Eat the Bullet - Completed!

[bennelsey]

I've been working on this for a few months now, and it's near complete.
(actually I worked on this like only 2 weeks on october and 2 more weeks during christmas break, but you get the point)

Eat the Bullet! is another wierd danmaku game type i've come up with
(dunno if it's already been done)
it's a danmaku EATING game -sort of
And yeah it's a spinoff of Shoot the Bullet, but way easier....for the first few minutes atleast :3

You play as Yuyuko and all you do in the game is to survive Mystia's danmaku. You have options that are used to eat bullets, eating bullets would increase the number of your options to make life a little easier. Max options: ⑨

Two game modes are available:
Endless Mode - increases difficulty over time, you can choose which difficulty to start from
Score Rush - This is where the fun is at - play only difficulty 3 (10 minutes) and compete with other highscores made in this time limit

Each game mode has their own score board:
Endless Mode only keeps track of your highest score, send high score upon losing
Score Rush tracks your 10 highest scores, send high score any time (main menu)

Controls:
    * Arrow keys: movement (also spins options)
    * Z: Butterflies (1 each option, options can't eat bullets for a second)
    * X: Yuyulaz0r! (cancels bullets, gives invincibility)
    * Shift: Focus (also makes Yuyuko?s options hold position around her)
    * F1: Start / Stop taking a video (saved as replay.avi in the game folder)
- doesn't record sound, because the game only has one sound effect (vuvulazer)

Yes, you can take videos :3
You can choose whatever video compressor you have on your system, but it's recommended you use Xvid if it's on the list, and if it isn't you can install it from here (700kb)
http://www.xvid.org/Downloads.15.0.html

How to take a video:
1. Press F1 anywhere in-game
2. (recommended)  Pick a compressor for the video (drop down menu)
3. (optional)  select recording configurations
4. Press ok
5. play game / do whatever you want to record
6. Press F1 again to stop recording (you'll know it stops when a "saved" message box pops up)

Again if Xvid doesn't appear in the list, you can get the installer from here
http://www.xvid.org/Downloads.15.0.html


I'm looking for constructive criticism, comments, suggestions, and most importantly, bug testers!

Description and the online scoreboard can be found here:(eastgap site)
http://eastgap.net/wp/eat-the-bullet/

Game download here: version 1.2 (7.2mb)
download from official site
Mediafire mirror

just the 1.2 update (1.6mb)
http://www.mediafire.com/?76gfzc0oxj5x6lc mediafire only


And now here's a preview of the ninth spellcard (this is on normal mode)


Tho the game is probably below standard quality, maybe since i'm not using danmakufu ^^. The game might be a little heavy for slower computers so there are options to lower the quality

Known bug:
* full screen mode messes up the resolution (a.k.a. can't see shit)
- to go full screen without messing with the resolution (just stretching the window), press F4

[Demonbman]

I remember downloading this game when you could only go up to 2 or 3 minutes, It was really good considering the graphics, cant wait to play this one :3

//Remember!
Hmmm it was someone in another thread who said this game, because it was fan made, had horrible graphics :/

[Furienify]

Played for about 20 minutes on the Normal/Regular Mode, here are my thoughts:

-I only ever made it to difficulty 2 in that time. Probably because I bombed too much? If it's purely time-based, this is rather slow, most of us don't want to spend more than 30 minutes on Touhous. An infintely-timed game exacerbates this.

-A lot of the bullets provided really puny returns for the difficulty of navigating over and eating them with options. 1%, usually. The only bullets I actually liked were the big bubble bullets with the white rim.

-This problem is made a bit more annoying by the, again, smaller-return bullets, especially the ones that Mystia shoots out of her birds. They're easy to stream- each bullet, as it spawns, aims at you, so you just keep tapping left/right/up/down. However, there's no point to streaming them- for each barrage she fires at you, you'll only ever have 3 or maybe 4 options submerged in the stream itself, for a measly 4% return.

All of that said, you did a nice job. Some of the patterns were really fun and made me surprised that I actually flew through them alive.

