Going for score vs. going for survival

8 1/2 · Post by **8 1/2** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 7:43 pm

In the last few days I've been playing Dodonapachi dai-ou-jou again and since I've been away from the game for so long I've been just focusing on survival instead of trying to get perfect chains. Because of this, I've been consistently making it to the last level, and I've been getting far enough along in it that I'm actually wondering if the clear is possible. This is something that I had never really considered before when I was just trying to break 100 million.

I think this is also part of the reason why I have a much more relaxed time playing 16-bit shmups because I'm just focusing on my ship and what's ahead of me instead of trying to reach little checkpoints of score throughout the levels.

This isn't to say that I don't like to play for score, because that's really what makes a shmup interesting in the long run. Without eventually focusing on bettering my score I don't think shmups would hold my interest very long.

So I was wondering which one (score or survival) most people go for when they play?

it290 · Post by **it290** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 7:48 pm

Depends on the game for me. Most older shooters, I go for completion, but if the game is difficult enough that I don't think I stand much chance of 1cc'ing it, I'll play for score. Most newer shooters have more complex scoring systems, so I usually play for score in those. And of course, even if I'm playing for completion, I still do everything I can to increase my score as long as doing so doesn't make survival more difficult. In older games score is usually directly tied to how many enemies you shoot down, and shooting down as many enemies as possible is usually good for survival.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 7:52 pm

At first, I'll start off playing for survival. But, if I know that a scoring gimmick exists, I'll read up on it, and then try to learn it and play by score. If I can't understand the scoring gimmick, I just give up. (I don't understand Progear's scoring mechanism at ALL.)
Even if I try to force myself to play just for survival, I end up going for score just because I NEED the life extends, and pure survival play doesn't net me enough points to get those extra lives.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:01 pm

I'm trying to get a 1cc of strikers 2. I really am.

But like my monkey ancestors I am too easily distracted by the shiny things. Not getting the full 2000 value fecks with my brain so I get killed a lot for dumb reasons like that.

umi · Post by **umi** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:02 pm

Survival first... always.

shiftace · Post by **shiftace** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:15 pm

More like "elegance," I guess. I try to do all the interesting/difficult maneuvers I can get away with, which usually correlates with going for score, but it excludes things like boss milking (which is usually difficult but boring). As a result, I (1) sound pretentious and (2) have this enormous stupid-death rate.

MovingTarget · Post by **MovingTarget** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:33 pm

I wish I could put all my concentration into survival, as for me 1ccing is the primary goal, and the high score only becomes the primary goal after 1ccing. But for some reason unless its a tactic I know for sure is the best way to go through a part of the stage, I'm quite reckless/aggressive. Which works most of the time and may but good for practicing my reflexes, but its not good for the current score if I die. I wish I would actually think mroe about what I'#m doing when I'm playing

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:55 pm

Always survival. I even prefer to avoid medals so I don't get sidetracked on my pursuit towards survival. Plus, I get bored quickly trying to play for score. Maybe some day...

jp · Post by jp » Thu Apr 21, 2005 9:05 pm

Depends on the game. But it typically starts with survival and eventually evolves into scoring, unless score and surviving are tied together (i.e. Radiant Silvergun).

zimeon · Post by **zimeon** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 9:39 pm

Survival, although I tend to start playing for score sometime in the middle of everything until I'm so confused I just die.
Approximately 75% of all my deaths in the Shrine Maiden shmups are due to sheer score greediness.
Playing only for score or only for survival is not my goal. My goal is to play for the sheer sake of playing the game, a state in which dying or getting a bad score is good, because it gives you a good excuse for playing again.

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 9:57 pm

I usually start out with survival. Then it evolves to a mix of survival and score.

With a few games I've gotten to the point where I don't think I'll ever get any further (Strikers 1945 III for example ... the loop is a killer), so I just try to better my score.

Gradius V on the other-hand is pure score. As is Dimahoo.

Darkcomet72 · Post by **Darkcomet72** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:04 pm

I was playing DoDonpachi for score for the longest time, until one day I wanted to simply 1CC it. I did it on my first try, getting a pathetic score of 25 million. Bombs galore!

Honestly, some games I HAVE to play for score. There are some games that are very hard if you DON'T go for score, usually games that give you uber extends(Battle garegga, Cyvern).

Skyline · Post by **Skyline** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:06 pm

This is one of the road blocks in my progression in the shmup genre.

By default, I play for score. As a result, I don't progress at times. For example nowadayas with Trizeal, most of my deaths come from trying to keep the 1,000 pt. medal chain active, and slamming into bullets as a result. >_<

adam76 · Post by **adam76** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:32 pm

In theory it starts with survival then morphs into score when i feel that i've leant enough of the level's traits to be a little more 'risque'!

The only flaw with this strategy is that after a couple of goes, score and survival meld together as i can't seem to pass up the shiny stuff, even if it means(and it invariably does), certain death!

