Most infuriating cause of death.

This is the main shmups forum. Chat about shmups in here - keep it on-topic please!

Which of the following is most likely to cause you to kill the next living thing you see?

outside distractions
11
12%
lack of skill
8
9%
random mistakes
16
18%
invisible bullets
9
10%
bullets... that turn
2
2%
revenge/suicide bullets
1
1%
high speed bullets
13
15%
getting pointblanked/rammed
16
18%
hit box and collision detection issues
7
8%
other
6
7%
 
Total votes: 89

User avatar
shoe-sama
Banned User
Posts: 2723
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:15 am
Location: gobble gobble

Most infuriating cause of death.

Post by shoe-sama »

Now for some clarification.

Invisible bullets is self-explanatory, but something like the background flames of Stages 3 and 5 in Axelay attacking you would also qualify... I guess...

Ricochet bullets (bounce off walls wtf), spirals etc. would fall under bullets that turn.

I'd say bullets that turn, because anything that doesn't go straight kicks my ass, especially those homing things.
<Sidwell> TSS is manlier than a jet figher made of biceps.
User avatar
Arvandor
Posts: 1680
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 4:00 am
Location: Utah *ugh*

Post by Arvandor »

Getting point-blanked pisses me right off, since in many cases, if you don't KNOW the enemy is going to be there, you're GOING to get trashed if you're in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

I had to go with random mistakes though. They're more my fault than anything, but they're so stupid. I don't know why they angrify me so much, but they do. Perhaps because they're the biggest impedement for 1ccing a game, at least for me. You end up needing that "good run" into the final chapter to be able to 1cc it once you've got everything basically down, yet something stupid ALWAYS comes up, and cripples your chances at the 1cc. That or it's because you die somewhere you never would nromally, and it's just frustrating because you're thinking "come on, I know I can do this part... Where the heck was my brain that I got killed there?"
Image
User avatar
BulletMagnet
Posts: 14423
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:05 am
Location: Wherever.
Contact:

Post by BulletMagnet »

Tough call...I'd probably say point-blanking (especially in the case of "bastard bullets," as I call them, in which an enemy point-blanks you at the moment it explodes, making the death all the more infuriating), with invisi-bullets a close second (especially since, from a programming perspective, it's incredibly easy to fix). Being blindsided by something (usually from the rear) with no warning would probably be third. None of what you listed are pleasant though, heh heh.
User avatar
popawell
Posts: 203
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 1:21 am
Location: Michigan USA

Post by popawell »

The invisible bullet takes the cake. Gradius III and Gradius Galaxies have this horrid problem at every corner. :evil:
Stupid deaths by kissing the walls are a close second though.
"There is always an exception to every rule."
User avatar
Twiddle
Posts: 5012
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2006 11:28 pm
Contact:

Post by Twiddle »

bullets that go at 0.2mph
so long and tanks for all the spacefish
unban shw
<Megalixir> now that i know garegga is faggot central i can disregard it entirely
<Megalixir> i'm stuck in a hobby with gays
User avatar
Ed Oscuro
Posts: 18654
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2005 4:13 pm
Location: uoıʇɐɹnƃıɟuoɔ ɯǝʇsʎs

Re: Most infuriating cause of death.

Post by Ed Oscuro »

Other:

Motherfucking snakes.

What the hell, where's the nosedive button?

Actually, any death is infuriating. My most hated scenario is when I'm going in close to apply point-blank damage (or using a charge attack i.e. Blazing Star) and some goon shoots me as he sails by carefree. Oh well, next time, punk!
User avatar
Vexorg
Posts: 3125
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:33 am
Location: Greensboro NC

Post by Vexorg »

In the "Other" category:

-Getting hit by the one leftover bullet after you dodged a big attack
-Not getting out of the way of the boss' Giant Laser O'Doom (TM) in time.
We want you, save our planet!
The Sledgehammer - Version 3.0
User avatar
Herr Schatten
Posts: 3307
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:14 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Post by Herr Schatten »

Voted "Other".