[bennelsey]

Sounds like an idea along the lines of:
"Bullets should give moar power if there are fewer of them in the screen"
I'll see what i can do about those small returns, but for now the formula is:
Next Option = Total options-2 x 10 Bullets eaten
(That means for every option above 2[the minimum] you'll need to eat 10 more bullets to get the next option)

And yeah, the normal/regular mode is only there when you want to burn time, the real fun is at score rush mode when you're confident you'll survive difficulty 3 of the nine patterns. I need to make it more obvious that this is a competition game and normal modo is just for fun xD

As for how the high scores go, i'll add that to the first post

[Infy♫]

the eastgap site says "This Account Has Been Suspended"

[Danielu Yoshikoto]

i don?t know what i should think about this...   :V it?s nice... but after you figure out how it goes, it?s preaty easy.

[Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin]

So ... if it's "just there for X," it's not actually supposed to be the "normal mode" then? I think you've got something mixed up.

Hmm. It has potential. One thing is, "normal mode" is a bit on the easy side (I made it a few minutes in on my latest run) and "score mode" is ridiculously hard (I have never gotten past ten seconds). I strongly recommend putting some difficulty options in. Yeah, I know Shoot the Bullet didn't have them, but was Shoot the Bullet good a) because of this, b) in spite of this, or c) not at all because of this?

Two other suggestions: 1. rotating the options should be done at will, rather than along with movement. It just feels awkward the way it's doing this now. 2. Freeze the player on death. It's kind of weird that you're still able to move once you've technically lost.

[Danielu Yoshikoto]

rotating the options should be done at will, rather than along with movement. It just feels awkward the way it's doing this now.

forgot to mention this too.
at first i though i had to move the options around Yuyuko with Y(turning left) and X(turning right).

[bennelsey]

As for the site, yeah the server dudes are saying it's a problem with the "name servers" (whatever the hell that is)

Also great feedback so far:

1. maybe i'll rename normal mode to endless practice or something that sounds similar to easy-modo, or maybe an easy modo with only the difficulty 1 cards

2. I'll change the option rotating thingy to something else, currently the options just face Mystia when you hold down z (when you don't their formation stays in place). Well, that or i'll add how the options work in the guide.
- holding z would mean the options arrange themselves facing Mystia, where there is an *open* spot between Yuyuko and Mystia.
ex. for 3 options: 1 option behind Yuyuko, 2 at her sides
(this was based on the idea that i needed something else to replace grazing, this was close enough)


[edit] difficulty modes somewhere along the lines of
Practice-Easy? (difficulty 1 only)
Practice-Normal? (difficulty 2 and up, endless)
Score Rush? (difficulty 3 only)

and selects Practice-Normal by default?

[Danielu Yoshikoto]

[edit] difficulty modes somewhere along the lines of
Practice-Easy? (difficulty 1 only)
Practice-Normal? (difficulty 2 and up, endless)
Score Rush? (difficulty 3 only)

Maybe you could make the menu like this:

Play Game
>Story Mode (or something like this)
>>{insert Difficulty Selection here}
>Endless
>>Easy [Practice-Easy]
>>Normal [Practice-Normal]
>>(Hard?)
>Score Rush

[bennelsey]

Naww there are only two game modes available, maybe something like:
Endless Practice (pick difficulty # on selection)
ScoreRush (maybe needs player confirmation, some sort of warning for upcoming hell)

dunno wth story mode in EtB would be like, though ideas would be cool :3

[Danielu Yoshikoto]

ScoreRush (maybe needs [...] some sort of warning for upcoming hell)

Utusho spellcard sound, maybe?

[bennelsey]

Dunno where im going to get nuclear-sounding effects lol, my game doesnt even have sfx yet xD

Got another server just to host the scoreboard, apparently it's more reliable than the free host im currently using xD

You'll need the server 2 edition to submit scores there:

If my site is down and you want to submit highscores, use the server 2 edition
(I can transfer the scores to the main scoreboard later)
Server 2 version
List goes here: http://eastgap.eu.pn/onscore/list.php?list=1

[edit] you can submit the same score in both servers, the score records are linked on your computer

[Nimble]

Take a look at Drake's Projects for ripped resource if you can't fint any.

