Ace Armstrong pricing.

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Ace Armstrong pricing.

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Started 1 year ago by evanac
Latest reply from onmode-ky

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evanac
Member

Hi guys,

Just a quick note to confirm that Ace Armstrong vs. the Alien Scumbags (released on the SCEA PSN Store yesterday, coming to the SCEE PSN Store on 22nd September 2010) *should* indeed be priced at $5.99.

I noticed the game currently being priced at $6.99 and this is simply down to a paperwork error and should hopefully be rectified ASAP. I'll let you know the second we have some firm news.

Sorry about this once again. I am not sure what happens regarding anyone who's already purchased the game (if you have, thank you and what are your thoughts on it?).

Hope anyone who has tried Ace is enjoying it as much as I do. :)

Thanks for now.

Al (evanac)

Posted 1 year ago #
pspgamer01
Member

So it will be 5 EUR?

Posted 1 year ago #
igotmy9milli
Member

Yes sir. The laughing jackal blog reads:

"This price drop to £3.99 is also reflected in the Euro and USD pricing of the game, with those prices also dropping to €4.99 and $5.99 respectively."

:)

Posted 1 year ago #
pspgamer01
Member

How many different enemies and weapons does Ace Armstrong vs. the Alien Scumbags have exactly???

Posted 1 year ago #
Freelance
Member

@pspgamer01 - I saw aliens in UFOs, rockets and aliens in a spiky craft so far. As for weapons, there's one that fires bullets in 3 directions (like spread), one that fires purple horizontal bursts and there is another but I forgot what it did.

I accidently bought the game last night and now I'm out 5 bucks. Was gonna wait for the price drop. Oops :(

Can't say I'm much too pleased with it though. It's all too easy to get cornered by enemies with no hope of escape. Even on Rookie mode you're literally swarmed by bullets and enemies. That's actually present in lots of SHMUPs but they got away with it by having lots of roomy space to dodge them. In this game, there's very limited space and crashing into buildings and space ships is all too common. I just could be a bad Ace Armstrong player though. That's not the biggest issue, however.

It takes too long to suck up the special weapons and in a SHMUP, every second counts. You're literally a sitting duck while you're busy sucking in those weapons and you always end up dead. Maybe I'm just playing it wrong but that happens all the time to me. Either you don't suck up stuff and stick with your crappy peashooter (but take much longer to kill things and end up getting cornered 'cause you couldn't kill them fast enough), or risk it to get access to better weapons (and kill enemies a lot faster to get some breathing room).

That said, with these issues it's a very hard game. I can't make it past the first level. It'd be better if it was like every other SHMUP and simply get the weapons by flying over it, speed up the suck up time or put less enemies in the levels.

Anyone care to disagree/agree with what I just said?

OOps I just noticed there is a section for reviews. Is this supposed to go there? Granted, my post isn't really review'ish though.

Posted 1 year ago #
CecilMcW00t
Member

Yes, Freelance, I totally agree with everything you said. There are some balancing issues. I managed to beat the first level finally by spamming the boss with the green weapon. If you don't have that weapon prepare to be fighting that boss for a very long time.

I have some suggestions for you guys to make this game ammazing, cause I do like it! It just has some issues that I am starting to see far too often in newer shooters.

Make the hit detection box on the ship a bit smaller.

Speed up the time it takes to suck in power ups. I don't mind this power up system but as it stands now it 'sucks' some of the fun factor out.

Boost the power of the main gun a little bit or make it possible to upgrade it.

Maybe add in a scoring system that multiplies points based on not getting killed.

This will still keep the game challenging but at the same time, non-pinball wizards can still finish the game on Rookie. XD

Posted 1 year ago #
evanac
Member

Hi guys,

Yes Ace is VERY hard in places, but we certainly do take on board everything you've said and would think about addressing these points for a sequel (if we get enough of a response to merit making one!).

My personal tips for Ace are as follows:

a) You are able to fire your regular cannon while you use the recycl-o-ray to suck up other weapons. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS!!! It's a must especially on Elite difficulty.

b) Don't just pick up every weapon you see. The game has been designed with selective weapons drops in mind. As one person already identified, the 'burst' weapon you collect of the Mortar Scumbags is by far the best weapon for the 1st boss. You can kill her in one wave if you use this properly. Other bosses respond better to other weapons, so trial and error is required.

c) Basic enemies take 1 hit on Rookie, 2 on Pro and 3 on Elite. You don't HAVE to kill all enemies to get through a level and it's been designed so that even on Elite there's always a way through each enemy wave via selectively targeting the enemies.

d)If you don't want to pick up a weapon and you've begun with the recycl-o-ray just let go. It will be instantly ditched. You can use this to your advantage when there are lots of potential weapons in the play area. Ditch them to think out the amount of weapons and then suck up the one you do want.

