Thanks for the advice, synth. I've been concentrating mostly on Classic Mode, simply because the GC leaderboards favor it. I'll be playing both this weekend...
I think an OST is in the pipeline . He is extremely talented and once again worked his magic for this game, the stage 4 and 5 tracks in particular being my favorite. Glad to hear that everyone is enjoying the game! Hopefully this does well enough so I wouldn't have to find a job, then we may someday see DU3 or SS2..
First of all, Gabrien is the most honest reviewer on the site, bar none, so if you think otherwise, you are high. Love the game; dual modes, grazing, prox buffs, several difficulty levels, Universal. This is a must-buy title. Nice work, Sunny! @Blankfield - The final boss music is stellar!
@Foxbat - may have happened upon a bug: * Was at Colonel level and it said ~5,000/1,000,000,000pts * Next game I'm Ace level with an empty bar, but it says it's maxed * I have a total of 9 upgrade points invested in my ship * I don't gain points any more through repeated play Not sure how to repro it.
SS2 first Congrats on the release, Sunny! Been awaiting this release with ravenous anticipation. I played this so much while Beta testing it that I am still in that mindset, looking for bugs, ideas for improvement, etc. So, while we all gaze in wide astonishment at Syntheticvoid's Leaderboard domination, bear with me as I think out loud here for Sunny's first update -It may be cool to have the ability to stop your Burst and Trance shots after they are started, thus having control over how much is fired at one time. So, if you only want to use half of your gauge, you would be able to stop it by again swiping up (or down). On top of this, it would be cool if the Trance Gauge depleted slower if you graze as it is firing. Since grazing helps build it up faster in the first place, it would make sense that it would slow the depletion. The better you graze, the longer it lasts. (Keep in mind that grazing while the Trance beam is being fired applies mainly to the later levels and bosses, where enemies are strong enough to withstand the trance beam and stay alive longer to fire at you more). The same concept could apply to the Burst beam too, in that if you collect power-up orbs while it is firing, it would deplete slower. -I'd like to see more fade out once a level is finished. After you hit the 'next' button to progress to the following stage, it would add to the mood and feel like a more polished transition if there was a slightly longer wait time (a couple seconds--any more would be too much) with the music fading out along with the screen slowly fading to black. Right now it feels too abrupt. -The difficulty of the last stage, whether you are on easy or extreme, feels like a MAJOR jump from stage 4, so much so that it would be cool if there was a level in between. In fact, I think the game feels a little too short at 5 levels and 6 would be just about perfect. Paying IAP for extra levels would be a no brainer for me. -Size (smaller), shape and color of orbs should be changed in Burst mode (and the stars in Classic mode could have their color/size changed, too), as they too closely resemble the missiles. Even though they seem to be a darker color than they were in the Beta stage, it is still making for a lot of similar looking objects flying back and forth (orb, missile, orb, missile), adding unnecessary confusion. I defer to Phoenix HD here, where the energy you pick up as you go is more of a 'particle' nature and takes up less screen space. -This isn't a huge priority, but I think the multiplier/graze box at the top left of the screen could be slightly smaller, and could even go slightly transparent like the Trance/Burst bars do when you move your ship to the sides of the screen. Just some thoughts there. Now, back to the bullet curtain
I can't stop playing this. I really wish Team Shanghai Alice would get off "their" lone butt and have a go at iOS games. Danmaku Unlimited just shows how great the genre works with a touchscreen and going back to Touhou Project with it's keyboard controls and not even being able to use a mouse feels a little archaic. When you've got controls as precise as this (is anyone else using 2.0:1.0 sensitivity?) you can afford to get even crazier with the bullet patterns. Shoot The Bullet and Double Spoiler would be so much fun on an iPad. Oh, and I'm not seeing the orb colour problem. It's completely different? I've played so many SHMUPs where pickups were near impossible to tell from bullets but they seem really obvious in this. If it doesn't glow, all is good.
best bulletgame for ios i tried so far. damn, impressed by what ipad can handle these days. so much going on, and zero framerate drop
Well, I don't think I'd label it a 'problem' necessarily. It isn't THAT extreme of an issue. In my opinion, the orbs for Burst mode in particular too closely resemble the missiles, in both size and shape. This can be confusing when you go to pick up an orb that is flying nearby while you are also looking at your own missiles zooming by the orbs, while trying to also dodge/graze projectiles. I also think the orbs could be smaller in general. They don't need to be that big to be noticeable. I'm just throwing ideas out there.
For me the size was the main issue, (yeah, that's what she said, etc.) closely followed by the colour. All I know is I want the stuff that I need to avoid to look distinctly different from the stuff that I need to pick up, and that's just not the case here.
It's the size AND the shape (that's what she said). Just to clarify my point: I have no problem discerning the actual bullets. In fact, I feel the way the bullets stand out against the backgrounds is beautiful. This is an intense amount of on screen objects to follow. A repeat of similar shapes that intersect while moving in two different directions is inherently going to be more difficult to follow. I feel that if the orbs were half the size they are now, there'd be no issue.
I dont like Bullet Hell shmups that much, but im addicted to this one too. That said, im only playing in the Normal difficulty, and i cant pass the third boss, but each moment i start the game up, i get into bullet hell mode which i never was into until this game. I love shmups, but not bullet hell ones... This, is a first.
Are the orbs being displayed differently on a phone or something? I'm genuinely confused. The orbs are twice as big as the bullets, so halving their size would make them even harder to distinguish. They're also a dull, grey-blue while bullets are bright red and purple. For once the phrase "apples and oranges" actually makes literal sense here. The only problem I can imagine is for colour-blind people. I'm not trying to argue here, I just think I'm missing something. Especially as Phoenix was mentioned as being less confusing, 'cause I think it's quite a bit more so. The enemy fire tends to be orange/red and the coins sometimes make me dart out of the way, as do the flames from defeated enemies, the similarities in that game are really pretty close in comparison.
1) The orbs are taking up too much screen space, cluttering up the interaction of your projectiles and the projectiles you are trying to dodge, unnecessarily. 2) The orbs resemble the missiles from your ship. They are the same size and similar in color. There is no problem distinguishing the bullets from the orbs.
Ah, I think I see now. By "missies from your ship" do you mean the track weapon? I've only been using beam so far, but I just looked at the track missiles and yeah, they're a lot more similar. Gotcha. The size doesn't bother me personally as it's always under the bullets so I kinda just zone it out the same way I do with moving backgrounds.
Yes. Track weapon/homing missile. Point being, the orbs are 'too much a part of the action' when you already have enough to focus on. The track weapons/homing missiles are circular, the orbs are circular, and some of the enemy bullets are circular. All three can be the exact same size, too, at the exact same time on the screen. The orbs become a variable inherently. It's like driving a car with something swinging from your rear view mirror. It is a distraction, whether you are conscious of it or not.
I agree, the size and look of the orbs is distracting to me and just not attractive. I really hope they can be reduced and changed in looks.
Wow, Gabrien wants me to chair, and Sumosplash wants me topless. And Lost Deputy wonders if my 25 foot hdmi cable is long enough. Man, no wonder why you all have Syntheticvoid and Andy laughing so much. Glad you guys love me so much, sexy... Signed, Connector Chairman of the Is Gabrien Honest Committee
Another solution to this, besides reducing their size etc., is to reduce the actual number of orbs that are given off. You could have half the number while still retaining the same value. If an enemy gives off 4 orbs, reduce it to 2.
