Stanshall wrote: ↑July 18th, 2018, 3:12 pm I couldn't think what you meant about those randomised strings - and then I realised. Are they different every time, then? I really never noticed that. I'd bet the contents of my pocket right now (£4.70) that they're not random. I thought I'd got that section down. Start slightly left of centre, about six chains, shuffle right, another couple, left again, right and done. I tended to move towards the two ships and wiggle back to the single ship to complete the chain. Lots of little wiggling until I realised I could stay still for much of it. I'm happy to be wrong, mind you.

Okay, I'd love to get to the bottom of this, if you don't mind. Here are short clips of my first two attempts at this section from 15 minutes ago:




Never mind the fact that I lost the combo in the first one like the total scrub that I am, I entered both sections with a 55 combo and the strings lasted 12 chains each, so both sets of circumstances are very similar. And yet, the first one is:

RLLRLRLRLRLR

While the second is:

LRLRLRRLLRLR

What's going on here? What am I missing?

I think I'll have to accept that I'm simply wrong! Remarkable that I'd never noticed that. I did find that I messed that section up many times myself and it was a kind of 'deal breaker' for a little while as to whether I'd carry my run into the 'trains'. I suppose I did start to do it on reaction than from memory but that's because I found it easier in the end that way. No wonder!

Okay, so you said "3.1m", but what is your highscore exactly?

Haha, I sense there's something coming now...

It's 3,100,600.

Go on...What you got?

I watched three seconds of that before I laughed and turned it off.

3,157,860, including all the columns at the end. WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW, DOG BOY?

Only thing I'm salty about is that I was a bit too cautious and didn't get any of the bonus strings at the end... There's still room for improvement!

I noticed I was getting a bit frustrated while playing, so I muted my TV, pumped some Chopin through my Sennheisers and let the chi flow through me. Seems to have worked!

I had uninstalled it, but now I'm definitely getting back in the game...

Damn good skills with those columns. I'd seen that done before on some vid but never even attempted that second column attempt. Great speed with the first one, as well.

Right, installing again as we speak.

Oh, and congratulations!

Stanshan't wrote: ↑July 18th, 2018, 10:00 pm Right, installing again as we speak.

Good luck! Looking forward to your next update.

Looking back on the thread... It's kinda silly how I didn't even know which buttons to press on the first page. What an incredible sense of progression. And many thanks for the wonderfully substantial posts that helped me get into the swing of things!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna crawl under a rock and sleep for a month.

KSubzero1000 wrote: ↑July 18th, 2018, 9:46 pm

3,157,860, including all the columns at the end. WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW, DOG BOY?

Only thing I'm salty about is that I was a bit too cautious and didn't get any of the bonus strings at the end... There's still room for improvement!

I noticed I was getting a bit frustrated while playing, so I muted my TV, pumped some Chopin through my Sennheisers and let the chi flow through me. Seems to have worked!

That's excellent play. Ksub! How much are you enjoying the game now?

Michiel K wrote: ↑July 19th, 2018, 11:33 pm That's excellent play. Ksub! How much are you enjoying the game now?

I've been having a lot of fun! This game is definitely a weight class above what I'm familiar with from Housemarque and to be honest with you, I doubt my skill would carry me all the way through the later levels. I'm very much enjoying the strategical aspect, but I feel like my execution is still a bit too coarse and imprecise for me to ever reach this game's skill ceiling. But this first stage is absolutely fantastic and now I'm mostly just waiting for Stanshall to beat my score so we can go at it again.

Join in, it'll be fun!


PS: One aspect I think is interesting is just how much the end score is dependent from the absorption mechanic. I saw a replay on PS4 earlier today from someone with a pitiful 75 chain who still managed to score 3,5 millions! Incredible!

OK, I'm struggling to get back into this after several days away but I've noticed that my first train almost always has twelve rows, which makes it impossibly difficult (for me) to pull off the missile shot to clear up the chains. I will have to get fast enough to do all twelve rows, basically, or else I'll just be giving up six available chains. I know that sounds like a humblebrag, obviously not intended, but I was trying to figure out how you polished off that first train so quickly and why I'd never been able to. I'm not sure where I'm gaining time, though. Maybe the smaller bosses with the rotating satellite ships or the white beam guy.

I've tried just working on the 'corridor shooting' train, though, and I'm nowhere near, seriously well done with that!

Stanshall wrote: ↑July 20th, 2018, 11:37 am I was trying to figure out how you polished off that first train so quickly and why I'd never been able to. I'm not sure where I'm gaining time, though. Maybe the smaller bosses with the rotating satellite ships or the white beam guy.

So by "train" you mean the first column before the rotating ships at the end, correct?

If so, the reason mine is only six rows long is because I'm shooting the white beam guy using regular shots in order to collect his bullets, which obviously takes more time than if I used the missiles on him. In almost all of the superplay video I've seen, people where missiling him and doing the full column shortly afterwards, so it's definitely possible!

Hope this helps. You can do it!


PS: If all else fails, upload a video (if possible) and we'll go from there.

S+, ranked #83 in the world at the time of recording, including that long-form first column you like so much. Which btw is only 9 rows long, same as the various superplay videos I cross-referenced with. Are you absolutely positively sure yours has 12 rows?

And yet, I didn't get any of the bonus rows at the very end, AGAIN! Too slow, how infuriating! I'm afraid this is the best I can manage with my current strat, but there's still a looot of juice to be squeezed out of this ripe little grapefruit, so beat me already and let us both move onto that sweet S++.



Your move, buttercup.

Bravo, bravo! S+ is insane. I genuinely will bow down and cede you the win on this one. I have tried to go back to it but I've lost the intensity and motivation. I put another couple of 3.0m runs in but nothing special, and no suggestion of improvement. I've totally dropped off mentally and I find it exhausts me rather than stimulates me at this point. As I said elsewhere, I've been physically worn out for the last few days and then I got sick so I'm not in the best condition to approach it but getting that S was basically like a weight had lifted and I had almost no more desire to play. Sorry, man, but I know you've got this and I'll always look forward to seeing some more updates. I might return in the future but it's so intense and all-consuming, I actually feel kind of liberated not playing it!

As for the 'twelve' rows, I can only conclude that it was an old fisherman's imagination. It must have been nine. Sorry to be a fibber!

And again, that is some serious skill. Well done.

Oh man, I'm very sorry to hear about you being sick and so demotivated lately. Now I feel bad for all the silly pressure I put on you. It was all in good fun, I promise! Our little back-and-forth sure was fun while it lasted, though.

As for future updates... I don't know about that. Chapter 2 alone seems like an insurmountable hurdle at the moment. Never say never, I suppose...

Haha, don't worry mate, not your fault in the slightest! I did a marathon last Thursday (damn, that's ages ago) that I was unprepared for and decided to do the night before out of pure ignorant optimism. Think my body basically shut down as a reaction and I ended up catching some bug.

I really was buzzing with our back and forth and I'm sure I wouldn't have made it to S without you pushing me and catching up so quickly. I hope I can get back into it because it scratched a very particular, very satisfying itch. It just also sent me a little bit mad...

Bonne chance!

Is anyone still playing this on the reg? I noticed it's only £9 on Switch at the moment. I already owned the game on Gamecube and 360 and it never quite clicked with me, but I've been enjoying the few other shmups I've got on Switch, so am tempted...

EDIT (@5:43pm - or three minutes after I posted the above...):

Bought it. It only cost £2.39 with the credit I already had. I am the weakest man on the planet.

Eh?