Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

[xxx1993]

At least Hyperion is predictable. But it’s the blue projectiles that home in on you as well as those green lasers I tend to struggle with.

[null1024]

Been playing Sega's Star Jacker. Tried the arcade version as I'm most used to the SG-1000 release, and... it's quite a bit worse so far?
The graphics are way better of course, but because everything is smaller, it's just harder to hit things. Your shots are tiny, and they take ages to go off screen.
The pacing is worse too. It takes much longer to get to a boss in the arcade, and you spend quite a bit longer in the trench bases.
Plus, some of the enemies were changed for the better in the SG-1000 version [like the debris mines that you have to avoid shooting -- in the SG-1000 version, they're quite scary and send shrapnel flying everywhere, in the arcade, they just like spread out a little bit and stay together].
You also start out with 4 ships on the SG version, which feels great for firepower, even if you're probably going to lose that ship plenty quick because of the smaller playfield combined with how much it lags behind your movement.

It's not all bad, there are neat enemies that don't seem to be in the SG version, such as little transport tanks that eventually start unloading enemies, and some things feel more involved, but I'm just having a much better time with the cut-down home port.

[Marc]

Akai Katana. Playing the Zetsu mode, but I've forgotten how to score. I'm down with filling the green bar, but uncertain how abd when is best to use it, or how increase the collected gold's value. Still a rollicking good gane though.

I tried out Shin, and it annihilated me, I've not a fucking clue how that mode works.

[Lander]

I've been putting time into Crimzon Clover Novice, which seems on the whole to be the STG that I'm most comfy with, and thus the best-suited for intentioned score-chasing.

Started using training mode to get a handle on resource management during bosses, and established some reliable strategies around activating break, letting it flush out, and then milking a middle phase to refill meter and get a high-multiplier kill with double break.

Paid off somewhat, since I just got done with a really electric Type-Z run - the kind that goes almost entirely to plan, ends with better resource counts than ever, and results in adrenaline shakes for a few minutes after locking in your high score.
But in spite of that... Second place fell some ~50bn short of the casualscrub no-practice PB I threw together a week or so back!

Which goes to show that the St5 double break opportunities - a couple of which I bungled with an early bomb and death - are worth more than an entire game of being on point! That'll be the next thing to drill on then.

[BIL]

Fooled around with Thunder Dragon 2, up to my usual rustwall of Stage 6, aka NIGHT RAID ON SHIT DONE GOT REALSBURG. I was reminded that while most love Namiki's tunes here (if ever there were two songs that could support a whole game ) - as is so often the case with him and other first-rate talents, it sounds great too. Those pummellingly chunky detonations on mid-sized enemies are almost tangibly crunchy; amazing visceral payoff for gutsy 30hz pointblanks at breakneck pace, finger on the bomb for hail mary save. And the world-beating announcer, great enough on his own, tends to bounce rather hilariously off the subtly chibified yet unmistakably balls-hardcore warring. Wrecked burning tanks and screaming SAMs outta 10

It's time 2 put in more coins, maaan~ *KSHHZZ* ROGER

If I could be arsed to make that BEST SOUND BOX THE GOOD VG SOUND THREAD, I'd post this there instead!

[To Far Away Times]

I recently set up the CRT TV and SNES and Genesis and have been playing retro games the last few days.

I was a little hesitant to fire up Thunder Force III since I have good memories of it and I haven't played it in more than a decade. I fired it up and got a quick 1CC in one sitting. I was surprised how many of the traps I remembered, or how I was prepared for some of the hard to get 1ups. I even remembered not to fire when the flame pillars come up and where all the shields were. Stuff I haven't thought about in a long time.

Thunder GOAT III is still an absolute delight to play with peak feel good blasting, and I think its every bit worthy of a Top 5 spot in the genre when the vote comes around. We are doing the vote this year, right?

[Gamer707b]

Been working on a Switch 1-all Musihemasama on normal. Not there yet. This is a solid port. Love that you can train on each level, mid-boss and level boss.

[XoPachi]

Cranked Universe up to Loop 99 on Very Hard. The first stage is what gives me the most trouble since I have to actively focus on powering up as well as the insane dodging. Quickly realized I had to get really aggressive for bullet sealing. Pulse Laser seems like my best bet starting out. Ripple Laser is way too slow firing for this.

EDIT: I forgot how much I love Gradius. I'm going back to the series in general after having enjoyed Universe so much. These games stand next to Zelda and Sonic for me where I can recall memories from the late 90's and 00's enjoying the games with family and friends. Gradius 3 is truly taking me way back. I used to play this with my big sister and father a lot.

