Shmup Related Questions That Don't Deserve a Thread

[Sweatlord_STG]

https://youtu.be/Qq4fCHFMKTg?si=5j_Zps1um-Ng7bFQ

Platypus Reclayed has incredible grafx/art style which makes it stand out, but is it good? Who has played it?

Faith and repoman posted about it on the Shmup Ticker thread recently and they didn't seem to like it very much.

ah, thanks to u i found their posts easily. thank u

[Unlucky7]

If I am thinking about getting Strania, is it better to get the Switch version or the Steam version? Apparently, the former has an EX revision that basically is a rebalance of the game plus a new difficulty level, or so I hear, and it looks like that is not on the steam version yet.

Unfortunately, it does not work on Switch 2 currently, but I do have a Switch 1 that I could probably hook up.

[NeoStrayCat]

I know a few of these posts a a little late to answer, however...

There's a sale for the first Castle of Shikigami on Steam. Is the port good?

The port's alright from what I've played.

Has there ever been an attempt to make a Gradius V romhack that allows you to skip the cutscenes?

If there is/was one, I guess that would be nice, but Gradius V has unskippable cutscenes? That's rough...

Has anybody been able to get the Mushi Futari Black Label DLC to work in Xenia. I tried with the Canary version I have from about a year and a half ago with no luck. Even tried a rip of the game and DLC that supposedly fixed the issue with no luck. Is there a particular version of Xenia where it does work or any tricks I can do to get it to work?

The latest version of Xenia Canary should work with no problems on my end. Installed the DLC with no issues.

Now...

If I am thinking about getting Strania, is it better to get the Switch version or the Steam version? Apparently, the former has an EX revision that basically is a rebalance of the game plus a new difficulty level, or so I hear, and it looks like that is not on the steam version yet.

Unfortunately, it does not work on Switch 2 currently, but I do have a Switch 1 that I could probably hook up.

The Switch version of EX is more or less the same as the Exa-Arcadia version (minus the lower input lag). And that's the latest version up. So you're better getting the Switch version. So far, the Steam and Xbox (BC) versions are just the original vanilla versions without the re-balancing and additional difficulty.

[Creamy Goodness]

I know a few of these posts a a little late to answer, however...

There's a sale for the first Castle of Shikigami on Steam. Is the port good?

The port's alright from what I've played.

Has there ever been an attempt to make a Gradius V romhack that allows you to skip the cutscenes?

If there is/was one, I guess that would be nice, but Gradius V has unskippable cutscenes? That's rough...

Has anybody been able to get the Mushi Futari Black Label DLC to work in Xenia. I tried with the Canary version I have from about a year and a half ago with no luck. Even tried a rip of the game and DLC that supposedly fixed the issue with no luck. Is there a particular version of Xenia where it does work or any tricks I can do to get it to work?

The latest version of Xenia Canary should work with no problems on my end. Installed the DLC with no issues.

Now...

If I am thinking about getting Strania, is it better to get the Switch version or the Steam version? Apparently, the former has an EX revision that basically is a rebalance of the game plus a new difficulty level, or so I hear, and it looks like that is not on the steam version yet.

Unfortunately, it does not work on Switch 2 currently, but I do have a Switch 1 that I could probably hook up.

The Switch version of EX is more or less the same as the Exa-Arcadia version (minus the lower input lag). And that's the latest version up. So you're better getting the Switch version. So far, the Steam and Xbox (BC) versions are just the original vanilla versions without the re-balancing and additional difficulty.

Thank you. I guess I had an older version because I got the latest and it worked.

[Sweatlord_STG]

why is tatsujin looking like this right now for me on mame?

https://ibb.co/zV016HsZ

https://ibb.co/ymtHPW8X

pls help

edit:

AI says: "A known issue with the Tatsujin (Truxton) game on MAME involves a sprite and background (BG) priority glitch, where sprites incorrectly display over the topmost background layer, such as the scoreboard and game-over text, instead of being properly layered beneath them as intended.
This issue is believed to be related to the Bi-Polar ROMs (BPROMs) on the PCB, which control sprite priority in Toaplan's Gen 1 hardware.
However, some users have found that the BPROMs themselves may not be the root cause, as testing with replacement chips and adapters did not resolve the problem, suggesting the issue might be more complex or involve other circuitry.

