Shmups

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hazeredmist
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Re: Shmups

Post by hazeredmist »

Stanshall wrote: June 14th, 2019, 11:41 am To be honest, I'd never thought the designs in Shikhondo were dodgy in that moe way
Me either - played through the lot last night in novice mode, it does depend what your boundaries are but personally I saw nothing problematic or embarrassing to be playing at all. Two bosses had prominent boobies in their first phase but not fully exposed and barely on screen long. I’d go as far as saying something like Super Street Fighter 2 is more of a concern if you’re offended by objectifying game artwork (never mind something like DOA!). Horses for courses though!

The game itself is very enjoyable to play, the grazing mechanics are fun - I enjoyed working with it once I’d sussed how to charge the meter for the soul collect stuff. The art in general is pretty stunning I think, the backgrounds in particular. The bullet patterns are a lot of fun to navigate. Started it again in normal and got through a few stages, the life / soul decision at the end of a stage is a nice strategic touch. The lass with the homing shots seems the best to play with, so I’m using her now - though I finished easy mode with the other one.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

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Well, good to know I'm the only one who has any objection to Shikhondo's design choices, then! It really comes down to personal boundaries, after all. :)


Anyway, I was getting really confused with some of the difficulty options in SaiDaiOuJou when playing yesterday and I was hoping the one or other expert could shed some light on things.

The different game modes are fairly basic (Xbox 360, Arcade, 1.5 and Novice), although I still don't quite understand the differences between Arcade and 1.5, for example.

Then, the costume / "Dress" system apparently plays a crucial role. Not only does it change the attack properties of your ship, the third one ("Expert") jacks up the difficulty and enemy patterns quite a bit.

Then, and this is the part that leaves me totally confused because I haven't seen it mentioned in any of the FAQs / guides I've consulted so far, the game also has a hidden difficulty selection feature under "Option > Game Config > Difficulty (Easy/Normal/Hard/Very Hard)". Except that one never seems to be mentioned on any of the leaderboards and replay data!

So between, say, Novice - Shot - Very Hard and 1.5 - Laser - Normal and Arcade - Expert - Easy, which one is more difficult?

Futari is very basic and easily understandable in comparison - You select which mode you want to play (1.5, Arrange or Black Label), and then either Original, Maniac or Ultra / God, which are fairly self-explanatory difficulty settings. The ship / character selection afterwards only comes down to personal preference.

I'm totally confused with how SaiDaiOuJou handles this.

??
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

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clippa wrote: June 17th, 2019, 3:29 pm Ooh, here's a biggun, you looked through that yet? - http://www.slateman.net/faqs/ddp-sdoj.txt
Yeah, that's the FAQ I had consulted before - it makes no mention of the menu-based difficulty settings. It's very strange.
I'll just leave it on normal and hope for the best.


Anyway, status update:

The Espgaluda 2 and SaiDaiOuJou covers have slowly but surely attained the rank of "Passable" after one week of repeated cleaning and drying. The replacement Xbox game cases arrived today. The only remaining issue were the fetid instruction manuals, so I decided it was time to get serious.

Slid some dryer sheets in-between the pages, threw them into the ziploc bag, and poured a fat dose of baking soda on top just to be sure. When in doubt, go old-school. We'll see if they're in a more cooperative mood after a night or two in the freezer.


Also, my mate helped me make a JPN PSN account, which means that I am now the proud owner of Einhänder, Zanac x Zanac, RayStorm, RayCrisis, and most importantly, DonPachi & DoDonPachi over on my PS3. The technology of the last decade bringing the games of the last century into my living room. Impeccable.

Will report back. In due time.
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Stanshall
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Re: Shmups

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^ Very exciting stuff! Dodonpachi and Einhander are especially brilliant.

And in some exciting news for me, I came in from a twelve hour day after about four hours sleep, had a nice dinner, sat down with a cup of tea and got a 1CC on Futari Black Label.

Image

I don't think I used more than two or three bombs and had no deaths before stage 5. Easily the best I've ever done. Picked up the 1-Up, got the extend and arrived at Larsa with three lives and three bombs. After my painful failure the other week, I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. Some steady dodging of the straightforward stuff but mostly bombed my way through every pattern knowing I had it in the bank.