Dying because of SDS.
User avatar
JoshF
Posts: 2833
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:29 pm
Contact:

Post by JoshF »

Fast bullets, especially if they're caused by ranking too high.
MegaShock! | @ YouTube | Latest Update: Metal Slug No Up Lever No Miss
SamIAm
Posts: 475
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 1:09 am

Post by SamIAm »

It never fails to piss me off when I think it's safe to take my hand away from the controls to scratch my chin/shoulder/balls/whatever, and then I regain control right as I'm crashing into a bullet. It's especially my fault when that happens, though, so I voted for being point-blanked.
User avatar
Icarus
Posts: 7321
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:55 am
Location: England

Post by Icarus »

Q: Most infuriating cause of death?
A: Thinking about making a sandwich and/or a cup of tea. Mmmm... tea.
Image
User avatar
1up
Posts: 1106
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 7:50 am
Location: Denmark

Post by 1up »

what is a revenge/suicide bullet?

Is that when an enemy fires off one last bullet before they explode?

Thats what pisses me off every single time
User avatar
JoshF
Posts: 2833
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:29 pm
Contact:

Post by JoshF »

Suicide bullets are bullets that appear just after an enemy is destroyed, and angle to wherever your ship was at the time. Think Donpachi's second loop.
MegaShock! | @ YouTube | Latest Update: Metal Slug No Up Lever No Miss
User avatar
RotateMe
Posts: 281
Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2006 2:53 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Post by RotateMe »

Nice poll, very hard to choose.

I chose fast bullets, i hate those in gb2 and such...
User avatar
1up
Posts: 1106
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 7:50 am
Location: Denmark

Post by 1up »

JoshF wrote:Suicide bullets are bullets that appear just after an enemy is destroyed, and angle to wherever your ship was at the time. Think Donpachi's second loop.
Voted pointblanked/rammed then

In the dragon blaze tourney session I was furiated when you went in close for a dragon charge shot and some little pecker would shoot you right in the face
User avatar
Gorecki
Posts: 213
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:49 am
Location: London

Post by Gorecki »

I've voted random mistakes. Yesterday my controller ended up bouncing off the wall after I fired up mame for a blast on ESPrade and lost all three lives on the first level. My only defence is that I was fiercely hungover at the time.

Suicide enemies that swoop in and ram you also get my blood boiling.
User avatar
Frederik
Posts: 2554
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:14 pm

Post by Frederik »

Good poll! :)

Ramming into rows of enemies in Dangun Feveron and being point-blanked.
This is a similar situation to the one 1up mentioned with Dragon Blaze, since both games require you to get close to your enemies if played for score. However, I do not mind that, since the risk/reward potential comes from that.

Running into slow bullets with that fast ship happens more often than being hit by a high-speed bullets actually. Also, my thumb slip around on the d-pad once in a while, resulting in uncontrolled motions, which is the most infuriating death.

@Gorecki, ESPRade is a good example for a shmup that has a weird feeling in controlling it. Running into slow bullets made me really angry in that game; and the weird shaped player character isn´t exactly helping. I still can´t figure out the position of the hitbox...somewhere on the torso? Seeing the hitbox isn´t that hard in DDP.

Also, the lamest deaths ever: Scratching a single bullet in Shikigami, then overdoing it and dying. It´s a boring, unspectacular, frustrating, pointless death. Somehow it doesn´t feel that dumb in Psyvariar.
THE BULLETS ARE NOW DIAMONDS!
User avatar
Frederik
Posts: 2554
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:14 pm

Post by Frederik »

popawell wrote:The invisible bullet takes the cake. Gradius III and Gradius Galaxies have this horrid problem at every corner. :evil:
Stupid deaths by kissing the walls are a close second though.
Gradius Galaxies: Dying by being either too slow or too fast. Speed powerups suck in this game.
THE BULLETS ARE NOW DIAMONDS!
User avatar
shoe-sama
Banned User
Posts: 2723
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:15 am
Location: gobble gobble

Post by shoe-sama »

Another thing I hate is destructible bullets. You never think they'll hit you because well, you destroy them. When they do kill you though... :x
<Sidwell> TSS is manlier than a jet figher made of biceps.
User avatar
Ed Oscuro
Posts: 18654
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2005 4:13 pm
Location: uoıʇɐɹnƃıɟuoɔ ɯǝʇsʎs

Post by Ed Oscuro »

