Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

This is the main shmups forum. Chat about shmups in here - keep it on-topic please!
User avatar
Jonst
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 12:48 pm
Location: Green hill zone

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

Slightly less lazy sessions of under defeat. I've always loved the game but hate the fact that there's little room for error. It feels like you're basically allowed one mistake, which better happen late in the game. Having said that, it's one of my favourite non cave shmups.

Still not sure if I'll commit to going for a 1cc...
"Just fire and forget" 1cc List
User avatar
wgogh
Posts: 535
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 5:01 am
Location: Brazil

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by wgogh »

^Under Defeat is two loops, right?

Got right back on Ibara Arrange, I'll try to clear with a better score, now that I have the time.
I've also 1cced Shienryu Explosion on the Playstaion 2, but its so easy that I doesnt even count for anything.
Image
User avatar
Jonst
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 12:48 pm
Location: Green hill zone

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

I think so... I'm playing regular arcade mode, maybe going for a 1 all.

Ah, ibara arrange, What a great game! I thought about trying to up My score recently, but thought I should try something different. I was very tempted though. Trouble is, I can't stop playing it once I start.
"Just fire and forget" 1cc List
User avatar
Stevens
Posts: 3799
Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 11:44 pm
Location: Brooklyn NY

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Stevens »

Jonst wrote:I think so... I'm playing regular arcade mode, maybe going for a 1 all.
Yes. It's two loops. Why do you think t took me so long to clear it:D?
My lord, I have come for you.
User avatar
Jonst
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 12:48 pm
Location: Green hill zone

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

^ I knew new order mode was 2 loops, couldn't remember arcade mode.

I wasn't sure, I thought you were you were just upping your scores... been away from here for a while!
"Just fire and forget" 1cc List
User avatar
LordHypnos
Posts: 1960
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 11:59 pm
Location: Mars Colony, 2309

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by LordHypnos »

Under Defeat actually has a loop requirement, so it's only two loops if you meet that. I don't actually know what the loop requirement is, but I didn't get it when I 1-ALL'd
YouTube | Restart Syndrome | 1cclist | Go Play Mars Matrix
Solunas wrote:How to Takumi your scoring system
1) Create Scoring System
2) Make it a multiplier for your actual score
User avatar
Kollision
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:48 am
Location: BRA
Contact:

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Kollision »

The second loop of UD is only possible if the player gets a contribution average of at least 95% over all five stages.
User avatar
Jonst
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 12:48 pm
Location: Green hill zone

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

Ah right, thanks guys. That makes more sense, I was never sure about arcade mode.
"Just fire and forget" 1cc List
User avatar
Jonst
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 12:48 pm
Location: Green hill zone

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

Tried garegga again the other day, realised I'm never going to be able to play it properly. I played a couple of care free credits of under defeat (after deciding to give up on that too), on the second credit, I made it to the flying tanks on stage 5. Not too bad. Maybe I'll stick with it a bit longer.
"Just fire and forget" 1cc List
User avatar
Stevens
Posts: 3799
Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 11:44 pm
Location: Brooklyn NY

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Stevens »

Jonst wrote:I made it to the flying tanks on stage 5. Not too bad. Maybe I'll stick with it a bit longer.
Not too far after that! You're close:D
My lord, I have come for you.
User avatar
Jonst
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 12:48 pm
Location: Green hill zone

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

Yeah, just got see if I can even get to that bit consistently. Also holding my nerve and not panic bombing at a few points before. 8)
"Just fire and forget" 1cc List
OmKol
Posts: 198
Joined: Thu May 03, 2012 12:43 pm

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by OmKol »

DOJ WL, day 32. I've got my first 2-5 stage no miss. Now it's time to practice some infamous patterns...
User avatar
mycophobia
Posts: 751
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 4:08 pm
Contact:

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by mycophobia »

Got a 1-ALL on Tatsujin last night and tonight, so getting more consistent, which is cool. Before long I'll be hitting the second loop with a full stock of lives...
User avatar
null1024
Posts: 3809
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:52 pm
Location: ʍoquıɐɹ ǝɥʇ ɹǝʌo 'ǝɹǝɥʍǝɯos
Contact:

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by null1024 »

Layer Section II [Saturn]. You know, RayStorm.
don't make this mistake, huge frame drops on bosses and in later stages, I knew it was worse, but not this much worse [it's a really, really straight port that looks like it takes no advantage of the Saturn's hardware for anything and draws nearly everything on VDP1]

That being said, I'm having a lot more fun with the than I remember.

