Vengeance Hunters (Beat 'em Up) for the Neo Geo

amerika

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Thanks for the answer! Personally, as a long-time Xbox owner, the value is going down because at this point the platform is missing out on too many cross-platform releases.

I found this article from last month. I would guess that for technically less demaning 2D ports making the game Series S and Series X compliant isn't an issue?

I believe it would be the easiest console to get certified on as you can use any Xbox to do most of your testing/certification on and you would not need an actual dev kit. We have Sony and Nintendo dev kits, but sharing those among a small indie team that is spread out to different places in the world is another matter. Xbox, I believe, does not have this issue. However, sales for indie games has never been an Xbox strength and this generation a lot of people have one mostly for Game Pass. Hell, that is the sole reason I own one since the PC ports can be iffy. I doubt MS would be interested in pursuing our game for Game Pass release. So, yeah, due to history of low sales and the type of player, it puts it lower on the port list atm despite it being potentially easier.
 

Neo Alec

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I believe it would be the easiest console to get certified on as you can use any Xbox to do most of your testing/certification on and you would not need an actual dev kit. We have Sony and Nintendo dev kits, but sharing those among a small indie team that is spread out to different places in the world is another matter. Xbox, I believe, does not have this issue. However, sales for indie games has never been an Xbox strength and this generation a lot of people have one mostly for Game Pass. Hell, that is the sole reason I own one since the PC ports can be iffy. I doubt MS would be interested in pursuing our game for Game Pass release. So, yeah, due to history of low sales and the type of player, it puts it lower on the port list atm despite it being potentially easier.
Gamepass was promising at first, but turned out to be a huge mistake. They should've made it cheaper, and never put new AAA games on it. It would've been perfect for people wanting to try out indie titles like yours and maybe older AAA games that have already sold their quota. Xbox has such a good legacy with small developers on Xbox Live Arcade on the 360, they need to get back to that.
 

amerika

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Yeah, I think MS was offering up a big power play to try and sway every gamer over to their ecosystem and crush Sony/others due to a crazy high value for the service. All while getting rid of physical games in the process. Had it worked, and people left Nintendo/Sony in droves, it would be a "first hit is free" situation where they would simply start raising the price through the roof to get their quarterly growth. All while we own nothing.

I both love and hate Game Pass since I know it's a great value and convenience. But I also know exactly where it leads if it 'wins'.
 

Neo Alec

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I will buy the standalone digital release of Hellblade 2. That contributes to a game's sales. I have no intention of adding Gamepass again.
 

Orpheus

One Nut,
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Damn. This is one of the most impressive looking indie games I have seen yet. If this was released back in the mid to late 90's or even as one of the "Last Batch" games like NITD, Matrimelee, ROTD, Sengoku 3, etc I think it would have faced less scrutiny.
 

amerika

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We showed the game at a local (for me) event called Midwest Fest in Kansas City this past weekend. The person running the event who I had met back in December and is a really awesome guy, had it loaded into his 6 slot MVS. I couldn't stay at the event through the weekend, but when I was there the cabinet was busy and the event runners said it was busy. I got to talk to quite a few people about the game and it was incredibly positive interactions. Which, naturally, feels good to hear when you've poured so much into something.
 
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amerika

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Speaking of videos, I have a new one to showcase. It's a somewhat rambling video that gives some insight and also gives a good idea of how the game is played at a high level. As well as what you can expect from the Golem character and from the game in general. I delve into a few details and some Nalua developer lore in general.

I'll most likely be following this video up with showcases for the other two characters so that everyone can see how they play too. As well as maybe a few other videos showing our process and how we have built the game over the past two years.

Take care!

 

amerika

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A friend of mine and I played the game via Parsec and it worked out pretty great. He posted our co-op run of Stage 1 on his Youtube channel if you're interested. We played through the entire game together, but currently we're only showing off level 1.

 
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amerika

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Okay okay, thanks but when, when you release the game ?
Shooting for late September. But we are at the mercy of the factory that is manufacturing it. We think September is plenty of time to get it all together and ready to ship out, but I won't 100% commit to it since it's not within my control.

The game, however, is essentially done. We are finalizing the credit roll right now actually as well as a couple of tweaks in the game. And doing some modern platform specific porting stuff. Ex: We added in a way to change how the scaling works so people can pick their scaling preferences to have the game look the way they want (nearest neighbor, perfect pixels etc.). Some hopefully non-shit filters for CRT-like effects, border art and of course achievements.

It is a bit surreal that we're so close to being done.
 

Bennett

Annex Florida Coalition, Goodwill Ambassador,
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Yeah Final Vendetta they’ve gone mia

The Neo Geo version of Final Vendetta is going to be cropped down to 4:3 isn't it? Why bother, $400 for an inferior version of the game.
 

amerika

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I posted another character showcase video tonight to show off how Candy is played at a "high level" and what her kit is like. If you've seen the Golem video I posted a few weeks ago, and then watch the new Candy showcase, you'll see just how different characters are in the game. Which is something that was and still is a personal pet peeve of mine when it comes to beat'em'ups and having characters play way to much like each other.

 

NeoSeeD

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If I'm being honest here, I'm not feeling the lack of a basic grappling system for all characters. I get that you want the characters to feel different, but that shouldn't require the omission of basics. For example, Haggar has more grab options than Guy or Cody, but they still have completely different styles that make them feel unique. Same for Axel, Blaze, Adam, Skate, Max, etc.

Maybe it's something that I can get past once I eventually try the game but it's a risky gamble imo.
 

amerika

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If I'm being honest here, I'm not feeling the lack of a basic grappling system for all characters. I get that you want the characters to feel different, but that shouldn't require the omission of basics. For example, Haggar has more grab options than Guy or Cody, but they still have completely different styles that make them feel unique. Same for Axel, Blaze, Adam, Skate, Max, etc.

Maybe it's something that I can get past once I eventually try the game but it's a risky gamble imo.
I think you'll like it when you play it. One thing that people should try to go in with is that the game isn't like every other beat'em'up you've played. It's gunning to be more like "what if" Marvel Vs. Capcom or even DMC/Bayonetta were 2D beat'em'ups. Easy to pick up and play action beat'em'ups that have a bit of depth to them if you want there to be...but not really necessary if you just want to spam an attack.

I really think you'll love how Candy flows when you try her out and you'll quickly forget about the grab since you can do something very similar with her (cartwheel into instant uppercut that is a launcher). Loony, the last character, is the one people will struggle with the most on how he feels as he's way different than almost anything else people have played in a beat'em'up.
 
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amerika

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Yup, preorders started back in December. We have a regular edition and two types of collector editions. One with the red shell that is limited and one with the black shell that will, hopefully, always be in stock. And the regular shell is also the same black shell. The red shells are limited, but we put a high number on them just to make sure anybody who wanted one could get one. But after the first run, they are done regardless of the number.

Anybody who orders now will still get the game when it launches. We are trying to make more than we need, so hopefully it will still be available after launch. But as anybody who produces hardware knows, it can be really tricky to predict demand.
 
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