IRENA - Genesis Metal Fury *WIP* [SGDK Project]

[OverDrone]

Rendering Ranger is overall average by SNES standards and features a lot of simple patterns and assets that fall far short of something like Super Gradius III. A simple spinning animation of a ship that should move in almost any other way than that isn't very impressive and is just a waste of rom space.

Closest thing I can think of on MD is the spinning ship animation on the high score screen of Subterrania, it's ultra smooth.

I think we can all agree Rendering Ranger would have looked far better with the pixel art Trenz was originally planning for the game. As far as the game itself, I still haven't played it but I have heard the level design is a bit flat in comparison to some of the SNES's heavy hitters.

OT: Kentosama, IRENA Genesis Metal Fury (can't argue with the name) is obviously in an embryonic state atm; I think joining up with shmups.system11.org and heading over to the dev forum could help if you haven't already done so.

Have you considered what sort of gimmick the game's system could use to give it a unique angle? Something as simple as vacuuming in gems from killing mid-size enemies, building a gauge that maxes out for a smart bomb or hyper beam type over weapon perhaps.

[netpredakonn]

Game is looking great so far. If this is an early demo, I can only imagine what you will be able to achieve later. I really like your sprite work, it is at the same time original and classic. Regarding what I've seen on the demo, I think a few things could be smoother. And as some people have mentioned it would be really cool you could make a vertical stage or something like Soulstar. Anyway, don't bother too much with what we talk. Go for your vision and I'm sure we'll have a nice game in the end.

Btw, do you plan on releasing it on a cart?

[kentosama]

We are currently thinking about the weapon system. I think I'm going back to the Thunder Force system by adding the ability to use a special weapon. In fact, I think especially to take again the idea of ​​The Revenge of Shinobi where it is possible to choose a super attack (protection, destruction, improved speed, sacrifice). This would bring a touch of originality.

We have a lot of ideas and things to put in place. For example, I was very impressed with Gleylancer's flygin trough space, so I'm going to integrate that into IRENA after developing and testing a demo.



I had a problem with the design of this "firework" effect, but thanks to KAOT's advice, we were able to make the effect more striking.

The music on the stars demo from the game Mercs.

There are a lot of things that we will integrate and I would like to keep them secret so as not to spoil you.

We also have the first illustrations of Celina that should not coming too late and we thought of things that will really please the fan of the Mega Drive.

Well heard, a release in cartridge is expected and I would do anything to offer you beautiful editions.

Genesis Does!

[Vetea]

Very good job Kento !!

[Vludi]

The ship kinda reminds me of Earth Defense Force. Good luck with the project.

[kentosama]

Hello, I'm coming to the news.

IRENA has started receiving a graphic update and I am very happy with the result.

Expect significant changes, especially at the level of the player's ship and all his enemies.

I can not show you at the moment, but I will present a video some time before proposing a playable demo.

I sincerely wanted to thank everyone who supported us through their comments, suggestions, emails, social media posts and blogs. It's very important for us !

[Pyron]

sounds good.. keep going kentosama!

[kentosama]

Hello,
I share a screenshot that is a very slight overview of the latest changes on IRENA. We have changed a lot of things including the player ship, enemies, bullets and gfx.

We continue to work with the strong determination even if we know that it will be very difficult to match the great hits on Mega Drive.

We decided to integrate original concepts into the gameplay that should delight players looking for new features. Do not be afraid, IRENA remains a traditional shmup as we like them.

If you like our work and want to support us, remember that you can make donations by going to the IRENA website (https://www.irena.genku.net). We plan to change the domain name soon.

Thank you for your trust and interest in our work.

[GameUser-16-32-128]

It's too bad you didn't stick with the "chunky" ship design, because I was quite fond of it. I think to make your game better, you should come up with a special game play feature. For example, in Ikaruga, you have the ability to switch "sides", in Psyvariar you have "buzzing", and Gaiares has the ability to steal enemy power. Right now it just looks like a typical shooter, nothing special. I wish you all the best!

[kentosama]

Greeting ! First of all, thank you for your frankness and interest in IRENA.

I am perfectly confident that at this stage of development, IRENA looks like a classic shoot'em up. We are still very far from being able to talk about a real game at the moment, we are just starting to get out of the prototype phase.

We study a lot of concepts and it's a good thing we have a solid story with the ability to choose two different ends. Note that I decided to integrate into the game a system of temporary powers allowing the player to switch between a magnetic shield, a devastating attack from the ground and an increased speed of the ship making the enemies shots fired more slowly.

Today, it is extremely difficult to revolutionize the genre that was at its peak in the 90s and early 2000s. It would be very presumptuous for our first project to claim to create a game at the same level or even better than the big hits of the time, but we hope to satisfy the majority Mega Drive fans.

If players like IRENA, be sure we will consider a much more ambitious sequel, but remember that we are a small team and this is our first Mega Drive game. We work on our free time, by passion and we do not have a budget, but we do our best to provide you with a quality game, even if it seems too classic.

[kentosama]

I propose you this new WIP video which shows the progression of the development. Many things have changed, but we still have work before dec out a demo. I hope you like it.

[nihilblack]

Looking fine, but that biker looks like a giant in comparisson to the player's ship.

[kentosama]

Maybe it's a big mecha rider?

[kentosama]

The demo come soon !

This is our last wip video where you can see some ameliorations :

[nihilblack]

Still... those riders that look like something out of Contra totally break the sense of scale of the game. Ask any graphic artist. Everything else looks nice.