Not an annual thread. Unless it proves to be really popular or something.
In this thread you can vote for shmups you consider overrated, and we might end up with a neat little list based on the data, which would be really cool and nice.
Made purely out of curiosity.
Use the rules from the top 25 voting thread. This includes the section on what qualifies as a shmup. Of course, the voting period will last 30 days from now, up to 25th Feb. Of course, credit goes to the makers/maintainers of the voting threads over the years, for making a system I can shamelessly link and piggyback off of.
Here's a spoiler that's just copy-pasted the rules from the voting thread, for the lazy.
Spoiler
01. Use the following vote format, including brackets:
The amount of weighted score given to each game on your list is based on its percentage out of the total sum of the scores of all games present in it. For example, a list full of nothing but 1's will mean equal weighting is given to everything, as will a list of 25's. As a hard rule, the highest weighting any one game is allowed to have is 0.2. This means that the total sum must add up to at least 5 times the value of the highest number present (so a list starting in 25 must add up to at least 125, etc.). Note that lists do not need to start with 25, end with 1, or be totally linear - beyond this ruling, you are free to adjust them as you see fit.
A full description of the scoring process can be read here:
A game's weighted score is calculated by summing the total fractional weights (as explained above) from each ballot it appears in.
A game's weight proportion is given by dividing that weighted score by the highest weighted score any one game accumulates (so for the top game, this will always be 1).
A game's vote proportion is given by dividing the number of votes it gets by the total number of ballots submitted (after accounting for total weight adjustment from short lists).
The calculation for the final score is then (weight proportion + vote proportion) * 5, to give a score out of a maximum of 10.
Games from an Honourable Mentions list will have zero game weight and 0.5 vote weight.
Ballots using a short list will have both their game weight and vote weight multiplied by 0.75, i.e., every game is overall worth 75% of what it would be on a full list.
02. A standard ballot includes exactly 25 games, no more, no less. Your list can contain the games you think are the best overall, the most influential, most personally enjoyable, most underrated, etc. If you are eligible to vote under rule 00 but find this either excessive or prohibitive, there are two other avenues available:
Should 25 not be enough to curb your enthusiasm, you have the fully optional option to include a list of Honourable Mentions. In this case, they are to be placed below the main list and must contain exactly 10 games. To keep in line with the rest of the voting, they will be denoted by the value [0], whereupon they will give no scoring weight and only half vote weight.
Alternately, those who make the reqs but find 25 games too much for their tastes may instead include a short list of exactly 15 games. No special notation is needed for a short list, simply make it as you would a regular one while respecting the same guidelines. Much as when they originally were legal, short lists will have their final weight reduced slightly (see scoring, above). They will also not be eligible to have Honourable Mentions. If you want to vote for 25 games, make a regular list, it's what the weighting system is there for.
For example(s) of how to do any of these, you can look at some of the votes in the previous years' voting thread.
03. Shmups released in calendar year 2022 are not eligible for consideration.
04. Don't vote for games you haven't played.
05. Please be specific when voting for ports, or when different games share the same title. Some versions are similar enough to count as the same game, but others are counted separately due to significant differences (e.g. Gradius III or UN Squadron). In some cases, both region and platform may be important. Votes that do not specify platform will be assumed to be for the arcade/other original release, or in isolated cases the most well-known version (e.g. [Zanac] will be considered a vote for Zanac NES). Be careful with notation too, as [Slap Fight MD] is not considered the same thing as [Slap Fight (MD)]. If in doubt, it's always better to specify (or ask/check a previous years' results; last years' are here). I've also started keeping a more convenient guide, which I will be gradually updating/improving. Also note that you are still free to include more than one game version on a ballot if you so desire. More obscure releases/arranges/ports/etc may not yet be covered and will be evaluated when and if they crop up.
This year, the new Cotton Reboot/Arrange Mode will be counted separately to all the other ports of the original game.
06. Vote for games, not compilations that include them. You can't vote for Raiden Fighters Aces but you can vote for each of the three games it contains. Games that never got an independent release are also permitted, such as Xevious Arrangement. If someone wishes to vote for a part of a game that qualifies as a shmup, but is not the entire game, I believe this should also be permitted, as long as the voter is capable of judging the quality of that section on its own shooting merits.
07. Vote for games, not their different modes of play. Exceptions are granted for revisions of games that are sufficiently different from the original (see rule 05).
08. No off-limits games! Please consult the chart below to see if your game is eligible for consideration:
No voting for:
You may vote for games in any of the following categories:
09. You may not vote for games that you do not believe are shmups. If you do not think that Granada is a shmup, you may not vote for it. However, as long as the votes of others respect the categories outlined in rule 08, your opinion shall have no bearing on the eligibility of other votes.
- [integer score 1 to 25] [first game title]
[integer score 1 to 25] [second game title]- etc.
- [25] [Favorite]
[24] [Second Favorite]
... etc ...
[2] [24th Favorite]
[1] [25th Favorite]
The amount of weighted score given to each game on your list is based on its percentage out of the total sum of the scores of all games present in it. For example, a list full of nothing but 1's will mean equal weighting is given to everything, as will a list of 25's. As a hard rule, the highest weighting any one game is allowed to have is 0.2. This means that the total sum must add up to at least 5 times the value of the highest number present (so a list starting in 25 must add up to at least 125, etc.). Note that lists do not need to start with 25, end with 1, or be totally linear - beyond this ruling, you are free to adjust them as you see fit.
A full description of the scoring process can be read here:
A game's weighted score is calculated by summing the total fractional weights (as explained above) from each ballot it appears in.
A game's weight proportion is given by dividing that weighted score by the highest weighted score any one game accumulates (so for the top game, this will always be 1).
