Bringing your notebook doodles to life (finally): SketchFighter
by Kevin Kelly 
{ Dec 1st 2006 at 8:05PM }
We reported a year ago that Ambrosia's game team was looking for folks to help in the beta development of the retro-looking, paper and ink space shooter SketchFighter, and now it's finally here. Ambrosia released SketchFighter 4000 Alpha earlier this week, and in a day and age where next-gen consoles are all you'll read about, this is a great little game with graphics so simple, it'll surprise you how much fun it is.
It's literally like the little space battle scenes you doodled on the back of your math homework came to life and sucked you in. You can even game online with a friend or in person, where you get two ships that are tethered together, a bit like the old vector-based Space Wars arcade game.
Head over to Ambrosia and download the demo. In a rare twist of fate, it's Mac only, sorry folks. This is good enough for a console download port though, so cross your fingers and send Ambrosia some mail, stat.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ace121212 @ Dec 1st 2006 8:29PM
Only for MACs? This awesome looking game has just been made useless. Sorry.
ShortFinal @ Dec 1st 2006 8:33PM
I love Mac.
SickNic @ Dec 1st 2006 8:36PM
Define Irony.... Mac only? Wow. It's too bad, the game looks pretty fun. Maybe some day we'll be able to duel boot PC's in order to play Mac games.... LoL.
jon @ Dec 1st 2006 9:44PM
lol what a bad business decision - by making the game mac-only, they've pretty much cut out most of the people who might actually want to play their game.
Dan @ Dec 1st 2006 8:35PM
Ambrosia has always been a Mac dev. It'll probably see a Windows port sooner or later, but everything they make is made for Mac first.
rawker @ Dec 2nd 2006 3:44AM
why would you make a mac only game? are you trying not to sell it.
blu3steel @ Dec 1st 2006 8:42PM
I love having a mac
ShortFinal @ Dec 1st 2006 8:44PM
Someday, you might be able to get the superior Mac functionality too.
Crazylink @ Dec 1st 2006 9:03PM
I remember this from last year, I really hope it does get ported to XP.
myheaditches @ Dec 1st 2006 8:50PM
I'm loving this game, I'm going to have to buy a license of it. Ambrosia is the life blood of all us mac gamers.
The Wolfkin @ Dec 1st 2006 8:50PM
Ambrosia has been a MacDev for ever, like Bungie before Xbox. I've been a fan since the first Escapse Velocity (which was insanely awesome). I look forward to reviving my iBook (dead HD) one day and getting things back to normal and start back up on EVNova.
Nohbdy @ Dec 1st 2006 9:36PM
Ambrosia's games have never been ported to a console.
Ever.
A Windows version is much more likely.
Farris @ Dec 1st 2006 9:39PM
ShortFinal, do you really love Mac, or are you just saying that because Mac is right there?
Haha, I love old references. I just wish I had a Mac so I could play that game, it looks awesome.
Brandon @ Dec 1st 2006 9:48PM
Mac users tend to be dicks about it. Always making it known they are mac users, that mac is superior. Windows users don't care. Even ones dissatisfied with Windows usually just get upset. They use it because thats what software devs and game devs make stuff for. I use Linux, which is cool because there are many helpful communities of people just learning about the OS. They want to switch people, but only those that are ready and can benefit from it.
silkylove @ Dec 1st 2006 9:57PM
Looks cool. I don't know if it looks $19.00 worth of cool though. Anyone here actually play it?
nfbetancur @ Dec 1st 2006 10:26PM
This game would be perfect to sell on Xbox Live
spoot @ Dec 1st 2006 10:41PM
i always preferred stick army men, but now that i think about it that was a bit similar to worms.
Dave M. @ Dec 1st 2006 10:26PM
Well, all you PC folks will just have to download that OS X version that has been hacked to run on Intel PC's to play.
Me, I just reboot, play GTA:SA, reboot, play games like this one, it's easy with a computer that gives me the best of both worlds. :)
M.J. @ Dec 1st 2006 10:32PM
Wow, I almost skipped this one because all the games are for PCs nowadays. I hadn't seen a decent mac game in a while. It is so much fun, but the controls do feel a bit weired.
Bootes @ Dec 2nd 2006 11:45PM
Yay! I've been waiting for this. :) Too bad this weekend sucks, and I won't have a chance to play it.
JayBee @ Dec 1st 2006 11:18PM
Space Duel was the one with the tether, not Space Wars.
