STGT'12 Week 4: ESPGaluda

[msm]

msm - 21,999,320 - ALL - Ageha - MAME

been playing this on and off for years with that last pattern of the last boss always laughing at me. well pleased to finally 1cc it time to look into scoring a bit more now, usually just get enough for the second extend.

[emphatic]

MrMonkeyMan - 37,797,920 - All - Ageha - Mame

I'm winning.

Do you watch your old recordings to get "back in shape"? I learned plenty from your vids back when I was playing this.

[trap15]

trap15 - 12,477,610 - 4 Boss - Tateha - MAME

Goal for the week: ALL

[Illyrian]

Illyrian - 19,942,010 - 5 - Shmupmame 2.2

Died earlier, scored higher. My kind of run.

[MrMonkeyMan]

MrMonkeyMan - 37,797,920 - All - Ageha - Mame

I'm winning.

Do you watch your old recordings to get "back in shape"? I learned plenty from your vids back when I was playing this.

That was just me trying to remember as I go. It was my first real credit after my initial over mode run. I'll probably check out my old replays to help jog my memory.

[dsheinem]

first semi-passable run:

dsheinem - 3,687,570 - 3 - Ageha - PS2

Just out of curiousity, what would be a "decent" Stage 1 and/or Stage 2 score for someone hoping to hit at least hit 15-20million?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Just out of curiousity, what would be a "decent" Stage 1 and/or Stage 2 score for someone hoping to hit at least hit 15-20million?

3-4 mil is a great st1 score, 2 mil's easier to hit by the end of it though. If you're doing really well, you can get around 7-8 mil more on stage 2 it seems. Those are really 'ideal' scores, but even in a decent scoring run you can hit the first extend at 4 mil in Stage 2 without too much trouble. The trick is to delay killing stuff like this so you can grab as many points from 'em, as well as save up a lot of kakusei for areas where you can get a huge series of 100x cancels (late in stage 2, stage 3 midboss, etc).

[Pyongyang]

Pyongyang - 2722070 - Stage 3 - MAME

[AKRATEN]

Akraten 21,833,360 - 5-2 - Ageha - Pcb

[CHI]

CHI - 7,310,120 - Stage 3 - Ageha - shmupmame

Ok enough for tonight, will get back on this on Wednesday...

[ColonelFatso]

ColonelFatso - 7,361,400 - Stage 3 - Ageha - MAME

[Aettaa]

Aettaa - 21,921,520 - 5-2 - Ageha - MAME

I suck. Now I need to relearn the final boss. Then, I need to learn to score.

[Masa]

Masa - 7199010 - 3 - Tateha - mame

[BareKnuckleRoo]

BKR - 34,124,220 - ALL - Ageha (1/6 Lives, 1/2 Bomb Stock) - MamePlus 0.146 r5028

Got bored of Tateha, took Ageha for a spin. 2 mil above my previous personal best so that's something, but it's still garbage. I can't seem to get through stage 4 without getting hit somewhere dumb, and I constantly screw up stuff I really shouldn't be dying to, meaning my clear bonus is garbage compared to what I'm aiming for. Bleh.

.INP

What the hell am I doing wrong in Stage 1? I can't for the life of me get the counter to 900-1000 by the end of the stage. I keep only managing to get it up to 500 or so, maybe 600 tops. ;_;

[Eno]

Anyone else having problems to play BareknuckleRoo's replay? Tried using the same MAME version, both 64 and x86 versions, and it says it couldn't open the file as a valid replay file or something like that.

[BrianC]

BrianC - 5,522,460 - Stage 3 Boss - Tateha - MAME

[Ed Oscuro]

Anyone else having problems to play BareknuckleRoo's replay? Tried using the same MAME version, both 64 and x86 versions, and it says it couldn't open the file as a valid replay file or something like that.