Additionally, users have reported that high scores may not save properly in MAME, particularly when using certain launchers like LaunchBox. This can be resolved by ensuring the correct MAME executable (the one without a yellow icon) is used and by properly initializing the high score table through the service menu or dip switch settings.
Specifically, the high score table should be initialized by setting World Records to 'Erase on Reset' in the dip switch menu, resetting the game, and then reverting the setting.
This initialization step is crucial for the high score data to be saved correctly."

ok -.-

[Steven]

Damn, that 7th place player is really fucking good at the game. 800,000,010 points in area 1. That's pretty impressive!

Uh yeah. If you're cool with poor audio and lacking autofire settings, try the Bitwave version (preferably through Steam so you can use Steam Input's autofire to compensate for the emulator's unfortunately restrictive autofire options; set the emulator to 30Hz and then the Steam Input auto button to like 1000 or so for optimal-ish autofire), or MiSTer if you have one, which I think is overall worse than Bitwave now. I thought there was a version of MAME that should run this properly, but I don't remember if I have played this on MAME. Or I guess try some other emulator if you want. I have heard it might be good/good enough or at least not unplayably terrible on the Egret II Mini.

[davyK]

Have been trying out the arcade version of Xevious that comes with the new DLC with Atari 50. So this is the US/Atari released version of the game and it's noticeably harder than the JP version. The default on the Atari 50 is difficulty=medium with extra lives at 20, 60 and every 60 after.

I thought I remember reading here that the US version needs to be set to easy but with a different 1up score requirement. Can't find the thread though no matter how much I've tried to search for it - anyone know?


btw - playing the 7800 port. It's a very nice sold game despite the issues with it being 4:3. Play it on advanced level and it's a tough game (partially because you have less room). Worth having a look at if you like trying those older ports.

[xEbb1993x]

Where can I do the Konami Code on Gradius Origins?

[aak]

Where can I do the Konami Code on Gradius Origins?

On the version select menus for Gradius 1 and Salamander

[xEbb1993x]

Where can I do the Konami Code on Gradius Origins?

On the version select menus for Gradius 1 and Salamander

Thanks.

[xEbb1993x]

What is the bad ending in Final Star Force like? When you let the Stage 9 boss escape instead of destroying it?

[Faith]

): Faith is depressed :(

So few weeks ago... I managed this clear.

For maybe 2 weeks... I was very super happy... very good mood with everything in life >.<!~

But, now... every time I look back... I feel like... what should be a big achievement to always be proud of... I look at my score...and now I just feel suuuuuper -_____-"... hard describe.

I think big part is, now my hours in this game... 700+... feel like should have scored better.

So, in some ways... nice no-miss... but my score (6t vs WR I think is around 15t)... makes me feel like should have put more effort into scoring instead of much too high focus on survival... I think, at some point playing... don't know why... decided to activate the "touhou spirit" (where clear like NM or NMNB, so on) are common goals... but rarely in Cave-style STG.

Does anyone sometimes feel like this? And... how to better handle it? Feel disappointed >.<!~

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I think big part is, now my hours in this game... 700+... feel like should have scored better.

Why? It's a no-miss clear; there's tons of games out there where the life bonus at the end isn't significant compared to what you get from aggressively playing for score, so there's going to be some games where playing for safety and aiming for a no-miss survival clear is going to score very differently from a scoring focused run, let alone something extra difficult like a scoring run that's also a no-miss clear.

There's some games where a truly high score really requires no missing to maximize your life stock but I'm not aware of that being the case here, and CCWI U is hard enough as it is without also aiming to score in it!

[Faith]

Why? It's a no-miss clear

I think because, at end of day, leaderboard position could be better... so... just a bit disappointed with self >.<!~

For CC, especially when play Type-Z, of course no-miss will always be good for scoring, because with Type-Z it is hard build Break Rate, and getting hit is bad for rate.