Also, Guardian Force [Saturn].
It's got nice graphics, and I think the rotating gun mechanic is really cool, but the game just seems boring. Something about it just doesn't seem that great.
Come check out my website, I guess. Random stuff I've worked on over the last two decades.
scs_jonah
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:13 pm

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by scs_jonah »

I'm playing Mushihimesama, and I am enjoying it quite a bit. Somewhat unrelated, but has anyone else had an issue with screen tearing on Cave's Steam ports? It's almost the same in Dodonpachi Resurrection.
User avatar
mycophobia
Posts: 751
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 4:08 pm
Contact:

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by mycophobia »

scs_jonah wrote:I'm playing Mushihimesama, and I am enjoying it quite a bit. Somewhat unrelated, but has anyone else had an issue with screen tearing on Cave's Steam ports? It's almost the same in Dodonpachi Resurrection.
yeah it's pretty much put up with tearing or put up with awful input lag
User avatar
null1024
Posts: 3809
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:52 pm
Location: ʍoquıɐɹ ǝɥʇ ɹǝʌo 'ǝɹǝɥʍǝɯos
Contact:

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by null1024 »

still playing Layer Section II [Saturn], should really, really, really go look for my Playstation copy of RayStorm
It's still fun. The first boss is weirdly hard if you're not super aggressive with it.
Enemy fire is largely sparse for the first few stages, and I've gotten hit a bunch because after 20 seconds without getting shot at, I'm getting nailed by a super quick single bullet. It thickens up a bit by stage 5.

I'm really hating the laser attacks, especially from those big battleships. Some of 'em just fire a half second after you notice the flaps on 'em open [assuming you can even see that, visibility in this game, or at least this port, is kinda poor, bright shots on bright enemies with your own fire mixing in], and by the time you realize you're still moving or not lined up between the space, you're getting hit. :lol:
At least that fight against the big ship at the end of stage 4 was cool, although I kinda wish the absolute end of it wasn't so static and boring, you just sit perpendicular to it and slam on it from afar.

and then I'm dying hideously in stage 5
still dunno what I'm going to do for this last half of the game, it's looking pretty rough, especially with the visibility issues combined with loads more shit to deal with :P
Come check out my website, I guess. Random stuff I've worked on over the last two decades.
User avatar
Kollision
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:48 am
Location: BRA
Contact:

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Kollision »

that's odd about the Saturn port of Raystorm
I did try it a couple of months ago and thought it wasn't too bad

PS1 ver. is the superior one here, but one can't dismiss the Saturn's as downright bad
my feeling was that this rep is undeserved and much due to the fact that nobody plays it seriously
the biggest and probably only issue I had with it was the slowdown, which rarely kicks in the PS1 version
User avatar
null1024
Posts: 3809
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:52 pm
Location: ʍoquıɐɹ ǝɥʇ ɹǝʌo 'ǝɹǝɥʍǝɯos
Contact:

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by null1024 »

Kollision wrote:that's odd about the Saturn port of Raystorm
I did try it a couple of months ago and thought it wasn't too bad

PS1 ver. is the superior one here, but one can't dismiss the Saturn's as downright bad
my feeling was that this rep is undeserved and much due to the fact that nobody plays it seriously
the biggest and probably only issue I had with it was the slowdown, which rarely kicks in the PS1 version
It's not unplayable in the slightest, but it's just solidly, consistently worse, and other than feeling like playing the game on the Saturn, there's no reason to bother. Loads of framerate drops, some bosses are largely in slowdown, textures are [possibly? it looks so] lower res, and naturally all of the color blending effects are gone [this might be a plus, since it means things like engine thrust is darker in a game that already has some visibility issues :lol: ].
Come check out my website, I guess. Random stuff I've worked on over the last two decades.
scs_jonah
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:13 pm

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by scs_jonah »

mycophobia wrote:
yeah it's pretty much put up with tearing or put up with awful input lag
That's unfortunate, as it dissuades me a bit from rotating my laptop due to the consistent placement of it along the top third of my screen. It's a lot less noticeable when playing with regular display options.

