New NEOGEO / Dreamcast game: "NEO XYX" NG: DEV.TEAM 2013

[mice]

so I'll be putting up vids and first impressions soon.

Awesome!

[spadgy]

I just got confirmation that my Neo XYX has shipped, so I'll be putting up vids and first impressions soon.

Amazing! Can't wait for that. And I'd like to state I'm in no way envious of you getting yourself an MVS copy. No way.

[mice]

Youtube search gives nothing new...surely someone must have gotten it today?

[HydrogLox]

Ah - so they complete one version to the point of shipping out before they begin the port? I didn't realise they went about it that way.

Joel Spolsky: Human Task Switches Considered Harmful.
Simultaneous development only makes sense if there are separate teams. With a single team (or developer) they get some money now for the MVS version and some later for the Dreamcast version (assuming a majority of credit card rather than PayPal pre-orders). Otherwise both versions (and any proceeds) would be delayed to the end - possibly delayed even much later than with the serial development approach.

[spadgy]

Makes sense, especially considering the target platforms. Single-person indies making a mobile game can today with relative ease simultaneously develop cross-platform on a very tight budget (largely thanks to game dev tech like Unity and Marmalade), but I imagine deploying to both MVS and DC at the same time in 2013 ain't quite so simple!

[dark]

A key reason to not release simultaneously is b/c the initial MVS batch is basically version 1.0 and they continue to fine tune and fix bugs that people complain about in this first version. Luckily NG Dev has developed a proprietary cartridge that can be updated by the owner/user through usb and an internet connection - but pressing CDs for the dreamcast, means that once the customer owns the DC version, giving an update would involve doing another print run and sending out CDs... it's just not cost effective, it would take a lot of time, many unsatisfied customers, etc and would be a big headache.

Anyway, the initial owners of Gunlord on MVS complained about weapon strength being too strong, unlimited snake beam making the game too easy, and some glitches. These were all fixed for an MVS update, and were also incorporated into the DC build. Unfortunately I find the game very hard and unforgiving and the fun I have with it suffers, I guess I have to blame the hardcore neo owners for that one

[spadgy]

Always blame the hardcore Neo owners!

[Bonus!]

Always blame the hardcore Neo owners!

I wouldn't be surprised if less than 20 % of the people who bought Gunlord actually played it more than a few times. I always had the impression that people who collect Neogeo games don't play the games that much but instead treat them as status symbol. This is all just based on anecdotal evidence. The one guy I knew who actually played a lot of the games rarely had more than two or three games in his possession because they were so expensive, and he sold them after half a year or a year to get money for new ones. Please note that this was in the late 1990s when Neogeo games were still coming out.

[spadgy]

I was only being silly really.

I've a NeoGeo MVS, as have many users here, and the second-hand game prices are generally low, and there's heaps of great games that get played all the time. Sure, there's the odd collector (perhaps more around AES) that likes to hoard and preserve over play, but every MVS owner I know seems to use their's ample amounts.

And now there's a vert shooter available, so even more reason to play! (like the way I swung that back towards topic?!).

[mice]

But Bonus! is right though, if NG owners actually played the new games they got, they would record it and put it up on youtube...

[Bonus!]

Yeah, an impression I had was that MVS is for people who actually play the games and AES was more for collectors, especially with the staggering increase in price of many AES carts post-2000.

[spadgy]

But Bonus! is right though, if NG owners actually played the new games they got, they would record it and put it up on youtube...

Well - I've never put a single video of anything on Youtube or any equivalent service. I don't think all games enthusiasts upload stuff to Youtube. I certainly use it to view games, but I'd never be interested in uploading my own game playing. I hate to sound like a terribly old git (I am only 33!) but perhaps its a generational thing. Certainly, speaking as a games journalist, I'm very aware that the likes of me have much, much less impact in the world of games these days than youthful Youtubers that have the attention of millions of gamers.

However, I do take you point, and recognise that AES is one of the platforms that courts particularly 'collector focused' crowd.

And I'm sure a few more Youtube videos of Neo XYX wouldn't hurt! (I've done it again )

[system11]

Capturing arcade hardware is an annoying nightmare though, I have no way to do it, I just have cabs.

[spadgy]

Another good point. I wouldn't know where to begin with direct capture of any of my formats - especially cabs...

[mice]

True.
Ok then, another try: If NG owners played their new games they would be here in this thread and posting first impressions...

[spadgy]

Can't argue with that!

'We want first impressions! We want first impressions!' (Chant with me people!).

[Sier]

No doubt there will be folks MVS kit 'unboxing' sometime soon.

E: If done well, a little gameplay to go with it :p

[Ghegs]

So, I just got Neo XYX in the mail. I was all ready to record some footage, took some pictures of all the swag that came with it (poster, CD, postcards, flyers, etc...), put the cart in...

Except I couldn't, because the cart couldn't be inserted into my CMVS, a modified MV-1B, that has played every single other MVS game I've thrown at it, including all of NG:Dev's other releases.

Here's a comparison shot, Neo XYX on the left, Last Hope: Pink Bullets on the right. See how the boards are a bit closer together on the left cart?

