shmups.system11.org

This is sort of an extension of my last question, which I thank you all for taking the time to write on.
(mods tell me if i should be putting stuff lke this in the same thread somehow)

Do all shmups have enough of a random scoring element to mean there isnt one single definitive scoring run for any stage?
Say ikaruga for instance, the score is based on 3 factors (please correct me)
chaining, boss timer, bulet eating.
the 1st could theoretically have a set perfect route, which all the top players might follow
the 2nd again could have a potential limit that the best players would all arrive at
the 3rd seems to involve much more random potential, and so allows more differentiation between players who do equally well at 1 & 2

Are there any shmups that have a definitive 'best stage clear' that will always yield the same score and has little-to-no random scoring potential?

Would it be interesting to say you had done a 'perfect' score clear of a stage etc, in the same way you could compare a straight 1cc or something. (obviously this wouldnt leave room for any improvements after this had been met, but it might be a nie way to 'finish' a game?)

If there are any that are like this, you likely have never heard of them because they would probably be too boring to play for score.

For certain short passages of Ikaruga a perfect score can be achieved. Keep in mind that not only chaining increases the score but also bullet eating gets you some minor points, so in order to succeed in maximimung your score, you need to chain perfectly and absorb EVERY bullet on the screen.

I've never tried it in the other sub-chapters (since it's mostly too depending on the chaining strategy how many bullets can be absorbed), but in 1-1 418,220 is the perfect score (18 Chains + all bullets absorbed).

^_^

Or it generally doesn't matter because they are endless (i.e. Toaplan games).

Thanks ave! this is just the sort of info im after... is it possible to say the same for any other games/stages.
I realise that there might be a 'theoretical' perfect, but im interested in ones that could be achieved and proven to be repeatable.
Anyone else?

Again, any game that doesn't have a particularly complicated scoring scheme. RayForce levels for example should be able to get a theoretical max score from laser-tagging background enemies at the precise moments. I'm fairly sure that is the case because the world record also suicides at the beginning of the run (I think to get powerups more quickly and max tag chains more quickly).

Aye, this. Pretty much any game in which every enemy's point value is fixed, so that it's just a matter of hitting all o' the bastards.

(Plenty will have sections in which you couldn't realistically hit every enemy before it flew past, though...)

Any game that not only has enemies worth point values, but awards points for objects picked up (e.g., medals) and furthermore awards points based on the number of bombs left at the end of the stage.

Examples include:
Sky Shark/Flying Shark (Toaplan): no medals, but a stage perfect score is not only destroying all enemies but finishing the stage having also collected and kept all available bombs for the stage. (The bomb count is reset to three at the start of each new stage).

Raiden series (Seibukaihatsu): destroy all the enemies plus the number of medals along with the number of bombs adds to the stage bonus.

Gekirindan (Taito): destroy all the enemies and then the number of medals and number of bombs contributes to the stage bonus.

There are also others, of course. What I haven't done, however, is actually quantified what the perfect score value would actually be.

Raystorm is a good example. I can consistently get a perfect score on Stage 1.

I think it's possible to get perfect scores on a lot of older games like R-Type, Gradius and the aforementioned Raiden. Whether it's worth the effort and potential tedium is another question. I think life's too short to get a perfect score in those games.

I can't think of a single Gradius title without a sizable chunk of randomness in the score.

In the first one you can shoot every rock from the volcano. But maybe the enemies appear more randomly than I thought.

Strikers1945 comes to mind. If you kill all enemies and collect the gold bars when they are most valuable.