TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

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trap15
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TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by trap15 »

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Mad Shark (1 Loop) (Allumer, 1993)

Totally not Raiden, guys.

Playing week ends Sunday, 31 December, 2017 at 22:00 GMT

Dynamic scoreboard at http://daifukkat.su/stgt/2017/

Tournament main thread: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=61125
Score submission thread: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=61492

RULES

MAME or PCB. MAME set is named madshark.
Autofire is allowed.
1 credit only.
Stop playing after the Congratulations screen, and use the score shown there.

DIP SWITCH/CONFIGURATION SETTINGS
Default settings.

Discuss the game, strategy, and such here, not the score submission thread.
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<S.Yagawa> I like the challenge of "doing the impossible" with older hardware, and pushing it as far as it can go.
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Perikles
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Perikles »

Hah, called it! The only problem scoring-wise is the fact that you want to get the right power-up sequence since it makes a colossal difference in score - the rest of the random elements (that is to say, the cars) are negligible by comparison. This will be fun!
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Shepardus »

Perikles wrote:the rest of the random elements (that is to say, the cars)
I was wondering what was up with that - so it's just random whether or not they appear?
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by copy-paster »

Finally a decent game made by Allumer. :o

Smooth handling, good weaponary and enemy placement. Bad thing about this game is player big sprites which makes micrododging quite hard to do, also some bosses that has 'impossible to dodge' attacks.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by ColonelFatso »

This game is pretty fun! Runs smooth, handles pretty well, even looks nice (although the backgrounds are too bright and often disguise bullets). Stages are obviously just bits of Raiden arranged in a different order with some other Toaplan-inspired stuff to fill the gaps, but you know, that's enough to make a pretty good game. Unlike Raiden, I'm finding the blue laser to be the most competent weapon, although the missiles aren't worthless either.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by EmperorIng »

My game defaults to the World region. Should we use that instead of Japan? Also, would the default be 1 extend at 1000K?
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by trap15 »

There shouldn't be any region difference other than the title screen, so either is fine. Extend should be at 1 million, yes.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Perikles »

Shepardus wrote:I was wondering what was up with that - so it's just random whether or not they appear?
I've read that it depends on the number of enemies you've destroyed before getting to the point where a car can potentially spawn (there is one in stage 1 and up to three in stage 3). Purportedly, if you have killed an amount of enemies that is divisible by four, the car will appear in stage 1. However, not every enemy is counted towards that, apparently.

I don't have any clue whether there is any veracity in this or not, but I do know that I consistently get two cars to spawn in stage 3 - it's extremely rare for me to see the car in stage 1 and the third one in stage 3, so there might be some factor that determines this, after all. The two stars are in fixed locations and will always be there, on the other hand.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by GSK »

copy-paster wrote:Finally a decent game made by Allumer. :o
It recently came out that MOSS ghost-dev'd this game, so there's your explanation.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by copy-paster »

GSK wrote:It recently came out that MOSS ghost-dev'd this game, so there's your explanation.
So this game was developed by them? How did you know?
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Despatche »

Either way, Allumer made Rezon, so...
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Deadliar »

My ears will never recover from Rezon.

I will have my revenge.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by lackofselfcontrol »

What should I set the "Autofire Delay" to in ShmupMAME 4.2?

When I activate it and leave it on the default setting, the ship shoots once every second.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Square_Air »

lackofselfcontrol wrote:What should I set the "Autofire Delay" to in ShmupMAME 4.2?

When I activate it and leave it on the default setting, the ship shoots once every second.
I keep mine at 30 HZ for the laser. I'm not sure what would work the best with the other two weapons, but you're probably going to want something like 15 HZ at least.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by GSK »

copy-paster wrote:
GSK wrote:It recently came out that MOSS ghost-dev'd this game, so there's your explanation.
So this game was developed by them? How did you know?
I can't remember where it frst came up, maybe one of Mikado's Raiden-themed events? Some of the old Seibu/MOSS people have talked about it before, definitely.

There are a few telltale similarities between Mad Shark and MOSS' Macross Plus game, from memory.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by trap15 »

Does that mean they did War of Aero as well? There's a lot of similarities between it and this.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by GSK »

Maybe? I don't really know much about it but my vague understanding is that Tecmo had the Japanese rights for War of Aero but decided not to release it, so Allumer (by way of Banpresto?) had a Taiwanese company make a bunch of "Asian" PCBs that were really just meant to be sold to the Japanese market, and then the manufacturer got in trouble for some other shit and now people don't talk about War of Aero.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Shepardus »

Somehow I got past the stage 4 boss on my first credit facing it, but since then I've no-missed to it three times and lost all my lives to the boss all three times, even with liberal bomb-spamming.

