I must say Errpo, I'm not sure which you're more expert at: shmups or taking my writings out of context and putting words in my mouth - although I'm beginning to suspect the latter more your forteErppo wrote:I think the fact that many Western players don't even realize you can become consistently good at these games with some work just highlights how detached the community still is from the games themselves. These forums have lots of users but the main focus is still almost entirely on collecting and arcade hardware and stuff like that. Despite fine effort from some individuals, a proper higher level player community has yet to form. Maybe it never will as long as everyone is scattered all around the world, though that would be sad.
Of course consistency can be achieved on all videogames, much in the same way any discipline can be bettered through practice and dedication. I was playing arcade games for 1 credit progress when I was a child, and cleared plenty of games from 14 onward.
The question isn't whether or not consistency is achievable - of course it is. I've seen Icarus demonstrate games he's absolutely rusty on (sometimes visibly so) and still be able to remember the scoring an routes to a clear on demand; everything from Raiden Fighters 2, DFK, Bakraid, RSG, CC - too many to remember. I swiftly cleared Contra 3 on hard a few months ago, and I'm sure I could consistently do it again.
On a personal level I alway understood consistency and progress go hand in hand with gaming, the question is how far are you willing to push it? When I've sought a shmup clear I've seen my scores consistently improve, and perhaps consistently reached the final boss before pipping it. But in the end it's about a goal: where are you satisfied with stopping?
Some will take a decent score and be done with it, and spread their time with other genres and activities, some will dedicate all their time on a WR. Different strokes.
BUT THIS IS BESIDE THE POINT because I was clearly referencing a level of awe at the play exhibited on DOJ WL. There's expert consistency - and I don't mean for any of you chaps to take offence - but then there's an omnipotent cut above. And with DOJ WL being the most brutal of all thanks to its more organic nature and 2nd loop no lives penalty (I concur with those players on this) the skill level to breeze to the TLB on regular occasion, and in such clinical fashion, was, well, special.
That's probably why I used the words "particularly" and "on DOJ WL".
And now I've managed to clear up that time-wasting context assault, I will say the actual high level players in any genre are always a small pool, as Icarus said. I think that speaks for itself - it's simply about what you get out of life and how you prioritise gaming achievements within that.
I think the potential to have an enormous pool of top tier gamers is totally straightforward on paper. Finding a bunch of guys or gals willing to give up other entertainment avenues - or even other gaming experiences - is more difficult.
So yes: Seeing those guys annihilate DOJ WL with absolute consistency was mind-bending. Seeing guys play games with consistency is not, usually, all that body rocking.