And curse you Mac-exclusives! I really wanted to try this one.
007craft @ Dec 1st 2006 11:26PM
I say let the mac users have this game. We PC users have just about every other game out there :p.
I dont like mac users because with them, its all about converting you to a mac. They are like those mormons who go to your door and annoy you about why you should join them, except they do it through the internet (and those silly PC vs mac commercials).
Seriously the mac is a complete waste of time for the average user. Its suited for certain people within industries. For every people who like to download torrents, play games and watch movies and all that, Pcs just cant be beat. Linux is even way better then mac in terms of compatibility except its almost impossible for non technical people to use ( my dad can barely hold the mouse and use our pc, he would pass out if he tried to figure out how to download some pictures and view them in linux lol).
samfish @ Dec 1st 2006 11:31PM
The controls are hard as hell to get used to, if you ask me, but once you do, it's actually pretty good.
I say bring it to the virtual console! At least that way we can finally get SOMETHING out of all those "Nintendo and Apple" rumors we've been hearing for the last year or so.
Oh, and Brandon- I used to think like you did about Mac users. But then I actually started used a Mac and lo and behold! I understood WHY many people are so enthusiastic about OS X. It blows EVERYTHING else out of the water, once you get used to it.
Tommy @ Dec 2nd 2006 11:10AM
Sure I am mad too that the software is only for Macs, but calling it such a dumb mistake is obviously wrong. Ambrosia has been in business for quite a while as an almost only Mac developer. They make very good games (I recommend you try Escape Velocity as others have said before, think of it as a Massively Single Player Space RPG) and if they can make a decent amount of money selling games to the people that can't play most games, than good for them.
Dan @ Dec 1st 2006 11:52PM
Spiderweb Software's another good Mac dev, and are pretty good about getting Windows ports up quickly (spiderwebsoftware.com) It's pretty much all RPGs, but if that's your sort of thing, then they're a lot of fun.
scaryface @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:00AM
Ambrosia has never disappointed me yet. Back in the day, I considered buying a mac solely to play Escape Velocity. Then EV:Nova came out for Windows and I was delighted. :D
chenry @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:07AM
lol, this game's pretty fun!
get over it @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:38AM
yeah, i just have to call craft out on this one...
"Seriously the mac is a complete waste of time for the average user. Its suited for certain people within industries."
the big selling point for the Mac is it's ease of use for the average user (have you seen the smug commercials?) and the fact that it is the industry standard for both the graphics and music industry.
"For every people who like to download torrents, play games and watch movies and all that, Pcs just cant be beat."
yes, windows boxes are better suited for software piracy. screw those developers who spend incredible portions of their lives developing programs that some script kiddie can "hack" by downloading from some bit torrent site.
"Linux is even way better then mac in terms of compatibility except its almost impossible for non technical people to use ( my dad can barely hold the mouse and use our pc, he would pass out if he tried to figure out how to download some pictures and view them in linux lol)."
linux is a unix (heard of unix... you know, from back in the 70's?) derivative, as is the OS X operating system... nice thing is, the OS X system is as compatible as linux but so much easier to operate for the average user due to the fact that it's running under the shell of the Mac GUI but if you're a geek you can get under the hood and mess with it.
learn to accept that which is different and have an open mind... the more operating systems, computer types, game consoles, etc... that you are willing to accept, the more toys you get to play with.
Silver @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:54AM
"They are like those mormons who go to your door and annoy you about why you should join them" "Seriously the mac is a complete waste of time for the average user." - 007craft
Wow, bigoted AND ignorant - better grab this one, ladies, he's a real catch!
ShortFinal @ Dec 2nd 2006 3:19AM
I have a PC and a Mac and I am on the Mac probably 75% of the time. The interface is so much smoother and most of the unique functions on Mac (spotlight, etc) are lightyears ahead of anything Windows can hope to accomplish. I am an open-minded person but I cannot ignore the fact that I have to jump through hoops just to run basic programs and video games on my PC.
I have a techonologically current PC and I use it for games. Macs suck for games, I'm not blind and will admit that, but they are far superior to any PC I have ever used in every other aspect.
If I want to play a Flight Sim or FPS, I'll fire up the PC. If I want to do almost anything else, I'll keep my Mac warmed up.
