Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

[EmperorIng]

I am putting a bit more time into RayCrisis, and got a personal best (close to 5million). I have been cleaning up my intended route (Map 006: Memory > Emotion > Intelligence seems to work the best in terms of not dying constantly). Like much of RayCrisis, the real sticking points seem to be the mystifying way in which your hyper-laser overdrive attack randomly selects targets in its spread (think the neutral bomb in Soukyogurentai), and the mystifying collision detection thanks to the game's pinball perspective.

RayStorm and RayCrisis both do not offer extends (except for RayCrisis' Arrange mode - thank God for that!), but in RayStorm this is practically intolerable whereas in RayCrisis it is annoying but not unbearable.

I think the main difference is that RayStorm feels like an hour-long game, whereas RayCrisis is three short 3-5 minute stages, and a final boss. It's like Raiden Fighters, if it is not too sacrilegious to compare RayCrisis of all games to Raiden Fighters.

I keep on trying to practice in RayStorm, but I get knocked out of the park due to hard-to-tell bullets and enemies (and a worthless forward-shot). Stage 4's battle fleet extravaganza fucks me up hardcore. No Catharsis there. Just slaughter hour. What a frustrating game.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

DDP Saidaioujou. I got to the stage three boss and promptly go trounced. So brutal.

[Stevens]

A few runs earlier today on Mars Matrix saw me reaching the 3rd stage. In other news I made the final boss in Under Defeat (on hard) and missed the 1 CC because I was stupid.

[broken harbour]

Strikers 1945 - Not sure I'm into Psykio games yet... I find them... boring, but maybe I'm missing something.

Tho I've really only played this and Gunbird so.. can't judge yet.

[chempop]

^ Actually you probably can, they basically all have the same formula not including Zero Gunner 2 and Cannon Spike.

I’m still playing Batrider Advance course and I’m dead set on clearing it with a random team. Made it to Discharges final form just now and choked, but I had the baron and shorty on my team so who knows if I’ll get that lucky again any time soon.

[EmperorIng]

^ Actually you probably can, they basically all have the same formula not including Zero Gunner 2 and Cannon Spike.

There's a world of difference between Gunbird and Strikers 1945 and their sequels. Gunbird and Strikers I are probably on the low end of Psikyo games overall, whereas Gunbird 2 and Strikers 1945 II are near the top.

[chempop]

Gimme a break “world of difference" my ass

[EmperorIng]

Ha ha, for me a few tweaks make a world of difference - the difference between "playable but unremarkable" and "top grade shmup." Gunbird 2 has a better character selection, more variety in how you can play (thanks to melee and charge attacks), more secrets (coins and gems), better pacing, and better bosses. It's refined to the point where Gunbird looks archaic in comparison, especially with its useless 200pt coins and stupid power-down mechanic. To ignore that because of like, similar-looking P icons is like saying there's no difference between Aero Fighters and Dragon Blaze.

[Stevens]

Whoa. I just put together 2 really mediocre Mars Matrix runs. And I am proud of this.

Edit - Stage 4. Woo!

First one I had 95,000 exp by the end of the 1st stage and 190,000 by the end of the 2nd. 2 quick deaths on 3 and I fell just short of the boss.

My last run wasn't as good xp wise, but I no missed the 1st two stages.

Now all that said - Mars Matrix was the 1st shmup I bought two years ago. I spent some time with it before moving on from it. Going back to it now with a fresh set of eyes and a bit more experience...dare I say it...it isn't so damn intimidating anymore.

[LordHypnos]

^Awesome! Sounds like you're progressing, which always feels good. Especially in Mars Matrix

@Psikyo discussion: It would probably be best to try Gunbird 2 and / or Dragon Blaze before dismissing Psikyo altogether. I don't know if there's a world of difference, but there's enough difference between GB and GB2 as well as really any other traditionally scrolling Psikyo game and Dragon Blaze that someone who doesn't like the early stuff might still like them. More danmaku influence and different game mechanics (especially in the case of DB). Also choosing a different character might make a bigger difference than you would think.

