Seriously now, why no FAQ for this forum?

[CMoon]

With a number of recent redundant posts, I am back to wondering why we can't have a stickied FAQ for this forum. We all know what those questions are that come up repeatedly, and I think it would make for a good starting point.

Realistically, newbies do NOT have much to begin with. The Xenocide files are intimidating and not complete. I don't think an FAQ would need to be all inclusive, but the inclusion of the following might be helpful for those just starting:

-A link to the xenocide files and other useful shmup sites
-A brief synopsis of the TOP consoles for SHMUPS
-A top 10 for each of these consoles (a casual top 10, no fighting!)
-A link to the top 25 shmups vote
-A brief rundown of the big SHMUP developers: Cave, Treasure, Compile, Raizing, Toaplan, Konami, etc.
-Something about superguns/running arcade boards/etc. (big arrow pointing toward the hardware section)
-Something about emulation (that it's out there, no ROMZ!)
-Tate

If this was a stickied thread, people could add to it, make corrections, suggestions, etc. I realize there is a hesitancy to just keep sticking stuff, but if the glossary (sorry BulletMagnet) can be stickied, I see no reason why an FAQ which targets the questions of incoming forum members does not belong there.

And if the issue is the time required to write such an FAQ...dude(s)...deligate that shit!

[NTSC-J]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shmup

I think it may also be wise to remind posters that part of message board etiquette is to actively find out the answer to one's question on your own and make a thread as a last resort when you come up empty. Making a thread because you're too lazy to go to google is being an asshole.

[Ceph]

Seconded.

[Herr Schatten]

Seeing that most of the people who post redundant threads are too lazy to even read the board rules, obviously, I see no reason why I should assume they'd read the FAQ instead.

[Frederik]

"Radiant Silvergun...overrated?" - "Rank in Battle Garegga sucks" - "When will be RSG / Ketsui finally be emulated?" - "What are the best shmups ever?" ...

These are some topic that come up very regularly, and maybe newcomers should be prevented from all the tacos that those topics produce. Hell, if I started a thread like this as a newbie, and the replies were all pictures of a certain mexican snack I would feel pretty fooled. So it would be a win/win situation if those topics were mentioned in a FAQ.

...and if they didn´t read the FAQ and get tacoed, than too bad for them. Besides, board rules often contain simple common sense, so that shouldn´t be too hard really.

[zinger]

"What are the shmups ever?

Fixed.

[Pirate1019]

Make a link to http://www.world-of-arcades.net/ for some good information.

[CMoon]

Ha! We could just sticky this thread...

[Rob]

This was discussed at some point. It's time, if only to have something to point out to spammers before banning them. Anyways, the STGT '06 can be dropped as a sticky now.

[professor ganson]

It does seem a bit arbitrary that BM's definitions have privileged status-- as helpful as they are. Surely there are other things we could do to raise the standards of discussion, but who is going to do the necessary work?

[Neon]

I'd be willing to make a thread with links to all the recurring threads

After examenzeit is over

[Pirate1019]

I could give it a shot, but some input from you guys would help as I rarely cruise the world-wide intarweb.

What should be included (that I have seen so far):
Some links to a few wiki's
Link to the Xenocide Files
Link to shootthecore
Some links to useful threads
world-of-arcades.net
MAME's main site (Is that allowed?)

I would need some help compiling the list of things like the good shmup consoles and such.

[Never_Scurred]

I always thought this site had a FAQ. All the information I needed I found via the search function which is cumbersome at times but helpful if you don't mind being a bit specific. In fact I can say that without a doubt this is the most accessible forum i've even been on. all the info really is at your fingertips and all the important stuff gets brought up often enough to still be useful and relevant. Now granted everyone at some point wants to know what new Treasure shmup is coming out or when will Ketsui be ported or emulated(or why hasn't it been yet) but for the most part topics like that tend to come up enough for a new member to get the answer no beofre it gets crazy. And you got the Xenocide files on top of it all which is a good referential resource but can be intimidating or frustrating to someone who hasn't(or may never) play the game. But its there and its all we got.