[Marc]

I think my Deathsmiles 2 rank 3 run is over. I've hit the final boss several times, but those patterns are wild, which wouldn't be a problem if I was actually damaging it? This looks like it could drag out for a good 5 minutes unless I'm missing something. I'll probably head to the original next. I tried 2 Arrange, but fucked if I have a clue what's going on there!

[Gamer707b]

Been on a Cave binge lately. After clearing Mushi decided I'd go back to Ketsui. Played a couple hours of it today, then popped in DOJ for a good 30 minutes. I can feel myself progressing in Ketsui, but sill got a long way to go.

[DMC]

Played a couple of credits Flying Shark and watched the 10-year old STG weekly episode on it.

The part in which Aquas tries to lead the tank into the garage and ends up doing the "desperation move" (to quote Jaimers) to save himself is so wholesome.

[XoPachi]

I'm struggling on this 3rd boss in GunVein which is kind of annoying because I've been getting better at this game's mechanics getting 3 extends by stage 2's end. But most attempts immediately fail at stage 3. The boss has really nasty patterns that make it feel as though I enter with no lives with how quickly it wipes me out. I rarely see stage 4's boss and I haven't even gotten to stage 5 yet

[Klatrymadon]

After a year off I'm back at G-Darius, this time on the Mu route. Heavy Arms Shell (X ver.) is causing me some grief again but I think I've finally figured out a safe method for the homing attack that it shoots from the back plane. Every video I've found online shows the player taking shield damage there, so I'll be happy if I can nail a clean dodge in the final run.

[Randorama]

Don Pachi, US version.

This is a "recursive grudge": I played the game a lot in the 2002-2003 period on PS1 (JP version), but I gave up after a few times of reaching 2-5. I attempted to get back to the game several times over the last 20 years or so, but never managed to find the patience and time to learn the loop.

I have almost exhausted the (long) list of "decade-long grudges", grudges about titles that I played a lot, most of the time in the arcades, but never managed to 1-CC. This title and this version could be the last grudge I may solve with the "20th century" shmups, at least the ones I care about. I might also attempt a 1-CC of Raystorm with the R-gray 2, but I am not sure that I have such a grudge to begin with. I loved the game back in 1996, but I never really enjoyed how the R-gray 2 is meant to be used, to be honest.

Anyway, I can currently 1-LC the first loop of Don Pachi, even if dropping one life by the loop seems a decent option. Suicide bullets become really fast by 2-2, and reaching 2-4 on one life means getting two layers of suicide bullets: I don't think that I will ever learn how to handle those. 2-4 is perhaps the biggest challenge for me, and then I need to learn Hibachi's patterns.

I swear, if I can 1-CC this I will finally start playing 21st century shmups again, and start grudges that are "only" 20+ years old (e.g. playing Giga Wing 2 for score, 1-CC the whole Milestone catalog, etc.).

...Or maybe just pretend that I am done with videogames and pretend that I am a proper adult, I guess (though proper adults seem to play Souls-like games, these days?).

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Anyway, I can currently 1-LC the first loop of Don Pachi, even if dropping one life by the loop seems a decent option. Suicide bullets become really fast by 2-2, and reaching 2-4 on one life means getting two layers of suicide bullets: I don't think that I will ever learn how to handle those. 2-4 is perhaps the biggest challenge for me, and then I need to learn Hibachi's patterns.

Hibachi, or whatever it's called in Donpachi, is quite learnable. A few resources to make it safe really helps, but the hard part is making it there with any resources left.

2-4 is by far the most difficult stage in the game. That's not to say the other stages in the loop are a slouch either, it's just that 2-4 is significantly harder than the other levels. 2-5 (not counting the bosses) is tough, and 2-3 also requires some serious learning, but 2-4 is structured in such a way that it's particularly nasty. The second half of the level has few breaks between enemies, requiring seriously scary dodges or resorting to some hiding at the top of the screen for a few waves.

The revenge bullets are also quite nasty, and deliberately suiciding so you go into 2-4 with a full bomb stock isn't a bad idea. Revenge bullets in the loop are... very nasty. There's effectively two ranks: if you've died, revenge bullets are at a fixed rank. If you HAVEN'T died at all, then there's actually 1 to 4 kinds of bullets fired at you whenever an enemy dies, with each stage adding bullet types until 2-4 and 2-5 fire all types at you. It's what makes the no-miss rank so much harder than the rank when you've died once.

I've gotten to the TLB a couple times, but with 0 lives and 1 or 2 bombs stocked, and I don't know the TLB well enough to handle that few resources.

Fortunately the game auto-loops, so even a run that fails gives you an opportunity to practice the later stages.

