Arcade 1CC training techniques

[DanMagoo]

I’m grinding my way through Futari Original, aiming for my first proper 1cc (or 1sissy, anyway). Feel like it’s a real luxury to have a full-featured training mode and be able to practice any scenario till I’ve got it down.

If I was playing in a Japanese arcade I would never have that luxury. Interested to know what techniques Japanese players use to train in the arcades.

Do people e.g. bomb their way through levels to reduce the risk until they get to a boss fight they want to rehearse? Do they abandon scoring mechanics (assuming there are any) to blast through to the bit they want to practice?

What are the different ways that people approach breaking down the challenge in real arcades?

[iconoclast]

—On 12/18/2006, Mushihimesama Futari ver. 1.5 was installed in arcades, and one week later, on 12/24, you reached the stage 5 boss. Then, six days later on 12/30, you reached the second form of Larsa. Please tell us about that experience.

Yusemi: Each time I practiced, I would continue after dying and play through to the end. During each session I spent about 2000 yen (1 play is 50 yen, so ~40 credits worth). I spent most of the time refining my patterns, and I would also practice just dodging (without firing) boss patterns that I still felt unsure about or wanted to increase my experience with. The most I ever spent in a single day practicing was 20000 yen (~400 credits). Normally you feel really bad continuing that much and occupying a single cab for so long when other players are waiting, but the game center I go to, Goody 21, is almost all regulars who understood. Being able to practice to my heart’s content like that was a big advantage.

http://shmuplations.com/scorer5/

see also: http://shmuplations.com/scorer1/

[Skykid]

Futari original is not sissy, there are much easier clears. Futari Black Label original, now that's a sissy clear discounting scoring.

Practicing techniques vary greatly. It really depends on what you're comfortable with. I've never used a practice mode in my life, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't if it helps get you further in the game.

I stick to a horrible clinical old arcade technique of single credit runs, but Japanese players often use continues to practice later areas.

Scoring is often intertwined with Survival, and often the element that really makes the game fun. Personally I learn to score as I chip away at the game through practice - but again whatever suits you.

[DanMagoo]

—On 12/18/2006, Mushihimesama Futari ver. 1.5 was installed in arcades, and one week later, on 12/24, you reached the stage 5 boss. Then, six days later on 12/30, you reached the second form of Larsa. Please tell us about that experience.

Yusemi: Each time I practiced, I would continue after dying and play through to the end. During each session I spent about 2000 yen (1 play is 50 yen, so ~40 credits worth). I spent most of the time refining my patterns, and I would also practice just dodging (without firing) boss patterns that I still felt unsure about or wanted to increase my experience with. The most I ever spent in a single day practicing was 20000 yen (~400 credits). Normally you feel really bad continuing that much and occupying a single cab for so long when other players are waiting, but the game center I go to, Goody 21, is almost all regulars who understood. Being able to practice to my heart’s content like that was a big advantage.

http://shmuplations.com/scorer5/

see also: http://shmuplations.com/scorer1/

Thanks/Merci. I have already read that one as it's very famous (and also not many such interviews exist!)

Would be good to hear some other tips.

Thanks for your online content also- your Abnormal Palm Original YouTube vid is kinda my guiding light!

[Strikers1945guy]

I would assume in crowded Japanese arcades just watching and observing is half of your real practice. With huge line ups for new popular games, watching where many players have trouble would be key in advancing your routes without endless credits yourself. Superplays are no good as you're watching a pro score but I could imagine in a basic arcade setting most players are good/average so watching would help.

[EmperorIng]

I think it's a bit overrated to use "techniques that would only be applicable in a real arcade setting." Which itself is a pretty vague and fluid determination.

Watching better players can help give you useful ideas on how to get past particular threats/patterns. That happens at the arcades, so watch some youtube videos. As well, learning at least enough of a scoring system to get the extends is pretty crucial towards getting the clear.

The games I have cleared have honestly come from credit-feeding the games so many times that I have memorized all the tricky survival spots.