I hope you guys can stick with it and persevere. I know it's tough but - believe me - there are certainly tougher shooters out there. Once you 'get' the systems in the game it's not too hard, honest. I am speaking as someone who's finished on Elite multiple times and I'm no uber-gamer, believe me! :)

I'm keen to hear more feedback on Ace as you go along, so do all please feel free to chip in. And thanks for playing guys! :)

Cheers,

Al

Posted 1 year ago #
evanac
Member

Oh and to answer the first post, there are 10 'regular' enemy types in the game and five Power Up weapons (plus Ace's regular cannon). The game also features 5 bosses. ;)

One last tip: you can fire Ace's cannon alongside any recycl-o-ray weapons you pick up. This really minces through enemies even on Elite difficulty and it gives your chances a real boost if you can perfect this skill. :)

Posted 1 year ago #
CecilMcW00t
Member

The technique of firing while using the recycl-o ray is very useful. I started doing this once I realized how aggressive the game is. I'm digging the challenge though. It's refreshing to play a non bullet hell shmup that relies on old school challenge. And you guys didn't put an energy bar in! I never did like those because then a lot of the time the developers go crazy with the patterns and they aren't well thought out.

Also, I have to tell you I love the art style and the music is excellent. I suggest you guys use headphones while playing to enhance the experience.

Posted 1 year ago #
volcane
Member

I'm so dying to play Ace Armstrong but I'm in the UK so have to wait a couple of weeks ;-)

What is the enemy AI like on elite mode?

Do they attack/counter-attack in an intelligent way, or is the game too fast paced for that sort of thing and the enemies win by shear weight of numbers and fast-firing weaponary?

Posted 1 year ago #
pspgamer01
Member

I'm so dying to play Ace Armstrong

that's because you are a die hard minis gamer. I am not, so probably gonna skip ace armstrong.

>.<

Posted 1 year ago #
thumbbandit
Member

I'm lookin' forward to Ace also. ;)

P.S. I'm going to bite the bullet and get The Flying Hamster due to what volcane said about it... thanks man. :D

Posted 1 year ago #
volcane
Member

@thumbbandit

Glad to help mate! ;-) I'd be interested to know what you think!

Posted 1 year ago #
onmode-ky
Member

that's because you are a die hard minis gamer. I am not, so probably gonna skip ace armstrong.

I'm a die-hard scrolling shooter fan, so I am probably not going to skip Ace Armstrong. :)

Laughing Jackal guys, any news on when the price is going to be corrected? I've been checking occasionally over the past few days, and it's still $6.99. Also, as I'm someone who still hasn't gotten the game, can someone tell me what the controls are? I'm a bit confused about how to press 2 face buttons at the same time while having to rapid fire, since there is no autofire. Or is the recycl-o-ray mapped to a shoulder button? Are the controls customizable?

By the way, how do Britons type the British pound symbol on their keyboards? We don't have it on American keyboards, just the $ sign as [Shift]+[4].

Posted 1 year ago #
Therulers123456
Member

@onmode-ky I live in us but i do know if you buy a laptop in the eu they have a £/€ key not a $ key.

Posted 1 year ago #
Freelance
Member

@onmode-ky

X is to fire your peashooter. O is to use the ray for sucking and firing. Triangle is to ditch the weapon.

That said, I didn't know you could suck up crap and fire at the same time, but when I tried it, I found it very awkward/uncomfortable to do so. Dunno how you other guys do it. No, there are no customizable controls. It's too bad because It'd be easier (for me anyway) to have one of the shoulder buttons be used for sucking. Maybe some sort of update patch whatever can add it?

Posted 1 year ago #
volcane
Member

@onmode-ky

I live in the UK but on my primary PC I'm currently using a bespoke physical US keyboard from auravision that I bought from Thinkgeek years ago which has funky illuminated keys. I use the UK keyboard mappings though, so while I can't actually see a £ symbol on the keyboard, I can type it using [shift] + [3].

On a standard UK keyboard, we tend to get £ using using [shift] + [3] and $ using [shift] + [4].

I believe that on a standard US keyboard the # symbol is in place of the £ symbol, reached in both cases using [shift] + [3].

Posted 1 year ago #
onmode-ky
Member

Heh, figures that the pound symbol would be replaced by the British pound symbol in the UK. :P

So, how do you type a '#' on a UK keyboard? If it requires some special character sequence, then it must be a pain for British people to type comments in their Unix shell scripts.