But yes, in CC "life left" bonus is actually super sad lol!~

I guess, big part is also lack of focus. Originally, my goal was scoring... but... not sure why at some part brain just change more to "survival."

Of course, with STG's, I've had many "most disappointing clear ever" in past, lol. But not like this.

Some other people mentality is "a clear is a clear!" ha!~

But... for me... not always!

[Faith]

Am I the only one who think tate is overrated? lol >.<!~

(I know, I think summon the most evil of monstrosity by daring say such a thing... on this forum especially lol.)

I feel the issue with the blank space... is a skill issue on the developer side lol...

...or lack of imagination...

Yes, I know... everyone will say here is Faith mentioning Crimzon Clover for 999th time... and yes... I will say it because this game does it so grand with the space on side.

But I will also say, Refrain - prism memories - the space on side is very well used too, and you can actually see your options talking to you!

See (left side is all the message of options, right side is things like item pickup):

Spoiler

I really value when developer knows how to creatively use the extra space on side... I really feel it adds so much to game. And in CC it really to the action because of the screen shake with explosions and buzzing with lasers, how all the elements at the sides react to the action. Really would love to see much more of this in future!~

[AGermanArtist]

What did you think of M2's Shot Triggers gadgets?

[Steven]

Am I the only one who think tate is overrated? lol >.<!~

I have talked about this before, but tate mode is a 100% completely useless gimmick on modern displays. Actually, I'd go as far as to say that it is probably actively detrimental to good play and I can back up this claim. There is way more than significant resolution on modern displays to show everything on screen within the vertical aspect ratio, which was not the case on CRTs, which is why it exists. It was needed back then. It is not needed now.

As for it being detrimental, this is easy: bigger display = it's harder for you to see everything. Tate mode = bigger display. I've talked about this before too, but Toaplan's games were developed for table cabinets, which have displays in the 12~20 inch range. That is what they are supposed to be played on, and the graphics, size of sprites, and enemy placements all are balanced specifically for monitors of this size. Play something like Same! Same! Same! on a 29 inch Astro City and then switch to an 18 inch screen. I guarantee you will die endless times to stuff you didn't see at all on the 29 inch because it's too big. You are not supposed to play Toaplan games on these huge monitors. This is not my opinion. This has been stated multiple times by Uemura-san, who, you know, actually made these games, although not Same! specifically. On the 18 inch, you can see everything without having to move your eyes at all. That's how you're supposed to play this game.

Obviously, you can overcome this through memorization and still play on a huge screen if you really want to, but you're still putting yourself at a disadvantage by playing on a bigger screen and intentionally limiting your situational awareness. Using tate mode on a modern display to make the screen huge is exactly the same as going from the 18 inch to the 29 inch display in this example, so yeah, modern tate is bad, don't use it.

I honestly regret getting my New Astro City because of this; I think the screen is way too big and I have great difficulty with things like Raiden DX because I just can't see anything. I find that I play much better on my PC monitor, where the graphics occupy about 12 inches of my screen, which makes it significantly easier to see everything. I can still play on the Astro, but the PC monitor is better because it's smaller and has the same input lag.

[Faith]

What did you think of M2's Shot Triggers gadgets?

Those are not bad, and, similar to Blue Revolver, better than nothing! But of course for ports, very often, it is something added "after" and not made to be part of the (original) experience. But, for cases like Crimzon Clover and RefRain, it is definitely part of the full experience I feel!~

As for it being detrimental, this is easy: bigger display = it's harder for you to see everything.

Yes! Thank you for reminding me of this too! I have said this many times before, but, I have no shame with playing all my STG on laptop with 17" screen, and, in fact... I prefer it >.<!~ For exactly this reason! It means that I always have full view of whole situation all the time, without needing to move eyes a lot. For me, I already have habit of blinking eyes too much... especially when I need to "reset" or adjust my focus again to better understand a pattern... if the screen is big... it is even worse, because it forces a lot of eye movement. It is bad for fatigue... and your eyes >.<!!~

Also, I feel with tate, because you cannot do all the exciting stuff with extra information like with gadgets, I feel it takes away more than it gives.

