Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

[copy-paster]

Is there any STG posters that didn't show the player ship/character, like the first Salamander?

[BIL]

R-Type I & II's Japanese arcade flyers feature only Bydos, though gameplay screenshots are pasted on.

[CaptainAhab]

Hello,

I'm considering picking up my first arcade stick for shmupping: the Qanba Q4RAF, which is supposedly compatible with the PS3, 360, and PC (I'll be using it for the PC only).

Does anyone have experience with this arcade stick? Should I nab a used one in good condition off of eBay for ~$80, and then grab a Seimitsu LS-32 from Paradise Arcade Shop for $22? Modding it just requires a screwdriver, right? I couldn't pour water out of a boot if the directions were on the heel.

Thanks!

[copy-paster]

R-Type I & II's Japanese arcade flyers feature only Bydos

I miss these two.

Also some CAVE game flyers (DDP, dangun feveron, DOJ, ibara, DFK) are the example too.

[The Armchair General]

Does anyone know how to get the 1-up on Raiden 1's fourth stage?

[Xyga]

Any more info on that ?

Following bankruptcy, HOT・B's remaining arcade games, Schmeiser Robo and Play Girls 2, were released. They were powered by Data East's DECO32 arcade system board. Titles that didn't make it to completion, including Steel Empire 2 and Cuby Bop, were delayed mid-development due to the staff being pulled onto Bazoo! Mahou Sekai, and were shelved being only a few screens away from completion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_B

[QXC]

I'm still very new to playing shmups and I've been practicing a lot of DDP. I've gotten to around 1-5 in save states and made it past 1-3 a few times in normal runs.

Thing is, I'm basically not using bombs at all and I tend to give up after the first life. I know I need to stop doing the later, but how bad is not using bombs going to hurt me later on? On one hand, not using them forces me to learn how to dodge every pattern, but on the other hand I'm not getting a feel for when to panic bomb and when I can still stay alive.

EDIT: I'm also using C-S. What kind of hell am I in for if I make a major switch to A or B? I switch over to A every now and then and it seems alright, it's fun being able to move but I never get far enough to know how the different shot spread (or lack there of) will play out once clearing enemies off of the screen actually becomes nessesary.

[AntiFritz]

Is there any difference in difficulty between Shippu Mahou Daisakusen and Kingdom Grandprix? Or anything else? I know a lot of raizings other English games had changes.

[Shepardus]

I'm still very new to playing shmups and I've been practicing a lot of DDP. I've gotten to around 1-5 in save states and made it past 1-3 a few times in normal runs.

Thing is, I'm basically not using bombs at all and I tend to give up after the first life. I know I need to stop doing the later, but how bad is not using bombs going to hurt me later on? On one hand, not using them forces me to learn how to dodge every pattern, but on the other hand I'm not getting a feel for when to panic bomb and when I can still stay alive.

EDIT: I'm also using C-S. What kind of hell am I in for if I make a major switch to A or B? I switch over to A every now and then and it seems alright, it's fun being able to move but I never get far enough to know how the different shot spread (or lack there of) will play out once clearing enemies off of the screen actually becomes nessesary.

If you're just going for a 1-ALL (rather than a 2-ALL or a high score) then refusing to use bombs makes things a lot harder than it needs to be. DDP gives quite a few bombs, so don't be afraid to use them. That said, you should try to learn the first three stages pretty well since if you're not comfortable with those then you're going to be totally out of your depth for the next three stages.

C-S is a pretty popular choice, probably the most popular, for a 1-ALL. It doesn't really matter what you pick as long as you stick with it and get used to it, as they're all viable choices.

[Stevens]

Yeah QXC - What Shep said.

Bomb if you need to, especially if you're new to shooters. Your play sessions will be extended, you will wind up seeing more of the game on a credit, and you will get better faster.

As you stick with DDP (any game really) for longer periods you will notice yourself bombing less and less.

Oh and welcome!

[QXC]

If you're just going for a 1-ALL (rather than a 2-ALL or a high score) then refusing to use bombs makes things a lot harder than it needs to be. DDP gives quite a few bombs, so don't be afraid to use them. That said, you should try to learn the first three stages pretty well since if you're not comfortable with those then you're going to be totally out of your depth for the next three stages.

C-S is a pretty popular choice, probably the most popular, for a 1-ALL. It doesn't really matter what you pick as long as you stick with it and get used to it, as they're all viable choices.

What exactly is the difference between 1-ALL and 2-ALL? I would assume 1-ALL is doing both loops while 2-ALL is just the second loop? But that doesn't make sense.

I'd like to some day beat the whole game 1cc, right now I'm on the cusp of having the first three levels down pretty well. I still take deaths here and there but I know my way around the stages/bosses well, it's just getting better at dodging.

Yeah QXC - What Shep said.

Bomb if you need to, especially if you're new to shooters. Your play sessions will be extended, you will wind up seeing more of the game on a credit, and you will get better faster.

As you stick with DDP (any game really) for longer periods you will notice yourself bombing less and less.

Oh and welcome!

I think it's just the way I'm going about it. I still play for a decent amount of time in a sitting, I just spend lots of time on one spot and keep hitting my save state when I die. I haven't gotten past the stage 5 boss yet, but I don't want to get that far when I'm getting bodied this hard in stage 5. It seems like there's a very small range between "even if I bomb I'm gonna die here" and "I don't need to use a bomb because I can dodge everything", where bombs are really useful. I'd imagine that gap will get larger in the harder stages.

