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drabyss78 · 06-02-2009, 12:47 AM

Hello all,

New/ffirst time poster here, though I[ch8217]ve looked/dropped in many times.

Was just wondering if anyone else here is as excited as I am about the forthcoming Insectoid? Man, I have been DYING for a game like this for the Mac and just can[ch8217]t wait to pick up a copy! There is a wealth of great retro shooters for Windows (Alien Stars, the Star Defender games, and Gurdian--to name a few--come to mind). While there is some fantastic retro shooters for the OS X (Ultratron, Jets n Guns Gold, Space Tripper, Deimos Rising and Firefall (Pangea Arcade), are particular faves), I long for a good old fashioned Galaga type game like Star Defender and I know that this game is going to be just the ticket.

Ok, part two, and apologies for rambling...

Questions regarding the game for Vern, Alan Falcon and Wingy: Re: the screenshots in the previous thread [ch8220]Insectoid[ch8221]: will the backgrounds in [ch8220]insectoid.jpg[ch8221] and [ch8220]insectoid2.jpg[ch8221] be used in the game? They are sweet! Also, love the look of the some of the aliens in the somewhat later screenshot [ch8220]insectoiid001.jpg[ch8221]--will they appear in later stages?

Lastly, have you guys posted any preview video of the game anywhere?

Apolgoies to all if the the barrage of questions has been too tedious and thanks in advacne for any replies.

newbie Jim/aka drabyss78

VernJensen · 06-03-2009, 09:40 PM

Great to hear you're looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to finally releasing it (once ready) -- it's been in development for about 2 years now!

You're right about there being some much better shooters on the Windows side than for the Mac, and I'm hoping Insectoid will remedy that. However, as polished as games like Star Defender are, I'm hoping Insectoid will still be even better in some ways. To me, Star Defender still has some gameplay problems that I don't care for: you lose your powerup weapons with each hit, meaning that if you end up getting hit several times on the higher levels, all your remaining lives are essentially worthless -- you might as well suicide repeatedly, because it's too hard to survive without a good weapon on those levels. Additionally, the gameplay just seems rather

slow-paced

to me compared to Insectoid's.

I'm thinking I can safely say that Insectoid will be, hands-down, the BEST space shooter on the Mac. Period. And a pretty darn good competitor in the Windows crowd too. But maybe I'm biased. ;-)

If you are really looking forward to this game, feel free to contact me at vern AT actionsoft DOT com and request to be a beta tester. But I'm looking for people who actually like space shooters. Many Midnight Mansion fans will likely be uninterested, and that's fine.

VernJensen · 06-03-2009, 09:41 PM

Oh, and yes, the backgrounds you see in previous photos will be used in the game. In addition, most backgrounds are animated, for an effect far more impressive than you can imagine from the screenshots. And everything is high resolution, so you can play on a 30" display and everything is still gorgeous.

No YouTube video of the game in action yet. Things are still changing, so I'll probably wait until it's ready for release before considering a video.

VernJensen · 06-04-2009, 12:12 AM

drabyss78 · 06-04-2009, 12:58 AM

Hi Vern,

And thanks for your reply. WOW! This is going to be one great game!! Those animated backgrounds sound very impressive!

Will all of the bug baddies shown insectoid_001.jpg be somwhere in there too? They look fantastic.

Again, can't wait for it to come out!! I'm assuming--hopefully I am not breaking the forum rules here--from the April portion of the Insectoid thread below it will be pretty soon. I think you mentioned a new ActionSoft webpage, etc. in a few weeks. Apologies if I am stepping out of line here.

I would love love LOVE to be a beta tester. Going to send you an email as soon as I wrap this up. My email address is drabyss78@operamail.com

I agree about Star Defender and losing powerups. It's pretty brutal. It's a pretty tough game to begin with. Reminds me a bit of a vertical Jets n Guns. I've only played the demo on a friend's machine since I don't own a Windows machine, so I've played up to Boss #2.

Also wanted to mention on a side note, that when I was listing good retro shooters for the Mac, I left out what is probably my personal favorite: Mac only Starbase Defender (Bigger Planet/Nathan Lamont). Man, do games get any more intense than this? Even on easy mode, it is ruthless. Great graphics and sound to boot. All the others I mentioned earlier would be very close seconds, but if you beat Starbase Defender, you've earned it.

Thanks again for the reply!

Jim

drabyss78 · 06-04-2009, 01:06 AM

Pardon me, but OH MY GOD those screenshots lool GREAT!!!!!!

Didn't see them before I posted my last message--had to step out in mid-post.

I think insectoid01 and 08 answer my question about the alien bug baddies, btw.

Many thanks for posting these!!

VernJensen · 06-04-2009, 01:24 AM

Funny, I actually dusted off Starbase Defender earlier today, just to remind myself what it was like. I think it's a game that deserved to do better than it did.

drabyss78 · 06-04-2009, 01:35 AM

Agreed. It seems to have been largely overlooked. I only found by browsing over at pure-mac.com

Insidemacgames completely missed the boat not reviewing it. Lately, they seem focused on reviewing casual games. I'll reserve comment on these, since my opinion of them is not high. The closest I come to liking anything like those would be Bongo Boogie (decent, laid back, but could've been so much more w/a little creativity) and Waterbugs--great game, for what it is.

Wingy · 06-09-2009, 02:22 AM

drabyss78 wrote:

Pardon me, but OH MY GOD those screenshots lool GREAT!!!!!!

Woah, language there bud.

Glad you're all into Insectoid too there Jimmy. I can't wait until it's rolling into stores.

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