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[SapientWolf]

I like the game except for the art style... why do japanese style if they can't get it right?... they kinda look like the sort of art style you see on cheap notebooks in flea markets or those books that teach you how to draw manga style characters... not the real thing, if they can't do them right why bother?... and they're not the only ones...

I don't know that I agree with that. It seems like the artist did his own style so it has to be judged by its own merits. Not by how close it is to some ideal manga style.

My only request is for more particle effects, but that's my own personal preference.

 

[Vard]

Wow, glad it's coming to PS4 too, Paz. That 4 player gif looked amazing. Between Ghost Song and AAS, Indie Dev GAF is reppin' pretty strong right now!

 

[mclem]

Starring the cast of Sugar Rush?

 

[JoeFenix]

Hate the art on the main characters but like everything else I'm seeing.

Keeping an eye on this one, all these indie games are coming out of nowhere and I love it!

 

[Callibretto]

I don't know that I agree with that. It seems like the artist did his own style so it has to be judged by its own merits. Not by how close it is to some ideal manga style.

My only request is for more particle effects, but that's my own personal preference.

more particle effects? the game looks busy enough as it is. adding more effect could have impact on gameplay if it's overdone and you can't see what's going on

edit: does the difficulty/number of enemies scale with how many people are playing? the latest gif looks awesome and all, but that looks hell if the number of enemy is the same when you're playing single player.

also, this might be asking too much, but, crossplatform online play between ps4 and vita?

 

[ShinItachi]

Now that's one beautiful looking game,looks super fun.I have no problem with the art style looks great,keep up the good work.

Local co-op will be a blast.Hopefully you guys can get online & cross-play working so i can play this with some of my other buddies.

 

[honorless]

also, this might be asking too much, but, crossplatform online play between ps4 and vita?

Previous page:

No cross-play planned atm sorry, it's just a bit out of our three-person team's reach with one guy doing all of the programming & art.

 

[SapientWolf]

more particle effects? the game looks busy enough as it is. adding more effect could have impact on gameplay if it's overdone and you can't see what's going on

edit: does the difficulty/number of enemies scale with how many people are playing? the latest gif looks awesome and all, but that looks hell if the number of enemy is the same when you're playing single player.

also, this might be asking too much, but, crossplatform online play between ps4 and vita?

Overdone particle effects are my fave. There used to be a meme about it (needs more sparks). That kind of thing should be optional though.

 

[Paz]

does the difficulty/number of enemies scale with how many people are playing? the latest gif looks awesome and all, but that looks hell if the number of enemy is the same when you're playing single player.

Yeah we scale up the enemy count for each additional player, for a while we had it scaling their hitpoints but it made your weapons feel weak and that's not how we wanted it to feel. It can get a bit crazy in 4 player, more like a party game

 

[McSpidey]

If someone else is getting overwelmed in co-op it just means you have to carry harder The battery mechanic is pretty cool how it enables that actually.

 

[HolyCheck]

>_> since port beggings banned.. i'll just ring you Paz and scream WII-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

but yes! played this game at AUSPAX, it's a real blast, and my friends and I are all looking forward to playing it again

 

[Callibretto]

Previous page:

aww too bad, this is the unfortunate thing with indies right now, and what's differentiate them with some of the unique ps1-ps2 titles in the past. they have a great concept and vision to bring it to life, but sometime, they're just too small or maybe even hold back by the expectation of $10-$20 price point that they couldn't fully realize their game's potential.

I mean, I read the premise of Everyone gone to Rapture and that it's such a short game, can't help thinking that it could have increase the scope of the game, make it bigger and longer and sold as retail title, maybe not for full $60, but $30-$40 will probably suit that game better. basically more mid tier game imo. right now we basically only have indies at $15 and $60 retail title with some exception (Sly, Puppeteer).

sorry for the rant, Paz, I wish the game is a big hit and you can hire more people for bigger and better sequel with cross play, cross buy, more stage, more weapon, bigger bosses, more game mode, and more everything, add some production value and some story to develop the character and I'd pay high price for that game.

I'll definitely buy this for Vita and PS4, separately even, if it isn't crossbuy.

 

[Callibretto]

Yeah we scale up the enemy count for each additional player, for a while we had it scaling their hitpoints but it made your weapons feel weak and that's not how we wanted it to feel. It can get a bit crazy in 4 player, more like a party game

what I like about the latest gif you posted is that it's so hectic, I don't think a player can pay attention to what the other player is doing, so they just have to trust each other that the other player will have their back.

