Mushihimesama Futari Ver1.5 & Black Label

[Gus]

Had another run where I ended stage 4 with 2.37b then I botched the stage 5 opening but decided to continue and even with near-perfect play for the rest of the stage only managed 3.49b because of that fucking botch. Fun times.

[Gus]

Version 1.5 - Xbox 360 - Ultra - Palm
GUS - 3,860,815,154 - Stage 5 (Boss 2) - Abnormal

Now we're talking. Could have been 3.9b if I didn't botch Larsa's 3rd phase but whatever.

[SuperSoaker360]

Wow you're insane! You're really getting close to that counter-stop!

[iconoclast]

Awesome work! That's gotta be one of, if not the best score on this forum.

The death at the start of stage 5 was intentional, right? It looked like dying right there allowed you to respawn and cancel the first two lanterns without much risk. Nice trick.

[Gus]

Awesome work! That's gotta be one of, if not the best score on this forum.

The death at the start of stage 5 was intentional, right? It looked like dying right there allowed you to respawn and cancel the first two lanterns without much risk. Nice trick.

Yeah, it was intentional. Aside from that that it also let me respawn with 3 bombs and combined with the extra bomb the stage gives, would have given me the opportunity for a much better cancel on Larsa's first phase if I can ever NMNB that end section.

[CStarFlare]

How much does that impact your score? I've never been sure how much the cumulative counter contributes vs the stage counter.

[Gus]

Aside from determining what shot type gives big gems, the overall counter has no effect on score. The stage counter is the only thing that determines the value of the gems and since dying that early only cuts into your stage counter by a very minimal amount there is virtually no negative effect on score. There's a version of that opener I did in my 3 billion run where I didn't die but still got in the lantern cancels and because of the slightly better timing that allows I got about an extra 1000 on the stage counter but I think factoring in the potential extra points on Larsa dying there is still better for score overall.

[Gus]

Version 1.5 - Xbox 360 - Ultra - Palm
GUS - 3,999,999,999 - Stage 5 (Boss 2) - Abnormal

Here's an essay I wrote about shmupping. I use some harsh language but I really don't mean it as as an attack on anyone. It's more my response to some of the stupid shit I've been reading lately about how "you need to play 40 games to know what you're talking about" or people being discouraged they can't progress as fast the Touhou guys. Even if you disagree with all of it, I hope people at least gain some insight into the mind of a serious shmupper

http://pastebin.com/deNZ6S1q

Anyway, the run...

This counterstop was going to be my magnum opus. After 2 years of playing this stupid game, I would finally achieve it, accept the felatio from the fucking casuals, and then ride off into the sunset. Then people began to mention beating the game with a counterstop, something I had honestly never considered doing up to that point. My first thought after being corrupted with the realization that there would still be important room for improvement after achieving my supposed magnum opus was "Don't these fucking people understand what I've been through?" But then, as time passed, my view switched from one of viewing the people who mentioned as being inconsiderate to me feeling ashamed. To walk away with a counterstop but no clear would make me no different from those "good enough" people I say to avoid becoming. Indeed, it was like being infected by a vicious disease, to realize the shame in walking away without even clearing the game. The thought of such shame makes my blood boil with anger at myself.

But you can't put the genie back in the bottle. Thinking back over this run, I feel a mixture of triumph and personal disgust. As a shmupper I always seek to evolve into The Man. The Man is a player who would never walk away with "good enough" and so, there is no other choice but for me to continue. I don't know if I'll be able to achieve this goal, just like I didn't know if I would be able to counterstop this, and like just like how I'll set another seemingly unreasonable goal if I achieve this one. Truly, a shmupper's work is never finished.

