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(http://crystalshard.net/img/vector.png)
http://crystalshard.net/zip/VECTOR.ZIP (http://crystalshard.net/zip/VECTOR.ZIP)

Vector Vendetta is a fast-paced shooting game with retro-style vector graphics. Using your mighty triangular ship, defeat the evil polygons of doom! It features twenty enemies, fifteen powerups, various modes and difficulties, and an end boss.

The aim here is to create a fun "coffee break" game using simple elements. This is a beta version, in that everything is implemented but subject to feedback. Please tell me what you think of it, thanks!

(updated October 5th per the feedback below)

Oh god, those graphics are orgasmic

Er, I'll take that as a compliment? Or does that mean you're using sticky keys?

The game is decent. I'm not terribly fond of mouse controls, but that is just me. I like the variety in enemies, and I like some of the graphical effects, such as the room transition, but the graphics on the whole are a little bit unattractive to me. I think perhaps there is a more exciting enemy death effect than that "grow really big" thing you could use. And the motion trails look a little weird to me sometimes. Maybe it's the lack of anti-aliasing.

Other than that... couple of tweaks you may want to consider - I saw an enemy get stuck in a wall (one of the teal ones, if that helps). Also, I think that you should make the bluish stars shoot out their little minions perpendicularly to where the player shot them... this would prevent what I think is an unfair player death.

Also, the player ship movement feels somewhat sluggish. And the powerups don't quite seem to work for me...? Do I have to hold down the button? And maybe you could make it clearer that the glowing things are powerups, not enemies.

Nice programming, though, and nice number of options.

I enjoyed this, especially the variety in the enemies and the powerups. My favourite enemy is the BFG with the beam of insta-death :)

The controls felt awkward but I got used to them over time - I tried mouse only, but found it a bit useless since you can't retreat; keyboard only and keyboard+mouse were both OK.

It took me a while to understand the powerups. When you activate a powerup there is a visual effect, I thought that that effect was the powerup and that when it turned off I had somehow deactivated the powerup. It was only once I bought the 'retro' that I realised that most of the powerups were permanent.

As a mini-maxing power gamer I'd like to be able to tell which powerups are permanent and which are one-use-only because I hate wasting my points on one-use-only powers.

Thanks for your feedback! I made some changes and did a new upload. The link is in the top post.

Hm, I suppose I could go for "fall to the bottom of the screen" or "explode in a shower of pixels" instead, would that be an improvement?

I think they also get out again if you wait a few seconds. Was it one of the triangles (a "wonk")?

Done.

Hm, good point. I changed the mouse to have left button move forward, right button move backward, and middle button (or mousewheel) to trigger the powerups. In case anyone still uses two-button mice, they can use space bar for powerups as well.

I've added some help text. Basically, every powerup except for the first (warp) has two permanent levels followed by one instant effect that can be used over and over again.