[incognoscente]

but who is going to do the necessary work?

I can probably knock something out in a few days.

[landshark]

nobody reads faqs.

[shinsage]

I say we allow another TFV thread as long as the title is "Thunder Force V: This time, it's for realz".

I wonder what there'll be to talk about once every thread is compacted; I don't think threads that can be answered with Google are all that bad, after all it can spark discussion, and that's why we're here.

[Rob]

nobody reads faqs.

Even if so, it would give a person no excuse to hammer out repetitive or idiotic topics repeatedly.

Once: "Read the FAQ."
Twice: "No really, read the FAQ."
Third time: The sweet ban.

[Frederik]

I agree. If we make rules (and this DOES includes instant-taco threads) and nobody reads them it´s their fault. At least the SHOULD have read them. It´s like those User Agreements that you never read (this would take half an hours for every little piece of software you install), but you AGREED to them anyway. So, with the first post you do in this forum, you agree that you read the FAQ. And if you didn´t, you lied. Easy as that.

[CMoon]

You also could instantly close useless threads:

Read the FAQ!

picture of taco

Thread locked

[sjewkestheloon]

Hehe Tacos all around...

Yeah an FAQ is a great idea and i'd really appreciate it if we could get rid of some of the stupid shit that's been posted in the last few weeks and get some interesting discussion going again.

For example i'm currently enjoying the discussion of train stages

Only kidding it really is a great idea and i fully support it

[freddiebamboo]

A link to the strategy section is needed as well.

Some people seem blissfully unaware of it's existence.

[lynchesque]

-A top 10 for each of these consoles (a casual top 10, no fighting!)

Agreed. This would weed out a shitload of posts and provide a good resource for "casual" shmuppers.

[Ed Oscuro]

How you gonna get fresh with only TEN SHMUPS??

You got your Toaplan shmups, that's five right there.
You got Cave, that's what, five?

And we've only covered two shooter companies!

Okay, silly reference time over...in all seriousness, I don't think you CAN have a "casual" "top ten." Nerddom has proven those terms are mutally exclusive. If you did something democratic like found out what the most popular shmups were (by references, on the Forum, say in High Scores), I would complain (I think rightly so) by artificially limiting the pool of available fighters. I'm relatively new to shmups - certainly new to enjoying them - and I like the old ones best on average. My concern is that a "top ten" list would be discouragement to people like myself who are either not into the current ultra-competitive stuff, or whom have retro leanings.

ver. tl;dr

We'll just fight over the top ten so don't even try

[lynchesque]

How you gonna get fresh with only TEN SHMUPS??

You got your Toaplan shmups, that's five right there.
You got Cave, that's what, five?

And we've only covered two shooter companies!

A top ten PER CONSOLE. What system has 5 Toaplan and 5 Cave shooters combined??? That's a new one for me

I think you would find a nice mix of developers for each console on such a list, the saturn for example: treasure=1, toaplan=1, raizing=2 etc.

[BulletMagnet]

Or we could just link 'em to the most recent Top 25 results for a general idea of where forum opinion stands.

[Ed Oscuro]

Good points, but then again, I think the Saturn example proves my point in turn. You've got Metal Black, the Mahou Daisakusen games, lots of other retro stuff - and it will again come down to what people are talking about most. Knowing the competitive nature of this forum, probably the newer shooters. Back to square one!

Or we could just link 'em to the most recent Top 25 results for a general idea of where forum opinion stands.

I promise to be good and not say the Top 25 can go eat its own tail...wait, I guess I said that anyway. I'm sure somebody else will do it, though.

[incognoscente]

It is not necessary to read this article at once. It is meant to complement the board rules, but you can read the sections you want at your own pace.

Every now and then you'll see a code like #SFA. Type this into your browser's search function (typically Control-F) to jump to the relevant section. Searching for ::: will jump you to the next topic.


