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[iosefe]

Thanks to Paz and Amir0x for the contest I have been playign this and it is fucking amazing.. The feeling is so good when you get your combo up. The controls are so damn spot on and nice and tight/responsive.. I really like the shield mechanic as it leads to more aggressive playstyle for me.

I have defeated the fourth boss and done some of the wave mode, I mainly have been using Cactus.. but I like how the dialogue changes depending on which android you use. Top notch presentation and the soundtrack is great

Play some starch, you wont regret it

 

[Shaneus]

I spent way too much time cross balancing the androids haha, but I'm glad that depth is there for someone like yourself who is going through and doing *everything*

The balance between the characters in AAC reminds me of probably the most well-balanced competitive game I've ever played, Blur. I think one car was a bit out of whack, but everything else had perfect pluses and minuses. We need more competitive titles like this where you can play differently, but never be at a disadvantage because of your chosen method/character.

 

[Paz]

Damnit! I just bought it. I really hope they offer an option in the near future to disable camera shake but I could not wait to play it

Fantastic game. Those with SLI, 0x00C00005 bits work great.

We've added accessibility options for the camera shake now, you can enable it just for level 'events' or disable it entirely.

I'd just like the option to invert it since my index finger isn't enjoying this stuff as much after squeezing it for 100+ hours of Spelunky before they added the option. We can always change it if we want to play another character where it makes less sense. Would it make more sense to make the button a toggle? It could be like inverting polarity in Ikaruga, because that would work just as well.

There's now an accessibility option for inverting the fire system, so holding the trigger is a queue to stop firing.

Thanks for the suggestions all, it's good to know what's important to people

 

[MaLDo]

We've added accessibility options for the camera shake now, you can enable it just for level 'events' or disable it entirely.

Thank you!!!

I will share how it feels after force me to play with camera shake for a few days.


This immediacy of response to feedback has an immeasurable effect almost always undervalued on the loyalty of the players. Keep it up though it's difficult and always will be worth the effort.

 

[Stone Ocean]

Man some of the later levels are tough. Venom is kicking my ass.

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

I spent way too much time cross balancing the androids haha, but I'm glad that depth is there for someone like yourself who is going through and doing *everything*

Yeah, the effort you put into it shows! Devising strategies for the different archetypes (especially with the bosses) is an engaging gameplay hook for me since while the various androids have their limitations, S+ never feels out of reach once you pay enough attention to individual patterns or general spawns. Facing Embryo as Liquorice for example is quite enjoyable to me since if you try to use the Vorpal Blade willy-nilly, he'll instantly strike you down where you stand, BUT what you can do instead is just force the melee attack to come out, 'tank' it with your invincibility frames from weapon swapping until you're directly behind him and then go for a fully-charged sword swing (which changes your angle once more) while he's too busy turning around. Works wonders when there's no EMP / Shutdown spawn, regardless of it being do-or-die.

My only real complaint however is that even after all this time I put into the game, Eggplant / Aubergine still feels rather undercooked in that she's disproportionately weaker than the rest when attempting to maximize her damage, given how much effort you have to put into wielding her correctly as is. Her being more difficult to control properly isn't the issue for me, but her rhythm feels clunky / surprisingly lacking in a couple of areas and she's generally stricter to S+ with than anyone else, sometimes by quite a margin. Opting for keyboard & mouse instead of a controller helps, but that only goes so far and I feel that only a couple minor tweaks would be sufficient to lift her up to that supposed sweet spot. Shiitake's flow is similar in a few ways, but unlike Eggplant she hits like a truck.

I dunno, I'll keep trucking until the bitter end now that I'm past the halfway point, so maybe she'll 'click' with me eventually. 8 out of 9 ain't too shabby though!

 

[NEO0MJ]

I'd like to say I really appreciate how short loading times are. Even if it's because of how the game is designed I still love how easy it is to pick up and drop the game.

 

[Shaneus]

There's now an accessibility option for inverting the fire system, so holding the trigger is a queue to stop firing.

Thanks for the suggestions all, it's good to know what's important to people

I never thought of this, but I like the idea of it! I'm always firing anyway, so to just be able to use the two sticks and have the only button needed as a bomb of sorts (a la Geometry Wars) could save me from getting a clawed index finger. Woo!

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

Full patch notes here for those who are interested in this sort of thing. Couple of nice convenience tweaks thrown in there.

 

[Shaneus]

DarkZero review: 9

It’s a shining example of the genre and one of the most easiest recommendations I can give to anyone who enjoys exciting chaotic action, while people looking for the next adrenaline fix with a group of friends or on their own should totally slap down the cash and pick up Assault Android Cactus – it’s the best example of an arcade game for quite some time.

