Megadrive Kickstarter Tanglewood Adds Dreamcast Stretch Goal

You've probably seen Tanglewood mentioned on various games sites and social media by now. It's a brand new Sega Megadrive platformer from Sheffield-based indie studio Big Evil Corporation. Assuming the role of a fox-like creature called Nymn, players are tasked with traversing the eponymous Tanglewood and safely returning to the pack. From the Kickstarter campaign page:

Set in the realm of Tanglewood, the game follows a young creature, Nymn, separated from the pack after the sun sets. Unable to get back to the safety of the family's underground home, Nymn must find a way to survive the night terrors and get to morning. Tanglewood’s world is a dangerous one after dark; guiding Nymn you must use your skills of evasion, traps and trickery to defeat predators.

- Tanglewood Kickstarter Page

The game looks like a rather interesting platform adventure with visuals that really do invite the ageing Megadrive hardware to do some new tricks, and the team behind Tanglewood has already added some pretty intriguing tiers for backers. One of these is the ability to download a ROM of Tanglewood for use on Everdrives and emulators, which is a really cool thing to do.

The Kickstarter has four days to run at the time of writing, and Big Evil Corporation has today added a new stretch goal - a Dreamcast port. Further to this, a 'Dreamcast HD' port is described as a stretch goal at the £75,000 point, to be developed on a genuine Dreamcast dev kit and with totally reworked and redrawn graphics.

Shenmue III Kickstarter Update August 2016

It's all been a bit quiet on the Shenmue III front recently. Apart from the odd snarky comment I've heard on various podcasts about how shit it's inevitably going to be* when it finally drops, there's been precious little information forthcoming from Ys Net's headquarters in Japan. That changed today though, with a Kickstarter update titled 'From the Dev Room.' The update only really consists of a short video where several developers are interrupted and asked to show the camera what they're working on though, so don't get too excited.

One guy shows that he's working on a recreation of the river jumping section from Shenmue II and demonstrates some wireframe animations of Ryo trying his best not to get his trainers wet; while a colleague shows off a section in which Ryo is avoiding being crushed by falling rocks. I've taken a few screen grabs of the video and dotted them around here, but you should probably go and check out the video on the Kickstarter page too. Oh, and donate while you're there if you haven't already.

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs Screens Revealed

Just a quick one this. You may be aware of the recently crowd-funded indie title Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs; we covered it recently but had a few reservations due to the lack of any gameplay footage or screen shots. It's saying a lot when a game with a fully playable demo (Xenocider) can't get funded but one without so much as a screen shot can...but hey ho. That's all changed now though, as the Saber Rider Kickstarter page has recently been updated and now includes a couple of in-game shots that hint at a game with more than a passing resemblance to 16-bit favourite Sunset Riders.

Further screens show some of the aerial manoeuvres the playable characters will be able to pull of, and these hint that the game may feature gameplay similar to Gunlord. The update goes on to explain that a lack of progress on Saber Rider was down to the lead developer having some health issues, and naturally we wish him a speedy recovery. For the time being though, these screens should tide any backers over and reassure you that work is continuing on the game.

Source: Dreamcast News / Kickstarter

Xenocider Kickstarter Cancelled

Well, this sucks monstrous amounts of putrid ass. News has reached us that Retro Sumus' awesome-looking Sin & Punishment/Space Harrier clone has been cancelled with six days to go on the Kickstarter project. Pretty much everyone here at the Junkyard backed the game in some form or another so this is a bitter pill to swallow, but we're sure this isn't the end for Xenocider. A similar fate befell Leona's Tricky Adventures and after a round of alternative crowd funding, and we all know how that story ended (read our massive review of the final game here). Here's the rather somber update from Kickstarter:

"Hey guys. This won't take many of you by surprise, but we think it's safe to assume we won't be reaching the funding goal in the remaining 6 days...

We are cancelling the campaign today. We will keep working on Xenocider, on alternative ways of making it happen, because we love our project and are deeply proud of what we were (and still are) intending to create.

Those of you who were fans or followers of Retro Sumus already know we like keeping you guys informed of what we're up to. We have no plans of changing that. This is only a good bye for now. We will be back, and we will be better.

Above all, thank you. We deeply appreciate every single one of your pledges, comments, messages, tweets and suggestions. The Dreamcast scene is still amazing, and exciting, and we are proud to be a part of it. And we would like to thank every backer, journalist and developer who gave us a hand. You all know who you are :)

Thank you so much for your support."

- Carlos Oliveros, Retro Sumus

On a personal level this really disappoints me because I know first hand how passionate Carlos, Chui and the rest of the Retro Sumus team are having spoken with them many times, and I even agreed to appear in the Kickstarter video such was my faith in the quality of this game. However, all is not lost and we do hope Retro Sumus bounce back with an alternative way of getting Xenocider off the ground (no pun intended) and into Dreamcast consoles around the world. Furthermore, I think the world needs to be able to shoot me in the face for all the bollocks I come out with on this blog!

Don't worry if you donated to make this a nightmarish reality - all donations will be refunded when I can remember my PayPal password!

