems that enemies award more points when you kill them down low in the web whereas they give less points if they are higher up.
Also someone in another forum mentioned that enemies give you no points at all if shot while jumping. I only tested this in level 1 so far but it's true. That should do well for a nice risk/reward gameplay.

[wariomona]

How long would you say a pure/survival playthrough would typically take? My guess would be 90 minutes based on my play but I haven't seen what the later levels are like yet. And whenever you are forced into the defensive it slows the game down to a halt too, potentially increasing the time.

Also someone in another forum mentioned that enemies give you no points at all if shot while jumping. I only tested this in level 1 so far but it's true. That should do well for a nice risk/reward gameplay.

I think it applies even if you shoot them without jumping when they've reached the end of the tube (where the player is). So jumping is still worthwhile to defeat those enemies

[antares]

For my Pure run to level 89 I played almost 3 hours but I made some short breaks. Depends of course also on the bonus levels, some of the later ones go on forever.
I'd definitely recommend to play maybe to stage 50, then put your Vita in sleep mode and play the second half later.

[cave hermit]

Is there some minimum score you need to reach to get onto the online leaderboards? I just got this but my score isn't showing up.

[Skykid]

Is there some minimum score you need to reach to get onto the online leaderboards? I just got this but my score isn't showing up.

It takes a few minutes to register normally, but I have a feeling the boards may cap at 1000. Would be good if someone could confirm.

Anyway I made some interesting observations, it seems that enemies award more points when you kill them down low in the web whereas they give less points if they are higher up.
Also someone in another forum mentioned that enemies give you no points at all if shot while jumping. I only tested this in level 1 so far but it's true. That should do well for a nice risk/reward gameplay.

Huh, that changes things a bit. Thanks for the info! I'm hungover, so probably won't attempt the Pure marathon today.

...Or maybe I should.

[bcass]

That's a sad photo. There is no physical version. When PSN for Vita dies, TxK dies.

Nope. They're currently working on the PC port. Llamasoft always sell DRM-free versions from their website too.