CGFST
Image: City Connection

City Connection has announced that it will be addressing frame lag issues in its shmup collection Cotton Guardian Force Saturn Tribute with an upcoming update scheduled for "late January or early February 2022".

As noted on the company's website, the question of excessive input lag was acknowledged back in October across the Cotton 'Saturn Tribute' range (comprising Cotton 2, Cotton Boomerang and Guardian Force), and these issues have been specifically addressed:

There have been cases where input delays have occurred in this game due to the following reasons.
(1) Delays due to hardware and engine performance
(2) Delays caused by input devices or monitors
As a result of our verification and response, we have been able to make technical improvements in the area related to the above factor (1).

The website post also mentions a recent 'trial event' where they "were able to let the users experience the improvements" — apparently feedback was positive.

We reviewed the collection back in October, scoring it an 'Average' 5/10 and mentioning the following regarding input delay:

Frame lag is equally high across all three games (which is no real surprise considering how as far as we can tell they’re all Saturn titles plonked into the same generic emulation wrapper) and while not unplayably bad, there is a clear delay between input and action in the one genre you’re most likely to need swift and precise inputs, almost as if presses only register when you let go of a button rather than push down.

It's good, then, to see that City Connection is responding positively to the criticism it received from shmup fans. Some genres can handle a little input lag better than others, but shmups certainly aren't one of them.

Overall, we were impressed with the included games themselves, saying that their quality was "enough to forcefully elevate this package above its mediocre framework". Hopefully these improvements will help bring that framework in line with the gems contained within.

Looking forward to this patch? Reckon it might sway you on a purchase? Let us know how you've been getting on with Cotton Guardian Force Saturn Tribute below.

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Cotton Guardian Force Saturn Tribute (English)
Cotton Guardian Force Saturn Tribute (English)

[source twitter.com]