SHMUP shooting system

[Whiteclaws]

Hello everyone , my name is Whiteclaws and I'm in the process of designing a deep but accessible SHMUP for a large audience

I was thinking of a system that would be easy-to-use but that would have the potential to be hardcore for diehard fans of the series

Here's what I got ,

When button pressed , shoot the machine gun
The more you hold it , the more a 3-lvl bar fills and level up your weapon
When you release that button , the bar will go back to level one and a shield will appear
around the player , the shield will be bigger depending on the level of your gun before level down
You get points when shooting and multipliers when you are high level

Basically , it's a 1-button system with a leveling up system as the spur in Cave Story , but the system itself , I think , is not that deep

What do you think ?
And how can I ameliorate it ?

Cheers !

[Ixmucane2]

Holding fire fills up the bar, but does the bar affect your shot or only the strength of your shield? Are there reasons to stop shooting? It seems that shooting continuously, with momentary interruptions to get a new shield (when the bar is full or when it's needed), is a trivially optimal strategy.

A possible tradeoff: if you shoot, the weapon "warms up" and becomes progressively more powerful (up to a reasonable limit, possibly with a wider spread in order to waste shots); if you stop shooting, the ablative shield (always present until pierced) charges up and the weapon "cools down" (gradually) to lower power levels. This offers a meaningful choice between offense and defense and between different weapon levels and shield levels.

Of course there's a more basic question: what do you need a shield for? What skill does it require? Unfair bullet patterns that cannot be dodged are generally frowned upon.

[Whiteclaws]

The shield should be the score attack "killer"
And should only help casual players to avoid some of the most difficult patterns

I thinked a bit about it

You hold and key to shoot , and a multiplayer bar fills up to X5 , and when you release the key , a shield is released and the multiplier goes back to X1

It's way better now , no more level up shenanigans

[nasty_wolverine]

If you want a one button system take a look at mars matrix. one button for charge shot, rapid shot and sheild.

[tibone]

If there's some limit that forces you to risk yourself in order to get the shield, it might be a cool mechanic.
But only as mutiplier, i don't see it adding that much depth.

It if was a limited ammo or weapon overheating, something that forces you to risk yourself into getting the shield, it might be cool.