scoring gimmicks and systems

pixelcorps · Post by **pixelcorps** » Mon May 21, 2007 12:27 am

love or hate?

and has anything been underexploited or does anyone have any better ideas?

personally, I thought ESPRaDe's system was pretty good, although the milking technique it gave way to was a little crappy - and the kakusei system in esgaluda is fun too, it allows you to score big, but also give you an extra chance with the slowdown function.

shoe-sama · Post by **shoe-sama** » Mon May 21, 2007 12:38 am

I hate any type of chaining system.

Even something like the Raizing medal chaining manages to kick my ass.

thesuperkillerxxx · Post by **thesuperkillerxxx** » Mon May 21, 2007 4:54 am

I prefer a Raizing style. I hate flashing medals and the like.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:03 am

has anything been underexploited

Enemy chaining. Ha, ha.

Personally I could go for another Giga Wing.

Gungriffon Geona · Post by **Gungriffon Geona** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:13 am

utilizing options more fluidly with the gameplay hasn't really been implemented well. sure, there was R-Type giving you more points for destroying stuff with the force, and a few places in Raizing games where destroying things with options gave you a higher score, but overall it hasn't really been utilized as a scoring system to a large point.

Dandy J · Post by **Dandy J** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:34 am

I like nonstandard pseudo-chaining or build up -> milk systems like ESPGaluda, ESPRaDe, Ketsui, Progear, or Dangun. Something that doesn't require heavy memorization just to keep the chain going at all.

I also don't mind medal chaining, it's pretty fun most of the time.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:37 am

Rob wrote:Personally I could go for another Giga Wing.

You're just full of surprises, Rob.

As for me, I can "get into" most any scoring systems that aren't essential to finishing a game, since I feel more at ease when I can start out with getting used to surviving and knowing where stuff is, and then adding on the next "layer" when it comes to scoring when I feel ready, and take one thing at a time.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Mon May 21, 2007 2:12 pm

BulletMagnet wrote:As for me, I can "get into" most any scoring systems that aren't essential to finishing a game, since I feel more at ease when I can start out with getting used to surviving and knowing where stuff is, and then adding on the next "layer" when it comes to scoring when I feel ready, and take one thing at a time.

Yeah. Same for me. Mostly, I just want a scoring system that is unobtrusive so I can ignore it if it's retarded.

the allett · Post by **the allett** » Mon May 21, 2007 2:34 pm

I have no problem with any scoring system bar chaining!! UUUUURRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH i fucking hate chaining!!!

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Mon May 21, 2007 4:40 pm

Love Raizing games but medal chaining always puts me off. I like it in a kind of masochistic way though.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Mon May 21, 2007 6:57 pm

Don't care much for: get the item to the end of the level w.o. dying, save your bombs/lives, or chaining (though I like Garegga). Gunbird 2's coin chaining is very aggravating!!! Dragon Blaze is much more pleasant, imo.

I do like scratching and such-- Shiki II is one of my favorites.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon May 21, 2007 7:01 pm

BulletMagnet wrote:
Rob wrote:Personally I could go for another Giga Wing.
You're just full of surprises, Rob.

As for me, I can "get into" most any scoring systems that aren't essential to finishing a game, since I feel more at ease when I can start out with getting used to surviving and knowing where stuff is, and then adding on the next "layer" when it comes to scoring when I feel ready, and take one thing at a time.

that was my line and also my feeling on the subject. god, it's like i also live in colorado.

glitch · Post by **glitch** » Mon May 21, 2007 7:17 pm

i love special scoring systems, conceptually. if done well, they just add so much identity to a game. i'm not a big fan of chaining, but in a really really really well choreographed game it can be quite a rush, and i think it's a very "natural" system in that it doesn't involve extra buttons or complexities beyond planning and memorization (not that that's easy or anything).

personally i'm a sucker for the more complicated and intricate systems though. i absolutely love Espgaluda's kakusei system and especially how they extended it in Espgaluda 2. those bizarre bullet-juggling scenes must be one of the most obscenely amazing things i've seen in a videogame. @_@

a possibly underexploited system: doesn't Under Defeat have some multiplier that increases every time you die or something? i bet there's more games doing that, but i haven't seen it often. also, i'd prefer to keep it that way. quite possibly the worst scoring gimmick ever. eew. -_-;;

glitch · Post by **glitch** » Mon May 21, 2007 7:21 pm

professor ganson wrote:I do like scratching and such-- Shiki II is one of my favorites.

oh, f*ck yeah, scratching is bliss! ^o^

pixelcorps · Post by **pixelcorps** » Mon May 21, 2007 7:32 pm

glitch wrote: i absolutely love Espgaluda's kakusei system and especially how they extended it in Espgaluda 2. those bizarre bullet-juggling scenes must be one of the most obscenely amazing things i've seen in a videogame. @_@

sadly i've not seen ESP2 yet, can you tell me more?

dmauro · Post by **dmauro** » Mon May 21, 2007 8:43 pm

I really like the kakusei system in ESPGaluda because it's so rewarding to see a screen of bullets turn into a screen full of bonus points, and you can use it defensively, or if you feel like being crazy you can get into overdrive mode or whatever it's called and just try to play through like that.

