Torus Trooper

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Torus Trooper

Developer(s)	ABA Games / Kenta Cho
License	BSD License
Version	0.22
Platform(s)	Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Release date	November 11, 2004
Genre(s)	Fixed shooter/Tube shooter
Mode(s)	Single player
Input methods	Keyboard, joystick

Torus Trooper is a fast-paced abstract scrolling shooter game created by Kenta Cho. The game features 3D graphics and a style similar to that of games such as Tempest. The game is Free software and is available for public download at the website of ABA Games.

Torus Trooper is written in the D programming language.

1 Gameplay
2 Critical acclaim
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

A player uses the Z-cannon.

Players control a futuristic ship as they fly at breakneck speed through an infinite tube resembling a torus, through wave after wave of enemy ships. A time limit is imposed, during which the player is to acquire as many points as possible and progress to succeeding levels. Points are acquired by destroying enemy ships. Additional time may be earned by achieving benchmark scores and by destroying certain high-value targets. A large time penalty is imposed if enemy fire should destroy the player's ship. When time expires, the game is over.

Enemy ships appear from ahead, also flying forward but at slower speeds, and fire randomized arrays of projectile patterns, which the player must evade. Occasionally, the player comes across a boss with strong offense and defense. Defeating bosses scores high points, and unlocks further levels of ever increasing difficulty.

The player has two weapons available. The first is an auto-repeating rapid-fire cannon, a familiar feature of many shoot-em-ups. Torus Trooper's unique twist is that, the longer the cannon is used, the more powerful and complicated its projectile spread becomes. In addition, the player's ship also increases in speed. The second, much stronger weapon is the "charge shot", which can destroy multiple ships at once as well as their projectiles as it travels forward. However, this weapon must be "charged" via a prolonged button press, during which the player's ship slows down and no other shots are fired, leaving it momentarily defenseless.

Three difficulty levels are offered -- Normal, Hard, and Extreme -- differing mainly by the default speed of the player's ship.

[edit] Critical acclaim

A player launches a charged projectile from the X weapon.

Macworld praised the geometric complexity and smoothness of the graphics in Torus Trooper, describing them as "part psychedelic and part cyberpunk" and concluding that Kenta Cho is one of today’s best independent game programmers. ^[1]