[Erppo]

I don't think practicing individual parts is that important when you're still learning all the basics. At that time you'll see a lot of progress just by improving your general play skills, and games like Futari Original are easy enough to clear just by those basic dodging skills alone. Practicing individual bits becomes more important when moving to more difficult goals, and when the improvement of your general skills has slowed down.

[ratikal]

If you are looking for a quick and dirty clear, there's a method called bomb distribution that might be up your alley. Basically, you play a session and take note of where you died. In your next session/credit, you bomb in those areas. You keep doing this until all of your lives and bombs are distributed. If you still can't clear it, then you need to practice some of the more easier sections that you are bombing in.

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

If you're playing a game that uses powerups and every time you die it gives a max powerup drop, avoid it or else you will probably be practicing game parts with an overpowered shot. That won't help you very much. If you have the game at home though it's usually easier to just start the game over. Overall it's just a matter of playing the game over and over though.

[Blinge]

If you are looking for a quick and dirty clear, there's a method called bomb distribution that might be up your alley. Basically, you play a session and take note of where you died. In your next session/credit, you bomb in those areas. You keep doing this until all of your lives and bombs are distributed. If you still can't clear it, then you need to practice some of the more easier sections that you are bombing in.

Pretty much this. though guaranteed bomb spots can develop naturally instead of being so pre-meditated. There's very few games where bombing will impact badly on your run.. and even if you lose score by bombing, you'll probably lose more by dying.

[davyK]

I love shmups but my level of skill is pretty medicore. The biggest mistake I make is losing a life with bombs in stock - it is so infuriating - especially when it's a case of me being just too slow to hit the bomb button. It's a mental attitude too though - I really don't like relying on them - but I have to program myself to use them more.

I've been playing Mushi Futari original on and off for 9 months now. Furthest I have got is the mid-level boss on level 4 but that is only a handful of times. I normally get to the level 3 boss in a run but usually with only 1 life left - but I am improving slowly but surely. It's the usual Futari story - I can no-miss up until the 2nd half of level 3. I've also started sitting closer to the screen and that helps a great deal with bullet dodging - and given that it is an arcade game it is the way it should be played.

It's a pity that novice mode is too easy - I would like something in between. If I was able to deselect auto-bomb in novice mode that would be a good stepping stone to original mode as playing the later levels in novice is a good way to warm up for original mode for lower skilled players like myself.

[Immryr]

I love shmups but my level of skill is pretty medicore. The biggest mistake I make is losing a life with bombs in stock - it is so infuriating - especially when it's a case of me being just too slow to hit the bomb button. It's a mental attitude too though - I really don't like relying on them - but I have to program myself to use them more.

I've been playing Mushi Futari original on and off for 9 months now. Furthest I have got is the mid-level boss on level 4 but that is only a handful of times. I normally get to the level 3 boss in a run but usually with only 1 life left - but I am improving slowly but surely. It's the usual Futari story - I can no-miss up until the 2nd half of level 3. I've also started sitting closer to the screen and that helps a great deal with bullet dodging - and given that it is an arcade game it is the way it should be played.

It's a pity that novice mode is too easy - I would like something in between. If I was able to deselect auto-bomb in novice mode that would be a good stepping stone to original mode as playing the later levels in novice is a good way to warm up for original mode for lower skilled players like myself.

this is pretty much where I'm at too. the amount of times I get a game over in any given STG without having ever used a bomb is just ridiculous.

[davyK]

In Mushi Futari sometimes i try novice mode and listen for the auto-bomb sound and mentally tell myself it is a life loss and try and clear the game with less than 5 auto-bombs.

[chempop]

Training isn’t just about a single experience or habbit playing a game, but rather your entire “career” of playing shmups that accumulate over the course of a long period of time. I think a lot of people forget this and expect faster results.

I invested a solid decade in the genre before my first 1CC. That first ten years was flailing around mostly just having fun and finding my footing.

The key is perseverance. Don’t worry about 9 months or 9 years. The games aren’t going anywhere (unless it’s XBLA) so take your time and enjoy the genre.