I have never even attempted to try to get a good score in Mushihimesama after reading the strategy thread, so I just stick to playing that one purely for survival.

glitch · Post by **glitch** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:04 pm

pixelcorps wrote:
glitch wrote: i absolutely love Espgaluda's kakusei system and especially how they extended it in Espgaluda 2. those bizarre bullet-juggling scenes must be one of the most obscenely amazing things i've seen in a videogame. @_@
sadly i've not seen ESP2 yet, can you tell me more?

i've only played it a couple of times on eretsua's pcb so it's not like i know all the ins and outs of the system, but it roughly works as follows:

if you have both green gems and gold, hit the kakusei button and keep it pressed. this activates some sort of special kakusei mode (with a pretty name i forgot...), which depletes both gems and gold. in this mode, the bullets of destroyed enemies don't turn into gold, but into big numbers which add to your score, and then into... bullets again. i'll call these "kakusei-bullets" for lack of a better word. these kakusei-bullets aim for the player the moment they spawn. every time you destroy another enemy after that, all the kakusei bullets on screen will explode into big numbers and then respawn in place, taking aim at the player again.

now because every time you destroy anything the kakusei-bullets will take aim for your character again, you want to destroy an enemy before the kakusei-bullets leave the screen and subsequently position yourself smartly to guide them away from the edge of the screen again and again, juggling them around the playing field, all the while milking huge amounts of points from them every time you destroy something.

it's hard to explain, but it's downright blissful. ^-^

DBH87 · Post by **DBH87** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:34 pm

love cave games, hate the chaining system.

prefer gradius 5 type of scoring

Ayanami · Post by **Ayanami** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:07 am

Hate strict scoring systems like many Cave games.

Tempest · Post by **Tempest** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:10 am

Rob wrote: Personally I could go for another Giga Wing.

Only if they knock off down the max scores by like 6 digits. I don't think anything besides the national debt deserves to be counted in the trillions.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:14 am

Tempest wrote:
Rob wrote: Personally I could go for another Giga Wing.
Only if they knock off down the max scores by like 6 digits. I don't think anything besides the national debt deserves to be counted in the trillions.

No way, new digits must be added. A score should look like this:

34113209847019834750193475091475890270

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:16 am

Tempest wrote:I don't think anything besides the national debt deserves to be counted in the trillions.

Har har.

Personally, I'll accept almost any scoring system, no matter how obscure and/or complex as long as it's not broken. The only systems I have trouble with are Raizing ones. Using suicide as a tactic for score doesn't gel with me because I'm not good enough to ever have ships to spare.

If I could only live past the second level then maybe I'd be able to handle suiciding one in a while.

That said, Batrider kicks ass.

Sonic R · Post by **Sonic R** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:40 am

Rob wrote:
Tempest wrote:
Rob wrote: Personally I could go for another Giga Wing.
Only if they knock off down the max scores by like 6 digits. I don't think anything besides the national debt deserves to be counted in the trillions.
No way, new digits must be added. A score should look like this:

34113209847019834750193475091475890270

A decent score I am knowing that you can do better.

pixelcorps · Post by **pixelcorps** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:11 am

one of the reasons i ask is that i was thinking that without them, if you 'no miss" an entire game, with no 2nd loop, wouldn't the final score be the same for everyone?

shoe-sama · Post by **shoe-sama** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:16 am

lol more or less

Veracity · Post by **Veracity** » Tue May 22, 2007 6:31 pm

pixelcorps wrote:one of the reasons i ask is that i was thinking that without them, if you 'no miss" an entire game, with no 2nd loop, wouldn't the final score be the same for everyone?

Not if 100% target destruction is difficult or impossible. Even on a non-looping game where destroying everything is possible, someone's going to look for places to squeeze extra points out from checkpoint abuse, and the like (I've done this, to my shame, but only once - hopefully past that degree of OCD now).

Not sure I've ever experienced a scoring system I find so objectionable it makes me want not to play, but nor do I consider complex scoring a prerequisite of a good game. Hidden stuff does get on my nerves a tad, but it's fine in moderation. I do like scoring that's somewhat integral to a game, rather than an entirely ignorable side-attraction - level acquisition and scoring in Psyvariar being almost indistinguishable, for instance.

What is the point of, or story behind, Giga Wing scores? Do the developers just have a thing for unreadably big numbers?

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Tue May 22, 2007 6:49 pm

Veracity wrote: What is the point of, or story behind, Giga Wing scores? Do the developers just have a thing for unreadably big numbers?

I bet they just thought of it as one more thing to grab a person's attention. And big scores are more satisfying. Really you only have to focus on a few digits of certain colors.

P_HAT · Post by **P_HAT** » Tue May 22, 2007 6:51 pm

I like system from Eden's Edge. bombing for chaining, its cool idea.

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Wed May 23, 2007 12:15 am

Rob wrote:
Veracity wrote: What is the point of, or story behind, Giga Wing scores? Do the developers just have a thing for unreadably big numbers?
I bet they just thought of it as one more thing to grab a person's attention. And big scores are more satisfying. Really you only have to focus on a few digits of certain colors.

Inferiority complex.

"We're not confident our game will sell well, so lets multiply the numbers in our system by 1,000,000."

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Wed May 23, 2007 1:08 am

Ridiculous, Takumi is just more extreme.