Xymati - New PC-Engine vertical shmup from MindRec!

MASTER SATAN · Post by **MASTER SATAN** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 6:12 am

where would we buy it at.

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 1:08 pm

FraGMarE wrote:Angle Laser (Vulcan + Laser)

Pretty much just how it looks here. Will shoot forward, unless it passes by an enemy, in which case, it will take a 90* turn directly towards them..

This is a nice weapon. I wonder how well it will perform.

Super Seeker (Vulcan + Vulcan + Laser)

The physics of this weapon are basically identical to the Hunter weapon from Thunderforce 3/4.

This would have looked better if the orbs were more circular in shape and flashed like the blue plasma spheres of the Hunter Weapon in Thunder Force series & T-Braster in Gaiares.
They look more like the stars in the background but brighter.
I would make them blue as none of your other weapons have that colour.

Plasma Tracer (Vulcan + Laser + Laser)

This weapon is kind of a mix between the purple "toothpaste" laser from Raiden 2, and the green homing laser from Blazing Lazers. Moves very fast and chases enemies around the screen.

This one looks very promising indeed!
But it looks a bit weak. It would be better if you made it thicker like the Raiden II “tooth paste” laser. That way it would look as if it can deliver some real havoc.

Thermal Flare (Wave + Vulcan)

Sort of a flamethrower/fireball weapon here. We might make it drift towards enemies, a bit like the flamethrower of the Iron Mackerel from Battle Garegga.

Back-fire fireball weapon… This one just doesn’t look right.
I would make the fire-balls sharper than circle shaped and concentrate them in the front.

Napalm Grenade (Wave + Vulcan + Vulcan)

Slow moving, and hard hitting. They tumble forward, and when they explode, they cause proximity damage within a certain radius around them. An effective boss killer weapon.

I can’t comment on this unless I see it animated. I would make some fairly large explosions every time it hits a target.

Arrow Smasher (Wave + Wave + Vulcan)

A very wide frontal spread weapon. Will perform similar to the fully powered vulcan from Raiden, or the T-Braster from Gaiares.

You mean the F-Formation. The T-Braster is exactly the same as the blue flashing plasma spheres of the Hunter weapon in Thunder Force series.
It looks good, but I would redraw rows 1, 3, 5, 7 as they’re irregularly shaped and not symmetrical like rows 2 ,4 ,6.

Ring Laser (Laser + Wave)

Much like the ring lasers from Gradius games, except far less useless. Makes a tight spread pattern.

I’ve never been a fan of ring weapons in shooters; they look too magical and very unfitting for a space shooter.
This one in particular doesn’t look very well designed imo.

Terra Beam (Laser + Laser + Wave)

Remember those crazy looking spiral lasers from R-Type Leo? Same concept here, except these are a little fatter and a little greener. Essentially, this is just a fancy looking wide-laser pulse shot.

This looks excellent!
You have successfully transferred the visual feel of the R-Type Leo lasers!
I can tell from the frames that t will be very well animated!

Bubble Guard (Laser + Wave + Wave)

This one is interesting. It works like a cross between the classic Compile defensive weapon featured in so many of their shmups, and the the rotating powerful shot in Dangun Feveron. If you hold the button down, it acts as seen here, rotating around your ship, protecting from bullets and popcorn enemies, and shooting a rather meager forward shot. If you release the button, however, it unleashes a barrage of forward fire that does massive damage.

This looks horrible!
Bubble weapons just look so silly in shooters! It’s the last thing you would expect to see as basic armament in intergalactic warfare!
You’re obviously borrowing this 80’s weapon to blend it with the Star Soldier series, but this one look more like a supped-up bubble lead from Mega Man 2!
Horrible designed imo!

Event Horizon (Vulcan + Laser + Wave)

A black hole cannon! It draws in smaller enemies and inflicts massive damge to anything it touches.

This looks very interesting!
I would make the purple part in the center a bit larger so that it blends more closely with the external blue ring and make the dark layer in between a bit small.
Unless you’re planning to animate it which would rule!

Personally I still think that the sprite you’re using to deliver the feel of the weapons blasting is just too small and looks more like a spark than a blast imo.

XERO · Post by **XERO** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:58 am

let us know when it is available for purchase.....look forward to it's release.

