R - T H E T A 2 [tag: Shooter], Expanded Edition! - Featured on YoYoGames! Options

[thetagames]

R-THETA II

Expanded Edition

Download:
Download from Host-A

Here is a mirror:
Download from WillHostForFood

WINDOWS VISTA USERS!!! Here is a compatible version, from Host-A:
Download Vista Compatible Version

R-THETA II is also located on the Theta Games Home Page

Specifications:

Title: R-THETA II, Expanded Edition
Genre: Original, Abstract 'SHMUP' Arcade Game
Download Size: 2.9 MB zipped (3.3 MB for Vista Compatible Version)
File Type: A '.zip' archive that contains the main executable, README.txt, two DLL's that allow for module music playback, and unmo3.exe, which converts the compressed '.mo3' modules into a usable format for the DLL's to use.
Resolution: No change, full screen
Version: 1.5
Written In: .1 Registered


Overview:

R-THETA II is the sequel to the innovative game R-THETA. Like its predecessor, it is based entirely in polar coordinates. For more explanation on this, click here. Basically, everything is based on a circle, in this case a radar-like device. As in the original, you move a shooter up and down the radar-scope line as it spins, and shoot enemies as they come to you, preventing them from hitting the line. As the game progresses, the line rotates faster. The sequel features two new weapons, including Rapid-Fire and Missile, and two new enemies, including a Shooter (it fires disabling shots at you) and an enemy that charges at the radar-scope line.

For the topic on the original R-THETA, click here.


Expanded Edition Includes:

- Nine new enemies, each with distinct behaviors.

- 'Combos' system. You get extra points for killing large numbers of enemies in a short time.

- Game Options, including difficulty settings, sound volume, adjusting special effects (i.e. motion blur, screen-shaking), and fully customizable controls. All options are saved even after you quit the game.

- Other improvements, including quit confirmations, more randomized enemy spawning locations, a better scoring system, and much more!


Controls:

The controls of the game are fully customizable through the options menu. Simply press <F2> at the title screen, then select 'Controls . . .'

Default Controls (can be changed):

<UP>: Increase radius of shooter (move it away from the centre)
<DOWN>: Decrease radius of shooter (move it toward the centre)
<Z>: Fire Missile
<X> [hold]: Fire Rapid-Fire
<C>: Fire Standard Shot


Screenshots:



Click on the above images to view full-size screenshots of the game.


Notes:

- Like the original R-THETA, this game has no set colour schemes. The game randomly generates colours that will fit well together.

- An earlier version of this game has been featured in a variety of places, including the Independent Gaming website, a similar Czech website (Hrej.cz), and on a cover CD of the Octover 22nd issue of the Czech computing magazine Svĕt-Pocitacu ('Computer World').

- The music is self-composed, as well as all but one of the audio effects.

- NEW [Version 1.1] I have changed the music from MIDI format to module format, which means that there should be no more lag at the loop point of the MIDI pieces. The volume of the music can now be dynamically changed as well.

- This game has been featured on the HomeBrewPCGaming GM Arcade, as well as on the Independent Gaming website and www.the2bears.com.

This post has been edited by thetagames: Dec 26 2008, 03:37 PM

[Mordi]

Will edit whenever i get around to testing it. Is it inspired by the game with the similar name on Commodore 64? R-Type?
Actually, i can tell that its not.

This post has been edited by Mordi: Aug 12 2007, 07:54 PM

[thetagames]

Oops, accidentally pressed "post new topic" too soon.  Editing . . .

Hehe. Can i quote you on that?

That's funny . Seriously, this isn't a nOOb game; I just made a mistake. In a couple of minutes, this topic will be fully described and downloadable.

EDIT: Sorry about the premature post; it was an honest mistake. The topic is finished now, and everything is fully downloadable.

This post has been edited by thetagames: Aug 12 2007, 08:50 PM

[thetagames]

Will edit whenever i get around to testing it. Is it inspired by the game with the similar name on Commodore 64? R-Type?
Actually, i can tell that its not.

Thanks! No, this game is not based on that, because I've never even heard of it!

To all: Please give this a try, and let me know what you think.

Thank you!

This post has been edited by thetagames: Aug 12 2007, 08:47 PM

[10nitro]

Could you please just download GM7, open the file, and make a Vista compatible game, becouse I'm struck with Vista for the moment... I'll have XP (,95 and 2000) back soon.

[thetagames]

I've posted a Vista-Compatible version, thanks to the help of 10nitro.

Here is the download, from Host-A.

[JTR]

Hard game! Gotta keep trying. Good work!

