STG Weekly #73: Varth

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

Up on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdCkSdcep-g

Aww yiss, just what I need for my lazy afternoon. Now if you'll excuse me i'm going to make a cuppa and settle in to watch this badboy.

[BIL]

Wow, I stop checking in for a few weeks and there's an avalanche of goodies to get through. Just watched the RFJ ep, you guys really have become among the best things about this forum.

[lilmanjs]

Up on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdCkSdcep-g

Next weekend, Ibara. I think we're okay for guests with Softdrink confirmed and Eaglet pretty much confirmed.

As talked about during the episode about home ports, I checked the dreamcast port(using dream explorer to load a save that was 100% since I'm crap) and prototype mode is in the DC port. Though you have to unlock it, but I don't know how. Still I very much enjoyed the show.

[Dodgeballpvp]

Who cares? Ikaruga is from 2001 and widely available since 2002. It was ported on several other major consoles.

Today's year is 2013.

I don't have any consoles. I've been PC gamer the last 25-26 years.

[Aquas]

Current episode: #38: Ibara
Scheduled for Sunday, October 13th, 2pm CST.
Guests: Softdrink 117, Eaglet

I believe we're currently only looking at 1 replay from http://page.freett.com/acresp/index.htm

[KAI]

Nice, this will show people how awesome this game is.

[Vyxx]

Fucking glorious

[ReSe2k]

Yeah! Been waiting for this game on STGWeekly

[Aleksei]

I definitely won't miss this one, I love all the rose sisters

[emphatic]

RSG and Ikaruga episode was amazing. I've not put any time into any of these games, but man are they well made and beautiful.

[Softdrink 117]

So happy to have been a part of this one!

Despite the technical problems at the beginning (err, I mean the secret STG Weekly exclusive twitch content), it turned out to be a really good episode. Hopefully we touched on all the major points, and were able to break down the scoring enough. I had a great time commenting on this one. I must admit that it would've been nice to have trap and Frenetic get in on the action though!

Spread the Ibara love! Woohoo!

[CStarFlare]

Did you guys do a lot of prep for this episode? Those first 40 minutes were absolutely packed with information, and it was very well presented. Sounded too good to be done off the cuff.

Either way, great episode. Not all the way through it yet; I do have one question: do enemy point values ever differ based on the type of option you're using? I seem to recall hearing something about certain shot types (piercing) giving fewer points in Garegga/Batrider, curious if something similar is true for Ibara.

EDIT: I'm surprised that he's not using the game over-extend trick at all. IIRC the DVD player does it once or twice, is it so unreliable or is it just not necessary for how he's playing?

[Softdrink 117]

Did you guys do a lot of prep for this episode? Those first 40 minutes were absolutely packed with information, and it was very well presented. Sounded too good to be done off the cuff.

Either way, great episode. Not all the way through it yet; I do have one question: do enemy point values ever differ based on the type of option you're using? I seem to recall hearing something about certain shot types (piercing) giving fewer points in Garegga/Batrider, curious if something similar is true for Ibara.

EDIT: I'm surprised that he's not using the game over-extend trick at all. IIRC the DVD player does it once or twice, is it so unreliable or is it just not necessary for how he's playing?

I can't speak for Aquas or Eaglet, but 100% of my part was spur-of-the-moment. In fact, all of my time on STG Weekly has been like that, although for games I don't know as well (like Ikaruga/RSG last week) I will do some research and maybe take some quick notes before coming on the show.

I don't believe so, no. However, piercing shots will get more tick points by passing through larger enemies. This is offset by the fact that there is only one piercing weapon (the Rocket), and it fires much more slowly than most of the other option types.

I was surprised by that as well when I first saw this replay. Archer plays at such a high level that it's entirely possible he no longer needs to do that trick, although I expect it probably was used in his a run. I believe the run we showed actually scores higher than the DVD run, without using the trick. It seems to me that there's enough room for optimization elsewhere that it's not really necessary, though again, I could see it factoring into world record level runs.

[mice]

Great episode!