"I can't make head or tail of this code! Where are the programmer's comments???"

"Give him a break. He's in the London office."

"Oh. Okay."

Posted 1 year ago #
JeremyR
Member

This is awfully hard playing after The Flying Hamster. I think you needed a difficulty (or three) lower than Rookie. I can't even get to a boss on the first level.

Besides the limited space to maneuver, the ship seems to have inertia, it feels kind of sluggish compared to Newton. So it's hard to dodge stuff, especially as the box seems quite large leaving so little margin for error.

Posted 1 year ago #
pspgamer01
Member

that explains why it got a 1/5 from 2 votes in america.

Posted 1 year ago #
Carson
Member

that explains why it got a 1/5 from 2 votes in america.

sadly, I see where they are coming from, I wouldent want to pay $7 for a game that I cant play.

This is awfully hard playing after The Flying Hamster. I think you needed a difficulty (or three) lower than Rookie. I can't even get to a boss on the first level.

Besides the limited space to maneuver, the ship seems to have inertia, it feels kind of sluggish compared to Newton. So it's hard to dodge stuff, especially as the box seems quite large leaving so little margin for error.

I only made it to the first boss once, then I got owned, so I couldn't agree with you more.
its definitely reminiscent of some of the late 80's/early 90's shooters, that were super difficult, so difficult, that if you werent hardcore, you werent making it out of the first level!

most shooters post-era went on to be easier for new players, but Laughing Jackal seem to have taken a different approach: being harder!

@LJ: guy's, my compliant with Vibes was that rhythm newcomers might struggle with it, and that kept me from scoring it higher, so I'd think you'd have done a better job making sure that players who have limited shooter skills can have a good time with this one, but, you didn't. I'm afraid you've made a game that's just not accessible to the majority of gamers, and I dont think anyone could recommend it to someone who isnt a pro at side scrolling shooters, unless of course, they held a grudge against that person.

Posted 1 year ago #
Rein
Member

Thanks for the warning, guys. Looks like I'll pass on this one.

Posted 1 year ago #
volcane
Member

@onmode-ky

lol ;-)

So, how do you type a '#' on a UK keyboard?

It varies if we're on a desktop or laptop (which can have unique keyboard layouts of course), but typically on a UK keyboard the # symbol is on third row from the bottom, just on the inside left of the carriage return/enter key. It isn't usually hidden behind a special character sequence on a desktop kayboard, but on space-constrained laptop keyboards sometimes it gets hidden away someplace.

Posted 1 year ago #
evanac
Member

Hi all,

OK, so this board's been busy over the weekend! Just wanted to confirm a few things:

1.) @ onmode-ky: the price drop should take effect on 28th September (although I'm waiting confirmation on this, so that's not set in stone yet). Not sure why it takes so long, but there you go. More news once this has been confirmed.

2.) @ JeremyR: Ace has limited space, but the waves were designed with this in mind. The enemies fire a lot less frequently than in other games for this very reason. However, we take all feedback on board, so this is something we'll consider for the future. I can confirm that there's no inertia on the ship control so all movement is one-to-one. :)

@CecilMcW00t: thanks for the positive feedback!! I feel like you're maybe alone out there though, which is unfortunate! ;)

@everyone else: I'm genuinely sorry people are struggling with Ace. We took a long time to tailor each level in terms of when/how the enemies appear, when the weapons appear, etc. and lots of the guys on the team spent ages playing through. Yes, the game is hard - I am obviously a lot better at schmups than I thought! - but it's nothing insurmountable and I've played games with a lot more challenge than this, at least IMO.

However, I don't dismiss any feedback and we'd certainly look at these comments if we return to Ace in the future.

If people need any hints I am more than happy to help - I will even post videos, etc. if that will help explain certain hints or show ways past bosses, etc.

HINT: You can get behind the mother ship on the first level if you are feeling cheap. Additionally, she fires by tracking you until about a tenth of a second before she fires, so the best thing to do is keep moving, but stay still as she starts to fire and then move quickly right afterwards. You'll find the spread of bullets a lot smaller and easier to dodge. This also holds true for the tank enemies that appear as of level 3 and for the level 4 boss. Good luck with it! :)

Apologies for the wall of text.

Al

Posted 1 year ago #
volcane
Member

Hi Al - I haven't personally had chance to play Ace Armstrong yet (I'm in the UK and it's not out yet here), but as you've suggested it might be worth you posting some playthroughs/walkthroughs on your blog or YouTube for each level on Elite skill setting.

