Input Requested: Retroachievements for Esprade

[guildenstern]

Hello everyone. For multiple reasons, some of which are part of a weird long-term-personal-plan that started as a new year resolution, I am "developing" achievements for esprade. For those who dont know, there is this website called retroachievements where random people post achievements/trophy sets for other people to hunt for consoles that dont support such a feature. The website has some pretty diverse userbase and a strong connection with retro community and the speedrun community (I think that is clearer for the Megaman games). Either way, I would like to make a set that would draw those kind of players and more general arcade players toward shmups and eventually guide them for the 1cc of esprade (which is my second 1cc and first arcade 1cc). Since most sets in the RA use as reference gamefaqs and longplays, I figured Id ask you guys for feedback/sugestions since here is quite obviously a better source forinformation then the other two. I also would rather put the whole set under players scrutiny before it is released rather then after. Here is the original RA forum topic: https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=11694

R=Name&Description R=Satoru I&Defeat Satoru on the first stage, Houoh High School. Default settings. To encounter him, just select Yusuke on the char select screen. R=Satoru II&Defeat Satoru on the second stage, Houoh High School. Default settings. To encounter him, just select J-B 5th using the C button or Irori using the B button on the char select screen. R=Satoru III&Defeat Satoru on the third stage, Houoh High School. Default settings. To encounter him, just select J-B 5th using the B button or Irori using the C button on the char select screen. R=Izuna I&Defeat Izuna on the first stage, Shopping Mall at Night. Default settings. To encounter it, just select J-B 5th on the char select screen. R=Izuna II&Defeat Izuna on the second stage, Shopping Mall at Night. Default settings. To encounter it, just select Irori using the C button or Yusuke using the B button on the char select screen. R=Izuna III&Defeat Izuna on the third stage, Shopping Mall at Night. Default settings. To encounter it, just select Irori using the B button or Yusuke using the C button on the char select screen. R=Peller Boy I&Defeat Peller Boy on the first stage, Bay Area. Default settings. To encounter it, just select Irori on the char select screen. R=Peller Boy II&Defeat Peller Boy on the second stage, Bay Area. Default settings. To encounter it, just select J-B 5th using the B button or Yusuke using the C button on the char select screen. R=Peller Boy III&Defeat Peller Boy on the third stage, Bay Area. Default settings. To encounter it, just select J-B 5th using the C button or Yusuke using the B button on the char select screen. R=Pleiades&Defeat Pleiades on the fourth stage, Wangan Subway Line. Default settings. R=Gogyo-Kakuchi&Defeat Gogyo-Kakuchi on the fifth stage A, Yaksa Fortress. Default settings. R=Ares&Defeat Ares on the fifth stage B, Inside Yaksa. Default settings. R=Garra&Defeat Garra on the fifth stage B, Inside Yaksa. Default settings. R=Survival King&Clear the game with Yusuke, default settings, can credit feed. R=J-B 5th Clear&Clear the game with J-B 5th, default settings, can credit feed. R=Score Queen&Clear the game with Irori, default settings, can credit feed. R=First Extend&Achieve a score of over 4000000 in the game, using default settings, to get the first life extend. Must be done before Ares, Stage 5b boss, Inside Yaksa. R=Second Extend&Achieve a score of over 8000000 in the game, using default settings, to get the second life extend. Must be done before Ares, Stage 5b boss, Inside Yaksa. R=Hidden Extend&Collect the Hidden extend on Stage 4, Wangan Subway Line. R=Full Extent Of The Jam&Clear the game on a single Credit. You practiced, you routed, you understood what It takes. We hope this is just one more step on a long and satisfying shmup journey. R=Small Fortune&Increase the maximum amount of collectable Yen blocks to 700. The max blocks increase every time you get a Barrier Recharge Block. R=Obtain a Barrier Recharge Block&Obtain a Barrier Recharge Block to replenish your Barrier Charge bar. To obtain one, max out the Yen Blocks, initially to 200, without having a full charge, many enemies will start droping those. R=Izuna Bane&Destroy all breakable parts of Izuna before blowing up the body plate. Single continue on boss only, can credit feed until it. Normal difficulty. R=Gogyowned!&Destroy both turrets of Gogyo-Kakuchi before breaking the screen. Single continue on boss only, can credit feed until it. Normal difficulty. R=Max Multiplier&Achieve a score multiplier of 16 at any given time. For that use your full piercing shot, default C, on a big enemy and kill it right afterwards. R=Hold it!&Hold the multiplier, minimum of 2, max of 16, for at least three seconds. Each Yen block collected with a multiplier greater then one add to the time. R=Mall plunderer&Destroy at least one of the cars, just before Izuna, while having a score multiplier higher then 1. R=Pro charger&Charge the barrier to max within 5 seconds. The barrier grows as it absorbs enemy bullets. R=Pro recharger&Recharge at least one third of the Barrier Gauge by collecting Recharge blocks. Dying recharges it completely, that doesnt count. R=Route to kill&Spawn and kill all vehicles just before Akebono fight on stage 4, Wangan Subway Line. They spawn between the Jet and the Armored Trains. Speed kill the Jet to spawn them all. R=Just for blocks&Destroy all the deactivated/broken armored tortoises just before Ares on Stage 5B, Inside Yaksa. R=No Miss Pleiades&Destroy Pleiades without dying. Normal Difficulty. Charges allowed. Can credit feed until Pleiades itself. R=No Miss the boss on Stage 1&Destroy one of the bosses on Stage 1. Normal Difficulty. Can use one charge, at most. Can credit feed until the boss. R=No Miss the boss on Stage 2&Destroy one of the bosses on Stage 2. Normal Difficulty. Can use one charge, at most. Can credit feed until the boss. R=No Miss the boss on Stage 3&Destroy one of the bosses on Stage 2. Normal Difficulty. Can use one charge, at most. Can credit feed until the boss.

