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

[bcass]

Also, regarding scores not appearing, apparently it takes a while for your scores to appear online, but also, more critically, if you don't press X when the game over message appears, your score won't get submitted. That's a bug that will be fixed in the next update.

[spadgy]

I've finally spent just an hour or two with this, and I'm loving it, but it doesn't seem to be without slight problems, in terms of communicating with the player. I appreciate it's hyperactive delivery of everything from the audio and visuals to the 'tutorial prompts' themselves is part of the vibe of the whole game, but thanks to not knowing what was going on my first few credits were rather frustrating, and usually saw my first life lost result in a cascade of deaths that tossed me out the game in a state of confusion.

I enjoy having to work out strategies, scoring systems etc. Having those elements thinly veiled so you have to uncover out the nuances can make a shooter all the more rewarding. But making it so hard to have any idea what's going on in terms of the basic gameplay just feels rather graceless of the developer. I'm still confused by TxK too...

Where's the bomb stock counter, or is it a limit per level system?

Jumps - I realise you earn them each level, but is it just one or many per level once you've earned them? I can't sense consistency there.

What are those warp triangles that gather in the top right? What do they mean and how am I making them appear?

Perhaps I'm the idiot, and TxK isn't to blame.

Other than that, I love it; the visuals, the pace, it's staunch devotion to true retro presentation, fonts etc., the intensity, the way it drags your eyeballs out of your head into that tunnel. The homage to breakbeat hardcore rave in the soundtrack's pretty wicked too. Great game... I just wish it had more eloquence in terms of its first meeting with the player.

[bcass]

Where's the bomb stock counter, or is it a limit per level system?

You only get 1 smart bomb per stage, although there are several nuances in its use.

Jumps - I realise you earn them each level, but is it just one or many per level once you've earned them? I can't sense consistency there.

Jump ability is gained by collecting one of the power ups that appear when you destroy a number of enemies. Once you have it, you can use it as much as you like in that level, although you don't get points for enemies destroyed whilst jumping.

What are those warp triangles that gather in the top right? What do they mean and how am I making them appear?

Not sure about this myself yet, maybe someone else can answer?

[dieKatze88]

Where's the bomb stock counter, or is it a limit per level system?

You only get 1 smart bomb per stage, although there are several nuances in its use.

Jumps - I realise you earn them each level, but is it just one or many per level once you've earned them? I can't sense consistency there.

Jump ability is gained by collecting one of the power ups that appear when you destroy a number of enemies. Once you have it, you can use it as much as you like in that level, although you don't get points for enemies destroyed whilst jumping.

What are those warp triangles that gather in the top right? What do they mean and how am I making them appear?

Not sure about this myself yet, maybe someone else can answer?

I haven't played any TxK, but I've played enough T2k and seen enough video of TxK to make the following assumptions:
The SuperZapper (Sorry. I refuse your SuperTapper nonsense) can be used once per level. You get a free instant use SuperZapper for picking up a Warp token in T2k (Not sure if that carried forward). If you've already used your SuperZapper on a stage and press the button again, it will destroy one random enemy one time (Again, T2k, untested on TxK)

Jump is a per level powerup, and is usually 3rd or 4th powerup depending on if you get AI Droid or Particle laser first.

Warp Tokens collect until you have enough of them and beat a stage. in Tempest 2000 this was 3. When you had 3 and finished a stage, you would jump to warp mode, where you would do one of a few warp minigames. The further you got the faster it got. Get to the end and get Big Points(tm) and a Extra Life. Also you get to skip stages.

[Skykid]

Hey buttcheeks, let me lend you a hand.

Firstly, if you're not familiar with Tempest I understand your bewilderment. This will pass quickly, it's a very uncomplicated game. Chances are you'll have already started clicking with it by the time you read this, but anyway:

I appreciate it's hyperactive delivery of everything from the audio and visuals to the 'tutorial prompts' themselves is part of the vibe of the whole game, but thanks to not knowing what was going on my first few credits were rather frustrating, and usually saw my first life lost result in a cascade of deaths that tossed me out the game in a state of confusion.

