Shmups

[KSubzero1000]

What a fantastic little game. The cancels feel really cool, so well designed and balanced and some fun and interesting patterns. I suspect I've picked the easy mode ship or something but I'm very happy with that on my first run, with zero guards or bombs remaining. Really tense.

...He did it! He actually did it! What an absolute boss.

Yeah, that's a very popular ship (I think this is the one clippa was using), although I'm partial to Blue Hope and Blue Peace myself. They're all great and very different from one another so it's worth experimenting a little.

And great job pulling off the 1CC on your first go!! The game is rather forgiving with its default settings but that is remarkable regardless. I certainly took a while to get there.

I'm sure I'm gonna expose my complete technological incompetence yet again, but couldn't you just use whatever device you are currently playing MAME on to also play these few PC indie games as well? Just transfer them over somehow and launch the .exe from there?? Both BWRP and CC have DRM-free versions, after all... There has to be a way!


One last thing, and I'm gonna sound like a pathetic loser here. But I tried my hand at your MuFu BL God Mode earlier today and I couldn't get anything done. The thing that frustrates me (and believe me, I get how lame that sounds) is that I don't think it's even possible for me with the standard 360 controller. The d-pad is unworkable and those analogue sticks with the giant deadzones are nowhere near precise enough to micro-tap through those curtains. I can totally tell the difference in build quality and precision between that one and my preferred DualShock 4.

[Stanshall]

Thanks man, my score is probably very low for a clear but I'll happily take it! I would absolutely love to copy the .exe over to my Wii/PS Classic but sadly not, it's a Windows only format. At least I know that if fully ventilated, I can play BWRP and ZeroRanger on my laptop! Crimzon Clover is a no but I really enjoyed the three minutes I spent with it before meltdown. Such a brilliant game, I really don't understand why it's not been ported. I have a half memory that it was made by only one or two guys, though, so maybe that's it!

As for Futari God Mode, it wouldn't surprise me at all. I spent ages on Original with the pad and only got to Larsa once, I think. Although learning stick took me a little while to catch up on my familiar pad, I am so far ahead with it now I find it tricky to even go back to Rolling Gunner or Ikaruga on the Switch Pro Controller and I'm very accustomed to that control setup. I don't think I would have ever beaten Original Mode without learning stick, though.

That said, Gus uses a 360 pad for his Ultra 1.01 runs! I have absolutely no idea how...

[KSubzero1000]

I would absolutely love to copy the .exe over to my Wii/PS Classic but sadly not, it's a Windows only format.

Hey, wait a minute...!!!

https://www.androidauthority.com/open-e ... id-868743/

You may be asking yourself, “Why would I want to run an exe file on my Android phone?” The biggest reason is for playing older Windows games

And then connect to your TV and arcade stick somehow???

It HAS to work.

[Stanshall]

Magic pillows.

I love that he took them over to France for Stunfest. I can only assume they'll make an appearance at GDQ!

Is that your first blind 1cc?

I watched KSub's high score vid a while back so I knew what kind of thing it was. Blind in one eye, I'd call it. I saw your HS posted on the shmups forum, too, while looking up to see if I'd used the novice ship or something. Seriously impressive scores, you basically doubled mine which makes you a quadruple Jaimers by my maths.

And KSub, I laughed! I really wish...

[KSubzero1000]

I really wish...

Despair. Frank Holl. 1881. Oil on canvas.

[Stanshall]

That was my wife's reaction when I asked if she wanted to watch Jaimers attempt a live 2-ALL of Dodonpachi with commentary (!) on this weekend's 1CC Marathon event.

http://www.twitch.tv/1ccmarathon/v/497924074?sr=a&t=10s

One of the best, most tense runs I've seen in a long time. Even Jaimers can't account for the second loop RNG, can he?

[Chopper]

Spoiler: show

Ok, I guess I'd better put a disclaimer....it amuses me that often, when some great feat is posted here, there is a teeny amount of shade thrown with the congratulations. I know it's probably just the technical nature of the games that throws up these caveats, rather than actual disparagement, but it makes me smile

[Chopper]

[KSubzero1000]

There was no shade you dingbat!

It took me over a week and countless retries to grab my first 1CC with those exact same default settings, so I'm genuinely impressed that Stan was able to pull it off on his first go!

But the thing about BWRP is that there really is a huge difference in how the game plays depending on which settings are in use, especially the guard system which only ever uses one auto-bomb at a time. That's why there is also such a big score bonus for turning it off. He thought the ship might have made things easier so I wanted to clarify, that's all.