[10nitro]

Very nice additons to the game. Like JTR said its hard... um...I can see i giving someone a siezure though. Seriously the vibrating is a bit annoying.

I use the word "though" too much.

[thetagames]

Hard game! Gotta keep trying. Good work!

That's a very disturbing picture. Anyway, it would be very easy to slow down the learning curve. The sometimes-upside-down and inverted controls really take a bit to get used to, but I guess that's part of the game. I thought the original R-THETA was a bit too easy. My hint: use the different weapons together. You can hold down the Rapid-Fire button and fire your other weapons at the same time. (the Rapid-Fire will fire less, but it will still add to your firepower) Thanks for your comment!

Very nice additons to the game. Like JTR said its hard... um...I can see i giving someone a siezure though. Seriously the vibrating is a bit annoying.

I use the word "though" too much.

I don't know; I kind of like the vibrating. I can make a way to turn it off, though. Also, I figured this game would be fine considering some of the SHMUPS and other games I've seen on this forum with much more robust effects. However, its better to be safe than sorry:

Generally, flashing lights between the frequencies of five to 30 flashes per second (Hertz) are most likely to trigger seizures. In order to be safe, the consensus recommends that photosensitive individuals should not be exposed to flashes greater than three per second.

The colour changes for the enemies are at 30 htz, as is the colour changes for the beginning "Theta Games Presents." However, I would have to research this further, because everything in the game is no more than two pixels wide. (there is not that much area that is flashing) Again, I have seen much more of this in other games.

This is important insight, as many people with photosensitive epilepsy do not even know about it. I'll research this further, but until then, bear in mind that this is a video game, and all video games carry a warning that cautions those who are prone to seizures.

Thanks for all your comments!

~ thetagames

[JTR]

That's a very disturbing picture.

The kitten isn't really dead. (It's mouth wouldn't be that open. It's probably yawning.)

[thetagames]

The kitten isn't really dead. (It's mouth wouldn't be that open. It's probably yawning.)

I just thought that because its mouth was so red. Anyway, do you think I should make the learning curve easier? I thought the original R-THETA was too easy. (or course, it just could be that I was used to it)

[JTR]

Yeah, you should probably make the first few minutes a little calmer or add a practice mode. (No scores in that one, obviously.)

[Sulfuric]

This deserves more attention. It's much better than the original, and is a very cool little shoot'em'up.

This version was a lot more fun. It was also a much bigger challenge, which the previous one lacked. Maybe the 3rd one will have more kinds of ships, more enemies, and more weapons. You could probably think up new game modes as well (such as a clock-wise mode).

I really enjoyed this, I'd give it a 9/10. (All those effects where really cool, I especially liked the missile's explotions).

My final score was 5956.

PS: I thought the learning curve was spot on. Not too hard and not to easy in the beginning. I also don't think the effects are overly flashy at all. As you mentioned before, nothing is thick enough to really draw away your attention or cause physical problems.

This post has been edited by STARFOXROX: Aug 14 2007, 08:28 PM

[10nitro]

I was joking about the siezure thing... people who have it really bad can get one just looking at a screen... that would suck.

Anyway, I realized I should probably check out the sound (I usually have the sound off). Like all your other games the sound drasticly changes the mood. With sound on the game should definately be played in fullscreen. Without sound I recomend windowed view. I personally think there should be stronger music in main gameplay, although when you get into a game the sound effects serve, and will match the intensity perfectly (high intensity=more events=more sound effects=more intense music). I recomend putting in strong music and using something like

CODE

sound_volume(index,key_presses_in_last_minuet/120);

8.75/10, ten being PERFECT, not what is expected, so pretty good

This post has been edited by 10nitro: Aug 14 2007, 09:34 PM

[thetagames]

Yeah, you should probably make the first few minutes a little calmer or add a practice mode. (No scores in that one, obviously.)

I don't think I'll make a practice mode, but I might adjust the beginning speed a bit, though not too much. Your game Death Worm starts off pretty slow, but really builds in intensity once those 'bunker busters' start falling. (I guess you're a fan of that type of learning curve. Personally, I like to be challenged right off the bat, but that is just my preference)

This deserves more attention. It's much better than the original, and is a very cool little shoot'em'up.

This version was a lot more fun. It was also a much bigger challenge, which the previous one lacked. Maybe the 3rd one will have more kinds of ships, more enemies, and more weapons. You could probably think up new game modes as well (such as a clock-wise mode).

I really enjoyed this, I'd give it a 9/10. (All those effects where really cool, I especially liked the missile's explotions).