[Kinzo the Astro Curious]

Interesting concept, Once you've got the hang of deathbombing it isnt too difficult. I was playing it on normal and started to lose attention span coming on to 20 minutes, so when I tried to deathbomb I hit the button to turn the options instead  :V

maybe I'll try the high score one later.

though enjoyable, it does need some sort of goal or direction, rather than endless increasing difficulty.

[bennelsey]

lol im definitely renaming normal mode to practice, apparently simple solution but it gets the point across that the main attraction is score rush xD

( in Score rush you only see each spellcard once at difficulty 3, then ends, then submit score, atleast there's some sort of goal there than just increasing difficulty :3 )

That rename will happen in prolly, 12 hours since i need to sleep. Thanks for the great feedback guys

[edit] main site back up

[bennelsey]

Thar, finally renamed normal mode to "Endless Practice", it's still the same thing but the name gets the point across.
Also: default mode selected is Score Rush (after selecting new game)

Still looking for feedback guys :3
[edit] forgot to mention that both(mediafire and official site) download links have been updated

[Spidere]

Wow, I really enjoy this.

[bennelsey]

Game's already completed to the point where i would actually release it :3
That and I got a server upgrade a few weeks ago (read here) so i decided to finish this game and had to rebuild the online score board.

Also added some features:
butterflies (Z button)

laz0rs:  (X button)

* Pausing implemented
* level 3 spellcards balanced (score rush difficulty)
* .ogg support! total size for the music is like 5mb (instead of the old 50mb with .wav files)
* option movements changed, they now spin with left/right buttons but stay still when Yuyuko is focused <--- greatest suggestion by far
* large bullets now fade slowly when they're destroyed/eaten
* bullets on screen clear when the next spellcard starts
*huge collection of minor fixes


I'll upload the updated (final-but-still-needs-bug-hunting) version after i get everything ready, prolly in an hour or a day.

note:
It WILL have some bugs because the new features aren't thoroughly tested yet, i'll need those reports :3

_{Yeah, i'm releasing it now so people will compare it to StB instead of Touhou 12.8}

[bennelsey]

Full game released! (note: still has bugs)
Download link in the first post and on its official page: here

[Demonbman]

Awesome! The danmaku is pretty fun, but some of it is cheap shots and walls, like in Diffuculty 2, things get really wally :V

[Tengukami]

The controls are a bit challenging, which is fun, but I get this weird lag if there are too many bullets on the screen. However, I've had this same problem in eXceed, so it's probably my version of WINE and not the game itself.

[Stuffman]

I wish the options would spin when you move vertically as well as horizontally. I've had more luck when I stick to the sides of the screen since it's wider horizontally than vertically (more time to react), but then the options don't spin and gather bullets while you're dodging. Of course, this is kind of an odd way to play so you could make the play area square...

It's pretty difficult to score since the the options have such small hitboxes for gathering, but if they were too big no bullets would ever get past to hit you. Also, the game is a bit odd in the sense that the longer you last, it gets easier as you play, since you have more options.

The core game mechanics could use some rethinking, maybe.

[bennelsey]

I wish the options would spin when you move vertically as well as horizontally.

That means i'll have to pick which direction they should spin when pressing up and down
I didn't add them because i really dunno what *should* happen when moving diagonally
if you can suggest something for it it'll only take me like 5 mins to implement :3

It's pretty difficult to score since the the options have such small hitboxes for gathering, but if they were too big no bullets would ever get past to hit you. Also, the game is a bit odd in the sense that the longer you last, it gets easier as you play, since you have more options.

The core game mechanics could use some rethinking, maybe.

What you're saying there does make perfect sense, but that only applies to score rush mode.
I'll need someone to actually reach difficulty 6 though, im pretty sure the endless mode actually ends somewhere ^^
(I never manged to get to difficulty 5 myself)


As far as i've bugtested/played it, yeah the game is pretty nice, here's what i've seen from it so far:
[score rush]
within the 10 minute time limit you need to choose between:
- just surviving with more options
- more score with less options
[endless mode]
play with your hard-earned options to the point where the danmaku would actually be impossible
[overall]
sticking to the sides of the screen - more survivability
staying in the middle - more score

[bennelsey]

*updates download link in first post*
Updates! everyone likes `em

- text goes transparent when going near them
- options also spin when moving up/down when left and right keys aren't held down
(why didn't I think of that before)
- score rush now has that annoying message that happens when you win/lose with the highest score on your PC

