Does a bigger screen size make shmups easier or harder?

[Super Glob]

On a smaller screen the bullets are going slower relative to the same size space on a bigger screen, so I’m wondering if it will make a big enough difference to affect reaction time to bullets

[Dave_K.]

Bigger = easier. These games are typically played on a 29" rotated arcade monitor in japanese arcades.

[Rob]

On smaller screens the bullets actually seem faster to me, and certainly it's harder to judge hitboxes. The gaps seem much tighter. A 20" monitor is good. 29" seems way too big, but the 20" is as high as I've gone.

[Super Laydock]

Size does matter! :8

Well it does in this case, the bigger the screen the more time you seem to have to avoid those bullets. In reality of course it doesn't matter, but perception does a lot in this case. Vertical vs horizontal orientation matters a lot too. (tate vs normal).

[undamned]

Yes, size helps. I've played on 10", 19", 25", and 29" and bullets are much more managable on the larger screens. All around, I like 25"
.-ud

[BUHA]

I've played my PS2 and Gradius V on a 125 inch screen (I am not kidding). My friend has a projector that he plays his games and watches movies on and it takes up our WHOLE dorm living room wall. We're pretty popular around here because of it.

But back on topic. Obviously, it was just TOO big. You have to totally look all the way across the screen to see what is on the other side. and then you can't see your ship anymore, and then you can't see the bullets that are near you. I've never played any vertical games on it, his projector won't "tate". But it'd probably be pretty fun.

Playing F-Zero GX on that thing is impossible. We play it on first person mode on one of the crazier courses and it just goes too fast it makes us all want to puke. Playing 4-player split screen is chaos.

[it290]

Yeah, I like a slightly smaller screen size so that I can get a good feel for the whole screen, but also large enough to judge the hitbox easily. I currently play sitting right up to a 20" screen, but I think I might like 25" a little better.

[Leeram]

I personally think Bigger is better to a point. Playing in tate is important, but if you get bigger than about 28" or so the screen is literally too big to see everything on all at once. So you have to stand further back anyway, which defeats the point of the big screen.

Cheers

Leeram

[Ex_Mosquito]

hmmm dunno. I have a new astro city cab and a commodore 1084S 14" monitor and have had better results on the commodore, saying that i only use the astro a few times a year cause it down the garage. Smaller seems easier though.

[ResOGlas]

To me, on a larger screen you can see the openings between bullets easier. This is a fact, but your hitbox is now bigger as well.

[Dandy J]

To me, on a larger screen you can see the openings between bullets easier. This is a fact, but your hitbox is now bigger as well.

my mind is blown

[Icarus]

While you can judge gaps better on a larger screen, you can see the whole playfield better on a smaller one. Personally I'd take the ability to view the whole screen just by quickly moving my eyes as opposed to moving my whole head.

[TalkingOctopus]

Another vote for larger screens make SHMUPS easier. However, they don't make all types games easier. I find robotron much more difficult on a large screen.

[shiftace]

Well, I've been playing nomltest in about a 4" x 4" window since this laptop doesn't do fullscreen correctly. It hurts. If the screen is too big, it's always easy to back up until it looks right, but if it's too small you can't always get closer comfortably. There's got to be a "right" size, but it's more likely something like a fraction of one's field of view than a fixed dimension.

[ill6]

Bigger.

I started to do a whole lot better when I moved to a cab; you also need to sit close and in combination it really improves the dodging.

At the end of the day jap cabs are 29 inches of TATE monitor and games are designed for that (well the verts at least)!

[Dave_K.]

While you can judge gaps better on a larger screen, you can see the whole playfield better on a smaller one. Personally I'd take the ability to view the whole screen just by quickly moving my eyes as opposed to moving my whole head.

Maybe I'm just used to playing on a cab, but I don't think I have to move my entire head to see whats going on around the playfield. Actually the viewable picture is only 27", on a 29" arcade tube (not that it makes that much of a difference).

[Dave_K.]

Another vote for larger screens make SHMUPS easier. However, they don't make all types games easier. I find robotron much more difficult on a large screen.

I agree, with your Robotron example. In that game you need to keep the entire playfield in view at all times since you are being attacked from all directions at once.

[LAshujin]

I play on a 29" arcade cab and it was night and day when I first switched to it. I broke high scores all over the place!

