RQ: Mushihime Sama scoring for idiots (ps2)

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zro
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RQ: Mushihime Sama scoring for idiots (ps2)

Post by zro »

Please!!! I love this game so much, but I have no idea how the scoring system works.

I do not find any of the currently availible guides comprehensible whatsoever. And it's not anyones fault except for me. I am a complete fool. Please, explain this to me in the same manner you would explain tying shoes to a small child.[/b]
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freddiebamboo
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Post by freddiebamboo »

I assume you want to know about maniac mode? Reading TWE's guide is essential to the more complex aspects of the game.
In case you missed it, it's here:

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=9671

Basically, your main counter (the big numbers at the left of the screen and that show on enemies when you hit them) you need to get high as possible. Do this by constantly shooting stuff - if you aren't shooting anything the value of your counter drops fast. Try shooting enemies slightly before they appear on screen for a higher counter increase and grazing enemies with the edge of your fire to keep them alive when there is nothing else to shoot - this keeps your counter at the same level until more stuff comes on the screen to kill (stage 3 and 4 need this).

The mid bosses of stage 2, 4 and 5 can be sky rocketed. This makes your counter much higher and involves all the child counter and tapping nonsense. For the sake of simplicity set your rapids to A+[14] and C+[2] and practice stage 2 over and over. Play the stage trying to get your counter high using normal fire buttons and when you get the mid boss hold down the A+ button (keep your lasers hitting the mid boss - picking up trace instead of formation just before will help) until the mid boss finishes his line attack (1.10 on macos video below). Now hold the C+ button, that should give you the sky rocket.

An excellent stage 2 replay by maco here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkcoDjATlgs

What happens during that mid boss sky rocket is simple. When your lasers (fired by your options - the little beetles that follow you about) hit a large enemy a new counter is started, the child counter. The longer your lasers hit a large enemy the higher the child counter gets - it's the 3 or 4 small numbers that appear underneath the normal counter at the mid boss. When the child counter gets high enough you tap the auto fire button and all kinds of multiplication stuff happen to your normal counter. Using a rapid button for this (C+) just means you don't have to properly time your taps.

You use A+ at the start to keep the mid boss alive longer (you'll notice you don't shoot as much, but your lasers still work when you hold it). The longer you keep the mid boss alive means the longer your lasers will raise the child counter. Most people don't get the sky rocket to work because they never get the child counter high enough because they shoot normally at the mid boss rather than A+ (by slowly tapping your normal shot button you can get the effect of A+[14] also).

Practice stage 2 and re-read TWE's guide and things should come together from there :wink:
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zro
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Post by zro »

Thank you very very much man!!!! the only thing I do not understand is
For the sake of simplicity set your rapids to A+[14] and C+[2]
What does [14], [2], + and etc. mean? I do not understand. I am very stupid

Is the tactic for multiplying the child counter into the parent counter useful against small enemies? Or should they just be used for knocking the main counter up?
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freddiebamboo
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Post by freddiebamboo »

14 and 2 are the rapid fire settings for the A+ and C+ buttons. You can put different speeds on these buttons and the 14 (for A+) and 2 (for C+) speeds are what you are looking for. If you go into the options, its in button config or something and you can change the value.

Just to clarify:

A - This is the normal fire button (shot), hold it down and you slow down.
B - Bomb
C - The normal auto fire, hold it and you move fast, tap it to bank child counters.

A+ is the rapid version of the normal A button and C+ is a rapid version of the C button. Put these 2 on the shoulder buttons of your pad to keep them out the way until you need them. A+ to keep the mid boss alive (it also has small banking effects) and C+ to bank it. When you get better you can do this easily without using rapid buttons by tapping - rapids just make things easier to learn cause you have less things to do on the mid boss.

-------------------------------

You can bank the child counters on anything that can have child counters, if you look you'll notice them appearing on the larger bugs on stage 2 and the shrubs that go on fire. Unfortunately, some stuff dies too quickly to get the child counters up high enough to make any noticable difference when you try and bank. The shrubs on stage 2 are banked (putting the childs on to the main counter) in macos video at 0.23 if you look closely - the main counter jumps from 7 to 15 thousand.
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zro
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Post by zro »

Ok,

But I still don't get it, when exactly do I want to use the auto-fire buttons to increase the parent counter???? When the counter starts blinking red?

On the first boss, for example -- I start shooting him when the thing blinks red with C+. What is supposed to happen? It's just normal, there's no noticeable jump in the counter than there wouldve been with the regular shot. Am I supposed to be holding down A+ and frequently letting go to tap C? Have Cave lost their minds by creating such a strange multiplying system?
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freddiebamboo
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Post by freddiebamboo »

zro wrote:Ok,

But I still don't get it, when exactly do I want to use the auto-fire buttons to increase the parent counter???? When the counter starts blinking red?