Keranu · Post by **Keranu** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:14 am

Frag, I never got to see all these shots, just the stuff you showed me on IRC

. Wow, this really looks and sounds amazing now. When BT first announced there was a vertical shooter in the works, I was a little dissapointed since I was hoping it would be a new game for a genre the TG16/PCE lacked in, but now that you have more info about this game, I'm totally interested in it now and it sounds very unique with the Spriggan-like weapon system (and I might add that all of your weapons look fantastic, and the combinations fit perfectly!). I'm sure the rest of us members at Frozen Utopia will be excited about this game as well, and I hope that you and BT enjoy our games too

.

By the way, you (or BT) really should make a page for your projects, with all the info, screenshots, downloads, etc..., it's just a lot more organized that way and your thread for PC Gunjin on the Magic Engine forums is now gone

. Just to remind you again, I am biting my fingernails with incredible anticipation for PC Gunjin

.

FraGMarE · Post by **FraGMarE** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:11 pm

No_not_like_Quake wrote:I'm interested in both games. A few questions regarding Xymati:

How many layers of parallax scrolling are you shooting for at max, if any at all?
Will the screen be fixed, or will it scroll sllightly to the left right?
Is getting 2 player co-op to run on the PCE difficult?

Oh and the link to PC Gunjin doesn't work. Got another?

Thanks

Parallax? Well, the PC-Engine isn't *technically* capable of true layer-on-layer parallax, but that's doesn't it mean it can't be faked. Trickery using sprites and VRAM loading methods can be used to create the illusion of parallax like in Ninja Spirit, and "line scrolling" type parallax, like that seen in MUSHA's canyon level. For example, that starry background for the weapons there will have some of the larger stars moving independently at different speeds to give the illusion of more depth. We are planning on pulling some tricks out of the PC-Engine's hat for this game, rest assured.

The screen right now is fixed, but I think it might be a good idea to expand the play field left/right a little bit. We'll have to actually try it both ways to see which "feels" better.

Getting 2-player co-op to run on the PC-Engine is a piece of cake. You just have to be careful that you're not putting too many sprites into VRAM, with too much collision code that needs to be calculated. Conservation will need to be practiced in order to avoid such things as running out of VRAM, slowdown, and flickering.

PC-Gunjin link's broken? Damn, I guess the Magic Engine forums are down. Here are all the PC-Gunjin pics I have up at the moment...

Dylan1CC wrote:Those new weapon screens are very nice. At least a year wait, you say?

Yea, it's going to be awhile. You've gotta think, it's pretty much just me and Bt Garner creating the software, and we still have to get PC-Gunjin completed before we can really start working on the bulk of Xymati. Making full games with just 2 guys creating the actual software takes a while. :/

MASTER SATAN wrote:where would we buy it at.

All MindRec games can be bought at Lik-Sang, Turbo Zone Direct, or directly from MindRec. If you Google for our previous game, 'Meteor Blaster DX', it turns up numerous other places offering it for sale as well.

ST Dragon wrote:...

The Angle Laser will perform a lot like the right-angle laser from R-Type Leo or Image Fight. It is only a mid-level (two orb) weapon, so it won't be all *that* kick-ass, but it will be effective.

The Super Seeker weapon actually does flash and pulse, you can't see it here obviously, because it's a still image. The color of the weapon (with a couple exceptions) is generally indicitive of what what color orbs you are combining.

The Plasma Tracer is as wide as I can make it for having it travel diagonally with a 16x16 sprite. If i made it wider, I would need to start using a 32x32 sprite (which I'd rather not do). The speed and voracity of this weapon alone will make it effective. It doesn't need to be huge. It will also branch off occasionally. Think of the homing laser in Blazing Lazers or Gunstar Heroes.

The Thermal Flare may actually be configured differently, such as in a double=forward arrangement, by the final version. The sprites are pretty much finished, however, and won't be changed, i'm afraid.

The Napalm Grenade will in fact create a sizable explosion when it hits enemies or solid objects.

The Arrow Smasher's rows 1, 3, 5, & 7 will never be symmetrical when drawn in pixel art, because they're drawn at an angle of about 22.5 degrees from vertical or horizontal. In pixel art, only angles of 0, 45, 90, 135, 180 degrees, etc can be truly symmetrical. I'm afraid they're already as close to symmetrical as they're going to get. And yea, I meant F-Formation. Sorry.

