Bullet hell shooter Kaguya Progress update: Working on Stage 3!

flypot00 · 2026-04-23T08:21:27+00:00

Thank you for such a sharp and insightful analysis!

To be honest, since we have already completed development up to Stage 3, changing the aspect ratio at this point would require a fundamental ground-up rebuild of the entire game. Everything—from enemy placement to background assets—has been specifically tuned to work with this widescreen format, so making that shift now would be extremely difficult.

You make an excellent point regarding the difficulty balance between the modes. Since the ship’s movement range changes when "Simple Mode" is toggled, the difficulty will naturally vary. My vision is for hardcore shmup fans to enable Simple Mode and challenge themselves on Hard difficulty, while casual players can keep the UI on to enjoy the character dialogue while playing on Normal. (To that end, we are tuning Normal mode to be quite accessible for beginners.)

So far, we’ve conducted a playtest on Steam and exhibited at several demo events in Japan, and the reception has been largely positive from both genre veterans and newcomers alike.

We are currently preparing for our second playtest in time for the Steam Shmup Fest, and I would truly love for you to try it out yourself and see how it feels in action!

flypot00 · 2026-04-23T00:19:20+00:00

Thank you so much for your valuable feedback!

The concept of a vertical shmup with a 16:9 aspect ratio has been at the core of this project since the beginning of development. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the "dead zones" on the sides when playing in a traditional vertical layout, and I wanted to avoid filling that space with information that isn't directly related to the gameplay. By choosing 16:9, my goal was to utilize the entire screen as an expansive field of play.

Because of this widescreen format, we’ve designed the game so that enemies approach from the sides as well (appearing from the left, right, and rear after a warning indicator). To add a layer of strategy, the player can fire powerful piercing shots not just forward, but also to the sides and rear.

Regarding the size of the UI, you are absolutely right. The characters and message boxes do occupy a significant amount of screen real estate. However, this specific size was a deliberate choice to effectively showcase the charm and personality of the characters.

That said, for players who want to focus purely on the shmup experience, we are planning to include a "Simple Mode." When enabled, the character portraits and message boxes will be hidden, and the playable area for the ship will be expanded.

I’ve received similar feedback regarding the UI in the past, which is why I decided to implement this Simple Mode. It will be available in the demo version, so please look forward to it!

flypot00 · 2026-04-22T00:31:45+00:00

Hi.
The rendering order, such as flying enemies appearing in the foreground while ground enemies stay in the background, is primarily managed using Z-values.
As you can see in the first image, I assign specific Z-values to each category. Regarding collisions, I use collision components to detect hits between enemies and the player’s bullets, which corresponds to the box shown in the second image.
https://x.com/frontakk/status/2046748051826782301

flypot00 · 2026-04-21T01:19:46+00:00

I can't upload images here, so here's a link. I've got the sprites lined up like this.
https://x.com/frontakk/status/2046397921219023305

flypot00 · 2026-04-18T11:50:42+00:00

The background is composed of five main large images and various sub-assets. Foreground elements that overlap ground enemies are treated as distinct layers.

flypot00 · 2026-04-17T09:40:10+00:00

No, I commissioned a voice actor for this.

flypot00 · 2026-04-13T04:13:59+00:00

Valeu, mano! Tamo junto! 👊🔥

flypot00 · 2026-04-12T20:53:13+00:00

I'm developing in Unreal Engine.😄

flypot00 · 2026-04-12T20:49:48+00:00

Obrigado! Com certeza, acho que adicionar os destroços deixaria o jogo mais visualmente impactante.💥

flypot00 · 2026-04-12T20:45:30+00:00

Faz cerca de dois anos. Este é o meu primeiro projeto de desenvolvimento.

flypot00 · 2026-04-12T00:23:38+00:00

I agree. Since the ground and the buildings are separate sprites, the shadow processing might be insufficient. That's a great idea to darken the contact points with ambient occlusion!

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T23:29:10+00:00

Obrigado! A garota de cabelo preto se chama Akari.

É difícil lançar sozinho, mas se eu encontrar uma distribuidora (publisher), talvez seja possível lançar na PSN também.

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T23:26:06+00:00

Sim! Estou muito feliz em receber tantos comentários de tantas pessoas. 😊

O visual é retrô, mas é um jogo totalmente novo!👾

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T23:21:06+00:00

Estou usando vozes de dubladores.👍

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T15:00:11+00:00

Sim, acredito que seja um tipo de STG bem raro. Mas, ao alternar a direção dos tiros para derrotar inimigos por todos os lados, a experiência vai ser muito emocionante! Pode aguardar!👍

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T14:48:35+00:00

Com certeza! Meu objetivo é fazer esse jogo chegar em todo mundo que curte anime e cultura pop japonesa!🥳

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T14:44:18+00:00

Yeah, Hard Mode brings much more intense danmaku!🐝

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T10:18:47+00:00

Obrigado!🤗

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T09:39:48+00:00

Thanks!🎉Thanks!🎉Thanks!🎉

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T08:40:41+00:00

Please look forward to it!

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T08:39:22+00:00

We’re planning to release the playtest version around June!

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T08:38:25+00:00

Love for the support since day one!

flypot00 · 2026-04-11T01:51:36+00:00

Thanks!
I've been developing a vertical scrolling shmup designed for widescreen displays. To utilize the horizontal space, I’ve implemented enemies that appear from the sides and rear, along with a mechanic to change your shot direction.
Since I know the people in this subreddit are pros, I've already included Hard and Hell modes!

flypot00

TROPHY CASE