how can I keep my excitement going

[bishhenin]

I have been always a fan of games, however, I have only started playing danmaku 2weeks ago and then got addicted to it, but now I have been stuck on a boss that I couldn't beat no matter the many times my pro friends showed my how to beat'em I couldn't and now I have just stopped because I got really frustrated that I realized it's not fun anymore
and then I found this website and actually realized that there are so many people still into these games and play it everyday, how did you cope with the frustrating bosses that not made for players to win over rather to lose?!

[guigui]

First adivce that comes to mind is : BOMB.

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

You can win over any boss with enough practice. Shmups require a certain amount of dedication and persistence for many players. If you're new to the genre though (or even if you aren't for that matter) don't feel obliged to keep banging your head against a brick wall. Play something else for a bit, the skills you learn from other games will often help you when you return back to whatever is giving you trouble.

[ACSeraph]

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=50218&

[chempop]

Do not expect to beat these games overnight or assume you can replicate another player or video when starting off. Learning these games takes serious determination, experienced players make it look easy but it can take years and years of practice to gain the skills required for success.

Try to enjoy every step of the way, if you are just starting off with bullet hell, play a variety of things to see what’s out there. Sounds too early in your shmup career to get caught up on a boss and start raging.

[Pteriforever]

Good. let the hate flow through you ^.^

Raging is a natural part of playing shmups, I find. It strengthens the vital love-hate oscillation between you and the game, so even though one will usually play badly while mad, the moment you calm down you'll have renewed determination and/or crezy mad skilz

[Perikles]

The most important lesson for me was to properly analyze tricky situations instead of trying to wear them down. Back in the day I used to endlessly replay the same stages over and over again without thinking about what exactly I needed to do, I just got lucky at some point since I tried it so many times. Whenever I get the feeling that I'm merely repeating the same mistake(s) over and over again these days I'm forcing myself to deduce the problem at hand. Am I using the wrong weapon? Is this boss really supposed to be that difficult or am I being too aggressive? Should I be using more of my resources? Oftentimes things get significantly easier once you figured out the underlying structure. If you're just trying to play it by eye and dodge every single pattern in a given game on reaction you're probably not going to get very far unless you have lots of experience or are extremely talented. Try to understand the complex of problems before you tackle it. Keen observation is much more important than dexterity in my opinion. It's also considerably more satisfying to solve an intricate challenge by your own wit in lieu of getting through by fluke.

This entire post sounds terribly dry and abstract but it actually turns out to be really engaging, I swear!

[Squire Grooktook]

Good. let the hate flow through you ^.^

Raging is a natural part of playing shmups, I find. It strengthens the vital love-hate oscillation between you and the game, so even though one will usually play badly while mad, the moment you calm down you'll have renewed determination and/or crezy mad skilz

I guess it's different strokes for different folks, but I've never felt this way.

To me, rage/hatred/frustration is something I never truly feel if a game is fun and fair. No matter how hard it gets, if I think the game is fun, I never get frustrated. And this is good for me, because truly having fun and excitement is an integral part of the experience to me and why I keep going. I could die 1000 times in a row, but if every one of those deaths is exciting and intense, then I feel that those runs were fun and that it was time well spent, regardless of if I lost or won.

[Shepardus]

how did you cope with the frustrating bosses that not made for players to win over rather to lose?!

I don't think that's the right way to think about it. They're not made for you to lose to them, if they wanted you to lose they'd just fill the entire screen with a single giant bullet and be done with it. Any challenge is winnable, and barring any medical issues preventing you from playing games there's no reason to think that you can't win. You just haven't won yet.

If you're getting frustrated by a certain boss or a particular attack, I often find it's unhelpful to keep bashing your head against it, as it only leads to frustration as you either try the same thing over and over again expecting different results, or search for a silver bullet that magically solves your problems (this sometimes works, but don't expect it to). Take a step back and perhaps try playing some other shmups. There's a ton out there, I guarantee you're not going to run out anytime soon. Even though the patterns aren't the same, many of the skills transfer over whether you're conscious of it or not, especially if you play similarly-styled shmups (like playing other Touhou games if you're stuck on a Touhou game). If the game you're playing has easier difficulty levels you might also want to try that, not because you're an inferior human being who cowers when faced with any challenges, but because easier difficulty levels can help you feel how the game flows and how you're supposed to approach certain situations without necessarily demanding pinpoint precision.

You could think of it like you're a character in an RPG, and you can't get yourself past a boss fight. The problem might be that you're strong enough but you're improperly gearing yourself. You may need to change up your tactics, think about what the boss's weaknesses are. Or the problem might be that you're simply underleveled. That doesn't mean you can't reach the strength level you need, it just means you need to find some more experience. Of course you might get lucky and pass the boss while being underleveled, but most people would choose to train up the skills they need by tackling other challenges that aren't too easy, but also aren't too hard. When you come back to the boss, you may still find some challenge at first because you need to readjust yourself to that specific encounter, but you'll probably find it to be a lot easier than you remember.

So in short, think about whether there's an easier way to approach the challenge you face or a specific mistake you can pay special attention to avoid, and if there isn't, practice similar challenges that will help you develop the skills you need, whether that's playing on an easier difficulty, playing different games, or even just practicing the same game if you're not too frustrated (keep in mind that some amount of practice is almost inevitable).

[Asure]

What really helped for me was to loose my job. It ment i had seas of time to spend on this genre. Still took a long time to master a few of these things. Managed to beat Espgaluda 1, then moved on to 2, then got a 360 and jamma adapter. Great way to kill some time. I think it took me around 6 months to master large parts of Galuda, then i could finally beat it, but no earth-shattering scores. Now i got a job again, and am back to horizontal stuff. Been playing Blazing Star, i think this will be my next target to 1CC.

Again, it boils down to time & dedication. Lots of patterns to learn.. any game can be beat.

[waiwainl]

Seems like a big thing to first loose/quit your job in order to keep the excitement going
Would make you a hardcore shmupper btw!

[Yukemi-ZWY]

I feel I play better after a boring day at work than if I have the whole day to myself, I've spend three years unemployed, and nothing good happened during that time.
However I will spend hours daydreaming about DDP, waiting to get home and play, and enjoy myself a lot more.

[Stevens]

Sage like advice

I posted this in another thread, but it is pertinent here in regards to leveling up

Mars Matrix was the 1st shmup I bought two years back when I started to get into the genre. The game handed me my ass repeatedly. I eventually made some progress in it and then moved on to other shooters with varying degrees of success.

A year and a half later I am playing MM again, and it isn't nearly as hard as I remember it being. I've gotten better in that time (level up!) and I think I now have the shmup skills to earn a 1 CC in it.

Watching Lord Hypnos earn the 1 CC didn't hurt either.