Unnecessary cheap hit - What do you do?

[bydoempire]

So you got fairly good at your favorite shmup and want to 1cc it again.
But for some reason you constantly keep getting hit by pop enemys and (mid-) bosses that, considering your expirience with the game should be easy peasy by now. You keep losing lives on the easiest parts, so you have less for the time you face the really hairy stages and bosses. As if the whole universe conspired against you. What do you do?

I understand that this may sound like a joke question but I serioulsy would like to know what you do in those situations where you worry about the difficult patterns later on but die from a bullet that you should be able to easily dodge. As if a veteran survived the war and died from a bee sting after he returned home.

[trap15]

Poll are still broken :V

Anyways, depending on how far I am into the game I'll either restart or just keep going. The further in the run I am and how well the run has been until then are the biggest factors. If I'm pretty far in and the run's good, I'll just keep going. If it happens on stage 1, and I feel like it'll be a good run anyways, I'll keep going. I think my first Batrider Normal clear was done like that

[TransatlanticFoe]

I'll keep at it if the game offers extends. Otherwise it's frustrating and I'll either reset for another run, ragequit, or continue playing badly and game over in tragic fashion by stage 3. It really depends how dumb and how early the death was.

[KAI]

Maybe you are underestimating the game.

[MathU]

Chances are if I'm no-continue clearing a game I love again, then I'm doing it with the intent to play better than the last time or get a better score. So if my play isn't optimal, I'll probably just restart if I'm not very far yet or just put the game down and try again later if I've screwed up somewhat farther in.

It really depends on how long the game is for whether or not I'll want to play some more right away. Games like Raiden II and Hellsinker are so long that they really don't lend themselves well to back-to-back attempts.

[Hagane]

In Sengoku Blade my whole strategy is based on no missing and no bombing up to the 2-3 boss and no missing up to 2-5, so any failure up to that point ends in a restart. If I keep failing, I stop doing runs and practice for a bit if I'm not too tired or stop playing the game for a while.

In other games I generally just play normally unless it's something like a stage 1 death or something.

[Zaarock]

If I'm playing for a goal like 1cc or score I usually set a point after which I won't restart, but in long games I sometimes end up never resetting to save time(like Radiant Silvergun, dying on bosses doesn't affect score). Playing Hellsinker for score atm I'll reset if I make a big mistake on the first two stages or chaindeaths in first five.

MathU: Hellsinker is pretty long yeah. I think thats just why the developer put in short mission mode but it feels sort of pointless as you'll just skip three stages. IMO the worst part in terms of the length is how important the shrine of farewell is for score.. if you mess it up you'll ruin a scoring run right before the last stage(it multiplies your score before the stage), but that could be said for a lot of games.

[Sakurei]

it really depends on a few factors. first of all, which game am I playing? does it offer enough resources for me to still win? what restrictions have I put on myself (like NB, NV, NF, some other random shit, scorerun) and can i still clear even with one uncalled death (or reach the score)? how far am I into the game? stage 2, stage 4, final stage? all these are things I factor in when I play and die stupidly (which happens more often than I'd like to admit.

simply declaring "I don't restart" or vice versa is silly. there will always be factors where you will likely restart. death to stage 1? restart. death to something easy in stage 6? if you restart then, you will likely have a very strict restriction or scorerun. there are just times where you can afford to die and times where you can't.
PoFV scoreruns are optimal with NM. dying to stage 8 like an idiot (and early on, too) will cripple your score effectively. I'd restart. dying to stage 8 in a restriction run isn't a problem. would continue.

just to show how different things can have an effect on that issue, despite the same game, stage and character

[Bananamatic]

Post about it on shmups forum and call the game impossible

[Giest118]

Post about it on shmups forum and call the game impossible

/thread



But seriously, these days I tend to only restart if it's a stupid death in like the first stage or two, when I know for a fact I can no-miss those stages easily.

[Squire Grooktook]

It depends on the game. If I die but recover on stage 3 of Gradius II, then I would actually consider that an awesome run and would be more motivated to make it to the end.

In a game like Darius, dieing early just utterly cripples you for the rest of the game.

It also depends on how "serious" I'm playing. If I only have a little time, and want to just get some fun gameplay in, then I'll probably press on to the end. If I'm really trying to practice, I'd be more likely to restart.

[null1024]

If I'm on stage 1, instant reset. Elsewise, keep going.

[CptRansom]

#4 and #5 were my go-to responses for a long time. More recently, I'm striving toward #1. I don't really worry about score except for getting extends or for special circumstances (see: STGT) and just aim for clears, but even if I did play for score, most first stages have such a small impact on the overall score that a rogue death isn't going to completely screw you (and might actually help you sharpen your focus for the later stages). Hell, even if it is totally going to fuck your run, use that opportunity to try out different things without blowing the credit--you might surprise yourself.

[moh]

as i mentioned in a previous thread: I died twice on stage 2 of espgaluda, then I cleared it. I have no idea how that happened. so from now on, I keep playing till I'm completely dead.

[shmuppyLove]

I do like Chuck Norris taught me

[BareKnuckleRoo]

It depends, but generally I tend to restart a lot, particularly stage 1 deaths are pretty much a given. Stage 2 is 90% of the time unless I don't feel like doing another credit or I know the game is forgiving enough that I can make it through (Galuda, Futari BL Orig) but for those I generally work up to scoring well, and early deaths seriously impact scores...

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

Hell, even if it is totally going to fuck your run, use that opportunity to try out different things without blowing the credit--you might surprise yourself.

Seconded, if I fuck up early there's less pressure as I know it probably won't be a great run, then I don't mind taking bigger risks and trying new strategies.

Plus, it's all practice y'know.

[O. Van Bruce]

If I'm aiming for 1cc it depends on the game. Cave games, which have so few lives for you sometimes are inta restar if I die in stage 1, 2 or sometimes even 3. I practiced Ketsui until I could get a no miss no bomb until stage 4 90% of the times. In contrast, if the game gives you plenty of extends, I never restar then: Hell, I've had Imperishable Night with 1 starting life since 3 years ago and I've never restarted a Crimzon Clover run when I'm aiming for 1cc.

If I'm playing for score is insta restart even on the last level. I lost count of the times I restarted stage 5 of UFO when messing the timing of the blue UFO summoning... that was the most frustrating part of scoring in that game.

In general, I do the 4th option a lot applying the abovesaid rules. I can't play and fail all the time so I have to take breaks in order to calm myself. Sometimes, those breaks can take weeks . Luckily, I don't suffer from a great drop on performance if I abandon a game and if I do, I can recover quickly.

[Iori Branford]

No restart except in caravan. And then only if it's early on, and it causes me to miss something critical that I can't possibly make up for.
Whereas even a simple campaign has other things to try for like survival, endurance, item scarfing, bullet stunts...