So although it's terribly busy looking, it's actually quite simple. Enemies try to get to the web edge, and you try to shoot them before they do. As things continue, more enemies are added. The one that's probably really confusing you are the flowers. They create 'stalks' - green lines along the channels of the web. When you clear a web and leap to the next one, any stalks you haven't shot away can kill you if you bounce on them. It's a simple case of just avoiding them as you race into hyperspace.

If you're killed you drop out of the air onto the web - use this time to clear a path. As with the jump, when you're in the air you have huge priority, and only things flying off the web (like flowers or bullets) can nail you. Once you have either the jump or the AI droid, that stage is pretty much yours.

I enjoy having to work out strategies, scoring systems etc. Having those elements thinly veiled so you have to uncover out the nuances can make a shooter all the more rewarding. But making it so hard to have any idea what's going on in terms of the basic gameplay just feels rather graceless of the developer. I'm still confused by TxK too...

It's all part of the fact that there's actually relatively little to learn. It feels like bombardment now, but once you make sense of it all it's almost too straightforward.

Where's the bomb stock counter, or is it a limit per level system?

That "Supertapper Recharge" you keep hearing between web jumps is your bomb being recharged. You only have one per stage, and if possible you want to use it when the web is flooded because it gives you a X2 score multiplier for everything it zaps. You can also use it if you're grabbed by one of the enemies and getting dragged down the tunnel.

Jumps - I realise you earn them each level, but is it just one or many per level once you've earned them? I can't sense consistency there.

The first enemies you shoot release the first power up. The idea is never to miss a power up if you can help it (ever!) as they not only make you more powerful more quickly, making the stage easier, but increase your points bonuses, and give you Triangles.

What are those warp triangles that gather in the top right? What do they mean and how am I making them appear?

Get four Triangle icons and you'll warp to a bonus stage.

Other than that, I love it; the visuals, the pace, it's staunch devotion to true retro presentation, fonts etc., the intensity, the way it drags your eyeballs out of your head into that tunnel. The homage to breakbeat hardcore rave in the soundtrack's pretty wicked too. Great game... I just wish it had more eloquence in terms of its first meeting with the player.

Your PSN handle please!

[spadgy]

I know Tempest 2000 very well. I played it loads on release and more recently. I've only played the original proper Tempest at an exhibition once, but I feel I know the series well enough.

I just sense that TxK could do far better in the realm of the grammar its game design carries, especially considering Space Giraffe's struggle in that regard (and I assume it wants to welcome players without Tempest experience). I've worked it out over a few more credits, and it's certainly not complicated. It's just a shame that a game with such style through ever other part of its being seems to prattle at the player rather than charm them.

But honestly; it's my one complaint in an otherwise glorious game that I just can't stop playing, and enjoy thoroughly.

EDIT: And thanks for all the above.. I'd not worked out the triangles!

[cave hermit]

This was actually the first PSN game I've purchased (just recently started using my new vita), and while I like it I feel like it takes a bit too long to really get going, and a single game can stretch out for far too long given its arcade nature.

Out of curiosity, does how is Minter allowed to publish this without Atari's involvement? I know that Atari filed for bankruptcy, but surely someone else owns the rights to Tempest now.

[brentsg]

I've only played the original proper Tempest at an exhibition once, but I feel I know the series well enough.

Man, call me old but I could probably visit my old hometown and identify where my favorite Tempest cab once stood... sadly in the back of a women's clothing store at the mall these days.

I recall a story that a NOS Tempest cab was located in a warehouse and sold circa 1995/1996 or so. I'm not sure if it was an arcade collector's legend or a true story. What a glorious game that was.

[spadgy]

This was actually the first PSN game I've purchased (just recently started using my new vita), and while I like it I feel like it takes a bit too long to really get going, and a single game can stretch out for far too long given its arcade nature.

Apparently that's what 'Classic' mode addresses (it let's you start from any level you've got to, with a number of lives equivalent to the highest number of lives you have previously arrived at the given level with).

Out of curiosity, does how is Minter allowed to publish this without Atari's involvement? I know that Atari filed for bankruptcy, but surely someone else owns the rights to Tempest now.

As he was the official dev of Tempest 2000 and 3000, he must just have some kind of permission/rights.

I've only played the original proper Tempest at an exhibition once, but I feel I know the series well enough.

Man, call me old.

