Defensive in how it plays, as in it is not a projectile-based fighter. I didn't claim in couldn't achieve high scores.
It's great to see these kind of discussions unfold and I will give my 2 cents. Do not see this as the 'this is my word and my word is final' answer, I know I tend to sound this way Firstly, all of the suggestions for the Shogun were covered by decisions we made in the past, this is not unexplored territory for us. So please assume that we thought the same way as you did at some point, but changed it because we tested it for a while and changed our opinion/stance. This does not mean you should change your opinion the same way or at all, everyone has his own view Moving on. There are indeed no power ups for the Shogun. This was a tough decision, but the Shogun already has a unique characteristic in this regard. At higher level the enemies shoot larger salvos, which means a wrong placement means certain death, but also correct placement means certain victory as it grants more Slashing attacks. In general this argument seems a bit weird, because more bullets means higher difficulty. When we tested this however, we found the dps of players does go up at higher level, due to more grazing. Grazing an entire salvo in one go also means it's a bit easier to build a high combo. The difficulty lies in the amount of patterns at the same time, not so much the amount of bullets in a row. This is confirmed by the fact that you can see the Shogun breaking all the Highe Scores. The electricity as a more dominant function completely opposes the current mindset of the ship. It is fun how you (@SumoSplash) see the Slashing as the defensive aspect, while it is intended as the primary offense. We added the lightning weapon purely because we had to. It was the best option to deal with situations where the Shogun had disarmed an enemy and couldn't graze it to death. The dps output is lower than the other weapons on the Phoenix, Mirage or Corsair, because it is not meant as an offensive aspect. The Slashing blade is the offensive strength. We also did not want to 'reward' moving close to enemies further, as this is not the point of the Shogun for us, nor the point of the game. Of course there is a bonus, but it already suffices in its current forum. If the lightning would become stronger and receive increased range, it would start to overlap with the standard weapons of the Mirage a lot, the grazing would take a back seat and become a 'nice bonus', instead of the core mechanic. Making the weapon sound more laser like would further complete this Did you play with the Mirage? Regarding the increase of grazing-range size, this would make the Shogun much too easy to play with at high level, during the high amount of projectiles on the screen. This overlaps a bit with the first answer regarding the lack of weapon upgrades. We thought about the upgrades for a long time, because the other ships have them and it's a big part of the visual flair of Phoenix. It didn't really fit anywhere though and we didn't want to force this mechanic upon the ship if it means weakening the concept or compromising the experience. Hence we made the slashing and the building of combos look extra cool So far for the answers. A bit of back ground information on the Shogun. The Shogun went through may many phases. During most of these it had a standard arsenal like the other 3 ships on top of a grazing weapon. The grazing weapon would actually shoot big projectiles, instead of this invisible instant hit which it currently is. The idea behind the arsenal was, of course, ninja-like. It would have three weapons; A Needle gun shooting straight ahead (chaingun-like), a Star thrower (spinning projectiles that slowed down a bit) and a flurry of Kunais with guided arcs that were tossed at the enemy. It looked pretty cool, but it didn't play very unique. Only after we removed these weapons we thought we nailed the concept for the Shogun. Note that we kept the throwing star as the ship icon for the Shogun As an exclusive treat, here are some unique screenshots from the Shogun in development. These are heavily work in progress screenshots with placeholder art and implementation. It is just to give you an idea with the direction we were going Here you see its weapons at low level. The fat blue darts (Kunai) would increase in number and be tossed in 'random arcs' at the enemy, creating a cool chaotic barrage vibe. Notice the more generic shape of the ship, I was not happy with that AT ALL. Here you see a couple of successful grazes shooting 'slashing' projectiles.
Thanks for the detailed reply on the Shogun, great to read as always. The Shogun is clearly the most unique addition to Phoenix so far (<3), it's expected that some people will have some trouble dealing with it, like the Phoenix SD review I pointed out earlier.
Thanks, yeh my 2cents got a bit more, but I hope you all don't mind @gunxsword: Haha, maybe with twin cockpits!
