They came from Verminest

[malchitos]

http://www.locomalito.com/verminest.php

Hurray...one of my fav freeware guys Locomalito(hydorah) has released a pretty good homage to galaga and 1950's sci/fi. Love the use of grey scale and the old movie effect. Also I like the "scaring" mechanic, though I have trouble pulling it off. Some good retro style game play here.

[Moniker]

That man is a saint. God bless him. Now I need to scare up some 3D glasses.

[Special World]

This looks pretty cool. Not too hot on the grayscale palette, though.

[shmuppyLove]

Holy crap this is good.

Hi Score thread nao plox

[Special World]

I really wasn't too impressed with what I played of it. Granted, I suck and didn't get far.

[emphatic]

Whoah.

[Ed Oscuro]

I read the word "medals" on the page as "medcats." I want some damn medcats.

I will try this later, hoping for greatness, expecting something somewhat less. Some nice bits to the artstyle though.

Edit: Yeah, it's not clicking for me. The medaling system is a pain. Don't like this style of enemy movement (or ship movement for that matter).

[shmuppyLove]

I read the word "medals" on the page as "medcats." I want some damn medcats.

[mjclark]

That man is a saint. God bless him. Now I need to scare up some 3D glasses.

Yeah yeah yeah! Fasntastic production values and a real labour of love demonstrating once again that freeware can be passionate and beautiful. This annihilates some of the commercial shit that's come out recently...
...and I've turned the living room upside down looking for our old 3D glasses- might have to make some eh?

And I get the medal system stars on the right but what are those little ovals on the bottom left of the screen?

Holy crap this is good.
Hi Score thread nao plox

Yes please

[shmuppyLove]

And I get the medal system stars on the right but what are those little ovals on the bottom left of the screen?

Power-ups you've collected. So far the only one I've gotten is the triple shot though.

[Udderdude]

Cute game, but the black and white-ness started to wear on my eyes after awhile (I can only imagine the 3D thing would be even worse). It really needs a full color mode similar to how Galaga looked.

And it was too easy for me, only died because I stopped paying attention at the sandworm part.

Oh well .. could have been worse. >_>

[renardqueenston]

this is fantastic! loving the aesthetic, especially with the old movie film wear filter turned on. the next time i want a game of Gaplus i'll honestly probably reach for this instead!

[tommyb]

This is great, downloaded it and expected only to play for a bit, an hour later I turned it off.

To the people saying it's easy: try scoring. It gets much harder with the medalling system. Its a lot of fun.

[Ed Oscuro]

To the people saying it's easy: try scoring. It gets much harder with the medalling system. Its a lot of fun.

Medaling just makes it even more boring. Wait for the enemy to line up with me in two directions...oops, missed 'em...maybe on the next pass.

Fundamentally flawed, I'm sorry to say.

[lewisit]

for me it's all about the presentation:

Tate-Mode in 3D = classy

[MathU]

When I see the Galaga ship I expect the enemies in the back to try and capture me at some point... I was sadly disappointed. Galaga is much more enjoyable than this.

[mjclark]

for me it's all about the presentation:

Tate-Mode in 3D = classy

...and God bless Blockbuster in Torquay for digging out some old red/cyan glasses for me
I'm slightly confused as to how anybody could criticise something this good but maybe it's that "Forgot this was supposed to be fun" issue again eh?

[Estebang]

I still think Locomalito is insane for not selling Hydorah on Steam. He could very easily get away with pricing it at $15. Didn't he work for like, four years on it?

[mjclark]

Just read Locomalito's philosophy as a dev:
http://www.locomalito.com/filosofia.php

It really explains why this stuff is just so good- a refreshing reminder of how gaming should be

[coin]

Man, I really like this. If there was a color mode and fighter captures then it would be the icing on the cake, bat as it is it is really nice!

I just saw star wars in 3d and kept the glasses for the 3d mode, but they don't work.

Guess I need the old schoold glasses for this?

[Herr Schatten]

Awesome game. I really like Locomalito's stuff. While Verminest probably won't make it in my top 25 like Hydorah did, it's still tremendous fun. All thumbs up!

[Observer]

There is a donate button if you want to send him some cash, people. Do so if able!

I will probably donate some soon. People funding those indies (more like "dependies") but not throwing cash on this is ridiculous. Plus, 50s sci-fi flicks ambience is for the win!

[mrsmiley381]

I read the word "medals" on the page as "medcats." I want some damn medcats.

I will try this later, hoping for greatness, expecting something somewhat less. Some nice bits to the artstyle though.

Edit: Yeah, it's not clicking for me. The medaling system is a pain. Don't like this style of enemy movement (or ship movement for that matter).

I read it as "Madcats" and immediately thought of Mechwarrior.

This looks sick as hell and I'm trying it out when I get home. Wish I had some 3D glasses around.

[Ed Oscuro]

I read the word "medals" on the page as "medcats." I want some damn medcats.

MedCat.jpg

Medcat in the making, not yet an actual medcat.

(Urk, I typo'd it as Mecat...let's not go down that road; it leads to evil and destruction).

[Snake]

I'm slightly confused as to how anybody could criticise something this good but maybe it's that "Forgot this was supposed to be fun" issue again eh?

This.

I think the finished product stands on its own, but its also worth noting that this is something he developed as a lark while working on another, larger freeware project (Madlita Castilla).


Can't take the 3D though, doesn't my eyesight in. But a cute touch nonetheless.

[Special World]

Maybe some people just don't find it fun? Crazy, I know.

It seems like a downgrade from Galaga imo, though I didn't get too far. The scoring system really didn't suck me in either.

[Iron Peach]

The limited Y-axis brings the real fire; just enough freedom to have no one else to blame for a mistake. This will look sooo sexy in a cocktail cab.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Man, I really like this. If there was a color mode and fighter captures then it would be the icing on the cake, bat as it is it is really nice!

I just saw star wars in 3d and kept the glasses for the 3d mode, but they don't work.

Guess I need the old schoold glasses for this?

The reason why those passive Real-D glasses won't work with anaglyph based 3D videos/games is that you'd need a special digital 3D projection system capable of showing both left & right images at a brisk 90 frames per second for each eye.

I got some spare traditional anaglyph 3D glasses if anyone needs a pair, so no need to move heaven and hell looking for a pair. Some of the first 3D Blu-Ray flicks came with several pairs of anaglyph 3D glasses before the 3D LCD/Plasma TVs sets came along (i.e. the anaglyph Blu-Ray versions of Coraline & My Bloody Valentine 3D remake). Verminest would look awesome on a traditional candy cab setup just as well.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Moniker]

Locomalito just released a color version of the game - Verminest '83. Apparently everything else about the game is the same.

I did another version of the game using a color palette taken out from arcade limitations of early 80s. I like how those bright colors works in simple games, making them as visually attractive as a gambling machines. This version has some less background details to imitate those early games, but the gameplay is still the same and the changes not affects the scoring system.

http://www.locomalito.com/verminest.php

[Udderdude]

That is some good news, I'll give it another shot.

Edit: Well, it still plays the same, but at least the color makes me want to play it a bit more.