[Blinge]

Don't be afraid of practice mode or *whispers*.. save states. This is if you want to iron out a particular tough spot, gives your brain time to decipher a section without worrying about losing your credit/progress.

[Bananamatic]

Training isn’t just about a single experience or habbit playing a game, but rather your entire “career” of playing shmups that accumulate over the course of a long period of time. I think a lot of people forget this and expect faster results.

I invested a solid decade in the genre before my first 1CC. That first ten years was flailing around mostly just having fun and finding my footing.

The key is perseverance. Don’t worry about 9 months or 9 years. The games aren’t going anywhere (unless it’s XBLA) so take your time and enjoy the genre.

but if he can no miss to the half of st3 in futari and gets to the st3 boss with one life, he's simply playing the stage wrong, which is way easier to fix than improving your overall skill

[pegboy]

There really is no wrong way. You should practice however the hell you want, assuming you are actually making progress. If you aren't making progress, then it's time to change things up or ask for help.

I only recently started going for 1CC SHMUP runs (about a year ago) but I have 25 years of video game playing experience (across pretty much every single genre of game there is) to work with so it's come pretty quickly.

You really can't "speed through" that process, it takes a shit load of time to get good enough to clear games quickly and intrinsically recognize what strategies are applicable. I think my experience in other genres actually made playing SHMUPs a lot easier.

For me personally I pretty much use whatever practice modes are available in the game, but I have yet to use save-states in learning any of the games I've legit cleared. I don't play with MAME at all, nor do I ever plan to, I only play legit releases, no emulators.

[davyK]

I have been playing games since the early arcade days - I can remember Space Invaders arriving. So I have plenty of gaming experience but I'm starting to realise that STG games, particularly modern ones, require acute concentration at certain times but also a particular state of mind. When practising I have been too worried about losing a life - as if every game is a 1CC run - which at my level of experience is being silly. I should be embracing a life loss when at the limits of my experience with a game as a learning point.

I find it hard to remember patterns and paths but it is important to concentrate on developing that - it is a unique genre that requires a high level of concentration and high quality practice in order to get to a place where memory starts to kick in.

It's too easy to "switch off" and try and play by the seat of your pants instead of concentrating and remembering the scenario of a life loss and then trying something different the next time. It seems obvious but there is a real discipline in that. It probably comes easier to talented players but we all have to do it.

I am also having to consciously look at a particular part of the screen at certain times instead of relying on a whole screen view. I find it unnatural to concentrate on one part of a screen but it's the only way I can achieve success at complex pattern navigation. I will just have to keep forcing myself to do that and keep the concentration up.

I also need to relax and enjoy myself!

Got to level 4 tonight in Mushi Futari for the first time in ages - I am playing more aggressively with less fear and I believe I will soon master level 3. Don't use the practice mode that much but I have used it and It's a great feature of Futari. I may well start using it again for level 3 and 4.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Back in the mid-80s when it took a quarter per credit to play an arcade game, you'd try to make the most of each credit (if you were learning the ropes of how to play said game). So if I had a few quarters in hand, I'd take those and try to get as far as I could, continuing along the way to see what new sections would appear and learn/master those new key areas/sections. Of course, this was before Mame and those handy save states, after all. And no handy pause button whatsoever -- it was all done in real time. If you screwed up on a typical game session, it was nobody's fault but your own (and an expensive one at that).

With the Romstar USA version of Capcom's Hyper Dyne SideArms Jamma PCB conversion kit hosted inside a generic Dynamo upright cab at a local hamburger joint back in April of 1988...it really forced the player to try to learn the in & outs of said game with just a few credits per session. Given the fast paced nature of Sidearms, I'd have to say that it took about a few weeks to learn how to play it until reaching the point of being able to play it on a single credit and reaching the ends-stage boss of Bozon on a single life. However, it took a second credit to finally beat Bozon once & for all, making it a true 2CC (credit clear) affair for me. So with an average of 1.4 to 1.5+ million per credit and placing in the top 5 rankings across the high score list, that was my personal best on Sidearms. But at the end of the day when the AC power was turned off, those scores would vanish and default back to the usual scores. So it was time to achieve those scores all over again for a new day. Never did attempt to videotape nor take a Polaroid/C-110 snapshot to show proof of those scores though.