You are old, brentsg.

There was actually a tempest cab, eternally ignored, in the arcade on the pier where I grew up. I would have been going there just in the late 80s/early 90s, so it was a shabby relic by that point. I don't even know if it worked.

[cave hermit]

I've made it to position 80 on the pure leaderboards! Also apparently this game is exclusive to vita only for the next 3 months.

[spadgy]

I've made a measly 219th on the leaderboards (stage 31/1.2 million score). Fuck those little yellow ships that fire something like a charge shot laser. They are pretty much the only thing that killed me on that run.

But I'm increasingly besotted by this game. It it so damn compelling.

But as I improve, I am seeing that it takes a little time to get going, and credits can feel slightly drawn out. I emphasise 'slightly'. Can you skip those 'Temporary Tutorial Labels' ('Labels' = levels) and still start in Pure mode in any way? They say 'Temporary', put I've but a good while in now and they are still there.

What I really love beyond the gameplay is the breakbeat hardcore soundtrack; straight outta the UK rave scene, early 90s style. They really should do the OST on a tape pack. Perhaps a launch event for it at Milton Keynes Bowl (RIP). HTiD etc...

[Ed Oscuro]

Out of curiosity, does how is Minter allowed to publish this without Atari's involvement? I know that Atari filed for bankruptcy, but surely someone else owns the rights to Tempest now.

The use of "SuperTapper" and "TxK" for the name suggests to me that no Atari IP is being used. I think Minter's last work on a project with Atari IP was Tempest 3000, released in 2000.

[Skykid]

I break up different runs by varying modes. I only settle into Pure when I'm ready for a session and have time spare, otherwise see if I can edge up in Classic or do something special in Survival.

And yep, you have to start on stage one to access Pure.

[spadgy]

I break up different runs by varying modes. I only settle into Pure when I'm ready for a session and have time spare, otherwise see if I can edge up in Classic or do something special in Survival.

And yep, you have to start on stage one to access Pure.

Yeah. That's what I'm doing. It's just strange the earlier modes are marked as 'temporary'.

Is anybody else suffering from loosing lots of lives in one go? It's likely just my lack of skill, but I just made it to stage 25 with the full ten lives in stick, and then lost four in as many seconds, and it's not the only incident. Things happen like I'm hit by some projectile and tossed up in the air, only to land on a flower (2 lives gone), then find I can only move left or right direct into another enemy and another life goes etc etc). I know the nature of a shooter like this where its about about preventing getting breached means the drama comes from becoming overwhelmed, but there's a problem when a death leads to a breach which leads to deaths chaining up. Maybe just an extra half second of invincibility after a death to give you a slim chance of a way out would be more rewarding than a twenty-minute game collapsing in a few seconds.

Clearly this death-chaining could come from me failing to deal with such situations with elegancy of play, but it just seems a bit shortsighted in such a long-form shooter to allow such rapid game collapses.

I do still love this game and its hugely fun. It just feels that with a bit of tweaking they could have made it more rewarding and less frustrating, without impacting difficulty

[spadgy]

Right - I've barely stopped since my last post and I think it's fair I redress my fairly picky criticism of TxK (which I have always said I've still really enjoyed). I guess expectations were extremely high, and as I'm reviewing it for work I've been really looking at it very sternly.

But now I've let go of any arcade '1-credit from the start' mentality and tackled Classic, I'm starting to be really in love with this game. Classic's scoring start method and life distribution model is a great solution for making starting far into the game feel relevant for a title with an arcade vibe, and playing that way negates the way Pure can feel drawn out if you keep hammering it. I'm also getting better now I'm launching in with the later levels, and thus becoming more intimate with the nuances; I'm also learning just how well implemented the speed and inertia is. Until now, I was victim to only playing Pure as it feels like obeying 1-credit lore, and that isn't always the way to play this game, as Skykid said.

Visually it's obviously splendid, and the OST homage to 90s UK breakbeat hardcore is sublime.

I've also finally got capable with using L to hold my ground when I get breached; that's an ace mechanic.

But what I really can't complete is that 'Ring' bonus level! 'Path' is easy, but Ring... oh boy!

[antares]

But what I really can't complete is that 'Ring' bonus level! 'Path' is easy, but Ring... oh boy!