:::About This Forum (#SFA)

This is the forum for Shmups.com. This is an international community, but we prefer discussions to be in English so more people can read them. Please don't worry if your English is not perfect. :)


Important people to know:

• Shmups.com is owned by Malc.
• This forum is owned and maintained by bloodflowers.
• The current active moderators are: Zach Keene, Shatterhand, Ghegs, Thunder Force, and jiji.
  Please contact them if you have a forum-related problem.

Shmups?

Shmups: shoot 'em ups, shooters, STGs, or scrolling shooters like Raiden, Gradius, R-Type, Flying Shark, or Dodonpachi.
On this forum Metal Slug, Rolling Thunder, Virtua Cop, and Rez are not considered shmups, though you are free to discuss these games and others in the Off-Topic section.



:::Table of Contents (#SFB)

Organization (#SFC)
Manners (#SFD)
Topics to Avoid (#SFE)
Getting the Most Out of the Search Feature (#SFF)
Importing (#SFG)
Superguns (#SFH)
Emulation (#SFI)
Superplays (#SFJ)
RGB (#SFK)
Tate (#SFL)
The Quick List of Systems and Games (#SFM)
Other Resources (#SFN)





:::Organization (#SFC)

• Please keep posts in their proper sections. Moderators will move threads that are considered to be in the wrong place.
• High Score boards on this forum are for shmups only. Sorry, no Rez or Metal Slug threads.
• Shmups Chat is for shmups discussion only. Discussion of other games goes in the Off-Topic section.
• High Score threads may contain strategy discussion with scores, but if the discussion is long and involved, please move it to the Strategy section. Please mark new strategy threads with the appropriate tag.

:::Manners (#SFD)

• When starting a thread, please be clear in your topic title. "Seeking opinions on new ABA game Titanion" is more helpful than "Check this out!"
• When possible, search for answers to your question on Google or using the forum's search feature (more details: #SFF). If you have a question that relates to an existing topic, you may want to keep it in the same thread. Some community members get annoyed by seeing duplicate threads or answering the same questions again and again (more on that in a bit or #SFE).
• Be polite or friendly when possible.
• If someone or something comes from Japan, please use the proper adjective "Japanese," not one of the potentially offensive abbreviations.

:::Topics to Avoid (#SFE)

As mentioned above, some people get annoyed by answering the same questions or seeing the same flamewars erupting again. Here are some topics we suggest you avoid:

• What are the best shmups ever?
  This is a perennially contentious topic that spawned the Top 25 Shmups of All Time voting to abate flamewars.
• Is Radiant Silvergun overrated?
  Example 1, Example 2 (a little hard to follow now as the original thread was cut in two. laurie47 asked for opinions on Radiant Silvergun and received... that.)
• Which version is better?
  Donpachi:
  1 2 3
  Dodonpachi:
  1 2 3
  Gunbird:
  1
  Gunbird 2:
  1
  Strikers 1945 I and II:
  1 2 3
• Complaining about Battle Garegga and its rank (roughly: its dynamic difficulty):
  Example 1, Example 2
  For direct information on how the rank system works, please consider the Battle Garegga treatise.

:::Searching (#SFF)

You can find the Search function at the top of each page.
On the Search page itself, you have several options available to you.


How to search:

The text you're looking for always goes in the top text field, even if you change other options.
One of the first things I do before each search is change the Search for any terms or use query as entered option to Search for all terms.

Why?
If you want information on Dodonpachi stage 2 chaining, you will get about 3,000 results with the default option. With this option changed, you will get about 20. You should have a lot less threads to look through before finding what you're looking for.

You may also want to change the "Display results as:" option from Topics to Posts to see what the content of the results are.



What to search:

It helps to know specifically what you're looking for. If you are looking for help with Radiant Silvergun's final boss, try radiant silvergun xiga or radiant silvergun final boss.

Try to avoid unnecessary words or phrases like "the", "an", or "help me". In a general search matching any word, they will cause too many threads to show in the results. In a specific search matching all words, one or more of those words may not be in a post that's perfect for you.

