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[Cagar]

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[Skykid]

[mesh control]

lrn2play

[chum]

ketsui is a dumb game

touhou is superior (no 2nd loops etc)

[Cagar]

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[Erppo]

Why can't the player enter 2nd loop by just 1cc:ng the first loop? Why? WHY?

Because you need to do better to loop it.

I know every single bullet pattern in this game, i could even draw a map of all stages and enemy positions, and how to dodge them BUT STILL I GET HIT ALL THE TIME. FUCK.

Well then you're not good enough. Get better.

[Sapz]

lrn2play

Even if you CAN play well, and I know there's no problem for me to 1cc ketsui in terms of skill BUT
There are moments where you will make just a small mistake where a single tank will shoot you with a single bullet which you can't see because of the non-animated small bullet.
The game is just retarted, and no-one answered my 2nd loop questions.
I know every single bullet pattern in this game, i could even draw a map of all stages and enemy positions, and how to dodge them BUT STILL I GET HIT ALL THE TIME. FUCK.

lrn2play

[mesh control]

Well then you're not good enough. Get better.

quoted for truth.
Ketsui is a hard game when going for a 1cc, it's even harder when playing for score.

[Cagar]

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[Jeneki]

This is just me, but if I'm playing a shmup and missing on the first loop all the time, I'd rather spend my time practicing the first loop than slop around on something even more over my head.

[NzzpNzzp]

The point of the second loop is to be a challenge for people who are so good that the normal game is too easy.
If the normal game is still hard for you then you don't need a loop at all.

[Deca]

Sounds like you need to take a break, play a different game for a while.

[Ruldra]

Think of it this way: if you don't meet the 2nd loop requirements, you're not ready yet. You're just gonna get your ass whooped there.

[Cagar]

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[Smraedis]

It sounds like you are playing the wrong genre of games.

[RNGmaster]

Ketsui? The motto of that game is practically "dying is fun!". Just calm down when you play, and don't throw runs down the toilet if you mess up early on. It also helps to watch some of the replays on the high-score thread if you feel lost - it looks like you have trouble scoring, and replays like Ratikal's (and dare I say my own) will help with that.

[Chirpy13]

.

[Rex Cavalier]

lrn2play

Well then you're not good enough. Get better.

[Cagar]

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[Frenetic]

Lol sup man I've seen your vids!
And I'm not, I know this is my thing. I feel relaxed and my heart starts pounding every time I just HEAR the word shmup. I'm dead serious.
I'm also studying game developing (programming and stuff, just basics for now) and I'm sure you'll play one of my games someday.
But meh.... I had a long long break from shmups, and when I came back to them, I noticed that I'm wayyyyy better than before the break... dunno what happened.

Is there a way someone can upload a save state for a person to download? I don't have a version of MAME with a save state to Ketsui's second loop, maybe someone could help? You could also save state after each stage to the second loop requirements?

"Venom wrote:
Anyway, I have no idea what the 2nd loop requirements are. I've heard there is a 'special round' if you no miss + no bomb the first round
Another requirement is that you must score at least 120,000,000 points.
Venom wrote:
but is there a normal 2nd round and if so what do you need to get it.
There is a normal 2nd round. You can access it if you meet the following conditions upon clearing the 1st round:
Failing to meet the requirements to access the special 2nd round.
Having the number of deaths (D) plus the number of bombs (B) used be at most six. (In other words, D + B <= 6.)
[My source: http://arcadeita.hp.infoseek.co.jp/kets ... 94911.html (message #5)] "

I've met up and talked with some fellow STG players and we talk about that anger/frustration that comes with playing at times and we discussed a bit of strategy/mindset.