FrederikJurk wrote:Gradius Galaxies: Dying by being either too slow or too fast. Speed powerups suck in this game.
Definitely my least favorite thing about R-Type Leo and Gradius Galaxies/Generation...why the hell do we NEED speed powerups? Sigh...I'd rather have a designed-in speed, or selectable speed, and be done with it.
User avatar
JBC
Posts: 3850
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 3:14 am

Post by JBC »

Definetly random mistakes. I know alot of games like the back of my hand but can't 1cc them for the life of me just because of forgetfulness, or from my brain having short blank moments after a bout of dodging.
KBZ
Posts: 1257
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2005 4:47 am

Post by KBZ »

I voted invisible bullets. Nothing makes me angrier that bullets that blend in with the background as well as my own bullets, and suffer from motion induced blindness.
=/
User avatar
rib
Posts: 187
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 4:09 pm

Post by rib »

i voted "random mistakes" which happens usually because of my "lack of concentration" which i missed in the list.
however in nearly every hori shmup "hit box and collision detection issues" is at the top of my list.
User avatar
shiftace
Posts: 435
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:18 pm
Location: yes

Post by shiftace »

Another vote for other/single stray bullets.
FrederikJurk wrote:Also, the lamest deaths ever: Scratching a single bullet in Shikigami, then overdoing it and dying.
I hate these, too. But what really pisses me off in SnS 2 is the slowdown. Successful grazing creates so many coins, that vanish in a moment, that the game speed becomes completely unpredictable. Basically, I can't move while anything's dying because the slowdown changes from frame to frame; dodging anything is a crapshoot. It's the only game I've found in which turning off wait makes it more playable. FWIW I play (er, played (er, tried to play)) the US PS2 version.
"Can they really get inside my head?"
"As long as you keep an open mind."
User avatar
Gungriffon Geona
Posts: 583
Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2006 4:24 pm
Contact:

Post by Gungriffon Geona »

I am king of random mistakes. though a large portion of the time I hate those "bullet alley" situations in games. you know the ones, where the boss fires the fairly aimed yet very wide spread, or the curved arc spreads. specifically when several waves come out at a time, or when the bullets speed up. that is my major cause of death.
Image
FLYING CARS WITH CRAB CLAWS
User avatar
Pixel_Outlaw
Posts: 2646
Joined: Sun Mar 26, 2006 3:27 am

Post by Pixel_Outlaw »

I personally hate fast moving shots. Nothing above 3 or 4 pixels per frame. :shock:
Some of the best shmups don't actually end in a vowel.
No, this game is not Space Invaders.
User avatar
ave
Posts: 765
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2005 9:43 pm
Location: Vancouver, CA

Post by ave »

I've chosen hitbox detections. When I play DDP DOJ and theres a bullet which is maybe one pixel too close and I play, thats just too stupid. Also in ESPGaluda, in Kakusei-Mode, I often get hit because I didn't see where exactly my hitbox is.
THE ETERNAL
User avatar
Ceph
Posts: 3693
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 2:58 pm
Location: Europe

Post by Ceph »

Most infuriating cause of death
There's one option missing:

(x) Hanging by your own people after you used to be almighty dictator

That's gotta suck ;)
User avatar
dave4shmups
Posts: 5630
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 2:01 am
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA

Post by dave4shmups »

I would defnately say that collision with an enemy craft or some element of the background is the most irritating. I HATE shmups that feel cramped for those reasons.
"Farewell to false pretension
Farewell to hollow words
Farewell to fake affection
Farewell, tomorrow burns"
User avatar
Frederik
Posts: 2554
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:14 pm

Post by Frederik »

aventus wrote:I've chosen hitbox detections. When I play DDP DOJ and theres a bullet which is maybe one pixel too close and I play, thats just too stupid. Also in ESPGaluda, in Kakusei-Mode, I often get hit because I didn't see where exactly my hitbox is.
Not to mention tiny hitboxes on the bullets, like in Mushi. Remembering your hitbox is one thing, estimating those of the bullets is another story. You can say what you will about Psikyo shmups, but at least the bullets are WYSIWYG.
THE BULLETS ARE NOW DIAMONDS!
Post Reply