Initial source: Sega Nerds

Alice Dreams Tournament Release Date Slips, Online Leaderboards & New Play Mode Revealed

May 22nd saw the release of a new update from the team working on the hotly anticipated Dreamcast Bomberman clone Alice Dreams Tournament. This update brings news both good and not so good; with the latter being that the game will no longer make its intended June shipping date. Reasons cited for this delay include the implementation of VMU functionality, the production of the 'making of' video, and other small bug fixes:

"It is important to be honest and tell you that we will not be ready in June. We still have promises to realize or terminate: the additional VMU interactions, the 'making of' and other small fixes."

 - Alice Dreams Website

While this is disappointing, it is commendable that Alice Dreams are being totally honest and transparent. While no firm release date has been given, I did reach out via Facebook to state that I'd really like to have the game playable at The Dreamcast Junkyard's stand at this years Play Expo Manchester in October, and they assured me it would be ready by then...so that's something at least.

New Xenocider Demo Adds Space Harrier Stage

So the Xenocider Kickstarter campaign is well under way and plenty of us Dreamcast owners have pledged to make this game a reality. If you haven't, I urge you to take a look at our previous posts on Retro Sumus' ambitious Space Harrier clone before heading over to the project page and lending your financial support. As we've already discussed, the Xenocider Kickstarter campaign allows prospective backers the unique opportunity to download a playable demo; but now Retro Sumus has gone one step further by updating the build to include a bonus 'Fantasy Land' stage that accurately mimics the first mission from Sega's famous arcade shooter.

This extra mode differs from the regular demo stage in that you can fly around the screen indefinitely and you don't have the ability to move a targeting reticule - you simply fire forward just as in the original Space Harrier. You can also run along the ground (watch out for trees!) and there are a couple of new enemies, explosions and sound effects that draw inspiration from Yu Suzuki's retro masterpiece. It's a really cool addition to the (already great) demo and hints at some of the bonus stages we can potentially expect in the final game. 

The original Space Harrier did make an appearance on the Dreamcast in various guises, but we missed out on a home port of Planet Harriers even though it was rumoured. Happily though, Xenocider looks like it could be the game to fill that void, and if you actually needed yet another reason to check out this project then surely this is it.

Grab the new Space Harrier demo by heading to the Xenocider Kickstarter update page and clicking on the 'playable demo' download link. You can then select the new stage from the main menu.

New Dreamcast Game Xenocider Hits Kickstarter With Playable Demo

As if you needed reminding, we've been closely following the development of Space Harrier/Sin & Punishment homage Xenocider for some time now. Coming from Spanish developer Retro Sumus, the game represents something of a leap forward for indie games on the Dreamcast as it features a fully polygonal engine built from the ground up for Sega's hardware. The good news is that the Kickstarter project to fund the final development and physical release of Xenocider has now been approved and gone live so it's up to us - the Dreamcast community - to get behind it and ensure it reaches the funding goal. There are a range of backer tiers, and as is the norm each will yield a different reward depending on the amount of money you pledge.

The goal stands at $92,000 in order to get Xenocider fully funded and the higher backer tiers feature such perks as having your own face transplanted into the game as a stage boss, bespoke models of the main protagonist Xara, and even limited edition customised Dreamcast consoles! Perhaps the most interesting part of this Kickstarter though, is that Retro Sumus isn't happy with simply showing potential backers what the game looks like. No, you can actually download a fully playable demo of Xenocider and play it on either PC, Mac...or Dreamcast.

Shenmue III Kickstarter Update Discusses Voice Acting & Logo Design

I know it's not really Dreamcast-related, but I thought it was worth sharing the news that Ys Net has updated its Shenmue III Kickstarter page. That said, pretty much all of us here at the 'Yard backed the Shenmue III project and we're sure many people who regularly visit this blog did too. Also, Shenmue is synonymous with the Dreamcast so I'm using that tenuous link to validate me sharing this here. The April 2016 update addresses some of the issues Shenmue fans have been vocal about, namely the design of the Shenmue III logo and the ability to switch between English and Japanese voice acting on the fly:

Before getting into the main part of the update, we would like to respond to two issues brought up by the community—the Shenmue III logo and voice audio options.

First for the Shenmue III logo. There have been many comments from Shenmue fans wanting the logo to match the original logos from Shenmue 1& 2. We have heard your calls and will of course put it on the to-do list. This particular issue will take some time, however, as game development is currently taking a front seat to other design issues. Designers and other parties will also need to be consulted with, so before we can give a more definite answer, we would ask you please give us some time.

The second issue receiving a lot of attention concerns the voice audio options. Many people have asked for there to be an option to switch between Japanese and English voicing. We understand how strongly people feel about this feature, and it is something we would like to include as well, but the inclusion of a dual audio option will ultimately come down to budgetary limitations. Whether it will be added or not, will need to be decided as development progresses.

- Shenmue III April 2016 Kickstarter Update

The rest of the update introduces Shenmue III's environment and architecture designer Manabu Takimoto, and shares some images of him at work with Yu Suzuki. 

"Stay inside the lines!"

As mentioned above this isn't strictly Dreamcast news, but as so many people who are fans of Shenmue have a history with/are still Dreamcast fans, we felt this was worth documenting here. Furthermore, we spoke to Shenmue super-fan Adam Koralik and the voice of Ryo Hazuki Corey Marshall on our podcast recently, so there's another tenuous link and a shameless plug for the DreamPod!

Source: Kickstarter