A game's vote proportion is given by dividing the number of votes it gets by the total number of ballots submitted (after accounting for total weight adjustment from short lists).
The calculation for the final score is then (weight proportion + vote proportion) * 5, to give a score out of a maximum of 10.
Games from an Honourable Mentions list will have zero game weight and 0.5 vote weight.
Ballots using a short list will have both their game weight and vote weight multiplied by 0.75, i.e., every game is overall worth 75% of what it would be on a full list.
02. A standard ballot includes exactly 25 games, no more, no less. Your list can contain the games you think are the best overall, the most influential, most personally enjoyable, most underrated, etc. If you are eligible to vote under rule 00 but find this either excessive or prohibitive, there are two other avenues available:
Should 25 not be enough to curb your enthusiasm, you have the fully optional option to include a list of Honourable Mentions. In this case, they are to be placed below the main list and must contain exactly 10 games. To keep in line with the rest of the voting, they will be denoted by the value [0], whereupon they will give no scoring weight and only half vote weight.
Alternately, those who make the reqs but find 25 games too much for their tastes may instead include a short list of exactly 15 games. No special notation is needed for a short list, simply make it as you would a regular one while respecting the same guidelines. Much as when they originally were legal, short lists will have their final weight reduced slightly (see scoring, above). They will also not be eligible to have Honourable Mentions. If you want to vote for 25 games, make a regular list, it's what the weighting system is there for.
For example(s) of how to do any of these, you can look at some of the votes in the previous years' voting thread.
03. Shmups released in calendar year 2022 are not eligible for consideration.
04. Don't vote for games you haven't played.
05. Please be specific when voting for ports, or when different games share the same title. Some versions are similar enough to count as the same game, but others are counted separately due to significant differences (e.g. Gradius III or UN Squadron). In some cases, both region and platform may be important. Votes that do not specify platform will be assumed to be for the arcade/other original release, or in isolated cases the most well-known version (e.g. [Zanac] will be considered a vote for Zanac NES). Be careful with notation too, as [Slap Fight MD] is not considered the same thing as [Slap Fight (MD)]. If in doubt, it's always better to specify (or ask/check a previous years' results; last years' are here). I've also started keeping a more convenient guide, which I will be gradually updating/improving. Also note that you are still free to include more than one game version on a ballot if you so desire. More obscure releases/arranges/ports/etc may not yet be covered and will be evaluated when and if they crop up.
This year, the new Cotton Reboot/Arrange Mode will be counted separately to all the other ports of the original game.
06. Vote for games, not compilations that include them. You can't vote for Raiden Fighters Aces but you can vote for each of the three games it contains. Games that never got an independent release are also permitted, such as Xevious Arrangement. If someone wishes to vote for a part of a game that qualifies as a shmup, but is not the entire game, I believe this should also be permitted, as long as the voter is capable of judging the quality of that section on its own shooting merits.
07. Vote for games, not their different modes of play. Exceptions are granted for revisions of games that are sufficiently different from the original (see rule 05).
08. No off-limits games! Please consult the chart below to see if your game is eligible for consideration:
No voting for:
- First-person perspective shooters (Doom, Solvalou)
- including Lightgun Shooters (House of the Dead, Rail Chase)
Platform Shooters (Contra, Metal Slug)
Rail Shooters (Rez, Panzer Dragoon)
Gallery/Carnival Shooters (NAM-1975, Cabal)
Action-Adventure Games (Alien Breed, Gauntlet, Legend of Zelda)
You may vote for games in any of the following categories:
- Non-scrolling playfield
- Fixed Shooters (Space Invaders, Galaga)
Maze Shooters (Berserk, Tank Battalion)
Field Shooters (Robotron 2084, Smash TV, Geometry Wars)- including those set on a cylinder or torus (Asteroids, Star Castle)
- Automatically scrolling shooters
- Vertically scrolling shooters (Xevious, Cybattler)
- including those set on a cylinder (Scion)
- including those set on a cylinder (Fantasy Zone)
- Vertically scrolling shooters (Xevious, Cybattler)
- Manually advancing horizontally scrolling shooters (In The Hunt, Mr. Heli no Daibouken)
- including those set on a cylinder (Defender)
Manually advancing multi-directional shooters (Granada, KiKi KaiKai, Bangai-O)- including those set on a torus or infinite plane (Sinistar)
- Every Extend series
Gyruss and clones
Tempest, clones, and sequels
- Fixed Shooters (Space Invaders, Galaga)
09. You may not vote for games that you do not believe are shmups. If you do not think that Granada is a shmup, you may not vote for it. However, as long as the votes of others respect the categories outlined in rule 08, your opinion shall have no bearing on the eligibility of other votes.
Looking forward to your votes and opinions.
Important Edit:
While having a comment in your post is allowed, please do not post unless it actually contains your votes. Explaining your opinions is fine, but it wasn't made to be a pure discussion thread. This was something I considered needed to be made more clear. (The first post below this was made before this edit, just fyi)
Another thing worth noting is that while most people in the top 25 thread did list off 25 games, the voting system lets you list far less. Use this to your advantage since listing 25 for this specific criteria is likely too much.
I am also including a spoiler on how to vote responsibly:
Spoiler
A game is overrated if you consider that it receives praise and attention that it does not warrant. While I cannot stop you from simply voting for popular games that you do not like, a responsible voter would go beyond finding a popular game they dislike and analyze the reasons for the game's popularity. Considering that a game has notable flaws that people ignore, gets popularity from its developer instead of inherent quality, or gets its fame purely for historical value would all be viable points. Anything else that seems logical also probably works. Again, I do not demand explanation for your votes, and nothing stops you from just voting for games you don't like, but the above can be seen as some prudent advice.
