There just aren't enough dedicated shmup sites...

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:58 am

Shmups.com and this forum are the best things shmup games have going for them on the internet.

Try to find a comprehensive Darius or Thunderforce site written in English... and the Raiden Fighters Emporium hasn't been updated since like 2004 and it's not even finished!

Of all things you would think that Gradius and R-Type would have some big fan sites out there by now but they really don't.

Sure, there's the Gradius Base and Gradius Homeworld - but who knows how long it's been since those sites where updated and their overall look is so dated and clunky. R-Type has a couple of decent ones but the same things apply to those as well.

It's strange because look at all the Megaman sites out there that are just blazing with quality or at least have the potential to be really really cool.

I really wish i could change this but my life is way to hectic. Just building myself a decently professional looking profile page has taken me nearly a year. Maybe one day i'll find the time but right now there's not a chance in hell...

Anybody else out there have dreams of creating a super awesome fansite based on your favorite shmup series?

Post by **Ghegs** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:25 am

circuitface wrote:...Gradius Homeworld - but who knows how long it's been since those sites where updated and their overall look is so dated and clunky.

Well, you can just scroll down a bit and see that it's getting quite frequent updates (mostly Gradius Portable and emulation news), last one was March 20th. The webmaster also updated the the graphical style few months back so I think it looks quite nice nowadays.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:26 am

circuitface wrote:It's strange because look at all the Megaman sites out there

I think it has something to do with the age groups, on average, of the respective fanbases. A lot of Megaman players are still kids; Capcom have kept drawing in new generations of fans with their cartoon series, etc. Meanwhile the hardcore fans of all the classic shmup franchises are getting older with each passing year. Eventually our Shmupmeets are going to have to be held in retirement homes. (lol)

Plasmo · Post by **Plasmo** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:22 am

darius site: http://www.geocities.com/hugedb/

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:09 am

Ooh wow, it has been updated! (still looks like patooty, though)

Vincere · Post by **Vincere** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:45 am

shmup.com is the major reviews' shmup site. Sure it's in french but tons of shmups got a review, unlike here sadly...

roker · Post by **roker** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:58 am

Guwanger wrote:shmup.com is the major reviews' shmup site. Sure it's in french but tons of shmups got a review, unlike here sadly...

can we contribute here?

I could write a few

Michaelm · Post by **Michaelm** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:13 am

Sure you can write reviews !
Even if you couldn't contribute them to a special place on the site I'm sure that when you just open a new thread and post your review lots of people here will read it and appreciate it.

Vincere · Post by **Vincere** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:30 am

roker wrote:
Guwanger wrote:shmup.com is the major reviews' shmup site. Sure it's in french but tons of shmups got a review, unlike here sadly...
can we contribute here?

I could write a few

Sure you can, in 2 ways:

-open an account on the main page and thus you'll be able to post mini-reviews under the game's review page.

-Or you can join the forum and post reviews with screenshots in the dedicated english-speaking section of the forum. We desperately lack english people over there.

Post by **system11** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:22 pm

.. and as if by magic, a reviews section appeared.

Yup - we just added a reviews section, open to all, any good reviews are acceptable, so please avoid scrambling for a 0-day review that has no substance

See main index - it's open now. Got one I'll be putting up later, that never appeared on the main shmups site. Please read the guidelines before posting!

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:32 pm

bloodflowers wrote:.. and as if by magic, a reviews section appeared.

Yup - we just added a reviews section, open to all, any good reviews are acceptable, so please avoid scrambling for a 0-day review that has no substance See main index - it's open now. Got one I'll be putting up later, that never appeared on the main shmups site. Please read the guidelines before posting!

With the enthusiastic members we have around here, I expect to see some great stuff appearing in the new Reviews section of Shmups Forum in the not-too-distant future!

Here's the direct link for anyone unfamiliar with our layout: Shmups Forum: Reviews

fl0w · Post by **fl0w** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:32 pm

bloodflowers wrote:.. and as if by magic, a reviews section appeared.