[Aquas]

Did you guys do a lot of prep for this episode? Those first 40 minutes were absolutely packed with information, and it was very well presented. Sounded too good to be done off the cuff.

Not a lot. I told these guys to start from the ground up with this game, and they did a great job.

(besides the technical issues before the episode)

[broken harbour]

Great episode! Any chance we'll see a Ketsui episode?

[blackoak]

yeah, really informative, great job. would have saved me some time when I was first trying to figure out Ibara. didn't change my opinion on the game (hehe) but I can see it being really fun at a certain level. If I ever return to it, I'll be sure to watch this ep again for notes.

[DJ Incompetent]

This episode is amazing and informative.

[ZaKa-tokyobassist]

That was a great episode. Never played Ibara because I could never get it to work on MAME but I really enjoyed Garegga.

Is this your favorite shmup Softdrink? You laid on some mad knowledge about this game. I learned a lot and it piqued my interest.

[Softdrink 117]

Is this your favorite shmup Softdrink? You laid on some mad knowledge about this game. I learned a lot and it piqued my interest.

Pretty much. It's definitely up there. I don't really have one favorite game (I bounce around way too much, hence why I'm not particularly good at any of the games I play), but if I had to pick only one 'desert island' game, it would be Ibara without question.

Glad you enjoyed the episode!

[BrooksBishop]

I think this Ibara episode is my favorite STGWeekly yet. Highly informative and very inspirational. I've basically had it on loop the past couple days while working, lol.

[emphatic]

Very good episode. Too bad Eaglet only got to say "yep" once in a while. Poor guy.

[Plasmo]

Fantastic game, fantastic episode!

Liked it so much that I've pressed the "like" button.

[Aquas]

Glad the Ibara episode was well received. It was a beefy one.

Well, the Thunderforce showcase episode is this weekend, that is, Sunday in the afternoon. Specific time to be determined.

No one volunteered to comment with myself and ChibiUFO for this episode, which is okay.
But, is there any specific Thunderforce games / stuff I should remember to pick out or show?

It will be like the other Showcase episodes. Leaning on the laid back, fun commentary side instead of serious breakdown stuff. But I still want to try to comment on the systems etc and mechanics of course.

Also, because we hit 1000 subscribers on the Youtube account, I'm gonna try to do a "Special" episode of some sort in the near future. Not sure what.

[chum]

Mazinger Z is "special".

[ZaKa-tokyobassist]

I wouldn't mind commentating if you need anybody else since I'll be available but I've only dipped my toes into Thunder Force with Thunder Spirits and Thunder Force VI. I've only finished Spirits so I really only know about that particular game. TFVI is hard as nails for me but I enjoyed it even if it seems a little plain at times.

Love to learn a bit more about the series myself.

[nasty_wolverine]

But, is there any specific Thunderforce games / stuff I should remember to pick out or show?

4,3,5,6 are what is generally considered best to worst. I have some experience with all the ones I mentioned. 3 is very much the traditional memorizer but the took the series off the launch pad. 4 is the best in the series though i havent got much on it beside knowing the music rocks and it being balls to the walls hard. For a 3d shooter 5 looks amazing but is easier overall (mind me but still quite a feat to 1CC). It does have the coolest weapon of all time FREE RANGE. Kinda like ketsui's laser where you want to point blank everything. 6 is very bland gameplay and audio wise but the graphics are really close to gradius v quality. And it has the most awesome looking end boss. you got to show that on the show.

I hope you guys are focusing on 4,3,5 and just go over the others a little.

[Rob]

Thunder Force I & II, Sharp-style. MD III and IV. Saturn V if you must. Basically, the overhead games shouldn't be forgotten (unlike TFVI).

It does have the coolest weapon of all time FREE RANGE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edv0v2mOL60

[pestro87]

I would love to see Thunder Force IV! It's one of my favorite shooters on the MD.

Great job on the Deathsmiles, Ikaruga and Ibara episodes btw! Keep up the good work!

[Aquas]

Late notice, but going live in about 15-20 mins.
http://twitch.tv/stgweekly