Regardless, I cleared it fairly easily on novice and now I'll go for normal.
OmKol
Posts: 198
Joined: Thu May 03, 2012 12:43 pm

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by OmKol »

DOJ WL, day 40. I'm glad about Hibachi no dodging strategy but it's so hard to prepare and execute.
scs_jonah
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:13 pm

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by scs_jonah »

Made it to stage 5 on Mushihimesama normal, still making many small mistakes with enemy patterns. Playing with default screen settings, and as long as my laptop is on a table in front of me with my arcade stick on my lap I think I can make it work.
User avatar
mycophobia
Posts: 751
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 4:08 pm
Contact:

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by mycophobia »

picked up an N64 today with a few games, one of them being Star Soldier Vanishing Earth, which seems kind of janky (low fps, "roll" mechanic) but also kind of cool?
User avatar
Stevens
Posts: 3799
Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 11:44 pm
Location: Brooklyn NY

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Stevens »

OmKol wrote:DOJ WL, day 40. I'm glad about Hibachi no dodging strategy but it's so hard to prepare and execute.
Wow. I don't think I could get there if I had 400 days. You're really close!
My lord, I have come for you.
OmKol
Posts: 198
Joined: Thu May 03, 2012 12:43 pm

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by OmKol »

Stevens wrote:
OmKol wrote:DOJ WL, day 40. I'm glad about Hibachi no dodging strategy but it's so hard to prepare and execute.
Wow. I don't think I could get there if I had 400 days. You're really close!
I'm super far from clear, that's only savestate practice, I should make hundreds and thousands attempts to have a chance.
User avatar
Jonst
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 12:48 pm
Location: Green hill zone

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

Surprisingly, I'm still playing under defeat. Not playing hard-core, just a couple of credits a day (not everyday though), today, I made it past the flying tanks, had i not been taken out by a stupid bullet, I would have made it to the final boss...

EDIT: hitting stage 5 regularly, today I made it to the second form of the final boss. Progress!
"Just fire and forget" 1cc List
crazyrexz
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 12:57 pm

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by crazyrexz »

playin gradius on psp, neat collection, just startin today, good port and can play on the go :)
User avatar
Gandalf42
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 8:06 pm
Location: New Jersey, USA
Contact:

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Gandalf42 »

Battle Traverse
-Gandalf42 < shmuptacular.com >
User avatar
Jonst
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 12:48 pm
Location: Green hill zone

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

Still under defeat. Today, I almost made it to the final pattern of the final boss. I also practiced the final boss and have worked out a better strategy. Almost there..
"Just fire and forget" 1cc List
User avatar
M.Knight
Posts: 1246
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:54 pm
Location: France

Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by M.Knight »

I've been trying out a few shmups recently :

DoDonPachi II : Bee Storm : Sure the music is far from memorable and the visuals don't seem as polished as DDP despite the asset recycling but from a mechanical standpoint, it's the most fun DDP weapon system I've played! You graze and it gives bombs, like in Graze Counter but without its hypers. It's an enjoyable mechanic.

Bullet patterns don't always seem to be suited to continuous grazing unlike Psyvariar/Graze Counter where there are many lines of long shots to easily graze and I don't think enemies themselves can be grazed but overall it works rather well

------

Super Galaxy Squadron EX Turbo : I have mixed opinions on this game. Pixel-art graphics are beautiful, the collectible items really make you want to start a run to grab them, and there's a huge variety of ships to choose from.

The issue is that most of the ships I tried are terrible so I stick to the first one that doesn't seem too bad instead of experimenting. And on top of that, the level design is super bland. There aren't any memorable moments and you just keep on destroying waves where the enemies have different designs but seem to behave in the exact same way so you take them out the same way, which very quickly leads to a feeling of trite repetition and bordeom. No mid-bosses in sight, backgrounds are all pretty but boring space stuff, stages are a bit too long with ~35 minutes-long runs, and the last boss is much harder and messier than the rest of the game which is way easier.

The silver lining is the "Endless mode", with a never ending amount of waves that feature increasing difficulty and aggressiveness. The Hyper/Overdrive system the game has works better here and this mode is akin to a mostly brainless blasting session with better pacing that works for me.

------

Tatsujin/Truxton : I think the sequel is garbage so I had to see if the original one was still worth playing. I played some credits that went up until the first boss and I honestly don't want to play it again given how terrible it was. There as so many level design errors and absurdities it actually is a good example of what not to do in a good shmup :

-Even the first few waves in the game only consist of a single harmless enemy that spawns on the left, then another one the right, and then another one the left, over and over again like 15 times. Wow, what an impressive way to get fired up for the rest of the game.