Absolutely buzzing, I've got to say. I bloody love this game. So thrilled to have my first Cave 1CC and on my favourite game.
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Re: Shmups

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Stanshall wrote: June 17th, 2019, 7:38 pm And in some exciting news for me, I came in from a twelve hour day after about four hours sleep, had a nice dinner, sat down with a cup of tea and got a 1CC on Futari Black Label.
Yay, congrats! That's amazing! :o
I've been sitting here with a big fat grin on my face since I read that. I know you've been working tirelessly towards this. :P

It's decided, then. Futari will be the next shmup I'll invest some significant time into. I've been dipping in and out of them all over the past week or so and it's time to settle on one. I've been leaning towards SDOJ recently, but Futari it is.

Also, DonPachi & DoDonPachi were apparently early PS1 games and don't support analogue controls? The controller immediately stops working as soon as I turn on the analogue function via the PS3 emulator. That means d-pad only. Obviously it makes zero difference when playing with a stick but that's a bit rough for me.
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Stanshall
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Re: Shmups

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Thanks man, I'm really so pleased, feels like a weight has lifted! And I'll be looking forward to seeing how you get on with it, I really think it's 'the one' for me (even if that's not very C&R kind of thinking).

When I was properly getting into shmups, I watched the Futari Ultra counter stop run by Gus on STG Weekly and I was blown away by the spectacle, the music and colours and insane bullet cancels and his commentary was hilarious. I eventually decided I would get a 360 to play this game and several others. And even then, it took a good five or six weeks to arrive from Japan!

Cheers to everyone in the shmup thread for making it so much fun and so encouraging over the last few months or so. Work has been a beast this year, my missus hasn't been very well (but all fine now) and this has really been a fun little haven of pure good vibes. Loving the enthusiasm and generosity in many ways.

And err apologies for my rare pissed up Animal Collective nonsense! :D

And back to business, yeah, that's a weird one. I've always struggled with the D-pad for shmups and I suspect the PS3 controller isn't ideal. Certainly, DDP is worth the effort, though. It's still a stunner.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Shmups

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Stanshall wrote: June 17th, 2019, 8:35 pm Cheers to everyone in the shmup thread for making it so much fun and so encouraging over the last few months or so. Work has been a beast this year, my missus hasn't been very well (but all fine now) and this has really been a fun little haven of pure good vibes. Loving the enthusiasm and generosity in many ways.
All thanks to you, man. You're the one who got me interested in these games and the one who made the thread. I doubt it would have had this much longevity without your enthusiasm and determination. Long may it continue. :)

Stanshall wrote: June 17th, 2019, 8:35 pm I've always struggled with the D-pad for shmups and I suspect the PS3 controller isn't ideal.
The thing that stings is that I tried to be clever about it.

I recently bought a second-hand Super Slim PS3. Fairly decent condition, all things considered. My old model had been giving signs of ill health and I thought it would be a wise investment for future-proofing my setup. Controller was a bit filthy, so I decided to channel my inner low-rent Suits and open up and clean the damn thing. When putting it back together however, I got cheeky and replaced the old worn-down DS3 sticks with some DS4 spares I had lying around. So now I have a DS3 with some nice concave superior analogue sticks, ready to be put to good use.

...And then the games I want to play are so old they can't even process analogue input. :mrgreen:

Still dope, though. Makes it much more comfortable to handle right off the bat. 8-)
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Stanshall
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Re: Shmups

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Cheers, clips! I'll defo be getting stuck into 1.5 next so I'll be aiming for your score when the time comes. Seems like not so many bullets but they're faster and fewer cancels.

There is no disgrace or shame in this thread, you're right, even after flying the flag for four acid casualties yodelling into a Speak and Spell.
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Re: Shmups

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Congrats Stanshall! I watched some 1cc footage of that game to get the gist and it looks insanely tough. I can’t even fathom the pattern memorisation / traversal stuff. You got serious skills!
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Re: Shmups

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The insatiable addiction continues - bought Danmaku Unlimited 3 so I could have another fresh shmup while away. Also wanted to try Tate mode and knew this game had it, to pretend I’ve got a little tabletop arcade. Works a treat!

Image

Played a couple of stages then passed out due to exhaustion (or Elvis Juice, one of the two). More tonight when the fam fall asleep!
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Re: Shmups

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Bravo, bravo, mon clip!