Try to be specific, but don't go overboard. If you are asking the search to match all words and get nothing, try removing a word or two at a time. There may be another way to write what you're looking for.



Related Searches

Also be aware that some players may use abbreviations or nicknames for certain games. Sometimes you'll find more if you search with these. Here are some examples:

Batrider = Armed Police Batrider
Garegga = Battle Garegga
DDP = Dodonpachi
DDP:DOJ or DDPDOJ = Dodonpachi daioujou
GB2 = Gunbird 2
Mushi = Mushihime-sama
RF2 = Raiden Fighters 2
RFJ = Raiden Fighters Jet
RSG = Radiant Silvergun
S1945 = Striker 1945
S1945II = Strikers 1945 II
S1999 = Strikers 1999 (Strikers 1945 III)
Souky = Soukyugrentai
V-Five (Toaplan's V-V)






:::Importing (#SFG)

Most shmups are developed in Japan and many are only released on consoles or in arcades in Japan. Many fans import games or hardware to get around these geographic restrictions.

Most arcade boards use the JAMMA standard, so the boards should be fit to use with any JAMMA-compliant cabinet or supergun. Importing arcade boards can be tempting if the game was never released outside of Japan or if the Japanese version is preferred by the player. Some boards can have their region changed by DIP switch, but this is a specific and advanced topic outside the scope of this article :)

For consoles, some players in PAL territories prefer to play 60Hz games in their original 60Hz presentation (not all games have a 50Hz/60Hz option). Other reasons for importing may range from wanting the game in another language to wanting the best version of a game. But often with Japanese games, the reason is because the games simply aren't sold in other territories.


There are a few ways to play import games, but which options are possible depends on the system in question.

Some systems may have a special adapter catridge that can be set to override the game's regional encoding to match that of the player's system. Some consoles can be modified directly with a switch to perform the same function. Others have more elaborate regional protection schemes and may need a mod chip or boot disk to bypass.


Mod chips can be difficult to install. They take a steady hand, soldering skill, and patience.
Region switches can also be difficult to install as they typically require soldering and minor modifications to the console's casing.
Some boot disks require little to no physical modification to the console, but they require a special disk to be loaded each time an import game is to be played.
Adapter catridges require very little work to use but only work on cartridge-based systems.


Note: mod chips may not be legal in your country. This is something to check before pursuing that option.


For more information or answers to questions, please consult the forum's Hardware section. You may also want to consult the Import Gaming section of the Other Resources (#SFN) at the end of this post.





:::Supergun (#SFH)

A supergun is basically a smaller, more portable arcade cabinet without a dedicated monitor. These are often built in a modular fashion to allow multiple controllers, monitors, and speakers to be hooked up over time.
Superguns can be built with the right parts and patience.

Commercial models exist, but the Mas Systems Super NOVA should be avoided like the plague. Beyond that, search or ask!





:::Emulation (#SFI)

Software emulation is a process to allow programs written for one hardware to run on another. An emulator is a program that performs this function.

Examples:
Gens emulates the Sega Genesis / MegaDrive hardware on a PC.
MAME emulates various arcade hardwares on a variety of platforms depending on the version of MAME used.
SSF is a Sega Saturn emulator for the PC.


To use an emulator, you need a few things:
1) an emulator written for a computer or console that you own that emulates your choice of hardware.
2) a ROM or disc image (ISO).
3) sometimes ROM files for the BIOS or system ROM of the target hardware.
4) patience and an ability to follow instructions.

Most emulators are written by programmers primarily for their own use, so they often have quirks or tricks you may need to use to get them to work. Readme.txt files will often explain how to use the emulator they are bundled with.


On this forum, discussion of emulation is okay, but discussion of where to get ROMs and disc images is not.

Examples:
"Hey, I was playing Air Gallet in MAME and I was wondering... what are the end-of-game bonuses?" = okay.
"WHERE CAN I DOWNLOAD DODONPACHI????1???" and "Hello, you can download Dodonpachi at..." = not okay.

