Night Striker Gear announced!

[kid aphex]

https://www.taito.co.jp/mob/topics/26608

Wrong forum, or shmup-enough?

M2 developing… does it sound like a freebie included with this new collection?
Or a stand alone?

Who is good with Japanese…?

Also to be talked about on their stream tomorrow:
https://www.youtube.com/live/Y3EkZnKYxO ... 4wLkThKL21

[SuperDeadite]

Both Operation Wolf and Night Striker will support the USB Cyberstick. (And also og cyberstick with adapter) Hell yeah!

[Marc]

Gear seems to be a new, sprite based title, no platforms a bounced.

Operation Striker is a comp for.....PC!?

[m.sniffles.esq]

Take this opportunity to produce the home version of the plastic uzi we've often dreamed about.

[SuperDeadite]

Take this opportunity to produce the home version of the plastic uzi we've often dreamed about.

You're wish is granted...
https://x.com/fareastpinball/status/178 ... Wu-Ew&s=19

[m.sniffles.esq]

Take this opportunity to produce the home version of the plastic uzi we've often dreamed about.

You're wish is granted...
https://x.com/fareastpinball/status/178 ... Wu-Ew&s=19

I have a feeling the cyberstick and separate uzi attachment will cost most than just getting an Operation Wolf cab at auction. I was thinking more along these lines

Spoiler

In uzi form

[FunktionJCB]

Looking good:

[DietSoap]

Looking good:

Holy FUCK. That is nuts looking.

[Bassa-Bassa]

Pixel art graphics were too expensive for Aleste Branch, M2 said.

[Sengoku Strider]

It wasn't clear from their description - is this based on Game Gear spec?

In uzi form

Operation Wolf's aiming was based on the uzi being integrated with the cab though, I don't think free hand light guns would work unless it was totally gyro based.

[m.sniffles.esq]

Operation Wolf's aiming was based on the uzi being integrated with the cab though, I don't think free hand light guns would work unless it was totally gyro based.

Doesn't everything have to be either controller or gyro based with plasma screens??

[Barba]

Doesn't everything have to be either controller or gyro based with plasma screens??

Modern lightguns can also operate either by infrared markers that have to be added to the screen, or camera-based (you have to render a white frame around the actual game image). I use one of the latter ones, was prejudiced against that type of system, but it works quite well actually.

[FunktionJCB]

The Steam page is up:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3290 ... IKER_GEAR/

[pablumatic]

A Japanese ShotTriggers page also appeared.

https://m2stg.com/night-striker-gear/

Confirms a Switch port as well. No PlayStation? That's different.

[BurlyHeart]

A Japanese ShotTriggers page also appeared.

https://m2stg.com/night-striker-gear/

Confirms a Switch port as well. No PlayStation? That's different.

Cool! By the way, I noticed M2 has only 55 followers on Steam.....fifty-five! Give them a follow if you give a chance.

[Steven]

This perhaps explains the lack of a ShotTriggers game for last year, which was the first year that there wasn't a ShotTriggers release since they started doing them; M2 was too busy making a new game to do other ShotTriggers stuff, perhaps.

The past Taito ShotTriggers games weren't published by M2 and aren't on the ShotTriggers website, but this is. The only ShotTriggers games on PC so far are the Taito ones, presumably because Taito wanted M2 to make PC versions, and those are all published by Taito. Here's this and this is published by M2 for PC, a first, and presumably also for Switch. I figured Taito'd do it, not M2. Weird. I presume that Taito is also the one who decided that the backgrounds on the Taito ShotTriggers games should be grey instead of black, something that pisses me off to no end, and I would not be surprised if the old games in this collection are the same. What idiot decided that grey was the best choice? It isn't.

[FunktionJCB]

As a side note, since I couldn't find a thread about this upcoming compilation, but the previously announced M2 compilation "Operation Night Strikers" is now a 4 title compilation, and it will include:

*Operation Wolf (Versions: Arcade, Famicom, NES, SEGA Master System)
*Operation Thunderbolt (Versions: Arcade, SNES)
*Night Striker (Versions: Arcade, Mega CD)
*Space Gun (Versions: Arcade, SEGA Master System)


So happy that they are bring both this compilation, and Night Striker Gear, to Steam.

The Steam page for Operation Night Strikers already has screenshots of the newly added games:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3099 ... _Strikers/

[Marc]

Thank funk I just picked up a PC

[D]

Operation Wolf for SEGA Master System was developed only for 50hz territories and it is a bit buggy when playing on 60hz after the first level is completed (so it does seems to work at first glance)
Would be great to have a fully working 60hz version of SMS Operation Wolf

[TransatlanticFoe]

I assume they'll have to add analogue control to the home ports in order to make them playable to the standard of the arcade games (I assume Switch will being pointer control), given they can't emulate the light guns. SMS Operation Wolf and Space Gun aren't fun with just the D-pad.

