Vector Vacuum is a free shmup that pays homage to various shmups out there. It utilises a random generation algorithm by QCF Design to generate ships much like their game Spacehack.
Vector Vacuum 0.9 is considered the demo version, and you can play it for free for as long as you want, to puchase version 1.0 read below.
How to Play
Controls: The controls are fairly simple, for movement you use the arrow keys, and for actions you use the spacebar (this currently only allows you to drop into the game).
Pickups: The pickups are depicted by letters of the alphabet that slowly move to the bottom of the screen, you will have to experiment for yourself to see which letters are what weapons, but you should note that "h" and "H" pickups heal you. If you pick up the same weapon as the one you are currently holding, you will upgrade your weapon. Bear in mind that picking up a different weapon will then reset your weapon level to 1.
UI: At the top left of the screen is your score, this indicates your progression in the game. If you die, or the AI takes over, at the very bottom of the screen there will be a message to let you know this, and you will be able to press spacebar to drop in. The blue ship is the ship you control, with the arrow keys, and likewise the blue bullets are the bullets you shoot. The red ships are your enemies, and their bullets are green. The yellow numbers above and below the ships on screen are their health values.
Concepts: When an enemy dies it "explodes" creating shrapnel, this will at a later stage server a greater purpose, but for now, the shrapnel does nothing to you, but does deal damage to enemies it collides with. Crashing into enemies will do their health plus an extra 1 damage to your ship, so while you can kill them with this method, be sure to watch your health. Certain weapons can be better then others in certain situations, but you currently have similar weapons to your enemies, so take note of how certain weapons work and then you can decide which weapons you like best accordingly. As is typical with various SHMUPs where lots of bullets are shot at the player, the player has a pretty small collision area, while enemy ships use a bounding rectangle, so keep this in mind when you have issues surviving when trying to kill enemies.
Scoring: Your score is based on the amount of damage you deal, if you survive a boss battle the score you have become permanent, otherwise if you die you revert back to the score you got before the boss battle. (There is currently no indication of the score you could possibly lose by dying yet)
Downloads
Version 0.9 ~4.2mb .zip - Free to play Demo
Version 1.0 coming soon!
Media
Vector Vacuum: Introduction (YouTube, LQ)
Vector Vacuum: Introduction (Youtube, HQ)
Image Gallery
Support us on Facebook
Official Vector Vacuum Facebook Page
Support QCF Design
Official QCF Design web site