Good Place to Start?

[Mortificator]

For like, dodging techniques, is there a resource or guide or something? For example, on the stage 2 boss in Batsugun when it fires the aimed machine gun at you, I keep cornering myself between a wall of bullets and an army of bogeys, using 2 or 3 bombs in a fight where I'm pretty sure I shouldn't need any. I wait until the bullets are close, then I shift over a little bit until I'm out of space or he's out of bullets, but the rest of the pattern means I'm moving a little farther than I want to to avoid getting shot and the gun lasts long enough that I often hit the wall regardless.

You're not the first person to have trouble with that boss. There's a lot of useful information in the Strategy forum, and of course you can post any specific questions you have, and share what you've learned.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Outside of Progear I can't seem to wrap my head around dodging in horizontal shooters (and I can't shoot in progear), so I prefer vert scrolling.

Sounds like you NEED to play Warning Forever.

[Softdrink 117]

For like, dodging techniques, is there a resource or guide or something?

Two come to mind immediately. One is The Full Extent of the Jam, written by PromeTheus. If you haven't read it you really, really should; it discusses general practice in shmups, in addition to specifics like save state practice and dodging techniques.

The other is a massive (60+ page) text document translated from an old Japanese danmaku site. I don't have a link to it anymore because it mostly wasn't that helpful. Text can only do so much, especially when describing this kind of thing.

If you want to improve dodging and general survival, most of it is honestly just experience. Sure, someone can tell you how to do a cutback, but until you actually practice the motions for yourself you won't really understand. The best way to learn in your situation might be to just watch a bunch of replays and try to expose yourself to how more experienced players deal with situations that give you trouble. Better yet, record replays of your own play, and analyze them to see what things you can improve on. It can really help, especially if your obstacle is a specific pattern or situation that you feel like you don't have time to react to. Familiarizing yourself with it in a stress-free environment will help a lot when you're trying to perform under pressure.

[shmuppyLove]

Paperboy

[m0ng00se]

I'm prioritizing Ikaruga slightly behind Guilty Gear

Buy Guilty Gear, leave this forum and live a normal life as a fighting game player, seriously ;P

I've been playing FGs for ages! They're going nowhere and they don't need to!

I found the Jam guide. I didn't even know that phrase was a thing, I thought it just sounded cool. Now it's got a history AND sounds ridiculously cool.