This seems like a fairly competent Raiden-like, but I don't like that style much at all, so to be honest I'd rather play Last Resort for another week. But what I like the least about this is that so much of the score comes from excess powerups that if you're going for score rather than a clear, you might as well restart if you die at all. I'm getting really bored of the first two stages...

Also, powerup chasing drives me nuts.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by copy-paster »

As I said on my previous post, player big sprites+hitbox is the game's fatal flaw, I even had no idea how to defeat the fourth boss because of this.
Shepardus wrote:This seems like a fairly competent Raiden-like, but I don't like that style much at all, so to be honest I'd rather play Last Resort for another week.
You recommend Mad Shark on the tournament thread, but in reality you don't like it much at all?
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Shepardus »

copy-paster wrote:You recommend Mad Shark on the tournament thread, but in reality you don't like it much at all?
I don't recall recommending it, but I did say it was a likely choice for trap to pick.

The slow movement speed (especially vertical) annoys me more than the large ship. Makes powerup chasing and macro-dodging a real chore. Not that that's unusual at all for this sort of game.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Perikles »

While it is true that some patterns in this game must be manipulated in a very specific way in order to evade them, it also leads to rather exciting fights if you want to conserve bombs. For the fourth boss (which is the hardest one in the game without a doubt), I have this no-bomb strategy:

1. Destroy the left section as soon as possible. You have to dodge the lower turret once, then you sit on top of the part once it only has one turret left. Move a little up and down/left and right to evade in the meantime.

2. Do the same to the right section. It's somewhat harder due to the center part firing as well, it's certainly doable, however.

3. For the actual fight, you want to sit in a specific spot in order to mislead the main spread:

ImageImageImage

You want to be aligned with the first couple of bullets leftmost/rightmost of the central stream, if you're doing it on the right, you can take the "0" in "Credit 0" as a guidance. The most important part is that you have to be patient - if you try to dodge too early, the nasty spread will be aimed ever so slightly different, leaving you no escape whilst also not allowing you to bomb it in time anymore. If you sit exactly at the bottom or sufficiently near it, there will be a comfortable gap between the two bullets on the far side, giving you enough room to fly through. Afterwards, you want to rinse and repeat. The only issue can stem from the little spread patterns which are mostly harmless yet sometimes block your way. In that case, you will have to do risky improvisations instead.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Yazphier »

Which mame version are you guys playing with, this game starts lagging terribly for me after a while :/
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by BIL »

GSK wrote:...and then the manufacturer got in trouble for some other shit and now people don't talk about War of Aero.
Gangsta. :o Shady shooting deals! Violate omerta and you're gonna dodge bullets IRL!
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by CBM »

Interestingly, even though the actual gameplay is quite nice and fluid, the artwork looks (at least!) 3 years older than it is.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by DocHauser »

I thought I was going to be able to compete this week, but I just got back from the airport and my laptop is blinking furiously at me, suggesting that either the battery or the AC adaptor is kaput. Doh! I quite like Mad Shark as well.

EDIT: Dead battery. Can still use it when plugged in, though it seems to have a habit of shutting down at random moments. Will probably manage a few credits tomorrow at least...
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by lackofselfcontrol »

Square_Air wrote:
lackofselfcontrol wrote:What should I set the "Autofire Delay" to in ShmupMAME 4.2?

When I activate it and leave it on the default setting, the ship shoots once every second.
I keep mine at 30 HZ for the laser. I'm not sure what would work the best with the other two weapons, but you're probably going to want something like 15 HZ at least.
Thanks for the answer!
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by EmperorIng »

This game is such a pain in my balls. Fuck this slow-ass ship speed, and fuck those sniper tanks that shoot you immediately after spawning.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Deadliar »

EmperorIng wrote: Fuck this slow-ass ship speed
Hush, hush.

Just pretend it's Taito
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by Vanguard »

EmperorIng wrote:This game is such a pain in my balls. Fuck this slow-ass ship speed, and fuck those sniper tanks that shoot you immediately after spawning.
Yeah. The slow ship, big hitbox, troll powerups, sniper tanks, and delayed bombs make this one really frustrating.
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Re: TRP-STGT 2017 Conversation Week 3: Mad Shark (1 Loop)

Post by maximo310 »

Its funny how much of Raiden I's setpieces and mechanics are present in this game, right down to some of the bosses themselves. Scoring is pretty annoying with the point values; would've preferred multi loop play over optimizing that.

Is there a way to beat the 6th and last bosses with less than 2 & 4 bombs?
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