So where does this leave me? Mid-table mediocrity on the scoreboards and not a bloody 1cc in sight. Cheers magpie-esque tendencies...

elbarto · Post by **elbarto** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:49 pm

Depends on the game, but usually ends up being a mix of the two. Even when I go into a run thinking "it's all about survival" I often end up going out of my way to collect any shiny score bonuses purely out of habit, often with disasterous consequences..

I try not to think about it too much once I've started playing though, as overthinking always results in death for me.

MovingTarget · Post by **MovingTarget** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:01 pm

hmm

So I'm not the only one that struggles to control themselve when playing

Its all too easy to lose yourself in the moment and go all out agressive

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:04 pm

I've never played for score in a shmup, ever....never had the interest to and probably never will....

I guess I'm old-school, or I just plain suck.....

kemical · Post by **kemical** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:30 pm

i tend to not pay attention to scoring gimmick stuff in games, so i always start out playing a game to survive, once i get to the point where i can get through a level easily without being killed i start trying to get 100% enemy kills and maximize my score, but then usually after doing that i get to the level which i still can't survive in, and i end up getting killed going for points and items

Davey · Post by **Davey** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:31 pm

adam76 wrote:The only flaw with this strategy is that after a couple of goes, score and survival meld together as i can't seem to pass up the shiny stuff, even if it means(and it invariably does), certain death!

Me too. I might be able to play for survivial initially, but once my brain is wired to play for score, I can no longer "take it easy" and go back to just going for survival. My instincts tell me to do things I'm not good enough to do.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:46 pm

Yes, it's quite hard to supress that little Wario inside of us all that wants to go collect the shiny things...

I also like the flair once I get good enough, for that ultra-rare occasion when the person standing behind me is actually watching me playing ESP RaDe and not the person next to me playing King of Fighters 200-whatever... except I've recently started to milk the tank boss more, and it is extremely boring... if anyone is actually watching, they'll leave at that point, maybe come back in 5 minutes to find I'm still haven't killed the boss yet...

raiden · Post by **raiden** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 2:27 am

I used to play for score all the time, but it was so exhausting I found myself wanting to play but lacking the energy increasingly often. Surprisingly, the Genesis which I got out of curiosity turned out to be a remedy for this, because the lack of a scoring system (and the low difficulty) makes for perfect after-work entertainment. Score shmups in the morning when reflexes are bright, oldschool shmups in the evening to relax, that´s my approach for now.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 2:54 am

Though my shmupping skills are lacking to say the least, I do try to take advantage of a shmup's scoring system when I play it, as best I can...at the same time, though, I tend to have a "limit," depending on the game. For instance, in Battle Bakraid I'll try to chain the medals and keep a multiplier chain going as long as I can, BUT since I'm not good enough to survive without them I don't use bombs deliberately to do either, or suicide. Obviously this limits my scoring potential by a good amount, but I still have fun doing what little I can with the game's scoring system, regardless.

cigsthecat · Post by **cigsthecat** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:18 am

Both.

Post by **Ghegs** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 5:55 am

I'd like to play for score, but it just doesn't interest me most of the time. Too often the scoring mechanics are so distant from my natural shmupping instincts that playing for score feels...unnatural, for the lack of a better word. Especially in modern shmups.

I do get interested in score if the mechanics are to my liking. XII Stag, for example, is all about the score. I love the caravan modes in PCE shmups, though they are a bit limited in the long run. Harmful Park's Score Attack is pure bliss. And though it's not a shmup, Flicky is fun to play for score.

So I guess I'm in the middle of old-school and new-school at this. Just shooting at stuff to get points is boring (and pointless) to play for score, yet intricate systems with chaining and all that get too much in the way of having fun dodging bullets.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 4:18 pm

Like most, I start purely for survival. But as I feel I'm getting a feel for a game, I start to try and fuck with it. Which is where it usually reverses the process and spanks me. I can visualise how to chain the entire 1st stage in DDP, but in trying to do so, my attention invariably wanders from the main goal, which seeing as I've yet to 1CC it should be stying alive at any cost IMO. I'm more focused on the next wave of enemies, or the next bee icon than the actual enemy fire, leading to many a stupid and embarrassing death.

And I'm very easily distracted by precious things...

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 4:31 pm

No doubt some people find chaining fun, but to me it feels like a chore, another thing to worry about when I have my hands full just avoiding annihilation. Perhaps if I got super good at, say, Ikaruga, I might try out the chaining, but for now it just seems as toilsome as having to collect stuff in a platformer.

LUNardei · Post by **LUNardei** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 5:55 pm

I think survival always came first. But poits it's the real happiness...

The Bullet Dodger · Post by **The Bullet Dodger** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 11:02 pm

Ganelon wrote:Always survival. I even prefer to avoid medals so I don't get sidetracked on my pursuit towards survival. Plus, I get bored quickly trying to play for score. Maybe some day...

Same goes for me. I play shmups to survive, and to enjoy the adrenaline rush I get from dodging bullets and enemies. I really don't care about beating my top scores.

Tar-Palantir · Post by **Tar-Palantir** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 2:59 am

I always start out playing for survival, but once I understand how a scoring system goes, I can't help playing for score...