News - Spicy new Nanostray 2 (DS) details
Posted by
Burk Frey
at 02:21:34 PM EST on 3.1.2007.
Shin'en, the team behind the moderately successful
Nanostray, recently spoke with a Spanish gaming site about the upcoming sequel. Shin'en effects guru Manfred Linzner offered up several interesting (and highly impressive, if true) technical tidbits.
When asked about
Nanostray 2's graphical improvements over the original, Linzner responded:
"Our R&D discovered that the DS graphics hardware can actually do quite more things than the technical specs tell.
Using some tricks, we were able to use the hardware to create a number of new of 'shaders' that are not available in any other DS game so far. Our graphics system can do phong shaded textures, multi-texturing, dual texture and environment mapping, 'zbuffer off' writes, real-time lighted particles and some other stuff.
A lot of work also has gone into the particle system. Whereas Nanostray 1 used just some dozen particles on screen, Nanostray 2 often uses a couple of hundred. The new particle engine is not only eyecandy- all particles can now also have physical behavior to allow things like gravity and collision."
He also noted that Nanostray 2
doubles the polygon count of the original, and will run at 60fps. If Shin'en can work all of those features into the final product, Nanostray 2 will be a graphical powerhouse on the DS. But if any developer can do it, it's them. Shin'en has a history of impressive shooters on Nintendo's handhelds-
Iridion 3D and
Iridion II pushed the GBA hardware like few other games, and the first Nanostray (DS) was no slouch in its own right.
A few gameplay details also surfaced during the course of the interview:
-The horizontal and vertical stages will change every level.
-No online play, but online worldranking (via PC) is in, and 2 player local multi is back.
-The touchscreen will not be used "while the player is busy with action". (Yay!)
-Nanostray 2 will feature new, cool cinematics between stages.
All in all, Nanostray 2 looks to be progressing wonderfully. Stay tuned to GAF for more details.
Source: NeoGAF forums
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matters 3.2.2007 at 04:43:57 PM
I started playing my copy of Nanostray again the other day and I'm glad I did. It's actually not bad. There is a lot that I wish they did differently but it's still a fun game. I can't wait until 2 comes out.
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dacuk 3.2.2007 at 12:35:59 PM
This article makes me think if Shin'en would like to do a Ikaruga port to the DS.....
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dj tempora 3.2.2007 at 11:51:52 AM
@Darc:
Unfortunately no release date has been announced, to my knowledge. This is pure speculation, but I'd say expect it around June-August.
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darc requiem 3.2.2007 at 11:23:19 AM
I hope Shin'en decides to make some Wii titles. Since they are actually taking advantage of the DS hardware with the Nanostray series, they'd actually be able to show us what a Wii game should look like. (Glares at Ubisoft) Any word when Nanonstray 2 will see release. I'm curious to see how it plays and I never got around to the first game.
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siraileron 3.2.2007 at 11:16:26 AM
I haven't played the first one, but this news is damn sexy.
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mar 3.2.2007 at 10:05:38 AM
I'm also very much looking forward to this. While Nanostray can't hold a candle to any decent arcade or console shmup, for a portable shmup it is very playable, and has the added benefit of virtually no competiton on DS. If they can improve on the original game at all, I'll be all over this.
Yay for world ranking!
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dj tempora 3.2.2007 at 09:52:47 AM
Yeah, I'm pretty much the same as everyone else- as in, I enjoyed the first one (decent enough shmup) and I'm REALLY looking forward to 2.
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rattustheratt 3.2.2007 at 03:43:41 AM
I love Nanostray! It was a great old-school experience for me. Although it was tough I finished it on Normal. But that's the furthest I can get. The higher difficulty levels and the Challenges are too much for me. Haven't completed a single one! Nanostray 2, Akwaaba!
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bluelander 3.2.2007 at 01:18:18 AM
I'll definately be purchasing this one. I'm always amazed to see what Shin'en is able to pull off.
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moncappy 3.1.2007 at 11:34:57 PM
I am really looking forward to this game. From the screens I have seen the game does look quite impressive visually.
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g_d 3.1.2007 at 04:09:02 PM
Nanostray was a decent shmup. I'd prefer something more like Ikaruga, but for an early DS title I enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to this new installment.
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jayb222 3.1.2007 at 03:55:43 PM
It's good to see a real shooter being worked on in this day in age. It seems like it'll be a really good one too.
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bidingtime 3.1.2007 at 03:41:50 PM
Nice to see a dev pushing DS to the limits. Ironically, I was really interested in Nanostray when it was new but it was impossible to find, and when a copy showed up recently, I had lost interest because there are so many other games to choose from.
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