Remember: ROM and disc image distribution is considered illegal in many countries and you are legally responsible for anything you post here. Don't try to sneak around these rules. Use common sense.
If you are unsure if something is okay to post, please contact one of the moderators.






:::Superplay (#SFJ)

If a replay is simply a video playback of someone playing a game, a superplay is a replay by someone possessing great skill. A superplay typically concentrates on score and scoring systems above all else, but the player may also clear the game without dying even if this is not integral to scoring. Several world record attempts were released as superplay videos.


Replays come as three main types: commercial DVD or VHS, video files, and input files (INPs).

• Replay DVDs and replay DVD purchasing may be discussed. Links to DVD rips are not allowed. Play-Asia and CocoeBiz/VGM World often have a selection of replay DVDs in stock.
• Videos are generally hosted on personal websites with limited bandwidth, so be courteous and please do not download too much from one server in one day.
  Most replays are recorded by Japanese players and the ability to read Japanese can help greatly in finding replays. Many have since found a home at www.super-play.co.uk (FIXME: ask!)
• Inputs are for use with MAME, but the viewer supplies his own ROMs for the game in question. In command-line MAME, inputs are replayed with the command-line format: (MAME.exe) [game name] -playback [replay name].
  MAME32 variants have an option in the File menu to "Playback input...".
  
  When the MAME core undergoes major revisions, controls for some or all games may prevent .INPs from working in newer versions. It is therefore important to note which version the game was recorded with and to try to match that. Personally, I've found that in terms of .INP content, most MAME builds with the same version number (eg: 0.67) will play the same replays. If MAME32 0.67 is easier to find than the exact build in question, it may still work.
  
  http://marp.retrogames.com/ and www.mog-rep.net have replays for many games. Make sure to always note the MAME version used and please don't ask for ROMs.

:::Tate (#SFK)

Many vertically scrolling shooters use a display that is taller than it is wide (aspect ratio 3:4). That is tate in Japan. This is accomplished by using a standard display rotated 90 degrees.

Tate or the colloquial verb tateing can be accomplished with many televisions and monitors and can increase the visual fidelity in home ports of vertically scrolling shooters that support this display type.

Be aware that not all televisions can safely be rotated in this way and there are potential risks involved.





:::RGB (#SFL)

Red, Green, Blue -- refers to a very nice type of video signal.
Questions about RGB signals, RGB monitors, and anything else about RGB should be posted in the Hardware section.






:::Quick List of Systems and Games (#SFM)

There are shmups for most systems, but there are a few systems blessed with many shmups or a good number of quality shmups.

Here are some popular consoles for shmups and some sample titles for each system. These lists aren't meant to be exhaustive, but may help if you're starting out with a system, new to the hobby, or simply looking for something to try.

Discussing favorite games, hidden gems, or even other systems can be fun, so don't limit yourself to only these. See the Xenocide Files (#SFM.8) for more titles.


PC-Engine:

• Blazing Lasers / GunHed
• Gate of Thunder (PC-Engine CD)
• Kyukyoku Tiger
• Lords of Thunder / Winds of Thunder (PC-Engine CD)
• Nexzr / Nexzr Special (PC-Engine CD)
• Soldier Blade
• Spriggan (PC-Engine CD)
• Super Star Soldier

MegaDrive / Genesis:

• Biohazard Battle / Crying
• Fire Shark / Same! Same! Same!
• Gleylancer
• Gynoug / Wings of War
• MUSHA Aleste
• Thunder Force 3
• Thunder Force 4 (Lightening Force in the USA)
• Truxton / Tatsujin

Saturn:

• Batsugun
• Battle Garegga
• Darius Gaiden
• Dodonpachi
• Hyper Duel
• Radiant Silvergun
• Rayforce / Galactic Attack / Layer Section
• Soukyugurentai
• Strikers 1945

Playstation:

• Donpachi
• Einhander
• G-Darius
• Gradius Gaiden (one stage runs slow on the PS2)
• Raiden DX
• R-Type Delta
• R-Types
• Strikers 1945 II
• Toaplan Shooting Battle (runs at the wrong speed on the PS2)

