Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

[Durandal]

Speaking of Gigantic Army, it's on sale right now for three didgeridollars. I saw some gameplay and it didn't particularly wow me, but I went ahead and bought it based on everyone's recommendations here. Maybe there's more to it than it seems.

[Squire Grooktook]

Speaking of Gigantic Army, it's on sale right now for three didgeridollars. I saw some gameplay and it didn't particularly wow me, but I went ahead and bought it based on everyone's recommendations here. Maybe there's more to it than it seems.

There's a lot. Though you need to unlock insane mode for the real experience (though normal is a pleasant experience, insane is always "arcade" or "gamer" difficulty for Astroport). Check our old discussions of it in the action platforming and doujin threads for more thoughts.

In short: One of the only sidescrollers with truly deep scoring. Rewarding you for flawlessly killing everything as fast as possible, and forces you to master your tactile movement, shooting, blocking, and melee mechanics. Intense level and boss design that stays chaotic every time. Visceral melee mechanic and finesse laden hover and physics to keep under control. It's got a lot to love.

I put it in top 5 for sidescrollers.

[G3n3raL86]

I'm switching from WITCH-BOT MEGLILO to Crimzon Clover: WORLD IGNITION for a while now.

My story with the latter was a bit on the negative side, since there's a helluva amount of bullets at a given time, so i've decided to play the Novice option...

After i understood the mechanics better (break gauges and stuff) and the bullet patterns, i have to say that this is THE definitive danmaku game! Words can't do it justice!

[Durandal]

Just gave Gigantic Army a few shots, and I can already feel this is a game I'm going to love, and further confirms that most Steam reviewers are filthy scrubs.
The movement of your mech feels right, from the physics on the (vernier) jumps, to the dashing and your aim. Scoring asks you to not get hit and move fast, so even the first stages feel good to plow through, as if I were playing Shinobi 3. The inherent clunkiness asks the player to commit to their moves, which is also why I like the shield: a way of blocking bullets head-on without losing your score. Do you risk being vulnerable mid-air with the vernier allowing you to change your trajectory, or do you stay on the ground and eat bullet?
The close-range spear does not only feel and sound great, but it IS great. It fucks everything up close-range, and incentivizes the aggressive speedkilling playstyle this game wants you to perform even further. I like the variation in the arsenal too, do you choose for crowd control or a more versatile weaker weapon? Do you choose to speedkill mini-bosses or bosses with the special weapons, or will you use them for the stages themselves?
The animations are solid and the backgrounds action-packed. The music is nothing really special, but fits the game decently enough. I've only gotten to stage 4, but thinking of what lies ahead, let alone on Insane, makes me already giddy.

[trap15]

Finally set up my new working ST-V, so put some time into Guardian Force last night. Brilliant game, so different and creative. I think I want to clear it, dunno how much work it'll be.

[Squire Grooktook]

I've only gotten to stage 4, but thinking of what lies ahead, let alone on Insane, makes me already giddy.

Wait till you see the Insane mode TLB ^_^


Anyway, put Garegga on hold a month or two ago.

Almost got the Biometal 1lc down. Stage 3 miniboss was a big hazard, but he can be semi-consistently dealt with using the strategy I figured out for him. Stage 4 wakes me the fuck up every time even if I'm also semi-consistent at it. Helluva game. I'll probably write more crap about it once I finish.

Sampling some cute em ups with Marchen Cotton 100% and Pop'n Twinbee. Really surprised how gorgeous the art is in both. Really fantastical backgrounds right from the get go. Liking Pop'n more with its slightly more hectic action and interesting mechanics (Melee? In my 16 bit console shmups???), though Cotton is also quite fun. Both suffer a bit from slightly overlong stages and could perhaps use some trimming. It's not bad to the point of condemnation, however.

Also I love how Cottons hair is animated along with her forward/backwards movement. It's the little things like that which really impart character and personality to a player sprite.

[PuToTyra]

Strike Witches STG

1cc'd it until final boss for the first time, suddenly Umineko ost

get a heart attack
die

[Master O]

Raiden (AC)

I so suck at this game.

[EmperorIng]

Raiden (AC)

I so suck at this game.

Pick up the spread gun and forward missiles, and never let go. Then you can scrub your way to 1-6 like me!

[Vludi]

Raiden (AC)

I so suck at this game.

Remember to play as player 2 for lower rank

[Stevens]

Still Mars Matrix, would like to clear it again with a better score. Got my chain on stage 1 up to 600 on most runs, but have had it as high as 700+.

Mostly running with M2, but will go with 1 every 5th credit or so. It has been a while, so most of my games are ending on stage 4 boss. 4's boss has always been the hurdle, 5 isn't nearly as bad and 6 is pretty manageable as long as you kill the stationary turrets quickly.

[Master O]

Raiden (AC)

I so suck at this game.

Pick up the spread gun and forward missiles, and never let go. Then you can scrub your way to 1-6 like me!

So no laser at all?

[LordHypnos]

Still Mars Matrix, would like to clear it again with a better score. Got my chain on stage 1 up to 600 on most runs, but have had it as high as 700+.