 

[Green Wiggly]

Holy crap, Medulla has my number. Time for a break ><

 

[derExperte]

I friggin' hate games with bossfights that are so much more difficult than everything before. Had a lot of fun and was looking forward to keep replaying levels but now I'm so pissed off that that won't happen, I'll try the very last level a few more times and then call it a day. Too bad.

 

[Ozium]

I friggin' hate games with bossfights that are so much more difficult than everything before. Had a lot of fun and was looking forward to keep replaying levels but now I'm so pissed off that that won't happen, I'll try the very last level a few more times and then call it a day. Too bad.

have you tried a different android?

also, seems like you're not really the expert, huh

 

[Shaneus]

OP has been updated with some stuff and new info, like 144Hz refresh rate support, Metacritic link and more GAF posters' impressions!

The new patch list, for those who can't access the Steam page linked earlier:

• 
  Features
• Soundtrack now includes FLAC - anyone with this DLC will find an additional directory inside their game directory
• Credits are now earned on Battery Depleted (stage loss) during the campaign and when restarting / quitting stages
• Credit earning rate has increased slightly
• (Windows / OSX) Gamepad disconnection detection - the game will attempt to pause and offer a chance to reconnect the controller or migrate to a new control device
• In co-op, if a player other than Player 1 pauses the game, the pause menu will say who it is so you can yell at them to unpause the game and keep playing
• added an Accessibility menu under Options:
• Fire Mode - able to switch to Inverse fire. The character will fire their gun all the time and only stop when the fire button is held - intended for anyone experiencing discomfort from holding the trigger for long periods
• Colour Filter - filters that may increase game readability for players with limited colour perception (this is an experimental feature)
• Enemy Hit Flash - to reduce the intensity of the white flash effect on enemies
• Screen Shake - to restrict screen shudder to Events (eg, stage transformations, boss introductions) or disable it completely
• Small adjustment to battery frequency and Boss hitpoints when in 3 and 4 player
• Small adjustments to Phase 4 of the last boss
• Added a command line workaround for Windows 10 users who are experiencing phantom controllers and are not in a position to fix the underlying issue. Adding -p:1 to SET LAUNCH OPTIONS... will restrict the game to a single player
  
  Fixes and Changes
• Consistent enemy spawn rules for all screen dimensions. Extended resolutions (super wide screen) may experience enemy pop-in on some stages, but will now function normally without setting the -screens:# command line property (this command line argument can still be used to position the HUD better for multi monitor users)
• Failing Boss Rush will no longer present the enigmatic "Play Advice" text
• Attract Mode will no longer earn Achievements for you
• Restarting a level after being Battery Depleted will no longer sometimes mute the gameplay sound effects
• Fixed some cases where the Vorpal Blade could leave level bounds or place the character inside geometry
• Fixed missing sound on Autoturret in Control (5-2)
• On beating the game and watching the ending sequence through, the mouse cursor will no longer be hidden on returning to main menu when playing with Mouse and Keyboard
• Avatar silhouettes won't show during stage enter animations, even when the character clips the ground slightly in a totally-not-a-big-deal kind of way

Had to laugh when I read the attract mode achievement thing... hilarious!

 

[Bonfires Down]

Anyone else getting like a 30 second long freeze every time you start up the game?

 

[derExperte]

have you tried a different android?

also, seems like you're not really the expert, huh

Ozi pls, I don't see your score on the leaderboard. Mine now is but yeah, especially that very last phase was imo unnecessarily harsh. Tbh I spend almost as much time on that fight as on the rest of the game.

Anyone else getting like a 30 second long freeze every time you start up the game?

I don't, no.

 

[grandwizard]

Some comments on the final boss:

Spoiler

I loved the fight mainly, but I do think it that very last phase is a mistake. It's nice to have a surprise but the rest of the fight is so grueling and the phases are predictable enough that the player really feels like they accomplished something when they finish that last one, only to be thrown into what seems like a 'throw away' segment where it plays differently than ever before and isn't made to be long enough to be substantial. I think the fight and ending would have had more impact if it ended when the core originally goes down. Not that the last phase completely ruins it or anything.

 

[ArjanN]

Some comments on the final boss:

Spoiler

I loved the fight mainly, but I do think it that very last phase is a mistake. It's nice to have a surprise but the rest of the fight is so grueling and the phases are predictable enough that the player really feels like they accomplished something when they finish that last one, only to be thrown into what seems like a 'throw away' segment where it plays differently than ever before and isn't made to be long enough to be substantial. I think the fight and ending would have had more impact if it ended when the core originally goes down. Not that the last phase completely ruins it or anything.

I beat that the first time and didn't really have a problem with it, thought it was a decent

Spoiler

'but wait, there's more' little twist.