Another example: I actually really like having more than one score display, and, when I play Mushi, I set it up to be super similar to Crimzon Clover (show example below). Having the Stage Score at the bottom right allows me, for scoring run, to keep very tight view and progress on current score progress! It is super hard to do these things on tate.

Especially because not always possible to track score often at top!~

Also edit to say: these Cave ports, are gold standard in customizing nonsense at side. You can see, on about middle left side, I also duplicate the bomba stock bar (which will also show remainder 50% of boss HP when boss fight is active). Sometimes, it is possible to lose track of resources, and with Mushi especially, some very suffocating fights like TLB... I 100% need to know boss HP and cannot always look up or down (for Mushi boss HP also appear as thin line where bomba stock is shown, and I also really wish more STG did this).

[Steven]

Yeah, small screen is infinitely better than big screen for STGs. Probably for everything, actually, but especially STGs. It's part of why I haven't upgraded my monitor. I actually bought a rotatable PC monitor a few years ago, but the moment I tried rotating it to play Garegga I immediately noticed that it was way too big. It also had a bright green stuck pixel right in the middle of the screen that I couldn't fix, the internal speakers sucked, and, most importantly, I could never get it to display 4:3 games properly, so I returned it almost immediately. It was a very nice monitor otherwise, so I was pretty sad.

I thought about selling my New Astro and getting a table cabinet just to get a smaller screen for my PCBs, but table cabinets take up massive amounts of space, which is why game centers stopped using them and switched to uprights. I have enough room in my tiny house for an upright, but even if I got rid of it, I don't think I could fit a table cabinet. I don't think I could get a table cabinet up the stairs anyway because they are too narrow.

[Faith]

lol I find it funny you want to use monitor with internal speaker as tate :p

I think for me... only time I like big screen is for work when need to do mother of all excel spreadsheet with counterstop number of rows & columns >.<!~

[Steven]

I don't know anything about Espgaluda other than that it has a sequel that I also don't know anything about. Is the PS2 version worth equivalent to $110 USD? I found it today for that price. Is the PS2 version even good? I probably won't get it, I'm just curious.

[Lord British]

I don't know anything about Espgaluda other than that it has a sequel that I also don't know anything about. Is the PS2 version worth equivalent to $110 USD? I found it today for that price. Is the PS2 version even good? I probably won't get it, I'm just curious.

I'm not saying it's worth or not worth $110, but it's a good port, unlike the Mushihimesama PS2 port.

[Steven]

Oh is PS2 Mushihimesama bad? Huh. I know PS2 Ketsui was cancelled because they couldn't get it running at what was deemed an acceptable level of quality, but I don't know if I ever heard anything bad about Mushihimesama on PS2. Actually, I don't think I've heard anything about it at all, at least that I can remember.

Well, at least Espgaluda turned out okay, then.

[Lord British]

Oh is PS2 Mushihimesama bad? Huh. I know PS2 Ketsui was cancelled because they couldn't get it running at what was deemed an acceptable level of quality, but I don't know if I ever heard anything bad about Mushihimesama on PS2. Actually, I don't think I've heard anything about it at all, at least that I can remember.

Well, at least Espgaluda turned out okay, then.

Not bad, but not as crisp as Espgaluda or DDP-DOJ.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Oh is PS2 Mushihimesama bad? Huh. I know PS2 Ketsui was cancelled because they couldn't get it running at what was deemed an acceptable level of quality

Specifically, they couldn't get the downwards section in Stage 5 of Ketsui to transition smoothly, at least that's what I heard.

PS2 Ibara, DDP DOJ, and Espgaluda are all nifty and fun. Espgaluda in particular is cool as it has an exclusive arrange mode that's much higher difficulty and includes Esp.Ra.De bubble shot mechanics on top of the time slowdown ability. It's quite complex and the difficulty in the patterns makes it considerably harder to clear. I haven't 1cc'd it yet, it's something I need to spend more time with.

