StarGunner: Zile's Revenge

Do any of you remember the good ol’ days of gaming where games like Duke Nukem 2 blew your mind away and 3D games like Wolfenstein were still in their infancy stages? Back then, games weren’t measured by graphics or storylines, they were measued by playability and “fun level.” However, as the maniacal forces of DOOM came into existance, the days of the sidescroller became history. One company with 2D roots would soon befall this fate. Its name was Apogee. But before it abandoned the genre, it released one last game. StarGunner

Deep within the Andromeda Galaxy, a peaceful race known as the Amdarans colonized entire systems. In time, their economic power in space was unrivaled, and the Amdarans became unperturbed in their own decadence. That was, of course, before a gigantic fleet of hive vessels arrived, known simply as the Barakians. Lacking foresight into such a large migration of creatures, the Amdarans showed a lackluster interest in their colonization attempts and jokingly gave them a single planet far out of reach of their influence.
This sole mistake cost billions of Amdaran lives, for the Barakians were a race of locusts, rapidly spreading from one system to another, using up all resources available, and leaving spheres of lifeless rock in their wake. As time went by, the Barakians turned their planet into a fortress, complete with space stations, bases on the surface, and underwater shelters. While the Amdarans lived comfortably, the Barakians forged an unstoppable war machine. They made their planet their new home world, renamed it Zile, after their god of deliverance, and took on the name Zilions. Their goal: to take over Amdaran space, the richest area in the galaxy.
Without warning, thousands upon thousands of ships eradicated Amdaran cities and lives. Merely a few days after the initial attack, the Amdaran death toll was tallied over ten billion. Finally, the Amdaran industrial power was set into motion. But it was too late for them. Lacking an army sufficient to repel the invasion, defeat was imminent. Their last hope was to send their best forces around the invasion force and attack the Zilions’ world. This offensive was led by elite pilots known as “StarGunners”.
After many battles, only a single StarGunner remained. It was this pilot who flew into the core of Zile destroyed the Zilions’ massive fusion reactor, obliterating their planet. The Amdarans praised their new hero, and declared victory. But they were sorely mistaken…

The original game left off here, but was discontinued. It still stands as the last game Apogee has ever made. I always wanted to see what would happen next, how they would expand on the once popular genre. Now, there is a chance I will carry it on myself. I present to you, StarGunner: Zile’s Revenge:

Following the destruction of Zile, the remaining Zilion space fleets evacuated. They passed the threshold of the Andromeda Galaxy and traveled through the vastness of space for many, many years.
The Amdarans underwent a millennium of prosperity, carefully avoiding their previous opulence. Still, their space fleet was decimated and they lacked their previous industrial power. But to them, there were no worries; the Zilion menace was defeated.
Again, the Amdarans had made a fatal mistake. As they rebuilt their shattered civilization, the remaining Zilions ventured into the far reaches of space. Within that very millennium, they returned to the Andromeda Galaxy with their hive mother ship. Considering the Amdarans a threat to their species, the new Zilion menace quickly moved into Amdaran space and began their rampage once more. Their mothership had the power to destroy entire worlds, and that was exactly what they planned to do. Amdaran space was no longer worth the cost of the hive. Instead, it was subject for termination.
Before anyone knew what happened, five Amdaran planets were decimated, another ten would disappear within a year. Next on the Zilion’s list was Amdara, the Amdaran home world. If the planet was destroyed, all hope for a reprisal would be diminished.
As the fierce battles wage on, and over, the Amdaran home world, the last StarGunner takes flight one last time, his target: the entire Zilion species…

STARGUNNER: ZILE’S REVENGE PROGRESS STATEMENT:
Storyline: 100%
Overall Design: 35%
Sprites: 0%
Engine: 0%

POSITIONS:
Game Designer - Gold Leader
Model/Sprite Designer(s) - Gold Leader
Background Designer(s) - (Open)
Game Programmer(s) - (Open)

adromina is a tv show right?

pretty cool…

It’s a Galaxy… Ever heard of the Milky Way’s sister galaxy? Well , that’s it.
BTW, what a fast reply.

never heard of that…

btw i’ know i’m fast! :wink:

I need some help from the public here. Where do you guys put your fan game demos/betas/alphas online so you can download them? Plus, I need, really a vote, to know if this would ever be worthwhile for a fangame (please take into acount my inability to program it but make everything else)

Hm. Well, I use my free angelfire account for most downloady purposes, but the bandwith and space leave something to be desired. Unless you wanna pay a monthly fee, that’s probably out.