Dreamcast:

• Border Down
• Giga Wing
• Gunbird 2
• Ikaruga
• Mars Matrix

Playstation 2:

• Dodonpachi Daioujou
• ESPGaluda
• Gradius V
• Ibara
• Shikigami no Shiro 2
• (plays most of the PS1 games)

Arcades:

• 1942
• 19XX: The War Against Destiny
• Armed Police Batrider
• Battle Garegga
• Blazing Star
• Darius Gaiden
• Dodonpachi
• Dragon Blaze
• Flying Shark
• Giga Wing
• Gradius
• Gunbird 2
• Guwange
• Mahou Daisakusen
• Mars Matrix
• Parodius Da!
• Progear no Arashi
• R-Type
• R-Type Leo
• Raiden
• Raiden Fighters
• Rayforce / Gunlock
• Salamander
• Strikers 1945 (also try the sequels!)
• Truxton / Tatsujin
• Twin Cobra / Kyukyoku Tiger

Other Lists:(#SFM.8)

For more shmups on various systems, please see the Xenocide files. As Malc is busy for now, you may also want to look through the Xenocide Files Updates thread to see what's missing.


If you were wanting a "Best of" list, try the community voted Top 25 Shmups of All Time. (You may also want to look through the voting and discussion threads.)




:::Other Resources (#SFN)

• Shmups Glossary, lovingly maintained by BulletMagnet. (Discussion thread is here.)
• Xenocide files and the Xenocide Files Updates.
• Chronology of Shooting - oxtsu's current project.
• Danmaku Gata - Japanese site giving up-to-date shmups news. Frequent updates. !!

Arcade game information:
System16.com
KLOV.com
(MAWS - only lists games currently in MAME)


Emulation information:
MAME-specific:
MAMEdev.com - MAME official site.
MAMEWorld


PC Shmups:
Shoot the Core


Import Gaming:
www.gamesx.com - RGB video and console importing information
www.namakoteam.com
www.ntsc-uk.com


Miscellaneous:
gamengai - features several translated interviews with Cave staff and other Japanese gaming information

(FIXME: ask GEMANT) http://www.aiva.emuita.it/gamest.php - arcade world records as recorded by GAMEST and Arcadia




Company-Specific Fansites

Cave, Raizing/Eighting, and Psikyo:
www.world-of-arcades.net - The Sheep's site, now maintained by rtw.

Seibu Kaihatsu:
http://nmt.cside.com/raiden/index.htm - Raiden DX (in Japanese)
http://www2c.biglobe.ne.jp/~abfuku/raiden/rf_index.html - Raiden Fighters series, Raiden DX, and Viper Phase 1 (in Japanese)
http://www.rf-emporium.net - Alluro's tribute to Seibu Kaihatsu's games and Psyiko's Strikers series.

Taito:
Huge Darius Battleships - devoted to bosses in the Darius series.

Toaplan:
http://homepage1.nifty.com/shootingstar/index.html -- very nice Toaplan fan site in Japanese.

Treasure:
http://www.ikaruga.co.uk



Official Sites
http://www.alfasystem.net
http://www.cave.co.jp
http://www.grev.co.jp
http://www.mile-stone.co.jp/index.html
http://www.mossjp.co.jp
http://www.skonec.com
http://www.taito.co.jp
http://www.takumi-net.co.jp
http://www.treasure-inc.co.jp/index01.html
http://www.triangleservice.co.jp
http://www.warashi.co.jp/



Forums in other languages:

Chinese:

• HK-STG

French:

• Shmup.com

German:

• Triggerzone.de

Italian:

• Arcade EXTREME

Swedish:

• STGFAN

[incognoscente]

Okay, Pirate1019, your turn :)

[Ceph]

Very good, I like it.

[Frederik]

Very well done. I still hope this doesn´t hurt the local taco industry.

Seriously though, great work.