guigui wrote:
seiatsu wrote:
1) what is the significance of the "Rate up speed" that appears directly above the break rate text at the start of the game?
2) in the stage detail widget, what is "Flush"?
3) this is more superficial but why don't we have the super plays that were contained in earlier releases (as dlc I believe) and are the planning on offering this. I guess I don't really need it with youtube and all but I do like watching super impressive runs
Also, I've watched some vids (mainly the stellar runs from icarus) and read up on scoring and while I guess I have the basic idea of it all and do ok in that regard, I can't seem to get my break rate as high as I'd like /expected so I'm assuming there is something I'm overlooking. I see scattered info on scoring here and around the internet but nothing comprehensive going into any detail on how to really push the scores / break rate way up. Does anyone know of any good resources in that regard? Given the age and praise of the game I'm kinda surprised at the lack of info. (I'm asking in regards to original mode atm)
I'm definitely interested in some answers for those questions too, especially the part about scoring/optimizing the break bar filling. Maybe asking Icarus directly ? This guy knows how to write a strategy guide

To quickly answer these questions:
1. "Rate-Up Speed" affects the speed that the Break Rate Counter increases - this was an attempt to balance the scoring for the arcade/World Ignition version of the game from the original PC doujin version. In the original PC doujin version, Break Rate increase was linear and constant across all stages, which led to stages 3 and 5 being the highest scoring stages in the game, and stage 4 being worthless in comparison - "Rate Up Speed" tries to equalise the Break Rate increase on all stages per ship so that every stage has the same scoring potential.
2. "Flush", in the new UI widget, refers to points gained from wiping the screen of bullets through bombs, Break Mode activations, and killing specific enemies that trigger a screen clear.
3. Those superplays were DLC for World Ignition - they may appear with World Explosion, but don't count on it.
As for optimal scoring strats:
Arcade:
- Use maximum lockons as much as you can, or close to them, as it adds a decent amount to both Break Rate and Break Gauge - this is doubly important as lockon kills fills both bars, while Shot kills only fills one bar at a time, usually the top bar.
- Pointblank in Break Mode. A lot. Especially with a high multiplier.
- You can extend your multiplier timer greatly by screenwiping with Break Mode activations - the more bullets cancelled, the better.
- If possible, only activate Break Mode if you can go into Double Break quickly or better yet immediately, as a lot of scoring is tied to Double Break.
- Do. Not. Die.
Arrange:
- Maxing out the Rank Bar is paramount as it not only converts the bullet patterns from Novice to Arcade (ergo: more medals = more points, and faster Power Gauge increases), but doubles the value of your lockon multiplier to a potential maximum of 25.6x. The fastest way to max rank is to get a Shield.
- It's faster to go into Break Mode and then power up your Option and Lock-on through kills, pointblanking and large medal collection, than doing it outside of Break Mode. Also better for early-game scoring.
- Having Homing Options is scoring-critical, as they generate pointblank medals which can drive scoring and powering-up speeds greatly, along with speedkills to trigger extra formations in some stages eg stage3 after midboss, stage4 bombers.
- Do. Not. Die. Ever. (Having to re-powerup costs precious scoring time.)
Nice summary here. Thanks for that.
In terms of arcade, most of that is what I've been trying to do but despite having improved since my initial post, I think I'm overlooking something (obvious) as I'm still not managing to push my break rate up or fill my gauges as much as I'd like.
Guess I have to keep at it. Maybe refine my routes and break points