Did you use the same MAME executable?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Anyone else having problems to play BareknuckleRoo's replay? Tried using the same MAME version, both 64 and x86 versions, and it says it couldn't open the file as a valid replay file or something like that.

Try renaming the file - I had that error with a salamander 2 replay when I tried to replay a .INP I'd given a really long name. For whatever reason, shortening the filename fixed it.

[Eno]

Did you use the same MAME executable?

I used EmuCR's build of the same version. Tried every executable(Mamepui, Mame default one) for the two builds(x86 and x64), both gave the same error.

Try renaming the file - I had that error with a salamander 2 replay when I tried to replay a .INP I'd given a really long name. For whatever reason, shortening the filename fixed it.

Already tried renaming to just espgal.inp too, keeps giving the same error.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I used EmuCR's build of the same version.

I'm just using the one at their official sourceforge page. Try that? If it still isn't working I'd have to upload it to YT or something, but really, there's better runs you could watch in that case.

[cj iwakura]

Blind run, thought I'd played this before, turns out that was ESPGaRade.


cj_iwakura - 3,713,120 - Stage 3 - MAME

And I thought it was so good too.

Not too sure I get the switch/slow-down mechanic. Is it a risk/reward thing?

[Erppo]

Already tried renaming to just espgal.inp too, keeps giving the same error.

I think some versions have a bug where they won't recognize input files unless you put them in the inp folder.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Not too sure I get the switch/slow-down mechanic. Is it a risk/reward thing?

It's the key to scoring well. Killing enemies when in Kakusei causes their bullets to be cancelled and turned into gold, and the more bullets you cancel in a single Kakusei period, the more of a point multiplier you get per gold (up to 100x). So you get a lot of points by saving up gems, then cancelling a ton of bullets rather than swapping in and out of Kakusei constantly. You can also simply save it for bullet cancelling tough patterns or navigating through difficult areas as need be.

It's also important to max out the overmode gauge by stage 1 if you want to go for the really high scores as maxing it out causes you to get more green gems from enemy in normal mode thereby letting you use Kakusei more (more gold from enemies too I think). Dying resets it (unlike Espgaluda II) but cranking up the overmode is also a bit of risk vs reward since if you accidentally run out of gems in kakusei, bullets move much faster at max overmode.

[Eno]

Already tried renaming to just espgal.inp too, keeps giving the same error.

I think some versions have a bug where they won't recognize input files unless you put them in the inp folder.

Spot-on! Thank you.
Thank you Ed Oscuro and BareknuckleRoo too.

Now let's see what I can make out of this game.

[cj iwakura]

Not too sure I get the switch/slow-down mechanic. Is it a risk/reward thing?

It's the key to scoring well. Killing enemies when in Kakusei causes their bullets to be cancelled and turned into gold, and the more bullets you cancel in a single Kakusei period, the more of a point multiplier you get per gold (up to 100x). So you get a lot of points by saving up gems, then cancelling a ton of bullets rather than swapping in and out of Kakusei constantly. You can also simply save it for bullet cancelling tough patterns or navigating through difficult areas as need be.

It's also important to max out the overmode gauge by stage 1 if you want to go for the really high scores as maxing it out causes you to get more green gems from enemy in normal mode thereby letting you use Kakusei more (more gold from enemies too I think). Dying resets it (unlike Espgaluda II) but cranking up the overmode is also a bit of risk vs reward since if you accidentally run out of gems in kakusei, bullets move much faster at max overmode.

At first I thought it was just something to make the game easier for a limited time.
Yeesh.

[Chaos Phoenixma]

Wow, I was trying to switch in and out like I did in Galuda II when I wasn't trying to get a bullet cancel or use Zeshikai. I didn't realize that I was screwing myself.

[Hattori Hanzo]

Wasn't there someone bitching about playtime vs. commute time in the week 4 thread?


For me, commute time is STGT time and this was my first credit. We'll see if really "everybody" is going to be able to 1cc this. While I like the game, it's seemingly not the kind I'll easily beat or score in...