This will help provide (a) some inspiration that the levels/bosses can be beaten, and (b) some hints/suggestions for the various challenges in the game.

Posted 1 year ago #
evanac
Member

Hey volcane,

We're thinking about dropping some videos on the blog - I am a bit concerned about how to approach this without cracking the game wide open, but hey - it's a start and I am determined to do everything I can to minimise people's frustrations.

We put so much time and effort into Ace's level design, so the last think we want is to annoy people - I just want them to see what I see a really tough game that feel really rewarding once you get it and nail it.

I'll see what can be done and let you know via this forum once we've got a solution.

In the meantime, you can all feel free to post your specific areas that require help. I am happy to post vids, specific hints etc. to help you guys out! :)

Posted 1 year ago #
volcane
Member

Has anyone played both Ace Armstrong and Flying Hamster (on HARD skill setting)? (difficult I know as they are each available on the other side of the Atlantic)

I'd be interested in understanding what the comparative difficulty is between the two games?

I'm currently playing Flying Hamster on the hard skill setting and so far I can just about beat the first boss using all 9 credits before I run out of continues, but it's taking a lot more effort than the normal skill setting (as well it should). I'm really enjoying playing Flying Hamster on the hard setting - it's very challenging but isn't too frustrating (kind of in a similar vein to Coconut Dodge). It makes you want to keep trying, although I'm finding that I'll have a few goes and then need to play Paper Wars Cannon Fodder for a bit to wind down! ;-)

Are people finding Ace Armstrong frustrating but challenging, or impossible to make much progress at all?

Posted 1 year ago #
volcane
Member

Hi Al - while I can't fairly comment on Ace Armstrong itself until I get to play it, I did perhaps experience something similar with Coconut Dodge.

Coconut Dodge was very refined and polished from the outset as a challenging game designed to evoke an emotional reaction in players while at the same time inspiring them to have 'one more go'. As such, the game only had a single life, which was a specific design choice by the developers.

The trouble was that this choice reduced the accessibility of the game for new players. People have a choice whether or not to stop playing a game and so it's important to provide the motivation required to pursuade people to stick with the game and progress through the learning curve and to reward the players for doing so (to prevent frustration).

I guess that there is a difficult balance to found in providing a decent challenge in a game against ensuring that players are willing to progress through the learning curve to reach the 'zone' where they have achieved the level of skill where all of a sudden the game starts to 'flow' better.

Coconut Dodge addressed this issue by introducing a couple of devices for making the game more accessible. They added 3 lives and included a couple of earlier/easier mazes in the Maze Master mode, which allowed noobs to practice the earlier mazes. This allowed beginner players to make progress and feel that they were being rewarded earlier on in the learning curve. Coconut Dodge still has the harder skill levels/modes and people will naturally progress to those modes as their experience increases.

With this in mind, perhaps it might be worth including a much easier 'noob' mode so that new players can learn the skills they need in an easier/safer setting. I'm sure that you could do this fairly easily by (for instance) reducing the number of enemies on screen at any one time and/or reducing the boss firing rate and/or the hitpoints required to kill the bosses. You could still keep the higher skill levels/modes because most players will enjoy gravitating to those harder play modes once they are good enough to do so.

Just the thoughts of someone who hasn't played the game yet, so I'm not sure if they make sense or would be appropriate! ;-)

Posted 1 year ago #
Carson
Member

perhaps it might be worth including a much easier 'noob' mode

I was just thinking that exact same thing!
The only way they could make it 'easily' I think would be by adding a TON of lives (like 10), and perhaps removing making it so that only enemies and their bullets kill you (since I also found that the fact ground (and other objects) blows you up upon colliding with it, greatly adds to the difficulty, and perhaps it would be better if you just cant touch it for longer than 2 seconds), although that would probably be too difficult to implement, but I do strongly recommend an update to include an easier mode, because this is likely the most difficult game I have ever played.

Posted 1 year ago #
onmode-ky
Member

Man, all the complaints about the difficulty are really making me curious about whether I can take the Elite mode punishment. But, SCEA wants us to wait 2 more weeks before they'll drop the price by a buck? Al, do the early adopters at least get their buck back when the price drop finally happens? I hope the game doesn't get patched before I get it. I'm also not reading any hint stuff before I play it myself.

Al, can you comment on the button configuration? I.e., the thing about both the fire button and the recycl-o-ray suck button being face buttons. If that's true, how do you recommend people hold down the latter while pounding on the former?

Posted 1 year ago #

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