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Post by gliptitude on Apr 9, 2013 1:41:07 GMT -5
Strange game I had never seen or heard of until today called Juno First. Spotted it in demo mode (on a multicab) from across a bar, and eagerly walked over to try it.
Perspective view vertical shooter with a vector-like environment and a pretty unique mechanic to it.
The play field has hash mark lines which shift in perspective as you move your ship left, right or BACKWARDS.
Anybody ever play this game?
I think it might actually have more in common with my Astral-Clewe Vectrex game concept than any other game that I've seen.
**EDIT** - ooops, please move this if necessary. I was thinking "coin-op", but overlooking "vector". ... It's not a vector game.
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Post by Mayhem on Apr 9, 2013 4:57:37 GMT -5
Yeah, I've played it a fair bit. Once you get a few levels in, it starts to get a bit hectic!
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Post by TrekMD on Apr 9, 2013 6:06:11 GMT -5
Yes, this game was ported to the 2600 as a homebrew and that was my introduction to it. It is a fun shooter and it does get pretty crazy after a few levels.
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Post by gliptitude on Apr 9, 2013 10:09:13 GMT -5
Well, do you guys agree that (the arcade version) has a pretty unique movement to it?
It made a pretty big impression on me, not so much the goals and challenges involved, but just moving around and the way movement is depicted. I thought it was very stylish and distinctive. (and would make an awesome Vectrex game).
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Post by gamezone on Apr 9, 2013 11:27:50 GMT -5
Had never heard of the game. It does remind me of Beamrider by Activision. Attachments:
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Post by sj on Apr 9, 2013 11:32:40 GMT -5
I've got the 2600 version of Beamrider. Pretty good game. Looks good also.
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Post by VectorX on Apr 9, 2013 11:55:05 GMT -5
Yeah, I had thought of Beamrider too, but that might only be due to the similar looks, the two games might not play alike at all.
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Post by gamezone on Apr 9, 2013 12:16:22 GMT -5
I like Beamrider and wonder if it could be converted to the Vectrex?
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Post by VectorX on Apr 9, 2013 12:22:52 GMT -5
I imagine it'd have to be scaled down and/or someone who really knows Vectrex programming to be able to get it to work well (due to slowdown with too many onscreen vectors at once).
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Post by gamezone on Apr 9, 2013 12:26:29 GMT -5
I wondered that also.
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Post by gliptitude on Apr 9, 2013 15:06:37 GMT -5
Hey thanks for getting the conversation going guys. Beamrider does look like a similar game. Looking at still pictures of Juno First online, it doesn't look nearly as cool as it did in real life. It was really the way the (dotted) lines shifted when you moved that looked so cool to me. The ship is stationary in the environment until you choose to move in a direction, and stops moving when you stop pressing the joystick. Since the lines are dotted, you can see them scrolling when you move forward or backward. (Moving BACKWARD in a game of this type seems very unique to me.) Moving side to side causes the lines to change angles (see attached photo), since it is a perspective view. I'm also wondering what is the meaning of the title Juno First. It sounds possibly like a mythological theme, which would be another similarity to the game I'm designing. Attachments:
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Post by TrekMD on Apr 9, 2013 19:49:19 GMT -5
Yes, I guess it does have some similarities in how you play with Beamrider but the movement is certainly different. Here is a video of the 2600 version of Juno First.
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Post by gliptitude on Apr 10, 2013 12:04:01 GMT -5
^_ Whoa that looks like Beamrider. Definitely different from the arcade version, especially with none of the shifting side to side graphics I was talking about.
That 2600 version is interesting too though. The way they space the horizontal lines makes it look like you are scaling a huge cylinder, (or a planet like in Starhawk). Is it fun to move backwards in this version?
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Post by TrekMD on Apr 10, 2013 12:34:34 GMT -5
Given the limitations of the 2600, the game is pretty good. It's interesting being able to move back and forth in the playing field and seeing the thrust appear as you move in either direction. Though it does look like Beamrider, the ship's movement as well as the enemies' is different than in Beamrider.
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Post by gamezone on Apr 11, 2013 9:06:20 GMT -5
What is really amazing is how the 2600 can do a game of this type.
A really good programmer and a really good system to work with make an obscure game a hit.
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