Death Roulette: Loop 22

[Shepardus]

Is Darius II sound emulation bugged, or is it really supposed to sound like this? Also, is the 2-screen version standard or is the 3-screen version?

[ACSeraph]

Is Darius II sound emulation bugged, or is it really supposed to sound like this? Also, is the 2-screen version standard or is the 3-screen version?

2-screen is the standard yes. As for the sound, actually it's supposed to be that way. What you are hearing is the heavy bass "body sonic" sound used to rumble the seats on the actual arcade cabinet. But I want to say there's a way in MAME to lower the volume on that one sound channel to make it sound more "normal". BTW, if you need any tips for your 2 week Darius II adventure check out ST Darius II (Only covers one course at the moment though, the one used by most Japanese players in the arcade)

[Shepardus]

What you are hearing is the heavy bass "body sonic" sound used to rumble the seats on the actual arcade cabinet.

Wow that's actually pretty interesting. And yes, I figured out that you can turn down the individual sound channels in MAME.

And thanks for the link to the ST, was about to look for it myself.

[iast]

Daioh
Salamander
Gradius
Thunder Dragon 2
TwinBee

Finally got cracking on my rolls today, here's how things stand.

Daioh - Stage 3 - 720140

Out of this roll it's the one I have the least experience with. Pretty cool art & music, still a bit too brutal yet for me to fully enjoy it.

Salamander - Stage 4 - 336200

I think I should be able to 1cc this with a bit more time on it. Not an awfully long game from what I recall.

Gradius - Stage 4 - 155900

Same deal as Salamander.

Thunder Dragon 2 - P2 - Stage 7 - 2940860

Haven't touched this in 2-3 months, get a new PB on my first go. Looking forward to finally getting a 1cc on this.

Twinbee - Stage 6 - 684000

Getting a lot of Konami practice this loop. Think my PB is stage 7 if I remember correctly. Recovery is hard as hell later on.

[alamone]

2 screen is the original Darius 2. 3 screen is a conversion kit for 3-screen cabs.
By the way, the PCB for 2 screen doesn't seem to have the pinouts for the body sonic channel, but it's emulated in MAME anyway.

[ACSeraph]

By the way, the PCB for 2 screen doesn't seem to have the pinouts for the body sonic channel, but it's emulated in MAME anyway.

Interesting... Was Darius II 2-screen a body sonic cab? Even though I've played it here, the cab I play on (Taito Hey! Akihabara) is a custom set up on a massive projector screen. So naturally it doesn't have the body sonic feature. I've never come across one of the original cabs before...

[ACSeraph]

Hey guys, quick announcement about the 1000 yen prize: Apparently you can't get 1000 yen MS point cards, so I won't be able to do that after all. You'll have to choose between either PSN or Nintendo. Sorry for the sudden change.

[Chaos]

chaos- R-Type Leo (World) - ALL (6) - 1,228,620 image and replay
chaos- Darius Gaiden - ALL (ABDHLQV) (7) - 4,710,750 image
chaos- Strikers 1945 - 1ALL (8) - P-51 - 770,300 (at end of first loop) image and replay
chaos- Dodonpachi Dai-ou-jou - 1ALL (5) - B Shotia - 34,631,570 image
chaos- Tenseiryuu - Saint Dragon - ALL (6) - 16,187,400 image and replay
(6+5)+(7+5)+(8+5)+(5+5)+(6+5)=57

[Chaos Phoenixma]

what's the minimum for XBL yen cards?

[iast]

Actually you can get 1000 yen XBL cards.

Example: https://www.japan-codes.com/shop/xbox-g ... n-1000jpy/

[ACSeraph]

Nicely done on the clear, congrats Chaos

what's the minimum for XBL yen cards?

2000 yen unfortunately. I'm kinda... poor? Cheapass? One of those. So everyone will have to settle for PSN/Nin. Theres great shit on both of those servies in the 1000 yen range though, tons of shmups too.

[ACSeraph]

Actually you can get 1000 yen XBL cards.

Example: https://www.japan-codes.com/shop/xbox-g ... n-1000jpy/

Where I live they have to be bought via a kiosk in the store, and the lowest amount is 2k.

[Chaos]

Nicely done on the clear, congrats Chaos

thanks

[Blinge]

My my, Gun Hohki has some real bullshit

[Ikazu-san]

I guess it's time to make some initial results.
-------------------
Ikazu-san - Rayforce (J) - 3 - 729.800

The range of that lock-on radar is killing me, it... isn't as expanded as I hoped.
-------------------
Ikazu-san - Battle Bakraid Unlimited (US) - Solid Ray (ABC) - Normal Course 6 (ALL) - 6.159.500

I don't get this game either. All I know is that "Battle Bark is almost like Battle Greg but not entirely".