Yup - we just added a reviews section, open to all, any good reviews are acceptable, so please avoid scrambling for a 0-day review that has no substance See main index - it's open now. Got one I'll be putting up later, that never appeared on the main shmups site. Please read the guidelines before posting!

EXCELLENT!

I think this section should be heavily moderated, my $.02, I'm not a modo.

I write reviews here or there for shmup.com, but it would of course be harder for me to write reviews in English. If some people want to help correcting reviews written in Engrish, please tell us

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:49 pm

circuitface wrote:Shmups.com and this forum are the best things shmup games have going for them on the internet.

Try to find a comprehensive Darius or Thunderforce site written in English... and the Raiden Fighters Emporium hasn't been updated since like 2004 and it's not even finished!

Of all things you would think that Gradius and R-Type would have some big fan sites out there by now but they really don't.

Sure, there's the Gradius Base and Gradius Homeworld - but who knows how long it's been since those sites where updated and their overall look is so dated and clunky. R-Type has a couple of decent ones but the same things apply to those as well.

It's strange because look at all the Megaman sites out there that are just blazing with quality or at least have the potential to be really really cool.

I really wish i could change this but my life is way to hectic. Just building myself a decently professional looking profile page has taken me nearly a year. Maybe one day i'll find the time but right now there's not a chance in hell...

Anybody else out there have dreams of creating a super awesome fansite based on your favorite shmup series?

I totally agree M8.

The sheeps page is fantastic but sadly not updated anymore

Post by **Shatterhand** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:12 pm

What happens with the main shmups.com page? Could we post our reviews here, and still expect they they to show up in the main page someday ?

Post by **Ghegs** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:18 pm

Shatterhand wrote:What happens with the main shmups.com page? Could we post our reviews here, and still expect they they to show up in the main page someday ?

I'd say that's up to malc, as he's the only one who can update the main site and he's currently busy with real-world affairs. But as long as the reviews are either there or here, they're still fairly easy to find, even if they are now split in two places.

gavin19 · Post by **gavin19** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:36 pm

I was trying to put a general shmups site up last couple of weeks but I don't have a lot of time to keep updating it. Plus a lot of breaking news on shmups is hard to find ( for me anyways ). I can mirror any reviews here on my site if anyone wants and add some screenshots too. Site is very basic atm and doesn't have a shmups 'style' as such but I'm working on it (slowly)..

Also it's not 100% complete yet. Not to mention I'm pretty new to shmups and my experience is generally limited to Dreamcast/PS2/Saturn. Site is here, if anyone is interested.

btw I think there are some display issues still with IE, but should be fine with Opera/Firefox.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:07 pm

Shatterhand wrote:What happens with the main shmups.com page?

Stays as-is. If/when the top-level shmups.com page returns to weekly updates, the content from the new forum review section can easily be migrated with quick HTML-izing, and maybe the addition of some screenshots. Meanwhile new reviews can keep getting posted in a quick and easy way into the new section.

D · Post by D » Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:38 pm

I guess the big build-your-own-site boom is over.
And true, we are all getting too old to keep maintaining sites.
Although I would like to make sites dedicated to rare stuff that have no sites like:
-a site dedicated to light gun games for arcade & console.
-puzzle games site for arcade & console
-3D racing games for arcade & console

not updating is one thing, but taking it offline is another. Luckily I found very kind people to host my site. my site is < 10 MB, that helps.

howmuchkeefe · Post by **howmuchkeefe** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:34 pm

Bloodflowers - Sweet!

...hey, you might could put your review of Imperishable Night there. Be the first on the block!

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:50 pm

thanks for the review thread mods. i hope in the future you'll create a sticky with system breakdowns. that way we can browse by system just like on the xenocide files.

edit: this will also give me a good opportunity, as there are a quite a few reviews i've been kicking around for a while...

Post by **system11** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:54 pm

howmuchkeefe wrote:Bloodflowers - Sweet!

...hey, you might could put your review of Imperishable Night there. Be the first on the block!