As Dame KK said whilst submitting his now-legendary score, the counterstop is a disappointment. The game has around 5 billion possible points so barely achieving 4 billion in no way indicates mastery. I do not feel that my score at all deserves to be equal to the world record; I will always think of myself as being on the lower end of the scale in terms of skill and view Chubow as the real world record holder. Contentment is a shmupper's worst enemy for it is the ultimate seed for the act of giving up, the most disgraceful act a shmupper can do. Perhaps then, it is the fate of every serious shmupper to never become The Man, instead eternally chasing that impossible state. This fate of constantly running towards a goal, sometimes tasting it, but never truly grasping it would seem maddenning to most; how little they know. So long as the player continues to induldge in that drug known as hope, regardless of how excruciating the punishment he endures or how deep he sinks in the waters of insanity, deep within his heart lies a smile. In the words of Albert Camus, "The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

[CStarFlare]

Aaaaaaaaaaaa

At work now and will read/watch when I get home. But it goes without saying, congratulations!

It IS a shame they didn't fix the counterstop for the port - it's sad that we don't get to see people push Ultra like we did with God.

[Bananamatic]

Black Label - MAME - Original - Palm
Bananamatic - 259,852,675 - ALL

I wish I could be as good as Sapz

[Naut]

Congratulations on the awesome score, Gus. Great job! Good luck on the clear and counterstop combo.

Incidentally, you should probably :words: less. You're not a :words: guy.

[pestro87]

Wow, big congrats on the score, Gus!!!

[Tyjet]

Simply amazing Gus, Congrats on the score!

[x91]

I'll remember to watch your replay on LIVE.

For the other part, idk I understand your essay correctly, but:

Be the man you want to be, rather than an image in other people's whispers. But, if you're to claim the very top of the world, then reach the maximum apex of that infinite edge of perfection, even it takes forever; go make it happen.

And not to be so serious, for the fun part, enjoy while you still can. Man gets old and dull, don't feel ashamed when you left. Not just result recognized a player's greatfulness.

[Hagane]

Congrats on the score.

As for all that retarded nonsense you wrote, I will only quote

INT: For the last question, what is a hi score for you?

SWY: Games are just for fun, and going for hi scores is one way to have that fun. When I'm playing for score - and by the way sometimes it's pretty tough (laughs) - I'm enjoying the games that I find fun to play, basically.

[Cagar]

Congrats.

As for all that retarded nonsense you wrote, I will only quote

In the end, it's not nonsense.

[Zengeku3]

Not even a clear? Pssh, your score doesn't count.

What I actually mean to say is: Congrats on that awesome score Gus. Please keep playing this stupid game until you die, i love watching your replays on Xbox Live. They are quite interesting to watch.

[adversity1]

i said got fuckin damn

salutes to gus!!

[SuperSoaker360]

Amazing counterstop, congrats Gus! Keep aiming for that clear though, you've still got a bit more to go!

[RNGmaster]

I don't know how you're going to end up teaching English in Japan if you're such a bad writer.

Good job though, would love to see replay.

[brokenhalo]

holy shit gus! that's amazing. but don't be so hard on yourself. you're now part of a really exclusive club. nobody else on this board can say they've counter-stopped futari ultra. and even in japan there's what...a handful of players that have managed it? if you want to improve on your run and get the c-s/clear combo, then go for it. we're all rooting for you. but enjoy what you have accomplished. you are THE MAN already.

can't wait to watch this on live tomorrow.

[Eaglet]

You will burn yourself out if you never acknowledge your own accomplishments and never stop to take a breather and reflect on what you've done.
I know cus i was the same. That's why i quit music and got into something a lot less... abstract and a lot more clear cut in what the demands are and what's expected of you.
That being said, man is a lazy creature by nature and must be constantly self-disciplined in order to evolve and avoid stagnation. Just don't lose sight on what you've actually performed.
You need to be honest to yourself. Both in what you've performed and under-performed in.

Gratz on the counter stop btw. You're insane.

[Giest118]

What I got out of that essay is that enjoying shmups is for faggots and the only way to be cool is to hate and punish yourself for crimes you didn't commit.

I'll give you a congratulations on the score though. A fucking counterstop. Jesus.

[nZero]

Congratulations, hell of an accomplishment (or milestone?)

:shock: I don't know how you're going to end up teaching English in Japan if you're such a bad writer.

You might've over-romanticized those sorts of jobs a bit.

