Ship roster will be cut on next version

[Wetwoo]

I am going to scrap a good number of the ships come the next version. This game is becoming too bloated for its own good and I'm starting to lose interest in developing it. This was meant to only be a simple remake of XF-EX when I started this project. The only playables that there will be will be:
*Amada Vipros, Xelcor, Zaiva, Phyxius
*The four Seibu ships
*The Gemini Wing ships
*Vic Viper
*Zapdos (since a lot of work went into balancing that one)
*One or two or all of the following: Miyamoto, Miria, P-38

That's it. A roster of almost 30 ships cut down to a more manageable 12 to 14. Some hard decisions have to be made. The Gradius Shield selection mechanic is useless and it does not matter if the other ships work fine. I do not like the direction this game has taken, becoming a MUGEN of shmups, and this is how I see it fit to fix that. If people are unhappy with trimming the roster in this manner, then that's something I'll have to live with. I'm through with the "quantity over quality" mentality. This game, SMFR, and future games I make will be approached with more practicality.

My decisions are final. It's either this or abandon this project completely.

[Aura]

I think you should keep this final "ton of ships" version available alongside the "true" XFR.

[Chaos.Tiki]

Well, there goes my favorite ship.

[Del]

I think you should keep this final "ton of ships" version available alongside the "true" XFR.

This please. They're already done anyway.

Gee I didn't think you were cutting down THAT many, there goes the Galaga ship

[Wetwoo]

The ships could be added back after the final release, however, you do not realize the reason why I made the hard decision to cut them.

Yes those ships to be cut are done. The problem with them is that their game mechanics clash badly with the Raiden Fighters mechanics that XFR is based upon. In addition, they are either too powerful or too weak. That is why they are being cut.

[Del]

The cut ships can be added back in after the final release.

Just do like Capcom does and make Ultimate XFR lol

Or XFR Hyper Turbo

[Wetwoo]

Just remember that more does NOT mean better. You do not realize the reason why I made the hard decision to cut them.

Yes those ships to be cut are done. The problem with them is that their game mechanics clash badly with the Raiden Fighters mechanics that XFR is based upon. In addition, they are either too powerful or too weak. That is why they are being cut.

30 ships to select from is ridiculously excessive. I did not want to turn this into a MUGEN of shmups, but people kept forcing me to add their favorite ships in while completely ignoring the fact it already has so many ships. MKF can have the huge roster of crossover characters, but XFR will not from the next version until its initial final release.

[Din]

Well, good for you for making a difficult but necessary design decision.
Really, I just can't wait to see the game done.  Shame you're losing interest in it, but if that's the case, you might do well to take a break for a bit.  You did, after all, just release a demo.

[TheomanZero]

Correct me if I'm wrong JS, but I've gotten the impression that SHMUPs are your favorite games.  (Your name is certainly a clue.)  Therefore, I've assumed that this project is very dear to you.  If you truly think this is for the best, then no one has the right to tell you otherwise.  I don't want this project to drift away from your original vision the way MKF did.  (Then again, we got SMF:R because of that, so maybe it was a good thing after all.)

[Wetwoo]

Correct me if I'm wrong JS, but I've gotten the impression that SHMUPs are your favorite games.  (Your name is certainly a clue.)  Therefore, I've assumed that this project is very dear to you.  If you truly think this is for the best, then no one has the right to tell you otherwise.  I don't want this project to drift away from your original vision the way MKF did.  (Then again, we got SMF:R because of that, so maybe it was a good thing after all.)

That's the other thing. I was not the only one working on XFR exclusively from a coding standpoint. Without naming names, someone offered to assist coding the planned ships at the time. Once that person was done, I was told that a new character/ship was added without my permission. I decided to let it slide. Soon, one unauthorized ship turned into almost ten unauthorized ships, and to this day they were a nightmare to balance because their game mechanics clashed badly with the core Raiden Fighters mechanics that XFR has.

I took a 8-month break from XFR to decide what I wanted to do with it. It was after v0.11 that I decided to make the hard decision to cull the roster. We really do not need 30 ships, most of which are fanservice, when less than half of that is sufficient (but still considered somewhat excessive; Raiden Fighters 2 has 14 total playable ships, but really, people use only 3 or 4 of them regularly).

[Sum Gai]

I understand. Not agree, but understand.

It is your game, and you should make it be the game you'd want to play.


My own 2 cents (for what it matters), setting the 'extra ships' to unlock after you've beaten the game or whatever other condition and ignoring the balance of them altogether would seem a simple solution that no-one could bitch about (well, people can and will always bitch, hell that's practically the job of reviewers).

[Wetwoo]

My own 2 cents (for what it matters), setting the 'extra ships' to unlock after you've beaten the game or whatever other condition and ignoring the balance of them altogether would seem a simple solution that no-one could bitch about (well, people can and will always bitch, hell that's practically the job of reviewers).

I will consider it after the game is done. I say to let the complainers complain. Even if I added 100 ships to the roster, someone will complain that his/her favorite character/ship is not in the game, or that there are too many. I can't please everyone, and it's unrealistic to try to do that.

You have a right to your opinion. However, the Mushroom Kingdom Fusion mentality will no longer apply to XFR, so it would be best if you no longer think of XFR as a MKF of shmups from now on.

[Wetwoo]

And here is the pared down Xeno Fighters R roster. I selected 16 of the most well-balanced ships.



What has been kept:
*Amada Vipros
*Phyxius
*Zaiva
*Xelcor
*Raiden mk-II
*Judge Spear
*Raiden mk-II β (no longer an alternate)
*Blue Javelin (no longer an alternate)
*Castor
*Pollux
*Vic Viper
*Miria
*Zapdos
*P-38
*Miyamoto
*X-36

What has been cut:
*Gyaraga/Hoplon
*Solvalou
*Lord British
*Falchion β
*Jade Knight
*Hikaru
*Michael
*Michelle H.
*E-75
*Zero fighter
*Twinbee

[Salvador]

OMFG QQ HOW COULD YOU??!! ;A;



lol jk. I'm fine with it. Looks much more streamlined from the screen with 30 or so ships.

[Gibbering Mouther]

Since ships objects aren't really that complicated, can we have an "external" ship slot of sorts for player-made ships?

I think that should remove any justification for complaining whatsoever about some guy's favorite ship not getting in--the (for lack of a better word) "responsibility" of making bajillions of ships shifts from the creator to the player.

Then again, there's nothing keeping anyone from making the most epic cheese ship ever... such an option should be unlockable, and player-made ships can't get on the highscores list.