On the first boss, for example -- I start shooting him when the thing blinks red with C+. What is supposed to happen? It's just normal, there's no noticeable jump in the counter than there wouldve been with the regular shot. Am I supposed to be holding down A+ and frequently letting go to tap C? Have Cave lost their minds by creating such a strange multiplying system?
Sorry, bosses can't be skyrocketed, just mid bosses and other large health enemies. Stage 2 is the first stage you can bank childs cause you have no options (so no laser to up the child counter) until the boss of the first stage- which can't be banked. The red flash you are seeing is the child counter banking - or not on the bosses.

-------------------------------------

The easiest way to see a sky rocket is the stage 2 mid boss and the final head of stage 3. Stage 2 is quicker and easier to play so practice that:

When the mid boss appears hold A+

Dodge the patterns while keeping your option lasers making contact with the midboss.

At the 2nd or 3rd line of bullet attack (1 minute 9ish on the video) let go of A+ and hold C+ (It's best to bank (hold C+ or tap C) when the value of your child counters is 800 plus IIRC).

Stay at the bottom of the screen and just keep holding C+ and dodge.
You should have a counter of 80 odd thousand plus (even if you started against the boss with no main counter at all).

I expect to see you in the hi score table soon after this :wink:

EDIT: If you aren't, use W power. It is much harder to score with any other power.
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Post by Squirrel »

Wow, I tried playing like that, and its like playing a different game. I'm actually doing better just playing normally than trying to bank on scores, in both survival and score. With that, my highest is 80 mil, at stage 5 on arrange.
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freddiebamboo
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Post by freddiebamboo »

Squirrel wrote:Wow, I tried playing like that, and its like playing a different game.
Hey, glad someone got something from this thread :D

I put blood, sweat and tears into this and zro still hasn't posted a score :lol:
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Post by themachinist »

freddiebamboo wrote:
Squirrel wrote:Wow, I tried playing like that, and its like playing a different game.
Hey, glad someone got something from this thread :D

I put blood, sweat and tears into this and zro still hasn't posted a score :lol:
Hey I read it too. I'm going to try it once I get better... currently I can only barely reach stage 3 :lol:

EDIT:

Something I don't understand is you say you can eventually stop using the A+ and C+ customized buttons after you get good by Tapping A and Tapping C. But wouldn't tapping A be the same thing as tapping C? :? :? ??? confuse ray.

Edit#2:

When the baby counter starts going up does the game start making the "gem collection" noise? If it does, then I think I sort of got it a little. Any progress is good progress i suppose.

edit#3:

after a few more tries doesnt seem like i'm doing it right lol. i'm playing original mode though. why didnt they put a counter in the top left for original mode?
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Post by Zebra Airforce »

In original mode your counter only goes up when you collect gems from enemies. The whole "child\parent counter" thing is exclusive to maniac and ultra mode. I believe the best way to score in original is to basically not not die or bomb while collecting all of the gems in any given level. Some things are still similar between modes:
For example, you should milk nana bushes in stage 2 for all the gems they release. Another example might be to save the large enemy generators in stage 3 so you can milk the little bugs they create for more gems.

I think that I also read somewhere that you should time-out bosses? I'm not really sure why, though!
I'm sorry if that isn't much help :oops:
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Post by EOJ »

Zebra Airforce wrote:In original mode your counter only goes up when you collect gems from enemies.
This counter is meaningless, however. It adds nothing to your score, and is little more than a visual reminder of how many gems you have. At the end of the level these are added up for a small bonus.
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Post by themachinist »

Thanks for the tips. I guess I should just go for an original mode 1cc (if I even can) and forget the weird scoring stuff for when I move up... IF i move up.
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Post by EOJ »

There's no real scoring system in Original mode. Just blow up everything and collect as many gems as you can. Have fun!
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Post by Damocles »

TWE wrote:There's no real scoring system in Original mode. Just blow up everything and collect as many gems as you can. Have fun!
Hmm...then I definately didn't do something right. I cleared Original with something like 8.5 million and a couple extra lives. I thought scoring had to do with proximity to the enemy?
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Post by EOJ »

No, there's no proximity effect or anything in Original mode. You basically just collect gems and blow everything up (there's no multiplier or anything). You can get some more points the longer your shot is on an enemy (as anytime you're shooting something your score is going up), so it's good to hold your shot and hover over those nanabushes in Stage 2 while they're closed. Also, you can get some free hits at the top of the screen if you start shooting before an enemy appears, as they're invincible for a second or so.

There is also a trick on the stage 2 boss which leads to some free points-- beat the first phase of this boss without blowing up the outside 6 legs and you get a 1mil bonus at the end of the fight.

You also get 10mil for every spare life you end the game with.

