Luftrausers

[Captain]

Omg noob shoot the core.

[Nick420]

^^^lol

Been trying to buy this today but steam keeps giving me an error saying I'm off line or the servers are offline. Game looks fun. I'm guessing its a steam problem since I can search for games and watch videos fine.

[Laurel_McFang]

Boosting is fine while regenerating health, it's firing your weapon that will prevent it from happening.

You are correct, but I was under the impression boost slowed down the healing process.

Re: a lot of people are having trouble with steam today.

Are the leaderboards available over the web?

[Illyrian]

I'm thoroughly confused by why people think this is good.

It's pretty much the definition of a crap arena shooter. Shoddy controls that make actually dodging anything near impossible, vast majority of ship upgrades are completely useless (for example the laser beam weapon that actually does almost no damage while making you turn very slowly) and ridiculous difficulty spikes.

I might be the only one who has spotted this but it also clearly uses the classic F2P RNG manipulation. That being that if a current challenge is to kill a certain number of a type of enemies that type of enemy will be curiously absent most of the time, when previously not. As soon as you finish said challenge after many many goes suddenly they're everywhere again!

Also, you then unlock the second game mode and get to listen to a lovely 13 second long siren over and over again!

This game is indicitive of what developers these days actually think constitutes a "shoot em up." Reviewers flock to say things like "if you like old arcade shooters this is for you!" despite the fact it bears to resemblance to any of the best shmups ever made, and arena shooters haven't had a place in arcades since Defender was out. Hell, Defender is actually good!

This is just a trashy, overly anarchic shmup with tons of content bloating and an overly forgiving health system.

At least the soundtrack is solid though.

[mortified_penguin]

Guess I appreciate the style and it's great for when I only have 20 minutes to burn. Opting into the Steam pre-release beta fixed the one bug I was having so fingers crossed that means they're working on a bigger patch with some balance tweaks in there.

[Laurel_McFang]

I. Response to a few points: I found once I adjusted to the physics of the game I was able to compensate and dodge a good number of projectiles,that said dodging is definitely more about predicting where fire will come from and less reacting to it. As for the weapons I scored over 60k with the laser and find it preferable to almost any other weapon in the game. 3 passes over a warship with the lazers will take one down. That's half the amount for homing and one less than normal or spread.

2. Had not noticed the RNG aspects, but I am currently on a kill a blimp mission and well... There hasn't been one in awhile.

3. Totally agree it is more of a half-remembered nostalgia laced idea of the shmup and less the actuality of them, but it might get people interested in them again.

[n0rtygames]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK4oQoCmovU

Congrats, you attracted the attention of TotalBiscuit. I seem to recall some controversy over either this game or a very similar game not so long ago - anyone remember what that was about? Wasn't there another game ripping this one off or something?

Anyway - well done on getting noticed

[Laurel_McFang]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK4oQoCmovU

Congrats, you attracted the attention of TotalBiscuit. I seem to recall some controversy over either this game or a very similar game not so long ago - anyone remember what that was about? Wasn't there another game ripping this one off or something?

Anyway - well done on getting noticed

Much like vlambeer's ridiculous fishing (which got cloned numerous times before release) luftrausers was also cloned before release. Btw who got noticed?

Btw I noticed TB thinks blimps spawn with time, but I think it is actually points.
aces show up around 6k, battleships if you aggro the little ships, and blimps around 10-15k points.
It also might be due to kill order: kill a lot of popcorn fighters get an ace, kill a lot of ships get a battleship, kill 2 battleships get a blimp

[ptoing]

I might be the only one who has spotted this but it also clearly uses the classic F2P RNG manipulation. That being that if a current challenge is to kill a certain number of a type of enemies that type of enemy will be curiously absent most of the time, when previously not. As soon as you finish said challenge after many many goes suddenly they're everywhere again!

Just asked JW about this, and no it is not the case. There is nothing in the code that makes mission target units more scarce. There is code that makes sure that boats/battleships are only a certain percentage of the overall active enemies. Also aces scare away the small fighter planes. And that is it.

[XoPachi]

Also aces scare away the small fighter planes.

Why would they do such a thing? No need to be snobs. 'n`
Wonder how the they'd feel if someone tried to scare them.

[Special World]

So how are you guys finding this game? Does it have the level of skill you're looking for in a shooter? Does it handle well and just feel right? Do you see yourselves coming back to it again and again? Was it worth the purchase price?

I intend to get it sometime soon, but right now I'm wrapped up in other things.

[XoPachi]

It's been pretty well recieved. Like all games, it's not perfect, but I like it. Very different game, but accessible and handles well.

[Illyrian]

I might be the only one who has spotted this but it also clearly uses the classic F2P RNG manipulation. That being that if a current challenge is to kill a certain number of a type of enemies that type of enemy will be curiously absent most of the time, when previously not. As soon as you finish said challenge after many many goes suddenly they're everywhere again!

Just asked JW about this, and no it is not the case. There is nothing in the code that makes mission target units more scarce. There is code that makes sure that boats/battleships are only a certain percentage of the overall active enemies. Also aces scare away the small fighter planes. And that is it.

Aah fair enough.

It just seemed that way to me, it's not like I'd tested it scientifically.

[XoPachi]

Omg noob shoot the core.

...

Pardon me for a second. I'm a dense individual.
I finally got the joke. I thought you were just making a reference for the sake of it. 'u`
It appears that I did in fact make that pilot quite the core fighting nooblette.

[spadgy]

I've put a good few hours in. In short, I think that it's great fun in small doses – especially for the more casual shmupper – and ideal for playing on Vita on the bus etc. But it certainly lacks the precision, purity and depth of a 'proper' arcade shmup in the classic form.

