Help! I am not good at shmups like i used to be any advice?

segafan · Post by **segafan** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:37 am

I'll tell ya up until 2004 i was awesome at everything! I have stayed in the game by keeping shmups my # 1 favorite video game past time i am now in my late 30's and have lost a good percent of what i used to be able to do. Any veterans out there that could give me some tips on reconditioning my skills would be greatly appreciated. I own quite an arcade assortment as well and the only shmup i am still good at is zaxxon, my tron took a dump on me.

Any way i have allways loved shmups starting with the 2600...

segafan · Post by **segafan** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:50 am

I'd like to add one thing when i get my skills back i would love to be a member of wishiwashi! I am sure that is for the elite club only...

Aru-san · Post by **Aru-san** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:06 am

Le Postman can help you here.

lgb · Post by **lgb** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:44 am

Keep playing, and play on days you feel good.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 7:19 am

segafan wrote:I'd like to add one thing when i get my skills back i would love to be a member of wishiwashi! I am sure that is for the elite club only...

orly?, i heard theyre mostley about facial piercings?

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 7:44 am

Play a hard game you like, and practice at it enough (number of ways to do this) to be good at beating it without continuing. No cheating by changing lives or difficulty on your "real" run, but training is fine.

Take what you learned and use it in other games!

I totally didn't post this to show my new avatar I swear

kernow · Post by **kernow** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:03 am

segafan wrote:I'd like to add one thing when i get my skills back i would love to be a member of wishiwashi! I am sure that is for the elite club only...

If you saw the hiscore section you'd change your mind

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:38 am

One theory I have is to concentrate on a few games you like, but switch games occasionally (which will likely happen by itself, since I doubt many people can stick with playing just ONE game for years and years every day), ideally very different type of shmups. I have the impression that switching from, say, Cave to Raizing to Psikyo or from veri to hori once in a while stimulates my brain a lot more than just sticking with a very narrow selection of similar shmups.

The idea behind this is that it´s proven that the brain learns the fastest when it´s confronted with something new, and not so much when repeating something it already knows over and over again. I guess we all know this feeling of "hitting a wall" in our progress (not just in games but in almost everything in life), so when you don´t seem to make any progress at all, switch things up and learn a different game for a while. I believe that this helped me a lot

emphatic · Post by **emphatic** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:57 am

I consider myself an old school shmupper, and I really love Mushihimesama, because it many times feels like the old style shooters I grew up with (Flying Shark, Twin Cobra, Gemini Wing), so that's a really great game to get busy with. Also, when you've had your fix with the original mode, you can just move on to manic mode for lessons on "current style" shmupping. Or "ease in" with Arrange mode. You'll need a PS2 that can play imports though. Or the PCB.

Emph

robivy64 · Post by **robivy64** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:24 pm

kernow wrote:
If you saw the hiscore section you'd change your mind

Its intimidating for sure.

Not noob safe.

ZOM · Post by **ZOM** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:48 pm

Frederik wrote:One theory I have is to concentrate on a few games you like, but switch games occasionally (which will likely happen by itself, since I doubt many people can stick with playing just ONE game for years and years every day), ideally very different type of shmups. I have the impression that switching from, say, Cave to Raizing to Psikyo or from veri to hori once in a while stimulates my brain a lot more than just sticking with a very narrow selection of similar shmups.

Yes I fully agree with this.
When I play too long the same STG I get worse and worse at the game, but if i regularly switch,
like Frederik mentioned, from Cave to Psikyo, I notice a big improvement in Psikyo games.

pixeljunkie · Post by **pixeljunkie** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 8:58 pm

awwww, kern

My Galuda 1 and 2 scores ain't too shabby

//represent

Elixir · Post by **Elixir** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 9:52 pm

Playing Touhou really helped me out with Cave games.

But yeah, it depends on what you're going for. So just work on a game that you enjoy. For example, I can't do well in a shmup that I don't like, even if I'm skillful enough to do so. If the feeling isn't mutual, you aren't going to get very far. Find a game that you enjoy and stick with it. Practice it as much as you can, and even moreso if it has a practice mode.

You can also download superplays if you get stuck on complex patterns. Don't download them and try imitating the entire run, because it won't work. It might look easy, but it isn't. Most superplays are from people who don't have any problem 1ccing the game.

twalden · Post by **twalden** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:48 pm

I'm probably around the same age as you. The problem isn't that my skills are getting worse, it's that now I tend over-analyze everything when playing games. It's not as natural feeling as it used to be and I get stressed out because of it.

I've learned that every day isn't a shmup day. I can usually tell within minutes. If I'm doing shitty, I usually go play something else (fighters, action side scrollers, etc). Keeps me from going insane. On a good shmup day, I can play for hours though.

MR_Soren · Post by **MR_Soren** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:06 pm

Get good at shmups again? Easy:

1. Get young again.

2. Go back to high school and college and use some of that free time to play more

3. ???

4. Profit!

jochen · Post by **jochen** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:28 pm

Four alternatives from me:

If you are already married : leave your wife and kids, quit your job,
return to your parents, never leave your room and ... training, training,
training.

A better alternative : go on and train your kids at shmups ( if you
don´t have kids ... I hope after your shmup-career you already
heart something about this thing ... beginning with s and ending with x).
As their trainer you are a part of their triumphs.

Third: play games on easy with more lives - just like I do.
It´s not your job to play shmups - it should be fun. Or play
the games of your past - games you like, know and are good at.

And last : hope for your retirement. Playing Cave-games on
ultra-mode will make you the coolest 80-years-old-guy in your
street getting all the girls ( and widows of your age).

Jochen.