[ebarrett]

Congratulations, even though you are a horrible person - certainly one of the most despicable human beings I've been in some sort of contact with. Does that hard-earned score make you feel less bitter about, well, everything? I hope it does. Except we know it doesn't, right?

[Emuser]

Seriously Gus,

Counterstopping this game is a fucking tremendous feat. You're pretty much unrivaled in the West at this game and you trump all but a few japanese players. I'm legitimately a little afraid of you now and I don't imagine what it feels like to be able to pick apart Futari Ultra to the counterstop. You really do need to take a breather and back up a bit to realize how no one else around here even comes close to what you've been doing for the past 2 years or longer now. You really do have the perseverance of a madman to have done this, and I wish you luck if you decide to go back and do the clear+counterstop.

Concerning your writing however, there are some seriously wrong parts on it that I don't agree upon, but perhaps I will share why I feel that way another time, for now is the time to kick back and just take it easy for a few days. Seriously. It took 2 years to accomplish something that requires ~30 minutes given perfect performance. It wouldn't hurt to crack open some beer or something to wind down.

[Gus]

Thanks, people. Really enjoyed reading those responses, though I'm being overrated. I'll definitely keep playing this.

Congratulations, even though you are a horrible person - certainly one of the most despicable human beings I've been in some sort of contact with. Does that hard-earned score make you feel less bitter about, well, everything? I hope it does. Except we know it doesn't, right?

This is funny to read, given how bitter everything I see from you is. When you think about it I'm an optimist in a land of cynics. Everywhere I see people posting scores they got after 2 weeks 30%-50% of a WR and then just stopping as soon as the fun runs out, thinking that's as good as it's gonna get for the time being. Here I'm saying playing past that point of fun is simply a necessary thing in getting good and while you will go through a lot of pain and torment, that's the price you pay for the best feeling in the world.

It took 2 years to accomplish something that requires ~30 minutes given perfect performance.

The perfect performance thing is a myth I'd like to kill on STG Weekly. This run, for example, I died twice in stage 4 and there were a ton of smaller botches or optimizations I didn't bother with because they were just too risky. 4 billion definitely doesn't require the near-optimal play I've seen it described as. 5 billion does, though, but that's sadly a superplay we're never going to see because of Cave's inexplicable decision to program in a counterstop.

It wouldn't hurt to crack open some beer or something to wind down.

Says the guy who 2-ALLed Ketsui Ura and DDP within 1 month.

[Emuser]

The perfect performance thing is a myth I'd like to kill on STG Weekly. This run, for example, I died twice in stage 4 and there were a ton of smaller botches or optimizations I didn't bother with because they were just too risky. 4 billion definitely doesn't require the near-optimal play I've seen it described as. 5 billion does, though, but that's sadly a superplay we're never going to see because of Cave's inexplicable decision to program in a counterstop.

It wouldn't hurt to crack open some beer or something to wind down.

Says the guy who 2-ALLed Ketsui Ura and DDP within 1 month.

So what would happen if you did another counterstop concerning uploading the replay to the XBL leaderboards...would it upload and erase your old replay or would it be impossible to upload? Since the score wasn't "beaten" doesn't it ignore the prompt to save the replay?

Also, perhaps so but DDP was a work in progress over 7 years, and Ketsui 1 and 1/2 of me actively playing it. When I cleared Ketsui it took very little time to get DDP back into my system and I had improved since I last played it so I only really needed to work on my 2-5 and 2-6 mostly. I practiced countless hours against hibachi so that was just a matter of getting there in the first place with enough resources and maintaining calm. That's aside the point of the topic though so I'll stop there :p

[Gus]

So what would happen if you did another counterstop concerning uploading the replay to the XBL leaderboards...would it upload and erase your old replay or would it be impossible to upload? Since the score wasn't "beaten" doesn't it ignore the prompt to save the replay?

I have no clue. If I got a counterstop clear and that happened I'd just upload it to Youtube.

[RLRBS]

Counterstop is a disappointment? Play 1.01, you can't counterstop that.

But seriously, Futari Ultra counterstop is an insane feat. Congratulations!