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

I friggin' hate games with bossfights that are so much more difficult than everything before. Had a lot of fun and was looking forward to keep replaying levels but now I'm so pissed off that that won't happen, I'll try the very last level a few more times and then call it a day. Too bad.

I struggled with the final boss originally too and didn't go back to it for a while, but aggressively weapon swapping and employing the invincibility frames that mechanic provides almost trivializes the Medulla specific projectile phases. Still took me little over an hour of consecutive failing (whilst inching) before my successful attempt however, but even way back then I also found it less harsh of a difficult spike than the sub-boss before it.

Ozi pls, I don't see your score on the leaderboard. Mine now is but yeah, especially that very last phase was imo unnecessarily harsh. Tbh I spend almost as much time on that fight as on the rest of the game.

Some comments on the final boss:

Spoiler

I loved the fight mainly, but I do think it that very last phase is a mistake. It's nice to have a surprise but the rest of the fight is so grueling and the phases are predictable enough that the player really feels like they accomplished something when they finish that last one, only to be thrown into what seems like a 'throw away' segment where it plays differently than ever before and isn't made to be long enough to be substantial. I think the fight and ending would have had more impact if it ended when the core originally goes down. Not that the last phase completely ruins it or anything.

Honestly, the last phase is much easier than the ones preceding it.

Spoiler

Majority of the enemy types move slowly, you always have your weapon at max potency, hardly any long-range attacks to worry about and the battery life is generous enough to allow the player to go down a few times. Its gimmick is only 'different' stylistically.

That said, I do have to echo the "try another android" sentiment someone else here brought up, since that also plays a big part in the overall difficulty curve.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

Ozi pls, I don't see your score on the leaderboard. Mine now is but yeah, especially that very last phase was imo unnecessarily harsh. Tbh I spend almost as much time on that fight as on the rest of the game.

git gud

Spoiler

it was the same for me lol, disn't hate it though, and started replaying earlier levels immidiately

You'll be surprised to find how good you've become when you start replaying

 

[Lumination]

Finally got to sit down and really dig into this game. (Big thanks to Ami and Paz.) Absolutely loving it. May beat out Geometry Wars 2 as my favorite twinstick of all time.

Just a bit of a shame it doesn't have online multiplayer, but it's hard to be negative about the game.

 

[Durante]

Completed the game (in coop) yesterday. Really solid effort, easily my favorite twin stick shooter in a long time.

 

[grandwizard]

What's up with the game failing to retrieve the daily drive?

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

What's up with the game failing to retrieve the daily drive?

Working on my end. Small hitch I suppose.

 

[Syril]

Working on my end. Small hitch I suppose.

I thought it was that you could only play each daily drive once.

 

[Paz]

What's up with the game failing to retrieve the daily drive?

Likely small hitches with the server (We're using a third party platform called Parse as our solution for that).

Glad you are all enjoying it Durante's scale must be pretty interesting if Solid Effort means favorite in a long time haha. I mostly rate on a 'worth playing / not worth playing' scale and it makes me happy most people think Cactus is wort playing

 

[thumb]

Likely small hitches with the server (We're using a third party platform called Parse as our solution for that).

Glad you are all enjoying it Durante's scale must be pretty interesting if Solid Effort means favorite in a long time haha. I mostly rate on a 'worth playing / not worth playing' scale and it makes me happy most people think Cactus is wort playing

I tried the game for the first time this weekend. Got my butt kicked by a boss, and I was just staring at the retry screen when the "little android" song vocals kicked in. I loved it. It totally won me over. I *am* just a little android laying on the floor! It was like the game was empathizing with my plight.

 

[Tokubetsu]

Fuck Medulla. I got to the last? wave I think but no green orbs were dropping and I don't think I was hurting her. The wave where everything goes all geometry wars.

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

Fuck Medulla. I got to the last? wave I think but no green orbs were dropping and I don't think I was hurting her. The wave where everything goes all geometry wars.

No batteries drop during that phase indeed, but you still get ample time to work with. Certainly can be intimidating, though.

 

[WarRock]

Played the demo for this and holy shit, it's amazing. Controls are so good even with KB/M.

Hopefully I'll have some spare cash to buy it soon.

 

[ExitPlanetDust]

I inherited a laptop over the weekend that can handle the demo admirably. Not well enough that I would be comfortable buying the full game though. Frame rate gets down into the 30s and fan sounds like it's going to take off.

Any word on the PS4 release date? I remember reading something about a Q1 target date. It would be fantastic if we got it this month.

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

I inherited a laptop over the weekend that can handle the demo admirably. Not well enough that I would be comfortable buying the full game though. Frame rate gets down into the 30s and fan sounds like it's going to take off.