Have more structure while playing. Differentiate between practicing and performing for score/survival has been a big help. I narrow down which stage has been giving me the most trouble, and then work from there. To make Stage 3 more manageable for me in Mushimesama Futari 1.5, I chose to practice that stage in training mode over and over with (use a save state). I then narrowed down where I was dying the most. The midboss stage 3 gave me a lot of trouble, so I actually would make a mental note of which specific pattern gave me trouble, and then I would pay much more attention to trying different strategies during that specific pattern and then making a mental note of what actually worked/why it worked). I also tried different things--in order to increase the workout I played that stage in Maniac mode and then came back to practice it in Original mode. After all that practice I would then do a scoring run.

When I play music, I differentiate when I am playing a piece and practicing a piece. Practicing a piece is where I work certain passages (a scale run, perhaps a difficult syncopated rhythm with eighth/sixteenth note runs) I practice that over and over with a metronome/or metronome like feel. I break it down measure by measure, count by count. I play it slowly (when you have save stated and get to your particularly different pattern, press the pause key repeatedly to watch the pattern unfold in slow motion). It mentally prepare myself "I am practicing this piece" rather than "I am playing this from beginning to end."

Prometheus' guide is super super helpful. http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=34497

Hope this helps!

[Udderdude]

Even good players make mistakes

You're right, which is why Ketsui and DOJ don't just require "good" or "adequate" players, they require awesome ones >_>

Kidding aside, just use more bombs and shit until you can clear the first loop, then work towards getting the loop requirements.

[Blackbird]

When I get frustrated with a game, I typically switch to another game, play it a bit, then switch back when I'm chilled out. A lot of times I alternate between playing turn-based strategy games and shmups.

[Gus]

From Prom's guide

At some point, you will likely get mad at the game, and trying won't really
be fun at all anymore. If you're going to be one of the best, that's when you must
not stop. Stick to a minimum playing schedule and never stop playing for more
than a few days. Discipline is key.
DoDonPachi will barely ever reward you with a better score. As you have
probably noticed, the smallest mistake is severely punished and leaves a nice
hole into your score. But the one day you perform perfectly instead of almost
perfectly, you will get a lot of points. This means as you play your runs, you will
not necessarily see your score improve a lot, even though you will probably be
improving quite significantly !
This is why, to help yourself keep going, I advise you, as soon as you start
doing your final runs, to create a little text file in which you shortly document each
run that you play. You could number the replay files of each run ascendingly, and
in the text file write down in which stage you died first, and what kind of mistake
you did. If you want, you could even write a very short commentary, or thoughts
about the run.
Every fifty runs or so, look back at the set of fifty runs that you have just
finished, and make statistics. In how many runs did you pass the first loop
without dying ? What about without dying nor bombing ? In how many runs, after
clearing that loop properly, did you also clear stage 2-1 and 2-2 without dying /
bombing ? In how many runs did you die at this really critical part that you can't
seem to get that consistent at ? Looking at these statistics is good for you to
keep track of how feasible your goal really is, and also to keep track of your
progress, which is not represented by your best score. As you play more sets of
fifty runs, you should find those statistics will slowly improve, and it will help you
keep motivation despite the infinitely repeated failures.
If some of the statistics don't seem to improve at all, ask yourself whether
it wouldn't be a good idea to go back into practice mode for a short while to get
things straight.
Do not be afraid to do that, even if only to refresh your memory.

[Cagar]

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[cools]

Play Ibara instead, it's fairer.

[Udderdude]

I've cleared first loop many many times already, I just don't feel like any progress to get to 2nd loop. Every run feels the same, I can't tell a difference if I'm getting better at all...

You can tell if you're getting better if your score and life/bomb use is closer to the loop requirement.

Don't even worry about the Ura loop requirements just yet.

[Cagar]

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[Udderdude]

If you aren't against it, watch some score plays or superplays to get some better scoring ideas.

If you've got restart-itis, just try practicing with save states or practice mode on the 360 port.

[Cagar]

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[Udderdude]

Chances of Ketsui getting an overseas release is pretty much zero, since 5pb owns the rights to the 360 port, and they couldn't care less about foreign markets.

The port is worth getting IMO.