That's another 5 points, Search options is awesome here! unlike in V-V, they are literally dumb there
-------------------
Ikazu-san - 1943 Kai - 3 - 258.900

Not even gonna try.
-------------------
Ikazu-san - Air Buster - 4 - 386.840

DAMN SNAKE, why are you allowed to move faster than me?
-------------------
Ikazu-san - V-Five - 4 - 556.800

Thought vertical Gradius with rank management was good? NOPE
-------------------
Score so far: 3+6+5+3+4+4=25
Think, I'm done. Yes, rounded it pretty good.
Btw, when is deadline, exactly?

[ACSeraph]

Btw, when is deadline, exactly?

Sunday, March 29th at 12pm Japan time.

[LordHypnos]

I guess I'll post my progress so far, now that I've made it to stage 4 of Omega Fighter and update this post with further progress.

Code: Select all

LordHypnos - Omega Fighter - 5 - 1,193,860
LordHypnos - Hacha Mecha Fighter - 3 - 2,603,920
LordHypnos - Twinbee - 3 - 88,800
LordHypnos - P47: The Freedom Fighter - 2 - 70,000
LordHypnos - Grid Seeker: Project Storm Hammer - Helicopter - 3 - ?
5+3+3+2+3=16

[Omega Fighter score updated, image removed], more coming later. Also, looks like OF doesn't give me a stage number on my score. This seems to be a common issue with games that I drew. I think only one or two actually list stage. Next time I'll make sure that I screenshot the stage as well

EDIT:
image for HMF
stage screen for Twinbee
score screen for Twinbee
P47 screenshot

EDIT 2:
score screen for Omega Fighter
Stage screen for Omega Fighter
Actually, I was recording a replay, but I briefly forgot that pausing desyncs playback >_<
image for Grid Seeker
Accidentally typed in GGG for my name in the scoreboard, and I thought I still saved the screenshot, but evidently not. I guess this means I have to play again so that I get a more complete thing here

EDIT 3: I have an inp of me getting to stage 5 in Omega Fighter, if it's necessary. It's for Shmupmame 4.2 Have not improved anything, actually since Edit 2.

[trap15]

Nostradamus -
Gradius II -
Rapid Hero - Stage 8 - 2190460 - Goddamn it I should've had the clear here. Will be back.
Genshi-Tou 1930's - Stage 2 - don't remember - Fuck this shit game
Raiden II - Stage 4 - don't remember - Probably won't be getting any further in this
Current: 0+0+8+2+4 = 14 points

[endoKarb]

Alright, Update Time

• The bad:

Hotdog Storm — Stage 3

hotdog huh

Darius — Stage 1

how do I darius?

• The average:

Blazing Star — Stage 4

Fun game. I don't think a clear is gonna happen tho

Battle Garegga — Stage 5

Better than I expected for sure, game overed at Black Heart. Could push for a stage 6 but I'm not sure I care.

• The good:

Dodonpachi 大往生 Black Label — ALL

Yes! Took waaaaay more credits than I'd have imagined.
I had already made it to stage 5 once on a random credit so I had pretty high hopes. Ended up taking more than 20 tries.


And that should put my score at 1+3+4+5+5+5 = 23

[ACSeraph]

how do I darius?

Don't feel bad, it steamrolled me pretty hard the first time I played it too. Main advice is don't use autofire, just tap, and learn to use your bombs to destroy ground based threats as quickly as possible. If you move back and forth while shooting them the inertia of your ship will actually sling them further, it's a very useful trick. Also as a rule, you want to position yourself center screen or far right for the majority of the game. The shot limit is such that you really don't want to be forced 3 screens back. Only go back there when you are given no other choice.

[endoKarb]

I actually quite like the game despite what my abysmal result would seem to indicate. It's just that it so different from anything I normally play. The music is really weird and cool.

I went ahead and bound autofire and non-autofire shot to different keys and it's definitely making my life easier. Staying more to the right also seems to make the game more manageable, but it's also getting me killed more and more often.

Well, I guess I know what I'll be playing for the rest of the week.

[ACSeraph]

Ah yeah that's a good way to do it. The machines I play on here have more or less that same setup. I tap 99% of the time, but occasionally point blank bosses with auto or ride the right edge while using it.

A couple additional tips since the randomizer unfortunately assigned you Vanilla rather than Extra: For a first (and quick given the time limit) clear go for course ACEIMRX. It's for sure the easiest. Also in stage 4 you will fight the ridiculously broken (in Vanilla) Fatty Glutton. If you power up to the second weapon stage (laser) before fighting him the fight becomes unbelieveably hard. Power up the standard shot to max but don't take any more powerups to evolve it, and point blank him in the mouth right as the fight starts for a quick and easy kill. It will save you a lot of trouble, and the rest of the game isn't so rough. Final boss X is a joke.