[Restart_Point]

Aero Fighters (aka Sonic Wings) on SNES, ported by Video System themselves (pre-Psikyo)
Good version of this game considering the platform, plays well and seems to be a nice easy introduction before playing the arcade/32bit versions, which I will do later.

[Randorama]

Roo: I forgot everything about the game, so I had to re-learn the basics of rank as well; thanks a lot for reminding me that. I can handle rank 1 ("fixed rank") revenge/suicide bullets more or less well for stages 2-1 to 2-3, though I also bomb generously if I make herding mistakes or I am not sure that I am reading the micro-dodging movements correctly. If I don't make any mistakes, I can clear these first three loop stages without bombing and save resources/bombs for the boss.

2-4 is the stage that is requiring me the highest amount of practice. I can handle 1-4 well, and at least once I cleared the stage without bombing at all: it is all about handling side zaku waves efficiently and killing larger enemies ASAP, in my view. 2-4 requires some changes to the strategies because it is really necessary to seal revenge/suicide bullets consistently: getting boxed due to bullet overflow is easy. I can clear this stage on a full bomb stock plus the bombs on the stage, and I may still drop 1 life anyway.

2-5...some passages are only slightly harder due to the revenge bullets at fixed rank (rank 1?) often spawning from enemies who are quite afar from the ship, when I can destroy them. I definitely need to figure out good patterns for the final third of the stage. The passages with the rotating VTOL vehicles and the yellow tanks attacking from the blind sides of the screen can become really messy, really quickly.

Hibachi...I need to understand better the laser+rotating bullets attack (second from the beginning). It is clear that there are some specific gaps in the pattern (e.g. slightly to the left/right of the sting and Hibachi's laser), but I I need to learn how to exploit them consistently. On the other attacks, I need to improve on precision when micro-dodging. If I could go down to 3-4 or even 2-3 resources/bombs, (...or even 0, eh), it would be nice.

In general, though, I believe that I need more practice in manipulating revenge/suicide bullets and point-blanking enemies to seal the bullets altogether. I still have the bad habit of shooting all the time and boxing myself out of panic. Those are bad habits that disappear once I will get more familiar with the game again, I guess. But hey, don't tell DoctorTrouserPlank or he will storm to this thread and spend 15 years claiming that learning as cognitive process does not exist and everyone is secretly using TASes to 1-CC games .

Beyond this, I think that I am either done with the genre, or that I will discover the joys of 21st century shmups (again). High impact papers and other aspects of adulthood take a lot of time, I guess.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

2-4 is like 70 to 80% of the challenge in the loop. It's a nightmarishly hard stage so expect to die there at least once I'd say, even on a full bonb stock.

Hibachi's rotating attack appears to be entirely fixed, I find I can bomb when he moves and then sneak into a gap when he stops moving.

Some things Plasm0 shared with me: bosses take bonus damage from lasering so try to use that when possible. Type B has the strongest shot in the game with C button auto enabled (at mid close range the damage is on par with laser against non bosses), but laser aura always wins when you can use that.

Also: Hibachi takes reduced damage from laserbombs and normal bombs. You get the most DPS from bombs by using a normal bomb then getting close enough to briefly laser aura his stinger. The timing on doing this safely is quite tricky though!

[Randorama]

I had a few more runs and tests with single stage runs (e.g. repeating runs on 2-4, 2-5, etc.). I am slowly but steadily reducing the resource/bomb usage on both stages, though my best run resulted in completing the stage with no bombs in stock and conceding one life at the boss. The mixed blue/pink attack gives me visual trouble - the two colours and the flashing palette make me easily misjudge positioning, so I do need to bomb once or twice. At this point, most of my problems lie in the the stage 4, 5 pair on both loops - the bomb usage count must go down, simply put.

A small detail: I am spending the Spring festival break with the relatives (well, father & co., in sunny Italy), so I am playing the game on a big screen (60+ inches?) but on "Yoko" mode (emulation: I don't dare using my old PS1 CD). I think that the screen size is still impressive, but the black bands are a visual hassle. Also, I am using a wireless keyboard as a control. Lag is evident - frame-skipping does occur when the screen gets busy.

I suspect that once I am back "home" (in sunny China) and I can play this in proper tate+arcade stick, many deaths by "late/sloppy tapping" will disappear. I am often dying by tapping the right direction one frame too late or by misjudging the exact size of holes in patterns, and hardware is playing some definite role in these mistakes.

...and no full auto-fire on the C button, for the time being (I am trying to get used to it again).

[XoPachi]

Trying to iron out the problem areas in GunVein. I really want this expert clear but there's a pattern for the stage 4 boss that I cannot get a hold of. I also don't rightly know what I'm gonna do against the last fight. 3 lives is a stiff limit and that's a long fight.