-Right after that, you've got two mid-boss looking enemies with a billion HP. If you don't have a powerful autofire, the fight lasts forever. I was so fed up with them that I ended up bombing them just to make them leave my sight but even that wasn't enough.

-Actually, the entire first stage (and maybe the whole game?)'s level design is like that : tons of piss-easy enemies that are sent in extremely repetitive and boring waves and all of a sudden you've got one enemy that is much beefier, can move pretty low on the screen to point blank you, and who spawns with a few pals of his to make you panic and mess up. And then back to boring enemy waves. There is zero logical progression with increasing difficulty like in a well designed shmup. Nothing here makes sense. Besides, some of the midbosses have attacks with two long shots that look like you can get between them but it's impossible given your gigantic hitbox.

-The first stage is waaaaaaay too long. 5 minutes that seem like an eternity before you get to the boss, with three mid-bosses in the level, which is absurd. Oh, and to top it all, youa re sent back to a checkpoint if you die so it can be even longer.

Maybe they made some good games afterwards like Outzone or Batsugun but overall I am very happy they went under because such sluggish and badly designed shmups don't deserve any success in the arcades, and also because their bankrupcy gave us CAVE and Raizing whose shmups are for the most part much better paced. Same goes for Takumi and Gazelle's Air Gallet.

It wouldn't be so bad if the sequel fixed a lot of those things and the first Tatsujin was simply rough around the edges due to time constraints and required polish and tweaking to shine, but Tatsujin Oh is actually just as bad if not worse. All those design errors are not actually unfortunate mistakes but conspicuous choices from the devs. @_@

------

Thunder Force 5 : Aside from a bit of AC, I haven't played a lot of Thunder Force, but it is a series with its fans and I also like some of the music tracks. There also seems to be some good cinematic appeal in the boss intros here and there so I thought it could be a good source of inspiration.

From what I remember, AC had way too many "gotcha!" moments where you have to die an unfair death the first time so I gave up. Here it doesn't happen as often but it's still far from perfect. Between the fish mid-boss that rushes towards you instead of positionning itself on the displayed warning symbols, the forest sequence with leaves covering your ship, the ocean boss and its almost instant laser, the motorcycle mid-boss that isn't obvious to predict and handle in the city stage, you sense that the bosses might be too big for the limited space the game works with, and some of the telegraphing requires more work.

Also, losing your current weapon on death is stupid when you have a system with a variety of weapons that can seemingly each have their uses depending on the situations. That said, the Free Range seems broken so it's mostly losing this weapon that's annoying. To piss you off even more, the game spawns tons of useless Craw you don't really need but rarely gives you weapon items.

I played the US version and there's Working Designs' name on it so maybe they fucked with the game balance like they always did, but in any case I don't want to play it much more than that.

------

Pawarumi : Not an easy game to understand and handle at first. When I started, I felt like an idiot for picking the wrong colors and not using the shots properly, but once you kinda get the hang of it, you realize the system's flexibility makes runs pretty dynamic. You switch on shield recharges if you get hit, and you try to recharge the super and get crushes otherwise, everytime with the shot type that depends on the current enemies on screen.

The interface is pretty ergonomic and well thought out. It helps a lot in identifying what your current shot does. Enemy waves colors change pretty often so you often switch shots, which makes the interface more useful in learning the shot properties.

I haven't tried to score that much aside from using the super attack with the proper timing in a few spots, as the system is still a bit tricky for me, and also because there seems to be a lot of boss milking which is usually a big no-no for me. In any case, survival-wise it's pretty good! I only regret that a bit too many enemies tend to ram us from the sides near the bottom of the screen, which makes that area less safe than in a TATE shmup, but it's far from a deal breaker.

The atmosphere is pretty well done too! I have to admit that there is a lack of action-movie looking scenes in the same vein as the G-Darius boss intros because the game's mood is more serious than over-the-top, but in regards with the level-design, there are many different situations (mines, boulder, keylock, etc.) that are carried by the atmosphere and the background cinematics so that's nice!
RegalSin wrote: I think I have downloaded so much I am bored with downloading. No really I bored with downloading stuff I might consider moving to Canada or the pacific.
Remote Weapon GunFencer - My shmup project
Post Reply