Hattori HANZo - 2,111,780 - Stage 2 - shmupmame 3.0b

[Ed Oscuro]

From what I understand of the scoring system:

- With gems in the meter, in kakusei (press B once) mode you cancel bullets for score and the number canceled creates a multiplier. You don't need to check the numeric meter at the top of the screen; instead, you can view the meter numerically as the funky-colored psychedelic pinkish slice of in a circular meter draining counter-clockwise around your character in this normal kakusei mode. I don't think the number of gems matters per se; 500 just gives you the maximum amount of time so that you can cancel bullets for longer and make more use of that 100x multiplier. For this reason, you shouldn't waste any built-up gems.

- When green gems are depleted, you are in kakusei overdrive mode. If there is a meter, it will now be a dark purple slice, still moving counter-clockwise, but building instead of draining. Bullets are now reddish and significantly faster (as opposed to being significantly slower and purplish in gem-fed kakusei mode), and you pick up gold ingots instead of gems. Not sure what ingots do other than possibly provide an end-of-game score bonus. They do something, definitely, because there is a meter for ingots. Ingots also purportedly build rank (but not so much to worry about). In kakusei overdrive mode, there is a continuous score bonus being continually added to your score as you continue to survive and remain in this mode.

- Kakusei overdrive has three contributing mechanics related to the circular meter around your character (it starts out as a small circle for the initial level) circles around, building faster when you aren't shooting. This builds the kakusei "level." Firstly, when this meter is built up, it starts again, with a larger circle around your helper (gender-swapped) character, and continues until you're maxed out, at which point the meter disappears. Secondly, for each level completed, you get BONUS! green gems in normal mode. Finally, in kakusei overdrive mode, you will notice that your score is building rather rapidly.

- You get more green gems from shooting enemies at the top of the screen. Obviously, balance this against the possibility of streaming bullets from enemies in kakusei (gem-fed) mode.

I have read some comments in the past about whether Espgaluda ought to be played normally - build the kakusei overdrive mode in lulls, avoid dying so you don't have to build it again, collect gems, build score off enemies, or just survive in kakusei overdrive mode, streaming ingots and using the continuous score multiplier. It would be kinda neat if there was some way to use kakusei overdrive as a "mirror" of normal kakusei mode + gem collecting, and the dual counters (green gems + gold ingots) seem to suggest this - but from what I have seen so far, kakusei overdrive is not only considerably more punishing to survive in, but failing to collect gems and stream multipliers is not as effective for those bursts of score you get with gems. On the other hand, you don't need to collect gems, so multiplier-driven score bursts must be weighed against the steady trickle of score from max-level kakusei overdrive and ingots.

A very interesting scoring mechanic for sure; I understand why it hasn't caught on, but I personally find it much more interesting (at least in theory) than say a DDP or a Mars Matrix. It's also rather less finicky to pull off than those. IMO it doesn't demand the level of precision out of DDP and certainly not the bullet-reflecting precision of Mars Matrix, but it is relatively beginner friendly while still allowing all that level of optimization everyone loves.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

and you pick up gold ingots instead of gems. Not sure what ingots do other than possibly provide an end-of-game score bonus. They do something, definitely, because there is a meter for ingots.

The value of cancelled bullets is affected by the size of gold you pick up, which increases every time you get 100 gold. Basically, when you get the gold meter up to the max of 1000, you get the largest value of gold from enemies and thus the most points (which in turn is further boosted by gathering a lot at once in Kakusei with x100 bonuses). You lose 1/2 of your gold counter when you die, and 1/4 if you use an autobomb (get hit while in Kakusei with bomb meter remaining). So, getting the counter up to 1000 as quick as possible and keeping it there is necessary for high scores.

[TodayIsForgotten]

TodayIsForgotten - 12,256,340 - 1-4(I think) - shmupmame 3.0