(Rapid Fire) Does it matter?

[Middlemoor]

Some games have an option enabling rapid fire (holding shoot as opposed to tapping it). Do you think it matters when considering high scores and 1CC efforts or not?

[DC906270]

no- personal choice. but you should state you have used autofire when submitting your score., IMO

[Dave_K.]

It does not matter if the game has rapid/auto fire built into the options (I'm talking Jamma PCB here not consoles). This typically does not increase your score, just save your fingers/buttons from abuse.

External Rapid fire circuits (hooked up to a Jamma cabinet) usually do contribute to higher scores, so should be mentioned or brought up when posting a score. Mushi for the PS2 emulates external rapid fire in its options, so this is why I excluded console ports).

[BulletMagnet]

In most games, in my experience at least, it doesn't make that much of a difference, aside from saving you a sore thumb...there are a few cases, though, where enabling autofire gives you a huge advantage (Gun Frontier on the Saturn comes most immediately to mind), so in those cases you ought to at least specify if you used autofire or not when you post a 1CC or high score. Even in cases such as Mushi's autofire hack, even though I prefer not to use stuff like that, I don't mind if others do as long as they specify that they did so, and possibly put their achievement on a separate list from "non-users."

[iatneH]

I imagine point-blanking enemies using autofire in games like Daisenpuu would make the big guys much easier to kill (except the part about them point-blanking you back)

I really ought to fit some buttons that don't kill my arm to press...

[Stormwatch]

No autofire = no play.

[FraGMarE]

I'd have to say I prefer rapid-fire if for no other good reason than it saves buttons your controller/joystick. I can generally button tap fast enough to max out most shmups' rate of fire, but I learned the hard way that it takes a costly toll on buttons. I used to be a purist, and would always tap it up when a game didn't have built-in rapid fire, but then the fire button on my PC control pad died from all the MAME abuse. Ever since, I've always used the rapid-fire that's built into MAME Plus.

[The Coop]

Can you imagine the toothpaste laser in Raiden II without autofire?

[doctorx0079]

Can you imagine the toothpaste laser in Raiden II without autofire?

I used it without autofire for years. You really need access to an arcade cab or a controller with big-ass buttons. I tried it with a standard PS pad for a while and finally gave up.

[rolins]

IMO, if the game doesn't offer rapid-fire by default then don't use it, that would be cheating.

[Super Laydock]

Sure it matters. But sometime it's a help and sometimes not.

It sure helps in game where you are constantly blindly mashing the same button anyway, but for instance in games where you can built up a powershot by holding the normal shoot button I find it more annoying because of switching buttons for normal shooting and rapid fire.
I am sure there are people not minding this or seeing it as a drawback, but it always annoys me.

Also on the issue of seeing it as a cheat:

As long as you can choose/configure it in the normal/standard options menu of a game I'd say it's legit to use. If one has to put in cheat codea/use ceertain button combinations or other stuff to enable it as an option, when it's not normally selctable than it's cheating imo and not to be used for highscore runs.

But that's just me...

[professor ganson]

Enabling the autofire option in Gun.Smoke was a real benefit. For one thing I was less noisy and so less annoying when playing it. Second, I feel that the controller is more steady and so I can be more precise in dpad control.

I do think that setting the auto-fire on HIGH setting would be a bit of a cheat. I have it set to NORMAL for Gun.Smoke.

[sjewkestheloon]

to be honest most of the time i simply can't be arsed to constantly bash a button, especially when i'm not using my stick. although i love my six button megadrive pad, it hurts the hands to mash buttons on there while remaining precise.

[landshark]

Can you imagine the toothpaste laser in Raiden II without autofire?

This is one of the best games to use as an example for this argument. Rapid fire TOTALLY changes the game.

For example, the first boss(es) you can point-blank and kill very quickly with rapid fire. Without rapid fire, you need to back-off and actually fight them.

This is true for more of the bosses, and alot of the larger enemies.

On the PS you can fly up and point blank them before they ever get a shot off. It's much more difficult to do on a cab without autofire - especially in the later stages as your hand will be quite tired by then.

[Blade]

Just remember that Revolver Ocelot will KNOW if you're using rapid fire or not.

[Twiddle]

Can you imagine the toothpaste laser in Raiden II without autofire?

This is one of the best games to use as an example for this argument. Rapid fire TOTALLY changes the game.

For example, the first boss(es) you can point-blank and kill very quickly with rapid fire. Without rapid fire, you need to back-off and actually fight them.

Raiden DX makes this sort of play necessary for game completion and scoring.

[GunSpike]

C'mon guys. Real men don't need Autofire.

[Ghegs]

C'mon guys. Real men don't need Autofire.

Real men wear goofy-looking wrist-fixer-uppers due to their arthritis.

[stuffmonger]

I usually have rapid fire off and my fingers/wrist get pretty tired after a few rounds.

[Minzoku]

Just remember that Revolver Ocelot will KNOW if you're using rapid fire or not.

lol

C'mon guys. Real men don't need Autofire.

Real men wear goofy-looking wrist-fixer-uppers due to their arthritis.

Good lord, seriously and I already have it just from carrying around a scanner all night at work.

[Macaw]

I nearly broke my hand when I used to play raiden without autofire and point-blanking the bosses.

Once I saw that all the superplays of it had autofire enabled I switched to autofire instantly.

[Shatterhand]

Just remember that Revolver Ocelot will KNOW if you're using rapid fire or not.

lol

What happens when you use autofire there? I never had a PS pad with autofire, I always wondered what would happen if I actually used autofire there.

[GunSpike]

If autofire isn't default on the arcade board, I'd say don't use it (wrist-fixer-uppers be damned).

And what does Ocelot say when you have a rapid fire controller? Hmm...

[FraGMarE]

If autofire isn't default on the arcade board, I'd say don't use it (wrist-fixer-uppers be damned).

Sure, as long as it's somebody else's arcade board.

Like I said, I don't really have a problem button bashing... i'm a pretty quick tapper, but there's no questioning the fact that it puts major stress on buttons over time (especially buttons on a control pad). So if it's my hardware, I'm using autofire. If it's somebody else's board, I'll button bash if i need to, and if the button breaks... well, that's not my problem, now is it?

[J-Manic]

I prefer my shmups to have a rapid/auto fire button. I'm not a tapper, and I never have been. It makes my thumbs sore. Plus, I can dodge bullets and shoot down enemies at the same time much easier.

[EXMaster]

I think semi-automatic fire is the way to go, where you can hold the button down to get a timed, steady rate of fire, or you can tap the button to fire at a manual pace (take gradius for example). That way both camps can be satisfied.

[FRO]

I'm not really a "play-for-score" kinda guy most of the time, so I say if rapid fire is available & it's useful (as opposed to weapon switching or a charge cannon, for example), go for it. I mean, I would suck even more at Raiden or Raiden 2 if there were no rapid fire because my hands & wrists would be all cramped up.

[Twiddle]

I don't know about you but autofire allows me to concentrate more on the enemies shooting at me because i'm thinking less about firing fast enough to kill the fuckers

[Kamakazie]

Autofire feels like cheating to me

[Twiddle]

having 3 lives and smart bombs to go with them must feel like cheating too