 

[Paz]

I like rants, don't sweat it! And I totally agree that the mid-tier game is dead right now which is a real shame, I hope that as indie games continue to grow and become bigger productions they can move in to that space. We already have some more ambitious concepts in the planning stages but Cactus has to be reasonably successful for them to make sense, we've been entirely self-funded and full time on this project so it's make or break for us.

It will be cross-buy on PS4/Vita so you won't have to buy it separately, I still remember how awesome it was to have Sound Shapes as my first cross-buy game and now it just makes total sense.

 

[Master Milk]

Is there going to be a cactus gun of any sort?

 

[kaching]

With the only the vids to go by, the only thing that concerns me is the that the player characters are rather large targets on screen. It doesn't look like you get a whole lot of space to move around and the largeness of the characters doesn't seem helpful for navigation/evasion.

 

[ufo8mycat]

I am looking forward to this more then KZ Shadow Fall

Gameplay > Graphics Sorry guys!

I assume this is a launch title for PS4?
Cannot wait for this game looks like so much fun!!

 

[Callibretto]

Loving the 60fps GIFs in the OP

all 3 gif in the OP is 60 fps?

 

[Paz]

With the only the vids to go by, the only thing that concerns me is the that the player characters are rather large targets on screen. It doesn't look like you get a whole lot of space to move around and the largeness of the characters doesn't seem helpful for navigation/evasion.

Hmm yeah I can understand your perspective and I suggest you give the PC demo a go when it is released soon, I'd rather you try it for yourself and see what you think than me blast you with marketing speak. One thing I will say is that we are not a pure bullet hell game, it has many elements of that but at its core we are an arcade style arena shooter that uses 3D perspective and the mechanics are built around the imprecision that comes from not being a top down 2D game.

Master Milk - No Cactus gun... Yet. Cactus is the name of the main protagonist who has green hair, she's my avatar.

ufo8mycat - Sorry, not a launch game! Will be out early 2014 and I'll be shouting it from the rooftops as soon as we've confirmed more details on the PS4/Vita versions.

Callibretto - The gifs are actually 50fps (gif fps limit, it's also why you see a glitch in the block animations) but they could be playing back at any framerate depending on your browsers performance. Here's a link to our trailer in 60fps.

 

[McSpidey]

I'm curious how a theoretical cactus gun would work. Would it shoot whole cactii or just needles

 

[Rulp]

Gives me a real Shock Troopers feel. Love those gifs.

 

[Lace]

Looks great, always looking for a good bullet hell game.

Although I can't exactly explain it the player movement and bullets in the game are kind of off putting to me. Both seem just a little too sluggish making it lack that special oomph.

 

[Shaneus]

With the only the vids to go by, the only thing that concerns me is the that the player characters are rather large targets on screen. It doesn't look like you get a whole lot of space to move around and the largeness of the characters doesn't seem helpful for navigation/evasion.

If you've watched the announcement trailer (I've only just noticed it now) but the player avatars are only as big as the small tiles in the level where the floor falls away... and the robots look to take up around four of those.

Looks like there's stacks of room... and I'm sure we'll have to make the most of every inch of it.

I'm curious how a theoretical cactus gun would work. Would it shoot whole cactii or just needles

Miniature assault androids

Edit: I didn't see this posted here, but it looks like Sony's giving WB/AAC a heck of a lot of visibility!
Assault Android Cactus Unleashes Bullet Hell on PS4, PS Vita
It's written by Tim from Witch Beam so it's not a Sony-written article, but might be handy for people who don't want to go through this thread to get all the relevant bits of info

 

[aygomyownroad]

Paz, quick question.

It seems to be 4 player Local multiplayer. Would it be possible to have people play on the Vita the same time as the PS4?
Say you only have two controllers would another person be able to join in with the Vita?

Loving the Indie games coming to the PS4 and Vita, can't wait for this to come out...

 

[Paz]

Paz, quick question.

It seems to be 4 player Local multiplayer. Would it be possible to have people play on the Vita the same time as the PS4?
Say you only have two controllers would another person be able to join in with the Vita?

Loving the Indie games coming to the PS4 and Vita, can't wait for this to come out...

To avoid misleading in any way: No you cannot play a networked game between Vita & PS4. But you should be able to use the Vita as a PS4 controller as the buttons we are using should make cross-controller perfectly suitable.

 

[Master Milk]

I look forward to a cactus gun being announced.

I'm curious how a theoretical cactus gun would work. Would it shoot whole cactii or just needles

I was actually thinking about that right after I posted. A potted cactus that shoots potted cacti is what I thought would be the funniest. So like, a gun that shoots itself.

Miniature assault androids

But I think this answer is even better. So now there needs to be a cactus gun, and a Cactus gun.