A few notes: I suck at giving things proper naming so anything in that direction would also help. The descriptions will be shorter because it didnt fit the emu UI. Any of disagreement with anything in there is more then welcome, including with the very premise. There is something called Bonus set which, in general, contains harder trophies and/or things that require glitches exploitations so the initial idea is to put things like score runs or just straight no-miss Garra in that bonus set as I consider those harder then the 1cc (that bonus set would come at a later date). Unfortunately, I dont think the set itself will be of much value for the stg community because there is only a small subset of emulators that support that feature (they are not usually what Ive seen people talking about here), the community at large would probably prefer to go straight for 1cc rather then hunt for achievements, some of the sets are really bizarre (and tbh looking at the timestamps, the evil being that inhabits my soul think some of the people didnt got the platinum trophy in a very legit way) and, finally, there are just not that many achievements for shmups in there... so yeah. Any ideas/feedback/opinions are greatly appreciated. Especially because the achievement set I came up with is feeling a bit generic.

[Meriscan]

Especially because the achievement set I came up with is feeling a bit generic.

I checked the RA website for other shmups and most of them look way more generic than your list right here. There's some cool ideas for achievement like getting the very high max Yen blocks, and killing all enemies in a specific formation that might otherwise be pretty hard to do.

If you're trying to guide people to getting the 1cc via these achievements, maybe have all the steps that come before that seperated as different achievements that you have to get to without using a continue. Like beating stage 4 on one credit, stage 5 on one credit, getting TO the final boss on one credit ect. In some of these achievements you mention the player "can credit feed", some others you have to be "on a single Credit", but for most it isn't specified. Maybe it would be a bit cluttered to add this clarification for every achievement, but consider doing it for the progress ones like getting to a certain stage or boss.

[Lethe]

Do one for the scoring trick where you kill Satoru with a multiplier while his bits are active.



Stage 3 Satoru has an additional trick where you kill his clone with a multiplier, which applies the multiplier to the real one as well (doesn't work in reverse).

"Route to kill" is trivialized by bombing the big plane, but with bombing disallowed it's unreasonably hard for Irori (functionally impossible for the target skill level).

[guildenstern]

Cool, thanx guys o.o.

I checked the RA website for other shmups and most of them look way more generic than your list right here. There's some cool ideas for achievement like getting the very high max Yen blocks, and killing all enemies in a specific formation that might otherwise be pretty hard to do.

If you're trying to guide people to getting the 1cc via these achievements, maybe have all the steps that come before that seperated as different achievements that you have to get to without using a continue. Like beating stage 4 on one credit, stage 5 on one credit, getting TO the final boss on one credit ect. In some of these achievements you mention the player "can credit feed", some others you have to be "on a single Credit", but for most it isn't specified. Maybe it would be a bit cluttered to add this clarification for every achievement, but consider doing it for the progress ones like getting to a certain stage or boss.

Good point, I will change the description. Tbh, I didnt add the 1cc for stages etc because RA has this directive against too many trophies popping at the same time so with the actual 1cc, the progression achievement, the no miss on the boss etc, it would have three.

Do one for the scoring trick where you kill Satoru with a multiplier while his bits are active.

That is a great idea. I will try to add that. It is my first set so I am having more trouble that I thought I would scanning the ram (which is why I dont say: yes, it will be there for sure).