Quite amazing. I don't know if this is a problem with all the carts or if I happened to get one with manufacturing errors, but I've sent NG:Dev an e-mail in hopes that this can be remedied.

[cools]

The problem is you broke the seal on the box.

[mice]

I was all ready to record some footage

The only hope of seeing this game today just went out the window...

Sorry to hear this, though. Feel for you man.

[spadgy]

Except I couldn't

Ow! I wonder how many other MVS mobos it effects.

I trust NG.Dev will sort you; they seem good like that. I just hope for the MVS version buyers, and for NG.Dev themselves, this isn't some clusterfuck that will impact every MVS copy and mean a recall or reprint.

Fingers crossed.

EDIT: The fact that it's to do with the board spacing is insane. A misshapen cart could be a one off or specific to just that particular mobo variant, but the boards being the wrong space apart!? Would that not be universally problematic? And it seems unlikely that just one off the factory line could have the wrong spacing, due to the construction. But then how could a universal problem have happened?!

[RaidenViper]

Geez... that's not good. Have you tried opening it up, and put the PCB's in another shell? or just insert the PCB's directly to the motherboard without any shell. of course this won't solve the problem... but at least you will be able to play it lol

I will report back when I receive my copy as well...

[Ghegs]

Hold the phone! I took the shell apart, noticed the front of the shell (where the boards come out) can be flipped over, and doing that fixed it! So if anybody has the same problem, take that wooden piece, flip it, and try again.

Alright, vids and impressions are back on track. Huge picture of the assorted goodies that came with the package.

[emphatic]

Hold the phone! I took the shell apart, noticed the front of the shell (where the boards come out) can be flipped over, and doing that fixed it! So if anybody has the same problem, take that wooden piece, flip it, and try again.

Alright, vids and impressions are back on track. Huge picture of the assorted goodies that came with the package.

Ha ha, that's awesome!

[spadgy]

So maybe a one-off misassemble? Regardless, I'm glad you and NG.Dev's problem is simple solved! Enjoy the game!

[mice]

and doing that fixed it!

Praise the lord!
Will be waiting impatiently for a vid.

All of that extras looks really nice as well.

[KAI]

JOIN THE TATE ARMY NOW!

[Ghegs]

Alright, here we go...first impressions after a few credits.

The game is absolutely gorgeous. The art looks great and the art style is very cool, reminds me of 80's/90's sci-fi awesomeness. I especially like the intro and game over screens. The music is of high quality as well, very fast-paced, kind of synth rock -like music. Gameplay-wise, I never had problems seeing any bullets, the contrast is very good. After a boss explodes the bonus icons are covered by the explosion so it feels like you might miss them, but since you can just fly around the top of the screen without a worry at that point, I'm not sure if it's actually a problem. NG:Dev, please re-make Last Hope: Pink Bullets with this level of graphics and I'll be your best friend.

The choice between tate and hori play is good. The game's clearly meant for tate play, but the hori mode isn't just an afterthought. The UI layout is different to take proper advantage of the extended vertical space, the intro/game over/score tally screens between stages all have their graphics oriented properly, even the short "How to play"-guide at the start of the game (which can be skipped) is laid out differently between the modes. I really would've liked to see the medal and bomb icons (the ones you pick up in-game, not the ones on UI) to be oriented correctly in hori mode, now they're still pointing at left of the screen. That would really convince the player he's not just playing a tate game in hori. Maybe we'll see that in a patch?

The gameplay is very fast-paced. The ratio between aimed shots / bullet patterns is very good at about 50/50, it doesn't really feel like a danmaku and I would say it's not supposed to, either. More like an early 90's shmup like Batsugun. The ship is very fast but not uncontrollably so, and the speed is welcome when you want to fly around to screen dodging bigger bullet clusters and gathering up all the items. No power-ups here, only medals, bonus icons, bombs and bomb fragments. And there's the slow mode which comes very handy during more hectic moments and boss fights. I do wish the screen's left/right scrolling would start just a hair earlier than it does now.

In my first credit ever I only made it to Stage 2, but I've since made it to Stage 3. So far the game feels neither unbearably hard nor stupidly easy, so the difficulty level seems very good. Then again, I suck at vert shmups (and I am playing this on tate mode) so somebody else will probably have an easier time with it.

I did find a small bug: in hori mode, when entering your initials, the controls were not only flipped to tate, but also mirrored, as if it was the right side of the screen was at the bottom and not the left. Nothing gamebreaking, but still weird. Certainly this will be fixed in a patch.

On the whole, I'd say this is a damn good game. After the Dreamcast version is released and more people have a chance to play, I'm pretty sure this will be hailed as NG:Dev's best game yet. Not only that, but a good game in its own right as well.

[Plasmo]

I agree with most of your impressions but:

On the whole, I'd say this is a damn good game. After the Dreamcast version is released and more people have a chance to play, I'm pretty sure this will be hailed as NG:Dev's best game yet. Not only that, but a good game in its own right as well.

Gunlord is still my favourite game by far. I wish they could make a shmup that is as good as Gunlord.

[rtw]

The entire game looks like a homage to TOAPLAN

Thanks for sharing the video Ghegs!