[shmupsrocks]

I am using a wireless keyboard as a control. Lag is evident

This is (almost) enough to make me quit shmups. You're a very high performer with a laggy input device and who knows what display lag from an unfamiliar TV. If I don't go full lag weirdo and make sure it's at a very low level I perform so poorly that it's not even worth playing. I'm obviously doing it wrong.

[ACSeraph]

Fiiiiiinally got arcade emulation back up and running on my PC after like 8 years ( ) and ended up going on a shmup bender tonight.

I tried out some game called Arcadia at random only to find out it was an NMK shmup I'd never heard of. I'm loving how smooth, fast, and simple it is. I've got a feeling I might stick with it for a while.

But it's been too long since I've 1cc-ed anything new, so I'm extremely rusty. Makes me wish we were still holding STGT (or similar tournaments). I feel like those really kept the shmup fire alive for me. Maybe I should do a Death Roulette revival one of these days...

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I tried out some game called Arcadia at random only to find out it was an NMK shmup I'd never heard of. I'm loving how smooth, fast, and simple it is. I've got a feeling I might stick with it for a while.

Arcadia is the name used in some ports I believe? Original name's even cooler. Rapid Hero is a great game, I love how many different weapons you're firing at the same time when your shot power's maxed out, and the red mech that keeps showing up is pretty amusing. Music's great and the visuals are nice. Plus it has a stage with an O'Neill Cylinder. Love it. :3

The poster for it is also exceptionally badass.

I think it honestly might be my fave NMK game, its presentation's really well polished. It's also a relatively tame 1CC, there's only a few real trouble spots to pin down but the bosses generally aren't too tough and you're afforded a LOT of bombs to work with.

[Randorama]

This is (almost) enough to make me quit shmups. You're a very high performer with a laggy input device and who knows what display lag from an unfamiliar TV. If I don't go full lag weirdo and make sure it's at a very low level I perform so poorly that it's not even worth playing. I'm obviously doing it wrong.

I would say that one death out of 5-6 is due to input lag (I bomb or I move too late). It's OK - I am currently visiting relatives and I will have access to a better set-up by the end of the month (tate+joystick). Besides, I am weakly left-handed/even-handed so I control the joystick with the left hand but control movements on keyboard with the right-hand. I injured both of my hands enough times that I my left hand is dominant only when eating and writing by hand.

Anyway, I am consistently reaching ST 2-4 and 2-5 on Don Pachi. I think that the US version is definitely worth its lower ranking on the difficulty wiki, but I am still satisfied with this much progress in a short amount of time (2 weeks, though I played the game on and off since the early '00s). I need practice with the bosses, so that I could ideally lower down bomb count to an optimal degree.

[ACSeraph]

Rapid Hero

Ahhh, so it was Rapid Hero. I've seen that name floating around the forums before, but had never tried it out myself. I think I might try and put some more time into it this weekend. I'm itching for a new 1cc...

Also, yeah, the poster is incredible. Actually that was why I played it in the first place, I was attracted to the thumbnail I had downloaded for it.

[Klatrymadon]

Extremely close to the Mu route clear on G-Dara now. I've never really seen people talk about this but Theta and Mu might be the hardest two-stage combo in the game, and certainly Heavy Arms Shell is the hardest boss. Not only are its attacks brutal, but the partial randomisation of its patterns means you can't always count on your resource management (i.e. capture balls and captured enemies) working out. I've taken it down countless times at this point, though - the run just needs to come together!

[samspot]

Mushi arrange is very close. Got TLB to 10% on one credit today. I don’t think I will play arrange after completing. The stages are fun but I don’t enjoy the TLB. I need to drill him a few more dozen times so i can consistently beat him on two lives.

After this I will probably take a break before trying to get the final steam achievement. I have a feeling it is going to be even worse. Maniac will keep me busy for a long while until then.

[Nahar]

Currently going for a 1CC in Progear. Very fun and rewarding game, but hard. I'm still mystified by the scoring system, but that's CAVE for you ahahaha.

[wiNteR]

I tried to describe it in a brief way in the last part of my post here:
viewtopic.php?p=1504618#p1504618

Though one thing that I forgot to mention there is that here is a "base" jewel level which increases the longer one goes without a bomb and losing a life. As soon as one uses a bomb or loses a life the base jewel level goes back to lowest (if I re-call correctly) greatly decreasing any scoring potential.

[Klatrymadon]

There are also a couple of good video guides on YouTube, one of them by our very own BareKnuckleRoo:

Tutorial/beginner's guide to gem cancelling and more

QUICK START GUIDE!

It's a surprisingly easy system to internalise and you can play by 'feel' alone once you've got it down, but I was in the same boat for donkey's years until I saw BKR's vid!