My final score was 5956.

PS: I thought the learning curve was spot on. Not too hard and not to easy in the beginning. I also don't think the effects are overly flashy at all. As you mentioned before, nothing is thick enough to really draw away your attention or cause physical problems.

Thanks a lot! I don't know if I'll make an R-THETA III. If I did, it would have to blow away R-THETA II like R-THETA II blew away R-THETA I. I could venture into 3D gaming, though polar coordinates are very complicated in 3D

I simply could not think of more than three types of weapons that would fit well in the game, along with three enemies. First of all, there is only so much you can do in polar coordinates, and second of all, I think the number 'three' has good symmetry in games. (I guess that means I have to make and R-THETA III! ) All of the enemies are drawn with lines, so I can only go so far. (sprites do not work well in polar coordinates)

I liked the explosions, too. They were fun to program. If you notice, they kind of orbit around the centre, because they are given a random 'radius-speed' and 'theta-speed' when created.

I was joking about the siezure thing... people who have it really bad can get one just looking at a screen... that would suck.

Anyway, I realized I should probably check out the sound (I usually have the sound off). Like all your other games the sound drasticly changes the mood. With sound on the game should definately be played in fullscreen. Without sound I recomend windowed view. I personally think there should be stronger music in main gameplay, although when you get into a game the sound effects serve, and will match the intensity perfectly (high intensity=more events=more sound effects=more intense music). I recomend putting in strong music and using something like

CODE

sound_volume(index,key_presses_in_last_minuet/120);

8.75/10, ten being PERFECT, not what is expected, so pretty good

I agree. I feel sound and music is one of the most important aspects of a game. It can really define a game as either serious, or just cheesy. For this game, all of the sound effects (except one, can you guess it?) are personally engineered. I just spoke noises into a microphone and played around with the sounds in Audacity and Goldwave.

I can't really raise the background music in volume, because for some reason most computer speakers begin to distort the MIDI patches. (especially the electric piano) Also, the MIDI composition builds from a low level, and then dies away at the end. I made the global sound mix of the game for the middle section of the MIDI, when it is loudest.

Also, I noticed that the sound effects already match the intensity of the game. As the game gets faster, you are forced to fire faster, which makes more firing sounds. Your shots hit the enemies more often, which means more explosion sounds. I think one problem is actually that the sound effects get too loud at certain points, (especially in conjunction with the missile) and become distorted.


Thank you all for your comments, suggestions, and compliments. I'm glad this is better received than the original R-THETA, which was more of a concept game.

~ thetagames

This post has been edited by thetagames: Aug 16 2007, 10:33 PM

[thetagames]

This deserves more attention . . .

I agree. *bump* (It's been three days, August 14th to August 17th)

Thanks for your interest!

[Shade_Games]

Great graphics, great sound, great style, great gameplay. This is probably your best game.

PS: HIGH SCORE 14162!

This post has been edited by Shade_Games: Aug 21 2007, 12:46 AM

[thetagames]

Great graphics, great sound, great style, great gameplay. This is probably your best game.

PS: HIGH SCORE 14162!

Thanks a lot! Everything in the game is drawn, (sprites don't work very well in polar coordinates) and all the sounds (except one: the ping from Pink Floyd's Echoes when you get an extra life or pause the game) were created by making noise into a microphone and greatly adjusting the sound with Audacity and Goldwave.

14162 is a very good high score. My highest is 20333 (but I'm the game designer!)

Thanks for your comments,

~ thetagames

This post has been edited by thetagames: Aug 21 2007, 12:51 AM

[Sulfuric]

New highscore: 9018.

If 3 enemies and 3 weapons sounds like good numbers, then you'll love 5 or 7! 3 weapons seems to be enough. You got your rapid fast one, your wide spread, and your distructive.

Maybe have an enemy that destroys your bullets or lays mines that you have to destroy. There, 5 enemies

I can't think of any other game modes. With polar coordinates, you're sort of limited.

[thetagames]

Maybe have an enemy that destroys your bullets or lays mines that you have to destroy. There, 5 enemies

I like the idea for an enemy that destroys your bullets. Perhaps it creates a sort of shield that rushes towards you, destroying all of your bullets?

As for the mine-laying enemy, I think that the mines would be too much like the regular enemies, except it would just sit there. Although, I could make the mines release shrapnel, so you would want to destroy them when your radar-scope line is at least ninety degrees away or so.

As I said before, if I made an R-THETA III, it would have to include something entirely new and different, in order to continue the pattern.


Thanks for your replies,

~ thetagames