Mushihimesama's PS2 port isn't awful in terms of gameplay (as far as I know it's quite accurate), but the graphics suffered a lot from the porting and look kind of muddy and desaturated for some reason. This tends to hurt enjoyment compared to the XB360 port and the Steam port.

[MJR]

Naoki Ogiwara, an old Toaplan veteran. He was a dotter on Donpachi, DDP and Feveron but he seemed to drop off the face of the earth after that and people seem reluctant to talk about him.

That piques my interest! Same with the leader of Gazelle: Uemura/Yuge in their Toaplan interviews would not elaborate upon when asked what happened to him. My brain automatically thinks it's something bad.

I had this question today on my head, when I realized that Naoki Ogihara is probably my favourite pixel artist of all time. I wonder if he will appear in the Toaplan documentary. Which I am STILL waiting to receive.

[Lemnear]

Thinking about Raiden Fighters Remix, and the "non-standard" frame rate issue, I was wondering...how fast do the M2 ShotTriggers versions run? What about the original versions? Because I don't think there's VRR on PS4. Also, if they run on PS5 in backwards compatibility, does VRR activate or not?

[BIL]

Offhand, all ShotTriggers releases are locked to their native PCB refresh rates. An easy way to check if a game is running at non-60hz refresh is to move your ship from one side of the screen to the other. You'll notice a consistent number of micro-stutters on each traversal. The further the native refresh is from 60hz, the more noticeable the hitch. ShotTriggers G-Darius and RayStorm don't hitch at all, since their Taito FX1B hardware is 60hz. ACA Metal Black (Taito F1 board, ~59hz) hitches infrequently. ACA X-Multiply (IREM M72, ~55hz) hitches very noticeably. Several ACA releases let you toggle between native and 60hz, though it's far from a ubiquitous feature. Thunder Dragon 2, XEXEX, and War of Aero come to mind. There's a ton of early/mid-80s Namco releases that have the option too, running slightly over 60hz natively.

There's also the more obvious chop on fast-scrolling detailed backgrounds. ACA Image Fight (IREM M72)'s title screen and second stage come to mind. (A non-STG, but the "demolition derby" bonus round in Metamorphic Force comes to mind, where your dudes are tackling through those lines of statues. ACA ver is another of those PCB/60hz toggle-enabled releases... I switched to 60hz refresh after seeing that stage)

Running them on PS5 doesn't change anything, IIRC. PS4 does indeed lack VRR. The 60hz/native clash is the sole complaint I have with ShotTriggers & ACA, in what's otherwise the strongest collection of home arcade translations ever. Incidentally, Tetris The Grand Master 2's PCB (edit: not TGM1) runs at slightly over 60hz. Mihara advised Hamster, probably with his katana raised and biting down on a live grenade so even if you kill him you get blown up as well, to just lock its ACA release to 60hz. And they wisely complied! Best practice, imo. Anyone who can rinse a beast like TGM2 at 60hz isn't gonna find the ~1hz-faster board too big a step up, I'm guessing. Mad fuckers like that will surely hunt a board down regardless. I'd like at least the option of running even 55hz stuff at 60hz, even if it's a steeper jump in difficulty.

Just to clarify, there's no ShotTriggers versions of the Raiden Fighters games. Raiden Fighters Aces (XB360) is by Gulti. It lets you choose 60hz (faster gameplay), Seibu SPI-accurate refresh (~55hz, chops), or blended. (some frame ghosting)

[Lemnear]

Offhand, all ShotTriggers releases are locked to their native PCB refresh rates. An easy way to check if a game is running at non-60hz refresh is to move your ship from one side of the screen to the other. You'll notice a consistent number of micro-stutters on each traversal. The further the native refresh is from 60hz, the more noticeable the hitch. ShotTriggers G-Darius and RayStorm don't hitch at all, since their Taito FX1B hardware is 60hz. ACA Metal Black (Taito F1 board, ~59hz) hitches infrequently. ACA X-Multiply (IREM M72, ~55hz) hitches very noticeably. Several ACA releases let you toggle between native and 60hz, though it's far from a ubiquitous feature. Thunder Dragon 2, XEXEX, and War of Aero come to mind. There's a ton of early/mid-80s Namco releases that have the option too, running slightly over 60hz natively.