The Ring Laser is just an homage of sorts to the ring lasers in old 8-bit and 16-bit era shmups. I just kind of wanted to pay some tribute. It could have just as well been any other projectile for this weapon I suppose. The pattern and physics are what really matter.

The Terra Beam is essentially just a really fancy vertical version of the Gaiares Giga Beam with crazy spiral effects. Glad you like it.

The Bubble Guard didn't do anything to you. Why all this deep seeded animosity? Did it cut you off in traffic? Did it break into your home and steal your TV? Did bubble weapons kill your family and burn down your house when you were a little kid? Perhaps you're still just bitter about being killed by Dr. Wily over and over again at the end of Mega Man 2 until you figured out you had to use the Bubble Lead. This concludes my Freudian analysis of why you might not like bubble weapons. Hope you find some help.

The Event Horizon weapon is a black hole gun, hence there should be plenty of black space within the projectile itself. Look at the standard "video game black holes" found in Gaiares, Darius Gaiden, and MUSHA. They're blue on the outer edge and purple in the middle, with black space in between. This one looks fine, and won't be changed, I'm afraid.

As far as the ship's "muzzle flash" sprite, it's the largest I could make it for a 16x16 sprite. Again, we are trying to conserve so we can allocate more sprites and more VRAM space for other things. Most 16-bit era shmups don't even have a muzzle flash at all, so I think you're being just a little picky about a few things here.

XERO wrote:let us know when it is available for purchase.....look forward to it's release.

I certainly will. I will also alert you all when there's a public demo of any kind to show you.

Keranu wrote:Frag, I never got to see all these shots, just the stuff you showed me on IRC . Wow, this really looks and sounds amazing now. When BT first announced there was a vertical shooter in the works, I was a little dissapointed since I was hoping it would be a new game for a genre the TG16/PCE lacked in, but now that you have more info about this game, I'm totally interested in it now and it sounds very unique with the Spriggan-like weapon system (and I might add that all of your weapons look fantastic, and the combinations fit perfectly!). I'm sure the rest of us members at Frozen Utopia will be excited about this game as well, and I hope that you and BT enjoy our games too .

By the way, you (or BT) really should make a page for your projects, with all the info, screenshots, downloads, etc..., it's just a lot more organized that way and your thread for PC Gunjin on the Magic Engine forums is now gone . Just to remind you again, I am biting my fingernails with incredible anticipation for PC Gunjin .

Thanks! I was a little apprehensive about making a shmup, at first, because games like Blazing Lazers, Soldier Blade, and Spriggan are legendary PC-Engine games and are hard to live up to, but I think it's turning out pretty good so far.

I have thought about making my own little PC-Engine project page on mindrec.com with screenshots and periodical updates and whatnot, but I haven't had to the time to create it yet. One day...

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:21 pm

not sure if you answered this yet...

how will the demo be distributed? iso? hard copy disc?

and great progress on the game, my anticipation grows with every update.

No_not_like_Quake · Post by **No_not_like_Quake** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:50 pm

Whoa, PC Gunjin looks sweet. Thanks for the info.

Keranu · Post by **Keranu** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:37 am

Man, I haven't seen those PC Gunjin screenshots in awhile, Frag. I forgot the game looked THAT awesome! You seriously are the King of Tile Making

. I suck at making simple tile sets

.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:03 am

Yea, it's going to be awhile. You've gotta think, it's pretty much just me and Bt Garner creating the software, and we still have to get PC-Gunjin completed before we can really start working on the bulk of Xymati. Making full games with just 2 guys creating the actual software takes a while. :/

Wow, in any case, both games look very impressive for a 2 man effort.

FraGMarE · Post by **FraGMarE** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 4:03 pm

captain ahar wrote:not sure if you answered this yet...

how will the demo be distributed? iso? hard copy disc?

and great progress on the game, my anticipation grows with every update.

As with Meteor Blaster DX, the demo will be a ROM image in the .PCE format that's available for download from the MindRec site. I think we're going to wait until the game is almost complete (or at least until I'm completely satisfied with level 1) before releasing the demo though. The graphical difference between the demo version of Meteor Blaster DX and final game was like night and day, so I'd kind of like to avoid that this time around.

Thanks for all the compliments, suggestions, and support, everybody. I really appreciate it.

ParanoiaDragon · Post by **ParanoiaDragon** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:59 am

Yo Frag, any new news on this project....or PC Gunjin for that matter??

R_Typist · Post by **R_Typist** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:39 am

This is a fascinating project. Best of luck to your endevors!