Anyway, I'm glad they actually added a scoring system to Mushi Futari's Original mode. It's much more fun to play!
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Post by sven666 »

i quite like original mode from mushi 1.. its a nice break for the mind and pureley reflex based, fast as hell too :) defiently the mode i play the most of the 3 available.

to simplify the maniac/ultra scoring even more (atleast how i understand it) is to slowly tap A pretty much all the time and when a big enemy is about to croak switch to tapping C quickly.
the destruction of everything, is the beginning of something new. your whole world is on fire, and soon, you'll be too..
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Post by RGC »

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Post by EOJ »

sven666 wrote:
to simplify the maniac/ultra scoring even more (atleast how i understand it) is to slowly tap A pretty much all the time and when a big enemy is about to croak switch to tapping C quickly.
No, you really don't want to be tapping A slowly all the time. First, it's pretty annoying to do, and secondly it'll kill your multiplier. If you want to play it easy and still score well just hold C down most of the time. Switch to tapping A slowly at the start of the midboss fights and parts of stage 3 with a lot of health (those big side arms for example), then when these enemies are about to die (or in the case of midbosses, when the first phase of their lifebar is coming to an end) just hammer C as fast as you can.

If you do this you can easily get a 200+ mil ALL score (if you do it well actually 300+ mil isn't too hard).
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Post by Fu »

TWE wrote: then when these enemies are about to die (or in the case of midbosses, when the first phase of their lifebar is coming to an end) just hammer C as fast as you can.
I though it was when the laser count (little count above the big koju) was around 800 ?
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Post by Kiken »

So what exactly is the point to C+A-Ren (holding down C while rapidly tapping A)? Just more damage?
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Post by EOJ »

Fu wrote:
TWE wrote: then when these enemies are about to die (or in the case of midbosses, when the first phase of their lifebar is coming to an end) just hammer C as fast as you can.
I though it was when the laser count (little count above the big koju) was around 800 ?
Yes, ideally they should be 600+ (though 200+ on smaller enemies also reaps nice benefits, the interesting thing is you have to tap C slowly with these, for example the two large bugs in the first half of Stage 4). I was just simplifying things for people who didn't need or want the technical details. :wink:

Kiken wrote:So what exactly is the point to C+A-Ren (holding down C while rapidly tapping A)? Just more damage?
Yes, it does extra damage (quite useful on bosses) and it also makes your overall counter rise slightly faster during regular chaining in a stage.
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Post by LUNardei »

Wow, still a lot of confusione about the game. The guide TWE wrote is really a great reference for Maniac mode, so go and read it again and again guys :P
Original mode is another story. I achieved 14 mil with my last life, this means that actually there are tons of points to uncover. Leeching the right spots and perform the right tricks is the key, and I'm not talking about ultra-boring boss milking like YMN did on every boss slowly tapping C (or something similar). That is crazy, let that stuff to a WR hunter :lol:
I'm thinking about writing something about Original mode, but atm I don't have enough interest in the game. One day I hope to get some and fix that score, lol!
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Post by RGC »

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Post by Squirrel »

Is there a way to milk the stage 2 midboss on arrange? or is it just best to boost up your multiplier on the shrubs and kill him off?
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Post by Zebra Airforce »

Squirrel wrote:Is there a way to milk the stage 2 midboss on arrange? or is it just best to boost up your multiplier on the shrubs and kill him off?
I kill him as fast as possible, and usually get a rush of three or four large enemies, plus some small fries, once he goes down. You should probably point blank him as much as possible?
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Post by freddiebamboo »

Zebra Airforce wrote:
Squirrel wrote:Is there a way to milk the stage 2 midboss on arrange? or is it just best to boost up your multiplier on the shrubs and kill him off?
I kill him as fast as possible, and usually get a rush of three or four large enemies, plus some small fries, once he goes down. You should probably point blank him as much as possible?
Smraedis has a staggeringly good arrange mode youtube vid which should give you a few tips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdOpmKYJjJc
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Post by Zebra Airforce »

The youtube comment is correct, he spends way too much time at the bottom of the screen. His multiplier could be much higher if he killed enemies as they came onscreen. Mine is usually at 20,000 by the second giant ant. However, he does finish with lots of lives in stock, which seems to add quite a bit to your score.

I wish HDJ would put up a video, i'm really interested in his techniques.
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Post by CStarFlare »

Squirrel wrote:Is there a way to milk the stage 2 midboss on arrange? or is it just best to boost up your multiplier on the shrubs and kill him off?
This is a good question, since I've never really been able to sucessfully counter bank on Arrange and I have no fucking idea why. I do it on Maniac on the midboss and parts of stage 3 and get decent results, but I'm largly unsuccessful on Arrange.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I tap manually?
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Post by Zebra Airforce »

You cannot counter bank on arrange. Your score goes up from pointblanking and using the A button. Notice how your shot is a darker color when holding the A button? That means your chain will go up faster.

Just try and shoot enemies as they come onscreen, stay as close to large enemies as possible, hold A whenever possible, and don't let your chain drop.
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Post by EOJ »

Zebra Airforce wrote: I wish HDJ would put up a video, i'm really interested in his techniques.
There's a 1bil ALL video from him up on www.super-play.co.uk . It's been up for over 2 years.
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