[cigsthecat]

hmmm dunno. I have a new astro city cab and a commodore 1084S 14" monitor and have had better results on the commodore, saying that i only use the astro a few times a year cause it down the garage. Smaller seems easier though.

Same here, except I don't own a cab. When I have played on the 29" sitdowns the angle of the screen and the size of the monitor make it more difficult for me. On my 1084s I can easily take in the entire screen at once- the 29" monitor makes me focus on the bottom of the screen too much.

[ResOGlas]

To me, on a larger screen you can see the openings between bullets easier. This is a fact, but your hitbox is now bigger as well.

my mind is blown

I wouldn't be surprised.

[it290]

Another advantage to big screens is that you can see new threats more easily; even if you're not 'looking' at all of the screen at once, your eyes can detect that big shift of color in your peripheral vision and make you aware of it.

Of course, clarity is a big factor as well. A nice 19" RGB monitor definitely beats the crap out of a 29" composite setup.

[hikarutilmitt]

With the 4:3 portion of my HDTV projection vs my 20" tate I can notice a difference. Despite the HDTV being the better box and connected with component instead of modulating s-video down to RF, the 20" tate is still a bit clearer thanks to the screen size being dropped by nearly 1/4.

That being said, I still have a slightly easier time with Mushihime whenever I'm too lazy to plug my s-video cable ito my PS2. I do think the bullets are easier to see and I can see the whole screen a bit better.

Oddly enough, my girlfriend doesn't seem to have a preference.

[Ramus]

I play Psikyo shooters on a 19" tate monitor and Cave shooters on a 29" new astro city. If I try to play Psikyo on the 29" and the Cave on the 19" I get fucked hard. I think the fast bullets in Psikyo shooters are too hard for me to see coming on such a large screen, but on the smaller screen I can see them coming when they first come out. Cave's multiple and slower bullets are easier to fly through on the larger screen, but on the small screen it's harder to see the gaps and I seem to die A LOT more. That's the way it works for me.

[professor ganson]

With a smaller image in yoko, there were parts of Shiki II where it just seemed random whether or not I was making it through an apparent gap. Once I moved to 20" tate this problem largely disappeared, though there are still parts of 3-1, in the tight passages, where things seem fuzzy, bullets are less clearly defined than I might want. My guess is, though, that increasing the size yet further would not help with this.

I like your point, Ramus, about Psikyo games. A 20" does seem ideal for them, as you really need to keep your eyes on the top of the screen without losing sight of stray bullets at the middle and bottom portions of the screen, especially when you're weaving around trying to swipe coins.

[pixelcorps]

I find larger screens much harder, your eye has to travel further, especially sat at a cab to scan the screen, on a smaller monitor you can "scan" a lot more at once..

my scores at esprade dropped dramatically on a larger monitor, it's taken me nearly 6 months to get used to flicking my eyes up and down to scan what previously could in one glance.

[Dewclaw]

I don't like when the screen is too big. I have a 27" aerocity and I wish I had something smaller...when you're sitting right up against the game then I have to shift my head a little to check between the top and bottom of the screen, and you shouldn't have to move your head at all to play. I like 19" screens just fine, and think that a 22" is ideal.

[WarpZone]

How about, not too big, not too small?

[TWITCHDOCTOR]

25" to 29" is whats used in the arcades.
For myself, I use a 27" JVC. I wouldn't go smaller than a 20 incher though...even for Tate.

[TWITCHDOCTOR]

double post

[ST Dragon]

Playing shooters on my 21" Stereo TV is just fine. But on my Mom's 29" TV, playing Axelay, Gaiares & Thunder Force III & RayStom, is a shocking experience indeed!
Imho anything larger than that sligthly deforms the sprites & it's harder to dodge the bullets.

I've played my PS2 and Gradius V on a 125 inch screen (I am not kidding). My friend has a projector that he plays his games and watches movies on and it takes up our WHOLE dorm living room wall. We're pretty popular around here because of it.

But back on topic. Obviously, it was just TOO big. You have to totally look all the way across the screen to see what is on the other side. and then you can't see your ship anymore, and then you can't see the bullets that are near you. I've never played any vertical games on it, his projector won't "tate". But it'd probably be pretty fun.

Playing F-Zero GX on that thing is impossible. We play it on first person mode on one of the crazier courses and it just goes too fast it makes us all want to puke. Playing 4-player split screen is chaos.

With a display of that size, playing vertical shooters in Yoko mode, is the least you should worry about

Oh.. and can I be your friend, please?