Options in Cave shmups

[Elaphe]

¿Do you know if the arcade versions of Pink Sweets and Muchi Muchi Pork lack the focus movement, a feature already seem in many other shmpus by Cave? The arcade conversion to XBOX360 lacks this. However, the arranges modes in both games bring it back. Honestly, I don't understand what's the point in this? Can't they just map two buttons, one with focus and one without it? Or just add an option in the menu to enable or disable it? I'm forced to play arrange modes to have it, and I don't really like arrange modes (arcade is more fun and less chaotic). Is there any secret way to cheat the game or something to have focus movement in arcade mode?

Same happens with Mushihime Sama Futari, as regards slowdowns. They have removed them from arrange mode, but not from the arcade (which totally spoils the game for me). I'm not asking to remove them, because I understand many players like to have an exact conversion of the original and this could also affect their scoring, but is it much to ask to have an option to enable or disable slowdowns? What's the purpose of having so many game modes if you cannot have what you want. In EspGaluda 2, the arcade mode has focus, but others don't. Why? Ask Cave...

Another thinks that really surprise me in these conversions is the screen adjustment. Is it so complex to have an option called: Full screen? What's the fun in adjusting margins to fill the screen? And moreover, you have to do this for every game mode!

Finally, have you noticed Muchi and Pink Sweets graphics with less definition (blurred) than other conversions? EspGaluda 2 and Mushihime Sama Futari look crisper. Since the original games run at the same resolution, I don't understand where's the problem. Does this happen to you too?

[Chaos Phoenixma]

Pink Sweets like in Raizing games and probably Ibara does not have a button to hold to slowdown. But you can press A and B to increase or decrease your speed. That's just something that was in Yagawa's games he made for Raizing, and it transferred over to the games he made for Cave.The lack of a button to hold to slowdown is one of the features in the Arcade game.

And are you sure about MMP. I remember the character slowing down when I use the lard attack.


And all of the modes in ESPGaluda II have hold laser to slow movement. And the slowdowns are so you can actually dodge stuff. If they didn't have the slowdowns, the game would be unplayable at some spots. And the time they tried removing the slowdowns from a game, we ended up with the unplayable mess Deathsmiles NA which had to be patched to make it playable on Death Mode and 999. And Ibara PS2 supposedly has none of it making it near unplayable too.

[Sumez]

I seem to be unable to make MMP and PS look "crisp" as well. It's all blurry and stuff.
If anyone know a trick, I'd be delighted to know.

[AntiFritz]

I seem to be unable to make MMP and PS look "crisp" as well. It's all blurry and stuff.
If anyone know a trick, I'd be delighted to know.

The mmp/ps 360 port doesn't have remastered sprites like all the other cave 360 ports so that could be why.

[stryc9]

I seem to be unable to make MMP and PS look "crisp" as well. It's all blurry and stuff.
If anyone know a trick, I'd be delighted to know.

The mmp/ps 360 port doesn't have remastered sprites like all the other cave 360 ports so that could be why.

Not sure if that's what he means. I think he's getting at the fact that the actual 'arcade' (low res) versions present on the ESPy II and Mushi Futari ports are clearer than in the MMP/ PS bundle. Not the Hi Def Xbox 360 variants.

And I'm inclined to agree, they do look a bit muddy.

EDIT: CAVE has since dropped support of the low res arcade versions on their newer software. DDPDFK and Akai Katana are Hi Def sprites only.

[Sumez]

Yeah exactly, Futari, Ketsui, DeathSmiles Arcade, etc. all look smooth to me, but MMP/PS is a blurry hell where it's difficult to tell pixels apart. And turning on or off "smoothing" hardly does anything.
Almost the same with Guwange, but with that I was able to find a resize-% that didn't look that bad.

[stryc9]

Yeah exactly, Futari, Ketsui, DeathSmiles Arcade, etc. all look smooth to me, but MMP/PS is a blurry hell where it's difficult to tell pixels apart. And turning on or off "smoothing" hardly does anything.
Almost the same with Guwange, but with that I was able to find a resize-% that didn't look that bad.

Talking about DeathSmiles arcade (as in the low res one), is there a filter available? It is the only CAVE 360 game that looks like shit on my 50" Plasma, sorta like say a Neo Geo port on PS2 using component in 480i with no filter or anything. As in really ugly' pixelated mess.

[Sumez]

Pixelated is what I want the games to be...

[stryc9]

Pixelated is what I want the games to be...

For a start I think we are probably using different displays here (bet your using a CRT).
And I like pixelated too, just not 'upscaled from lower res, no filter, sorry' pixelated.
Half my PS2 2d fighters look like shit because of this. Gonna have to get a CRT again

[PC Engine Fan X!]

It'd sure be nice to have the option of "Free Play" on both Cave classic PCBs of Donpachi & Dodonpachi. Perhaps a eprom hack would needed to successfully pull this feature off.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[JOW]

And I like pixelated too, just not 'upscaled from lower res, no filter, sorry' pixelated.
Half my PS2 2d fighters look like shit because of this. Gonna have to get a CRT again

Have you considered the SLG3000 (Scan Line Generator)?

It's the perfect companion for these low res CAVE ports IMO - even if you are using a CRT. I first tried mine with Ketsui running at 480p on a VGA CRT and almost shit myself with amazement

The CV1000 (240p) games (MMP / PS, Deathsmiles etc) look even better as they scale perfectly.

The effect on an LCD isn't quite as dramatic but it is still very good indeed (this is on my NEC 24WMGX3). Like you say, Deathsmiles' low-res mode is practically unusable on an LCD but it looks pretty good using the SLG3000.