You know, I remember a time when we didn't have the option to talk to the developers of great games like Phoenix. It really is a pleasure to hop on this thing called the Internet and have these detailed, enlightening conversations about grazing and power-ups But really though, I just wanted to establish that I am a HUGE fan of Phoenix. Any remarks I make towards it are simply for my love of it and to improve the game if I can, if that is at all possible. Selachii, El my brother, feel the love. Let me establish the fact that I am relatively new to this forum, so I realize that my newness may be seen as pretentious. If that is the case, I apologize. Like I said above, my comments are meant for improvements as I see them, not necessarily critiques. OK, back to the discussion of the Shogun... Selachii, I guess my comments are directed mostly at what you wrote above. 1) The lack of power-ups dropping from the ships is definitely something I miss and it makes sense that this was a hard decision to exclude them from the Shogun. However, it is not a deal breaker. The Shogun has its own uniqueness and power-ups aren't required to make it fun to play. I just meant that power-ups are missed because seeing the ships advance and gain strength with the randomness of the weapon increases, to me, is one of the most exciting parts of the gameplay. 2) In terms of the grazing as being a defensive weapon...I think this was misunderstood. I didn't mean that the grazing was a defensive weapon. It is obviously the offensive backbone of the ship. However, when I compare how the Shogun plays to the other ships that fire projectiles, etc., the Shogun has a more 'defensive' feel to it in that you have to position yourself to 'respond' to what the bullets from the enemy ships are doing. In other words, you have to wait until the enemy shoots to enable your offense, the grazing, whereas the other ships are on auto fire. I think this was taken as the Shogun is not an offensive ship. Obviously this is not the case. 3) In terms of making the electricity more dominant...Again, I think this was slightly misunderstood. Yes I would like to see the electricity more dominant, but not as dominant as you might think. I'd like to see it increase SLIGHTLY, simply so the only use for it goes beyond getting extremely close to the enemy ships to be effective. I realize the main purpose of the electricity is to take out the enemy ships once their weapons cease to fire and cannot be taken out with grazing. This makes sense. But I still see the possibility of the electricity as becoming slightly more interactive while still serving its original purpose. I think one of the prettiest sights I see with the Shogun is when you are able to keep the electricity locked onto a turret while simultaneously grazing. However, this is hard to do since you have to get so close for the electricity. I also never meant to imply that the grazing would take a back seat to the electricity, just slightly increased in range and a little more involved in the game play. Nor did I ever see a similarity to the electricity and the Mirage. In terms of the sound of the electricity beams, when I said I wanted them to sound 'laser like,' this was not accurate. Electricity should not sound like a laser, of course. I just wish it sounded a little more 'fierce' or 'intense' than it currently does. In summary with the electricity, I think it can be kept as a minimalist weapon as intended while also increasing its influence. 4) It is interesting that you had other weapons that accompanied the grazing when you were developing the ship. When I first played the Shogun, I felt the same way, that it was somewhat plain. But as you dropped the other weapons for the final version, I agree with this decision. The grazing by itself is enough for the ship and the ship is a great contrast to the others and is really unique. The grazing is beautiful. Besides what I've suggested (slightly increased electricity) and what I miss (power-ups) it is a great addition. Oh, and on a side note I had an idea...You know how the Mirage has three stages to the Nighyfury Laser? Have you ever considered either a fourth or a fourth and fifth stage? LOL. I envision a fourth stage of the laser as being a very short, powerful burst that could vaporize the enemy ships. The laser wouldn't necessarily have to get wider, but could change color/sound to signify the increased intensity of the burst. HA! Let me know what you think!