There's also the more obvious chop on fast-scrolling detailed backgrounds. ACA Image Fight (IREM M72)'s title screen and second stage come to mind. (A non-STG, but the "demolition derby" bonus round in Metamorphic Force comes to mind, where your dudes are tackling through those lines of statues. ACA ver is another of those PCB/60hz toggle-enabled releases... I switched to 60hz refresh after seeing that stage)

Running them on PS5 doesn't change anything, IIRC. PS4 does indeed lack VRR. The 60hz/native clash is the sole complaint I have with ShotTriggers & ACA, in what's otherwise the strongest collection of home arcade translations ever. Incidentally, Tetris The Grand Master's PCB runs at slightly over 60hz. Mihara advised Hamster, probably with his katana raised and biting down on a live grenade so even if you kill him you get blown up as well, to just lock its ACA release to 60hz. And they wisely complied! Best practice, imo. Anyone who can rinse a beast like TGM2 at 60hz isn't gonna find the ~1hz-faster board too big a step up, I'm guessing. Mad fuckers like that will surely hunt a board down regardless. I'd like at least the option of running even 55hz stuff at 60hz, even if it's a steeper jump in difficulty.

Just to clarify, there's no ShotTriggers versions of the Raiden Fighters games. Raiden Fighters Aces (XB360) is by Gulti. It lets you choose 60hz (faster gameplay), Seibu SPI-accurate refresh (~55hz, chops), or blended. (some frame ghosting)

Thanks for the explanation, though. You said the M2 ShotTriggers have the same refresh rate as the PCBs, but then you complain about this flaw on the M2/ACA. Which ShotTriggers are flawed, then?
Of course, from 59 to 60 I don't think it really makes any difference, but at 54-57 there is a difference.

[BIL]

Thanks for the explanation, though. You said the M2 ShotTriggers have the same refresh rate as the PCBs, but then you complain about this flaw on the M2/ACA.

I wouldn't call it a flaw, per se. Just a compromise. I really dislike any sort of frame-hitching; looks and feels crummy, even if technically the emulation is spectacularly accurate. (as M2 and Hamster's tends to be) So I'll use the 60hz toggle where it's offered. But these games aren't turn-based strategies. With their innate pace, and the hitch being metronomically consistent, and the convenience of several hundred of them fitting in a suitcase with a PS4, a gaming monitor, and an arcade stick (I travel a lot currently), it's easy enough to live with.

Like, ACA Kaiketsu Yanchamaru chops like a motherfucker, but the OTG kills are crisp, and I'll know how to get all the ge-sen honeys MIRIN if I ever chance upon a real board. \(o_o)/

Which ShotTriggers are flawed, then?

Technically any that natively run at over/under 60hz, though the effect will be vanishingly minor for many. But again, it's all but a non-issue when at the controls. You can fire up ShotTriggers Dangun and stare at the BG stars micro-hitching every ~1hz, or you can reach the default HS table. I don't think you can do both unless you're an actual Disco Cyborg. And if you were, you'd be doing this shit IRL, not playing a videogame about it.

Of course, from 59 to 60 I don't think it really makes any difference, but at 54-57 there is a difference.

The IREM M72 games on ACA (ImageFight, X-Multiply, Saigo no Nindou, and Vigilante) definitely take some adjusting to at 60hz on PS1 (via R-Types) or MAME. But in those cases, I'd rather just deal with the upped speed. I'm sure it'd vary case-by-case. I think Mihara had the right idea with advising Hamster to lock TGM2 to 60hz, despite it being technically inaccurate. Nobody who can rinse a game like that is gonna suddenly crumble when playing the ~1hz faster board.