Nowadays, getting a score of over 3+ million on Sidearms is possible/do-able...of course, I never got the chance to see such another high-level Sidearms player during my gaming sessions with the Sidearms upright cab during those days. I'm sure by watching a high-level Sidearms player at a Japanese game center (or another arcade hangout Stateside) back in 1988 would have taught me some new tricks and strategies to further increase my overall scores easily.

So yes, back in the 80s, to play arcade games wasn't an cheap affair/hobby as it forced you to try to learn playing said game during a gaming session to make the most of it (which took a lot of time, patience and of course, money, to do so).

Upon getting a JPN region Capcom Sidearms Jamma PCB, it is just a tad bit different compared to the licensed Romstar version PCB of the same name in terms of opening title screen intro and credit pricing options (set via dipswitch settings) but all the hidden bonus icons still remain the same regardless of country region, indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Blinge]

For me personally I pretty much use whatever practice modes are available in the game, but I have yet to use save-states in learning any of the games I've legit cleared. I don't play with MAME at all, nor do I ever plan to, I only play legit releases, no emulators.

Ah yes, the pegboy doctrine. Great rationale - 'practice mode is legit, save states aren't.' You do realise most people that use save states for arcade games simply have a state at the beginning of each stage, to function as a practice mode.
So you're still re-posting your mantra, isn't having it in your sig enough?

Regs,
Blinge - of the Promethean school of shooting

[pegboy]

For me personally I pretty much use whatever practice modes are available in the game, but I have yet to use save-states in learning any of the games I've legit cleared. I don't play with MAME at all, nor do I ever plan to, I only play legit releases, no emulators.

Ah yes, the pegboy doctrine. Great rationale - 'practice mode is legit, save states aren't.' You do realise most people that use save states for arcade games simply have a state at the beginning of each stage, to function as a practice mode.
So you're still re-posting your mantra, isn't having it in your sig enough?

Regs,
Blinge - of the Promethean school of shooting

Did you ignore the first part of my post? I said there is no wrong way to practice, if you want to play MAME all day long then go nuts.

For me personally, I just don't like MAME and it really cheapens the experience FOR ME. Playing emulated ROMS on a PC and LCD monitor feels so wrong, especially when I grew up playing games in the arcades. It's just a completely watered down experience. I'd much rather play console ports on my CRT than MAME, but that's just me.

[Kollision]

just play it with passion
make it fun
try different things

"grind" shouldn't be a part of the experience

also play more than one game at a time

[Ruldra]

also play more than one game at a time

I disagree with this one. You'll make progress much quicker if you focus on a game exclusively.

[Kollision]

also play more than one game at a time

I disagree with this one. You'll make progress much quicker if you focus on a game exclusively.

correct
however by doing that you're more likely to run into burnouts, which can be deadly for a beginner's motivation
he had already mentioned grinding

[Lilium]

Yes, by all means play more than one game at a time. Especially if you're new

Playing one game alone is good for getting better results in that one game but its not a bad idea to play a broad variety of stuff to get all sorts of different experiences and grow stronger without things getting stale on you. In this case trying to clear Futari Original, its something that comes pretty automatic in 2-3 credits when you got the basics down.

Grinding for 1cc's at this point is a bit wasteful as you'll benefit far more from expanding on your skill set by playing a variety of different titles.

[DanMagoo]

Can anyone tell me the dimensions in cm of the screen on an arcade cabinet (Tate, obviously)?

I am trying to get my rig as close as possible to arcade proportions without buying a cab and going down the PCB route!

