Do you play on easy and/or credit feed?

[MJR]

It depends on the game really, but I've got my skills on most shmups by starting on easiest mode and then gradually progressing to harder. Once I've learned the game on easy mode, there's usually no reason to credit feed.

By this way I've been able to 1CC gradius in any difficulty level. It has also worked on countless other shmups. Raiden Dx and blazing star are probably the only shmups I never play on easy - I tried but it almost made me fall asleep..

For Rtype delta and final, starting with easiest difficulty is much more rewarding as later stage can be bit insane even with normal setting - and because you get better ships unlocked! And to not credit feed in Rtype is equal on getting frustrated real quick.

And yeah, once I've 1CC:d my Rtype PCB on loop2; I'm going to turn it into Hard difficulty level

For dodonpachi I dont usually credit feed as it is mostly about maximizing your points rather than getting through.

[Middlemoor]

There's exceptions to the rule, but I usually play as far as I can get on one credit, then try again.

[fl0w]

I do happily watch superplays, use training modes and credit feed here or there.

Shmups imo are like, say, tennis.
You can find a friend, hit a few balls and that's all. And have fun this way.
You can also practice in order to improve. That kinda means some work, but in the end you get the pleasure of sending the ball where you want, of beating your opponents regularly etc.
That's 2 different kinds of pleasure, but the second one means more than just playing matches. You have to train a lot.

To me, always playing with only 1 credit is like playing matches only.
Of course, that's only my opinion!

[msm]

Hello, new around here, although have been reading the forum for some time, have to say this is imo the best place for information on shooters

i used to play Ikaruga on easy mode, with 5 lives per continue, basically all the easiest settings possible, this was my first shooter and i was very proud to finally get to the end on one continue, i now know that this is far from considered a propper 1cc!

now i stick to standard settings, but do credit feed a lot, play for survival more than score, love the feeling of escaping from a tight spot, so i really enjoy the later stages of DOJ even though i usually die every 10 seconds, usually don't mind using as meny credits as needed to finish the game as long as i am having fun. one of my favorite bullet patterns is the final one from the stage 5 boss on DOJ, never would have seen that without credit feeding.

I think this also (as many people have said) provides good practice for later stages for attempting 1 credit runs for a high score

some shooters are difficult to play for survival only, my tactic for ibara is to avoid as many unessential powerups as possible, which i don't think is how it's supposed to be played anyway...

Thanks
msm

[roker]

now that I have the Saturn version of Battle Garegga

I like to turn on the red ball bullets and put it on the Easy difficulty

it's still fun but not as hard

I started with very easy but went to easy as I needed the difficulty ramped up

there shouldn't be any rules on how to enjoy a game UNLESS you plan on entering a competition

[professor ganson]

Tonight I spent most of the night continuing in order to master level 3 of R-Type. Freaking amazing level. After all that work I've still got one part to figure out, but I must go to sleep. This game strikes me as a beautiful and beautifully conceived puzzle.

[The Coop]

I try and stay away from Easy until I've at least beaten the game. Why? Because as the name suggests, it's easy... easy to blow through it on the first or second play, easy to see the ending, easy to see much of what the game has to offer with not a lot of effort. I like to make a game last, and try to avoid seeing the ending (or at least one of the endings if it has multiple ones) in the first few days I own it. As a result, I usually play on Normal first (or Hard if it's a really easy game), then after I've beaten it, I'll play it on whatever difficulty I feel like tackling from then on.

If it's a shmup I really want to conquer, I'll also use Easy to get my first 1CC in a game after I've beaten it, then start working on getting a 1CC on the higher difficulties (it helped a lot with getting better in games like Thunder Force IV, Soukyugurentai and Hyper Duel). It makes for a good way to really learn about a game. I can see where videos and such would be handy, but I'd rather learn the old fashioned way

Anyway, those are about the only reasons I use Easy in a game.

[Ganelon]

Always default difficulty, no more and no less. Extra enemies/bullets are disorienting to me so it feels like I have to re-memorize most of the positioning and patterns. Might as well stick with defaults the first time around.