Black HOle weapons rock!

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:25 am

For FraGMarE,

Could a limited edition run of actual Hu-Card cartridge version of Xymati be produced? (Some serious $$$ to made here...ha-ha!) ^_~

If this were to be true, then Xyamti being released as a Hu-Card would be the latest shmup title after very last USA TTI-produced Magical Chase Hu-Card release back in late 1993. ^_~

Ever wonder why no one sells a brand new sealed USA Turbo Technologies Incorporated version of 'Magical Chase' on eBay? (It couldn't be that hard to find or is it?) ^_~

Would that be fucking sweet for PC Engine/Turbografx-16 console owners with shmups to salivate over...a Hu-Card version of Xymati? ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 11:16 pm

This is shaping up to be Super Uber Duper Star Soldier. I'll buy this in a heartbeat once released. I'm guessing sometime in 2007 it will arise?

ParanoiaDragon · Post by **ParanoiaDragon** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 7:38 am

*sigh* I just hope we can get some of our games released by or before 2007

Though, none of ours are shooters, we don't want to be doing the same things that Mindrec is doing. Anyways, I personally can't wait to beta test on this. And I love the Transformer references! With Cyclonus, & what kind of looks like Armada Starscream(which was probably unintentional?).

Hmm, it'd be cool, if you could make one more ship, Scourge, & have some sort of shield system, or weapons system, that is the Sweeps(Scourge's minions......if you remember him from G1, he was under Cyclonus, & the Sweeps were copies of Scourge, but with their own personalities). I can just imagine Scourge flying thru the air, with little mini Sweeps circling him, THAT would ROCK! Maybe even make it a secret ship you can open up?

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:42 am

wow, i'm really interested in both games... be sure to post in this forum when they are done and can be purchased..

Keranu · Post by **Keranu** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:39 am

I figured I post these somewhat new screenshots of Xymati here for Frag.

Looking awesome to the max!

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 7:34 am

^^^^

Nicely done. The ship select screen is slick, love the vulcan beam and the little midwestern looking houses/field give it a sweet Raiden feel.

And it's 2P simultaneous, not many PCE shmups you could say that of.

Is there an ETA on this yet?

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 8:21 am

I was just thinking about this and Gunjin, nice to see it's still going! :)

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:32 am

Nice screenshots. The laser looks a little bit like the one in Soldier Blade. I sure hope these come out sometime this year.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:42 pm

For Keranu,

Thanks for the awesome sample screenshots of the upcoming Xymati Super CD-Rom2 shmup game title... ^_~

And will this Xymati shmup have an "anime" styled opening intro or a fully-rendered CGI FMV opening (like in the same rendered FMV style of the Arcade CD-Rom2 shmup title of "Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire") to set the story of Xymati?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Nate · Post by **Nate** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:55 am

It's looking really good! There were quite a few like this on the PCE, but there's always room for one more!
It's been a little over a year, then you guys have been chipping at this one...excellent!

Battlesmurf · Post by **Battlesmurf** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:13 pm

what's the status on this stuff, anyways?

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:33 pm

Those screenshots posted 6 months ago is the newest info.

Battlesmurf · Post by **Battlesmurf** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:17 pm

: / sad. That contra clone looks like it could be fun

I just hate finding out about this stuff *after* when it's too $$ to get anymore, or just too hard to find. I do love "new stuff for old systems', though. DC, Genesis, PCE, Jaguar...yays ; )

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 12:19 am

I'm sure if and when the game is finished this thread will be updated plus hoards of people wanting to buy the game.

HardcoreOtaku · Post by **HardcoreOtaku** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:47 am

Keranu wrote:I figured I post these somewhat new screenshots of Xymati here for Frag.

Looking awesome to the max!

looking good mate

Sonic R · Post by **Sonic R** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 5:07 pm

I am lie here in wait

Looking forward to these games and will gladly make purchase!

Battlesmurf · Post by **Battlesmurf** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 7:03 pm

Ditto : )

Raiden Fighters 2 · Post by **Raiden Fighters 2** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:22 pm

Blank when is previewed the escape of this shooting for PC engine?

shmups.system11.org

Xymati - New PC-Engine vertical shmup from MindRec!

great !

Could a limited edition Hu-Card of Xymati be made?

Nice screenshots of the upcoming Xymati PCE SCD shmup + ?...