STGT'12 planning thread

[emphatic]

Maybe one year we can compete without save states, like men?

[Aliquantic]

No items, no superplays, PCB only, final destination!

[Erppo]

The only case that I can think of where recording replays would require considerable extra effort is people playing the game with something other than MAME, but has that ever been the case with the top scores? I wouldn't object to requiring replays from the top 5 or so. If nothing else, good replays are a valuable resource to any future players picking up the game.

[Jaimers]

I dunno man pressing shift and F3 is a lot of work.

But yeah replays for the top scores is only fair.

[Illyrian]

No items, no superplays, PCB only, final destination!

Heh heh heh heh heh....

No lock shot, no fuzzy lock, no 5 chip, final destination

[MX7]

If you mean to play seriously, you need to play the PCB with someone adjudicating. If you want to play the Shmups Forum shooting game tournament, no such measures are necessary.

[Krimzon Kitzune]

*

[hwl]

Wolfmame doesn't work here, so screenshots have to suffice. Good thing I'm not gonna make it to the top5 anyway.

[Ed Oscuro]

I won't make it to the top 5 in any week, but I know that I can't predict having my best run when I do. No Babe-esque called shots here. Getting it just right on the credit you plan it might be possible for some people, but even there it'd be an aggravation to set it up; for people who have to hope for one good run out of a set, having to set that up every damn time would be just annoying, especially if you are playing a game with any level of restart mania. Plus, who really wants to introduce more possible sources of lag and slowdown into emulation?

tl;dr just chillax and play

[trap15]

Note: If ChoRenSha wins, you must play it on an X68k emulator. The X68k version runs at 59Hz, PC runs at 60Hz.

[Ed Oscuro]

Aw shucks, there go my hopes of dusting off the ol' XVI. Why you gotta ruin everything, man?

[Zaarock]

Getting it just right on the credit you plan it might be possible for some people, but even there it'd be an aggravation to set it up; for people who have to hope for one good run out of a set, having to set that up every damn time would be just annoying, especially if you are playing a game with any level of restart mania.

1. tell mame to record an .inp when it starts a game. (no, you don't need a special mame version)
2. restart your runs with shift + F3 (hard reset) and it will reset the .inp every restart (there is nothing to set up)

hell it probably still works when you change the game from the tab menu. nearly zero effort unless the game has a long startup

I dunno man pressing shift and F3 is a lot of work.

[Herr Schatten]

It's unlikely that I'll end up in a top 5 position, so it doesn't bother me, but I don't really get the obsession with making replays mandatory. Who would be so lame to cheat at a fun tournament anyway?

[Aliquantic]

A lot of you seem to be focusing exclusively on cheating, but replays are also the second best thing to learn a game and benefit from someone else's experience, after the week is over, of course. See all the people hassling Sikraiken to upload replays/videos Not to mention sharing replays with your own team!

It's still pretty annoying if you put in a couple dozen hours in a game and there's people questioning your run or some egrerious incidents, like Luy last year playing in heavy slow down mode... For MAME games it's a quasi nil effort for most games, just like using Score Attack by default on the 360 ports and doing a slow restart if the credit goes badly.

[Herr Schatten]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against replays per se. I always enjoyed watching Sik's and Icarus's, for example. I just don't really see a reason to actually make providing them mandatory.

[Jaimers]

Who would be so lame to cheat at a fun tournament anyway?

Judging other people based on your own values is one of the stupidest things you can possibly do.

Even if you might not have a reason to cheat, somebody else has. That is all there is to it.

[njiska]

Where the hell did all this mistrust and suspicion come from? STGT is just for fun and has always been about enjoying the games, not having a dick measuring contest. You'd have to be pretty pathetic/needy to cheat at it and frankly I don't care if you do.

More to the point, most of the people who will be getting top spot in the tourney are people who we know are good at the game. Unless there's a reason to be suspicious I'm good with the honour system we've always used. Screenshots are nice, but not even necessary for me. Replays are right out because a lot of people do end up playing on either the actual PCB or ports if they're available/tourney legal.

[LtC]

There are people who've been posting on high scores and STGT while making world class scores for years without ever posting an input. STGT and High-scores were always about trusting other players. And besides if you did make recording inputs mandatory what will happen when /that input doesn't work for some reason/?

[saucykobold]

Having the top five submit an input file or video seems pretty win-win. To me, this would have less to do with falsificare and everything to do with benefiting the scene--a good replay helps players, can be fun to watch, and builds interest in the genre. The vast majority of participants wouldn't be burdened in the slightest while the top scorers (many of whom already record their stuff for others) would get a handful of seconds added per serious credit.

In response to several of the questions and concerns: console and PCB players should be exempt and there definitely shouldn't be any sort of video requirement for doujins with no built-in replay recording. I wouldn't insist on WolfMAME since it keeps you from fast-forwarding through intros and empty areas. If one makes a replay that desyncs later, the score would be kosher.

[Captain]

Maybe one year we can compete without save states, like men?

YEAS

[Krimzon Kitzune]

*snipped*

[Ed Oscuro]

STGT'12: Forcing Sikraiken to give up his secrets

[Chirpy13]

.

[Ed Oscuro]

I dont own a camera or a crt :(((

[Illyrian]

Personally I always take STGT very seriously, even though I'm not particularly good at these games.

I don't really care about people posting replays as proof of their scores as it's my experience that the top players around here want an honourable competition. For the most part I think just posting a screenie is fine.

If you are really sad enough to cheat in a competition like this then I guess that shows the sort of person you are

[trap15]

Sorry, the X68000 version isn't 59Hz, it's 55.45Hz.

So yes, the Windows version does not cut it.

[Krimzon Kitzune]

*

[Bananamatic]

Is playing with more FPS an "unfair advantage"?

I'd just tell people that one version has less FPS but feel free to use the other.
How about people playing shmups on PAL-50?

[Hagane]

STGT'12: The Professionals (of falsificare)

don't care about that stuff, just want to have fun. If somebody is cheating, shame on them!

Why make a tournament if we are playing "just for fun"? If we play just for fun, then we shouldn't make a tournament or even have highscore threads. The competition is precisely what makes STGT so fun IMO. And why would submitting a replay ruin the fun? As I said, that would not only prevent cheating but serve as a tool for beginner players such as myself.

It's not like it's a huge effort or anything. Record your last runs, submit the best and that's it.

BTW, if you can afford a PCB you can afford the equipment to record your plays. Or you can just play on MAME since if you own the original game you have even less of a moral problem playing it with that.

[dunpeal2064]

Why make a tournament if we are playing "just for fun"? If we play just for fun, then we shouldn't make a tournament or even have highscore threads. The competition is precisely what makes STGT so fun IMO.

So... why compete for fun, when the competing is what makes the competing so fun? You do realize that, with no prize, we ARE competing just for fun?

Just because for some, it is fun to win, does not really change that we are just playing for fun.