That being said, they're all pretty much fast paced methodical memorizers, and that doesn't appeal to everyone.

Personally I tend to find the early games that I've played (GB and Sengoku Ace) a lot more frustrating than the later ones even though they're probably easier, while GB2 and DB are really enjoyable, though extremely punishing. I can't speak for the non-traditionally scrolling Psikyo games, but they're almost certainly a lot different.

[lilmanjs]

Battle Bakraid on Normal. I swear this has to do something different rank wise or something because I'm junk at this. I'm still able to get farther on Advanced than normal, but I will clear Normal before I go back to Advanced and try that again. Best soundtrack from the company in my book.

[LordHypnos]

So I'm still playing Samidare, and still being frustrated by the second to last form of the second stage boss, but I've gotten past it a few times without dying now, and I've figured out some ways to make earlier parts of the boss and to a lesser extent the stage go a bit faster which is nice because I have to practice the whole second stage to practice the one pattern. Luckily, it seems like it will also improve my score by increasing my time bonus for different parts of the second stage boss.

Additionally, prompted by Stevens' comments, I decided to see if I could remember how to chain the first stage of Mars Matrix again, perhaps I'll try the subsequent stages at a later date. At first it went really poorly, but eventually I succeeded with a +620 chain (I don't remember how good of chains I used to get, but I remember +777 was unusually high, and I have a video of that). Went on to defeat the boss, and it was a fun time. Subsequent stages will probably be more difficult of course, as stage 1 is very easy to chain.

[amdiggywhut]

Started playing Garegga again after a long break from shmups (thanks to Dark Souls 2 and life stuff), and I still hit the end-of-stage-5 / beginning-of-stage-6 wall I was hitting before. Literally no change. Sometimes I medal, sometimes I only pick up big weapon power-ups and options. I should probably try ONLY picking up large power-ups but that apparently takes a higher level of discipline than I'm able to apply at the moment. Fun to get back into it though.

[eatdogs]

Fantasy Zone nes
Eliminate Down
Captain Toad Treasure Tracker (no shame at all)

[Stevens]

Additionally, prompted by Stevens' comments, I decided to see if I could remember how to chain the first stage of Mars Matrix again, perhaps I'll try the subsequent stages at a later date. At first it went really poorly, but eventually I succeeded with a +620 chain (I don't remember how good of chains I used to get, but I remember +777 was unusually high, and I have a video of that). Went on to defeat the boss, and it was a fun time. Subsequent stages will probably be more difficult of course, as stage 1 is very easy to chain.

I hate you so much

A good run for me now XP wise is earning the extend on stage 2.

Starting to get a better feel for stage 3. Everything after the fountain, boss included, doesn't give me too much trouble. I think I finally figured out that the key for everything leading up to the fountain is destroying the green ships as soon as they appear.

Stage 4 also doesn't give me too much trouble until...you know where..

Back to the lab.

[LordHypnos]

Additionally, prompted by Stevens' comments, I decided to see if I could remember how to chain the first stage of Mars Matrix again, perhaps I'll try the subsequent stages at a later date. At first it went really poorly, but eventually I succeeded with a +620 chain (I don't remember how good of chains I used to get, but I remember +777 was unusually high, and I have a video of that). Went on to defeat the boss, and it was a fun time. Subsequent stages will probably be more difficult of course, as stage 1 is very easy to chain.

I hate you so much

A good run for me now XP wise is earning the extend on stage 2.

Starting to get a better feel for stage 3. Everything after the fountain, boss included, doesn't give me too much trouble. I think I finally figured out that the key for everything leading up to the fountain is destroying the green ships as soon as they appear.

Stage 4 also doesn't give me too much trouble until...you know where..

Back to the lab.

Hahaha! keep at it, you'll get there . Incase it helps, here's the +777 video: http://dai.ly/x23x587
It sounds like you're making great gains already, anyway .

[Rob]

Been playing a few MD shooters. Undeadline is the king.

I think I'll use the new year as an excuse to see how many consecutive days I can keep up a Mars Matrix routine. A credit a day keeps the atrophy away.

[Bonus!]

After a break of a few months I'm finally getting back into playing STGs, and I'm currently working on Crimzon Clover / Original with Type I. I make it past the stage 3 boss on occasion.

[LordHypnos]

Holy shit, finally managed to no miss stage 2 of Samidare! in practice only, unfortunately. Also happened shortly after nearly no missing the stage with my only death being in an unusual place. I believe this is called progress

EDIT: Just did a full run and no missed stages 1 and 2. Hadn't practiced 3 though, for a while, but I cleared and I guess the game let extra stage be unlocked. I still, as of now, intend on going for the 1LC, though. We'll see if I can keep motivated now that extra is unlocked

EDIT 2: Holy shit, extra is hard as balls.

[Stevens]

snip

Thanks for the video. Edit - I am earning 100 - 150,000 by the end of stage one because of it.
And have been hitting level 5 by the start of stage 3. Mind you I don't/can't chain from the opening of stage 2 to the giant flower thing about midway through. After that no problem.

I think my top XP was around 280,000.

Made it to stage 4 a few times tonight and saw my way to the field of death. Never got passed it on a credit but I could usually manage to not die again if I continued. Which I usually do at least once playing MM.

Time to take a break, get a little stupid, and play Gunlord.

[Ikazu-san]

2nd loop of ChoRenSha. I need to figure out how to be on the move at all times and not forget the tap dodges.

[Stevens]

I took a couple of runs in MM last night and I am continuing to improve.

1st run - Made it to the field of death on stage 4. Continued once and lost my reserve ships quick. With my last ship I no missed from the boss to the third train car on stage 5.

2nd run - 485 combo on stage 1. Made it all the way to the purple jet on stage 4.

Yesterday morning my high score was around 42 billion, it is now 84 billion. Nothing great as far as MM is concerned but it is very encouraging.

Back to the lab.

[LordHypnos]

Starting to work on stage 3 of Samidare now, again. Doing worse than I have done in the past, but I'm sure it'll start making sense eventually. Then I just need to pull it all together into a 1LC! Hardest parts of the boss are probably the last 3 forms which are all very micrododgy, which is not like most of the hard patterns I've encountered in this game, so far. They actually seem more defeatable than the second to last stage of the second stage boss.

@Stevens: I'm glad that my video helped you IMO chaining the first stage, keeps it interesting when you're doing full runs. Same can be said after a certain point of chaining stage 3 or 5 or parts of 2 and 4. You may end up finding yourself dragged down the rabbit hole of MM scoring though
If you think it would help you with the field of death, you could watch this video starting at around 8:34. That part can be tricky, but the mess of bullets is kind of subtly aimed, so it's really just a matter of tap dodging a bunch of times from left to right. Unfortunately the video does have a lot of bloom there, so it's a bit tricky to tell what's going on. Timing and spacing are probably the hardest part, using that strategy, because you don't want to end up where you can't move any further without dying. The little tap-shields can help with that a bit, though, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, it sounds like you're doing really well actually, keep it up!

[BIL]

Not shmuppin much atm but I did pick up Gradius Generation in a recent batch of GBA goodies. Revisiting has been interesting... didn't know WTF I was doing with the US release twelve years or so back, still bought it and later Gradius V out of latent genre love. Was actually pretty intimidated by both. It's comfy as all hell now, the slightly botched too slow/too fast speedup aside. Impressive how undiluted it feels. HINTS rofl! Every game can have 'em if it means they keep their teeth.

Been playing a few MD shooters. Undeadline is the king.

Yup. Abnormally vicious hellspawn of Gun.Smoke and Elemental Master. Only Same Same contests it for my Desert Island MD Vert.

Starting to work on stage 3 of Samidare now, again. Doing worse than I have done in the past, but I'm sure it'll start making sense eventually. Then I just need to pull it all together into a 1LC! Hardest parts of the boss are probably the last 3 forms which are all very micrododgy, which is not like most of the hard patterns I've encountered in this game, so far. They actually seem more defeatable than the second to last stage of the second stage boss.

Such a wicked pattern, Anareta's laser grinder. Samidare was my first experience of arcade-tough vertical shooting and that damn near scared me away! Still remember the satisfactions of going from meek timeouts to watching that bugger going supernova and *BOOM* to Halberd.



Rad as fuck mecha boss design.

[Stevens]

@Stevens: I'm glad that my video helped you IMO chaining the first stage, keeps it interesting when you're doing full runs. Same can be said after a certain point of chaining stage 3 or 5 or parts of 2 and 4. You may end up finding yourself dragged down the rabbit hole of MM scoring though

Oh jeez I hope not! I would be happy with a mediocre clear

Now that I have actually sat down with MM (with some actual shmup XP) it didn't take me too long to see that effectively chaining the 1st stage is basically required if you want to go for the clear.

I am happy to report in my last session I was averaging 135,000 after stage 1 and getting to level 5 on stage 2 and level 6 on stage 3. I haven't gotten any farther, but my chaining is getting better. My high XP is over 400,000 now.

Thanks for the vids! I can't believe how much I am enjoying this!

[LordHypnos]

Such a wicked pattern, Anareta's laser grinder. Samidare was my first experience of arcade-tough vertical shooting and that damn near scared me away! Still remember the satisfactions of going from meek timeouts to watching that bugger going supernova and *BOOM* to Halberd.



Rad as fuck mecha boss design.

Yeah, Samidare is surprisingly tough for a default difficulty doujin game. I was really surprised when I actually managed to get past that laser grinder with no misses multiple playthroughs in a row. Super sweet game. Also the mech design and really all of the music (especially bosses) is pretty awesome in this game.

Oh jeez I hope not! I would be happy with a mediocre clear

Now that I have actually sat down with MM (with some actual shmup XP) it didn't take me too long to see that effectively chaining the 1st stage is basically required if you want to go for the clear.

You know, it's kinda funny, I used to think this was the case, but as I kept playing I found that I could finish any stage starting with 0 experience (as in the vanilla practice mode) except the 6th. I think I could do the 6th starting at level 5 shot, though. Then again chaining the first stage is the easiest way to get to level 5 shot. Having Level 8 shot does make it a bit easier, I think, though.

I am happy to report in my last session I was averaging 135,000 after stage 1 and getting to level 5 on stage 2 and level 6 on stage 3. I haven't gotten any farther, but my chaining is getting better. My high XP is over 400,000 now.

Thanks for the vids! I can't believe how much I am enjoying this!

Level 6 should be perfectly adequate for completing the game
I'm glad that my videos could help you! Good luck!

[Stevens]

4th Stage boss. 480,000 xp. 95 billion.

I am getting OK at this. I've also finally figured out my route through the purple jet.

I think in a week or two I should be making the final stage.

[S_Fang]

Yesterday I played Mushihimesama with the MAME and I did two playthroughs: Original and Ultra.

I lost like 7cc on Original, but is possible with enough plays to pass through with 1cc (I don't care about score).
On the other hand, Ultra costed me like 20cc, especially the TLB (Aki/Akka) and the crappy patterns when he unleash the Options (or when the chapel music starts). I defeated him thanks to the self-destruction timer, as I couldn't last enough to make him drop the barrier, like there's enough space to micrododging.
Bottom line, possible 1cc with intense training except the crappy TLB.

[spadgy]

Shienryu (Saturn port) as I'm avoiding work because I've got too much to do to even want to think about it!

[Bonus!]

Bottom line, possible 1cc with intense training except the crappy TLB.

I don't know whether Mushihimesama has rank, but some Cave games do, which means that they are harder if you're on your first credit.