[Stevens]

1 ALL - 1st Loop

2 ALL - 2nd Loop (If the game allows you to start on the 2nd loop)

ALL - Both

[QXC]

1 ALL - 1st Loop

2 ALL - 2nd Loop (If the game allows you to start on the 2nd loop)

ALL - Both

Ah, is the only way to do a 2-ALL run by save states then? But if you do that how do you get a score for just the second loop?

I also assume that you would need to do both loops to get a high score.

[pegboy]

1 ALL - 1st Loop

2 ALL - 2nd Loop (If the game allows you to start on the 2nd loop)

ALL - Both

2-ALL is not just the second loop. It's both.

ALL and 2-ALL are the same thing in a game like DDP, there is no such thing as just playing the second loop in that game.

"ALL" means "All Clear".

[Shepardus]

Some games let you start on the second loop, but Dodonpachi isn't one of them. Usually 2-ALL and ALL are both used to refer to clearing both loops in one run.

[QXC]

Some games let you start on the second loop, but Dodonpachi isn't one of them. Usually 2-ALL and ALL are both used to refer to clearing both loops in one run.

1 ALL - 1st Loop

2 ALL - 2nd Loop (If the game allows you to start on the 2nd loop)

ALL - Both

2-ALL is not just the second loop. It's both.

ALL and 2-ALL are the same thing in a game like DDP, there is no such thing as just playing the second loop in that game.

"ALL" means "All Clear".

Ah, that makes sense.

Hopefully I'll make it to the second loop soon enough. Stage 5 is rough but it's helping me learn a lot about dodging and shooting, stupid as that sounds.

[OmegaFlareX]

What's the purpose of all the weird refresh rates on arcade hardware? Hishou Zame (54.8hz), Image Fight (55hz), DDP (57.6hz), etc. Is it noticeable on a cab monitor like it is in MAME?

What was the last commercial arcade shmup to use a Z80 main CPU? Omega Fighter (1989)?

[trap15]

The refresh rate difference is from difference in video timings (for different resolutions, aspect ratios, different clockings, etc.). There's a reason to it, but it's not something that can really be explained effectively in layman's terms.

Z80 is still pretty common in embedded stuff, and I know there are newer games than that with a Z80 main CPU. Not like it matters though.

[The Armchair General]

I've heard the Japanese version of Dimahoo (Great Mahou Daisakusen) is harder than any of the other versions of Dimahoo. If this is true how exactly is it harder? And how much harder is it? I played through the first two stages in both versions and I didn't notice a difference in difficulty between the two versions.

[Shepardus]

I think rank increases more dramatically in the Japanese version. (rank is based on your item count)

[QXC]

What popular shumps other than 2hu place a decent emphasis on grazing for scoring?

[Jonst]

^ the pysvariar games.

EDIT: for spelling, I knew I'd get that wrong!

[BIL]

What popular shumps other than 2hu place a decent emphasis on grazing for scoring?

Grazing is integral to the Shikigami no Shiro and aforementioned Psyvariar games and their signature Tension/Buzz mechanics.

[Dirty Casual]

Semi-shmup related. I've looked this up in MAME tutorials, but I haven't seen anything about it, so I figured I'd ask here.

When I use the -aviwrite option on MAME, the resulting .avi file comes out a little blurry (this is especially apparent during some of the zanier beam duels in Metal Black). I'll play back the .avi file at full screen, and the pixels aren't precise. (I'm not sure how to explain this, but I can upload an example if it will help.) I honestly get a better picture from pointing Fraps at MAME. Is there some option I'm missing that would preserve the video quality perfectly? Or is there a tutorial for getting perfect video quality out of MAME?

The problem with Fraps is its dependence on system performance. If there aren't enough resources, it hiccups, and I have to go back and edit that out of the recording. (Luckily doesn't happen much if I keep the game at its original resolution rather than filling the screen.) So, I'd rather go with MAME's own video recording if possible.

Thanks very much!

[Blinge]

Hey, I had this exact problem. If you view the AVI file in its original size you'll see that it's actually really good quality. Your player is probably stretching the video to fill the screen. MAME's raw avi captures at approx 300x200 dimension.

I suggest downloading Virtualdub and resizing the video as you want, and also compressing it using the x264 codec, which you'll have to find separately. Either that or whatever codec you prefer.

[Dirty Casual]

Killer! I'll have to try that. Thanks!

Additionally, any Metal Black fans that have spare time to chat about it: hit me up!

[Shepardus]

As Blinge said the video output from -aviwrite is at the same resolution as the game, so usually 320x240 or 240x320. To get YouTube and other players to show a clear image you'll need to rescale it (YouTube also requires a height of 720 to support 60fps). I personally use FFmpeg, which works amazingly as long as you don't fear command-line applications.

[trap15]

ffmpeg even lets you correct aspect ratio and scale with minimal quality change. I've got some sweet ffmpeg lines for doing some cool stuff (like blending down to 30fps without breaking flickers). I'll post some when I get home.

[Blinge]

Hah cheers for the clarification shepardus. Trap would you say ffmpeg is better than x264?

[STG4WD]

£10,000 for a load of shrink-wrapped Saturn games, anyone?

These guys seriously need to POAD.