 

[Paz]

In all honesty though we are still in the design stages of our final set of characters/weapons, after folks get a chance to play it (VERY soon, like sooner than you might think) I'd love to hear some ideas

The GAF gun, it shoots game industry memes that deal massive damage, but only on level 3.

 

[aygomyownroad]

To avoid misleading in any way: No you cannot play a networked game between Vita & PS4. But you should be able to use the Vita as a PS4 controller as the buttons we are using should make cross-controller perfectly suitable.

Ah Brilliant thank you!

 

[McSpidey]

Miniature assault androids

So you can assault while you android

The GAF gun, it shoots game industry memes that deal massive damage, but only on level 3.

A GAF gun would need to shoot Bish avatars and ban anything it hits.

 

[Mokubba]

To avoid misleading in any way: No you cannot play a networked game between Vita & PS4. But you should be able to use the Vita as a PS4 controller as the buttons we are using should make cross-controller perfectly suitable.

Is cross controller confirmed?

I've only heard Sony talk about using the Vita for remote play but not as an extra controller.

 

[KennyLinder]

I am so glad we are getting these sort of games again. It's the most exciting thing about next-gen consoles, the chance we will once again see smaller Japanese games like we got on the Dreamcast and PS2. They kinda died with PS3/360 and although PSN/XBLA gave us some great games, I think we will see even better stuff now that the barrier to entry is much lower for smaller developers. Good times.

 

[Paz]

Is cross controller confirmed?

I've only heard Sony talk about using the Vita for remote play but not as an extra controller.

http://www.vg247.com/2013/07/27/vit...-the-game-was-specifically-programmed-for-it/

Edit - I should make it clear we're still early on with a lot of this stuff (otherwise the game would be releasing at launch right?) so these are our intentions, but from my understanding it should be possible.

 

[KennyLinder]

http://www.vg247.com/2013/07/27/vit...-the-game-was-specifically-programmed-for-it/

Edit - I should make it clear we're still early on with a lot of this stuff (otherwise the game would be releasing at launch right?) so these are our intentions, but from my understanding it should be possible.

Is it going to be 60fps on Vita too?

 

[Callibretto]

http://www.vg247.com/2013/07/27/vit...-the-game-was-specifically-programmed-for-it/

Edit - I should make it clear we're still early on with a lot of this stuff (otherwise the game would be releasing at launch right?) so these are our intentions, but from my understanding it should be possible.

Is the a closed arena game where you always see the whole stage ag all time, or do you advance forward ala dead nation, vita cross controller would be welcome in open area kind of game so they can go on their own rather than have to stay together and share screen on ps4

 

[Paz]

Is it going to be 60fps on Vita too?

Yes, hopefully we won't have to sacrifice too much from the PS4/PC versions to get there (It's already quite optimised and can run at 60fps on a low spec PC) but like the creators of our favourite arcade classics we believe framerate is king.

Is the a closed arena game where you always see the whole stage ag all time, or do you advance forward ala dead nation, vita cross controller would be welcome in open area kind of game so they can go on their own rather than have to stay together and share screen on ps4

For the most part they are fixed sized arenas with a dynamic camera zoom for multiplayer that keeps everyone on screen if you separate. We do have a few different level styles including some that you have to travel through like in Dead Nation, but we have a specific gameplay solution to avoid your characters getting separated too far and since its local co-op you can just tell the stragglers to hurry up

I'm not sure about what we'll support on the screen itself, that starts getting a lot more complicated. Ask me again in 2014 when we're further along, for now the plan is to just get it working as an extra controller.

 

[Shaneus]

I am so glad we are getting these sort of games again. It's the most exciting thing about next-gen consoles, the chance we will once again see smaller Japanese games like we got on the Dreamcast and PS2. They kinda died with PS3/360 and although PSN/XBLA gave us some great games, I think we will see even better stuff now that the barrier to entry is much lower for smaller developers. Good times.

Your avatar says it all. One of my favourite driving games this gen

 

[KennyLinder]

Your avatar says it all. One of my favourite driving games this gen

For sure! Sadly it wasn't well loved by many

 

[Morokh]

Saddens me that PC is not mentioned in the Op like in many others concerning newly announced Vita / PS4 ports.

PC gamers that could be interested in the game and that don't already know about it, will just skip it because they only saw PS4/Vita.

Any thread like this should include all platforms on which the game is, or will be available, even if it specifically talks about a new platform imo.

 

[Paz]

Saddens me that PC is not mentioned in the Op like in many others concerning newly announced Vita / PS4 ports.

PC gamers that could be interested in the game and that don't already know about it, will just skip it because they only saw PS4/Vita.

Any thread like this should include all platforms on which the game is, or will be available, even if it specifically talks about a new platform imo.