I credit feed maybe like the first few times I play just to get a feel of how things progress. Afterwards, it's on to 1 credit play since I find I play at my best when pressured to do so. I found that credit feeding doesn't make me try very hard at games, instead producing sloppy play since I'd know that if I died, I could just press start to continue. Plus, the experience is very demoralizing if you use multiple credits, where you consider that even though you use so many credits, you're still dying over and over (mainly because you're not familiar enough with the patterns as those who struggled on 1 credit until they were forced to master that section).

But I still set my limits: playing for score gives me too much pressure and doesn't feel rewarding (maybe because I'm still at heart a fighter and sidescroller fan, two genres which rarely reward high scores). I think different people ought to play games however way they personally find fun; 1 credit all-defaults are how I prefer playing to maximize my fun.

[pugeta]

i dont play on a hard setting i used to play game on a easy settings like
Mushihime and Ketsui the hardest is sengeki striker

[FraGMarE]

I never start playing a game on easy... always defaults, and work from there. If you set the game on easy when you start, you're just setting yourself up for dissappointment later.

As far as credit feeding, I'll credit feed sometimes just to see what's ahead of me when I pass the part I'm dying on. It really does help give you an indication of what to expect, so you're not surprised with some difficult mid-boss in your face right after you clear the part you're stuck at. I defer to the military mantra, "know your enemy". There are ppl here who will rail against credit feeding, and I'm no fan either, but in this case, it's simply used as a strategy to eventually achieve a 1CC and/or higher score. Otherwise, I have no reason to credit feed. If I know a game well, and make a stupid mistake and lose a credit on a part I've already cleared before, I simply reset the game and start from the top.

Fun? I'm always having a certain amount of fun when I'm playing a shmup. Some times more than others, obviously. i generally find that playing for 1CC (you're just blasting things, and not necessarily caring about chaining/medals), playing in 2p co-op mode, and just playing to play, of course, generate the most entertainment value. When I'm playing for score, I'm usually working... always working. On scoring runs, it's when the name entry screen pops up and i have a nice, big score to show... that's when I get my jollies.

[roker]

As far as credit feeding, I'll credit feed sometimes just to see what's ahead of me

same here

I like to do it the first time I get a new game

just blast right through to the end

this is how I discovered that Ibara is made for the Gods of Gods (i.e. Japanese Robots)

[Gopher's Ambition]

I'll credit feed most of the time, unless I'm practicing a specific section. For me, it's better to just play. Restarting, even with savestates, becomes too repetitive and takes my drive to excel away. I figure I can practice just as well playing the whole game as I can starting over after every credit I lose.


As for easy mode, I don't bother most of the time (Gradius is an exception). It usually makes a negligible difference in difficulty, and ruins any chance of getting a "legitimate" score.

[dave4shmups]

Sometimes I do, just to get a feel for what the stages in a particular shmup are like-in other words; to build up experience.

[Icarus]

this is how I discovered that Ibara is made for the Gods of Gods (i.e. Japanese Robots)

That's a bit of a misconception, not just to Ibara, but to all shmups in general. You don't have to be Japanese to be a good player.

[roker]

this is how I discovered that Ibara is made for the Gods of Gods (i.e. Japanese Robots)

That's a bit of a misconception, not just to Ibara, but to all shmups in general. You don't have to be Japanese to be a good player.

you have to admit

most of the best are from Japan

I mean, you don't suppose the Japanese would be good at Nascar or an American team being good at Soccer

you get the point.

[Never_Scurred]

this is how I discovered that Ibara is made for the Gods of Gods (i.e. Japanese Robots)

That's a bit of a misconception, not just to Ibara, but to all shmups in general. You don't have to be Japanese to be a good player.

you have to admit

most of the best are from Japan

I mean, you don't suppose the Japanese would be good at Nascar or an American team being good at Soccer

you get the point.

Yeah, i'm doomed