Any word on the PS4 release date? I remember reading something about a Q1 target date. It would be fantastic if we got it this month.

Haven't heard a peep.

 

[Vitacat]

Planning to buy on PS4. Especially since it's probably not going win the PS+ vote for next month.

Any info regarding frame rate on PS4? Hoping for solid 60.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Planning to buy on PS4. Especially since it's probably not going win the PS+ vote for next month.

Any info regarding frame rate on PS4? Hoping for solid 60.

I'd be surprised if it isn't considering how well it runs on my laptop.

 

[Fisty]

Uh oh, Unity? Didnt get a chance to play this at PSX, but im hoping to god we dont have performance issues on PS4 :/

Ill be putting my vote towards this for Plus regardless though, cant get enough of the frantic twin stick shooters

 

[radioactivez0r]

Uh oh, Unity? Didnt get a chance to play this at PSX, but im hoping to god we dont have performance issues on PS4 :/

Ill be putting my vote towards this for Plus regardless though, cant get enough of the frantic twin stick shooters

I did play it at PSX and didn't notice any problems; hopefully the small scale of the game helps in that regard.

 

[Fisty]

I did play it at PSX and didn't notice any problems; hopefully the small scale of the game helps in that regard.

Ah thats good to hear

 

[Shaneus]

I can confirm that if it doesn't run at a flat 60, it comes damn close to being so (in that it could have an occasional dip or two, but not that I noticed). Played it at PAX Aus last year and it didn't seem to skip a beat.

 

[Wario64]

I'm gonna lose my shit if I can't S+ rank the 2nd to last level anytime soon. Anyone have tips? It's mainly the last battle I am having trouble

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

I'm gonna lose my shit if I can't S+ rank the 2nd to last level anytime soon. Anyone have tips? It's mainly the last battle I am having trouble

Invincibility frames via weapon swapping whenever Liquorice goes for the sword slice helps, so you can immediately counter-attack, as well as stocking up on Speed power-ups during the last 'normal' enemy wave (with all the jellyfish-lookin' robots) so that the batteries are much more likely to be pulled in towards you. I've had the 'easiest' time using either Liquorice, Cactus or Holly (in that order) for S+ rank.

 

[Wario64]

Oh god, the game is being so cruel to me. I lost the S+ rank status in the early phases but kept going cause screw it, I'll use this as practice. Killed Liquorice without losing a chain or getting damage. lol.

I feel like I get screwed once my acceleration power up is gone (I've been trying to stock up on them prior to the battle in many attempts). Traverse speed gets too slow and I feel like I get cornered quickly

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

Oh god, the game is being so cruel to me. I lost the S+ rank status in the early phases but kept going cause screw it, I'll use this as practice. Killed Liquorice without losing a chain or getting damage. lol.

I feel like I get screwed once my acceleration power up is gone (I've been trying to stock up on them prior to the battle in many attempts). Traverse speed gets too slow and I feel like I get cornered quickly

Yeah, the invincibility frames alleviate some of those "being cornered" moments but unless your own character is Liquorice (since she's innately more mobile), you actively have to position yourself around those pillars to avoid her incoming fire. It's a difficult mission either way, arguably the hardest to S+ in the entire game.

 

[Shaneus]

Let's get this thread going again!

 

[ExitPlanetDust]

Let's get this thread going again!

Not available in my region yet I guess. I was able to add it to my wishlist and that's it.

So, there's no online co-op, but I assume SharePlay will work. I would be willing to host when I'm finally able to download if you guys want to play some 2 player co-op.

 

[Vitacat]

Is the PS4 version good? Smooth from rates etc.?

 

[Dash Kappei]

Still salty Broforce (ugh) got picked for PS+ instead of this, even gaffers failed me and voted for that
I'm tight on money and have a huuuuuuge backlog to work through but I've waited so long to get this game on console after liking it on PC

Let's get this thread going again!

Not available over here yet (Italy)

Not available in my region yet I guess. I was able to add it to my wishlist and that's it.

So, there's no online co-op, but I assume SharePlay will work. I would be willing to host when I'm finally able to download if you guys want to play some 2 player co-op.

Where are you located? I'd love to but I think it wouldn't be feasible with a game like this unless you're EU based

 

[EVO]

Fuck, wishing I voted for this instead of Broforce. To be honest I didn't even check it out based on the name alone.

 

[katsubento]

I'm surprised this didn't win PS+ too. I mean...c'mon!

 

[kyser73]

Let's get this thread going again!

Done & dusted.

Can't wait to get home tonight, although I'm torn between this & The Division

 

[oggob]

Man... AU$15 after the PS+ discount applied seems criminal...

Need to grab a PSN Card today!