[Stanshall]

Probably the funniest posts in this thread. That's a genuine meme in the making.

"Of course, it's not primarily a thread for funny posts..."

There's definitely a thin vein of competitive goodwill in this thread which both inspires and keeps us grounded. When I lived in China, people were incredibly encouraging and complimentary when I could only say 'ni hao' but the day I started joining in the flow of conversation, I was eyed with suspicion. That's probably a good analogy and also allows me to crowbar in some China anecdote. Win-win. Since the day I encouraged KSub to get into Ikaruga and then he ended up being better at it than me, the die was forever cast.

And KSub, yeah, I did think the autobomb was pretty generous! I felt no shade though, bro. At least the ship isn't easy mode so I can add this one to my CV.

[hazeredmist]

[Stanshall]

In shmup-related content, I got Raiden V on the Switch, having already bought it and dismissed it on PS4 as 'a bit shit'. Everything is better on the Switch, however, so I bought it again as it's on sale and I had a chunk of gold coins in one of my many offshore accounts. Got it for about a tenner. For around that, it's probably worth it for the core gameplay but there are some glaring issues here.

First one is that the story mode takes so so long to play through and it doesn't really go anywhere or get any harder particularly besides the bosses. Every time you feel it's finally over after outstaying its welcome, it says 'mission over' and you realise that all that stuff was just one part of a much bigger game. It's like the Okami of shmups. That's actually a decent comparison. Fundamentally, it's pretty good stuff but it's stupefying in its repetition and disregard for pacing or structure. Build up to something! Have peaks and troughs that change the atmosphere! Have any changes whatsoever in the game's mechanics or dynamics! That said, there is nothing more than Story Mode and Boss Rush. There's no stripped down Arcades Mode or anything similar that I can surmise. This means that you've got a shmup where you can actually save your progress and continue the game at a later stage. Fuck that.

It's a shame because the basic gameplay and solid Raiden mechanics are there. Choose to focus on one weapon type or spread your power ups across different weapons and switch between them depending on what's coming up. All the info stuff about scoring and tips and the anime commentary is actually a bonus for me, it adds some character and information overload which I like. It's something to read while the boss loads in or between stages or whatever. On the other hand, it's impossible to follow the nonsensical story because you're generally concentrating on playing the game and it's not possible to follow the minutiae of the badly-acted crosstalk while you're dodging bullets.

Pick the five best stages, give more power ups, reduce the story to the most absurd, overblown components and you've got a fun Raiden game here. That's not what we have, though. This is a series of tasty little morsels smothered in gallons of bechamel.

[hazeredmist]

Raiden V

Aye, sounds like this one is a miss. (not a "no miss". Geddit?)

[hazeredmist]

Eh, guys

Does this count?

[KSubzero1000]

Eh, guys

Does this count?

Woo!

Of course it does! No continues, not bad!


...Finally, they all see the light.

[hazeredmist]

Lush! So it's a 1cc! On the easier mode than Stan's of course, after watching his Futari videos it's clear he isn't really a human so there should be no surprise he got one on original.

How the hell is this game free? Something assets or music related perhaps? It feels amazing, so satisfying to play and paced really well. I loved traversing the bullet patterns. Will be going back for more...

Yes Ksub, you were most definitely right about this one. Pitched perfectly at my skill level I think. My top ten would have had this in it if I were doing it now.

[KSubzero1000]

Lush! So it's a 1cc! On the easier mode than Stan's of course, after watching his Futari videos it's clear he isn't really a human so there should be no surprise he got one on original.

Hey man, we all gotta start somewhere. I found Original too intimidating at first, too. You'll catch up in no time!

It feels amazing, so satisfying to play and paced really well. I loved traversing the bullet patterns. Will be going back for more...

Yay! *dance*

[hazeredmist]

I didn't get a replay, I know why though - I paused it a couple of times to piss / take drinks at the start of new stages, had a look online and apparently that disables the replay according to a shmups forum post. Weird.

[hazeredmist]

[KSubzero1000]

Oh great, it's going to be a thing now. What have I done?!

I even had another painting ready to post in case Stan figured out a way to play it on his phone and everything...


Anyway yeah, the game is very strict with its anti-cheating precaution and it disables the replay function if you pause at any point during the run. Couldn't possible know that beforehand. But it would be nice to see some hardcore haze shmup action later down the line so if you could try and keep it in mind for your inevitable Original 1CC, that'd be great!