XOP Ultra and XOP Black Ultra thread

[Krimzon Kitzune]

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[mjclark]

So, it's been awhile since I released XOP/Black Ultra. I've went back and looked at what I've done, and I pretty much hit every goal I wanted to accomplish for the update. It's exactly what I wanted it to be, down to the last detail. Yay! Quitting my job was totally worth it :p

Here's a little bonus material: The long-lost story for the original XOP that I never ended up adding to the game. It's pretty lame and will probably result in much deserved laughter, but oh well. I've also included a story for XOP Ultra made by Don Cook, who eMailed me awhile ago about it. Enjoy!

http://rydia.net/udder/prog/download/xopStory.txt
http://rydia.net/udder/prog/download/xopUltraStory.txt

It's good to hear that you've got exactly what you wanted with Ultra- that's a rare feeling but you know it when you have it, and I think most people would agree that the game is absolutely spot on

I still want to know why the ship is called "XOP" though...

[Udderdude]

.

[Udderdude]

Put up a video of Rank mode on Medium skill. This should give people a general idea as to how this mode is supposed to be played. Of course this isn't nearly as optimal as it could be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeMT8HRZMJU

I still want to know why the ship is called "XOP" though...

Cause it's cool :3

[Treasurance]

game is playable now, but the graphics are still eye rape and needs custom bgm

[BPzeBanshee]

game is playable now, but the graphics are still eye rape and needs custom bgm

not impressed :/

Do better.

[astroid]

game is playable now, but the graphics are still eye rape and needs custom bgm

Game just amazing! I love it. Tons of fun and action. Pixel graphics in low resolution is much better than 3d polygonal an poor textured sh*t. Also, look at a new shmup Ring^-27 - that is an eve-rape

[Plasmo]

Tried out XOP Black Ultra Special (what an awesome name!) and it's incredibly difficult. To survive this for 10 stages is just beyond me.

Near impossible version of XOP Black - Sasu where are you? Someone needs to clear this beast!

[Udderdude]

Tried out XOP Black Ultra Special (what an awesome name!) and it's incredibly difficult. To survive this for 10 stages is just beyond me.

Near impossible version of XOP Black - Sasu where are you? Someone needs to clear this beast! :D

It's actually less difficult than XOP Black on Insane was, so it's definitely doable. Just if you bomb spam a lot you'll have a much worse score .. D:

And yes the name has gotten quite ridiculous. Live and learn I guess.

[Plasmo]

It's actually less difficult than XOP Black on Insane was, so it's definitely doable. Just if you bomb spam a lot you'll have a much worse score .. D:

Well, I found Insane much easier than this monster.

[J3SteR82]

This game is awesome! I like the fact you have Full screen options for tated monitors

[tinotormed]

I got a problem when playing a replay. When I turned off the music and sound while watching the replay, I can still hear the intro and title music of the game, even though I toned down the volume to 0.

[Udderdude]

I got a problem when playing a replay. When I turned off the music and sound while watching the replay, I can still hear the intro and title music of the game, even though I toned down the volume to 0.

That is a known bug, the only workaround is to save the game options with the music volume set to 0 and then load the game again to play the replay.

[Udderdude]

I've updated XOP Black Ultra Special with some new stuff.

Online leaderboard is now active! Thanks to sikraiken for the internets space to host this thing.

Also, there's a new option in the Extras menu to fool around with the game's color palette.

http://rydia.net/udder/prog/download/xo ... pecial.zip

[rancor]

This title just keeps getting better and better!

If you ever need some more hosting/web space/bandwidth, please let me know - I would be more than happy to help out. I have near-unlimited everything with my plan, and I'm barely using anything.

[Udderdude]

I had an idea for some crazy mode but not sure if it's worth updating for.

It would replace the reflect shield with a meter that charges with each coin grabbed. Once it's full, you can press button 2 and convert all of the enemy bullets on-screen into popcorn enemies which can then be killed for more points. Obviously, the popcorn would also fire at you, so it's a bit dangerous.

Yes, converting bullets into popcorn enemies. :P

Would anyone be interested in something like this?

[Moniker]

Sounds pretty rad. Wonder how it'd play. I imagine you'd run into performance issues. Be interesting if you could chain it by letting the popcornized bullets fire bullets which in turn get popcornized.

[astroid]

Thanks, great extras! But black&white mod is very strange, this palette must be tuned and it will be my favorite

[shmuppyLove]

Sounds pretty rad. Wonder how it'd play. I imagine you'd run into performance issues. Be interesting if you could chain it by letting the popcornized bullets fire bullets which in turn get popcornized.

[emphatic]

Sounds pretty rad. Wonder how it'd play. I imagine you'd run into performance issues. Be interesting if you could chain it by letting the popcornized bullets fire bullets which in turn get popcornized.

Sounds a bit like ESPGALUDA II.

[Udderdude]

Sounds pretty rad. Wonder how it'd play. I imagine you'd run into performance issues. Be interesting if you could chain it by letting the popcornized bullets fire bullets which in turn get popcornized.

Sounds a bit like ESPGALUDA II.

I would want to avoid it ending up like that. :D

[Udderdude]

After a bit of prototyping, screwing around and balancing attempts, I think I have it working pretty well! While the shield does convert bullets to popcorn, it doesn't convert the bullets the converted popcorn fires, in order to prevent an inception-like meltdown of endless bullets turning into popcorn. Also, the converted popcorn bullets can kill you even while you have the shield up. So you have to keep moving as soon as the shield starts!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtBSIhiJQNA

[Udderdude]

I was debating on whether to actually upload this update, but I feel it's a fun and interesting mechanic, and hasn't been done before (If it has, I've never seen it, ORIGINAL CONTENT DO NOT STEAL), so I decided to go ahead and update it.

I also toned down the difficulty by a little bit. There's also a new grayscale palette that's not as harsh as the black and white one.

http://rydia.net/udder/prog/download/xo ... pecial.zip

[RNGmaster]

Bombs disappear between every level of Boss Rush. Is this intentional? 'Cause boss rush would be much more fun with crazy popcorn spam. Just saying.

[Udderdude]

Good point, I put up a new version with that change.

[Udderdude]

Well, it's been a fun ride, but I'm pretty much broke at this point.

I'm going to attempt to sell all 3 of the Ultra games (XOP Ultra, XOP Black Ultra and XOP Black Ultra Special) as a group, with a bonus inclusion of both soundtracks and some of the hand-drawn art used for game as a sort of digital artbook. I will probably sell it for something like $4 or $5. So if you're looking to help me not go totally bust and stuff, please help support me when I put it up live! If you have downloaded the game already, you'll get the soundtrack and art stuff, and you'll also be helping to fund XOP G, whenever I start working on it .. haha.

I've done very little to no advertising of the game, so hopefully this means giving it away for free for ~6 months won't mean much to overall sales. To be honest I'm feeling like I should have done this from the beginning.

rancor has also agreed to help me with hosting, big thanks to him.

[emphatic]

Not going anywhere with XOP G then, eh?

[Iori Branford]

If you're looking for a distro service, you can't get better than GOG.com. No activation mechanisms, no regional difference in availability/pricing, and no client application. Also supports bonus materials.

[Udderdude]

emphatic: I certianly still have plans for XOP G, however after I finished XOP/Black Ultra I was understandably tired of XOP, so I worked on some Flash puzzle/turn based strategy games instead. Trust me when I say I still want to make it someday.

Iori: I'll check that out, thanks.

[Moniker]

IndieCity just went up as I understand it too, if you have problems such as described by the Xona folks. I, and I'm sure most folks around here would be more than happy to send you a fiver for all the goodness past and present. Best of luck.