Where do you keep your eyes on the path bonus levels? For me it's the opposite, I can easily complete every ring level but never managed to complete any path level other than the first.

[spadgy]

But what I really can't complete is that 'Ring' bonus level! 'Path' is easy, but Ring... oh boy!

Where do you keep your eyes on the path bonus levels? For me it's the opposite, I can easily complete every ring level but never managed to complete any path level other than the first.

What a pair, eh? I don't really know what I do. As you rotate one way or the other the ship you're guiding almost turns sideways on the green track, and I just kind of roll sideways it down the track.

With the rings (presuming the last one has the triangle in it) I like to make it almost all the way and then twitch unnecessarily!

[antares]

And do you play with the digital or analogue controls? On the ring levels I use the digital pad and only make small adjustments left/right and up/down and I never press any diagonals. Easy peasy

But on the path level I find it very difficult to judge where I actually am. I always try to concentrate on the front of the 'thing' you control but that doesn't seem to work.

[spadgy]

Ah... I use the stick. Time for me to get on the D-pad and you to prod at the thumbstick!

[antares]

Trying to minimize jumping really pays off. My Pure score before was 3,9 mill at stage 89, today I died at stage 85 but made 4,9 mill points. Place 5 in the leaderboards, Jeff Minter is 12th

[spadgy]

Wow! That's great work. I'm focussing on Classic for now, trying to improve my skills a little and learn the later stages. Then I'll get back on pure.

You after the 100-stage 1CC then anteres?

[antares]

I'll try but the last few levels eat your lives away. The end of game bonus is 100.000 pts per life so if you can finish the game with full life stock that's a nice 1 million bonus.

The enemies I hate the most are those yellow/golden triangles which shoot other homing triangles at you. I lost most of my lives because of them.

I also gave Survival another go today and got 2nd on the leaderboard. Two lives where lost totally unnecessary so there's room for improvement.

[bcass]

Anyone tried this on a Vita TV? Can you even use non-JPN accounts on it? This game is begging to be played on a 50" plasma. A tiny OLED screen is not the natural home for it IMO.

[Skykid]

Bah, did a pure run while sitting in the arcade today and only got 1.35 mil - it was looking rosy until I lost 3 lives in a sudden drop.

[brentsg]

Anyone tried this on a Vita TV? Can you even use non-JPN accounts on it? This game is begging to be played on a 50" plasma. A tiny OLED screen is not the natural home for it IMO.

As I understand it you can't but I will likely pick one up in the next couple of days. I've been in Vita mode, picked up a 64GB card and a second unit this week so I could stop swapping between regions.

[antares]

I know the game's out only a little over a week and there are a lot of good scores to come in the future but at the moment my leaderboard positions are:
Pure: 6th
Survival: 2nd
Classic: 1st

Woohoo!

[spadgy]

Well done!

Today I got chatting on Twitter with some of the guys that did the audio. No surprises; they own lots of old skool UK hardcore vinyl! My kind of men (don't get jealous Skykid).

Also, here's a slightly fleeting review I did for UK website Videogamer.com. Really would have loved a bit more word count! But then I always do.

[cave hermit]

I know the game's out only a little over a week and there are a lot of good scores to come in the future but at the moment my leaderboard positions are:
Pure: 6th
Survival: 2nd
Classic: 1st

Woohoo!

Nice job man!

[bcass]

Anyone tried this on a Vita TV? Can you even use non-JPN accounts on it? This game is begging to be played on a 50" plasma. A tiny OLED screen is not the natural home for it IMO.

As I understand it you can't but I will likely pick one up in the next couple of days. I've been in Vita mode, picked up a 64GB card and a second unit this week so I could stop swapping between regions.

Keep us updated. According to Llamasoft, TxK is not likely to get a release outside Western PSNs, so if the Vita TV can't be used with non-JPN accounts then we're never going to be able to play it on it.

[kennyrh]

I'm stuck on Level 38 in Classic Mode wth one life. How long is this bastard level anyway ??

First of all i'm lucky to make it to the jump and even when i got as far as having the AI Droid I'm jumping and whizzing around the tunnel like an idiot but i always get tagged eventually.

Any tips ??