ManekiNeko @ Dec 2nd 2006 3:56AM
It's not a good time to be stuck with a ten year old PowerMac, is it? *sigh*
JR
kromekoran @ Dec 2nd 2006 4:18AM
oh, they'll sell it. Ambrosia has a very loyal fanbase.
personally, I'm a PC user, but used to play Escape Velocity on my dad's old Mac Performa 550. when I heard about the port to Windows of Escape Velocity: Nova, I damn near shit myself. very fun game, and it's shareware too so all you guys can go download a copy and try it out: http://www.ambrosiasw.com/games/evn/ good mod community for it too.
Sidepocket @ Dec 2nd 2006 10:38AM
*reads comments*
When the hell did this post became an Mac Infomercal. "Ignorant PC users, Macs are the only way to go you must suck Steve Jobs penis!"
Look ok, Macs are good, just not for me. Why is this hard to accept. Hmmm, maby its because I know WINDOWS so well and I am a security nut, so I do not get any of the problems you Mac people complain about, and yes for 4 years I had to use Macs too so I am not blowing this out of my but.
Not to mention in order for Mac to compeat with the PC and Linux platform, it had to morph its kernal code into Unix to be Linux like (even had Darwin in the begining) and use IBM tech to dual-boot windows. So while Macs are better, they are now like computer transvestites walking about and its just...not right.
I rather stick to my PC thank you. Stop acting like Jehovas Witnisses Mac people, just be glad you like the stuff and go the $#@& home. :)
aDub @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:00AM
Well I just downloaded and tried out the first level (single player) and this game is incredibly smooth and the graphics truley look like someone is drawing it as you play, I found the control to be quite simple using arrow keys to move your ship and a key to fire your weapon. Great game that I look forward to playing more of when I'm not in the middle of a bunch of work on my MacBook Pro that happens to be copying files to my network server with dreamweaver, fireworks, filemaker pro, this web browser oh yeah and Sketch Fighter running at the same time. Oh yeah and there is network play too...
aDub @ Dec 2nd 2006 10:56AM
@Sidepocket
You should install a spell checker on your PC.
spil @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:02PM
Ugh, all these people with anti-mac biases. Ok, Windows users: so you don't want to buy a mac. Ok, mac users: they don't have a mac. Here's how it goes. Windows are better for games. I am aware that you can run windows on a mac, but a big thing that matters for gaming is customability, which (face it) macs don't have. Just about the only thing that you can change on a mac without any serious mods is the RAM. If you are a gamer, you should stick with windows. For the average user, which probably doesn't matter, seeing as this is a gmaing website, I don't see why one wouldn't move to a mac (ease of use, "just works", mac propaganda, etc.)
Now, about the actual subject of this post in the first place, the game. I am worried about people buying it. Not because it's mac only, but because the free demo includes the best part (in my opinion): the online play. I have played it, and it is pretty good. A nice touch I liked is that when you blow up a bug/turret/enemy, the place where you blew them up looks like it got erased.
Kai Cherry @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:32PM
Wow.
I sometime think people have never actually used Macs from some of the retarded crap in this thread.
You know the cool thing about my computer? It runs MacOS X and XP...at the same time:
http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/
However, I think Sidepocket's comment just is poetry...pure poetry :)
Tripred @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:09PM
I honestly hope that all of the comments here are satire or parody. Otherwise I weep for humanity.
Doctadjones @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:00PM
A good game to be released only for the Mac??? Is this 1994?
Don't worry, when SketchFighter 2 is about a year away form release, Microsoft will buy Ambrosia and convert it to an XBox360 only title. Then a year later it will come out on the PC....and for the Mac a year after that.
ill trooper @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:18PM
"Linux is even way better then mac in terms of compatibility"
Just stop right now. Walk down to the mall, saunter on in the Apple Store, and tell me again how Linux is more compatible, etc. If you're really such a Linux/Slashdot tech-head you'd probably be into OSX on the Mac because it's very dev-friendly and now Apple makes the only machines that can run all three OS's anyway.
If you want to get technical, I could invoke some grammar patrol, and point out that the way your sentence is structured, you could actually be saying "Linux is even way better, then mac, in terms of compatibility," assuming your main subject is Windows, and listing a hierarchy with Mac at the top of the 'compatibility' chart, which it may well be, thinking of how you can run OSX, Linux, and Windows... But I know you meant to type 'than.'
Anyway, I just don't agree with you.
Dave M. @ Dec 2nd 2006 5:22PM
#35,
Post a Mac only story, and the comments become a computer flame war.