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Well, at the Japanese game centers, those typical Taito Egret 29s, Egret 2s, Egret 3s & the Atomiswave candy cabs use an 29" sized arcade CRT montor (which is referred to as an 27" sized one in the USA). Back in the mid-1980s, arcade monitors with a standard size of 19" to 20" was considered the norm (be it if the monitor was in yoko or tate orientation) for the American arcadess. Some arcade operators would take existing arcade game cabs and do a simple makeover with said Jamma conversion kit(s) to save money & see a return on their initial investment(s) (or rent such PCBs from the local arcade game distributor instead).

The typical price of a brand new full sized arcade upright game was about $3,000 USD back in the early 1980s stateside. It'd just be a matter of weeks if said arcade game was popular and it'd be finally paid off (and any extra earnings after that initial paid-off arcade cabinet was pure profit). Of course, week in and week out, it was the custom to see what the latest arcade cabinet was brought in to play/check out. As usual, long lines formed just to try 'em out (not to mention the fine art of "jamming" would show up, especially with a new game). On any given week, you never knew what was going to appear at the local arcade. This was typical of American arcades during the Golden Age of Arcades era.

Come to think of it, the initial cost of filming the summer of 1983 released indie Joysticks cult movie, was a mere paltry $300,000 USD, yet it went on to become the #1 movie at the U.S. film box office. True story. Sadly, no other major film company was interested in making a movie about the current arcade game fad/craze going on and thus, Joysticks remains the only one released to deal with it. Here's the cincher, the director didn't have any money to pay the IP rights to show the various arcade games from different arcade game manufacturers (such as Williams, Bally-Midway MFG Co., Sega, Atari, etc.) but was given permission to film said arcade games as it was considered free advertising/promotional purposes was the only work-around/solution available at hand...otherwise, Joysticks couldn't have been made, period. Thus Bally-Midway was more than happy to show off it's newest arcade game of Super Pac-Man within the Joysticks film (considering that SP was the latest arcade game offering at that particular point in time during initial filming back in 1982).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Some-Mist]

full extent of the jam.pdf

but I use a method that works for me... and it's far from the most intuitive/fastest.
I usually just play 1 credit over and over again. you're gonna see an insane amount of (and possibly get sick of) stages 1-3... but you're going to know those stages and eventually the scoring (enough to allow you to get score extends) like the back of your hand. when I've sunk enough hours into a game, I typically get restart syndrome if I take an unrecoverable stupid death in stages 1 or 2.

I have done so, but typically never credit feed through nor watch playthroughs or use save states which are all recommended by a lot of the best players in the game. I don't enjoy taking my time to study other peoples runs and I'd rather figure it out for myself which is probably one of the worst methods.

my clears are limited to

Spoiler

mushihimesama futari ver. 1.5 original, futari black label original, futari black label maniac, progear 1-all (can't get the loop yet), deathsmiles, deathsmiles iix, akai katana arcade, psyvariar 2: the will to fabricate, ikaruga easy and normal, armed police batrider (korean b) easy and normal course, mushihimesama HD ver. 1.5 original

and a lot of the people giving advice in this thread have some pretty (what I consider) insane clears.

[kathy]

I love shmups but my level of skill is pretty medicore. The biggest mistake I make is losing a life with bombs in stock - it is so infuriating - especially when it's a case of me being just too slow to hit the bomb button. It's a mental attitude too though - I really don't like relying on them - but I have to program myself to use them more.

I've been playing Mushi Futari original on and off for 9 months now. Furthest I have got is the mid-level boss on level 4 but that is only a handful of times. I normally get to the level 3 boss in a run but usually with only 1 life left - but I am improving slowly but surely. It's the usual Futari story - I can no-miss up until the 2nd half of level 3. I've also started sitting closer to the screen and that helps a great deal with bullet dodging - and given that it is an arcade game it is the way it should be played.

It's a pity that novice mode is too easy - I would like something in between. If I was able to deselect auto-bomb in novice mode that would be a good stepping stone to original mode as playing the later levels in novice is a good way to warm up for original mode for lower skilled players like myself.

This may sound like a strange suggestion, but if you're playing on a 360 try turning the music down to zero in the game options (I found doing so really helped me concentrate)

It does change the experience and can take a little getting used to, but my runs improved dramatically practicing this way