You know, I remember a time when we didn't have the option to talk to the developers of great games like Phoenix. It really is a pleasure to hop on this thing called the Internet and have these detailed, enlightening conversations about grazing and power-ups But really though, I just wanted to establish that I am a HUGE fan of Phoenix. Any remarks I make towards it are simply for my love of it and to improve the game if I can, if that is at all possible. Selachii, El my brother, feel the love. Let me establish the fact that I am relatively new to this forum, so I realize that my newness may be seen as pretentious. If that is the case, I apologize. Like I said above, my comments are meant for improvements as I see them, not necessarily critiques. OK, back to the discussion of the Shogun... Selachii, I guess my comments are directed mostly at what you wrote above. 1) The lack of power-ups dropping from the ships is definitely something I miss and it makes sense that this was a hard decision to exclude them from the Shogun. However, it is not a deal breaker. The Shogun has its own uniqueness and power-ups aren't required to make it fun to play. I just meant that power-ups are missed because seeing the ships advance and gain strength with the randomness of the weapon increases, to me, is one of the most exciting parts of the gameplay. 2) In terms of the grazing as being a defensive weapon...I think this was misunderstood. I didn't mean that the grazing was a defensive weapon. It is obviously the offensive backbone of the ship. However, when I compare how the Shogun plays to the other ships that fire projectiles, etc., the Shogun has a more 'defensive' feel to it in that you have to position yourself to 'respond' to what the bullets from the enemy ships are doing. In other words, you have to wait until the enemy shoots to enable your offense, the grazing, whereas the other ships are on auto fire. I think this was taken as the Shogun is not an offensive ship. Obviously this is not the case. 3) In terms of making the electricity more dominant...Again, I think this was slightly misunderstood. Yes I would like to see the electricity more dominant, but not as dominant as you might think. I'd like to see it increase SLIGHTLY, simply so the only use for it goes beyond getting extremely close to the enemy ships to be effective. I realize the main purpose of the electricity is to take out the enemy ships once their weapons cease to fire and cannot be taken out with grazing. This makes sense. But I still see the possibility of the electricity as becoming slightly more interactive while still serving its original purpose. I think one of the prettiest sights I see with the Shogun is when you are able to keep the electricity locked onto a turret while simultaneously grazing. However, this is hard to do since you have to get so close for the electricity. I also never meant to imply that the grazing would take a back seat to the electricity, just slightly increased in range and a little more involved in the game play. Nor did I ever see a similarity to the electricity and the Mirage. In terms of the sound of the electricity beams, when I said I wanted them to sound 'laser like,' this was not accurate. Electricity should not sound like a laser, of course. I just wish it sounded a little more 'fierce' or 'intense' than it currently does. In summary with the electricity, I think it can be kept as a minimalist weapon as intended while also increasing its influence. 4) It is interesting that you had other weapons that accompanied the grazing when you were developing the ship. When I first played the Shogun, I felt the same way, that it was somewhat plain. But as you dropped the other weapons for the final version, I agree with this decision. The grazing by itself is enough for the ship and the ship is a great contrast to the others and is really unique. The grazing is beautiful. Besides what I've suggested (slightly increased electricity) and what I miss (power-ups) it is a great addition. Oh, and on a side note I had an idea...You know how the Mirage has three stages to the Nighyfury Laser? Have you ever considered either a fourth or a fourth and fifth stage? LOL. I envision a fourth stage of the laser as being a very short, powerful burst that could vaporize the enemy ships. The laser wouldn't necessarily have to get wider, but could change color/sound to signify the increased intensity of the burst. HA! Let me know what you think!
Someone can delete the double of my post. I tried to do it, but I guess this forum doesn't let you. Sorry.
@SumoSplash: It's always nice to write with players about games, do not stop giving your own opinion, I hope I didn't sound too hostile giving mine Often enough players on this forums have brought their opinion which resulted in heavy discussions. This is only a good thing though, a couple of good features and fixes for Phoenix HD resulted from discussions on these forums! In other news, Phoenix HD is now installed on more than 1.000.000 iOS devices! That's so amazing! Thank you all for joining us for this adventure
I want a melee ship with focus on chaining combos! (too much Dragon Nest) Wait... please ignore me... A ship fitted with razor wings used to slice through bullets and enemies does sound ridiculously cool...
Yeh it's not too bad to expand upon the existing mechanics. I will give it some thought in the near future Getting where we (a 2man indie studio with no external funding/investments/subsidies etc) are is quite hard, but (if you are satisfied with a noodle diet) extremely gratifying
I would eat noodles only diet if it meant I was the person behind Phoenix. Definitely a worthwhile sacrifice.
Leaderboard phoenix HD ?! Hello I am a player of Phoenix HD I discovered a problem recently that the leaderboard is removing my record every single day ?! I am using iPod and don't have Wifi everywhere. When I got a wifi somewhere and launch Phoenix HD The high score remains but the record on leaderboard is disappeared! What's going on?
Please send your question and the UDID of your iPhone to [email protected], we'll be able to investigate your situation.
It's you're unique ID code, every device has one, to find yours you can download apps which are free that show it.
You can also find it using iTunes. Just go to your device summary screen and click the serial number. It will change to the UDID.