Mostly running with M2, but will go with 1 every 5th credit or so. It has been a while, so most of my games are ending on stage 4 boss. 4's boss has always been the hurdle, 5 isn't nearly as bad and 6 is pretty manageable as long as you kill the stationary turrets quickly.

The one surefire way to summon Lord Hypnos back to the forum: mention Mars Matrix when he happens to be reading.

Not that you asked for advice on this, but one thing that it's important to keep track of for the sake of maximizing the first stage, and probably other stages too is that the bullets that you reflect turn into cubes only when they make contact with an enemy or other object that can collide with bullets. If you look closely, you'll notice that the bullets turn white once you absorb them, and you can actually see if a lot of them are flying past enemies and then offscreen therefore not turning into cubes. I didn't really notice this until a while after clearing for the first time, but there are a few moments in the first stage where it makes a huge difference to your chain how many bullets are actually turned into gold. I could give you specific spots if you want. In any case, pay attention to when you're losing a lot of bullets. Hopefully that is helpful.

[Ruldra]

Raiden (AC)

I so suck at this game.

Pick up the spread gun and forward missiles, and never let go. Then you can scrub your way to 1-6 like me!

So no laser at all?

I'd recommend laser for the third boss, spread gun/homing missiles for the rest of the game. Also learn about the safespot in the final boss fight. And more importantly, always use the blue ship. The game is considerably harder when playing as 1P.

[Stevens]

The one surefire way to summon Lord Hypnos back to the forum: mention Mars Matrix when he happens to be reading.

It's like summoning a demon, but with way less murder.

Not that you asked for advice on this, but one thing that it's important to keep track of for the sake of maximizing the first stage, and probably other stages too

It is always helpful. Since I've been playing again I have been way more conscious of this, especially on stages 3 and 4. I'm on my way out, but will respond to your PM later:D

[LordHypnos]

The one surefire way to summon Lord Hypnos back to the forum: mention Mars Matrix when he happens to be reading.

It's like summoning a demon, but with way less murder.

Not that you asked for advice on this, but one thing that it's important to keep track of for the sake of maximizing the first stage, and probably other stages too

It is always helpful. Since I've been playing again I have been way more conscious of this, especially on stages 3 and 4. I'm on my way out, but will respond to your PM later:D

Yeah, it's surprising how much you can lose to missing your mark. While I'm here, I guess I should summarize what I've been playing recently. As usual I got out of the habit of shmupping during most of the summer. Recently been playing zero gunner 2 and managed to improve my score a bit. Now it seems as if my total control adapter might have stopped working, so I might have to learn how to use the stock DC controller. More recently even, I started playing eschatos again. Also, I guess I cleared Mecha Ritz, but that's not a very hard game.

[OmKol]

Touhou 12 (UFO) Lunatic. Wow, another game which amazes me with some hitboxes. Waiting for Blue Revolver and Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu Steam release.

[Stevens]

Mars Matrix, both modes. Trying to maximize stage 1 in arcade mode to improve my score, trying to maximize it in elite mode to survive.

Going well in arcade, not so much in elite just yet.

[Vludi]

Still trying to 2-All Gradius II, losing the patience a bit but I still don't give up.

[Dinjoralo]

Decided to give Deathsmiles a try, after letting it sit in my Steam library for a while. Holy crap, this is amazing! Such a breath of fresh air after so many vertical shmups. And the scoring system is probably the first I've seriously gotten into, man... Fever mode feels AMAZING. Though I'm definitely not a fan of the

Spoiler

really crappy, stiffly animated CG used for everything. What'd you think I was gonna complain about? ;p

[LordHypnos]

All this talk of Mars Matrix (which was admittedly mostly my doing) drove me to start playing it again a little in the past few days (along with Zero Gunner 2). I gotta say that the part that really stands out for excitement in these past few days is the end of stage 3. It's a part where (when you're scoring) you just sort of keep chaining until you die or break the chain. It's probably not a part with a lot of RNG, but it's a part where I don't really have a strict route, and the longer you keep chaining the more close calls you have and the more tension is built up. There are many other exciting parts though, too, of course.

[Stevens]

When I was playing for the initial clear I went into straight up survival mode past the fountain: Herd, tap shield, repeat. Now I have been trying to keep it going a little longer and I've had a varying degrees of success doing it.

The longer chains have had me using a bit more shield and a lot more of the screen while it recharges.

Playing EM sparingly along side arcade mode.

In EM I've played one credit past stage 1 and got just outside the scarab. I'm going to start credit feeding it a bit more to get a better feel for the stages, but I've got the layouts of stages 1 and 2 pretty committed at this point, 3 is getting there.

Got my level to 5 and was close to 6, but let it be said - my chaining is shit in general. Stage 1 is pretty easy to keep a chain going (not as easy as AC though), but it is mostly streams of +1's with two spots where you can reflect a fair amount back. I'm still looking for that big payout spot somewhere in stage 1 or 2 like in the opening stage 1 in AC where you make the quick jump to 10,000+.