I think it's just that being on PS4/Vita is the only real big news that's happened for our game. I've PM'd a mod for now to get the title changed to include PC, I'm not sure users can change it and when he made this post it was based on our Sony blog piece that focussed on PS4/Vita.

 

[Alex Connolly]

For sure! Sadly it wasn't well loved by many

Bugger those people, it was awesome. You did fine work, sir. Shame about the studio being busted up.

Back on topic, cannot wait to see the Vita version up and running! Looks insane as is.

 

[Mokubba]

http://www.vg247.com/2013/07/27/vit...-the-game-was-specifically-programmed-for-it/

Edit - I should make it clear we're still early on with a lot of this stuff (otherwise the game would be releasing at launch right?) so these are our intentions, but from my understanding it should be possible.

Nice!

If they're making a control scheme for remote play, this feature might as well be included.

Definitely interested in this game.

 

[Shaneus]

For sure! Sadly it wasn't well loved by many

Oh shit, you worked on it?!? I thought you were just a dude who liked it a lot!

Made a great game there, sir. Shame it wasn't more successful, I was always hoping the Evo engine would get used for other games given the deformation, handling etc. Still holds up surprisingly well to this day IMO.

 

[KennyLinder]

Oh shit, you worked on it?!? I thought you were just a dude who liked it a lot!

Made a great game there, sir. Shame it wasn't more successful, I was always hoping the Evo engine would get used for other games given the deformation, handling etc. Still holds up surprisingly well to this day IMO.

Yeah I did indeed work on it, feels like a billion years ago now! We had good plans for that engine going forward with future games. Sadly it wasn't to be

 

[Suirrad]

This looks pretty fun....

It will be cross-buy on PS4/Vita so you won't have to buy it separately.

....and this makes it a definite win

 

[wilflare]

really awesome to have a fellow GAFfer as a dev and we can ask all the questions

 

[kaching]

Hmm yeah I can understand your perspective and I suggest you give the PC demo a go when it is released soon, I'd rather you try it for yourself and see what you think than me blast you with marketing speak. One thing I will say is that we are not a pure bullet hell game, it has many elements of that but at its core we are an arcade style arena shooter that uses 3D perspective and the mechanics are built around the imprecision that comes from not being a top down 2D game.

I doubt my PC rig is up to the challenge but I'll be watching closely and hoping for the best. Would definitely like to try it on the PS4 when it becomes available there.

 

[ReaperXL7]

Saddens me that PC is not mentioned in the Op like in many others concerning newly announced Vita / PS4 ports.

PC gamers that could be interested in the game and that don't already know about it, will just skip it because they only saw PS4/Vita.

Any thread like this should include all platforms on which the game is, or will be available, even if it specifically talks about a new platform imo.

Eh, nothing sinister, or fanboyish going on I just did not know there was a PC version of the game in the works, and the story I took it from was from the playstation blog so I listed the platforms they did. I have no issues if a mod would like to add PC to the title, but im not able to change it myself.

 

[nded]

I like the game except for the art style... why do japanese style if they can't get it right?... they kinda look like the sort of art style you see on cheap notebooks in flea markets or those books that teach you how to draw manga style characters... not the real thing, if they can't do them right why bother?... and they're not the only ones...

What do you mean by doing it "right"? Japanese comic art and animation styles are quite diverse like anywhere else; there isn't just one prescribed ideal to strive towards. This game may be trying to evoke elements of a particular style, but I'm not about to tell them they're not doing it right if they decide to do their own take on it.

 

[Paz]

I doubt my PC rig is up to the challenge but I'll be watching closely and hoping for the best. Would definitely like to try it on the PS4 when it becomes available there.

Well the demo will be free so see for yourself when its out, if you tweak the settings down a bit it runs at 60fps on recent intel integrated graphics so you never know. We're still a ways out from the PS4 release but I'm very keen to do a demo there too, so keep an eye out early next year.

Eh, nothing sinister, or fanboyish going on I just did not know there was a PC version of the game in the works, and the story I took it from was from the playstation blog so I listed the platforms they did. I have no issues if a mod would like to add PC to the title, but im not able to change it myself.

I pretty much said this in an earlier post so don't sweat it, no ill intentions here of any kind and I couldn't be happier that you made this thread because it has introduced a ton of new people to Cactus

wilflare - 2 out of 3 tea members are gaffers and I've been here for many years now If you have any questions about the art or code then Sycle is your man, he even likes to talk to people who hate the art which has happened a few times in this thread.

 

[Valentus]

It's this like a modern version of Smash TV / Loaded? If that's so, ill buy 6 copies. 2 for each platform.