If you really care what I think, I reviewed Luftrausers for website videogamer.com right here.

Don't worry; I won't take offence if you couldn't give a turd about my musings!

[Laurel_McFang]

I might be the only one who has spotted this but it also clearly uses the classic F2P RNG manipulation. That being that if a current challenge is to kill a certain number of a type of enemies that type of enemy will be curiously absent most of the time, when previously not. As soon as you finish said challenge after many many goes suddenly they're everywhere again!

Just asked JW about this, and no it is not the case. There is nothing in the code that makes mission target units more scarce. There is code that makes sure that boats/battleships are only a certain percentage of the overall active enemies. Also aces scare away the small fighter planes. And that is it.

Who is JW? Is he part of vlambeer? Also the spawning algorithims for the units are based off number of enemy killed and points? 2x battleships = blimp, 30x popcorn = ace! it seems that killing a lot of one type of enemies increases the chances of a second occurring dramatically. Have not figured out what makes the experimental units appears. Does the algorithims track shots fired?

[ptoing]

JW is Jan Willem Nijman aka half of Vlambeer. I don't know about the shots tracked or if what you shoot influences what appears. I can ask him tho when I see him online next time.

[spadgy]

Did I see you in the credits as a tester ptoing? Always nice to see a forum member's name in a 2D shooter's credits!

[ptoing]

Yes you did, I am friends with the Vlambeer guys. Also tested Nuclear Throne before it was in early access.

[Super Laydock]

Wouldn't classify this as a shmup in the classic sense. But I sure like it a lot in short bursts.
Paid 7.?? Euro for it (PS+) and think it' s worth just that.

[Laurel_McFang]

Is someone going to make a hi score board for this?
I need somewhere to brag.

[spadgy]

You're welcome to start one yourself!

[Laurel_McFang]

You're welcome to start one yourself!

Hi score board up. Might do one for reflex if a board isn't there.

[Plasmo]

I'm thoroughly confused by why people think this is good.

It's pretty much the definition of a crap arena shooter. Shoddy controls that make actually dodging anything near impossible, vast majority of ship upgrades are completely useless (for example the laser beam weapon that actually does almost no damage while making you turn very slowly) and ridiculous difficulty spikes.

At least the soundtrack is solid though.

Welcome to third post in this topic:

Great soundtrack, shitty game.

[spadgy]

I'm thoroughly confused by why people think this is good.

It's pretty much the definition of a crap arena shooter. Shoddy controls that make actually dodging anything near impossible, vast majority of ship upgrades are completely useless (for example the laser beam weapon that actually does almost no damage while making you turn very slowly) and ridiculous difficulty spikes.

At least the soundtrack is solid though.

Welcome to third post in this topic:

Great soundtrack, shitty game.

As for the laser, its the main weapon I use, balanced with the right engine. And I use it to slow down fast turns;almost as a control input. I don't think this game is anywhere near perfect, but I like the way it controls, in that it makes you play in a very distinct way. I use strong body so collision and physicality becomes a strategy; it's not necessarily a dodging shmup. And with the hover engine, moving in a way very different to typical shumps (stalling, controlled tumbling, bouncing in mid air using boost or weapons propulsive power lets you dance about with much agility.

There's things wrong with it (balancing of the combo against shield regen in relation to scoring, enemy wave appearance timing etc), but if you forget about swift tappy dodging, there's fun ways to play.

However, Mini Squadron is definitely the superior gravity arena shmup.

EDIT:

You're welcome to start one yourself!

Hi score board up. Might do one for reflex if a board isn't there.

Nice one Laurel_McFang! Thanks.

[DestroyTheCore]

I really enjoy this game although it's essentially the same level over and over. My high score is over 26k and my favorite combination is the spreader gun, the bomber body and the low gravity engine.

[majik989s]

I didn't know if I should put this here or on the YT off-topic thread but I enjoyed it immensely
Luftrausers real review.

Fantastic game, accurate review.

[Doctor Butler]

I'm thoroughly confused by why people think this is good.

It's pretty much the definition of a crap arena shooter. Shoddy controls that make actually dodging anything near impossible, vast majority of ship upgrades are completely useless (for example the laser beam weapon that actually does almost no damage while making you turn very slowly) and ridiculous difficulty spikes.

I might be the only one who has spotted this but it also clearly uses the classic F2P RNG manipulation. That being that if a current challenge is to kill a certain number of a type of enemies that type of enemy will be curiously absent most of the time, when previously not. As soon as you finish said challenge after many many goes suddenly they're everywhere again!

Also, you then unlock the second game mode and get to listen to a lovely 13 second long siren over and over again!

This game is indicitive of what developers these days actually think constitutes a "shoot em up." Reviewers flock to say things like "if you like old arcade shooters this is for you!" despite the fact it bears to resemblance to any of the best shmups ever made, and arena shooters haven't had a place in arcades since Defender was out. Hell, Defender is actually good!

This is just a trashy, overly anarchic shmup with tons of content bloating and an overly forgiving health system.

At least the soundtrack is solid though.

This is the exact reason I haven't tried it, because I know I'm going to hate it.

Literally the only arena-shooter I've ever liked was SYNSO, so how does it compare to that?

[Lord Satori]

I might consider buying this game if it weren't for the fact that they chose to make everything BROWN! Everything being monochromatic is somewhat interesting, but that's probably the least appealing color of all time!

[HydrogLox]

After a while you unlock other "monochromatic" (some are more of a CGA-style) themes that you can use instead of the original "sepia" one. See Luftrausers REVIEW - Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 94