The game itself? It sounds pretty neat!

Thanks for the info, Jetman, but you’re missing the point. I CAN’T make it by myself and probably nobody will try to help me. I’m asking, really, could it even be possible?

Edit: I’ll start posting pics of the old game, but they suck since they don’t show most of the action. I currently don’t have my old computer up so I can’t take screenshots of my own game.

games dont just come from under the pillow over night…look at P2D for example…
the games been worked on fo 2 years, and they still havent finished the frigate section…its gonna take some work…just warning you.

What have I been speaking this whole time? THAT’S THE POINT! I don’t know if it’ll even come to fruitition since I can’t do the most vital part of the project, programming.

BTW, the engine for this would DEFINATELY not be as complex as P2D…

Edit: I never noticed this, but in June of '05, StarGunner was released as freeware. I also noticed that it was the last game with the company name “Apogee”. Damn, this would make one HELL of a tribute… Anyways, I’m downloading it now to see if it’ll run on this computer.

that looks nice but why wont u make it with 3d models?

3d models are very tricky

Ugh… If you looked in my (now dead) image thread, you’d see a very early version of the StarGunner ship. And YES, the original WAS made in 3D, they were just ported to a 2D sprite sheet. By the way, what gave you that idea? Those pics up there aren’t even mine!

I’m still working on the models, plus it’ll take time to port them to 2D AND give them the sprited engine exhaust.

I have alot of things to do, so I’ll be brief. Before I go any farther, I need to know what the hell I’m doing with the SG ship. Of all the aspects of the game, this MUST be the most exact to the existing game. It is the only link between them as of now. So, I need to know how it looks, primarily the cockpit.

Ok, on top is an extremely early one, much closer to the ingame starship.
On the bottom is the one I used in my thread. I need to know which one is better.

(Oh yeah, the ingame one differs from the title screen one: )

Ok, I don’t feel like having the burden of yet another floundering fangame on my record, especially one that has some importance to me. Therefore, I’ve decided to make, and show, everything I can do until someone (hopefully a few) comes and helps me with the engine.

This is the cockpit, finalized. It’s a balance between the two on the post above this one. It looks ok during gameplay due to the size it must have.

The ship with the trademark Tri-Engine. The small one on the bottom is about what the ingame sprite shoud look like.

The ship with the big Hydrogen Ioniser. Again, the little shot is what it should look like in game.

More will come as it is created. I’m about to recieve what all teens dread (braces) so I need something to keep me occupied. This will work rather nicely.

Wow…this game is coming out great!

Since M:N is delayed because of me having to learn to program, I guess I could help out in my spare time…

Man, how can you help me when I NEED a programmer? XP Besides, I don’t know what you mean about it coming out great since I don’t have much ready. At this point I’m trying to discern what I’m going to make different from the original, then I have to design the enemies + bosses + levels = hours of 3d modeling X hours and hours of turning them into sprites = I STILL NEED AN ENGINE! I have one tough job ahead of me, but I’m doing it anyway to keep my mind off of things. Yay for braces! :smiley:

I’m getting braces pretty soon… is it painful? :neutral_face:

Well, um… good luck on your game?

Thanks for the support, but please stay on topic. Thanks.

Braces aren’t the end of the world you know…

Well, braces suck (sorry but I’m being blunt) They’re more of an annoyance than a painful apparatus, but I guess I’ll get used to them.
Ok, I managed to get my stuff through to ImageShack (which, too, is a hunk of crap) and here’s what I’ve got:

The StarGunner Title with “Zile’s Revenge” underneath.


The StarGunner Ships, each with the respective engines: Default, Standard Impulser, Hydrogen Ioniser, Megapulse 2000.

Ok, the reason they’re pictured like that is because you can’t steal them and use them for 2d sidescrollers. Please remember, the ship engines are subject to change since the storyline dictates more advanced equipment due to time differences.

Why does default look the coolest? They all do actually, but, default is awesome. Did you add a new engine type? It’s coming along qute well.

You are referring to the one on the top left, right? Yeah, it’s supposed to be that way. Unfortunately, I might have to remove it for my game since, comparatively, it’s a millenium old >_> Also, I haven’t added any new engines… yet. I’m still missing the Gravdis 5 (best engine) but I may change stuff. It depends. I’m still brainstorming on new weapons and engines, some will replace older ones as well. Plus, I have to revamp a few of the more “famous” enemies and then make tons of my own including bosses… Any heplful ideas would be… well, helpful :slight_smile: