Shmuppers who SUCK

[Casey120]

I 1cc'd games like Pacman , Galaxians and Space Invaders on the first try ,


I'm just that good !

[Snake]

Thread related to it with even more hilarity (scroll down) - also NSFW.

Amazing!

[CptRansom]

I suck at danmakus

THE FIRST TIME i no missed larsa in futari bl god

wut

[dynagod]

For me it's never been about scoring, 1cc'ing,or mastery of a particular title.
The draw for me has always been the calm, zen like empiness of being in the zone as you weave through a mere 1 pixel wide avenue to escape guns blazing . That sensation of going full autopilot. your body reacting without any real input from you.  
Like driving somewhere and then  realizing you have no memory or recolection of doing the actual driving.
  that to me has always been the draw. Modern games frustrate me and I haven't either the time or the inclination to dedicate hours of my life leveling up or solving mundane puzzles. 

  Shmups are the personification of instant gratification. And for that I will always love them

[BarfHappy]

I suck at danmakus

THE FIRST TIME i no missed larsa in futari bl god

wut

Can't say it s being good to reach that after numerous tries, zoomed (don't care the top of the screen and the very bottom), the head 80cm in front of a 52i TV.
But that s a happy feeling anyway~ it's a bit like completing ninja gaiden, so demanding but rewarding in term of self esteem.

[sikraiken]

Barring you having some kind of debilitating disease/injury/etc, you should be able to achieve the records others have. People talk about "ohh I've reached my limit". These are video games, they haven't exactly pushed our human potential to great extents. Go train for the 100/200/400m dash and then we'll start talking about your limits.

The greatest limiting factor in majority of all situations is yourself.

http://www.zombo.com Listen to what zombocom says

[Icarus]

It is better to think of 'limits' as 'targets' anyway - if you think you've reached a 'limit', you haven't done enough to surpass it.

[Thjodbjorn]

I had a sort of mini-breakthrough tonight. I feel MUCH more in control of my movements. That is, I think up until now, I used to over dodge by a pretty big margin. Tonight I found myself moving much less per dodge, and moving further was less dodging as it was positioning.

[chempop]

Tonight I found myself moving much less per dodge, and moving further was less dodging as it was positioning.

Tap-dodging is key, especially in something like DOJ. I find though that in something like Futari it's more about the figure eights and loop-d-loops with brief pauses in between curtains in order to open up and widen the gaps.

How's that new HRAP2? I had my eye on that one for a while.

[Specineff]

I've given up on Ikaruga because it really mops the floor with me from level 2 and beyond.

On the other hand, Einhander, MUSHA, R-Type Delta, Power Strike have been conquered. The last two with a 1-life clear. While I don't think I suck, I am far from being at level of some of the masters here.

[Thjodbjorn]

How's that new HRAP2? I had my eye on that one for a while.

It's very nice. It's my first real experience with Seimitsu parts, and while I'm not sure which I prefer in sticks, I think I really like the buttons. My only sticks for PS2 have been Happ ones, so this is the first time I have been able to stand playing with a stick on the PS2.

And I think I see what you mean. I still find myself moving a bunch in Futari, but it's less of a crazy overreaction on my part. Until this, dodging and moving were pretty much the same thing a lot of the time.

It's like when my body finally "got" how to hide Zangief's 360 and 720 motions inside other things.

[MEDIEVAL_MIKU]

So who out there in shmup land truly and utterly sucks, yet still manages to enjoy playing these games out of some sort of sadism?

I'd currently rank myself between Utter Trash and Trash. anyone out there COMPLETE shit?

id say my greatest danmaku acheivements are 1ccing touhou 8 on normal and bwr on normal (with guard on of course haha)

why do we play these things again?

*raises paw*

[tinotormed]

I really suck when it comes to playing the first time, EVER. I know but I never back down at the end.

Now the question is: Who is a Shmup sucker who dosen't know how to use autofire?

Yup, all I could say is roadrunner in this forum. Why? I looked at his scores below the top places to prove it.

[mouser]

I 1CC'd Deathsmiles........on co-op

Say my name


and stingy game still didn't me the achievement...I hardly ever play any games these days without co-op....seriously Cave, COME ON, gimme a break

[Thjodbjorn]

Last night I enjoyed a bottle of wine, and DFK BL Arrange. I beat my high score by about 3x, and was very happy with that. Then this morning, I almost doulbled it to about 540 oku.

I know it's not too scientific, but I like to think that if I'm about halfway down in a leader board, I'm not doing that shabby. It still means I have a LOT of room for improvement (like say, 1CCing a game, but it lets me know that at least I'm getting somewhere.

[Danza]

So who out there in shmup land truly and utterly sucks, yet still manages to enjoy playing these games out of some sort of sadism?

I'd currently rank myself between Utter Trash and Trash. anyone out there COMPLETE shit?

id say my greatest danmaku acheivements are 1ccing touhou 8 on normal and bwr on normal (with guard on of course haha)

why do we play these things again?

*raises paw*

I think I love you.

Anyway, BarfHappy mentioned changing positions or monitors. I can confirm this. I usually sit on my lounge (although, in quite a rigid, cat about to pounce type position). I found a stool somewhere in my house and thought "Fantastic, now I can destroy my eyesight by sitting as close to the monitor as possible", but such a change caused me to fail so horribly I can barely even begin to describe.

I recall someone on here a long while ago mentioning the angle of a cab being quite important, particular if one changes their position. I certainly understand this now.

[ShmupSamurai]

*meekly raises hand*

If it's anything by Toaplan, consider me a flaming wreck by the middle of Stage 3

[Hair]

For me it's never been about scoring, 1cc'ing,or mastery of a particular title.
The draw for me has always been the calm, zen like empiness of being in the zone as you weave through a mere 1 pixel wide avenue to escape guns blazing . That sensation of going full autopilot. your body reacting without any real input from you.  
Like driving somewhere and then  realizing you have no memory or recolection of doing the actual driving.
  that to me has always been the draw. Modern games frustrate me and I haven't either the time or the inclination to dedicate hours of my life leveling up or solving mundane puzzles. 

  Shmups are the personification of instant gratification. And for that I will always love them

I agree. I love the gamer's high that shmups give. The high is more intense than other genres, it comes on sooner, and stays longer. I can zone out for hours playing shmups. I especially like Danmaku for this... staight into the vein.

But I tend to mix it up a lot rather than focusing on one game until I can 1cc it. My scores all suck and I have only 1cc'd a small handful of shmups. But I don't think I "suck" at them. With enough practice I could probably 1cc some more games and get decent scores. I prefer to mix it up. In the context of this thread though, I'm definitly on the "suck side" since I haven't really *mastered* any shmups. Even the ones I have 1cc'd in the past, I can't 1cc right now if I tried.

At a certain point, a game won't get me "high" anymore if I know it too well. So I have to leave it and come back after playing other stuff for days/weeks.

[Demetori]

People use different methods to quell forms of aggression, I play shoot em' ups.
Oh, and I suck at them. But that's fine, my ego lies in Step Mania.

[whoozwah]

I've yet to 1cc the arcade mode of anything. However I'm way better than I used to be and the more I play the less I suck so I guess I don't suck.

[tinotormed]

I really suck when it comes to playing the first time, EVER. I know but I never back down at the end.

Now the question is: Who is a Shmup sucker who dosen't know how to use autofire?

Yup, all I could say is roadrunner in this forum. Why? I looked at his scores below the top places to prove it.

Literally, roadrunner tried to get caught himself by the coyote in this one:
2 stages? Now that's kind of a target by a coyote, in short, he truly sucked.

Pls. see post of Nov. 17, 2009 11:19pm

[Klatrymadon]

The idea that there's something "masochistic" about coming back to these games over and over doesn't hold much water, for me. I've always found playing shmups almost therapeutic, in the sense that they help me to focus my thoughts, even if a run isn't going as planned (I was never one to throw a tantrum upon dying, either). Pattern-recognition and memorisation are exactly what the human brain does, too, so I think it's perfectly natural that we're drawn to shoot-yer-mums.

Oh, and I'm alright, I suppose. Like most people, I can achieve good things when I knuckle down and practice semi-seriously for a while, but find I often jump between games too frequently to take my playing of any individual one particularly far, outside of ten or twenty all-time favourites.

[Super Laydock]

*raises hand*

Only if I truly devote to a shmup I can be "decent" at it.
I consider my 1 life beating of Salamander MSX a fluke....

[rocketassistedkea]

Heya;0)

Well, I'd be lying if I said I sucked at shmups...I'm 34, and have been playing them since I was 4-the same year I started drawing.
However, I don't think there are any shmuppers who 'suck', only those who can, and can't; play them. I mean, I have three friends [who HATE shmups...but have admitted, they just wish they could play them]...who could never make it through a single little clump of, say, 5 bullets...let alone make it through the first level, without using multiple continues. I do think talent's real, and that there's a genetic basis underpinning this...I mean, one of these friends, in spite of 6 months of playing it with me[I insisted, we played for around an hr every second day or so]; managed to get anywhere in 'IL-2; Sturmovick', on the '360. I mean...not everyone has 'the 'feel', or natural innate ability, for flying, either. P.S, 'Sturmovick' rocks, and on realistic; is a good 'foil' between shmup sessions. I can't recommend it enough;0) It's a game I'll never sell.

For all the rest of us, i.e, everyone on this forum; practice and theory [as well as a few tricks]; are all it takes. One trick...is that any shmup [esp modern danmaku shmups], get easier and easier-the closer you are to a BIG t.v. There's such a noticable improvement, in fact; that I wonder about the true merit of a shmup cabinet...unless it was big enough for a 52 inch t.v on it's side!
Practice is obvious. Theory, like in a game of tennis [a sport not dissimilar to shmups; as it's easy to get into/impossible to truely master]...plays a huge role, and also only comes after time and reflection. You'll notice, as some have on this thread; how a moment of revelation...can make you improve immesurably; as you change tactics.

For what it's worth, my idea of a good shmuppin time; is being blown away every few seconds on the second-loop of a game like diaoujou. I'm a glutton for punishment, but you know what...so's every other shmupper;0) None of us plays these games 'cause they're 'easy. In fact, I have a theory; that it was the absolute GLUT of stupidly easy shmups; that was a big contributer to killing them off in the mid-'90s. At least as big a contributer as any other reason. I mean, there were sooo many shmups...but very, very little that was actually worth buying! We're in the midst of a second shmup renaissance now, full of very challenging shmups [after all, the resurgence is being led by Cave]; with even a few rank-heavy ones like Pink Sweets that have me salivating;0) They pretty much all look like they're worth owning, though. A big turnaround.

That is all;0)

Z

[rivals]

I definitely belong in this thread. I always liked shmups passively, I would play them at arcades but never really seriously. I picked up Mushihimesama Futari on 360 when it came out but still didn't play it much. When Deathsmiles US was announced I ordered it and picked up a HRAP EX-SE at a really good price on Amazon and started playing more. I took a break for a few months because of graduating college, moving, starting a new job, etc. but I recently picked it back up. I got MMP/PS and they are fun but I still haven't 1cc'ed anything. I've been working on actually making a route through Deathsmiles, I've been working on 360 mode all rank one and I can get through those no miss but I still struggle on the final stage so I've been doing practice mode on that lately, maybe 2-4 runs a day depending on how I feel and what kind of time I have. I've been lurking for almost a year now and I will say that a lot of what I've read has been really helpful.

[henry dark]

I always like it when a review or comment on these boards say things like "its really easy!".

Then I play it and I'm like "No, its really hard!". It makes me think I must be fairly rubbish.

MMP springs to mind. First boss goes down in 5 seconds. 2nd boss takes 5 minutes as he bullet spams the shit out of everything and kills me repeatedly.

[agustusx]

MMP springs to mind. First boss goes down in 5 seconds. 2nd boss takes 5 minutes as he bullet spams the shit out of everything and kills me repeatedly.

I hate the second boss with a passion. He feels more like a 3rd stage boss to me. I tend to have to use up bombs or lose lives on him.

[rivals]

I always like it when a review or comment on these boards say things like "its really easy!".

Then I play it and I'm like "No, its really hard!". It makes me think I must be fairly rubbish.

MMP springs to mind. First boss goes down in 5 seconds. 2nd boss takes 5 minutes as he bullet spams the shit out of everything and kills me repeatedly.

Yep! The CAVE-STG review for MMP said something about it being easy and somewhere above MF novice and I'm just thinking, "I can't even 1cc that "

[chempop]

Don't feel discouraged guys, I've been playing shmups since 1942 (the game, not the year) and Lifeforce back on NES and just in the last 18 months I've started nailing a bunch of 1CC. It really helped that I started sitting directly in front of the TV and got comfortable with using a high quality arcade joystick (bad joysticks will make you suck).

I best advice I can give is to put some effort into your setup, from the chair or stool, to the hieght of the table, and size of the screen etc. When you have found your ideal setup it's really a wonderful thing and you will enjoy the games more and play much better.

[spl]

Coming from a high level Time Attack perspective in racing games - STG require alot of dedication just like time attack.

With Time Attack I have spent 2-3 years on a single track (2-3mins long) to get within half a second of the jap WR. I'd say this would be a similar effort required for an STG to reach a high level score.

People don't "suck" they just lack the time/dedication to get good at these things. I don't blame them - it's definitely not easy.

We're talking hundreds of hours to get a decent score - thousands to get WR.