If you stick with the game post Death Roulette I recommend switching over to Extra and learning one of the more rewarding courses like Z'. It's my all time favorite shmup for a reason

[Stompp]

Does anyone have any insights to share on V-V? I tried the guide, but I just can't get the hang of how to switch your option weapon. Sometimes I manage to switch but I don't get how I make the choice. I just end up with something. On the other hand, I'm quite sure no matter the weapon I ain't gonna make it passed the second boss. It just chews me up and spits me out. Maybe I should just let it go

[dunpeal2064]

Its a Gradius-style system, so whenever you collect a powerup, it advances your marker along the meter, and pressing the 2nd button will select whatever powerup option you are on.

"Shot" is the Red ship, with the pods that move back and forth when you aren't shooting, "Missle" is the Blue ship with options that follow you, and "Search" is the pink ship, with options that seek out enemies and shoot them down. "Power" will make any shot stronger, and carries over if you switch option types.

For the 2nd boss, stay near the bottom when he shoots the lasers, they will move all the way down to the bottom of the screen before moving horizontally, so all you have to do is move up a bit and you are clear. Just be sure that you are moving in between his fired pattern when moving up. Once the enemies come out, you'll have to side-tap a bit to avoid their aimed shots. So, up and over a little bit. Its kinda tricky, but when you get the hang of it, most of the fight is simple. Only once does he seem to throw all 3 things at you at once, and that is when you'll have to make a somewhat weird movement to avoid everything. There might be a better strat, but thats what I've always done, and its pretty consistent.

[Stompp]

Its a Gradius-style system, so whenever you collect a powerup, it advances your marker along the meter, and pressing the 2nd button will select whatever powerup option you are on.

Thx for your pointers. Much appreciated So basically, once you've selected an option you won't be able to change it until you've done another pickup.

[dunpeal2064]

Yeah, exactly. You start with shot, so if you want, say, Missle, you'd need to pick up 3 more items to move the tracker to the Missle option, and then pick that. Then, if you want to change from Missle, you'd need to either pick up 2 more items to move the tracker to Shot, or 4 more to move it to Search. (This is all assuming the tracker is empty).

It is also worth noting that, if you die with the tracker active at all (You've picked up items but not yet selected an option), you will respawn with one item in stock, or with the tracker selecting Speed Up. Pretty much every time this happens, I just use the speed up, as the default ship speed is way too slow, but it is worth noting.

I really like the game, hopefully the tips help! If you make it past the Stage 2 boss, I personally think Search options work great on stage 3, both for shooting enemies down and getting as many of the bonuses as possible. Up until Stage 3, though, I stick with Shot, focused into the giant beam, for quick kills.

[Stompp]

Thank you. Finally it starts to make sense Despite constantly getting smacked it's a really nice game with a good BGM

[LordHypnos]

@Stompp: Keep it up on V . V! You should definitely be able to make it past the 2nd stage boss with a little practice. I'm definitely not a very skilled player, and I eventually made it to stage 3 just with casual credits over a little time.

I recommend making sure you have 1 speed up (some people prefer 2, but I think I only ever used 1). I always went with the search weapon starting either partway through the first stage or in the second stage, though I'm not sure which. Unfortunately, I don't actually remember how I got past the 2nd stage boss. I think I kept using the search though, even though it has a bit higher rank than the normal shot. You can also power up the individual shot types by selecting them again. Don't forget about the shield, as well (That's the last option on the tracker IIRC). That seriously comes in handy considering there's no smartbomb. I think I probably did something like speed, shield, search, search, search, while prioritizing the shield whenever I lost it.

Hope that's helpful!

EDIT: Note that I was wrong about how you power up your shot. it's a seperate option on the power up bar. The rest of this is probably fine, though it's been a long time since I last played

[dunpeal2064]

You can also power up the individual shot types by selecting them again.

Can you? I thought the option disappeared, and you had to choose Power to level up your strength. Maybe I am thinking of the Genesis port, if that was an alteration made?

[LordHypnos]

You can also power up the individual shot types by selecting them again.

Can you? I thought the option disappeared, and you had to choose Power to level up your strength. Maybe I am thinking of the Genesis port, if that was an alteration made?

Oh yeah, my bad. I forgot there was a seperate power up thing Haven't actually played this since last June, I don't think...
Point being, you can power up your shot, and I generally do. it does increase rank, but seemed worthwhile, anyway.