PC's are not "better" for games. PC's are "better" for games because they have a huge market share. Mac OS X has a ton of API's for gaming and graphics both 2D and 3D, that a programmer hardly has to do that much to get a decent 3D game written.
As for highly customizable systems makes games run better. The more customizable a system is, the harder it is to write for. All you have to do is look at game consoles for this. The is no need for special video and audio drivers for consoles since they only have one option.
iMac's have several options for video cards as well as RAM and Hard Drives, the Mac Pro has more configuration choices to choose from than you can shake a stick at. The notebook computers are really the only limited systems. Well, and the Mac Mini, but the Mini is better suited for home media centers than games.
My switch reason was a 6 hour reinstall of Windows due to malware getting into the system thanks to IE even though I had Firefox as my default browser. That and after the reinstall, Windows XP wouldn't download the many patches on MS's update page because Windows thought my Dell Reinstall Disk was not a Genuine Windows install. Thanks Microsoft for calling me a thief when I actually had a genuine copy.
No regrets at all for the switch.
livefromphiladelphia @ Dec 2nd 2006 7:23PM
It's ok. I'm not feeling the Asteroids controls, but the art direction is great and outside of that the game seems very well done. I don't know if I'd want to pay $20 for it, but I'm not the type that likes sitting in front of a computer to play games anyway. I'd definitely get it for $10 on Virtual Console (or 800 points on XBLA) if they made the controls more like Geo Wars.
clark @ Dec 2nd 2006 8:22PM
Cool! The MAC finally has a game!!!
spil @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:30PM
Touche, Dave.
Most of your points are good, but you misinterpreted some of the things I said. You thought I was talking about options when you were buying it, which macs do have about the same as with windows boxes, but I was talking about changing things AFTER you buy the computer. Windows boxes are much easier to "mod", although you can upgrade many things on a mac upon purchase, after you have purchased it, there are not many things you can do yourself to the system such as go and pick out a new video card, sound card, HDD, etc. Just about the only thing you can go out and buy on a mac and istall yourself is the RAM.
Also, "PC's are 'better' for games because they have a huge market share." That's what I meant. But now that macs can run windows, the reason windows boxes are "better" for games is there ease of customability.
Now, for some reason completely irrelevant reason, I will tell the story of how I switched to the mac. I bought a G3 700mhz iBook 12" off my brother. Then I bought a G4 1.25ghz Mac Mini when they came out.
No regrets at all for the switch
Drew2u @ Dec 3rd 2006 1:20AM
Wait wait wait. So you're saying a game that doesn't have the best graphics on the market is fun to play!? OMG!
Superdotman @ Dec 3rd 2006 3:43AM
Wow, am I the only one who noticed the giant enemy crab in the gameplay videos? Silly OS wars.
As for the game, gameplay over graphics; I love the art style, but the controls are too hardcore for me. Turn sensitivity would be a nice option. It seems like excellent level design and such for those who can handle it, though.
As with the other guys on here, I thought a PC would do for me, though for the most part the frustrations added up. Then my computer stopped working, I bought me a MacBook, and I'm addicted to nirvana.
Daevrojn @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:16PM
Hahahaha, fuck you PC lovers!
Everytime a good game comes out not for mac and a mac guy mentions it you assholes are all over us mac users.
The minute a good mac game comes out, just for mac you hope it comes to a port decision.
Hopefully, not this time.
Ambrosia made a mistake with EV Nova... never again.
fuck you.
Hugh Jass @ Dec 5th 2006 12:45AM
#29 -- you should give the game a try. It runs perfectly on my old 450mhz G4, and might be fine on your machine as well.
As for the Mac haters, get a life. It's a nice little shareware game, probably developed in someone's spare time. As "business decisions" go, it's their prerogative.
Dave M. @ Dec 6th 2006 11:14PM
#43, My statements still stand on customization after purchase. My MacBook, I can update both RAM and HD easily. That's hard to say with a lot of Windows notebooks and even some Mac ones like the MacBook Pro.
My Mac Pro is no different than my PC. I open the side and can add graphics cards, memory, HD's (very easily I might add), even a second optical drive. All easily accessible.
I'm not all that sure about the iMac's. I have heard it's not that hard, but I don't know about that form factor. I'm not fond of it's looks and already had 2 LCD monitors. Don't really need a third.
As for games, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Blizzard implemented multi-core threading into the World of Warcraft client with a newer multi-threaded OpenGL API. Man, it really flys how. I was thinking I was going to have to get the higher priced video card to be able to keep up with my older PC box. Not now!