I'd be surprised if they didn't just emulate the SMS games at 50 Hz though, it's what they did with Power Strike II on the Aleste collection.

[Daytime Waitress]

The lack of a PS port is real strange...

Cool! By the way, I noticed M2 has only 55 followers on Steam.....fifty-five! Give them a follow if you give a chance.

How do you do that?
When I click, say, Taito on a game's store page, it sends me to a "curator" page which displays their titles and how many followers they have.
But if I click M2 on the same storefront, it just shunts me to a generic search results table for their releases.

[Ms. Tea]

It's on this page: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/M2_game

[Jonpachi]

I assume they'll have to add analogue control to the home ports in order to make them playable to the standard of the arcade games (I assume Switch will being pointer control), given they can't emulate the light guns. SMS Operation Wolf and Space Gun aren't fun with just the D-pad.

I'd be surprised if they didn't just emulate the SMS games at 50 Hz though, it's what they did with Power Strike II on the Aleste collection.

Had the same thought as to why they're doing Switch/PC only. Likely Pointer (switch) or Mouse (pc) to replicate the gun. The pointer on Switch is not great, but workable. I didn't enjoy it in HOTD but that game was also ass. Hopefully M2 can create a better feel for this.

[BIL]

Crafty M2 twisting both my arms to get a Switch for SEGA AGES and a PC for this. They didn't count on my third arm though.

[BEAMLORD]

They didn't count on my third arm though.

Cannot be bent or broken, and will budge for no man's pleasure?

Gotta be honest though, being another Taito/M2 collaboration, I woulda thought a PlayStation port was nailed on. Ah, well. Maybe some time down the line. I do have a Switch, though. Mostly retired, but if push eventually comes to shove with no future PS release, I'll pick it up.

[BIL]

Yes, also, keeps me well-occupied as-is. (｀w´メ) In prior gens I'd be all over Switch for M2's work, but between ShotTriggers and ACA I can barely keep it up on PS4 alone. Keep up I mean Will surely check AGES and this out at some point, whatever happens.

Worth noting the Cozmic Collections were Switch-only for quite a while, so perhaps this'll be another wait n' see. I wonder if PS5 might be more likely, ala the recent Dominus Collection.

[TransatlanticFoe]

I assume they'll have to add analogue control to the home ports in order to make them playable to the standard of the arcade games (I assume Switch will being pointer control), given they can't emulate the light guns. SMS Operation Wolf and Space Gun aren't fun with just the D-pad.

I'd be surprised if they didn't just emulate the SMS games at 50 Hz though, it's what they did with Power Strike II on the Aleste collection.

Had the same thought as to why they're doing Switch/PC only. Likely Pointer (switch) or Mouse (pc) to replicate the gun. The pointer on Switch is not great, but workable. I didn't enjoy it in HOTD but that game was also ass. Hopefully M2 can create a better feel for this.

I found HOTD playable with the plastic shotgun attachment. The main issue with the Switch pointer is it has no reference points (vs. the Wii remote, for example), so the aim drifts because your hand isn't always going back to the same centred position. The shotgun forces you to hold a pose so it stays centred better, and is more stable in general. But aye, I'd trust M2 to come up with something quality.

[hamfighterx]

Keep in mind that the Switch 2 has mouse-like functionality with the new joy-cons, and is backward compatible with Switch software. I'd be a little surprised if M2 isn't planning to do some sort of patch to support that. Might not be as good as pointing at the screen, but I can see the potential for some good control schemes.

Wario64 pointed out some good illustrations from the patent: https://bsky.app/profile/wario64.bsky.s ... jtpx27ja2b

[Ms. Tea]

Gosokkyu also points out that the platforms may have been picked based on USB Cyber Stick compat. It'd certainly explain why this is on Steam, unlike M2's other self-published M2STG games. I wonder if that means Switch might be able to work with it, or if Switch is just because of the pointer stuff other people mentioned. https://mastodon.social/@gosokkyu/113954132666672181

[hamfighterx]

Gosokkyu also points out that the platforms may have been picked based on USB Cyber Stick compat. It'd certainly explain why this is on Steam, unlike M2's other self-published M2STG games. I wonder if that means Switch might be able to work with it, or if Switch is just because of the pointer stuff other people mentioned. https://mastodon.social/@gosokkyu/113954132666672181

Also via GSK: "Switch isn't confirmed to support USB Cyber Stick (yet?) but it will have USB mouse support for the crosshair games" https://mastodon.social/@gosokkyu/113954796952899504

USB mouse support (on Switch 1) is fantastic, and lends even more support to the idea that the Switch 2 joycon mouse mode will probably be supported for this release.

Not too often we see retro releases on consoles support mouse. I was thrilled to be able to plug a mouse into my PS2 to play the Sega Ages 2500 version of SDI back when that one came out.