* Take videos in-game! (no sound)
How to take a video:
1. Press F1 anywhere in-game
2. (recommended)  Pick a compressor for the video (drop down menu)
3. (optional)  select recording configurations
4. Press ok
5. play game / do whatever you want to record
6. Press F1 again to stop recording (you'll know it stops when a "saved" message box pops up)

If Xvid doesn't appear in the list, you can get the installer from here
http://www.xvid.org/Downloads.15.0.html

[Demonbman]

How exactly are we supposed to watch the videos that we make? IT saved as a "Video Clip"

[KrackoCloud]

I'm very bad at this game, but I really enjoy the concept!

Questions:
-Can you damage Mystia? Is the sole goal of the game survival?
-What are the butterflies for? Do they just cancel bullets?

Ideas, I guess:
Being idle and unfocused could make the options rotate slowly. Sometimes it's annoying to have to move left and right to fix your options' positions in the midst of an attack.
And POWERUPS >:U
And maybe playable Youmu who uses slashes to eat bullets.
Maybe more bosses? Prismrivers could be fun.

But I'm not sure. Honestly, I've only gotten to the second attack, so these ideas might actually not be good ones.

[bennelsey]

How exactly are we supposed to watch the videos that we make? IT saved as a "Video Clip"

i have no idea what the other compressors would do, but no matter what you'll select it would still save as replay.avi
which means you just need an ordinary video player to view it
 (or it can be uploaded directly to youtube without sound)

Questions:
-Can you damage Mystia? Is the sole goal of the game survival?
-What are the butterflies for? Do they just cancel bullets?

Ideas, I guess:
Being idle and unfocused could make the options rotate slowly. Sometimes it's annoying to have to move left and right to fix your options' positions in the midst of an attack.
And POWERUPS >:U
And maybe playable Youmu who uses slashes to eat bullets.
Maybe more bosses? Prismrivers could be fun.

But I'm not sure. Honestly, I've only gotten to the second attack, so these ideas might actually not be good ones.

Questions 1&2,
survival: yes
only cancels bullets: yes
it's in the game description :3

options rotate (slowly) while focused
- i tried it and it was actually game-breaking (Ha ha, old chap!), but it really does help with survivability so i'm going to add it. Only problem i saw with it was that...
it messes up precision butterfly shots (needed to gain insane amounts of score)
...so i'll just put it as an extra option.

POWERUPS:
- well what DO people need? (i really have no idea)
- spellcard timer extensions?

Playable Youmu:
- that was planned to be a separate game with its own system, but i ran out of ideas for it
- I need someone to draw ;-; (or a donation)

More bosses:
- I need someone to draw ;-; (or a donation)

Yep, only art is the problem since i can make danmaku (atleast the kind you see in this game) easier than eating caek
Anyone interested in making another game can join Team EastGap and help me out,

Or if you really just want a simple add-on...
(add your favorite character, fight against someone you hate)
I'll accept customization requests that are sent through donations here,

[KrackoCloud]

You could always just use a button like C as a "toggle" for whether or not the options move slowly when idle.

Now that I think about it, powerups would be pretty hard to implement.
The only thing I can think of is free options, temporary invincibility, and screen-clear. All are pretty broken, unless you add bad powerups. And while bad powerups are way easier to come up with, it would seem weird for them to be around.

More ideas:
-Non-edible bullets, maybe? Of course, they would likely be easier to dodge or something.
-Mystia has that abilitiy to make your scope of vision smaller, so maybe she could shoot some projectiles (under certain conditions, maybe) that would create that effect if it hits Yuyuko.

[bennelsey]

More ideas:
-Non-edible bullets, maybe? Of course, they would likely be easier to dodge or something.
-Mystia has that abilitiy to make your scope of vision smaller, so maybe she could shoot some projectiles (under certain conditions, maybe) that would create that effect if it hits Yuyuko.

I'm a fan of Yuyuko being a glutton, so i'll still let her eat every bullet there is :3
I guess i'll do reduced visibility thing, I didnt add it there before because i *thought* it'll make the game noticably slower, I'll have to test it now since someone actually suggested it