I'm confident I can rustle enough out of stage 4 to reach level 7 since that's where the bullet cancelers from level 5 are now.

In AM - between rust and getting used to the stick I still haven't cleared my usual hurdle (stage 4 boss if you forgot), but I keep seeing him more and more. I know once I get passed him stage 6 will be in my sights again.

I did not plan on typing so much so early before work, but it's still quiet for Brooklyn and I have coffee.

[PuToTyra]

Playing Gundemonium Recollection on PC, as I've been for a long time

After 140 hours of gameplay I learn that it's possible to increase the initial lives from 3 up to 5 in options. However, I'll do no such thing, as increasing lives in danmaku games is worse then autobomb option.
That being said, it pains me that a lot of high scores are probably from that. One day, when I will go for 1# place on leaderboards, I too, might play with 5 lives...oh wait, I can't do that. 1# place belongs to a hacker.

Decided to give Deathsmiles a try, after letting it sit in my Steam library for a while. Holy crap, this is amazing! Such a breath of fresh air after so many vertical shmups. And the scoring system is probably the first I've seriously gotten into, man... Fever mode feels AMAZING. Though I'm definitely not a fan of the

Spoiler

really crappy, stiffly animated CG used for everything. What'd you think I was gonna complain about? ;p

Side scrollers are great and underrated, although they are harder then verticals. Perhaps because most people aren't used to that? Or perhaps they are objectively more difficult....

[G3n3raL86]

After reaching the 984th position at Crimzon Clover: WI with the Type-1 and also finishing the novice difficulty without using a continue, i'll leave it for the time being for the shake of Deathsmiles.

Damn good danmaku from Cave, but it was to be expected. Now, can someone plz tell me the differences between the 3.536 game modes (arcade, MLB, normal, 1.1 etc)?

[OmKol]

After 140 hours of gameplay I learn that it's possible to increase the initial lives from 3 up to 5 in options. However, I'll do no such thing, as increasing lives in danmaku games is worse then autobomb option.
That being said, it pains me that a lot of high scores are probably from that. One day, when I will go for 1# place on leaderboards, I too, might play with 5 lives...oh wait, I can't do that. 1# place belongs to a hacker.

This game will not upload your scores if you change your initial lives setting from 3 to 5. And hacked leaderboards is not a surprise - Hitogata Happa from the same devs hacked as well and filled with impossible scores like 9999999990 or 10 bil in Area 0.

[PuToTyra]

After 140 hours of gameplay I learn that it's possible to increase the initial lives from 3 up to 5 in options. However, I'll do no such thing, as increasing lives in danmaku games is worse then autobomb option.
That being said, it pains me that a lot of high scores are probably from that. One day, when I will go for 1# place on leaderboards, I too, might play with 5 lives...oh wait, I can't do that. 1# place belongs to a hacker.

This game will not upload your scores if you change your initial lives setting from 3 to 5. And hacked leaderboards is not a surprise - Hitogata Happa from the same devs hacked as well and filled with impossible scores like 9999999990 or 10 bil in Area 0.

Hitogata Happa hacked by the same person, I might add.

[LordHypnos]

When I was playing for the initial clear I went into straight up survival mode past the fountain: Herd, tap shield, repeat. Now I have been trying to keep it going a little longer and I've had a varying degrees of success doing it.

Yeah, It's pretty tough, but also exhilarating. Also worth mentioning is that I almost never die on it even when trying to do that, but only sometimes manage to keep the chain going a significant amount. #2 part for hype might be the stage 4 boss. I know exactly what I need to do in order to beat it, but it's tough enough that it still poses a significant threat to survival everytime. Major thrills when I actually no miss it. In contrast, the bullshit that is the final phase of the S5 boss just feels like it's totally out of my hands. I can occasionally survive it, but it just feels kinda random. The rose form of the final boss is also very strong on the thrills for the same reason as the S4 escape pod. Go play Mars Matrix, everyone!

[Aldnox]

Right now I'm playing DoDonPachi DaiOuJou and Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, two of my favorite shmups.

[Stevens]

In contrast, the bullshit that is the final phase of the S5 boss just feels like it's totally out of my hands. I can occasionally survive it, but it just feels kinda random. The rose form of the final boss is also very strong on the thrills for the same reason as the S4 escape pod. Go play Mars Matrix, everyone!

I find this amusing. I find the stage 5 boss, even its last form, easier than the escape pod.

Made stage 5 today but that fucker cost me two lives.

In EM I had almost a 400 chain on stage 1.

[LordHypnos]

In contrast, the bullshit that is the final phase of the S5 boss just feels like it's totally out of my hands. I can occasionally survive it, but it just feels kinda random. The rose form of the final boss is also very strong on the thrills for the same reason as the S4 escape pod. Go play Mars Matrix, everyone!

I find this amusing. I find the stage 5 boss, even its last form, easier than the escape pod.

Made stage 5 today but that fucker cost me two lives.

In EM I had almost a 400 chain on stage 1.

hahaha, so strange. Perhaps we need a tiebreaker opinion