That said, full disclosure, my score represents perhaps the most cowardly 1CC known to man, playing against rank to keep bullet speed down and avoiding gems wherever I could. Playing the percentage game like a bleary eyed Big Sam. Hoof it up to the big lad. Three points in the bag. We'll enjoy tonight. Lads will have a day off and back in training on Monday. Once you hit the 9999, there are so many little snipers along the road that can nobble a run. Here's the footage:

https://youtu.be/wLTqh6CZBvc

Anyway, now I've got it out of my system, you've given me something to aim at! I did have a lot of fun learning the first couple of stages for score when I got the game, so looking forward to playing with integrity again. And I'm intrigued by the LS-40 experiments. As much as I'm enjoying the stick now versus pad, and I'm probably a bit better with it, I could still go for a shorter throw, I reckon. I did take on board what you said about not riding the gate, mind you, and that's made me realise I don't have to move the stick so much to get it to register. That's been a big help for little taps.
hazeredmist wrote: June 18th, 2019, 8:21 am The insatiable addiction continues - bought Danmaku Unlimited 3 so I could have another fresh shmup while away. Also wanted to try Tate mode and knew this game had it, to pretend I’ve got a little tabletop arcade. Works a treat!

Played a couple of stages then passed out due to exhaustion (or Elvis Juice, one of the two). More tonight when the fam fall asleep!
Cracking little game, one of the first on Switch that properly consumed me for the fifteen hours or so I've played it. Very pretty and flashy and the gameplay is tight. I go back every so often and it's always a winner. Glad you're enjoying it! Still no 1CC for me. It gets really tough.
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Re: Shmups

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clippa wrote: June 19th, 2019, 6:26 pm Have you been keeping an eye on the radirgy thread on the shmups forum, Stanshall? Lots of info being drip fed on there.
Not for a few days but cheers. It's actually a fun game but I just don't know what's what yet. I saw someone did a little guide on Twitter to the different items but I've not been back much since then. It's not amazing but I like it. Really enjoyed the Rolling Gunner review, too. Seems very fair.

And thanks for the encouragement with Futari. That death was one of the painful ones where you see the key bullet you're trying to avoid and the closer you get it feels like you're on an unavoidable collision course! Watching back there are a few lucky bits, though, like that little sniper late on in stage 5 who pings a few bullets almost horizontally from point blank. I didn't even know he was there until the bullets had gone past me. I think there's one at the start of the stage three boss, too.

And I agree, second half of stage three is the key. It's really tough not to get squeezed somewhere along the way, when you've got three or four overlapping patterns coming from different angles. This was probably the most 'comfortable' run I've had because the big beetles with the long spears seemed to play ball but they're often the end of a run. Once it gets a bit chaotic in the last section, the slowdown is very very useful. And yeah, I try to take it as slowly as possible to just give myself room. Tap tap tap. It's also much easier and more consistent for me on the stick than on pad where I can't feel or hear the microswitches. I love those little clicks.
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Re: Shmups

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Would you believe me if I said my winning run is the only time I've ever got that bastard 1-Up? I feel your pain. It's always JUST out of reach and usually ends in a death. Still, monster score...Bullets must be rrrapid at that rank.
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Re: Shmups

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Meanwhile back in Early Learning Center: Shmups Aisle, I’m enjoying Danmaku Unlimited 3. The patterns are a lot of fun to navigate and the multi-stage bosses are great. Did a few stages last night before passing out.

Trying to resist the urge to buy Rolling Gunner, I totally don’t need it yet, and it’s digital so I can just get it whenever now...
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Re: Shmups

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I bought Rolling Gunner last night and got to the ‘extra’ final boss on my first credit on the easier mode.
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Re: Shmups

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I mean, I’ve played a lot of these games sure, but I’m a bang average gamer, and quite old.
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Re: Shmups

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ratsoalbion wrote: June 21st, 2019, 9:28 am I bought Rolling Gunner last night and got to the ‘extra’ final boss on my first credit on the easier mode.
Good stuff. Are you enjoying it? What do you think?
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Re: Shmups

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It’s a similar mechanic to a lot of old games so I found it fairly intuitive.

Early impressions are excellent.
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Re: Shmups

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Big Shot Mark :lol:
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Re: Shmups

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@clipps: my no internet plans went tits up when I got some bug from a dodgy tikka sarnie, resulting in too many visits sat on the bog and my phone in hand, in between doubled over cramps. I think I’ve been fairly reasonable. I have drunk a lot of ale, too. The boy has only tried to off himself on a few occasions, other times settling for just harassing me and screaming for something he’s already got in his hands.

Back now, tonight I’ve got the stick back. Mint. Might play another Cave classic or just fire up Neko / Danmaku
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