Done.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:18 pm

Plasmo wrote:darius site: http://www.geocities.com/hugedb/

I'm qouted on this page. I can't remember where, but somewhere. That's how you know it's the mother-fucking dope shit.

...it might have been talking about the giant sea horse boss on Darius Gaiden? Whatever.

Ko.oS · Post by **Ko.oS** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:50 pm

well, FWIW (not much im afraid), i got quoted on DAM when it was on the old server; "remnant" here - http://stickycarpet.com/dam/whatsnew.htm (07/07/99 newsbit, rtype ode). those were the days, I tell ya . . .

gameoverDude · Post by **gameoverDude** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:20 pm

I'm working on adding a replays section to my site. My reviews haven't been coming out as frequently at the moment (been busy IRL, yet there's a review for Ibara nearing completion).

For starters, I may consider mirroring the parts of Archer's replay that aren't up on his homepage (stage 6 was only up there when I checked). I'll probably dust off Zanac Neo again to get a replay going for that- my old score was around 26M, with no enemies left surviving throughout the game.

That Darius site still doesn't look bad. The information there is good.

Post by **Dave_K.** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:04 am

bloodflowers wrote:.. and as if by magic, a reviews section appeared.

Yup - we just added a reviews section, open to all, any good reviews are acceptable, so please avoid scrambling for a 0-day review that has no substance See main index - it's open now. Got one I'll be putting up later, that never appeared on the main shmups site. Please read the guidelines before posting!

Is this section only for shmups? what about border liners, or even other genres like puzzle, platform, ... that people here may find interesting?

elvis · Post by **elvis** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 2:09 am

Dave_K. wrote:Is this section only for shmups? what about border liners, or even other genres like puzzle, platform, ... that people here may find interesting?

For me personally, I can't see how MORE reviews would be a worse thing than FEWER, even if the genre lines are blurred.

The "Xenocide Files" and attached reviews are what helped me locate shmups.com and these forums in the first place. I've noticed a few threads now with updated information for both, and yet the main part of the site hasn't been updated yet (not a criticism - I know far too well how real life can interfere with hobby projects).

I would love to contribue reviews, but unfortunately I could never hope to match the depth of the reviews either on the main site, or the first review submitted by Bloodflowers. They are all truly amazing.

This with both writing and shmupping skill - your reviews are read and appreciated by many. Please knock your socks of and review as much as you can. It will be appreciated, I can assure you.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 2:49 am

I was just wondering if there was any way bloodflowers can keep the reviews section organised once we have a few more reviews up. Would be difficult since it's a forum, but having games sorted by system/alphabetically like they are on xenocide files would be nice for both people casually browsing, and for someone who knows exactly what he's looking for (granted, topic search would work as it does for hi scores/strategy..)

Maybe a stickied topic whose first post contains an organised list containing links to the actual forum pages?

edit:

captain ahar wrote:thanks for the review thread mods. i hope in the future you'll create a sticky with system breakdowns. that way we can browse by system just like on the xenocide files.

edit: this will also give me a good opportunity, as there are a quite a few reviews i've been kicking around for a while...

Damn you captain.

crithit5000 · Post by **crithit5000** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 4:41 am

Hosting a shooter-centric site is an idea I've been toying around with for awhile, it's just I don't have enough time to do it all myself. I'd be totally stoked to set up a content management system on my webspace and put together a team of writers to do news/reviews/strat/whatever, but it's probably not ever going to happen as everyone I known is just lazy as all hell. Myself included.

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 4:45 am

I can finally give a decent review of Mazinger! Cool!

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:14 am

Quick question on the new Reviews section: is it kosher to create a "My Reviews" type topic and just toss your reviews for several different games in there as you write them, rather than creating separate threads for each game you review, or would you prefer one's reviews grouped/ungrouped in a different manner?

shmups.system11.org

There just aren't enough dedicated shmup sites...

There just aren't enough dedicated shmup sites...

Re: There just aren't enough dedicated shmup sites...

Re: There just aren't enough dedicated shmup sites...

Re: There just aren't enough dedicated shmup sites...

+1