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Managed to beat Orobas and got the completion screen even though I haven't beaten the Sarcophagus, playing on Intended. The 3rd and 4th phase in particular... it's a pattern that's pretty familiar but still gives a lot of trouble. I'm not as experienced with danmaku as other but would agree that the player or bullet hitboxes seem a bit big, maybe I'm just too used to/spoiled by other games but I had some moments where I felt I could have grazed by and ended up taking a hit. I didn't know the focus mode concentrated your fire at first, but it didn't seem like too big of a difference.


Beyond that, I like it a lot. Never had issues with the z axis which is typically a problem in games like this. Dialogue was cute and quirky without resorting to "my fellow gamers" antics, and I enjoyed the obscure references (that I actually knew). The NPCs are really endearing and I hope they won't be forgotten as you progress further. The melancholy music seemed like an odd choice at first but after exploring the setting a bit more it all fits together. Didn't encounter any bugs, even though I went out of my way to mess with things to see if anything went wrong. Oh, and the bloodmurder color scheme could use a bit more contract for the highlighted option.

Hey, thanks again for playing!

Even though he's something that nearly every player will encounter, Sarcoph Augustus is technically an optional boss. So it's not unusual that you got the completion screen without beating him.

Yeah, the amount by which the focus mode concentrates your first is fairly subtle for balance reasons. For regular STGs usually the trick as far as positioning goes is to keep your player aligned with the enemies / bosses in order to deal optimal damage. Since Vacant Kingdom has 360 degree aim, that dynamic can't be the same. So instead, the risk-reward dynamic for positioning is based more on distance from the boss, and the amount by which your bullets arc outwards is critical for tuning that. Still there might be something I can do to make it more obvious that focusing concentrates your fire. Maybe longer bullets would emphasize the direction more? I'll play around with it.

I do have some plans on the front of NPCs not being forgotten. It's sort of alluded to in Prologue For A..., but I won't say for fear of over-promising. Good to hear that the moodiness music grew on you, I was worried that some people might think it clashed too much with the relative lightheartedness of the story. Noted on the highlight color contrast, little suggestions like that are very helpful!