I am pleased to announce that Zirthian Build 0.5 is being released through the Apple Store Test Flight to a small group testers. There is still some room left - sign up here if you'd like!
This pre-alpha test features the core game functionality and mostly temporary graphics. What I am trying to find out is whether the basic controls and game mechanics are "fun" and how easy / hard it is for people to complete a level.You win the game by surviving until the end of the level. You collect Zs, the in-game currency, for shooting down enemies. The Build features the following:
- Two types of enemy with different behaviours - one enemy hovers over the same spot while another launches directly at you.
- Two types of weapon: Use lasers for rapid fire and gamma ray to turn everything in your path to dust
- The player has shields that disappear by taking damage. Having no shields means instant death upon the next hit.
- A defensive Renew Shields ability that gives you more shields
- A double missile power-up: Pick it up to become even more dangerous!
- Explosions: Watch enemy ships blow up and their pilots fall frantically to their death
- A procedurally - generated world: Terrain, enemies, power-ups - nothing stays the same as you replay a level
- Checkpoint system: Once you clear a check point, you can choose to re-spawn from it after you die
- A setting for easy and hard difficulty
- Cool arcade-style sounds
Here is what the control and the interface look like:
- To control your spaceship's vertical movement, place your thumb anywhere on the screen and move it up and down. To speed up / slow down, move your thumb to the right / left.
- Level progress and amount of Zs collected
- Shoot enemies by tapping the Fire Button
- When enemies hit you, or when you hit the terrain your shields decrease. When your shields are at 0, the next hit will kill you!
- Renew 1 point of shields with the Shield Renew ability. Press the blue to use it. This ability recharges over time.
- Use gamma ray to annihilate everything in your path. Hold down the Fire Button for about a second and then release it to fire the gamma ray. The gamma ray recharges over time.