New to shmups, just started ZeroRanger

[kyleighterry]

How should I approach the game? Any tips?

Thanks!

[Ice Beam]

While waiting for someone in-the-know to answer, these threads may be useful:

viewtopic.php?t=63315

viewtopic.php?p=1357831

And the development thread: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29058

Also, you could try going to the Strategy board and create a thread with the subject "RQ: ZeroRanger Tips", or something along those lines.

Good luck, and enjoy your stay.

[beer gas canister]

Read this: https://shmups.wiki/library/Full_Extent_of_the_Jam

[guigui]

Just starting shmups and reading the Full Extent of the Jam right away seems a bit rushed to me.

Shmups things :
* aim of the game is to clear all the stages without continuing, known as 1CC for 1 Credit Clear. This requires a lot of effort and practice in general, this is why a shmup lasts way longer than the 20ish minutes required to actually clear it
* learn ennemies patterns and how to avoid them
* learn ennemies placement and anticipate them
* learn all mechanics of the game and take advantage of them to survive
* use your bombs or other invincibility things whenever you feel like you'll be losing a life
* die, die again, die again and again, until you learn how to get through this part of the stage. Then do it again.
* have fun and feel the adrenaline rush of finally clearing a part you were not able to earlier.

[beer gas canister]

Just starting shmups and reading the Full Extent of the Jam right away seems a bit rushed to me.

Shmups things :
* aim of the game is to clear all the stages without continuing, known as 1CC for 1 Credit Clear. This requires a lot of effort and practice in general, this is why a shmup lasts way longer than the 20ish minutes required to actually clear it
* learn ennemies patterns and how to avoid them
* learn ennemies placement and anticipate them
* learn all mechanics of the game and take advantage of them to survive
* use your bombs or other invincibility things whenever you feel like you'll be losing a life
* die, die again, die again and again, until you learn how to get through this part of the stage. Then do it again.
* have fun and feel the adrenaline rush of finally clearing a part you were not able to earlier.

The Techniques section is probably the most important, since the cutback+strafe move can be hard to intuit

[brokenhalo]

Check out other players replays on Youtube. It isn't necessary to figure out everything for yourself, and you can learn a ton from other players. Search for "Zeroranger 1cc" on youtube, and check out a few runs. I'd start with that Jaimers 2-All replay- excellent player who is really good at a ton of games. Don't worry about copying exactly what you see on other players runs, rather use them to get an idea on a general approach, or see how they deal with a section or boss that you're struggling with.

[To Far Away Times]

Normally I am an advocate of playing until you reach the continue screen and then letting the time expire and then trying again from the start. Why play past a part that's beyond your current skill level? This is how I normally play 99% of shmups.

ZeroRanger, I would actually recommend playing differently. ZeroRanger has a continue system that will encourage you to master the levels. Due to a few unique mechanics in this game, once you are good enough to reach the end boss using continues, you may be surprised how little practice is needed to go from a continue clear to a 1CC. It's more about knowing what's coming than quick reaction dodges and dexterity.

And I do think ZeroRanger is pretty much a perfect game for people new to the genre.

[m.sniffles.esq]

How should I approach the game? Any tips?

• Blow things up and enjoy yourself

• Eventually get better at blowing things up and enjoying yourself

• Maybe watch some replay videos if you find yourself stuck and not enjoying yourself

While I realize the above is very 'un-system11', I've found that historically, people tend to play games for enjoyment. And that most people find reading a 15 page wiki on a game they don't even own so they may 'properly' play the game they do. to be the opposite of enjoyment (although there certainly are exceptions I suppose). Thus, the suggestion of non-enjoyment is a pretty terrible approach.

One may even say it's a negative approach...

[SavagePencil]

• Eventually get better at blowing things up and enjoying yourself

• Maybe watch some replay videos if you find yourself stuck and not enjoying yourself

I agree with this part, with one caveat: getting better at blowing things up and getting value out of replay videos is dependent on understanding wtf is actually going on. This means understanding the rules of the gameplay systems and being cognizant of how the game actually works. I'm not talking about scoring systems here, but the basic mechanics of movement, collision, and how each weapon functions. It goes on to correlating to the UI so that the cause-and-effect is clear. For some games, you may also want to be cognizant of the Rank systems so you aren't obliterated.

[m.sniffles.esq]

but the basic mechanics of movement, collision, and how each weapon functions.

For the most part, I've found these things usually come with playing and enjoying the game. Discovery is usually part of the fun.

[SavagePencil]

but the basic mechanics of movement, collision, and how each weapon functions.

For the most part, I've found these things usually come with playing and enjoying the game. Discovery is usually part of the fun.

I’m jealous! If I don’t take a moment to deliberately ask myself “OK, what was happening there? What do I need to remember about that?” it’s too easy to get lost in the mix.

[m.sniffles.esq]

I mean, to take a recent, obvious example, Radirgy 2 was released earlier this year and nobody knew what the hell was going on with that game beyond the surface pleasures of flying around and shooting things (which all of these games have unless you're playing something like Hellsinker). Part of everyone's enjoyment was figuring it out.

I always say the first of these game to 'hook' me as kid was Xevious. And while there are many reasons for that, a very big one was the fact that every time I got the screen to scroll an inch further, I had no idea what I'd be seeing. I didn't know what it would be, what it would do, or how to surmount it. This not only fired my imagination, but kept me playing

Now I can go to a Xevious wiki, see the entire play-field laid out, with every enemy--what it is, and what it does--in it's exact place.

I was just suggesting to the OP there was another way rather than reading a wiki about a game they didn't even own. And wasn't trying to start a thing.

[SavagePencil]

Now I can go to a Xevious wiki, see the entire play-field laid out, with every enemy--what it is, and what it does--in it's exact place.

I was just suggesting to the OP there was another way rather than reading a wiki about a game they didn't even own. And wasn't trying to start a thing.

Oh absolutely, 100% agree with you. I was lamenting my own tendency to get swept up in the milieu vs. being deliberate about the what and the way.

And like yourself, I can still remember vividly hitting the hidden dome on the first river in Xevious and what an eye-opener it was to see the bomb sight light up red with nothing apparent under it!